I read this little gem and re-read it a few more times, I was doubled over in pain from the laughter each time. Henry Rollins captures Los Angeles by the throat in this book and shakes it for dear life. He probably wouldn't have any remorse about it either. My favourite piece was #111, describing his feelings toward other famous musicians. This man should allow himself expansion into longer works though. He would become the Henry Miller of the next millenium.

His 'familial hate-fuel' never resolves itself in this, neither does he run short on truth and Angelino angst. But something tells me that's how he wants it. Don't expect him to whisper sweet-nothings into your ear with this. Expect only the sole of his boot. Because Rollins delivers.

Not too often does a book grab me by its hooks and drag me into its world and leave me there for days on end. I don't know how long it was after having read BCB that I started looked at my life and surroundings in a sometimes angry or a sometimes humorous 5 sentence snippet, but I suppose Rollins effect on me was to take a step back, pause for a moment, and look at the world around me and my life in more detail. Albuquerque is no City of Angels, but if you look hard enough, you'll find your own 124 Worlds, no matter where you live or who you are.

Nothing like a good brain enema from time to time.

I have always been a fan of Henry Rollins from back in his Black Flag days, but I really love the voice that comes out through his words. This book is not for lightweights. It tells the cold, hard truth of Henry's life and times. It is a must read for any Rollins fan.

henry is the kind of guy we should all want to be,ourselves. If we all took time to get to know ourselves and become more comfortable with what we find then we would get more pieces of "dynamite hack" like this...you need to find yourself? here is a good start.

A VERY good book. Deep, sometimes, deppressing, a definate classic. BUY IT, or Henry will KICK YOUR BUTT! HE's GOT SOME REALLY COOL TATOOS!!! HE CAN BENCHPRESS RIKKI LAKE!!! HE PRANCES AROUND IN HIS UNDERWEAR ON STAGE!!! Henry Rollins is a GOD! And if you believe otherwise, he'll BEAT YOU SILLY!!! nuff said.

rollins shows you the dark side of the world that no one wants to talk about.he's not afraid to tell the truth & expose the cruel & unusual particles of life. from 1000 ways to die, to flat out poetry. he sucks you into the mind's eye, proving your worst nightmares to be true. never putting the book down, you're forced to question all the qualities of life & the people in them. so, let it all hang out, learn a little more about yourself, and expose the truth

In an age where I'd almost given up on honesty and authenticity in writing, a friend introduced me to Hank - and I was amazed. Maybe one or two people on earth are capable of having me in a screaming, raging fury of disgust at one moment, then two lines later can write something that lances straight into the center of my soul and gouges out something that I've been ignoring - or afraid to say - for years.

Henry Rollins speaks with a voice that has been forgotten by most of us. The voice of anger, sorrow, joy, love and murderous hatred... honest and truthful in its own fictional way, consequences be damned.

There are many people who'd tell you he's the Messiah, but in reality, he's just a screwed-up guy with some really good things to say - and the talent required to say them. I have great respect for people like that - and I recommend this book highly. It is, for me, and incredibly profound read.

Henry Rollins declares on the back cover: "I worked on the book in several cities all over the world until 1996. The writing is obsessive and claustrophobic.(...) I went foi it and it swallowed me whole." Yeah, he is right. That is the exact sensation I felt while reading it, but Rollins is progressing greatly as a writer. This is one of his most powerful books: he manages to grab your attention and never let go. His recurrent themes are all here: alienation, anger, death and love. As he says in the introduction in the "Portable Henry Rollins": "So far, this is my favorite batch of writing." And we have to agree with that.

By far, Solipsist is Henry's most emotional book. I could not put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Henry Rollins or interested in reading a scathingly brilliant book!

This is a good book. Too bad Glen used a smaller format for the "dog town" book. I like the bigger photos in this 'un. But why are there no pics of Jeffrey Lee Pierce?

Don't forget to pick up volume two of this work - for even more great photos (but alas, still no pics of Jeffrey Lee Pierce).

Two thumbs up!

Many photos that you may have seen, but never knew who took them. This guy has taken some of the most famous photos in the history of skateboarding and punk rock. The pics of Black Flag(Rollins w/ the mic in his mouth), and (Chuck D in prison are killer!) The hardcores will know what I'm talking about. Freidman Rules! Also, check out his Z - Boys book. It's great.

