Rating: 
Summary: A great dark hole made light again
Review: For a time in their career that seems to have been so filled with joy, health, flowers, light, and hope, I used to think of the pre-White Album years (specifically the India trip) as a subject few if any really knew anything about. It was like they went to India and BAM, suddenly here is a double album. Paul Saltzman's unpublished and beautifully laid out photos here change all that. What a great book. As essential as any drab "insider" biography or keen reviewer's guide to the albums. I for one am getting tired of reading reviews of the records by 25-year old Starbuck's employees slumming as indie-writers. I am also tired of rerading the same old accounts of the experience from literally dozens of writers who were not there to hear the story, but just repeat what they have read somewhere else. Example: I have read in nearly EVERY Beatles book that I can get my hands on that Ringo likened the experience to "Butlin's Holiday Camp". You'd think that he sent out a teletype to thousands of people that this was his opinion; it seems more likely that no one has anything original to offer on the subject, so they just repeat an offhand joke from a second or third-generation source until it is as tired as a stale piece of codfish. Well Saltzman doesn't mention that tired remark, instead choosing to offer his views of what was going on in the ashram in India from a first-person account of hanging with the Beatles for a few weeks and TALKING TO THEM. And the quality of the photographs... WOW. I'd say that anyone who doesn't wholeheartedly enjoy this addition to their Beatles library is a crank for sure. My gosh it's beautiful. And for those of you who say it doesn't shed any light on the subject we already knew about, I'd say you haven't read the text because I don't recall those Lennon quotes anywhere. A nice job.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I found this book to be more filler than substance.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and interesting but a bit short on written content
Review: I just read it last night. The pictures are beautiful, intimate, and candid. Everyone looks so relaxed. But there was not actually that much content in the written part of the book. I was surprised because it looked like a long book with lots of info from the outside, but has huge print. It was more like an essay than a book. What makes it great is to hear from someone that was there, and to see the Beatles in unrehearsed moments. I loved it!Beautiful!
Rating:
Summary: A MUST For Any Beatle Fan!!!!
Review: I went to Rishikesh, India in the fall of 2000. I realized why George was so amazed of this northern India town where the Ganges turns down from The Himalayan Mtns. I was blessed to have visited such a beautiful place, as my 94 year old grandfather from Delhi and my dad (Who's originally from northern India) took me to some amazing spots in Rishikesh. I felt so free. I felt the 'magic' The Beatles experienced. This book illustrates the journey of the fab four's 1967-68 visit for 'relaxation & meditation' and the outcome (Many of the songs recorded for "The White Album" were written while hanging and meditating at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram) The pictures (taken by the author of this book) are large and will grab you - This book is for The Beatle fan in you or someone you know. JG "The Bear"
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: Paul Saltzman is wonderful photographer. The informal shots of the Beatles will be of great interest to all their fans, but there are even more stunning shots - landscapes and portraits - taken on his recent return to Rishikesh. The narrative is straightforward and entertaining. The designer also deserves a special mention. His sense of colour and style has made this nostalgic "trip" a real work of art.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning pictures of the Beatles
Review: The images in this book are truly amazing. To see The Beatles in such casual poses and such an informal setting is a true treat, especially when compared to some of the more 'posed' and 'managed' photographs of them in the later stages of their career. Saltzman's intimate observations add depth and perspective in ways that very few other books even attempt. Widening the range of his observations and comments to include the people who surrounded The Beatles - Mia Farrow, Donovan, wives and girlfriends - lends a view to their 'real', everday lives that is a rare treat. I highly recommend this book to both the serious collector and the casual observer of The Beatles' phenomenon.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning pictures of the Beatles
Review: The images in this book are truly amazing. To see The Beatles in such casual poses and such an informal setting is a true treat, especially when compared to some of the more 'posed' and 'managed' photographs of them in the later stages of their career. Saltzman's intimate observations add depth and perspective in ways that very few other books even attempt. Widening the range of his observations and comments to include the people who surrounded The Beatles - Mia Farrow, Donovan, wives and girlfriends - lends a view to their 'real', everday lives that is a rare treat. I highly recommend this book to both the serious collector and the casual observer of The Beatles' phenomenon.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring Journey With The Beatles
Review: The latest wave of Beatlemania bring a flood of new material. But Paul Saltzman's "The Beatles In Rishikesh" stands out like a shining beacon. Focusing on a spiritual pilgrimage to India, the book, with thoughtful text and a treasure trove of previously unseen photos, offers fresh insights into the individuals and relationships that comprised the Fab Four. Saltzman shares unguarded glimpses into the Beatles' personalities and creatives processes. It's a warm and wonderful recollection, not only of the band, but of the '60s, a magical era. Beatle aficionados would be well advised to make Rishikesh their next reading destination. This is a journey they'll long remember.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The photographs in this book are truly a treat for any Beatle afficionado as well as anyone who comes across this book. Although there is little in the way of fresh factual material, the pictures, text and recreating the 1967-1968 period in the Beatles' career is sure to delight any reader. I like the way the author describes the sitar, an Indian stringed musical instrument that Ravi Shankar and George Harrison popularized in Western music. This book shows the cultural blending, the introduction to the western world at large a musical instrument that was, for many years, not well known outside of the middle east. George, under Shankar's tutelage masters the sitar and the Eastern influence can be heard in many of his later works as well as post-Beatles works. John Lennon, of late 1965 "Norwegian Wood" fame is not as entranced with the eastern world and eastern philosophy as his bandmate. John, from all accounts, keeps an open mind, yet maintains his own established values and beliefs. His approach to the Eastern experience appears to be that of an intellectual curiosity; he does not appear to embrace it on a personal or philosophical level. He seems to remain outside, yet looking in with the idea of learning more about what he is witnessing. I think most Beatles fans will appreciate the book. It does a rather thorough job of covering the Beatles' 1967 trip to India and the influences their trip east had on them for the remainder of their careers together as a band. It is, in some ways a refreshing peek behind the Eastern curtain into a part of their lives that many other works do not cover as fully.
Rating:
Summary: MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR TO INDIA
Review: The photographs in this book are truly a treat for any Beatle afficionado as well as anyone who comes across this book. Although there is little in the way of fresh factual material, the pictures, text and recreating the 1967-1968 period in the Beatles' career is sure to delight any reader. I like the way the author describes the sitar, an Indian stringed musical instrument that Ravi Shankar and George Harrison popularized in Western music. This book shows the cultural blending, the introduction to the western world at large a musical instrument that was, for many years, not well known outside of the middle east. George, under Shankar's tutelage masters the sitar and the Eastern influence can be heard in many of his later works as well as post-Beatles works. John Lennon, of late 1965 "Norwegian Wood" fame is not as entranced with the eastern world and eastern philosophy as his bandmate. John, from all accounts, keeps an open mind, yet maintains his own established values and beliefs. His approach to the Eastern experience appears to be that of an intellectual curiosity; he does not appear to embrace it on a personal or philosophical level. He seems to remain outside, yet looking in with the idea of learning more about what he is witnessing. I think most Beatles fans will appreciate the book. It does a rather thorough job of covering the Beatles' 1967 trip to India and the influences their trip east had on them for the remainder of their careers together as a band. It is, in some ways a refreshing peek behind the Eastern curtain into a part of their lives that many other works do not cover as fully.
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