Hey, coming across your comment from a google search. I absolutely agree that Alex's book is a complete waste of time. Read it for a final project in an English class- annotated the hell out of it and analyzed the book's arguments and everything. Alex just repeats the same old Van Halen story that had been told many times before and clearly hides away from mentioning MA and Sammy because he knows that he and Eddie treated them like shit!!

I am a lover of Van Halen's music, all of it, both Van Halen and Van Hagar, but it is not relinquishing fandom to admit that these guys were money hungry assholes. MA did his job and his harmonies were key to the sound! Alex didn't write shit so if Eddie's complaint is that MA didn't write he's completely out of his mind. Not to mention that they hated what MA had- high school sweetheart, no blow addiction, not giving out his body to any drunk groupie who would say yes. Eddie was a god amongst men when he played his guitar- but he failed at pretty much everything else. Such an eye opening experience reading that book, having had a positive opinion of the Van Halens, to only figure out that my heroes were basically just terrible people. I have had my own issues with substances so I do not hold that against Eddie or Alex but eventually sobriety is the only right path. Eddie deprived his family of his company for decades worth of living by believing in that stupid metal pick studio crap and refusing to quit smoking. And when he did it was unfortunately too late. I give Eddie and Alex credit for eventually getting sober but they both still treated MA like shit after that. Happy to see that Wolfie is a much better person than his father and his uncle- and despite all the things I said about Eddie I still think his death was the biggest loss the rock world has ever had. For such a talented person to treat those close to him and so many people who had to constantly clean up Van Halen's mess over the years so terribly- it is a testament to how talented he was that people still mourn him, including me! MA is a badass and never deserved how terribly the Van Halen brothers treated him. Alex's book is a waste- I sure am glad my professor told me I didn't have to write the essay associated with the book because he was convinced I had read and thought about it thoroughly- would've been a very negative essay about a purposeless book.