To the Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles

by Marc Eliot

For the first time in paperback, and fully updated-the definitive history of the most popular rock-and-roll band of all time, the Eagles.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Rock N Roll, Pop Culture

394 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jennifer Ozawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The late Glenn Frey and Don Henley were not nice guys. They managed to write some of the defining music of the seventies, but they drove each other and everyone around them insane. This book details some of their antics. It also details some of the background industry wheelings and dealings that made The Eagles’ career possible. Four solid stars.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marc Eliotin "Eagles - Take It to the Limit" (Johnny Kniga, 2010) kuvaa 1970-luvun suurimpien rockyhtyeitten joukkoon kuuluneen Eaglesin kokaiininhuuruisia ja riitaisia vaiheita. Vaikka alku oli hieman vaikea, pääsi yhtye hitteihin käsiksi jätettyään kantrivaikutteita vähemmälle. Vuoden 1976 "Hotel California" muodostui yhtyeen merkittävimmäksi ja eniten myyneeksi albumiksi.

Seksi, päihteet ja kaikenlainen hedonismi leimasivat touhua. Suuret egot kolisivat vastakkain, bändin kokoonpano koki muutoksia ja loppusuoralle kääntyessään tarina alkoi saada melko surkuhupaisiakin käänteitä. Välillä meno yltyi kirjaimellisesti tappeluksi ("Vielä kolme biisiä ennen kuin hakkaan sinut", totesi Glenn Frey erään keikan yhteydessä Don Felderille) ja edessä oli vääjäämätön hajoaminen.

No, tarina sai jatkoa senkin jälkeen, mutta mitään kovin kiinnostavaa ei enää tapahtunut, vaikka kirjassa soolouria ja myöhempiä vaiheita kuvataankin piinallisen pitkään. Kirja onkin parhaimmillaan kuvatessaan 1970-luvun Los Angelesin musiikkiskeneä ja siinä vaikuttaneita hahmoja. Levyjä tekijä olisi voinut analysoida enemmänkin, mutta eipä hän musiikkitoimittaja taida ensisijaisesti ollakaan.

Eliot ei suoranaisesti sympatiseeraa yhtyettä, eikä siihen taida olla syytäkään, sen verran epämiellyttävältä touhu vaikutti. Lopussa kuvataan myös Don Henleyn pyrkimyksiä vaikeuttaa kirjan julkaisua, ja tässä vaiheessa myös kirjailija heittäytyy varsin ilkeäksi.

"Take It to the Limit" ei osoittautunut elämää suuremmaksi rokkikirjaksi. Se ei ole tarpeeksi analyyttinen tyydyttääkseen vakavampaa rockfania, mutta ei sisällä myöskään niin yksityiskohtaista räimellyksen kuvausta, että mehukkaiden sleaze-tarinoiden ystävä riemastuisi. Tulipahan kuitenkin luettua.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any fan of the Eagles or the Classic Rock artists of the area (Fleedwood Mac, etc.), an entertaining and in-depth chronicle of how the band came to be, their infamous falling out, and the sex, drugs and rock and roll in between.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a big Eagles fan growing up. Don Henley gave an interview in this book. His affair with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mack was interesting and informative. The rock and roll life of that era just didn't seem to come across. It wasn't anything special really. I gave the book 3 stars as I was an Eagles fan but I don't recommend this book to casual readers or anyone who is not familiar with the Eagles band.

[Boz Reacher]

Re-read for the purposes of research on my upcoming (unsolicited) 33 1/3 entry on G.F.’s No Fun Aloud, for which it was actually pretty much useless as Marc Eliot barely mentions Frey’s landmark solo debut, favoring instead Donald Henley’s firsthand play-by-play of the eighties. Henley was apparently the only Eagle who would talk to Eliot and they later got into a huge fight about some stuff Eliot included - but that’s a story for a different book (my Donald Henley biography, entitled [either predictably or inevitably] Dirty Laundry: A Life Of Donald Henley).

There’s still lots of good, juicy material here, like: These guys didn’t enjoy each other’s company quite as much as they enjoyed the sensation of being high on good cocaine.

[Simeon Readingape]

p. 129 "She became pregnant, and neither doubted Henley was the father. The "situation" was resolved quickly and quietly when Nicks, between tour dates, had an abortion. Although Henley did not try to force the issue, according to friends, she was deeply upset about what she considered his fast and easy consent to her decision. Nicks took it as Henley's way of saying he wasn't interested in any type of serious long-term commitment. As had become his pattern, in the beginning Henley played the ultimate Southern-charm gentleman - flowers, phone calls, words of love, Lear jets to Paris for romantic dinners. In the end he was distant, unreachable, brooding, argumentative, and elusive. It was a pattern by now so familiar to the Eagles crew it had become a running joke. Henley's favored method of seduction came to be known as "Love 'em and Lear 'em".

Years later, Henley had this to say about his affair with Nicks: "[Stevie had] named the unborn kid Sara, and she had an abortion." She then wrote the song of the same name (which became a huge hit for her) and, according to Henley, dedicated it "to the spirit of the aborted baby."

