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Rating: 
Summary: GREAT FOR NEWBIES, BUT LIMITED BY FORMAT
Review: As a hippie kid, I grew up in a house where the Beatles were at the top of the musical heirarchy. I knew a lot about them as a result of being into them for so long, but this book fills in the little gaps of knowledge I'd always had. Buskin knows the Beatles history inside and out. His coverage of their career is complete, even delving into the social and historical forces that shaped the Fab Four and set the stage for their ongoing success and eventual demise. I've read few rock history books that go so far to paint such a complete picture of the people and events that shaped a rock and roll band. So why the four out of five stars? Call me picky, but I can't stand when historical authors fail to move in a chronological sequence. There's just no reason why he couldn't have taken it one year at a time with this book. But while I dislike the structure of the book (which may not have been the author's fault, it is a complete idiot's guide after all), you still come away knowing a LOT more about the Fab Four by the time you're done. So, while it's not the best format to tackle the subject, it certainly succeeds in making a novice knowledgable, which is what these books are all about.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT FOR NEWBIES, BUT LIMITED BY FORMAT
Review: As a hippie kid, I grew up in a house where the Beatles were at the top of the musical heirarchy. I knew a lot about them as a result of being into them for so long, but this book fills in the little gaps of knowledge I'd always had. Buskin knows the Beatles history inside and out. His coverage of their career is complete, even delving into the social and historical forces that shaped the Fab Four and set the stage for their ongoing success and eventual demise. I've read few rock history books that go so far to paint such a complete picture of the people and events that shaped a rock and roll band. So why the four out of five stars? Call me picky, but I can't stand when historical authors fail to move in a chronological sequence. There's just no reason why he couldn't have taken it one year at a time with this book. But while I dislike the structure of the book (which may not have been the author's fault, it is a complete idiot's guide after all), you still come away knowing a LOT more about the Fab Four by the time you're done. So, while it's not the best format to tackle the subject, it certainly succeeds in making a novice knowledgable, which is what these books are all about.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but with some mistakes...
Review: I was just perusing this title last night at Tower Records. I've been doing some research on the Beatles' concerts in the Philippines and I noticed that this book kept referring to the capital city as "Manilla" instead of the correct spelling "Manila". I didn't notice any places in the book where they said "Londdon", "Pariss", "New Yorrk" or "Tokyyo"... maybe the editors of the book just didn't care.
Rating: 
Summary: Great For Beatles Begginers
Review: I've found this book is a good read, with a serious mistake. The author claims that McCartney's Sgt. Pepper's uniform bears the patch Officially Pronounced Dead (O.P.D.). Actually the patch is O.P.P for Ontario Provincial Police. McCartney got it from an officer giving to him during one of the Beatles' visit to Toronto.
Rating:
Summary: FUN WITH THE FAB 4
Review: This is just a fun book that is tailored to folks becoming familiar with the Beatles, their music and their long reaching influences on the world at large. Although it does not move in a chronological sequence, it does a nice job of providing a foundation on which to build Beatle knowledge. As a Beatles' expert, there was little if any new material in this work for me, but I did enjoy it from a "teaching" perspective. This is not meant to be a scholarly or comprehensive work about the Beatles nor is it a "Dick & Jane" format of merely simplifying their works to the basic "Hear/See the Beatles Play. ...." To describe it from either extreme is to do it a grave injustice; to view it is a harmless teaching tool that also has humorous passages is indeed, I believe the more accurate approach. I enjoyed it. This book is a good resource tool for the person who is "newly" coming into the Beatles.
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