I can't believe that I had not heard of or seen this book until now. It took the "Dog town and the Legend of the Z-boys" book Friedman and Stecyk did to turn me onto this one. The Dogtown book is really great, but this book is ... awesome! Who could believe that Friedman after his Dogtown days went on to shoot as many other hard-core "heroes" as he did. It's all in here, and all classic; From Tony Alva and Jay Adams to Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedy's, the Germs, and Fugazi; to L.L. Cool J, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice T, and many more in their prime. It's just awesome. All the shots are amazing classics; to capture them all in one book is really something. Something really worth owning. (The in-depth caption index gives you information on the subjects, their views at the time, and Friedman's perspective too.) This book proves that without a doubt Friedman has got to be one the most important photographers of his generation!

The only slight disappointment I had with the Dog town book was that some of the most classic important photos in the Dog town film were not included in that book. But guess what? They are in this one! Tony Alva classic 1st frontside air at the Dog bowl, Jay Adams knocking up the coping, Alva flipping the bird, and probably all of the most classic Friedman Dogtown shots are here in "FUCK YOU HEROES." this one is a must, without a doubt.

Highly Recommended.

I am new to Henry's writing. I have listened to his music for some time. I saw this book at the library and thought I would give it a try. It was great. The dark thoughts of death, life, the struggles of dating, the need to be alone, yet wanting others is all truth. It may only be imagination, but it is reality for many. I've never thought much of poetry, but now I read this book over and over. Each time seeing something new. I once had a bumper sticker that said "People suck." I wonder now if Henry Rollins was behind the idea. I've read it cover to cover, again and again and I just purchased two more books. Finally, someone who isn't afraid to speak the truth and express what they feel.

This book is one of the best I've ever read. If you are stuck on which Henry Rollins book to buy I suggest you get this one. It is an anthology of his past books put together in one hell of a book. If you are a Rollins fan or not, I recomend you buy this book. Trust me you wont regret it!

As I flew home today to Chicago, I found myself once again bound to Henry Rollins and his insight, humor and distrust for men, pigs, skinhead punkers and wannabes. Henry Rollins is a voice of reality that far too often gets ignored by pop culture. A role that he seems to enjoy. However, it would be misleading of me to say that Henry Rollins would want any pats on the back or adjulation. Just read, understand and think. Don't accept whatever is spoon fed to you. Make your own decisions, accept the consequences, get in the van and see where you end up. Thanks Henry. You made a long flight less painful. (I am bound by the rating system, but I feel that this book stands on its own. Ratings are for week minded people who need to be told what is good and bad in life. This view is my own and does not represent AMAZON.com.)

Whether you agree or disagree with Rollins is a moot point: what matters is, agree or not, at least his work is thought-provoking, and not the run of the mill worn out "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" junk you usually find nowadays. This collection of Rollins' first five books is especially enjoyable as you can realize his personal growth reflected through his writing from the earlier work to the later work. In turn, it makes you reflect on your own beliefs about the evils of society which Rollins so vividly describes and vehemently attacks. Bang! is the show-stopper, with masterful imagery and a powerful message.

this book is infuriating. this book is disgusting. this book is hilarious. this book is draining. this book takes a lot out of you and gives a lot to you in return. i've often wondered what other people would think if they could really see inside my head and i'm greatful to henry rollins for doing just that - showing me the inside of his head. in the disjointed, incoherent ramblings you see a man unfold and you see yourself along with him. he has the courage you don't. he tells the truth you hide from. at last, an example to learn from.

Originally, I thought that a book written by Henry Rollins would be nothing but an angry, cold-hearted jerk-fest. As I read on, however, I found that there was true emotion and heart-felt anguish that the reader could relate to. The best part was when he talked about drug-addiction. There was no more wrenching part in any book that I can think of. Well-placed references to his life in one of the most popular punk bands of the 80's gave insight to the trials and tribulations that he must have endured living as such. There is no better book for the modern poet to read and learn about how real reflections into life are, not sonnets and ballads to your loved ones, but pain and fury.

From the stretch between Now Watch Him Die and this book, we can see that Rollins' writing hasn't so much matured as it has mellowed.

Sure, Hank would cringe and want to beat me to a pulp for writing that, but that's only because it's true. It's also true for subsequent Rollins Band releases following the End of Silence. Can we fault him for this? Not really. You can only endure self-parody for so long.

It's the same stream of consciousness BS that you're in a love-hate relationship with (and have been if you've read any of his other books), and sometimes it works (the trip to Africa, his Ozzy coverage), and sometimes it doesn't (the usual touring gripes and whines). It also doesn't help that Hank's hypocrisies are glaring, this time around. He loves Orbison's "Mystery Girl" album, but does he give credit to that oaf Bono for co-writing one of the best tunes on that album?

