Rating: 
Summary: FIVE STARS FOR THE REAL INSIDE STORY OF THE BEATTLES !!
Review: This long awaited brand new Beatles history contains 368 pages and more than 1,300 photos, many never seen before by the public. It's loaded with personal stories from how the Beatles came to be, the early rough days, their rise to fame, the social changes they caused and how they finally broke up. It's written as an autobiography, not a tabloid account of their lives we're so used to seeing. This autobiography provides insight into their lives unlike many of the other accounts published. Their tales are filled with humor and they mince no words about their lives and what they stood for. Many of the photos and documents included are from their personal archives and have never been seen before by the public. The Beatles make it clear that they would say what they really thought about the issues of their time and hoped others would be truthful and do likewise. Their philosophy was "everything that happens to you is good, as long as you learn something from the experience." This is a MUST HAVE library volume for Beatles fans and something you'll enjoy, keep and refer to for a long time. A great addition to the vast Beatles literature.
Rating:
Summary: The final word on the fab four.
Review: Worth the wait, worth the price. A HUGE, picture packed history of the greatest band of all time. I especially loved the way they sprinkled Johns wit and wisdom throughout the book in such a way that it felt as if he was being interviewed today for the project. Not an easy task for the editors, I'm sure. It sometimes brings a tear to ones eye when he talks about the future. This is a book that takes days to get through and absord, and then you want to read it again. The coffee table book for all time. The Beatles themselves are honest and fair in their accounts of the trials and triumphs, and it is clear that through it all, their was a great deal of love between these four guys. Now every would-be Beatle historian can put down his pen. It has been written, and it was written by the four who lived it. The best for last!
Rating:
Summary: Timeless
Review: "Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly, all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arrive..." - Paul McCartney, 1968
Rating:
Summary: Truest of Spirit In The Anthologies
Review: Okay, I'll be quick - - - a great book in the great Beatle style - - you get your money's worth. The design of the book is what they call "fantastic!" where I come from - - - humorous, serious, Beatle-deep, poignant, and SATISFYING. I think that it's obvious who will truly like the book and who will not. If the Beatles are a life-affirming laughing get up and sing-something inspiration to you, than this book delivers!!! (It reminds me of Rubber Soul and Revolver.) I've studied, read, looked, listened to it all, and this is the only Beatle book that imparts that ineffable Beatle emotion - - it doesn't PROMISE to do that - it just stands up and does it. Which again, is a great Beatle "quality" - - Of course, the curiosity for "The Beatles" is inexhaustible, and the idea of a definitive book that captures everything is impossible to carry out. But this stands as best as anything could have. If there is a Beatle-spirited person in your life somewhere, than pass this book along - - he/she (hishi?) will be singing any moment now.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could go higher than 5 stars!
Review: 10 stars to say the least! First of all, I ordered this book through Amazon and received it VERY quickly - thanks Jeff Bezos! Getting back to the Beatles Anthology, what a job they have done and thanks to George Martin and the late-great Derek Taylor. This book is big and heavy because the Beatles were/are big and a heavy part of our culture. The story is finally told the right way and not to put anyone down like the late Nick Schaffner, Lewisohn, Hunter Davis or others who have written great books. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't know so much in the first place. But this book HAD to be happen. John, Paul, George & Ringo - thanks for everything! One little thing missing - I wanted to know more on the modern day, Anthology video, CD and book get togetherness. Who called who? How was it decided? And, yes, more from Yoko's modern day participation. Thanks for the Love and Music! Can't wait for Beatles One CD!
Rating:
Summary: The Beatles Finally Give us Their Story
Review: Although many Beatles fans might already be familiar with Beatles history, this autobiographical account finally gives us the story from the inside out. I must agree that the one drawback of the book, is that some of it is directly taken from the interviews done in the Anthology videos, however, the narrartive does flow very well and one could tell that great pains were taken to preserve the chronological order of the story. It's also interesting to see how all four of them remember some of the same events differently. This becomes evident early on when one reads John's account of how he asked Paul to join the Quarry Men on the very first day, and Paul recalls being asked by one of the other Quarry Men the day after having met John. All of the accounts, though many of them conflict, are told with poignant honesty and there's a lot that one can come away with by witnessing the events from four different perspectives. Having read other books about the Beatles, it's refreshing to read the stories from the Beatles themselves even when reading through events that have been dissected exhaustively in the past. Much like listening to their musical legacy, the book has the affect of giving one the feeling that one is experiencing the story for the very first time. Many previously unreleased pictures and hand written lyrics are also prominently featured throughout the book. Indeed, one could spend entire day just looking at the pictures before reading the narrative. This is also a huge book. 367 pages may not seem like a lot, but there's a lot of information packed into those pages and for the most part, it's very thorough. I'm sure some other Beatles fans will probably find something to complain about or say that it left out such and such a detail, but considering the vast amount of information chronicled on the Beatles, this book does a pretty fair job of compiling all the major details and some little known facts. There are day by day accounts on the Beatles written by people who either barely knew them or didn't know them at all and the quality of those books vary a great deal, but if one is so inclined to know every single last detail about the Beatles I'm sure that there is no shortage of material out there for one to look through. This book, however, does what it was meant to do, which is capture the major events and some little known details from the perspective of those 4 musicians that history will never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, idiosyncratic, even beautiful
Review: Judging from the title, I expected this to read more like an exhaustive history of the Beatles--something that is always welcome, especially to me, but not necessarily new. Instead, what I found was a series of observations and reminiscences by the members, many of them brand new to me, and almost all of them engaging in a way that most writing on the Beatles isn't. For anyone truly interested in the group and its members, this book is required reading.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: As a long-time avid Beatle person, I thought nothing else could be written that would be new or informative...Wrong!! This book takes us on an insightful and thought-provoking journey back to a really magical time. After reading book after book by "outsiders", it's really wonderful to be able to finally hear George, Paul, Ringo and John's take on Beatle life. The book is large, with beautiful photo's, some never before published. With Christmas just around the corner, this is a great gift, for yourself or someone you know who loves the Fabs
Rating: 
Summary: great book
Review: I think this book is great.It has all the potentials of a particularly enthusiastic entertainer.
Rating:
Summary: Fab photos & text; a very cool book for Beatle fans.
Review: As a long-time Beatle book collector, I can honestly report that this book is gorgeous & the concept fairly well-executed. Some of the photos were so amazingly personal & unusual-- since purchasing The Beatles Anthology, I have repeatedly enjoyed looking at the interesting candids from the Beatles' own private collections. As far as personal revelations from the group, there were not many surprises (especially if you have already viewed the Anthology video). Also, in my opinion, there was not enough emphasis on the actual recording & songwriting. However, there were plenty of fun anecdotes about their early years on the road (complete with stories of Beatle drug experimentation) & how everything changed for them with the onset of enormous fame. It was expecially touching to read about the respect & affection the group felt for each other in the early years. Overall, the stories were nice, but buy this one for the photos! It should make a fine addition to your own Beatle book collection and/or your coffee table.
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