The Beatles Anthology [Paperback]

Beatles (Author), John Lennon (Author), Paul McCartney (Author), George Harrison (Author), Ringo Starr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

The international best-seller is now in paperback! From their years growing up in Liverpool through their ride to fame to their ultimate breakup, heres the inside story. Interwoven with The Beatles own memories are the recollections of such associates as road manager Neil Aspinall, producer George Martin, and spokesman Derek Taylor. The Beatles Anthology is a once-in-a-lifetime volume: warm, frank, funny, poignant, and bold-just like the music thats been a part of so many of our lives. The Beatles Anthology is, for the first time, the story of The Beatles by The Beatles. Created with the full cooperation of Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko Ono Lennon, it also includes the words of John, painstakingly compiled from sources worldwide. The Beatles Anthology is, in effect, The Beatles autobiography.The Beatles Anthology features over 1300 images, most previously unpublished. Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko Ono Lennon all opened their own archives just for this project, as did Apple, EMI, and others long associated with The Beatles, allowing the unprecedented release of photographs, documents, and other memorabilia from their homes and offices. The result is an extraordinary wealth of visual material brimming on each and every page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Who knows why the Beatles happened?" John Lennon asked in 1980: if anyone did, it would be the Fab Four themselves, who tell their own storyDwith plenty of visual aidsDin this giant compendium. Festooned with more than 1,300 photographs, posters and documents (many in color), the weighty (6.6 lbs.) volume offers the Beatles' "own permanent written record of events up to 1970," some of it previously published, but much of it transcribed from new or unpublished interviews. Paul, George, Ringo and Beatles-related folks (Brian Epstein, George Martin, Derek Taylor) contribute text from interviews conducted for the book and for an accompanying TV program. Words from the late John Lennon have been gathered from print, broadcast and manuscripts (each with an indicated date), then spliced together to create coherent pages and paragraphs. The book opens with the band members' separate accounts of their childhoods, then moves into a year-by-year organization that allows for great detail and many digressions. Here are what the Beatles have said, or say now, about particular sessions and gigs. Here, too, are comments and reminiscences on every topic in their careerD from marijuana to Manila to Murray the K, from Hamburg to "A Hard Day's Night" to "Hey, Jude." Most of the text appears oral-history style, in short paragraphs with rapid switches between one Beatle and another: the format makes it sound as if all the Beatles (including John) were being interviewed simultaneously. The visuals bring in cartoons, signed letters, scrawled drawings and photos. As a whole the volume is beautiful, big and a bit intimidating, somewhere between the Yellow Submarine and the Death Star. (One-day laydown, Oct. 5) Forecast: Do people still care? You bet they do. With massive publicity, innumerable tie-ins and enduring, worldwide passion for the music, this is poised to be one of the biggest nonfiction books of the year. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

What should be the final word on the Beatles has arrived. It takes the form of a massive oral-history tome, its contents derived mostly from recorded conversations with Paul, George, and Ringo for the recent TV documentary The Beatles Anthology. Those are augmented by excerpts from interviews with John that are integrated effectively and almost seamlessly with the new material, and by occasional comments from the group's closest associates, such as recording producer George Martin. Big as it is, the volume virtually overflows with fascinating tidbits about growing up in Liverpool, early gigs, the rise to unprecedented fame and acclaim, and the Beatles' pervasive social influence. It seems crammed much in the way that the Beatles crammed several lifetimes' worth of music and living into the decade of the group's existence. Although the contents are somewhat sanitized--this is, after all, essentially a group autobiography--the four address less-pleasant incidents, such as the sacking of original Beatles drummer Pete Best and the petty squabbles that led to the group's 1970 breakup. The text is accompanied by more than 1,300 photos, many letters, and other memorabilia. There isn't much news, though. After 30 years and hundreds of books, few secrets remain to be revealed. But even familiar bits of Beatle lore seem fresh when told in the band's own words. Expect heavy demand for this monumental release, especially after the holidays, from frustrated Beatlemaniacs who failed to find the pricey item under the tree. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811836363
• ISBN-13: 978-0811836364
• Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 10 x 14 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (240 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lennon, John
  • #40 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Pop Culture > Beatles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

184 of 189 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Chronicle At Last, October 14, 2000

By 

Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles Anthology (Hardcover)

Hundreds of books have been written about The Beatles, but it is
crushingly obvious when reading this Anthology volume that by far the
best one would naturally come from the bandmembers themselves. [The
price] seems like an incredible bargain considering the size and
quality of this work, which covers the years 1940 (the birth of Ringo
and John) to the breakup in 1970. At 368 coffee-table sized pages
it's already huge, but the small print makes it almost double that
size.

