Customer Reviews

The Beatles: 365 Days

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is, like the boxed Lennon book with pull-outs and transparancies, one more of a strange pattern of Beatles books that is focused less on content than on presentation and quality. There is very little in this book that die-hard Beatles fans don't already know, and there is no necessary reason for this book's existence, but the presentation of the material is so exquisite, who cares. This is a first rate coffee table book whose pages and cover I like to tenderly stroke, as strange as that sounds. The strange rectangular format is extremely striking and many of the photographs, and the way in which they have been reproduced, make the boys look magnificent, and you know that can't be bad.

When it comes to The Beatles, they are one of the most photographed figures in history. Once again, a book of Beatle photographs has been released. Simon Wells shares with the public an enormous collection of photographs of the group that captures Beatlemania and post-Beatlemania images. The somewhat panoramic format of the book contains hundreds of photographs both in color and black and white that have many have seen and many that have not been seen . The book almost resembles a photo album or something that would have been suitable for autographs from all four Beatles.

What's different about this book from other Beatle photo-related books? A few of the photographs are outtakes or alternate takes of photographs that have been released from the Hulton-Getty archives, and a few of the photographs that have been previously published in an array of mass produced publications - low-end biographies and tribute magazines. The short captions that accompany each photograph are quite helpful and accurate of the time and place they were taken. It almost looks like a mini-anthology version of the Beatle story, but one that starts with 1963 and unusually ends with 1970 and beyond. However, it would have been much more helpful to see a detailed thumbnail index of the photo credits at the back of the book -- who took the photos and when and where they were taken; It was a disappointment to see that Robert Whitaker was the only photographer specifically credited with the corresponding page numbers.

Overall, THE BEATLES: 365 DAYS is a must for Beatle fans. The images show a good chronology of the band, and how baby-faced they looked when they began and how tired they looked when the band dissolved. Indeed, it is a good book to have on the bookshelf as well as on the coffee table.

When I saw this book my first thought was, "Not another Beatles title!". But I am pleasantly surprised with the content. Simon Wells' "Beatles 365 Days" is a glorious illustrated chronology that charts the magical history of the Beatles' decade. Filled with a tremendous array of photographs and coupled with insightful and intelligent captions, this book takes you back to the glory days of the fab four. What I like about it more than anything, is the fact you can pick it up at any time and delve through the group's remarkable history. Wells' writing is intelligent and witty, while carefully placed sound-bites offer cogent validations to the images.

In all in all, an excellent book.

A brick of a book with so much to enjoy.

As a Beatle nut I liked that (very nearly) all photos are of oversized postcard size, meaning it is possible to see more detail than is usual in Beatles books. This, plus the chronological ordering of the photos allowed me to narrow down the date when Paul refitted and reversed the control panel on his Hofner.

The pictures give a visual to stories we already know. We see a blurred John rushing for the train to Bangor in Euston station, followed by a distressed Cynthia who missed the train, followed by the shattered and distraught Beatles when the news of Brian's death came through.

The vast majority of the photos I have never seen before (and I have around 20 Beatles books), so this is a welcome addition.

I have become cynical about new Beatles issues, but this one is a must, even for those with just a casual interest in the Beatles!

This book is an absolute treasure and worth every penny of the steep price I payed for it.The pictures are large and extremely high quality and most of them are in vivid color.Another wonderful thing is the fact that they are in chronological order,almost day by day from the end of 1962 to 1970.This is perfect for students of the Beatles because it gives an accurate visual history of the band to suppliment all of the written histories.This leads me to another important point.Anyone with eyes knows that not only is the music great but The Fab Four were indeed VERY nice to look at!And I don't think you have to be a woman,as I most certainly am,to notice that!This book is alot of fun.Because of the date order you see that Paul is wearing the same shirt almost two days in a row on their 1966 American tour!Wonder what happened?! Didn't Neil get to the local cleaners?No clean shirts left?I bet Paul was less than thrilled.To see their clothing styles change every 6 months or so is also interesting.The pictures of the concerts are fantastic especially the color ones.Some of them are large closeups.It also includes some of Bob Whiticker's beautiful photos.He took some of the best pictures of the Fabs and I don't mean the silly Butcher shots.This book should be in every Beatlemaniac's collection.

With over 700 books on the Beatles published, you'd think that every photo of the group had been used. Not so, according to Simon Wells' "Beatles 365 Days". Inside you'll find an amazing aray of shots that spans the whole history of the group. I particularly liked the "Middle Years" photos, most of which seem to be taken by Beatle snapper supreme, Robert Whitaker. The text is excellent, although I would have liked to know more of what's going on, but this is a minor gripe.
"Beatles 365 Days" is a tasty addition to my ever growing shelf of Beatles books.

This is one of the best Beatles picture books I have seen.
Most of the pictures are previously unpublished.The postcard format of the pictures is really attractive.
The 744 page book literally spans the entire Beatles career from 1963 to 1969.
Highly recommended.

I like to sit down every once in a while and thumb through picture books, especially of The Beatles. Simon Wells did a pretty good job of selecting previously unseen photos - as opposed to reprinting pictures that have been published thousands of times before but with different captions.

Although the price was a bit steep for a book of this nature, it's a good investment nonetheless and Wells's love of The Fab Four comes through with his informative captions.

This isn't a must have book for your Beatles library but it would compliment it nicely.

Really gorgeous book this which builds up the whole history of the fab four from Cavern basement to world domination. The captions are informative, insightful and appear very well researched. The photos are exceptional- doubt if I've seen 90% of them before. Best of all is the price- staggeringly cheap! A great Xmas present and a delightful partner for the coffee table.
Buy one? Buy three!

This beautiful book makes me think of Ringo Starr's 1973 classic, "Photograph."

This is a beautiful book with a collection of delightful photographs. Although there is no new material for the inveterate Beatle fan, the presentation of and quality of the photographs makes this book worth having. I love it!