Scan barcode
theartoflanguage's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I liked that this portrayed Paul as a complex person and an eccentric person, which I think his public image covers up. I didn't really like the editorializing here, though. The first time I noticed it was when Norman comments on the final thoughts of Paul's mother - of course, this can only be imagined and not factual. It feels a tad emotionally manipulative, trying to inject added pathos into what is already a sad episode in Macca's life. His handling of John's murder and Linda's death are somewhat better handled, but I did find that his opinions on his subject bled through too much for my liking. He seems a bit bitchy about Paul and even some other people in his life at times, which struck an odd note with me.
From other reviews, I can tell this is a fairly standard run through that doesn't cover new territory, but as a relative neophyte who of course knows the Beatles, and has nevertheless listened to (and loved!) Paul's solo work and seen him live, many parts of this were new to me, such as the precise details of his relationship with Heather Mills. However, I can well imagine that other biographies are much better and I plan to read them - starting with the acclaimed The McCartney Legacy!
From other reviews, I can tell this is a fairly standard run through that doesn't cover new territory, but as a relative neophyte who of course knows the Beatles, and has nevertheless listened to (and loved!) Paul's solo work and seen him live, many parts of this were new to me, such as the precise details of his relationship with Heather Mills. However, I can well imagine that other biographies are much better and I plan to read them - starting with the acclaimed The McCartney Legacy!
ngallion's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve read a handful of McCartney biographies and this is certainly one of them. It’s not bad, per se, but it has a strange way of going on at length about the things we know the most about (his divorce, for example), and not turning over much new information about his solo career, which is often unjustly ignored. Though it had issues of its own, I much preferred Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney because it turned over more of the content I wanted to know more of. This is fine, I suppose, but the fact that I read it (very) slowly in between many other books over the course of the year tells you how much I loved this one.
lisams12's review
1.0
This author has a serious beef with John Lennon.
I wanted to read about PAUL and not read about what a prick John Lennon was every other page. This book managed to royally piss me off by "Hard Days Night". I had to bail.
I wanted to read about PAUL and not read about what a prick John Lennon was every other page. This book managed to royally piss me off by "Hard Days Night". I had to bail.
dtab62's review against another edition
4.0
A good straight on biography of Sir Paul. While the author clearly likes and admired his subject this is not the fawning work of a super fan. He presents here a warts and all portrait of Paul.
I only subtracted one star from my review because the author, rather bizarrely in my opinion, inserts his political opinions into the story. He doesn’t discuss Paul’s politics, but in several places reveals his own.
I only subtracted one star from my review because the author, rather bizarrely in my opinion, inserts his political opinions into the story. He doesn’t discuss Paul’s politics, but in several places reveals his own.
cowboydan's review against another edition
5.0
I've been a big fan of The Beatles for a little over a decade. This is the first book I've ever read solely about Paul. It had a ton of facts, which is good although some of the less sexy business stuff was a little hard to understand and get through. So eventually in my life, I'll probably reread it to try to soak it all in. But all of it, including the technical, business side of things, gave a great picture of who Paul was, is, and will probably be for the rest of his life, even though it seems like he's lived a thousand different lives. This book is extremely thorough and really shows that Paul is a dedicated, talented, smart, and above all human guy with real flaws and (extreme) strengths who is just trying to make it through life like the rest of us. Great look at a Beatle's life even after he wasn't an official Beatle anymore--and being just a Beatle isn't all Paul is/was, anyways.
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
3.0
Ok biography of the famous Beatle, or at least the double they got to impersonate him after his tragic death in a motor accident in 1966. A lot of information gets repeated.
ckjaer88's review against another edition
3.0
Really well-researched and thoroughly depicting the musical and personal life of sir Paul McCartney. But it has a ridiculous amount of typos and it gets a bit tedious after the first 500 or so pages.
I'm not a McCartney fan per say, I enjoy listening to the old Beatles hits and the occasional Wings track, so 700+ pages of a systematic rundown of his entire career and love life was a bit much. Interesting - but a bit much when you're not THAT big a fan of the man.
I'm not a McCartney fan per say, I enjoy listening to the old Beatles hits and the occasional Wings track, so 700+ pages of a systematic rundown of his entire career and love life was a bit much. Interesting - but a bit much when you're not THAT big a fan of the man.
shaun11's review
2.0
I found reading a biography (as opposed to an autobiography) felt a bit too voyeuristic. Some of the behind the scenes stuff seems second or third hand and not necessarily true. Would love to hear about this stuff from someone who actually lived it (which is possible).
jessicaistired's review against another edition
3.0
First, I will say, this book is an entertaining enough way to pass the time, but it would be wise to read more McCartney biographies to form a better, more rounded picture of his life. Phil has a huge boner for John Lennon; he even confirms it in his prologue. He once said that John was 3/4th of the Beatles which is a completely asinine thing to say. This book is his attempt to “make it up” to Paul for completely trashing him in his earlier book, Shout!, for ridiculous reasons that he tries to rationalize and explain in the prologue. With that he over compensates a bit throughout the whole book. I assume to garner more sales from McCartney fans. I’m a huge Paul fan myself, but I know the man is human and has flaws. I’d like to know everything about his life, even the bad.
