Green Day: The Ultimate Unauthorized History

by Alan di Perna

Formed in California’s East Bay in 1987 by a 15-year-old guitar player named Billie Joe Armstrong and his bass-playing friend Mike Dirnt (later joined by drummer Tre Cool), Green Day has risen from the Bay Area’s underground rock scene to become one of the world’s most popular bands. Lauded for bringing punk rock to the masses, Green Day’s remarkable rise from teenage garage band to multi-platinum artists is documented here for the first time to coincide with the band’s 25th anniversary.Author and frequent Guitar World contributor Alan di Perna, who has interviewed Green Day’s three members several times, offers readers and fans a complete band history, from their formation and first gigs in Berkeley, California, and signing to the Lookout! label through their highs and lows, eight studio releases (including the opening salvo 39/Smooth , the door-opening Dookie , the less well-received Warning , and more), the critically acclaimed Broadway show American Idiot , and their latest recording and film efforts. Di Perna’s revealing text is accompanied by more than 300 visuals, including concert and candid off-stage photography, gig posters and handbills, 7-inch picture sleeves, rare vinyl, backstage passes, and more, all presented in a stunningly designed package.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Derek Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome! I thought I knew most everything there was to know about them, but I was wrong. Mr di Perna did make a mistake early in the book though - he said Mike was born in '74. All members of the trio were born in '72!

[Nick Nordstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 - Learned a lot of new things about the band, gained lots of new appreciation for some songs, and discovered others I wasn’t familiar with. While it contained lots of great stories, the book never felt like it stayed on one topic long enough for me to feel satisfied, it would jump to the next section of the band’s story when I was still invested in the previous era, since we had spent such little time going into it. I guess I would have liked more of a deep dive, I felt a lot of it was quite surface level. The flipping back and forth between “Billie” and “Billy” was quite irritating as well, especially for a book which primarily focuses on him.

[Jenn G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was EVERYTHING. I can't believe it took me so long to read it! It's was amazing. The pictures were beautiful, I learned a lot of new things about my favorite band and it makes me wanna read it all over again while listening to the songs it talked about! If you are a Green Day fan READ THIS BOOK!!!!

[Arsala · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Mark R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guitar World writer Alan di Perna conducted several interviews with the members of Green Day, between 1994 and 2012, roughly. The information he got from those interviews largely makes up the content of this unauthorized biography.

It makes for a visually appealing coffee table book, filled with color photos of the band, album artwork, tour flyers, etc. It's also a well-written history and musical critique--albeit one from a writer who clearly thinks the sun never goes down on Green Day.

Thanks to di Perna's book, I learned a few things I didn't previously know about the biggest punk band of the 90s, and may have even gained more of an appreciation for some of what I'd consider their lesser works.

[GuitarGirl2000 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! It is highly recommended for any GD fan!