This journal of the "Grateful Dead of punk rock" is well-paced, streamlined, and tautly built. It pulses home its main point with fierce precision: that the durable yet quirky band has earned a place in the annals of rock'n'roll history. The book chronicles the lives of the band members with a cold eye, depicting everything from the tragic flaws (drug addiction, personality disorders) to their dedication to their style of music: three-chord punk rock songs that so viscerally capture the teenage angst of suburban youth. The author argues that the Ramones symbolize the breakout from the stranglehold of disco music and the salvation from the self-congratulatory babbling of progressive rock (e.g., bands like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer and YES). The Ramones recaptured the essence of rock'n'roll, and their rewards included a feature film ( Rock'n'Roll High School , 1979). Inspiring and often hilarious, this book is appropriate for libraries with extensive music or rock history collections. — Library Journal
On the whole, it makes for enjoyable reading, even though you may know a lot of it already. It’s refreshing to have it written down in one place and in chronological order. Reading “An American Band” is a bit like watching the Titanic in that you know it’s not going to end well. — Skate and Annoy
