Book Description
The worldwide bestseller that defines the band that defined an era—now updated and with 135 photographs and illustrations.

In this behind-the-scenes look at the most famous musical group in history, Hunter Davies gives the complete story of the Beatles. As the only authorized biographer, Davies had full access to the group, as well as their help and encouragement. He spent eighteen months with them when they were at the peak of their musical genius and at the pinnacle of their popularity, and he remained friends with each of the members as they went their separate ways.

This updated edition addresses the changes in the lives of the Beatles: Paul's marriage, George's death, and their new books and records. 135 b/w photos and illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Interesting
I own the 1996 version of this book. It's fun to read--not because you will discover anything new about The Beatles.This book is a time capsule of the type of book you'd read in the 60s that wasn't written to embarrass it's subjects. It's how The Beatles wanted their fans to view their lives--as "normal" working guys with wives and kids! The Beatles were music visionaries but they did not foresee the future of tabloid publishing where all-things-Beatle would be exposed by anyone who came in contact with them because it is a cash cow. Mr. Davis updated the orginial book with his later experiences with the Beatles up to 1985 in my version.Those updates start to reflect the current "tell all" bios. The most famous story in the updates, is a recounting of Paul calling Mr. Davis in 1981 and ranting about things Yoko said about him (Paul) after John's death -- exposing Paul's insecurities and (I thought) his obvious grief over John's death. It is hard to believe after all The Beatles have accomplished that anyone of them could be insecure but that is one of the themes of this book. They are after all, human and Mr. Davies succeeds in showing that side of them.

A worthwhile addition to your Beatles library
As a fan of nearly 30 years, this was one of the first Beatles books I ever bought, and it remains a worthwhile buy for today's new fans. It may not be as detailed or as enlightening as the Mark Lewishon-type of books, but it benefits greatly from being written in the sixties - and having a firsthand access to the band. Hunter Davies includes many stories and insights that would simply not be available to today's writers - because they weren't there. The chapter that describes them writing 'With A Little Help From My Friends', for example, is as amusing as it is amazing. And I very much enjoyed the prologue, where Davies explains the difficulties he had with Queenie Epstein and Aunt Mimi. And his meeting with Pete Best in the mid-sixties is as poignant a scene as you will ever get in a Beatles book. It is stories like those that make the book worth buying.

Great bio of the legendary band
This is the only biography authorized by the Beatles themselves, and it gives a detailed account of the rise to fame of the Fab Four, and many details of each band member's life. Davies was asked by Harrison not to print certain details, and an aunt suggested he revise some of the account of John's early life to make it sound better. Some details couldn't be divulged at the time, such as Brian Epstein's gay orientation, and the extent to which John was into drugs, although you get a sense of this from some brief passages in the book although Davies obviously avoids dwelling for too long on these issues. Still, despite glossing over a few negatives like these, Davies nevertheless had access to information that no other writer had, and no doubt the book benefits from that despite its being slightly sanitized.

One thing that distinguises this book from all the other bios is Davies spent a year living and travelling with the Beatles and observing them in their day-to-day lives. The year was 1967, and although the group was soon to break-up, 1967 was still a great year for the band and Davies gives many fine insights and details into the life of the group during this period. Davies enlivens the account with anecdotes and stories from many relatives and friends who knew the Beatles best.

I want to take a brief detour here to tell you about a funny piece of Beatles trivia I discovered recently, and I just have to mention it here, since I don't recall seeing it in the book. Supposedly The Beatles loved cartoons, and a friend of mine who is a big Beatles fan and trivia buff and I got to talking about it, and since I'm sort of a trivia nut myself, he suggested an unlikely cartoon, which was Popeye the Sailor, and challenged me to find a connection to the Beatles. Well, it's not known if this was a cartoon the Beatles liked or not, but after doing only about an hour of research on the web, I came up with a funny but true connection.