I can't stand U2 either, but I always give credit where credit's due.

It's well worth a read, particularly if you're sick of the rat race, and conventional society in general. His insights into 'Thoreau-ism' aren't exactly groundbreaking, but they are unique where his style of writing is concerned.

I am beginning to wonder if a fan of Henry Rollins can give an objective review of his work. Like Rollins himself, his fans seem to portray an intensity that leaves them blind to their idol. I learned quite a bit by reading this book. I learned that Rollins plagues me. It isn't the volumes of contradictions and ridiculousness that bother me. It is that one stinging observation, the one that makes me stop and realize his vision and clarity, that makes me insane. Many times while reading this book I found myself wanting to drive to LA, find Rollins, grab his shoulders and shake him. I wanted more, yet I couldn't take it. I finished this book rather quickly, and I have been contemplating since then whether or not to start another of his books. As it is, I sit and watch VH-1 countdowns and say to the television, "where is Rollins' commentary?". I check his website like a silly obsessed groupie. I don't know that I can call this an enjoyable book. It is tolerable, at best. And anyone who thinks about reading it should make sure they are ready to commit to the long haul. Henry Rollins has a way of attaching himself to your synapses, leaving you not knowing if you love or hate him.

Mind you, I am hesitant in my criticism -- one would be hesitant in criticizing Rollins about anything after reading this book. These journal entries, from '97 to '98, have a lot to say about the meaningless and mean (yeah, mean) "criticism" our man Rollins has had to endure since his beginnings with Black Flag, and it makes you inclined to shy away from adding to that dung heap more out of pity than defense. However, Rollins does leave himself open, especially if he's printing his journals for public consumption, so hey, fair is fair, right?

These entries show us that Rollins is growing up...er, well, at least he's trying. And hard. He's scored huge brownie points for not throwing us the "I'm an impenetrable mystery" shlick that most utterly self-absorbed persons do, which leads me to believe he's is doing sincerely what he claims: trying to figure himself out before he dies. Good luck, Hank, you're gonna need it. On the other hand, his full-throttle musings in the "lone man wandering the vast desert" vein (he even drags in dear, dead Hemingway for reference) in defense of his burdensome loneliness and incapacity for relationships with women get irksome, as it is quite transparent. He fiercely avows never to marry or have kids to the extent that one hears a voice from the wings: "Hank doth protests too much, methinks." At these points in the book, Rollins is little more than a case study in avoidant-ambivalent attachment style, and it gets depressing after a while. This is especially so due to his frequent mentioning of difficult bouts of depression and loneliness.

There are enjoyable points, don't get me wrong. He does express well and clearly his great affection for music, from his youthful giddiness over Black Sabbath to his near-mystical adoration for jazz and its decorated heroes like John Coltrane. Wonder why Rollins is so lippy towards musicians that don't meet his approval? The reason is made clear here: He loves music. He really LOVES music. And like anyone with some sense and a heart, he abhors witnessing the thing he loves most being kicked about in the dirt by low-wit thugs or parceled out indifferently by agenda-serving leeches. There's no shame in that, even though oddly many think Rollins ought to be shamed. So in the end, we find Rollins digging in his heels and U2 and Sheryl Crow supporters whining and sniffling. Hysterical, really. The other thing that is enjoyable about this book is the evidence that Rollins does things with very good intentions. Sometimes he doesn't make the best choices and other times he is overcome by his own shortcomings. But while he exhibits a tense bitterness edging towards cynicism, he doesn't mean to be mean. Good example is his regret over his defensive hostility towards to two fans that approached him at an inopportune time in a parking lot in Ohio, and his small, but thoughtful gesture to make amends for it. It's things like these that make this book an interesting read.

Yet among other frustrating bits is his agitation that results from a combination of his poor social skills and his inability to cope with himself. Some of this gets aimed at innocent by-standers, which gets painful to read at times. Otherwise, it's leveled, deservingly, at the music industry. However, since Rollins is honest enough to see some pretty hard truths about life, he eventually (we can only hope) will realize and accept that he must walk a different path apart from a majority of the human race, and that's not something he needs to be hostile about. He longs still, nearly forty, to be understood, and one is inspired to awe at how hard he will work and how far he will go for that. At the same time, he succeeds well at grating your nerves to point you want to shove some of his own witty snideness right back down his throat. When that happens, just flip to some point where he's describing as eloquently as he can a moment of thoughtful meditation or some time in solitude, where you can see that he's actually a decent man once he's in his element. Yeah, you read me right, the "Hot Animal Machine" is a thinking man after all. Hooray, or something.

