Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs

Published in 1994, John Lydon's autobiography Rotten covers the first twenty-two years of his life — from his North London childhood through to the break-up of the Sex Pistols (in 1978). Lydon's account draws on not just his own memories but recollections from Billy Idol, Chrissie Hynde and others, many of which are included verbatim. The book has a certain energy and candor as it describes the rise and fall of the Pistols (Lydon says that his story "is as close to the truth as one can get," a claim that might be more meaningful if anyone's memories from the period were reliable) but it's organized in a chaotic and scattered way; a more rigorous editing process could have resulted in a much better book.