I found out one of the songs the Beatles often performed during their Hamburg years, before they were writing all their own songs, was "Falling in Love Again," by Sammy Lerner, an important songwriter of the 40s and 50s. But it so happens that Lerner also was enlisted to write the theme song for the Popeye the Sailor cartoon, which he did. So it turns out that there is indeed a connection between the Beatles and Popeye in that Lerner composed songs for, shall we say, both groups of singers. :-)

Anyway, I hope you didn't mind my little digression, but getting back to the book, this is a fine biography of the Beatles and is especially strong in its treatment of their early years and rise to fame. Although updated in the later edition, there isn't as much information about the post-1970 years, but as others have pointed out about the book, it's about the famous band's rise, not about their fall.

An Excellent Introduction to the Beatles
I was too young to remember much of the Beatles in their heyday, and although I was familiar with a lot of their songs, I did not know a lot about them as individuals. Two things happened towards the end of last year to arouse my interest. The first was the death of George Harrison, with all the media interest it generated. The second was when I asked my niece Imogen (then aged seven) what she wanted for Christmas. "A Beatles CD" came the reply. And this from a little girl whose parents are too young to remember much of the sixties. So much for those who say that the Beatles are only relevant to ageing ex-hippies, not to modern youngsters.

I decided to look for a book which gave the full story of the group. this was surprisingly difficult to find in the shops, but I eventually came across Hunter Davies's book on Amazon. This was just what I was looking for. Most biographies of popstars and showbiz celebrities are very lightweight affairs, but Davies's book is solid and workmanlike and full of useful information, despite having first been published in 1968 at the height of the Beatles boom.

The sections about the Beatles' early years are excellent. My only criticism is that their later years are not covered in such detail, although there are possibly reasons for this. When the book was first published, Davies may well have thought that the events of 1966-68 (when the Beatles did much of their best work) were too well-known to be retold in great detail. The book also includes a postscript dating from 1985; I would have liked this to have been more detailed, but perhaps the author, who knew the Beatles personally, felt that it was not appropriate to go into detail about the events surrounding the group's break-up in 1969-70. He may also have felt that the details of their post-1970 careers were beyond the scope of his book.

All in all, I felt that this was an excellent book which I could recommend to anyone looking like me for an introduction to the Beatles' lives and work.

Honest, Interesting Account of the Beatles' Rise to Stardom
The Beatles are undoubtedly the most popular band in world history.Hunter Davies creates a thorough, honest biography of the four famous members and their rise to stardom.Because this book was written in 1967, Davies gets an insight into the Beatles' lives before they began fighting.Davies writes an honest account of the Beatles' lives, chronicling their lives from birth, but the reader can sense that some facts have been omitted, perhaps to save the dignity of the Beatles' family members.However, Davies gives enough information for readers to fill in the blanks.The book contains loads of interesting facts, pictures, and Beatles memorabilia. All things considered, The Beatles is a great book for any Beatles enthusiast or rock music fan. ... Read more

Book Description
Alfred Wainwright's unique hand-drawn and hand-written PICTORIAL GUIDES TO THE LAKELAND FELLS have been an inspiration to walkers for over forty years.Yet despite many bestselling books and three television series, Wainwright remained an intensely private person. With full access to Alfred Wainwright's private letters and unpublished material, Hunter Davies reveals a man more passionate, witty and generous than readers of his guides have come to expect. His biography throws a new and surprising light on a man who has been an enigmatic and misunderstood person.'Hunter Davies tells this absorbing tale with the self-effacing manner it needs. To Wainwright's many fans, it is pure nectar' Paul Johnson, Sunday Telegraph ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Sanitzed Beatle Biography - Still Life of the Beatles
Although this book captures the Beatles like a still life, it is an excellent starter biography of the World's Best Band.This book takes readers down the Long & Winding Road of each Beatle; readers learn about the Beatles' origins and immediate families.

The photographs are delightful; one smiles at young John Lennon, instantly recognizable.Paul with his younger brother is easy to identify as is Ringo as a very young boy.George, a winsome lad with thick, wavy hair is readily recognizable - a picture of George at his first dance in 1958 shows a well groomed boy with the trademark smile and profusion of wavy hair.Readers are treated to the "maturation" or progression of each Beatle.

