Slash

From one of the greatest rock guitarists of our era comes a memoir that redefines sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. He was born in England, but raised in LA, spending an adolescence on the streets of Hollywood, discovering drugs, drinking, rock music and girls, all the while achieving notable status as a BMX rider. But everything changed the day when, aged 15, Slash first held the beat-up, one-string guitar his grandmother had discarded in a closet. The instrument became his voice and as soon as he could string chords and a solo together, Slash wanted to be in a band. He found that band in the form of four young men of equal minds: Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler and Duff McKagan. Together they became Guns N' Roses, one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time. Dirty, volatile and as authentic as the streets that weaned them, they fought their way to the top with ground-breaking albums such as the iconic Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusions 1 and 2. Here, for the first time ever, Slash tells the tale that has yet to be told: how the band came together, how they wrote the music that defined an era, how they survived insane, never-ending tours, how they rode the most excessive rock 'n' roll wave of a generation and, ultimately, how it all fell apart. This is a window into the world of the notoriously private guitarist and a seat on the rollercoaster ride that was one of history's greatest rock and roll machines: always on the edge of self-destruction even at the pinnacle of success. Slash is also an intensely personal account of struggle and triumph: as Guns N' Roses journeyed to the top, Slash battled his demons, escaping the overwhelming reality with women, heroin, coke, crack, vodka and whatever else came to mind. He survived it all: lawsuits, rehab, riots, notoriety, debauchery and destruction, and ultimately found his creative evolution. From Slash's Snakepit to his current band, the massively successful Velvet Revolver, Slash found an even keel by sticking to his guns. Slash is everything the man, the myth, the legend inspires: it's funny, honest, jaw-dropping and in a word... excessive.