Life in the Fast Lane: The Eagles’ Reckless Ride Down the Rock & Roll Highway

Wall (Like a Bat Out of Hell) plows through the familiar story of the slow rise, the drug-fueled triumph, and the inevitable decline in this book about the Eagles. Beginning with the germination of soft country rock, the book describes how core Eagles members guitarist Glenn Frey and drummer/vocalist Don Henley bonded when they played in in Linda Ronstadt’s band in 1971. The Eagles’ first, self-named album in 1972 produced three hit singles. After the less commercially successful Desperado in 1973, the band became rock-oriented with the addition of guitarists Don Felder and Joe Walsh. The group won Grammy Awards for “Hotel California,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “New Kid in Town,” “How Long,” “I Dreamed There Was No War,” and “Heartache Tonight.” After six albums, they disbanded in 1980. The book rushes through the next four decades of sporadic reunions and one album of new material in the book’s final chapters. Writing in an off-the-cuff style, Wall adds little to the already substantial material published about the Eagles, notably Marc Eliot’s To the Limit and Don Felder’s Heaven and Hell.