• The Beatles

  • The Biography
  • By: Bob Spitz
  • Narrated by: Alfred Molina
  • Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,111 ratings)

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The Beatles  By  cover art

The Beatles

By: Bob Spitz
Narrated by: Alfred Molina
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Publisher's summary

Even before the Beatles hit the big time, a myth was created. This version of the Beatles legend smoothed the rough edges and filled in the fault lines, and for more than forty years this manicured version of the Beatles story has sustained as truth, until now.

The product of almost a decade of research, hundreds of unprecedented interviews, and the discovery of scores of never-before-revealed documents, Bob Spitz's The Beatles is the biography fans have been waiting for.

Never before has a biography of musicians been so immersive and textured. We are there in the McCartney living room when Paul and John learn to write songs together; backstage the night Ringo takes over on drums; in seedy German strip clubs where George lies about his age so the band can perform; and at the Ed Sullivan Show as America discovers the joy and the madness. From Shea to San Francisco, through the London night, on to India, through marmalade skies, across the universe, all the way to a rooftop concert and one last moment of laughter and music.

It is all here, the highs and the lows, the love and the rivalry, the drugs, the tears, the thrill, the magic never again to be repeated. Bob Spitz's masterpiece is, at long last, the biography the Beatles deserve.

©2005 Bob Spitz (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

  • Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Non-Fiction, Abridged

"As with all great history writing, Spitz both captures a moment in time and humanizes his subjects. While some will blanch at the unsettling dark sides of the Beatles, most will come to appreciate the band even more for knowing the incredible personal odysseys they endured." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Beatles

Average customer ratings
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Awesome indeed

A Blast from Past , and some understanding for all those who which to know THIER Future

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Poorly paced

Spitz spends half the book detailing the days before their first studio album. Rubber Soul and on fall in the last quarter of the book.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

The Beatles?

Wow :( I’m honestly shocked by the number of outstanding reviews for this title. The further into it I got, the less I both enjoyed it and believed the reviews. To me it had very little content about the Beatles as individuals or the contributions each made rather, it seemed to speak far more about John Lennon with a few insights on Paul McCartney. Mostly it made me ask why the author hated John Lennon. We all have good and bad behaviours & everyone who acquires wealth and fame at a very young age acts out. To believe this book John was a complete ass ALWAYS while the others were ever angels at his mercy. The book hardly even mentions Johns battle w drugs, brushing it aside so quickly you could easily miss it. Seems to me, that battle spoke to his inner struggles and more balanced books dealt w that. This book simply felt like an author who hated John and Yoko and blamed any/everything on them without clear indicators why. Not worth reading if you want actual insight into the boys, the band or their lives and relationships. It is simply a hateful rant. Sad.l

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Normally I don’t buy abridged books but I’m such a Beatles fan that I couldn’t resist this one. Although Alfred Molina’s reading is wonderful, 45% of this book is missing. I just can’t figure about why the publisher decided on an edit of such an important book. Forget this audiobook. Read the book. It’s fabulous!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An insightful account of the greatest band in rock & roll history

Bob Spitz takes us on a journey that we thought we knew. Filled with anecdotes that show the Beatles’ humanity as well as their human failings, we are on board their remarkable journey from its beginnings until its end. But of course there is no end as the Beatles’ music lives forever.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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You get transported back

This was a great book read absolutely magnificently by Alfred Molina. History, back story’s, transparency, excitement.
Loved this time I spent with The Beatles!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Learned a lot -Loved it

I have listened to other Beatles books. I really enjoyed this book because it starts from the beginning to the end.
I will listen to it again and again to learn new things about my fav band!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Abridged?

WTH? An abridged recording? Shame on you Audible for not clearly stating that this is not the whole book. I should have known when it was hours shorter than the Led Zeppelin bio by the same author.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting

lots of interesting tidbits on the Fab 4, But not nearly as good as his Led Zeppelin book

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    5 out of 5 stars
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New Beatles fan

What a great story and very well narrated. As someone just getting into the Beatles, this is a great book framing the formation of the band, inspiration for the music and ultimately the destruction of the band.

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