Editorial Review
The members of Led Zeppelin are major deities in the pantheon of rock gods. The first and heaviest of the heavy metal monsters, they violently shook the foundations of rock music and took no prisoners on the road. Their tours were legendary, their lives were exalted—and in an era well known for sex and drugs, the mighty Zeppelin set an unattainable standard of excess and mythos for any band that tried to follow them. They were power, they were fantasy, they were black magic. No band ever flew as high as Led Zeppelin or suffered so disastrous a fall. And only some of them lived to tell the tale.
Hammer of the Gods is the New York Times bestselling epic saga of the hard reign of Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham—a spellbinding, electrifying, no-holds-barred classic of rock 'n' roll history that has now been updated to include the continuing adventures of the band.
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Customer Reviews
The Heavy Led Zeppelin Trip 
2008-01-16
There are few bands that have achieved the musical heights of the four Englishmen known as Led Zeppelin. Songs like Whole Lotta Love, Stairway To Heaven, Kashmir and Black Dog are staples of young and old, charts and radio; catchiness and memorability. Similarly, very few bands have had as much popularity, mystique, innuendo or power attributed to them as the folk and blues hard rock legends.
While the roots, music, business dealings and concerts of the band are present and discussed Led Zeppelin's hedonistic travails and fantastic romps through America and Europe are what Hammer Of The Gods (a phrase brought to contemporary consciousness by Friedrich Nietzsche and heard in the 1970 song Immigrant Song) is largely focused on.
If reports are true much of the book's information and insider tips stem from the band's roadie and tour manager Richard Cole, in addition to the information collected, and chronologically presented, from press and public sources. Given Richard Cole's role and vocation Hammer Of The Gods is riddled with stories of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll as well as concert grosses and tour itineraries and exploits. Much of the information might be both exaggerated and shrouded in the daze of yesteryears memory, but Hammer Of The Gods is a fast and interesting read on the band and its habits. Singer Robert Plant, who is presented as a debauched sex symbol, says as much in a post-publication quotation attributed to him in later editions. Guitarist Jimmy Page, who was the band's main composer, is seen as a semi-junkie with a lust for young girls and magick, drummer John Bonzo as an affable drunk drummer who beat the drums harder than anybody while bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones is both absent and, perhaps by implication, more serene.
There are other books out there on Led Zeppelin - including one by Richard Cole called Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored - but it is hard to imagine a more interesting read on the legendary Brits than this - warts, booze, groupies and all.
Armadillos in their Trousers 
2007-12-29
I used to listen to Led Zep in high school, and until the release of Mothership and the publicity surrounding the reunion concert I never knew anything about the band. This book was a totally enjoyable read and a good overview of the band's history. I came away with an image of the band members as four vibrant and dynamic individuals. Their story is a fascinating one, and I'll enjoy their music even more now.
As Overblown as the Band Itself 
2007-12-28
Davis' profile of Led Zepplin is probably a reliable protrait of the band. If you are like me and you don't care too much for Led Zep music, you will still find the book an interesting read as a slice of pop culture history and biography of at least one fairly interesting guy (Jimmy Page).
Davis' use of language is sometimes preposterously overblown. His diction is sometimes questionable, too, as when he describes Bonham flying into a rage. Bonham "apotheosized into the Beast." (Here you have an example of both hyperbole and poor diction.)
The book is filled with this type of writing, which makes it exciting to read while casting a shadow of doubt as to its veracity.
Davis doesn't call Page out on his affected interest in black magic and sorcery. Davis seems to take it all seriously. The other side of that story is Page was a young man, in his 20s, with excess cash and a deficit in maturity, dabbling in a silly hobby.
Overall, this was a good read for the uninitiated. A bit of a guilty pleasure really.
Fast, interesting read about a great band 2007-11-23
I read 'Hammer of the Gods' in one day. It's an easy read, and a fun one. I'm not a Led Zeppelin expert by any means, so any inaccuracies would have gone right over my head. However, I did read the other reviews on Amazon and realize that perhaps the book is a bit skewed by the dependence on the memory of Richard Cole, who seems to like to drop the F-bomb as many times in each quote as possible and to go for maximum shock value.
That being said, it's a fun read, with plenty of info on how the group formed, its members, the creation of the Zep sound, how they created an image that was hard to live down, etc. The author also traces the origins of the music back to the Blues and does a nice job showing how the 'Devil's Music' made its way from the Southern US into the repertoire of white boys from England.
Perhaps not definitive, but still lots of fun to read, this book gives you a good overview of personalities, music, and the history of the group.
Book 2007-10-27
"Hammer of the Gods" is very informative as to the organizing and musical abilities of the group members. It gets a little bogged down describing the tours and damage done by various members of the entourage. I think more emphasis could have been made on the creative influences, although these are mentioned in some detail. An interesting read.
a look into the power and magic of Led Zepplin 2007-07-28
The members of Led Zeppelin are major deities in the pantheon of rock gods. The first and heaviest of the heavy metal monsters, they violently shook the foundations of rock music and took no prisoners on the road. Their tours were legendary, their lives were exalted—and in an era well known for sex and drugs, the mighty Zeppelin set an unattainable standard of excess and mythos for any band that tried to follow them. They were power, they were fantasy, they were black magic. No band ever flew as high as Led Zeppelin or suffered so disastrous a fall. And only some of them lived to tell the tale.
Hammer of the Gods is the New York Times bestselling epic saga of the hard reign of Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham—a spellbinding, electrifying, no-holds-barred classic of rock 'n' roll history that has now been updated to include the continuing adventures of the band.
Must read for Zeppelin fans... 2007-07-05
I don't understand the criticisms of this book. Sure, there are some lurid details of Zeppelin's hooligan antics. Yes, they were surrounded (manipulated?) by opportunistic thugs who were major contributors to the mayhem and excess that filled the wake of their road shows. True, one of these thugs (Richard Cole) is quoted more frequently than any other source in the book. But, taken with a grain of salt, this book tells the story and gives more insight into its principals than any other book I've read. It's very readable and even adds a chapter which follows the surviving members through the 90's.
If you want a book that focuses on Zep's music, influences, and musical context (and skips the antics), try Keith Shadwick's excellent 2005 book. It's well researched and more cerebral but a much more difficult read and gives much less insight into the people that made up the band.
THE book on Led Zep 2007-06-01
This is absolutely THE book about Led Zeppelin. It fills in the cracks and digs for more.
It never gets tired or old. EVER!
great rock n' roll story 2007-02-17
I am a huge Led Zepp fan; that aside I really enjoyed this book. It gives you all the details about the band, their triumphs, and tragedies. It describes Rock and Roll excess like no other. It is never dull or dry, and is very well written. Probably the best book on Led Zeppelin. If you are a Led Zepp fan, then this is the book for you.
Good read 2007-02-01
Davis did his research and wrote a workmanlike book. Nothing wrong, but no literary "fireworks" thus 4 of 5 stars.
