This was a pretty good read. I've been a Sammy fan since Standing Hampton came out. I saw him on a midwest tour when I was in 8th Grade and he put on an amazing show. The only person I've seen put on as energetic a show was Lenny Kravitz when he opened for the Cult at Hampton Coliseum.
This book managed to capture his energy. It's not always a coherent account, but it flows well.
I read it in one sitting and it was like spending a night sitting there listening to him tell the story of his life.
If it was anybody but Sammy, it might come across as a little bitchy and gossipy. His reputation as a straight shooter lends a credibility to the narrative that appealed to me. He manages to avoid sounding bitter about situations where he was treated poorly. His attitude is amazing. He wanted to be a rock star and he made it happen. I like the guy even more after reading Red.
The two high points of the book for me personally were when he mentioned jamming with Lemmy from Motorhead and Lemmy wanted to play "Rock Candy" with him. Pretty freaking cool! The other was when he described meeting his second wife. This was cool to me because I was at that Van Halen show at Hampton Coliseum when she came to see him. Alice in Chains opened and they were pretty good, but no one can match Sammy's energy on stage.
There are two reasons I couldn't give it 5 stars. It's very conversational in tone, like it was a transcription of a conversation. It rambles a bit, which both adds to the feeling that he's telling the story, and detracts from the narrative flow. The other reason is that it just wasn't as good as Alice Cooper: Golf Monster which I did give 5 stars.
If you like Sammy or are curious about the Van Halen/Hagar split you should read this book.
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