It took me a few weeks to trawl through this fascinating but very thorough book on the history of King Crimson, probably my favourite progressive rock band (although Robert Fripp refutes the term as applied to KC). It's not the first book on King Crimson I read (Aymeric Leroy's King Crimson was the other one) but this one, while massive, is both easy to read and chock full of details, anecdotes, stories and analysis. The "biographical" section of the book represents about 2/3rd, with the rest collecting short biographies of all past band members, and a track by track catalog with elements on each and every official KC studio track. All in all a treasure trove of information. The book may come across as slightly hagiographic, but I suppose you don't launch into a mammoth tome like this if you don't like the band in the first place. Smith tries to find a balance between the different viewpoints between ex- band members, particularly when it comes to the reputation of cold sociopath that Robert Fripp has garnered over the years. This was certainly my impression after having seen King Crimson at 50, but I think the book is a bit more forgiving here. Anyway, obviously, this is of no interest if you're not into King Crimson, and it is (I think) indispensable if you are.
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