Phil even went so far as to portray John in a not so flattering light when next to Paul, writing about some of John’s most negative and dark traits, conversations, and actions. The positive things are rare, and be prepared for many subtle, passive aggressive jabs at George, Linda, and Ringo (the few times he actually mentions him).
One of the many things that rubbed me the wrong way, was when he was speaking about the Tug Of War recording session with Carl Perkins. He mentioned the laugh at the end of the track, Get It, that came from Carl that was left in; he made a snide comment about Carl “not getting it [the album]”, implying that Carl didn’t even get why he was there and the track was rubbish. Admittedly, it’s not one of the stronger ones on the album, but Paul has even told the story of that session where he suddenly repeated a joke Carl had told him earlier upon meeting him, and it caught him off guard causing the genuine laughter. Phil’s own bias of the album and song caused him to completely ignore that fun moment and dirty it with a snide remark. I would take everything you read in this book with a grain of salt.
The book is very rushed after Linda’s death and Nancy is more of an afterthought at the end. The interviews with family and friends are an interesting take, but there isn’t a huge amount of new information that hasn’t been already told in some way or another, and he does jump around a lot. The pacing can be odd, and many times it feels like he’s still trying to focus more on John.
One last thing, I really don’t need to repeatedly read your passive aggressive comments about Paul and Linda not being vegetarians yet until they actually are, Phil. I know they didn’t come out of the womb as vegetarians, and it’s a pretty normal thing that most people don’t stop eating meat until they have some sort of realization, epiphany, or they see/learn something that causes them to stop. Unless they’re born with a taste aversion to it. I don’t need to know about every single time either of them ate meat before they became vegetarians. Good. God. Man. Stop.
Phil even went so far as to portray John in a not so flattering light when next to Paul, writing about some of John’s most negative and dark traits, conversations, and actions. The positive things are rare, and be prepared for many subtle, passive aggressive jabs at George, Linda, and Ringo (the few times he actually mentions him).
One of the many things that rubbed me the wrong way, was when he was speaking about the Tug Of War recording session with Carl Perkins. He mentioned the laugh at the end of the track, Get It, that came from Carl that was left in; he made a snide comment about Carl “not getting it [the album]”, implying that Carl didn’t even get why he was there and the track was rubbish. Admittedly, it’s not one of the stronger ones on the album, but Paul has even told the story of that session where he suddenly repeated a joke Carl had told him earlier upon meeting him, and it caught him off guard causing the genuine laughter. Phil’s own bias of the album and song caused him to completely ignore that fun moment and dirty it with a snide remark. I would take everything you read in this book with a grain of salt.
The book is very rushed after Linda’s death and Nancy is more of an afterthought at the end. The interviews with family and friends are an interesting take, but there isn’t a huge amount of new information that hasn’t been already told in some way or another, and he does jump around a lot. The pacing can be odd, and many times it feels like he’s still trying to focus more on John.
One last thing, I really don’t need to repeatedly read your passive aggressive comments about Paul and Linda not being vegetarians yet until they actually are, Phil. I know they didn’t come out of the womb as vegetarians, and it’s a pretty normal thing that most people don’t stop eating meat until they have some sort of realization, epiphany, or they see/learn something that causes them to stop. Unless they’re born with a taste aversion to it. I don’t need to know about every single time either of them ate meat before they became vegetarians. Good. God. Man. Stop.
olichoreno's review against another edition
3.0
Finished it on the road.
And God, it was a long one, 3 months between breaks and bursts of energy where the percentage barely moved.
40% of the beginning is the best, all about The Beatles but from there it was all marriages, attempts to form a new band and children he had, the only salvageable thing was the fights with Lennon until his sudden death and fragments with other artists like Michael Jackson, other than that, the book was a competition to finish it fast so you could jump into something else.
Even the good part of The Beatles sometimes spoke little of their creative process for songs and more of arguments between themselves or money problems.
I started it with a lot of enthusiasm that soon ended, yes, the research is quite exhaustive, even in trivial details and I think that this is something that would only happen with a few people, including McCartney of course.
I recommend reading it, but finishing it is not worthwhile except for a couple of curious facts such as the lawsuit against Jobs over iTunes or the strange attack on Harrison at his home, furthermore, the songs are more than enough.
And God, it was a long one, 3 months between breaks and bursts of energy where the percentage barely moved.
40% of the beginning is the best, all about The Beatles but from there it was all marriages, attempts to form a new band and children he had, the only salvageable thing was the fights with Lennon until his sudden death and fragments with other artists like Michael Jackson, other than that, the book was a competition to finish it fast so you could jump into something else.
Even the good part of The Beatles sometimes spoke little of their creative process for songs and more of arguments between themselves or money problems.
I started it with a lot of enthusiasm that soon ended, yes, the research is quite exhaustive, even in trivial details and I think that this is something that would only happen with a few people, including McCartney of course.
I recommend reading it, but finishing it is not worthwhile except for a couple of curious facts such as the lawsuit against Jobs over iTunes or the strange attack on Harrison at his home, furthermore, the songs are more than enough.