"...you never knew there was so much to know about Blondie"
–Instinct Magazine

Book brochure

International Blondie and Deborah Month & accompanying certificate

Amazon's 5th bestselling
book on Punk (of a total of 266 books) and 6th bestselling on Women and Music (of a total of 509 books, both on Dec. 6, 2002), AND No. 1 featured item in both "Punk" and "Women and Music" subject categories (Dec. 21-26, 2002, Jan. 14-20, 2003, March 27, 2003 & April 1-2, 2003)

Amazon's #1 most popular book on Punk (Feb. 15-17, 2003)

Best recorded Amazon.com Sales Rank so far: 1,206 (out of millions of books)

This website surpassed the 40,000 visits mark (in October 2003). Keep on visiting and please tell others to visit the site as well. Thanks!

on
Bomp! images © copyright The Bomp Bookshelf

Reviewed/mentioned in: Chicago Sun-Times, Sleazenation, Attitude, ROCKRGRL, Instinct, Razorcake, CultureDose, Suite101, WOMANROCK, Record Collector, Chart Magazine (and more)

Accepted for review/mention by: Popular Music and Society, Modern Drummer, Jersey Beat, Creem, Gritz
(...with many more to follow!)

In support of local authors, both Borders and Barnes & Noble (Springfield, Missouri) and many others stores are carrying this book

Accepted for national distribution to libraries by Quality Books, &
for retail and library distribution by Baker & Taylor & Blackwell's

The book was displayed by RJ Communications at Book Expo America - Los Angeles, California - May 30 - June 1. Book Expo America is the largest trade show for book sellers and buyers in North America

Included among the bestsellers in books by the Punk Rock Super-Store

Featured on the Oldies Music home page from Feb. 15-22, 2003

Featured lead segment aired on National Public Radio (NPR) station KSMU 91.1 FM, "Arts News" program, hosted by Randy Stewart, Springfield, Missouri, May 23, 2003

"The 'Blondie Bible'."
"This is the greatest Blondie...book of all time!!"
"...the most thorough documentation on...Blondie..."
"This book is must-reading..."
"I just love the book about the band I love."
"My gosh, this is an amazing book."
"...definitely the most comprehensive resource for info on the band, as well as the scene from which they emerged."
(Readers' comments; sources: Amazon.com and via email)

Official banner and bookmark: Design: Robert Betts © 2003
The Blondie Review (TBR); three-dimensional effect courtesy of the band, Plastic Letters

Featured photography site: New Wave Photos

Featured photographer: Sylvie Ball

Blondie book release party

"...massive piece of furniture of a book...You really get to see how fans, critics, and band members see the band now and that's an original perspective."–Roctober
"...an enormously broad and comprehensive...chronicle...a very, very impressive and inspiring collection of work here. Extremely well researched and compiled..."–Marco, No Front Teeth Webzine
"Wow! Beautiful 512 page 'labour of love' book about the gorgeous Debbie Harry and the boys. Tons of unseen photos, interviews, profiles, discography, live and album reviews, etc. Excellent book that this description does not do justice. Really cool."–Bomp Books
"Before Courtney Love ever started a commotion or Gwen Stefani showed her abs off to the world, there was Deborah Harry."–Ryan Bowling, The Mirror
"...offers an in-depth look at the band, the lead singer Debbie Harry, the punk rock movement of the late '70s and '80s and the music that influenced it...One of the most phenomenal parts of the book is the pictorial essays..."–Arminda Apgar, Southwest Standard
"...the book's great. A real look into the way people in and out of the band perceived the world outside of the NY/entertainment/advertising post-industrial culture's response to Blondie."–Hondo Regala, Lollipop
"Wow! This is the kind of book that should be put in a time capsule so that centuries from now people will learn just how important Blondie was to the entire history of rock and roll..."–Hank Branham, Blondie Retro Fan Club
"...easily the most material that you will ever find on the group between two covers...a cohesive...treasure trove of reading. The live shots of the young Debbie Harry are worth buying the book alone...worthy of purchase by even passive Blondie listeners..."–David Lee Wilson, Ian Scott Entertainment
"...outlines this fantastic group's historic and continuing success."–Stephen Abbott, Webmaster, 1980s Memory Site
"...the definitive book for Blondie...a 500 page ode to Debbie and crew...this is your holy grail...has all you would ever need. Thumbs up!"–AMP Online
"...an anthology featuring many well known critics." –RockCritics.com
"...the best gift for the music history enthusiast or collector on
your gift list..."–Jim Thomas, 70's Preservation Society
"...recent music books of interest...include...Blondie, From Punk to the Present..., a sort of scrapbook/fan book on steroids..."–Jim DeRogatis, Pop Music Critic, Chicago Sun-Times

BUY IT NOW from
Amazon.com
or on

Also available on Barnes & Noble with free shipping

The cover image made it on to the "Junk & Stuff" page, a popular feature of Venus Zine, Summer 2003 issue, p. 94

DJ Dusty Street (who is documented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame radio exhibit) did a special promo segment on the book during her Sunday night show (7pm-midnight), May 24, on Star 102.7 FM Las Vegas. Robert Betts, the book designer/editor and publisher of The Blondie Review (TBR), was interviewed for this segment by Dusty. Here's what Dusty says about this book: "...a fabulous new book...a wonderful look at the history of the punk movement in the US and in the UK...To me, as a reader, the best thing about this book is all the inside history on the punk movement you won't find anywhere else. If you were a lover of the Ramones, New York Dolls, even the Sex Pistols, this is a must have! I'm sure you'll be fascinated by every page."

