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Erin Torkelson Weber

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The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four Kindle Edition

by Erin Torkelson Weber (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Hundreds of books have been written about The Beatles. Over the last half century, their story has been mythologized and de-mythologized and presented by biographers and journalists as history. Yet many of these works do not strictly qualify as history and the story of how the Beatles' mythology continues to be told has been largely ignored.
This book examines the band's historiography, exploring the four major narratives that have developed over time: The semi-whitewashed "Fab Four" account, the acrimonious breakup-era Lennon Remembers version, the biased "Shout!" narrative in the wake of John Lennon's murder, and the current Mark Lewisohn orthodoxy. Drawing on the most influential primary and secondary sources, Beatles history is analyzed using historical methods.

ISBN-13

978-1476662664
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

McFarland
Publication date

April 27, 2016
Language

English
File size

3988 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Weber meticulously and thoughtfully culls through the maze of Beatles-related bibliophilia and defines a fascinating historiographical trail ... The text not only examines the facts of Beatles existence, but it also explores the phenomena of celebrity marketing and sustaining imagery that are hallmarks of popular culture. Weber simultaneously lionizes a significant artistic group while dissecting the myths surrounding their long-term careers. This is a rare achievement in print. -- Rock Music Studies

About the Author

A Beatles fan and historian who has long been fascinated by historiography, Erin Torkelson Weber studied American History at Newman University and the University of Arkansas before earning her Masters Degree at Wichita State University. She currently teaches American History classes at Newman University and recently presented a paper at the Kansas Association of Historians Conference at Baker University.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01EI7WA3K
Publisher ‏ : ‎ McFarland (April 27, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 27, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3988 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 268 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #746,974 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #551 in Music History & Criticism (Kindle Store)
- #691 in Rock Music (Kindle Store)
- #934 in Popular Culture

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Erin Torkelson Weber is an historian, instructor of American History at Newman University, and second-generation Beatles fan.

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danny goldstein

An Essential Book For Beatles fans.

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021

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I will be honest. When I first saw this book on Amazon and read what it was about, I scoffed at it. Why in the world would I want to read a book that simply comments on many of the other books that I already have about The Beatles. I then saw the author interviewed on Pop Goes the 60s (look for this brilliant series on Youtube) and she was so insightful regarding the narratives that have formed over the years about the band, that I became curious so I bought it. I arrived just a couple of days ago.

I can't put it down.

I have so many books about the Beatles that is makes my head spin. One of the things I noticed over time is that much of the work has become derivative because many of the authors seem to just rely on all of the previous books that were written with a slight twist here or there. So like millions out there, I know the story of the Beatles because it has been repeated in those books, the press, etc. etc. etc.

But then something happened in the wake of the Get Back documentary. Like most people, I watched GB and came away from it thinking that many things I had been led to believe about that period were incorrect. I then sort of got pissed because I had all of these books...and they got it wrong as well. That's when I stumbled onto the Pop Goes the 60s video with the author and learned of the different broad narratives that had been built up over time about the band along with how and why.

IMHO, this book is absolutely essential reading for a Beatles fan. If, like me, you have a bookcase filled with books about the band, this book will change your perspective on many of them. Indeed, I would say that this is one of the five or ten most important books ever written about The Beatles because it helps fans to fully understand how myths and misconceptions get into the public consciousness.

16 people found this helpful

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wylie smith

opinions meet historiography

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2023

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I found this book mesmerizing. I have tried reading some books on the Beatles, but I felt that those books reflected the authors' opinions on what happened with the Beatles to be the focus rather than the events themselves. No book fails to be influenced by its author. Why write otherwise? But Weber uses the established rules of historiography (which is basically separating the author opinions/prejudices/likes from the story told) to point out the flaws of most books on the Beatles. Weber admits that no book is flawless, but she carefully gives the reasons why most books fail to deliver more than one side (of four) of the story.
Conclusion? This book aportioned any blame for the Beatles breakup more evenly than anything else that I have read. Trouble? Weber judges Mark Lewisohn's "Tune In" as THE best book, which means that I now face more 43 hours of Beatles analysis.And I am actually looking forward to it.