The book dodges many a sharpened dart; there are no salacious stories or affairs reported in this Beatle biography.It is a cleanly framed portrait of the boys who formed the World's Greatest Band and readers will undoubtedly enjoy this one.

Frozen in time, it offers a one-of-a-kind perspective
I read this book with great enthusiasm.Its age gives it a unique and fascinating historical perspective.John and Cynthia were still married, Apple was a brand new venture, the Apple Boutique was still in business, "Magic" Alex was still an "electronics expert," Jane Asher had not yet consigned the early Lennon-McCartney notebooks to the trash, and Brian Epstein was still in the closet.The narrative is obviously sanatized, but it also contains interviews with Aunt Mimi and Fred Lennon and others.At times it reads like a well-researched term paper, but the frozen-in-time point of view gave it a special charm that any fan will enjoy and appreciate. ... Read more

Book Description
The classic inside view of soccer

Hailed as probably the best book about soccer ever written, The Glory Game gives a unique insight into the inner workings of a major-league soccer club. Author Hunter Davies was allowed unparalleled access to the inner sanctum of a top professional soccer team, the Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs), and his pen spared nothing and no one. This 30th-anniversary edition will appeal to new and enthusiastic audiences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Lots of guts and glory for little pay
For the football fan, this is a classic work. Perhaps most compelling is the time capsule it represents, back to a simpler age for football, before advertising, television, marketing and crass commercialism took hold. The book is now thirty years old. Updated in the late 1990s Davies adds information on the team members, twenty-five years after they won their national cup. The reader can only marvel at how much things have changed in world football since this book emerged. Back then, an apprentice might earn [very]little...Even though that amount went a lot further back then, it was a pittance. Players were recruited at about age 13 from local teams. The glory, not the cash, earned their attention. Training consisted of some jogging, minimal weight training and drills in the basics. It was a pretty simple, and certainly unglamorous routine, ten months of the year. Medical care seemed primitive, some based more on superstition than science. Veterans would decry the lack of guts from some of the players, and the absence of grounding in the key, basic skills, e.g., ball trapping. But what a life it was! From the players' bios, it is clear that the alternative would have been to work the mines, unload ships, or collect garbage. Football was a joy! And even then, the players from the middle of the century would probably think those of the 1970s had it pretty soft.

Chapters cover several players, the manager, the early version of English hooligans, key games, a doting, almost sinister fan, and the club directors, in relatively brief, insightful and not-too-critical prose. The appendices include a study of the team's set plays and shows with statistics for the year how critical these 'dead ball' moves were to the success of the team. Brief surveys of player attitudes, life history, family, and hobbies offer a superficial profile of the club. We catch a glimpse of lives, from dads changing nappies to a manager's busy schedule, yet I felt more empty at the end than moved.

Tim Parks and Joe McGuinness have made more recent, intensive attempts to cover this same ground: a year with an Italian football team, up close and personal. A modern version of 'Glory game', featuring Man United (see, for instance, "Manchester Unlimited"), would offer stark contrasts, like Michael Lewis' recent book on American baseball.

First Of A Kind
The Glory Game was published in 1972. It has, as the author notes in his introduction to the 1999 edition, been in print every since. The book tells the story of the 1971-72 season of the English football team the Tottenham Hot Spur Football Club. This is the prototype of many such team stories that have followed. The book succeeds because it tells the story of not only a team in the collective sense but of the individuals that made it.It also presents to the present day fan of the cash saturated Premier League a study of almost sociological precision of an era in English football which, although only thirty years in the past, is now "your father and granfather's football."The players are fairly and insightfully treated. The book is in sum their stories and the stories of their competitions. The book is complete with appendices of team plays,player's attitudes, qualities and what the players did upon retirement.The treatment of the players and coaches is far from dull or superficial.In fact the revealing nature of the book created quite a contrversy when it was published. Its insights are enjoyable reading and tell a true team story. ... Read more

