I suppose that the only reason that anyone would read an autobiography by David Lee Roth would be to either finally get the scoop on his bitter fighting with his ex-bandmates in Van Halen or to pick up the juicy bits of dressing room sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll from his heyday.

Not only does Diamond Dave shed almost no light on the Van Halen conflict, he only mentions Michael Anthony once or twice in the entire book. The Van Halen brothers rate a few more pages, but only as the reunion "scam" unfolds in the late 90's. I understand that Roth doesn't want to sling any more mud, but that's what makes a rock bio a rock bio. Without it, it's pretty much a lot of chapters about his cars and his house and which comic books he likes.

As far as dressing room stories go, there's a few. No names. And there's more debauchery about Dave in Motley Crue's The Dirt than in his own book, so I'd assume he's leaving a lot of the worse stuff out. To hear him tell it he had a few drinks, tried a drug or two, had a ball, rode his bicycle a lot, did some rock-climbing, and never really had a bad/sad moment or serious relationship in 30 years. Sure.

David Lee's no writer (surprise), and his fragmented sentences and use of words like "ginormous" make many chapters completely unintelligible. He claims that this was weeded down from 1100 pages by his editor...I hope the editor got more money than Dave did. Dave's had quite a life, but a ghost writer is sometimes a good thing. This book manages to make it all sound very bland and a little bit pathetic.

Diamond Dave wrote a book? You bet I wanted to read it... Being a fan of Get in the Van by Henry Rollins (documenting his life on the road with Black Flag), I figured this would be another series of road rash stories from one of the biggest stars of the 80s. Wouldn't you know I was both right and wrong? Right about great road stories, but about the wrong roads. The material about life on the road with Van Halen completely pales in comparison with DLR's experiences and travels while away from the band. Hearing his mountain climbing and Amazon river boat tales, you realize there's FAR more to this man than the music. He does have a brain and shows more insight into life than you might expect from a "rock star." A great and natural read that reminds one of Lenny Bruce and the aforementioned Rollins.

Being a fan of Diamond Dave, I eagerly awaited the arrival of "Crazy from the Heat" from Amazon. The wait was very much worth it. In this whirlwind biography, Dave proves why he is considered the greatest showman in rock and roll. His stories of the road and his dedication to his craft are inspirational. How many other singers would take the time to scrub the floor of the stage before a concert tour? I would recommend "Crazy from the Heat" to anyone who is a rock music fan and especially those of us who admire Mr. Roth because it shows the human side of him that many of us have not seen. There is depth of character revealed in his interactions with ordinary people and in his travels as a "Jungle Stud." I think that it is a reflection of David's maturity that he has not taken the opportunity in his autobiography to make derogatory comments about Van Halen or any other of his business associates. If you want to read about the David Lee Roth band or the mudslinging with Van Halen, I can provide you with copies of articles on those subjects. But if you're wanting to learn more about the greatest front man in rock music, then "Crazy from the Heat" is a must-read.

If you're a =VH= fan, you should have already known over 90 percents of the facts/trivia in this book. Dave's nickname? Eddie's married to whom? Producer's name? The author also made dozens of useless questions & answers from each of Van Halen CD inserts. If you really want to know more about Van Halen, buy The Van Halen Encyclopedia (C. J. Chilvers) and Crazy From the Heat (David Lee Roth). Dave's book (highly recommended!) is out of print, but you'll definitely find one from auction/Amazon marketplace seller.

This book would make a perfect gift for the Van Halen-obsessed. It contains a mind-boggling amount of research, and if you care about little details like what the Edge, U2's guitarist, said about the US presidency in relation to Van Halen, or how much guacomoli was made available backstage after a VH concert, this is the book for you. It's certainly more thorough than most trivia books. Even major VH fans will find that the book stops just short of telling them more than they ever wanted to know. If you add it to your VH collection, you'll probably find that it's the single greatest source of facts on VH out there.

If your a real VH fan you will buy this book!