Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division
An NPR Best Book of 2013 (NPR)A SPIN Best Music Book of 2013 (Spin)The most colorful and intimate account of Joy Division ever written . . . Hook evokes the spirit of the age with a bluff authenticity that no outsider could hope to emulate&#8230;explaining the creation of his band&#8217;s remarkable music with all the passion and insight it deserves. (Keith Cameron, MOJO)&#8220;A bittersweet, profanity-filled recollection of their brief existence . . . recalled with Hook&#8217;s winning Manc gallows humor . . . If you like Joy Division you really have to read it.&#8221; (Ian Harrison, Q Magazine)&#8220;An immense account of Joy Division&#8217;s rise, cataloguing the group&#8217;s struggle for recognition, their rapidly gained superiority on the Manchester scene and the epic numbness following Ian Curtis&#8217; shock suicide. Having read Hook&#8217;s book, you&#8217;ll feel like you were he fifth member of the band.&#8221; (GQ (UK))&#8220;It&#8217;s a window like no other into the reality of life in this most aloof of bands.&#8221; (Metro London)&#8220;Vivid, funny, and unexpectedly touching, Peter Hook&#8217;s memoir strips away the shroud of myth surrounding Joy Division to offer a refreshingly gritty perspective on the story of four ordinary young men who together made extraordinary music.&#8221; (Simon Reynolds, author of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-84)&#8220;Unflinchingly honest . . . Hook peels away the romantic sheen colored by its dark history and gives unfettered insight into the band&#8217;s origins and inspirations . . . this is required reading for anyone who ever felt moved by Joy Division&#8217;s cold, dark music.&#8221; (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))&#8220;A tiny gem written by a monster musician. It&#8217;s the best document yet to be produced on Joy Division. There&#8217;s nothing like hearing the story straight from Hooky&#8217;s foul mouth.&#8221; (Rock Cellar Magazine)&#8220;Honest, punchy, and rough-hewn . . . a portal into a vivid moment in rock history . . . the life and times of a working band . . . and, in the middle of it all, the transformative power of music.&#8221; (Los Angeles Times). The passages where Hook details the recording of the Unknown Pleasures album are fantastic and insightful . . . . the book itself is gorgeous. . . (A.V. Club, The Onion)&#8220;A surprisingly funny-and gleefully profane-portrait.&#8221; (Entertainment Weekly)&#8220;Rich in detail.&#8221; (LA Weekly)&#8220;A comprehensive, illuminating portrait of the band that often takes the piss out of its doom-ridden legacy.&#8221; (Cincinnati City Beat)&#8220;Intimate.&#8221; (San Francisco Chronicle)&#8220;Like talking to a bawdy uncle after his fourth beer. Apparently being in the saddest post-punk art-goth band in history can occasionally be pretty fucking funny.&#8221; (MTV Hive)With Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division fans can finally hear the band&#8217;s story from someone who was there from the very beginning-iconic bassist Peter Hook.&#8221; (SF Weekly)You don&#8217;t have to be a hardcore fan of Joy Division or New Order to appreciate Hook&#8217;s wry evocation of Britain&#8217;s 1970s punk scene and his street-level remembrance of the tragedy and ecstasy . . . that went into building the foundation for the next few decades&#8217; alternative rock scene. (Neda Ulaby, NPR Best Books of the Year)