Received a mention (on April 19, 2003) on nationally syndicated radio program, Absolutely 80s, hosted by Nina Blackwood, the first MTV VJ. Subsequent credits include TV programs Entertainment Tonight and Solid Gold plus starring roles in feature films.

Deborah Harry’s Latest Photo-Op Portrayed in New Book

News release

Backstage Blondie book blitzgreig!

Book display

"...very well done, obviously the most comprehensive collection of Blondie material in existence. It's very professional and should find a home with every fan. I ran into [Blondie drummer] Clem Burke..., and he said he was very pleased with it. It should do well..."–Gary Valentine, original Blondie bassist, and author of New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation with Blondie, Iggy Pop and Others, 1974-1981. His new cd is Tomorrow Belongs to You.

"I am pleased to be a part of this book. Thanks so much for including my work."–Stephanie Chernikowski, Stephanie Chernikowski Photography

"...shows not only the rise of Blondie, but also the New York punk scene."–James Mann, The Big Takeover
"The background on the New York scene and the origins of punk...is of great interest...[This book has] done the band proud."–Steve Trotman, Wairarapa Times-Age (New Zealand)
"...could easily be the most exhaustive [book] ever compiled [on Blondie]."–Glen Humphries, Illawarra Mercury (Australia)
"...a great reference for serious students of pop culture....lovingly put together, and its enthusiasm for its subject is truly infectious..."–J.C. London (aka Rhonda Ruin), Kittens in Underpants
"...much more than a hearty bible of the band, it's an encyclopedia of first-person accounts of the scene that brought us Blondie and the power behind Debbie Harry..."–Ruby World, Glittergrrrls
"...the definitive book on the group...and of their era."–Joe Kernan, Warwick Beacon
"...your logical starting point if you want to understand the Blondie story."–Rich Aster, Fish Nation Information Station
"...looks set to become the definitive book on the NY band."
–3 A.M. Magazine
"As an historical document this volume is an incredible read...if you're a fan of contemporary music then you'd be hard pushed to find a better document of thirty years of pop culture." –Richard Evans, Remember the Eighties
"...an ambitious book...appeals to a diverse audience. Whether you're interested in the history of popular music or popular culture or are a long-time Blondie fan, you'll find something about this book that appeals to you."–Krista May, Alternative Music Press
"...really a great read!"–DJ Steve Olaf (aka Steve-O),
Alice 95.5 (KTOZ-FM), Springfield, Missouri
"...has all [the] material any avid fan would want to read, and it's placed within the context of '70s and '80s pop culture and the New York punk scene of the time."–Michael A. Brothers, Springfield News-Leader
"...a letter sized glossy covered paperback filled with fun facts, full page photos, and decades of frivolity..."–Vinnie Apicella,
New York City music critic
"...a multiple-perspective exploration of the group's music, lifestyle, influence, image, appeal, and overall significance..."–Josh Rutledge, Now Wave Magazine
"Great Gawd A-Mighty! This...tome is...what a rock and roll book should be: FUN..."–Phillip Overeem, The First Church of Holy Rock and Roll
"...an amazing,...vividly written, decade-spanning, informed and informative...chronicle..."–Willis M. Buhle, Midwest Book Review
"...a fantastic reference about the band and the era which produced them..."–Matt Mrowicki, Publisher, Chorus and Verse
"...a good read for any fan of pop culture."–Kastle, Coolgrrrls
"...insightful writings about punk...Blondie in punk rock context...important...informative tool for the study of punk rock music."–Jeff Muendel, Associate Editor, Maximum Ink Magazine
"...this book captures the band at their best!"–Bob Suehs, Rock N Roll Experience
"Stuffed full of pics and fine essays..."–Sleazenation
"For fans of Blondie or students of rock music history, this book is a valuable resource."–Marianne Moro, Suite101.com
"Longtime fans and general music buffs will find the $35 price to be worth it."–Robbie Daw, Instinct Magazine
"...takes a wide-open look at Blondie's career...It's all here...Go pick up this 500+ page monster..."–Designated Dale, Razorcake
"...a very dense love letter to a seminal New York punk band."–
ROCKRGRL
"...a tour-de-force exegesis of the entire Blondie career and the effect lead singer Deborah Harry has on the role of the blonde female vocalist in pop and rock..."–Thomas Schulte, WOMANROCK, Modern Fix , Outsight, Ink 19, Pit Monthly, and Survivor Newsletter (Long Island City, NY)
"A MUST for Blondie fans or 80s nuts..."–Lexicon Magazine
"...the contents are fascinating...the photo sections are the real draw here, many of them rare or previously unseen..."–Ian Glasper, Record Collector
"This larger-than-life book covers the span of Blondie's larger-than-life career and features scores of interviews, articles, photographs and album reviews. It's also really, really big."–Chart Magazine (Canada)
"...surely the most exhaustively thorough history of Mme. Harry and company to be published yet."–Michael Layne Heath, Tangents
"The first section entitled "Background" is so teeming with facts and contemporary examination of the roots of New York punk that one cannot help but come away feeling like something of an expert."–Erick Mertz, Cosmik Debris
"The opening history of the New York Punk scene is fascinating stuff. I was enthralled, and read the entire first section in one sitting...I would give...[the book] four out of five stars, but if you are [a] music or Blondie fan, you could crank that up another notch."–Charles Tatum, eFilmCritic