Interesting, enjoyable, scattershot series of vignettes of the Beatles. As such, it follows Brown's interests without trying to provide comprehensiveness, or a particular narrative arc. That approach has strengths and weaknesses, as do the individual chapters. Still, it'd be hard to not make this enjoyable, and Brown manages that, despite a couple of missteps. ( )

I'm not especially knowledgeable about the Beatles. I found this quite entertaining, and, at least for someone who mostly knows the Beatles by their music, unflattering. As expected, Ringo comes out on top. ( )

For someone who doesn't read celebrity autobiographies, I worried this book was going to be a slog...and I have learned that there are things you're better off not knowing about stars you enjoy. I was wrong about this book; less autobiography than tidbits of trivia and other things of more importance, working it's way through the evolutionary path that led to the creation of the Fab Four, and wound further on to their break up. The author writes well, in an engaging manner, and it is an easy read, even though quite long. The format makes it easy, too, since it's broken into small chapters (150 of them), and you can put it down to turn off the light without having to slog forward for pages and pages to find a stopping point. And while it does discuss the...quirks...sexually and in drug use, it isn't done in a manner that is the usual turn off for someone who doesn't find that stuff interesting. It's a side note, not prurient in the writing, and most of the book is concerned with the group and their doings. The final chapter, moving backward from Brian Epstein's funeral to his first meeting with the Beatles, is a nice wrap up. ( )

Prolific British satirist and journalist Brown provides a very personal retrospective / history of The Fab Four by dipping into various points of their story through a series of histories, anecdotes, speculations, introspection, and sidebars. The personal stories are interwoven with examination of their cultural and psychological impact on both close associates and fans. Brown’s 150 entries tend to focus on the bookends of the Beatles’ stories, the early days in Liverpool, the rise of Beatlemania, and the later Apple days skipping over the touring days to some extent; but that doesn’t detract from the books overall effect of emphasizing just how startlingly quick and game-changing the impact of The Beatles was over just a few short years. ( )

A unique look at The Fab Four: their lives and times. In snippets (glimpses) the parts reveal the whole. Even as a self-avowed Beatle-maniac, I learned new things. The book captures the relative depravity of post WWII English (Liverpudian) life --despite the boys' middleclass makeovers-- and reveals the true extent of their rags-to-riches climb.

Sadly, to quote another rock'n'roller, 'life goes on longer the thrill is gone' and so does the Beatles' story. The last few years of the group, especially post Brian Epstein, are painful to read. In sum, they are musicians, not muses.

Recommended for Beatle fans and Anglophiles. ( )