I (personally) was drawn to Rubin's story after having engineered one session for him and Mick Jagger for the Wandering Spirit album. My first impressions of that project (That it wasn't going well) and certainly Rick (A brilliant and sincere lover of song craft and record making) were confirmed by the many stories about other projects in this book.

Told in chronological order, I traced Rubin's remarkable career path as "producer"--more like a collaborator or co-conspirator--with artists from The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer and Johnny Cash. His eclectic tastes seem to be the major asset he brings to whatever project and artist he decides to work with--and, at this point, he can work with whomever he wants.

I found his studio methodologies, process and creative guidance were (unlike most successful record producers) somewhat malleable; they changed uniquely--always bringing a fresh approach to each project in pursuit of what great producers have always done: set the stage (the studio) so that artists and musicians will create and perform their best work.