A journalist who had unprecedented access to Guns n'Äô Roses at their peak delivers a big, brash history of the band'Äôs charismatic, fantastically talented and idiosyncratic leader'ÄîW. Axl RoseEven in the world of rock and roll, a figure like Axl Rose doesn'Äôt come along very often. ¬'  Mercurial and brilliant, deluded and imperious, Rose defies easy description or analysis. Few people have studied Rose as closely as Mick Wall has. ¬'  Traveling with Guns n'Äô Roses and writing about them in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Wall first earned Axl'Äôs trust and later his fury. ¬'  W.A.R. Goes back to the beginning, revealing Rose'Äôs childhood influences (and how he got his name) , and tracking the birth of the band and their¬' enormous success with albums like 'ÄúAppetite for Destruction'Äù and 'ÄúUse Your Illusion. 'Äù¬'  With fame and¬' money came substance abuse and infighting, and a lead singer who morphed from eccentric to seemingly unhinged. ¬'  Wall'Äôs book is richly detailed and offers surprising new views on some celebrated Guns 'Äôn Roses and Axl Rose incidents, including: --the death of two fans at a concert in Donington Park in England, --Rose'Äôs fall-out and eventual split¬' from every one of the other original Gn'ÄôR band members, --fights with perceived enemies like Kurt Cobain, Motley Crue'Äôs Vince Neil and fashion designer¬' Tommy Hilfiger, --Rose'Äôs consistent refusal to show up at concerts throughout his career, --Axl becoming a virtual recluse at his Malibu mansion for most of the past 15 years. ¬'  The book goes right up to the present, to explore why a new Guns n'Äô Roses'Äîwith a reconfigured band'Äîhas toured but still hasn'Äôt released their long-awaited album 'ÄúChinese Democracy'Äù, now¬' over a decade in the making¬' at a cost of over $13 million. W.A.R. Is about great music, bad relationships, and the public and private personas of one of the most controversial performers of our time.

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