The book would be worth it just for the photos alone, which
are beautifully reprinted--many from the early years are actually in
color--chronicling dozens of previously unpublished, intimate moments
taken straight from the group's personal archives. But what really
makes this one essential is the text itself, which is taken from
interviews conducted with Paul, George and Ringo in the 90s and an
exhaustive compilation of Lennon quotes from all points in his life (I
recognized many, but there were also some I've never seen before).
Even after the dozens upon dozens of biographies which have recounted
the group's earth-shattering tale ad nauseum, you feel like you're
reading it for the first time. All four bandmembers speak with a
thousand times more wit, frankness and detail than all of their
previous biographers combined; in fact, they manage to offer up
juicier tales, and more interesting spins on already known events,
than anything you've read before even in the most gossipy bios--and
you get it this time knowing that it's honest (you know it's honest
when you hear conflicting memories about certain events!).

"Anthology" is especially revealing when it comes to the
childhoods and Hamburg era: you get to hear about the first time
George got laid (right in front of the other three bandmembers!), or
when Ringo was a member of the Dingle gang, or what they did at
teenage parties. The detail is so thorough and vividly recalled for
the early years (and butressed by the photos) that you feel like
you're living it as it actually happened. No stone is left unturned
about the famous years, either: George and Ringo philosophize about
their first LSD trips and the meaning of "Tomorrow Never
Knows", the Maharishi controversy is finally put to rest (hint:
he never made a pass at anybody), and new insight is shed on the
evolution of the friendships between John and the other three. More
is made about the breakup than was on the "Anthology"
videos, including Yoko's presence and the business hassles, as well as
the making of "Abbey Road". Finally, all of this is told
with such an elegant sense of Beatle humor that even the heaviest
moments are a joy to read. Also included are excerpts from Stu
Sutcliffe and Brian Epstein's personal diaries. With this volume now
finally released, the only other essential Beatle books to get are
Lewishon's "Beatles Chronicle" and Miles' "The Beatles:
A Diary", both of which give exact reference dates and
descriptions for every live show, radio, recording and filming session
(as well as more great photos).

85 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A joyful book!, October 28, 2000

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles Anthology (Hardcover)

How can any Beatles fan not be delirious over the arrival of this book? I spent four hours glued to it, lovingly turning each page, laughing, smiling and astounded over so many previously unseen photos. I have 400 Beatles books in my collection in many different languages. This book beats them all in content, style, text, arrangement and producing pure bliss in the reader. Some of the early photos from the Cavern and Hamburg years have appeared before in Mike McGear's 1977 book, but there are other new photos when the boys were so young it's almost piercing to look at them.

My only slight criticism is that much of the text was lifted directly from the Beatles Anthology series. This was disappointing, but the soaring positives of this weighty book cancel out any whining. For all of us Beatles fans, this is the apex of what will be offered for a long time. You will cherish this book and get endless hours of fascination and enjoyment from it. John, Paul, George and Ringo...still producing powerful emotions. They always will.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Good as it Could Get For the Best of All Time, November 21, 2000

By 

Mark Piske (farmers branch, texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beatles Anthology (Hardcover)

The book is packed with photos, memories, ads, and trinkets of all varietie, and not just the ones Beatles fans have seen forever - some are pretty rare. It's sure to feed the appetite of Beatles fans for years. Well worth the price, and a great gift. It's both a comprehensive encyclopedia on the band, and a great coffee table book with its beautiful silver cover. Recommended to any serious Beatles fan. It's more enjoyable with each passing day.