My upcoming book Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground (available in May 2026 on Omnibus Press) is by far the most comprehensive book on the Velvet Underground. The 800-page narrative biography covers the group's history with both thorough detail and critical insight. Drawing on more than 100 interviews and exhaustive research through documents and recordings rarely or never accessed, it unearths stories that have seldom been told, and eyewitness accounts that have seldom seen print, from figures ranging from band members to managers, producers, record executives, journalists, concert promoters, and fans. It incorporates recent first-hand research conducted at the Lou Reed Archive and Andy Warhol Archive.

Early advance reviews of Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground include:

"Of all the books I've read on the Velvet Underground I think this is the best. Richie Unterberger explores some of the different 
personalities of characters who usually go underreported in this 
story. His writing is entertaining and I liked his way of reviewing 
all the material he reviewed. Yours truly, Jonathan Richman."

"First-rate research and writing make this a book that lives up to its legendary subject...Unterberger has done serious and exhaustive research into the band, and he does a wonderful job exploring the troubled dynamics among the band members and between the group and Warhol...Fans of the band will love the inside looks at songwriting and record production, which he breaks down for lay readers who’ve never been in a studio. This is a revealing look at a group that, in the author’s words, “broke more ground than almost any other rock band.” That’s a strong claim, to be sure, but Unterberger ably backs it up." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground is the most comprehensive and compelling yet on the stealthy, stupdendously influential band...Weighing in at over 800 pages, it is painstakingly researched andm despite its size, draws the reader into its addictive narrative." -- Record Collector

"By far the most expansive treatment of its subject to date...it's hard to imagine any future book on the Velvets coming close to rivaling the wide-ranging, all-inclusive approach of Do What You Fear Most." -- Shindig

My book Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia details the Who's amazing and peculiar journey in the years during which they struggled to follow up Tommy with a yet bigger and better rock opera. One of those projects, Lifehouse, was never completed, though many of its songs formed the bulk of their 1971 album Who's Next. The other, Quadrophenia, was as down-to-earth as the multimedia Lifehouse was futuristic; issued as a double album in 1973, it eventually became esteemed as one of the Who's finest achievements, despite unavoidable initial unfavorable comparisons to Tommy. Drawing on material from several dozen interviews and mountains of rare archival coverage and recordings, it's the definitive account of this fascinating period in the Who's career, which saw both some of their greatest triumphs and, in Lifehouse, rock's most spectacular failure. Notes MOJO's four-star review of the book, "Unterberger digs deep and deeper still through obscure press cuttings and his own interviews with engineers, producers and fans to make sense of it all. He does a grand job." It was voted #2 book of the year in Shindig magazine's 2011 writers' poll.

My other books include The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film; a two-volume history of 1960s folk-rock, Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution and its sequel, Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock; Unknown Legends of Rock'n'Roll, profiles of sixty of the most interesting cult rock acts of all time; its sequel Urban Spacemen & Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock; Music USA, a guide to the regional popular music of the United States; and The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience (co-authored by myself and Duncan Clark), which covers options for ethical food and drink consumption, socially responsible investment and finances, no-sweat clothes, animal-free cosmetics, green energy household and travel alternatives, fair trade goods, consumer boycotts, and much more. I have also written thousands of album reviews and artist biographies for the All Music Guide. For more about my work, go to the About the Author section of this site; for more details about each specific book, click on the appropriate icons.

This site offers updates on my various books and projects, but also some nifty extras that won't be found in my printed work. Those include complete transcripts of interviews of cult rockers and folk-rockers big and small that I've spoken with while researching my books; otherwise unavailable lists and album reviews for those hungering for even more information along the same lines; and links to like-minded sites where you can find out more about the musicians and albums I've covered. Click on the book titles on this page for excerpts, lists, interviews, and more info about each one.
So take a look around, enjoy, and feel free to e-mail me with any questions or feedback.

contents copyright Richie Unterberger , 2000-2010
unless otherwise specified.