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The Beatles: Illustrated and Updated Edition (平装)
by Hunter Davies
| Category:
Biography |
| Market price: ¥ 308.00
MSL price:
¥ 288.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A must have for all Beatles fans, Hunter Davies presented this only authorized biography of the Beatles. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 9 items |
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Kennedy (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
Thank heaven for Beatle scholarship that this book was written. Competent journalist Hunter Davies spent a year observing the Beatles and interviewing them in their own homes during the heady, fascinating year of 1967. He emerged with a time piece: the Beatles as they were at that time, reflecting on what came before and unaware of what was yet to come. A chapter describing the writing and recording of "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Getting Better," and "Magical Mystery Tour" offers unique and especially valuable glimpses of the Beatles at work. Chapters depicting the home life and personal outlook of each Beatle are also very interesting. I must also say that for an authorised biography, this is remarkably honest. Perceptive readers will be able to detect the whole truth here, and a fine introduction written by the author years later helps fill in any gaps. Apart from being hugely entertaining, this book is a tremendous boon to historians interested in the Beatles. |
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An American reader ( MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
This is truly an excellent biography of the Beatles. First published in 1967, it was merely regarded as a "pop star story" as opposed to the serious and comprehensive biography it really is. This is a must have for any die hard Beatles' fan and for folks who plain love their music. This is a book for everyone.
Davies chronicles each Beatle's life, his own personal input and experiences. In so doing, he guides his readers to how each Beatle became members of the world's most influential band in history. Quotes from relatives, folks who knew the Beatles and the Beatles themselves round out the book so that readers get a "feel" for, a "sense" of each Beatle. Photographs of the Beatles as boys are an added treat. Readers get to travel down the long and winding road with the Beatles from Liverpool to world wide fame.
The writing style is fast paced and Davies is quite skilled at maintaining his readers' interest. I am delighted this has been reissued and updated. This is a keeper.
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
This was the only authorized Beatles biography written during the height of their career. Mr. Davies had an unobstucted view of the Beatles for a year and wrote down every thing he saw. It includes copies of original text for songs and explains how some songs came into being. Excellent background information on all four of the Beatles and almost any one who was called a "Fifth Beatle." Overall, a great documentary of the world's biggest sensation. A must own for all the Beatles fans. |
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Stephen (MSL quote), UK
<2007-01-12 00:00>
This is a fabulous evocation of the fab four's rise to greatness, written with just the right amount of reverence and objectivity. Davies manages to ellicit some great anecdotes from people who were closest to The Beatles. Mimi, Paul's dad, the Harrisons, close friends, Fred Lennon (John's dad), Pete Best; they all get to have their say. The book is especially strong during the Hamburg years (loosely 59-62). Davies captures the growth in their popularity, attracting interesting characters along the way, yet having no fan base outside Liverpool and Hamburg. He demonstrates so vividly the growing desperation of the boys to make it big. Once the rollercoaster took off then the book is on trickier ground. Davies clearly wants to divulge stuff which The Beatles were not keen on him revealing (Davies was writing the book during 1967/early 68). For instance, Lennon was heavily into drugs at this time and Hunter Davies refers to John as being in a daze. Yes, you have to read between the lines! One of the strengths of this book is its matter-of-fact delivery. Although Davies is clearly a fan he still keeps his feet on the ground. The death of Brian Epstein is well-handled. Remember, this was written before all the Klein, Apple, Ono nonsense hit the fan. Yet Davies manages to convey a growing sense of isolation amongst the group. His pen-portraits of each member is uncannily (eerily) accurate, bearing in mind the general public thought The Beatles were a rock-solid national institution. The book is a cracker and loses a star of its rating only because of a rather mysterious lack of detail around Rubber Soul and Revolver. The rest is gear! |
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Phyllis Bueno (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
This is someone tell it like it was for a change. But then, it is helpful to write a book as the events are happening instead of trying to re-create history after the fact, like some books I've read. I felt the update at the end of the book was truthful and factual. An absolute recommend for anyone interested in the history of the greatest band of all time. I loved it! |
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Langan (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
I'm sure there were books about the Beatles written before this, but this book was written with the Beatles (complete with interviews). Hunter Davies includes some of his own opinions in later editions but this is about the Fab 4, their rise, and where they were in 1968 when this book originally came out (John admits to be bored with life as Yoko Ono had not yet been a household name to us and George was already sick of being a Beatle at the time). The later editions have a section about the breakup, what they did individually in the 1970's, the tragedy of John Lennon in 1980 and more recent interviews with Paul, George, and Ringo. You can trust Davies since he got the Beatles' authorization and respected their privacy (he mentions that George Harrison asked that certain things not be printed). As Davies points out, this story is about the rise and not the fall. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
Personal, yet unbiased; Detailed, yet conversational. This book is the first Beatle biography that I read ( the "only authorized biography of the Beatles" subtitle catching my attention). I must say, all of the ones I have read since have dissapointed me compared to this book. Its awesome!! At first, the author talks about himself to establish his credibility, and its worth it. He talked to each of the Beatles privately and spent several days in each of their homes, and stayed in contact with them after the break up. The one thing that really sticks out in my mind is a conversation that Mr. Davis had with Mr. McCartney five years after Mr. Lennon's death. Paul called him to talk about current events and to establish truth to several myths going around, and it was really wonderful. I would suggest this to everyone who is looking for a biography of the Beatles! |
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Hitchcock (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
I was too young to remember much of the Beatles in their heyday, and although I was familiar with a lot of their songs, I did not know a lot about them as individuals. Two things happened towards the end of last year to arouse my interest. The first was the death of George Harrison, with all the media interest it generated. The second was when I asked my niece Imogen (then aged seven) what she wanted for Christmas. "A Beatles CD" came the reply. And this from a little girl whose parents are too young to remember much of the sixties. So much for those who say that the Beatles are only relevant to ageing ex-hippies, not to modern youngsters.
I decided to look for a book which gave the full story of the group. this was surprisingly difficult to find in the shops, but I eventually came across Hunter Davies's book on Amazon. This was just what I was looking for. Most biographies of popstars and showbiz celebrities are very lightweight affairs, but Davies's book is solid and workmanlike and full of useful information, despite having first been published in 1968 at the height of the Beatles boom.
The sections about the Beatles' early years are excellent. My only criticism is that their later years are not covered in such detail, although there are possibly reasons for this. When the book was first published, Davies may well have thought that the events of 1966-68 (when the Beatles did much of their best work) were too well-known to be retold in great detail. The book also includes a postscript dating from 1985; I would have liked this to have been more detailed, but perhaps the author, who knew the Beatles personally, felt that it was not appropriate to go into detail about the events surrounding the group's break-up in 1969-70. He may also have felt that the details of their post-1970 careers were beyond the scope of his book.
All in all, I felt that this was an excellent book which I could recommend to anyone looking like me for an introduction to the Beatles' lives and work.
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-12 00:00>
The Beatles are undoubtedly the most popular band in world history. Hunter Davies creates a thorough, honest biography of the four famous members and their rise to stardom. Because this book was written in 1967, Davies gets an insight into the Beatles' lives before they began fighting. Davies writes an honest account of the Beatles' lives, chronicling their lives from birth, but the reader can sense that some facts have been omitted, perhaps to save the dignity of the Beatles' family members. However, Davies gives enough information for readers to fill in the blanks. The book contains loads of interesting facts, pictures, and Beatles memorabilia. All things considered, The Beatles is a great book for any Beatles enthusiast or rock music fan. |
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1 Total 1 pages 9 items |
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