The Story of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock

by Susan Masino

Let There Be Rock is the story of AC/DC written by rock journalist Susan Masino, who met the band during their first American tour in 1977. Over the years, she remained in contact with them, watching AC/DC climb to international stardom. Since 1977, Susan has interviewed the band many times and their friendship has lasted nearly three decades. Now she tells the true story of AC/DC's illustrious career and how they became one of the true great rock 'n' roll bands in history. The book traces the band s history, from their beginnings in Sydney, Australia in the early 1970s to trail-blazing the U.S. mainstream to the devastating death of lead singer Bon Scott in 1980. The band pulled together and rebounded to the top of the charts with new front man, Brian Johnson and the watershed album, Back in Black. Through it all, AC/DC continues their quest to build a legion of new fans in the 21st century.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Gernot1610 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leider eine Wort für Wort Übersetzung, das Ganze liest sich wie ein Schulaufsatz eines Zehnjährigen Legasthenikers.

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bin da zweigespalten. Zum Einen war das eine Reise in die Vergangenheit und ich konnte viele tolle Erinnerungen wiederaufleben lassen.
Zum Anderen hatte ich mir mehr versprochen. Es gibt mir zu viele Aufzählungen von Tourdaten und Setlists. Ich hatte gehofft das eine Musikjournalistin mit direktem Draht zur Band ein paar mehr Interviews und Anekdoten hat, aber hier war das eher ein Erlebnisbericht der Autorin. Bin selber Fan, das braucht sie mir nicht verkaufen :-D.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a history of the popular Australian hard rock band AC/DC by American rock journalist Susan Masino. It chronicles the group from their inauspicious beginnings in the early 1970s to the megastars they had become by its publication in 2006.

Unfortunately, the book reads more like a 200-page fangirl crush than a serious chronicle of one of the most successful rock bands in Australia’s history. There are a few extensive passages describing when Masino meets the band, but they mostly talk about how full of awe she is. Considering that the author knows the band personally, interviewed them multiple times, had a direct line to them through a roadie she was friends with, and is a professional writer, there are surprisingly few intimate details. We learn almost nothing about the band members’ upbringing, personal lives, or creative process, and what little is presented here is already common knowledge without a book. Most of the text consists of the band’s recordings and gig dates, interspersed with quotes from the music press and a few brief anecdotes about band shenanigans and concert mishaps, all liberally peppered with unnecessary personal opinion and weak one-liner jokes.

Even worse, this short book is full of factual errors that would be easy to check. The first time Masino refers to iconic Australian music TV programme Countdown, she says it is “a British television show”. She calls its host “Ian ‘Molly’ Medlum” (his real name is “Meldrum”). She cites 1821 as the year British convicts first arrived in Australia (the real date is 1788). She refers to Swedish pop group ABBA as “Abba” (I’m sure she wouldn’t tolerate her subject being called “Ac/dc” and anyway, as a music journalist, she should know better). She calls the Australian postal service “Australian Post” (its real name is “Australia Post”). She can’t even get the names of all the band’s songs correct, calling one hit track both “Money Talks” and “Moneytalks”. The text contains dozens of grammar and spelling mistakes that such an experienced writer should not be making, and even if she did, her editor should have picked them up. You could argue that this kind of precision is not what fans are looking for in a band biography, and you’re probably right. But that’s not the point. A lack of attention to detail disturbs the reading experience and makes you wonder what else she got wrong.

I’m not a big fan of the band, but I’m interested in pop culture and in this book, I was hoping for a good grounding in AC/DC’s career with some insider information from a veteran insider rock journalist who would make it more interesting. Instead, this book feels more like a first draft, a long outline of the book with the irrelevancies yet to be removed and the good bits still to be fleshed out.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susan's love for the band truly shines in this educational rock tribute. What an incredible life these guys have lived, and to learn that they are actually kind humans as well makes me so happy. Saw them April 2025 in Vancouver BC and glad I did. Thanks for the memories, to the band and the author.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for all ACDC fans. The last 20 pages were uninformative.

[Piper Winchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

King's!
First book on the band and I loved being part of the ride.

[Rafaey Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here, other than the author's personal stories. The rest seems like an abridged retelling of better, longer biographies.

[Eric W W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really cool. It is about AC/DC. It tells about the band's history. It also talks about the members of the band's lives. It is really interesting. It goes into detail about the band's early life. It tells about how they came to be as a band and all about every one of their albums.

I think this book was great because it was about a great band. I listen to this band more than any other band. They play some good high voltage rock'n'roll. I liked how they were telling about all the unique stuff that the band does. I also liked reading about some of the crazy and funny stuff they enjoy doing. They even told about when Malcolm Young (AC/DC's rhythm guitarist) got in a barfight with Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath's bassist) when they were on tour together. I love this book.

[Ilya Puchkousky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Когда покупал эту книгу на лотке Книжного рынка, вдруг подумал, ну что может написать женщина о великой группе? Но руки уже отдавали деньги. Прочитал быстро, хорошо, что страниц не много и шрифт крупный. ))) Мое мнение книга откровенно слабая, построенная на домыслах и общеизвестных фактах. Больше половины написанного я либо где-то уже читал, либо слышал. Причем моими источниками не были статьи женщины-журналиста по имени Сьюзан Масино. Возможно, Амфора решила заработать на данном издании, уповая на всеядность фанатов группы и на малые отчисления автору. Я не знаю. Но это ненужность.

[Adriane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for those who want all the minutiae about the band, set lists, old tour dates, etc. It reads more like an encyclopedia than an autobiography, which got a little tedious for me, as did so many of the author's personal asides.

[Rodrigo Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

All salute Bon Scott! Let there be rock!

[Steven Spoelstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good biography about the band. Sort of out to date now but some great info.

[Zé Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Algumas das histórias são interessantes outras nem por isso.

[Ciro Alves Nolasco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt like it was a long list of shows and not-so-interesting information sometimes with a good story. Didn't was too fond of the parts that the author put herself in the story too.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

i freaking love ac/dc