It Crawled from the South: An R.E.M. Companion

by Marcus Gray

Book Overview

Now in its second edition, It Crawled from the South is an encyclopedic, non-linear, mostly non-hagiographic book about those enigmatic guys from Athens, Georgia. Marcus Gray furnishes thumbnail... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306807513
• ISBN13: 9780306807510
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 542 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

In a league of it's own

Beyond compare. Aside, obviously, from his accomplishments in ammassing a wealth of information and trivia the chief outstanding feature of the book is the author's ability to convey his admiration and enthusiasm for the band while remaining somehow detatched and clear-sighted enough to criticise and poke fun of them. Volumes of this sort are typically so laden by melodramatic praise that the fawning writer makes his work unreadable. In short 'It Crawled From the South', is not only a break from the norm, but is also a spectacular piece when viewed out of context and in isolation.

take a picture here; take a souvenir

The one word that comes to mind when I think of It Crawled From the South is "tome." It is a massive collection of REM-emorabilia, as opposed to a chronological history (a definitive REM-ography has yet to be written). I actually managed to sit down and read the whole thing like a novel when it first came out a few years ago. It has much more information about the band than any other book. It has no rival, even. The man who wrote it clearly loves their music and his passion really comes through loud and clear. And I guess that's what you're looking for when it comes to any book.

A must read for any R.E.M. fan

Gray does a spectacular job, covering everything about the band, history, lyrics, even alternate names. Best of all are the very informative chapters on the lyrics. A great vaction read for students. It goes quickly despite its length.

Much Improved 2nd ed.

Vastly improves over the rambling 1st edition. Not so many annoying allusions and insights by the author and an index to boot. Less pictures though. Solidifies its place as the definitive work.

The R.E.M. book, Period.

A wonderful resource. Can be used as a reference, or novel-type of a read. Covers everything you wanted to know about R.E.M. and more. The revised edition is wonderfully thorough and well-researched. This is the R.E.M. Bible.