Description: The long-awaited, exhaustive and controversial biography of one of rock 'n roll's towering figures is filled with direct, never-before-published words from Neil Young himself. of photos.
Review Quotes: "Jimmy McDonough's fat, teeming, obsessive, and revelatory biography of Young is a pure shot of all-access pleasure. . . . Hugely original." --Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Just as unmanageable, hard-headed, overzealous, and ultimately endearing as Young himself . . . A maddening, beguiling portrait of an elusive maverick . . . A glorious mess." --San Francisco Chronicle Book Review "An exhilarating match-up of author and subject makes Shakey a great, gripping read. . . . A must-read for anyone who cares about Neil Young." --Rolling Stone "Staggeringly thorough . . . McDonough gets it all: the chaos, the grandeur, the good times and dreary deaths, the alcohol- and drug-besotted recording sessions, the broken hearts, and the sheer unfettered joy of a seriously gifted artist." --Salon "The definitive book on the subject." --The Washington Post "Exhaustive, quarrelsome, and sometimes maddening . . . there are revelations in abundance." --The New York Times Book Review "Where the average rock-star biography is a tepid, toothless thing, McDonough has approached his task like a literary Terminator, steaming ahead with lethal thoroughness. One of the most penetrative studies of a rock icon ever written." --Times (London) "A mammoth portrait of the artist and lively exhumation of rock n roll history. . . . [McDonough] traces a rich turbulent career in vivid detail." --The New York Times "Imaginatively written...not only is Shakey an extraordinary literary feat of research and affection and endurance, it's an insight into the art of biography itself."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Delves further into the life and motives of one of music's most private individuals than anything previously released. . . surprisingly comprehensive and thoroughly enjoyable. . . .The most detailed portrait of this shrouded artist to date." --San Jose Mercury News "Exhaustively researched, impressively detailed. . . The long passages in which McDonough steps aside to let Young talk are the most revealing. 'One day I'm a jerk, ' Young says, 'the next day I'm a genius.' This book argues artfully for the latter."--People "Like meeting Brando's Kurtz in a cave at the end of Apocalypse Now. . . . Young comes across as a Jekyll-and-Hyde loner whose life has unfolded like a reckless chemistry experiment -- a control freak on an endless quest for the uncontrolled moment." --Macleans (Canada) "McDonough is an avid fan, music critic and impartial journalist all in one. . . . [He] deftly weaves Young's life, actions and art together. . . . What was known of Young's life before was akin to a series of rough demos. In Shakey, McDonough delivers a full double-album." --Rocky Mountain News"Does what most rock bios don't: It fails to fawn, it delivers the juice, it subjects the hero to the scrutiny and disappointment of a fan. . . A page-turning good read.."--Houston Chronicle "Fascinating reading. . . McDonough gives us as good a look at [Young's] cards as we're likely to get." --The Tampa Tribune "[Shakey's] unprecedented access makes for an entertaining read: McDonough, more than any music journalist since Peter Guralnick in his authoritative Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, has succeeded in stripping a star of his iconography."--The Observer (London) "Crammed with razor-sharp insights and mind-boggling detail, Shakey is a rock-solid literary triumph, as inspired and inspiring as the eccentric figure it evokes with such frustrated devotion." -- The Guardian (London) "McDonough . . . pores through Young's life with vivid prose and blunt detail, and he is unashamed to insert some stinging opinions. In his probing conversations with Young, . . . he challenges the formidable artist in ways that few others would dare." --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "It's hard to imagine anyone trying to better this book. . . It has what Young values above all else. . . passion."--Evening Standard (London)