Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd

Excellent book! The complete, (or as good as), history of Floyd, as per Nick Mason's view/memory etc. The book was thoroughly enjoyable - Mason is very witty; I was chuckling many a time throughout. He comes across as an English gentleman. He is both honest, too modest frankly, as well as descriptive. Songs, albums, tours, studios, relationships, artwork - it's covered here. I still feel, however, the full story behind Waters' and Gilmour's very strained relationship hasn't been told, although the gist of it is certainly here. That aside, I was hooked from the outset. I don't often fly through books quickly, preferring to take my time however, once in a while I read a book like this and finish it very quickly. The book is that interesting. Any fans of the band need it, (by now, most probably do!) however, any classic rock fan can pick this up, as it paints a picture of the business, from the early touring days in a dodgy car, to the planes and mega stadiums of latter day Floyd; from artwork design discussions to stage and gear talk. It's all here.

I'm only a causal fan of Pink Floyd, though would recommend this book. Easy reading and covers the early days, rise to fame and major disputes well. Made me want to read more rock bios.

Nick Mason has been with Pink Floyd from the beginning - through all the band's incarnations and troubles. He makes a genial host in his biography of the band, yet he proves too easygoing and unconfrontational to give us much analysis of the internal politics (and problems with Syd) that have periodically torn the relationships between the four/five-some apart. Added to that, Syd apart, the Floyd appear to have been about the only band that didn't turn up, tune in and drop out in the late 60s and 70s, continuing their studies and gigging hard until it became impossible to maintain both when their musical success started to take off. My real exposure to Pink Floyd started off with Dark Side - I had the posters on my wall and the stickers on my school binder. It was lovely to imagine them tinkering around to produce all the sound effects, and funny to hear that they rejected Paul McCartney's recorded comments for the background. The four albums starting with Dark Side, running through to the Wall were hugely influential to me - I discovered the charms of Meddle later. There is a theatricality about these four - from a band determined to create coherent albums and give the audience a good show. Of course by the time of Wall, the show was everything - I was so jealous of my brother who went to see it at Earls Court. What does come through is that Mason although not a flashy drummer was, like Ringo, incredibly important to the music, and also in the studio and outside kept the peace. Being a non-songwriter, it helps that Mason has another obsession in motorsport, but this is mostly mentioned in passing, letting Pink Floyd rightfully star. Given the sad passing of Syd and now Rick, we may never hear their side of the story and how they were forced out. The Live8 reunion was a fitting coda to the Pink Floyd story and is added as an afterword in the latest edition. So this remains an entertaining and light read of the history of one of the greatest rock bands in the world.

I had heard good things about this book - other reviewers, both professional and amateur have praised Mason's honesty and humour so I started on the book with high hopes. Too many memoirs seem little more than ego stoking self justification, designed only to show their authors in the best possible light. Well, hooray! This was exactly the book I'd heard great things about. Little egotism here, I soon warmed to Mason's self-deprecating, open and honest writing style. I was aware that from the earliest days Nick Mason had been recording events, whether as diaries, scrapbooks or whatever. He has done a great job sharing the history of the band with honesty and humour, it was very funny and irreverent of the band that some people take far too seriously. I read this book back-to-back with Mark Blake's band history and they complimented each other very well. Both were excellent books and thoroughly recommended.

There are a few Pink Floyd books out there but this is the best I've read. An honest insight into the history of the band from long time drummer Nick Mason. For all the problems and disagreements between the four guys over the years Nick writes as if almost an outsider, not taking sides, not making judgments but just stating the facts in a well organized timeline from the days of Sid Barret to the date of print. A truly fascinating insight into the workings of a touring rock band and he really does hang out all the dirty washing as well as all the fun and glamour of the band at the height of there fame. If you are a fan of Pink Floyd you will love this book!

I can only reccomend this book. Being a Drummer myself and a lifelong Floyd fan i found it Brilliant. NO -it doesn't tell the whole story but it comes close and Nick Mason is extremely funny. I surprised my wife several times by laughing out loud when i read it the first time. It is sad at times when he tells the story of Syd's downward spiral into drug land and very funny when he tell stories from their early concerts (the audience was in such a chemically altered state that they found watching paint dry not only interesting but significant) but above all it is the story of one of the greatest rock bands in the last 40 or so years told by one of the two that stayed all the way (the other is Rick Wright).

Un livre incontournable pour ceux qui aiment les Pink Floyd, et/ou en général le rock anglais des années 60/70. Compte-rendu riche, passionnant et enrichissant ; beaucoup de photos, même rares, de très bonne qualité.

Not your average band biography. If you're looking for stories of Rock N Roll excess and debauchery, this is not your book. Nick covers the history of the music they created and gives credit to many that helped make the magic happen. His writing style and sense of humor make it engaging, fun, and very informative.

Even though it was a little bit expensive, it was absolutely worth it, with an iteresting story and a great index.

Excellent service. Booked as advertised (if not better) and arrived fast. Thank you. This is a great book for Floyd fans. Nick's writing is witty and his recollection of events is amazing. His self-depreciating humor and sincerity are gripping. I didn't expect to laugh as much as I did.

This is a must-read for any Pink Floyd fan. Written beautifully and authentically, with a real sense of humour. You won’t find out why Nick loves playing the drums, but if you ever wondered why Roger is so strange and what really happened after The Wall… this book is for you.