Book Reviews 3
We All Shine On
Paul du Noyer, 1997
Rating:
***
This book has great pictures of John as well as good, factual stories about his solo songs. The information is fairly thorough and well organized.
Likes:
Dislikes:
The author criticizes John's work frequently, and dismisses some of his finer moments. He also only scratches the surface of John's past and what he went through and reasons for his feelings.
Overall:
This book is good for the explanations of the songs. If you want stories on John's life, Lennon: The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman is what you want. The pictures make this book worthwhile though.
All You Need is Ears
George Martin, 1979
Rating:
*
Likes:
This book provides good details on the life of George Martin who is in no doubt a key figure in the Beatles success. His life was more interesting than I had thought. It also has great information on the recording process.
Dislikes:
This book has very, very little information on the Beatles despite the photo on the cover and the pun in the title. If you are not interested in the recording process then this book is fairly boring. He discusses the Beatles very little, and when he does it is only to praise Paul in some fashion.
Overall:
Don't get this book if you are looking for informatoin about the Beatles. I believe he has another book that has more information on them (I haven't read it though), called Summer of Love. If you are interested in learning about George Martin or the recording process this book is for you.
A Cellarful of Noise
Brian Epstein, 1967
Rating:
*****
Likes:
This book is great. It reads very well, and it quite intersting, unlike George Martin's. It is also loaded with great Beatles information. Details on Brian's life are very good, and he is not as discrete about his lifestyle, despite the fact that homosexuality was still illegal in Britain at the time of its release. He also provides information on why he was depressed, and possible reasons for his drug problem.
Dislikes:
It was written very early in the Beatles career and does have information on them from the later years in their career towards the breakup. It also paints a very rosy picture of the Beatles, showing no faults. Brian also dismisses important events in his life that could be the source of his depression and drug addiction.
This is a great book to read on the Beatles. It is thorough for its time period and it shows very clearly how much he cared for the Beatles, and how important he was to their success.
Overall:
SHOUT! The Beatles in Their Generation
Philip Norman, 1981
Rating:
****
Likes:
This book does a great job providing information of the Beatles from their childhood to the end of the Beatles career. There is a lot of great information on their childhood's, particularly Johns. It also has a great amount of information regarding figures in the Beatles life.
Dislikes:
This book often jumps to conclusions about things in the Beatles career. It also downplays the importance of Brian Epstein, and puts him down in many different areas. It could have provided more information on the solo careers of the Beatles as well.
Overall:
This book is a good book to have. It has a lot of informationm, and just he information on their childhood's alone makes it worthwhile.
The Beatles
Hunter Davies, 1995
Rating:
*****
Likes:
The author takes his role as the official Beatles biographer seriously and this provides for a really good book. He has a lot of details on their childhood and their personal comments about how they felt about those things. The author has a chance to view many things the Beatles did while writing this book, and he describes them to allow the public to get a better grasp of the Beatles' personalities, as well as how they wrote and got along. He also describes how he wrote the book, and provides introductions and afterwords twice since this is the 3rd edition and these are loaded with information as well.
There isn't much to dislike about the book. The author is objective and is privy to more information than most biographers. One dislike I do have, however, is the author describes in the forward how when he showed the manuscript to John's Aunt Mimi, she told him to change some things to make John and John's life look better. It would have been better had he not changed these things, but he did rectify it by telling of the situation in the introduction.
Dislikes:
Overall:
Simply because it is the only official biography of the Beatles this book is a must have. It is loaded with information and shows a lot of the personalities and things you would never know about the Beatles without reading. It also shows the relationships between the Beatles, their wives, and other key figures. An absolute must have, right after A Day in the Life by Mark Hertsgaard.