Author | Mick Wall |
---|---|
Language | English |
Subject | Biography |
Publisher | Orion |
Publication date
|
October 2008 |
Media type | Print (Paperback) |
Pages | 520 pp |
ISBN | |
OCLC | 233788361 |
When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin is a book written by Mick Wall, published in 2008. It is a biography of the English rock band Led Zeppelin.
The book tells the life stories of the band's members. The narrative of Led Zeppelin is told through a mixture of prose and interview excerpts. It was based partly on interviews which were conducted by Wall with all the surviving members of the band.
Following the release of this publication, former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page reportedly threatened to sue its author over the book's contents. According to Page:
Wall’s just writing a book designed to cash in on something he didn’t have anything to do with. He wasn’t a creative force in Led Zep. I’m at something of a disadvantage because I haven’t chosen to read that book, but I hear it’s totally distorted from people who do know about Led Zeppelin.
Reviewer Matt Slaybaugh of The Agit Reader criticized the book for its writing and italicized internal monologue sections, where Wall interpreted band member's thoughts by retelling a story in a second-person narrative, concluding "There may not be a better book about Led Zeppelin out there, but there’s got to be a less irritating one."