Customer Reviews

Postcards from the Boys

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had a chance to page through the Genesis Publications version of this book that sells for about $600, I think, and I had to be careful not to drool on it so they wouldn't make me buy it! That book comes packaged in a replica of a red metal British post office box. The postcards, though fake, look incredibly realistic, as they are glued in like you would glue real postcards into a photo album. They are limited to 2,500 and Ringo signs each one. But since I can buy 35 of these books for less than one of the Genesis versions, I'll stick with this. I was so happy when I found out there was going to be a cheaper version so everyone could enjoy the postcards. I love reading the personal, sometimes silly messages the Beatles wrote to Ringo. Since they were never really intended for public viewing, you get to see the Beatles as just four close, normal friends. This is evidenced by the way they addressed most of the cards to Richard Starkey, Ringo's real name. I especially like the funny messages and drawings on John Lennon's postcards. This book is a really fun piece of Beatles history, and I am glad Ringo saved all those cards years ago!

In one interview or another over the years, all four Fabs have commented that nobody outside of the four of them can really know what it was like being a Beatle. This book, really quite simple, unpretentious and unassuming, takes us more inside their world than any previous one ever has, ever could. There are some funny little holes too - dates that Ringo gets wrong in his text that the editor let slide, for example - but these add to the genuine quality of this humble collection of priceless scribbles, doodles and scrawls. The more you know about the Beatles, the more you will get out of this book.

This is one of those books you come back to because it is so neat... you will also want to share it with your friends.

I purchased a copy of this book for myself as well as one for my brother (as a Christmas present). The quality of the print is excellent where you get to view postcards in great detail (front and back). Many of these will make you laugh and some might even make you cry. It is amazing how reviewing many of these postcards will take you back in time.

This is a wonderful little book, what a great peek into the lives of the Beatles. Genesis publications put out a collectors edition of this book that sold for $500+ - what a bagain at under $20! Of course, this version is nowhere near as fancy, but delivers the same content in an affordable format. Nicely done, and Ringo's cut goes to charity, just like the Genesis version. Kudos to Ringo for sharing with us!

This book features a really neat concept, one which was executed fairly well but ultimately is a bit disappointing.

The book features reproductions of postcards written by John, Paul, and George to Ringo over the years. On the plus side, the reproductions are done well in this book. They are as clear as they possibly can be I suppose (the problem is usually messy handwriting). Also worth noting is that Ringo includes postcards not only from the 60's while the Beatles were still together, but from the 70's and 80's and on well after their split.

The problem is that only some of the postcards are interesting. Few are particularly revealing. Some are interesting only because they are cryptic or so specific to an event at the time that neither the reader nor Ringo can figure out what the author of the postcard is talking about! Other postcards are literally nothing more than messages along the lines of "Hi Ringo, Love So-and-So".

Ringo adds short captions to the postcards. Some of these are entertaining (particularly Ringo's reference to having played at a Beach Boys concert, but only knowing he played because someone showed him a photo of it!), but there is also the feeling on some of these captions that space is simply being filled because each card has to have a caption. How else would Ringo even be going off on a tangent about the Beach Boys in a caption of a postcard from one of the other Beatles?

Some of the messages are endearing and interesting, and some of the actual choices of what types of postcards to send Ringo are also pretty funny.

Ultimately, I don't think the book could have been any better than this. This is the collection of postcards Ringo had. (I'm just assuming he isn't holding back any for some reason). It's interesting as a bit of a look inside of the relationship between Ringo and the other Beatles. It's also interesting to see back in time and see how things were for the Beatles in past years.

This book is definitely a "coffee table" sort of book, not intended for revealing any juicy secrets or as a biography.

I have to admit that I wasn't too sure about this book when I got it. I mean, Ringo? Over the years he has probably done less writing (of an autobiographical sort) than the other Beatles and so I wasn't sure what to expect here. Fortunately, Postcards from the Boys is just what you would want from the former fourth Fab.

This is essentially a collection of postcards that Ringo got over the years from the other Beatles. They are nicely reproduced, both front and rear, and Ringo has made comments about each one and the conditions under which he received it. The little recollections are charming, humorous, and written by someone with a lot of heart. Though his insights are often not very deep, or his memory is a bit fuzzy, to me this was part of the charm.

What you won't find here is a lot of consistency. The blurbs, when put together, don't tell any particular over-arcing narrative. In fact, they don't really even involve events that are necessarily important in the lives of their prestigious authors. That's part of why this book stands out. It is more like sitting with a friend who is showing you some of their prized mementos than reading a book by a famous person. And though Paul, George, and Paul aren't directly involved, peeping at these postcards is a surprisingly intimate look at some famous friendships.

Pick this book up if you find it at a good price. It's a fun read.

As I write this letter...Funny, ain't it how the Beatles had appropriate songs and lyrics to fit any given occasion! This book is sure to delight all who come across it. Readers get to see the Beatles in their natural state and get a sense of these four distinct and very unique individuals.

It was a happy day for Beatle fans when this book was sold at afforable prices since the Genesis Publication version of this book is prohibitively expensive for most people. The Genesis version shows a simulated version of the cards in an equally simulated postal box and are presented in a photo album format with accompanying anecdotes. I loved the funny messages from the other Beatles and Paul's inclusion of his childrens' names in his signatures. I really like that. I loved George's cards with his straightforward message and beautiful tropical images.

The majority of the cards are addressed to Mr. Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr, Beatle and artist extraordinaire) and John's unique brand of humor will certainly bring smiles to the faces of all who read this delightful collection.

I've always been a Beatlemaniac, ever since I was very young. I'm only 20 years old, so I never got to live through the great time period in which the Beatles dominated the music scene, though I would have liked to have! No, I have their records to take me back to their time and that's about as close as I'll get. I've always been very interested in their lives. I've read many books including Shout!, a very highly recommended book for any Beatles fan. Postcards From The Boys is another one of those books that I highly recommend to any Beatles fan. It's described as being a small peek as to what went on amongst the four Liverpool lads. It shows that although they could not continue on as a band, they could still continue on as friends. Ringo did a great thing to fans by releasing this.

This is a valuable piece of Beatle literature that provided me with some really nice new nuggets of information and understanding, and I feel grateful to Ringo for sharing not only the postcards, but his observations on them. Even the choice of pictures on the cards tells you things about the characters of George, John and Paul.
In all, a real contribution for Beatle nuts who hunger for a little more sense of what the guys are/were "really like."

A great look back at many interesting and important time periods of Ringo and the Beatles, happy times, turnoil, post Beatles, pesonal up's and down's. Obviously the 4 of them tried to keep contact during the post Beatles years and Ringo was nice enough to keep all the postcards and publish them for the fans to read.