R.E.M., the most acclaimed American group of their generation, disbanded in September 2011 with their idealism and dignity intact. In this edition of his best-selling R.E.M. biography, Tony Fletcher brings their story to a conclusion and explains what led this unique group to draw a curtain on their career.Drawing on interviews with band members, friends, associates and business partners, the book follows R.E.M.'s career from their debut in 1983, throughout the 1990s, to their final years together.Granted access to the group throughout their career, Tony Fletcher delves beyond R.E.M.'s renowned humility and social awareness, discussing fame, fortune and sexuality with the same keen eye he casts on the group's astonishing career and musical catalogue. The result is a balanced and thorough telling of one of the most compelling rock stories of our time.