First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Marilyn Manson Neil Strauss |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Autobiography |
| Publisher | ReganBooks (HarperCollins) |
| Publication date | 1998 |
| Media type | Hardcover, paperback |
| Pages | 269 |
| ISBN | 978-0-060392581 |
| OCLC Number | 38417510 |
The Long Hard Road Out of Hell is the autobiography of Marilyn Manson, leader of the American rock band Marilyn Manson. The book was released on February 14, 1998 and written with the help of Neil Strauss (of Rolling Stone Magazine) as a ghost writer.
It follows Manson's life from when he was a child, born as Brian Hugh Warner, until the events of the band's controversial Dead to the World Tour. It also details his grandfather's sexual fetishes (including bestiality and sadomasochism) influence to the forming of Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, to the recording of Antichrist Superstar. Its last pages are the journal of the band's touring, documenting backstage events and people's reactions. The book includes many references to his life of drugs, sex and dysfunctional relationships which he attributes as causal to his current status quo. It also features his journalism works, including an article about a dominatrix he interviewed for 25th Parallel.
The autobiography goes in-depth into the break-ups amongst the band's history. It follows several members through becoming friends and musicians with the band to angry and sometimes bitter leavings, some band members detested being fired so badly that lawsuits have been filed against Manson by his own crew members.
Along with the book are numerous pictures, some of which are familiar to long-time Manson fans, with the center pages including everything from the Slasher Girls to Manson performing Antichrist Superstar with a Bible in his hand. The book incorporates illustrations from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy, originally drawn by Henry Vandyke Carter. For example, the ribcage in the cover image (which also appears in the liner note artwork for Antichrist Superstar) is taken from Gray's Figure 115. Also scattered throughout the pages are documents of such things as girlfriends, legal documents of claims made by the American Family Association about his shows that were proven to be false,[1][2][3] and band landmarks, to the rarer, such as Manson with Anton Szandor LaVey.
On February 21, 1998, Manson held an two-hour in-store book signing at the San Francisco Virgin Megastore. The event was attended by an estimated 700 fans.[4]