A review by circlepines
Le Cinquième Beatles by Andrew C. Robinson, Kyle Baker, Vivek J. Tiwary

4.0

Behind the scenes Brian Epstein was one of the transformative figures of modern pop music: the man who discovered The Beatles and figured out how to spin their homegrown talent into an international phenomenon. He was also an outsider in the music world -- gay and closeted, Jewish, with a dishonorable army discharge and a background running a family record store -- and his death at age 32 left plenty of secrets and a management void that lead to The Beatles' fragmentation. This book sketches his achievements and inner struggles with honesty, sensitivity, and captivating art. Brian Epstein deserves a comprehensive, rigorously-researched biography, and this isn't it -- there are too few citations and too many liberties taken to satisfy a devoted Beatles wonk. But it is a beautiful, impressionistic tribute to someone who deserves more recognition, and it's subtle enough to be worth reading more than once.