Customer Reviews

The Story of Good Charlotte

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Being a big GC fan, I bought this book the second I saw it. However, after reading all of its 94 (not 64) pages, I was quite disappointed because I already knew everything that was in it.

This book is pretty much targeted towards the "new" fans, the ones who want to learn most of the basic four-one-one on the band. If you're a pre-"Lifestyles" fan, then you'll most likely already know everything they tell you in here.

Something else that irk-ed me throughout my reading was that the book, like most media on the band, mainly focused on Benji and Joel.

It's a lovely book, Dough Small obviously did his research, but my overall opinion is, if you don't know much about the band, go for it, if not, just get it for the few exclusive pictures.

Also, some of the information in the book is wrong. Unauthorized books are tacky, don't waste your money.

i just bought this book yesterday and i read it all in one day..there were alot of things in there that i didn't even know about them and i have been a big fan of GC since their first cd came out.

i don't think that this book is targeted to "new fans or old fans" actually it is not targeted to anybody..there a lot of things in this book that even people who been fans for a very long time of GC even knew about..

i am so HAPPY that this book focuses more on the Madden twins..because first of all, they are the ones who started good charlotte, so they should have the spotlight.

the one thing that disapointed me was that there isn't enough pages..there were only like 94 pages..they should have made the book longer.

Hey, Eggplant, first of all let's hear you write down a few songs, ok? Why do people base their maturity level on how many people they can piss off? I read the book, it is good. I know that many people might not like it because GC has fulfilled their goals and they haven't but instead of hating GC for it; get a life, use their example and stop acting like middle school asses! Punk or not punk, GC have given us a lot of proof that if we want to acheive something, we can! So, again, chill!

Doug Small does a decent job of documenting the story of the band Good Charlotte in this book. He mostly focuses on the Madden twins: Joel and Benji. Despite being quite different in various ways, the brothers get along well and have often composed their songs together. Their father caused substantial hardship on the family when he abandoned them in 1995. Joel and Benji's mother and two other siblings struggled greatly when their father was no longer around to provide for the family. This abandonment definitely inspired some of the lyrics of the songwriting brothers. In spite of hard times, the brothers formed their band in Maryland and got their start there.

The author lists numerous concerts played by Good Charlotte in the U.S. and abroad. He gives dates and places for many of their shows as well as other bands they toured with. Many black and white photos appear throughout the book as well as a few color shots. The Good Charlotte website was one source used by Small to garner information for this book. But he also produces numerous good quotes from various interviews the band members gave along the way.

Mr. Small portrays GC favorably throughout the book. The guys go out of their way to treat their fans well and keep ticket prices low. They have also helped out various charities along the way. Small shows the twins to be positive and inspirational as they try to help young fans cope with high school. Good Charlotte is clearly not the manufactured band some skeptics make it out to be.

Besides discussing the band's albums, this book also describes the bands involvement with the movies "American Wedding" and "Not Another Teen Movie".

As far as info about the other three band members, this book is rather sparse. But this volume is still worth having if a person is seeking to learn about Good Charlotte. The author shows they are a band who have earned their success and should have a bright future.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Story of Good Charlotte", the 2003 "unofficial and unauthorized" biography by Doug Small (Omnibus Press). Rather than some of what I've read about GC that seems to have been written for a blurb in a pre-teen magazine, this 64-page book is very well written from beginning to end. The author hasn't "dumbed-it-down" for his readers. Yet, it's still easy to read and flows well from chapter to chapter. The author also pays close attention to details providing specific dates, names, locations, venues, and so on related to the band and their history. Because of the author's excellent attention to details, it would seem to me that this book was written by a true music fan, if not a follower of the band. There are six full color photos in additions to dozens more black and white photos. I highly recommend this book to any Good Charlotte fan!

I thought personally it was a very good book. Being a big fan ever since they're first CD came out, I appreciated this book alot. Although the main focus is on the twins it also has alot of info and quote from Paul and Billy. The only thing I was disappointed about was the fact that some of the information was wrong in the book. On one of the pgs (don't wanna search for it..), it mentions on how great NFG and GC are friends. Yeah that true and all, and the lead singer on NFG has the GC tattoo, but it mentions that Billy has a NFG tattoo on his lower leg. That is wrong. Benji is the one who has the tattoo which you can cleary see in alot of pictures. That was the only part of the book that really made me raise a eye brow cause obviously the guy who wrote it never did his homeowrk. Over all it was a great book and I urge GC fans to run out and buy it, you won't regret it.

....No one's better than no one... Good Charlotte is not better than the haters, and vice versa. Sarah, you need to chill.... Basically, don't buy this book; because everything in this book you already know. Buy this book if you saw them on TRL and think they are so cool and the best band ever after you heard two of their songs or...saw the twins and thought they were so hot, then this book is yours..read..learn.

After a breif background on the band (except there is NO background on ANY of the drummers!!!)and a little about "Live Freaky, Die Freaky", The rest is pretty much an adverisment for the Warped Tour, and the book tells where else they've toured. So the text is a little boring, and you could find 99.9% of the text on the net (hehe... "Bengay Incident"). But there are a few pages of COLOR photos (you even get a little glimpse of Joels' camo boxers!) and lots of amazing hard-to-find pix of the guys, like Paul playing in front of the White House (by far one of the koolest GC pix I've seen) and the only pic I've I've seen of Billy giving the camera the middle-finger. P.S. Amazon has a great deal! I got it for $13 at the overrated/overpriced, Hot Topic!

The book is great so all you haters shutup because your all jealous that Good Charlotte rocks and your all a bunch of losers who have nothing better to do than complain. So get a real life. try to prove your better than Good Charlotte!

My friend got this book and didn't want to write a review, so I am doing it for her. She really liked the book because she didn't know a lot about the twins. But I really wanted to learn more about Paul, Billy, and Chris. Because.... Well, the twins are everywhere and the other guys don't get a lot of the spot light. So, if you just want to know more about the twins, then I suggest you try to get it. If you want to know more about the band, I think you should buy it just for the pictures. :)