McCartney

by Christopher Sandford

Book Overview

Between 1962 and 1970, Paul McCartney sold 140 million albums throughout the world: co-authored with John Lennon twenty-six US and UK number one singles: recorded the first rock album (Revolver) and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786716142
• ISBN13: 9780786716142
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 430 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous book

This is one of the best books I have read on McCartney. Chris is a brilliant writer. He has a compelling writing style that really draws you into the narrative. I highly recommend this book for any Beattles fans. An absolute must buy for the collection!

Paul McCartney

I thought this was an extremely interesting book about Sir Paul's life. A tremendous amount of information in the book was a rehash that a loyal fan would of already known. It was nice to read it again though. If you are a true fan of Sir Paul, like I am and have been for 40 years, prepare yourself. The author doesn't always paint Sir Paul in the best of light. Then again we tend to put Paul up on a pedestal and sometimes forget that he is just human. Basically, he is a good, honest, caring, loving and devoted family man. He also cares about animals and the environment....but he really cares about his fans too!!!! He likes their approval of his work very much. He devotes his time and money to charity without bragging about it. He does get critized for some of the things he does, like patting himself on the back too many times, or losing his temper, but like I said before he is only human. This is to be expected of this rock era icon. This book did give me info into his private life, and his life on the road that I never knew before, I appreciated the book for that information. Also there are some really nice photos.I highly recommend this book. I hope this review was helpful to the Sir Paul fans out there!!! Makes an excellent Christmas gift.

Finally! Paul between idolatry and vilification

Sandford takes a clear path between the often too visited extremes on McCartney. He writes a clear and engaging book that comes across as honest and insightful. I don't know what predisposition the other reviewers had, this is the best book on Paul to date. Most books on the Beatles clearly bear the authors personal feelings. The book is not a linear history or a simple American gloss of Paul's life. The "smarts" of this book come in how the material and style both support a better understanding of Paul. This is unfortunate for some reviewers. The book is clearly much greater than the sum of it's chapters. A great read!

A new look at the Beatles' genius

The genius of the Beatles is that all 4 contributed to their success -- it needed Lennon but it needed McCartney too. It needed Harrison and it needed Ringo -- Pete Best wouldn't have worked. But time has a way of sorting out the survival of the fittest. And it is Paul McCartney -- genius songwriter, versatile singer, creative bass player, great piano player, guitarist and drummer, and innovative production and marketing man. Founding rock'n'roller and show biz ballad writer/singer. The first Beatle to get his girlfriend pregnant (way back in 1962); the last bachelor Beatle in swinging London; the Beatle who impressed Beat writer William Burroughs with his adaption of the 'cut-up technique' to music loops; the Beatle who hung out in the clubs with Keith Richards and Brian Jones, and turned Mick Jagger on to marijuana; the Beatle who was into the artsy crowd while his fellow Beatles, including John Lennon, led a suburban life; the Beatle who Yoko Ono approached first with her work; the Beatle who in 1969 conceived the notion of the famous band hitting the clubs under an assumed name and blowing everyone's mind; and the first rock star who in 1965 both experienced and embraced stadium rock when the Beatles played Shae Stadium. This book fills in a lot of the gaps in the story of McCartney and the Beatles......it helped to convince me that McCartney was an much a music innovator as Lennon ever was. Takes us through the 70s (when McCartney hosted parties with Dean Martin and Led Zepplin and Bob Dylan in attendance) through the 80s through the 90s to 2005 when Paul played the Super Bowl half-time. As a Beatle fan from 1964 who has read every biography on them (including Lennon's)...... A great book worth getting.

Unique insight into a pop icon

Chris gives a brilliant look into one the of icons of pop music. Chris writes as if he was Paul's best friend. He brings out what makes Paul a brilliant muscian. He also pulls together a story of how pedestrian Paul is in most of his thoughts and dealings. Chris makes the excellent point that being a musical genius does not mean you have any such wisdom in other fields. A great read