Book Reviews
As a fanatic Beatles fan, I purchase many books that are appealing to me, or are cited or recommended in the bibliography section of another book. I have many, many books and the information on this page is a compilation of knowledge I have from reading all of these books. On this page, I will provide a rating in stars from 0 to 5, as well as likes and dislikes a book. Hopefully you, as a fellow fan, can see what book would be good to get from another fan's perspective.
The Beatles Forever
Nicholas Schaffner, 1978
Rating:
*****
LIKES: This book was my very first Beatles book, and it is one of the best I have read so far. The pictures in this book are more than I have seen for any other book, although they are in black and white. It also FULL of information about the Beatles, just about everything you wanted to know about them. It has a discography, various surveys, and a good index in the back. One the best things about it, oddly enough, is that it is so old. It was written BEFORE John died, and that makes it more objective and shows less favortism to John.
DISLIKES: One minor problem I had with this book is that the font is so small it is hard to read. Another thing is that it is obvious to the reader that the writer is a Paul fan, and he compliments Paul much more than the others. He also does not cover the period of time before the Beatles became famous all that well, or the figures that were important that well; the Beatles are the sole point of this book. He also misses much of the reasons the Beatles broke up for real.
OVERALL: This book is a must have for Beatles fans. It is packed with information and has so many pictures it is worth the money to simply buy the pictures.
A Day In the Life
Mark Hertsgaard, 1995
Rating:
*****
LIKES: This is THE Beatles book. If there is any one book I would recommend to someone, it would be this one. Hertsgaard's book never gets boring, and is filled with humerous stories as well as some techinical stories. He was privelaged enough to go into Abbey Road Studios to see outtakes befor the release of the Anthologies. The book gives a new appreciation for music, and draws attention to things otherwise unnoticed about some of the songs. He also gives his interpretation on some songs, and his analysis is deeper than typical authors since he truly is a fan himself. I also liked his thorough notes and bibliography at the end of the book. It shows the amount of work he actually did.
DISLIKES: Probably the one dislike I have is the lack of photographs in the text. The reading is so interesting you almost don't need any, but it would be nice to see some rare photograph. He only has pictures in the beginning of each chapter. He is also not too critical of the Beatles work, so he never puts anything down. There really isn't much to dislike about this book.
OVERALL: Simple: GET THIS BOOK! It is a must!
The Beatles: An Oral History
David Pritchard & Alan Lysacht, 1998
***
Rating:
LIKES: This book is good. I like how it incorporates nearly anyone associated with the Beatles, and tells their point of view. It reads really good, and is relatively short reading, despite its thickness. It's thorough, and covers many areas.
DISLIKES: This book really doesn't have too many faults. It really isn't that gripping or interesting. It's more difficult to get that way with an interview book; the reader cannot get wrapped up into anything because the speaker will change. It also did not provide information that was really astounding or surprising, same as what is in most other books.
OVERALL: It is ok, as a book. If you are looking for an astounding comprehensive book, this is NOT the one for you. But if you have a good grasp of Beatles history, then you would enjoy this book and be able to appreciate its comments.
Meet the Beatles....Again
Denny Somach & Ken Sharp, 1996
Rating:
**
LIKES: This book is much like the previous book, but with more faults. I do like how it gives other celebrities point of view on the Beatles, and allow us to see the Beatles influence on others, both of their generation and of later generations. The interviews with the Beatles themselves are quite good, and are more lengthy than the others. It is short reading, and somewhat interesting.
DISLIKES: Like the other interview book, this really isn't that gripping or interesting. The interviews with the Beatles were good, but many of the other interviews were lacking quite a bit. Some were like two lines long.
OVERALL: If you don't get this book, you will not be missing much.