Harry, a History

The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

By: Melissa Anelli

Narrated by: Renée Raudman

During the brief span of just one decade, hundreds of millions of perfectly ordinary people made history: they became the only ones who would remember what it was like when the Harry Potter saga was still unfinished. What it was like to seek out friends, families, online forums, fan fiction, and podcasts to get a fix between novels. When the death of a character was a hotter bet than the World Series. When the unfolding story of a boy wizard changed the way books are read for all time. And as webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron, one of the most popular Harry Potter sites on the Internet, Melissa Anelli had a front row seat to it all. Whether it was helping Scholastic stop leaks and track down counterfeiters, hosting live PotterCasts at bookstores across the country, touring with the wizard rock band Harry and the Potters, or traveling to Edinburgh to interview J. K. Rowling personally, Melissa was at the center of the Harry Potter tornado, and nothing about her life would ever be the same.The Harry Potter books are a triumph of the imagination that did far more than break sales records for all time. They restored the world's sense of wonder and took on a magical life of their own. Now the series has ended, but the story is not over.

With remembrances from J. K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans, and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon - from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live and dream.

©2008 Melissa Anelli (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Chronicling 10 years of Pottermania, Anelli dishes up a revealing, delicious insider's view." ( Kirkus Starred Review)
"Infectious, at times frenetic, excitement." ( Publishers Weekly)

A wonderful book that brought back so many memories.

Regardless if you are a Harry Potter fan or not this book offers all an opportunity to remember our past and how Harry influenced us all.

Loved the 'background' of the Harry Potter Story

There was a lot of information about how 'Harry' came to be,, marketing, and rhe Fandom. it would have been better if the narration was British, to keep the continuity in the telling. JKR without an accent didn't seem right.

Interesting story; disorganized telling

The subject matter is interesting, but the author jumps around between different years, book releases, and events so much that I often lost track of what was supposed to have happened and when. For a “history” that’s a pretty big flaw. Most of the content is interesting but I think it could stand to be updated with a chronological (or otherwise better organized) structure and more scholarly approach to the material (and less about the authors’ friends who aren’t central to the story). Second edition please!

If you love HP you'll like this book

interesting stuff especially for someone who was way out of the loop at the time the HP phenomenon was at its height. where was I? I don't know but I wasn't paying attention at the time. If you love Harry Potter I think you will find this book worth it.

Exactly right

Reading this brought me back to reading the Harry Potter books. The magic is still alive.