Writing the end-all be-all chronicle on the band Pink Floyd is a tough task indeed. The band's history is often contradicted by varying accusations and their seems to never be a complete truth in anything said or written by the band. The only book considered to be a complete portrayal of the band is Nick Mason's "Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd". Since it's written by the drummer, one would think that it would be an honest telling of the band's history. Unfortunately, the book never comes completely close to an accurate view since it was written during the band's most tumultuous period and each of the band members needed to sign off on what was true and what wasn't. This tumultuous period of the band is chock full of long legal battles, and constant sniping between members of the band. After reading Mark Blake's "Comfortably Numb" you'll understand why so much of the band's history has been left out of prior books.
For a rock band, Pink Floyd has been notorious for holding things back from the press, rarely ever offering full and honest interviews. Most of what is heard from the band in the past twenty years are jabs back and forth between Roger Waters and Pink Floyd made of Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright. Like their music, the band's history is dense and involved. Mark Blake rises to the challenge and expertly sorts through the years of arguments and triumphs and offers several new conjectures as to the band's history.
