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lindsayb's review against another edition
5.0
I have almost no recollection of this book other than reading it on the beach during Spring Break of 8th grade and loving it... So I guess that's something?
livreads7's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic read. It provided a lot of good insight to the Beatles as well as a lot of tidbits about the songs they wrote for each album.
caitey2003's review against another edition
4.0
Took me awhile to get through this one, but im still giving it a pretty good rating, because I think it is a pretty good book - the issue, for me, was that I already knew most of the stories in the book, and so I was bored with it for the most part. But I kept reading it anyway, partly just for those extra added bits of information, but also because I just really enjoyed the writer.
I just appreciated the way he respected the Lennon & McCartney relationship, and didn’t try to push a solely Lennon VS McCartney narrative. For sure, they had their differences, but Hertsgaard doesn’t at all try reinforce the myth that post-68(ish) they just despised each other; there was still a constant love and kinship between the two (between the four, in fact) but a number of factors got in the way of this. Some might try to pinpoint Yoko, or Epsteins death, or Klein, or the neglect of Georges work etc. as the single greatest contributor to the Beatles breakup - I however, would argue that in all likelihood it was Johns deteriorating mental state (partially due to his childhood trauma, partially due to his drug addiction, as well as a dozen other things).
Im always hoping a Beatles biographer will explore Johns psyche in more depth, but I guess they’re not psychiatrists so I shouldn’t expect so much; but I did appreciate that the writer of this book did appear to acknowledge, and understand this factor to some degree.
What I think I like most about the book though, is simply the genuine love Hertgaard has for the group. Though he has a clear Lennon bias, he doesn’t at all reciprocate this by trying to degrade, nullify or vilify McCartney (unlike Phillip Norman
I just appreciated the way he respected the Lennon & McCartney relationship, and didn’t try to push a solely Lennon VS McCartney narrative. For sure, they had their differences, but Hertsgaard doesn’t at all try reinforce the myth that post-68(ish) they just despised each other; there was still a constant love and kinship between the two (between the four, in fact) but a number of factors got in the way of this. Some might try to pinpoint Yoko, or Epsteins death, or Klein, or the neglect of Georges work etc. as the single greatest contributor to the Beatles breakup - I however, would argue that in all likelihood it was Johns deteriorating mental state (partially due to his childhood trauma, partially due to his drug addiction, as well as a dozen other things).
Im always hoping a Beatles biographer will explore Johns psyche in more depth, but I guess they’re not psychiatrists so I shouldn’t expect so much; but I did appreciate that the writer of this book did appear to acknowledge, and understand this factor to some degree.
What I think I like most about the book though, is simply the genuine love Hertgaard has for the group. Though he has a clear Lennon bias, he doesn’t at all reciprocate this by trying to degrade, nullify or vilify McCartney (unlike Phillip Norman
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