This book by Christophe Delbrouck is volume 1 of the trilogy:

• Frank Zappa & les mères de l'invention : Tome 1, (1940-1972)
• Frank Zappa & la dînette de chrome : Tome 2, (1972-1978)
• Frank Zappa & l'Amérique parfaite : Tome 3 (1978-1993)
  

The book (as other volumes of the trilogy) is only a textbook, no photos or illustrations. But the cover is excellent drawing by Jean Solé.

Peter Van Laarhoven:

"Now here's something else. 360 pages and a stunning front cover by comic book artist Solé, and this is only the first in a series of three. Christophe Delbrouck takes on Zappa's early years. He starts with Zappa's childhood, the Bicycle Concerto, Studio Z in Cucamonga and focusses on my favourite band of all time, the Mothers Of Invention, ending in 1971 with the Montreux fire. I like this book. It does not present stuff that is new or revealing, but it does give a very fine chronological listing of what happened and of how certain things came about. Delbrouck cites a lot from interviews with Zappa but also with the Mothers, which makes the book very enjoyable reading. It's like he had all these people around a table, telling him what it was like in these early days. If your native tongue is French, you shouldn't hesitate. This is the best book on Zappa & the Mothers that you can find. If you speak another language, but you're able to read French, you might want to give this one a try. It's not too tough to read and it's a very enjoyable book."

Christophe Delbrouck's home page
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Review by Hugues Barrière