Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone Hardcover – Illustrated, April 1, 2012

This is by far the best true history of the Ramones by the guy who started it all! Johnny Ramone's story is a must read and it's the truth! Great history lesson for any Ramones fan, Very easy read.

I was quite surprised to see that this autobiography had come out, and probably wouldn't have if I hadn't bought I Slept With Joey Ramone. I haven't read that book yet, but when I got this I started reading and couldn't stop. It is written simply but clearly, and fills in a lot of gaps -- a lot of questions I had about the Ramones after seeing the DVD documentary End Of The Century: The story of the Ramones. In the End Of The Century documentary, which I think is really well done, you see these people Johnny is mentioning in his narrative, but I was left with the impression that it was solely because Johnny "stole" Joey's girlfriend that they'd had issues. He and Linda were clearly a lot more careful with hurting Joey's feelings than comes across in the movie, because they didn't want the band to break up over it. It was more the bad experience of the Spector-produced album that he credits the bad blood to. Also he gives a lot of praise to C.J., and makes it pretty clear what happened when various people "left" or were let go.What really stands out in the book to me is how he was kind of aimless and randomly violent when he was young, and turned that energy into a discipline that could make the Ramones one of the -- if not the -- best bands in Rock and Roll. It is also sad that the radio never gave them any air time, because I actually thought the Ramones had broken up when I bought Pleasant Dreams around 1981 or so! I still could have seen them live, and only got into their music when it wasn't possible for me to go see them live, and I still kick myself for it. The mark of a great band is one that can get their act together for show after show, and really make a good time for the fans and even make amends if something happens to cause a show to be cancelled. Johnny was the glue that held them together for this, and it's enlightening to read this account, and a lot of fun to read about his interaction with other groups of the time, like Blondie, the Talking Heads, Iggy Pop, The Cramps, and many more. The book is short, but it makes up for it with really beautiful photos and nice thick heavy stock covers that make it look like pop art or something. Bottom line: all true Ramones fans should love this book. Five stars plus.End of the Century - The Story of the RamonesRamones: It's Alive 1974-1996 The Ultimate Double Live DVDI Slept with Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir

This book was published 8 years after Johnny's death, I don't know why it took so long to put together but they did a wonderful job---the book looks great. Anyway, this is what I liked about the book-- Johnny is honest with what he thinks and feels-- the pictures in the book are really good-- the book covers just about everything a fan would wantLet's face it, Johnny was the only really sane one in the band who stuck it out till the end. No offense to the other guys The only other Ramones book I would have an interest in reading is by their road manager Monte Melnick "On the Road with the Ramones". I had a good time reading this book and learning more about the Ramones and the music scene during their career. It was ridiculous that MTV and record labels/radio never gave this band the exposure they deserved.OK, some of the things I did not like or I had a problem with: Johnny complains about the band not getting national exposure and at the same time he refuses to do Saturday Night Live in late 1977, I still cannot believe he made that decision. It also came out later that Johnny never informed Joey or Dee Dee that they had the invite to get excellent national exposure. Wow. Also, I would have liked him to discuss MTV and the band's relationship there. If you never got exposure on MTV just tell us why.Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that Johnny seemed angry and negative and I wanted to comment on that. Look at it this way, this guy busted his ass for over 20 years and saved money like crazy only to find out he had terminal cancer less than a year after they called it quits. He had no time to really enjjoy the free time he'd worked for. How would you feel??? Dealing with Dee Dee, Joey, and Marky on an almost daily basis was no picnic---give the guy a break, and give him more respect.