I was severely tempted to buy this booo when I saw it at the British Library pop-up ship that went alongside their exhibition on the history of punk, but the hefty price tag and airline luggage restrictions put a quick damper on my need to purchase. Thankfully, I have excellent shopping karma and I scooped the neon-pink tome for a mere $6.00 from Value Village over the summer. Lugging it home down the hill may have been a trial, but it was so worth it. Like the Clash themselves, the book is a haphazard yet particularly arranged collection of insights, wit, and memories that recall their history from the beginnings in London to the eventual breakup from “creative differences.” I’m still only a burgeoning Clash fan (owning a mere 2 albums and constantly forgetting exactly which punk anthems are in their wheelhouse), but the more of them I seem to get the more I definitely want. Long live punk and long live the Clash! ( )

Selected interviews by the band chosen as memoir text for this large format photo book. Starts with the band members and then proceeds to the albums and tour legs. Strummer was born in Turkey and lived a few early years in Mexico, so he knows some Spanish. The Clash are direct descendants of the Sex Pistols and Peter Hook of Joy Division says that he copied Simonon's long bass strap for playing onstage. Book covers the genesis of the Sandinista album which happens to be my personal favorite. ( )

If you love the Clash, get this. ( )

Worth it just for the pix. A lot of the info is covered in the Joe Strummer doc, "The Future is Unwritten." ( )

Excellent coffee-table style book with "The Clash in their own words" through collections of interviews and contemporary articles. ( )