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"The volume of detail across 368 pages - richly illustrated with beautiful black-and-white photos - is truly astonishing...a rigorous...portrait that rarely falls into the hagiography trap." - Record Collector

"Impressive research, turning up material that expands the history entertainingly... loaded with episodes that are fascinating, revealing or simply fun." - Blurt

"Unterberger pulls together a mass of contemporary reviews and reportage, with sources ranging from the mainstream media to obscure critics...He's particularly good at tying up odd historical detail." - The Wire

"Richie Unterberger, a terrific researcher whose Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Rolland Unreleased Beatles are rock-nerd catnip, has assembled the definitive Velvets biography in White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day." -- Austin American-Statesman

"The day-by-day or "chronicle" format is one that has served rock writers well for as long as anyone can remember. But no one ever sits down and actually reads one of these books cover to cover-that's not what they're for. Except this one. Richie Unterberger's White Light/White Heat adheres to the time-honored day-to-day format, but it adds a level of detail that goes way beyond what one normally finds in works of this kind...The level is research is just staggering, utilizing more than 100 interviews with band members and associates, and tapping into archives untouched by previous Velvets historians. All of this fine detail is presented in such a clear and intelligent manner that the book makes for absorbing reading page after page. Visually the book is stunning, too, illustrated throughout with literally hundreds of photos, clippings, posters, ads, record covers and label shots, many of them previously unpublished. It puts all previous books on the Velvet Underground in the shade." - Ugly Things

"Like reading a complex story, one that jumps between characters and locations and peripheral events, and combines them all together in an enjoyable way. Richie Unterberger points out the significance of events, and doesn't just list them, making the book an insightful look into the story of the Velvet Underground...every page providing insight into the motivations and emotions of the characters...the book is also full of smaller, unexpected and often humorous details... a treasure for Velvet Underground fans, and interesting and entertaining for anyone who enjoys a well-researched, well-written biography. The book also includes more than 100 images, some of which are published here for the first time. Every recording session, every show, every song and its numerous versions, all of Nico's dramatic encounters with famous people-everything is presented here in an organized style that is as full of life as the people themselves." - Innocent Words Magazine

"This may be the closest any author has come to capturing the key events in the lifecycle of one of the most influential bands in rock'n'roll history." - Shindig

"Although the amount of research this required is staggering, Unterberger's greatest feat is making the story readable - and interesting...Unterberger has dug deeper than the average chronicler, offering quotes and observations that fill out the story and turn it into more than just an overblown journal of events. Along with a well-told tale, White Light/White Heat is chock full of vintage show posters and black and white photos that are just as scary/beautiful as the music of the Velvets themselves...Richie Unterberger has done a great job of offering up a big helping of rock history in an easily-consumed presentation." - Glide Magazine

"Seemingly every one of the seminal band's gigs, recording sessions, and reviews are chronicled. To call it dense would be an understatement (it's a coffee-table-size book with small print), but at the same time it's a fun read. Unlike many books about rock bands, this is a story about the music, the times, and the creative process, rather than tales of excessive debauchery. And Unterberger has earned the praise of some tough critics. Howard Kramer, curatorial director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, calls him 'a tenacious researcher who writes books that make his Herculean work seem effortless.' David Fricke, senior editor at Rolling Stone and a Velvets historian himself, calls Unterberger a 'rare combination in rock journalism-an incisive writer and a dogged historian.' And, Fricke adds, 'the Velvet Underground deserve both.'" - The Pennsylvania Gazette

"Absolutely exhaustive, tracing various band members and associates from 1958 straight through to 2007, while constantly passing this critic's litmus test for obscure trivia in spades. The author's research was impeccable. Some great rare photos as well!" – Metro Times

"An exhaustive and well-researched day-by-day account of the Velvet Underground from the late 1950s to its 21st-century reunions, complete with photographs and reproductions of documentary material...a beautifully constructed study of a band that was significantly more influential on later rock bands than their meager sales success would suggest. Fans of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground will covet it as a coffee-table book; it is also highly recommended for academics with an interest in pop culture or music." -- Library Journal Express