[Robert James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book due to the death of Glenn Frey. The Eagles are not one of my favorite bands but they are probably in my top twenty. I have great respect for the music produced in such a short span covering one great album, four very good albums and one mediocre album. This book says it presents the untold story but you can get most of the story from the 3 hour documentary currently on Netflix.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it I would highly let a music person read it

[Mary Dallenbach · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It was ridiculously biased to the point of re-writing history.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit tiresome in places, big gaps in others but still a reasonably decent take on one of my favorite bands.

[David M. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating insight into the music business, which is as chaotic as you might imagine. In fact, the endless swirl of bands forming, breaking up, reforming, fracturing and becoming parts of new bands can get a little confusing, but that does not detract from a really engrossing story at the heart of this book. The Eagles, especially Don Henley, don't come out of this looking particularly good, but there is no denying the massive impact they made on the music world. And despite the unpleasant and downright spiteful things Henley had to say, Marc Eliot is a powerful and emotive writer who does an incredible job of keeping this whirlwind of a story straight in his head and on the page.

[Leila Kern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. It’s too bad that some entertainers let their egos get in the way of entertaining! I love the Eagles but was very sad that the band members could not seem to get past “who’s on top” or “who’s the best”! Come on, you are a group. Groups should be working together to entertain their fans! All in all, the book was an eye opener but seemed to lean towards showcasing Don
Henley. But, in reading acknowledgements by the author, Don Henley was one of the few band members to provide more input to the book. Great songs came from the Eagles; I’m just very sad that the group ended the way it did.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a year of reading some excellent books, this one takes over the #1 spot. Very well written, insightful and a great read. Helps that the Eagles remain my favorite band but Marc Eliot takes you behind the scenes, how they started, how they partied, how they lived and their rise their break up, their return.

The book caps off with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as band/act #100. And the insights into how their songs morphed, the impact of the managers and relation with the record labels pulled back the curtains. Thanks for explaining and writing in a way that an absolute novice could understand.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on the band The Eagles with all the sex, drugs and rock and roll that came in that era. I knew there was a lot of jealousy and fighting between them which lead to the change in members and eventual breakup of the band but the details widened the picture of what happened. A lot of it was about Don Henley but he wad one if the few to actually grant an interview to Marc Eliot so that makes sense. I wish that the other members would have done the same to either confirm or deny others recollections of events.

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. the Eagles are one of my favorite bands. It is an interesting read as it was written 20 years ago covering their rise, breaking up and the reunion. The last 20 years has seen them continue to perform. Several good sources have been produced about the Eagles including a very good "History of the Eagles" documentary.

[Colin Cerniglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the most detailed account of the band out there. But the eyewash that Henley spills, and Elliot allows to be read, in this book, is truly mindblowing. Clearly, Henley curated all his responses to questions (this is before the witch hunt that Elliot describes in the updated version), and while that was probably more than good enough in the late 90s, in 2025, it makes you roll your eyes.

[Marilyn Hughes · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book about the music business and not enough about the Eagles themselves. What little written about them as people was almost wholly negative. It seems deservedly so. I lost respect for Eliot as a music author when he described John Lennon and Paul McCartney as 'one a legitimate, cerebral poet-rocker, the other committed to mindless commercial pop'. Really?

[Jeffrey Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Eagles. I liked their songs. "Hotel California" is still one of my favorite all-time songs. Eliot's book sheds light on the band's humble beginnings and their eventual demise. Don Henley comes across as a bit of a jerk and at times, as some reviewers have pointed out, the bio seems more about Henley and Glenn Frey as it is about the other band members. All in all, it was a good read.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty much a story on the record companies and producers of the 70's...not an interesting read overall...and what is related to the Eagles is mostly related to Don Henley and not even that was terribly meaningful, insightful or interesting...disappointed in this book

[Kittie Rehrig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved the Eagles since I was 12 years old so it was nice to learn about the musicians in the band. Unfortunately, I was really turned off by the amount of misogyny in the book. For me, it took away from the story.

[Chris Strangeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, particularly the parts about the actual history of the band (and not just the beginning part detailing the setting of LA) and the afterword, in which the author presents Don Henley as a really petty, vindictive person when it came to the publication of this book.

[Daphne Hanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers an engaging exploration of one of rock music's most iconic bands. Personal dynamics between band members and their creative processes are revealed, and it helps explain why they remain such an enduring legacy in the music world.

[Misty Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best biography of the band I have read so far.

Given the elusivity of the subjects, Eliot has done a great job, fearlessly researching and putting together an admirably comprehensive narrative. Undoubtedly there is more to discover, but I suspect it my be a while yet...

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, what a book
my love for these guys has always been strong
The talent they have, their harmony together
all the hits , it's incredible
the music I'll always love
the book goes deeper with
real life stories of the band
every step of the way in Glens words of the famous song
Take it Easy

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book, not just about the Eagles, but 70's music in general. I learned a lot. Very easy read.

[Bruce Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like to know the behind the scene stories about the band then you've found the right book. Worth the read.

[Michael Stetz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good stories, but a lot of which I’ve already heard.

You know your doing too much cocaine if “you blow your nose and your hankie looks like the flag of Japan” glen Frey

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really entertaining history of this great band warts and all with a real emphasis on getting the facts right and telling as true a tale as possible.

[Mark Bunch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good bio on The Eagles. the west coast LA band of the 1970s. This one tells the story in 3 parts-Desperados, Take it to the Limit, the End of Innocence.