150 Glimpses of the Beatles

De: Craig Brown

Narrado por: Craig Brown, Kate Robbins, Mark McGann

A distinctive portrait of the fab four by one of the sharpest and wittiest writers of our time.

"If you want to know what it was like to live those extraordinary Beatles years in real time, read this book." (Alan Johnson, The Spectator)

Though 50 years have passed since the breakup of the Beatles, the fab four continue to occupy an utterly unique place in popular culture. Their influence extends far beyond music and into realms as diverse as fashion and fine art, sexual politics and religion. When they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, fresh off the plane from England, they provoked an epidemic of hoarse-throated fandom that continues to this day.

Who better, then, to capture the Beatles phenomenon than Craig Brown - the inimitable author of Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret and master chronicler of the foibles and foppishness of British high society? This wide-ranging portrait of the four lads from Liverpool rivals the unique spectacle of the band itself by delving into a vast catalog of heretofore unexamined lore.

When actress Eleanor Bron touched down at Heathrow with the Beatles, she thought that a flock of starlings had alighted on the roof of the terminal - only to discover that the birds were in fact young women screaming at the top of their lungs. One journalist, mistaken for Paul McCartney as he trailed the band in his car, found himself nearly crushed to death as fans climbed atop the vehicle and pressed their bodies against the windshield. Or what about the Baptist preacher who claimed that the Beatles synchronized their songs with the rhythm of an infant’s heartbeat so as to induce a hypnotic state in listeners? And just how many people have employed the services of a Canadian dentist who bought John Lennon’s tooth at auction, extracted its DNA, and now offers paternity tests to those hoping to sue his estate?

150 Glimpses of the Beatles is, above all, a distinctively kaleidoscopic examination of the Beatles’ effect on the world around them and the world they helped bring into being. Part anthropology and part memoir, and enriched by the recollections of everyone from Tom Hanks to Bruce Springsteen, this audiobook is a humorous, elegiac, and at times madcap take on the Beatles’ role in the making of the '60s and of music as we know it.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

©2020 Craig Brown (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Guide to the 100 Best Books of the Year, 2020

Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2020

The Telegraph (UK) Best Books of the Year, 2020

One of the Best Beatles Books.

It’s up there with books by Ian MacDonald and Mark Lewisohn. Hilarious, touching and insightful. A total delight. The performances only add to the brilliance of the text. Thank you, Craig Brown.

Delightful History of the Beatles

At first it seemed too random and superficial, but as it progressed, it became more insightful and detailed. Not just about who the Beatles were and how they got started, but how other people perceived them and their impact on other musicians, culture and the average person.

Fab, and indeed, Gear.

narration is excellent, a superbly entertaining and intelligent fresh take on a well documented story. Much insight for even the deepest of Beatlemaniacs.

boring

meaningless tales of little interest poorly related. description was misleading. huge Beatles fan sorely disappointed.