Dark Horse: The Life And Art Of George Harrison [Paperback]

Geoffrey Giuliano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1997

The least understood and most paradoxical of the Beatles, George Harrison has parried for more than twenty-five years any attempt to penetrate the public enigma that cloaks the private man—that is, until Dark Horse. In the mid–1980s Geoffrey Giuliano lived in the "often wonderfully unreal" world of Harrison and his friends, interviews with whom are the basis for much of this vivid and revealing portrait. Here are Harrison's Liverpool childhood, the forging of the Beatles, their unheralded ascendancy, and the bitter break-up; his turbulent solo career with its soaring successes and harrowing setbacks; his reincarnation as a Traveling Wilbury; his impact as a record and film producer; his oft-publicized and misjudged spiritual quest; and much more. This edition includes an additional chapter that discusses Harrison's life through the twenty-fifth-anniversary reunion of the surviving Beatles to record new tracks for their video and musical anthology, as well as updated appendices and rare, previously unpublished photos. The result is a comprehensive, illuminating look at George Harrison's musical career and inner life.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

George was always the "quiet one," and since taking a step back from his own successful solo career following the breakup of the Beatles, Harrison has been a truly reclusive figure. Covering his childhood and life during and after the Fab Four, this updated edition includes Harrison's take on the resurgence of Beatlemania following the release of the three recent Anthology CDs. This remains "a necessary acquisition for most libraries" (LJ 5/1/90).
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Geoffrey Giuliano, one of the leading authorities on the Beatles, is the author of Dark Horse: The Life and Art of George ; Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townsend; The Lost Beatles Interviews; The Lost John Lennon Interviews; and many other books on rock music and culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Updated edition (March 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807475
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807473
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,556,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Still waiting for a good George Harrison book, August 10, 2001

By 

Bethany (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Horse: The Life And Art Of George Harrison (Paperback)

There are whole-hearted Beatles fans, who can't pick a favourite, and then there are the ones who focus only on ONE -- the bassist, the guitarist, and so on. And usually, if that's the case, they pick George Harrison.

Very little information is known on George so, when I had read basically every Paul McCartney book, I turned to tracking down this rather elusive book (it took me a few months to finally get it from the local library). And I must say I was rather disappointed.

There's no substance here. Basically everything is, as earlier reviewers have stated, from the rumour mill. The only light spots in the book, if you're the nebby type, are of Harrison's affections toward his father, Harold, who died in 1977, and his son, Dhani. Parts of the book also show Harrison's real generosity as a man, not Beatle.

The speculations become very irritating in some points -- as in the observance of the possible reasons leading to his breakup and divorce from his first wife, Pattie Boyd. Eric Clapton did eventually fall in love with her, and that's well-documented but Giuliano comes up with his own, unsubstantiated ideas about the "real" end of their marriage: George wasn't allowed to have sex for pleasure according to his devout religious beliefs (which has never been proved), and therefore, Pattie was possibly infertile. Giuliano concludes this after Pattie has had two childless marriages. Has he interviewed Ms. Boyd on any occasion? No. So there's no truth here.

Giuliano considers himself the darling of the Beatle book community but, it's interesting to note, the best reviews for his books come when the book is based around the Beatles' word themselves. Avoid this book, and stick to George's I Me Mine or the Beatles Anthology instead.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pure gossip, January 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Horse: The Life And Art Of George Harrison (Paperback)

If you want more information about the life of George Harrison, this book is DEFINITELY NOT the place to get it. It reads like something out of the National Enquirer. As is the case in most of his books, the author injects himself into it, in this case, making the most of a very short association with George, which his wife Olivia once described in a letter to a British newspaper as lasting "about 10 minutes." Because of that, the book has little in the way of solid information on George and actually deserves less than a one-star rating. How about a zero?

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars TIRED CLICHES, July 12, 2001

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dark Horse: The Life And Art Of George Harrison (Paperback)

I read this book because as an inveteterate Beatles fan, I was interested in the subject and treatment of guitarist, George Harrison. Instead of being a serious and comprehensive biography, I found this work to be little more than innuendo and hearsay. Mr. Guiliano tends to rely heavily upon cliches such as "the Quiet One" and gives a very surfacy overview of the man's talents and musical contributions. He does not provide substantial facts and many of his statements appear to be more of his subjective opinions rather than objective, factual (and hopefully) informative statements about his subject.

Read the Beatles' Anthology instead. You will be glad that you did.