Based on a decade of research and reporting—as well as access to the Replacements' key principals, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson—author Bob Mehr has fashioned something far more compelling than a conventional band bio. is a deeply intimate portrait, revealing the primal factors and forces that shaped one of the most brilliant and notoriously self-destructive rock 'n' roll bands of all time. Beginning with riveting revelations about the Replacements' troubled early years, follows the group as they rise within the early '80s American underground. It uncovers the darker truths behind the band's legendary drinking, showing how their addictions first came to define them, and then nearly destroyed them. A roaring road adventure, a heartrending family drama, and a cautionary showbiz tale, has deservedly been hailed as an instant classic of rock lit.