The Beatles: The Biography

The Beatles: The Biography

Rating

8.0

The Pequod Review:

Published in 2005, Bob Spitz's The Beatles remains one of the definitive biographies of the band, an almost 1,000-page book drawn from ten years of detailed research. It's sometimes a bit dry — Spitz tends to present a point-by-point chronology of key events rather than pulling them together into deeper insights — but he has very good sections describing the importance of George Martin and Brian Epstein, the uniqueness of 1950s Liverpool (economically depressed but yet thriving in the number of live music venues), and the awfulness of sound systems at most concerts. Paul McCartney comes off as a more unique and idiosyncratic artist too, attending experimental art installations and having more intellectual curiosity than his bandmates. All in all, this is a solid and detailed history of the band.