Book Description
Drawing on the published letters and diaries of Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, and of their contemporaries Coleridge and Southey, this full-length biography of the poet's life and times also draws on the author's own knowledge of the Lake District, which formed so strong a part in Wordsworth's life as to be almost another character. Hunter Davies discusses Wordsworth's much-debated relationship with his sister, Dorothy; tells the story of his affair with Annette Vallon, the French girl who was the mother of his child; and describes in detail William's life with his wife, Mary, concluding, perhaps controversially, that he fill in love with her only after ten years of marriage. The book portrays family life at Grasmere and Rydal, Wordsworth's political activities, the formative meeting with Coleridge in the West Country, and his other travels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

enjoyable and enlightening
Davies has written a very good book. The book is intelligent, fair and kind and thorough. It seems that all the major relationships of Wordsworth's life are carefully described. Relationships with his sister,Dorothy; his wife, Mary Hutchinson; his French amour Annette Villon andtheir daughter are all carefully desribed. His brothers, his children,Coleridge, Robert Southey, Walter Scott are all part of his life, andinsightfully presented in the book. Davies writes well about the Lakedistrict, and Wordsworth's business dealings. It is a good, solid, well-rounded portrayal of Wordsworth. The poetry is not analyzed, but introducedand placed in the context of the poet's life. At the end, I likedWordsworthvery much and will be happy to read more of his poetry. I wouldgive the book 4 1/2 stars if it were possible.

Look elsewhere for a satisfying read...
This disappointing and tedious book about Wordsworth's life and timeslacks insight and warmth.The author is a dabbler whose books' topicsinclude fiction, the Beatles, and a hiker's guide to the Lakes District. The current book grew out of the author's research for his hiking guide,when he discovered that there was no other detailed, non-academicWordsworth biography.In essence, the book is a calculated businessventure rather than an expression of the author's interest in,knowledge of,or love for Wordsworth.To his credit, the author is frank about thesefacts, although his uninspired text could not have hidden them.The bookis flawed by unnecessary and uninsightful speculation on the one hand andon the other by a general lack of sensitivity to the profound beauty ofWordsworth's work.The author's narrative style is dry, lifeless anduninspired, and Americans will be particularly put off by its distinctlyBritish flavor, which can only be regarded as a provincial flaw in a bookoffered to general readers in the global market.Spelling, word choice,turn of phrase, and the assumed context are so distinctly British as toleave American readers feeling that they are overhearing a joke which theydo not quite understand.Many Americans will find the book inaccessiblefor this reason.A much better choice is Penelope Hughes-Hallett's"Home At Grasmere", which is warm, sensitive and well written. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Amazing
I don't know anything about soccer players, but wanted to read about bipolar disorder. I love his conversational writing style and all his English-isms throughout the book. I was saddened at how much Paul Gascoigne had to deal with...besides bipolar disorder, as if that's not enough.Yet, it's really heart-warming to see how much he accomplished and continues to accomplish...a great deal more than many who don't have his afflictions.
I don't think anyone would be disappointed reading this book.

Honest Reflection.
Being Gazza is an honest look back at his life by Gascoigne. Before this book I was just familiar with the media image of him as, basically, a clown who threw away his talent by too much partying.Now I understand the medical problems underlying his behavior.The book reveals just how much suffering he has gone through and demonstrates how celebrity helps worsen serious medical problems.Takes a lot of courage to be this frank and the book is an easy read for anyone interested in the person rather than just his football career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Going to the Lake District?
Although this book was published in 1980, it is a fresh and very readable introduction to the Lake District.Think Bill Bryson and you get the idea of the author's style.Wonderful treatment in particular of Wordsworth and his group, including Coleridge and DeQuincy. Irreverent humor throughout. Nice discussion of other notables such as Robert Southey (and his wonderful tongue-twisting description of Lodore Falls) and Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Word count: 1861. ... Read more

Book Description