When It Was the Beatles' World and We Just Lived in It

The story of the Beatles did not end happily. Break-ups are seldom cheerful. But it was not, as some of us thought at the time, the end of the damn world.

Craig Brown tells that story in 150 Glimpses of the Beatles, from the early days to 1970, when the four members of the band went their separate ways. But what Brown does best is remind us why the split did seem at the time—to Beatles fans at least—like the end of everything.

I don’t know if Brown’s is one of the best books written about the band because I’ve never managed to finish a book about them, but it’s one of the best books I’ve read on any subject in a good while.

With a handful of exceptions (the autobiographies of Keith Richards and Count Basie, Nick Tosches’ book about Jerry Lee Lewis), I’ve never been too interested in books about bands or musicians, even ones I like. I picked up Brown’s book because I’m a huge fan of his last book, 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret. I had never been much of a royals fan either, but I thought, well, I’ll try a glimpse or two and see how it goes. In no time, Brown hooked me for the whole ride. He did it again with the Beatles.

Source: Malcolm Jones/thedailybeast.com

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