In Their Own Words (In Their Own Words S.) [Paperback]

Beatles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1978 | Series: In Their Own Words S.

This unique, bestselling series now incorporates over 25 titles. Features quotes gathered over the years from family, friends and the artists themselves giving the reader a personal insight into their music and world. Fully illustrated throughout with black and white photographs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Omnibus Press; First Japanese Edition edition (November 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0860015408
• ISBN-13: 978-0860015406
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,887,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truly In Their Own Words, October 3, 2006

By 

T. McCool "old married guy" (Lafayette, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Their Own Words (In Their Own Words S.) (Paperback)

I looked this up on Amazon because I've had this book in my library since it was published in 1978, and I'm glad to see it is still in print.

The book's cover notes that the contents are "compiled" by the author "Miles" (aka Barry Miles) from "interviews and clippings assembled by the author," and also from extensive interviews of McCartney, Lennon and Harrison conducted by the author in 1966 and 1968. Nothing is notated as to source.

Every word in the book is from the mouth of a Beatle. The topics covered include "the story," really a collection of topics ranging from the early days to the break-up. A section titled "press conferences" of Q&A with unnamed correspondents. A section titled "Songwriting" discusses the songwriting partnership and process between Lennon and McCartney, and "The Songs" section is a song-by-song commentary from the band. Other sections cover the films, politics and drugs. Black and white photos appear throughout the book, none of which are particularly rare.

Overall, it's a fascinating look into not only the Beatles as a group but the individual personalities of the Beatles. I would particularly recommend this to a neophyte or casual fan of the Beatles.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars retro fun!, March 23, 2010

By 

Sheena Carver "dazeerae" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beatles in Their Own Words (Paperback)

This magazine-sized book contains many large photos of the Beatles and great quotes from each member of the band on their lives, song lyrics, extra curricular activities, and politics. It is an interesting read for any fan. The only thing I didn't like is that the quotes are not always dated, and information is not well-sourced. Despite that, I enjoyed the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly their own words, April 9, 2008

By 

McCartney devotee (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beatles in their own words (Paperback)

This was the first of the many books I've read about the Beatles. It is as much the way the previous reviewers below describe it - - but for me when reading it the first time really touched my imagination. I was a young Beatle freak in the early 1980's, hungry for Beatles info. I got the book as a gift from my family, after they saw that I was listening to same Beatles albums over and over again. So when I got the book I read through it with obsessive fascination. The book had the affect on me that I began thinking about the world around me as the Beatles did. The different ideas, events or songs talked about by the Beatles in this book were described in such a way that - - along with the wonderful music - - as I got older always would be a part of my personal development. The stuff Lennon, McCartney and Harrison come up with here is endlessly fun, particularly in the song-by-song and events sections. Also, Lennon's commentary on the Beatles' films is quite devastating - - he didn't have a good thing to say about any of them except perhaps AHDN (and really, it sounds like he's holding back on that one).
Anyway, this is the book that started me off on the long and winding road, as McCartney would say. After all these years, looking at my old tattered copy of it, I'd have to say "Beatles In Their Words" is still amongst the top ten Beatles' books of all time. Top three in terms of nostalgia. I would recommend it for new Beatles fans, along with books written by Hunter Davies, Nicholas Shafner, Peter Brown and Mark Lewisohn. Philip Norman's "Shout! The Beatles In Their Generation" is, however, the greatest Beatles book of all time.