The thing with Rollins is that his major talent is not writing or music, but simply being honest and "putting it out there." He's on the verge of making his truthfulness an art form. You get out of him what you do, and that's that. No apologies. I, for one, can dig that. Maybe you can too, but one observation should be made. The printing I have contains a multitude of typos. Hopefully this will be corrected if it goes to print again. Another thing is that there is a section of '97 entries tagged on the end, in a section after the '98 entries, with no explanation. Strange. But rather than leaving us with heartaching thoughts at the year-end anniversary of his friend's senseless and tragic death, he lets us off the train somewhere in October, a "magical" month for him he says, with the line "I have a good life." Now that's keeping your chin up, Hank.

I generally enjoy Hank's essays on rock contemporaries and/or elder statesmen of whatever genre he sets his sights on, and while I had actually read many of these collected articles (from Details, RayGun, Vox, etc.) beforehand, I found re-reading them quite enjoyable anyway.

His diatribe on David Lee Roth is worth the price of the book alone, but his Lollapalooza Tour Journal is also of interest. An in-depth look at Jerry Lee Lewis, a sparse (but fun) interview with John Lee Hooker, and a superb chapter on Phil Lynott are only a few of the gems within.

Vol.3 of the BCB series is also good, but offers less of interest about the music industry.

Interesting book by an intriguing man. OK, Henry is not a college professor, he does not write in a style in this book which is wordy or hard to get. He's going for something else, if more people had his edge this world would be a hell of a lot more interesting. Why people don't get excited about him or his band is saddening because people like Eminen, a real whining Yank if there was one, are vicious bastards who ought to get some brains. PS. Whatever man.

This was an amazing book, I could not put it down. I finished reading it within a day. Henry is a fantastic writer and he shares so much of himself in his writing. I feel like I know him. Some parts of the book are a little sad but then you start to realize that is just how Henry's writing is. When you finish reading this book you will feel like you just borrowed Henry's personal journal to read. I highly recommend this to any Rollins fan!! ~~Niki

This double CD album of spoken word is perhaps the most disturbing thing I've ever listened to. Taken from one of the grittiest, true to life chapters in Rollin's book, EYE SCREAM, it is not for the faint of heart or idealists. Well maybe it is. Consider it a rude awakening. Not as humourous as other Rollins stuff though. I recommend buying the book first (hey it's bigger and cheaper). If you like that you might want to go for the rawness that is Rollin's spoken word.

This book will blow your mind. It will change the way you think about a lot of things, from overpopulation to religion, to views about Hitler. It has straight, to the point language, it doesn't leave any room for misinterpretation. If you enjoy a sense of security, and are strong in your convictions, I recommend either being truly open minded, being prepared to get really upset, or just not reading this book. For the good of human principles however, I think we should all be willing to listen to the flip side for a change.

Well I was really interested in reading some of Rollins's work so I bought Eye Scream. At first I couldn't put the book down and towards the middle I would skip around and now I just pick it up to read a few pages every once in a while. In my opinion I think that Rollins is too repititious in what he is writing and I was finding that he was pretty much saying the same things in different ways. It is an interesting book if you can get past all that. I'm sure one day I will finish it, and I do respect him for his stances on the many issues that does write about in such a raw manner. If you haven't read anything by Rollins before I suggest you do...it will definately bring things to your attention that have never been previously.

Once again Henry Rollins redefines the term honest human. All I can say is that Rollins writing is so human that it leaves the reader in disgust of himself. Reading Eye Scream is like taking a sniff of your own shoe. The only reason I gave this book only four stars is because somebody other than myself wrote it.

Despair. Acceptance. Social complacency. and the Mekanik. If you are pissed off at the superficialality of humanity, you are inspired by Mr. Rollins or you will be. The most complete man of our century, besides Che Guevara, is at his best, describing unredeemable qualities of mankind(if you want to call them that) and chastizing us all for being the fake pieces of ...that we are. This book made me look at life in a real perspective, and in turn, made me want to live life by the simplest terms. To live in reality while everyone else floats by on the heated surface of their parent's lies. I now will not live these lies. I will now live in a whole new set of lies, but at least I made them all up myself. Thank you Mr. Rollins, I am a better person because of you.