DrBeatle's Book Reviews
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Hi - I considered buying this book, but in reading the Amazon reviews I got the overall impression that the author was quite anti-McCartney. Here's an excerpt from the most favorable negative review: Having said that, it seems criminal to read page after page dismissing Paul's contribution to music as inferior...Some of McCartney's biggest and best loved Beatles' songs even come under attack...Paul's work ethic and ambition...is endlessly ridiculed. After reading comments such as these, I figured this book was not for me. I did pre-order Man on the Run which I have started to read and have been enjoying. I have not read your blog review yet, but I was wondering if you could address the allegations that the author is particularly anti-McCartney.
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I didn't find him to be anti-McCartney...he certainly wasn't sycophantic but he was not anti-Paul either...if you want to read a book that's anti-Paul, read Philip Norman's bio on the Beatles, "Shout!" *THAT* book, he slags Paul from beginning to end. The author of Fab certainly had wrong opinions (in my opinion) about some of Paul's music, but on the whole I did not find it to be anti-McCartney.
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Man, it's been a while since I've been on here...life got insane with a big house move in late August/early September! Anyway, lots of new Beatles book reviews on my site, but the latest one is this: Some Fun Tonight: The Backstage Story of How the Beatles Rocked America http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-some-fun-tonight-backstage.html I cannot recommend this book enough! Also some other new ones since I last posted here: The Longest Cocktail Party: http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-longest-cocktail-party.html A Day in the Life: http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2014/12/book-review-beatles-day-in-life.html The Beatles Through Headphones: http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-review-beatles-through-headphones.html
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Damn, it's been a long time since I updated this! Lots of Beatles books since then, here's the most recent Beatles book...Paul's very own authorized bio/autobio, Many Years From Now! http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-review-paul-mccartney-many-years.html I'll post the rest of the links later on.
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Here's my review of the new Paul bio, Paul McCartney: The Life...I had to sit on it (by request of the publisher) until today when the book was released here in the US http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-review-paul-mccartney-life.html
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Riding So High: The Beatles and Drugs --> http://rnrchemist.blogspot.com/2018/01/book-review-riding-so-high-beatles-and.html
This is one of the best new Beatles books I've read in years. The author spent a few years researching and writing the book and produced a sholarly, interesting, and informative look at the effect of drugs on the Beatles music, lives, and careers from the very beginning of the band to the present day. And he's done it in an objective way that doesn't glorify or romanticize their drug use. I highly recommend this book.
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