3 people found this helpful

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Robert Heiniger

Historical study of books about the Beatles

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020

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This book examines previous books about the Beatles. The author identifies three main categories of Beatles books, depending upon the current slant in attitudes toward the members of the group and their influence at the time the books were published. She does an excellent job of demonstrating pre-existing biases (pro-John, pro-Paul, etc) among the books' writers. She also demonstrates how these biases changed over time, and shows how the current approach to Beatles books has tended toward a more objective analysis in accordance with accepted standards for historical authenticity. There is a lot of emphasis on those standards, and citations for the historians who established them. This book has the hallmarks of a much-expanded PhD thesis in History, but I think is very useful in evaluating writings about the Beatles. For that reason I recommend it for Beatles fans.

8 people found this helpful

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Paul Wetor

Valuable For The Well-Read Beatles Fan

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2020

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This is a revealing book that looks at other books about the Beatles. You might think this would be a dry subject, but I found it quite eye-opening. I grew up following the Beatles into their solo years. Since I knew about John's over-the-top opinions, I never thought people would take them as gospel (Yoko is the greatest rock 'n' roller, I'd re-do all the Beatle songs, etc.) and that Paul would have to fight to get his own reputation back.

I found it shocking to think that some authors believe John is the only true genius in the band. It seems obvious to me just from listening to the Beatles that Paul and John were on equal terms. The fact that they decided to call their authorship "Lennon-McCartney" proves that Paul was John's equal. Generally, Paul's songs were likable right away, while John's might take time to get used to. Again, what a wonderful balance to have: songs for now, songs for later. The combination of these two songwriters is what made the magic happen.

The author points out that biographies have potential biases. Access to a Beatle might get closer to the truth or further from it, depending on the source's intentions. Dirty laundry gets covered up. (I'm currently reading a bio of George Martin and learned that he was already married when he met Judy. I was unaware of that...for 50 years).

I already take certain books with a grain of salt. When people recall with great detail who said/did what many years later, I get suspicious. My takeaway from this book is to do what I've already been doing: read multiple books on a subject, and consider the source. And learn to separate facts from opinions.

23 people found this helpful

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Antonio D'Alfonso

A serious study

Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2022

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This is an extremely fascinating work. A journey through the interpretation of The Beatles, as a band, as musicians, as persons. A must for lovers of The Beatles.

Adrian F.M.

Incredibly well researched

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2022

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A really fascinating, well-researched insight into the way in which the Beatles Story has been told has changed since they split up in 1970.

Donato M.

Per fan accaniti

Reviewed in Italy on May 20, 2021

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È una analisi su alcuni dei più famosi testi che raccontano la storia dei Beatles. Lo scopo è quello di evidenziare come molte biografie siano state redatte sulla base di un approccio giornalistico anzichè storiografico privilegiando miti/leggende/pregiudizi e spesso errori anche grossolani.
È scritto in modo abbastanza piacevole ma sempre pedantemente corroborato dalle tesi storiografiche dell'autrice. Sembra, a tratti, appunto una tesi di laurea.
Avendo letto quasi tutti i testi di cui l'autrice parla trovo che le precisazioni siano lucide e intelligenti ma non in proprio tutti i casi coerenti.
È comunque utile per valutare quali siano i testi più affidabili sui Beatles anche se in qualche caso le assegnazioni di imparzialità decretate dall'autrice mi sembrano, ironicamente, opinabili.
Nel complesso uno studio molto interessante che fa luce su alcuni aspetti della storia beatlesiana e da modo al fan accanito di procedere ad ulteriori indagini.

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Neil Evans

excellent, well-researched

Reviewed in Australia on November 27, 2020

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At last, a comprehensive look at the multitude of writings about The Beatles, and a very welcome balancing of their history away from the all to prevalent and one-sided views of the Lennon apologists. They were a group of four musicians, each as important as the other, pulled apart by the psychological instability of ONE OF them, the great but flawed John Lennon.

Louise

An absolute must for any Beatles fan at any stage of their interest!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2016

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This is a very readable and entertaining (seriously!) book that examines the major narratives as put forward by the Beatles and the most influential books written about them. The historiographical analysis is written in such a way that the conclusions drawn by the author are easily followed and understood, even by novices, such as me. As another reviewer said, I too have a number of Beatles books that I have never read and this provides an invaluable guide to my reading list.

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