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When I bought this book a few months ago, I couldn't really get into it so I decided to let it "mature" on a shelf for a while.  When I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago, I found I could hardly put it down!

This official biography covers the Iron Maiden history covers the period from Steve Harris' pre-Maiden days up to a few weeks before the release of Virtual XI, the second and last Maiden album with singer Blaze Bailey.  Being an official biography, this is not a book based on hearsay (or very little) or rumors of unknown origins.  The author interviewed all current and most former band members, as well as Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood.

So the result is a very detailed history of one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all times (yeah, I'm a Maiden fan :)), including each band member's history (from their childhood up to their Maiden days and beyond), how each album came into existence, touring experiences, how the band handled conflicts and departures, especially Adrian Smith's and Bruce Dickinson's, which together surely affected the band the most.

The book ends with Steve Harris' description of the songs that would later be found on Virtual XI... We all know what would follow less than a year later... (Now playing: Iron Maiden - Brave New World. :))

This book is simply excellent, I recommend it to any Maiden fans or anyone interested in their story, which is nothing short of fascinating.