This is quite possibly the most fair biography of Paul McCartney ever written. In fair I mean unbiased, unprejudiced, and truthful. The most musically talented member of the Beatles, (also the leader of the band Wings, and a man knighted by Queen Elizabeth,) is portrayed in this book neither as a hero or as a crook, which is really what most other biographies make him out to be. 'McCartney' is a wonderful book. It is written beautifully, leaving nothing in McCartney's life out, and tells McCartney's story clearly and with the appropriate amount of admiration and emotion. This is definitely a biography a McCartney fan should read. Paul himself would love it.

This music book contains some of the McCartney repertoire. Both Beatles and solo matierial is included. It is especially unique because of the McCartney drawn pictures included. The guitar tabs are magnificent and it truly shows McCartney's musical diversity. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in McCarney's music.

Although at present this title is unavilable from Amazon I recommend that you keep an eye on their site because if you are a Paul fan you'll want this. The book contains the almost all the sheet music from Pauls LP's from 1971-1976 (Ram,RRSpeedway,Wild(uhg)Life,Speed of Sound,Band on the Run,Venus&Mars,B-sides & songs written for other artists LP's-such as Ringo).If you're a musician you'll be mesmerized by Paul's choice of chord progressions, arrangements,etc. You'll see that Paul will provide those lost chords and new structures that make you say to yourself, "Wow! I can't believe that's how you play this song. I always played it this way...." Good luck on the search.

I liked this book mainly because of the subjects. I'm not that big on photography as an art form. (As Andy Warhol said, "Photographers feel guilty that all they do for a living is press a button.") But I like Jim Morrison, Beatles, Stones, and a lot of others in this book. So really enjoy it because of that.

seeing this book and understanding the access that linda had even before being paul's wife is pretty amzing. her photos are very intimate, especially of the beatles and her accompanying text to each photo are superb. a great photographic book.

I first saw this book at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was amazed at the photographs. Mrs. McCartney didn't seem to take posed pictures with bright lights in the musician's eyes. She used natural light and caught the musicians in their natural state. I love this book so much because of the honest quality to the photos. I'd definately recommend it!

"John Lennon & Paul McCartney their magic and thier music" by Bruce Glassman is a great book. I found it very hard to put it down ,because it was a great reference to learn how The Beatles were formed ,by two great song writers.There is also a lot of information on were they grew up and what happend to them in their childhood. You can also find out what pushed Paul McCartney and John lennon to write the music that change the music world. So if you ever want to read a book to find out how PoP music started. I recommend that you read "John Lennon & Paul McCartney their magic and thier music."

This is a book I would have LOVED to have owned as a child. This is a book I love NOW! Glassman does an excellent job of presenting the Beatles to a younger audience and his clear writing style compliments the intelligence of his readers.

The photographs are superb, as is the (I think) world's number one song writing duo, Lennon & McCartney, half of the world's number one band, THE BEATLES! This is such a treat to read. It's just what the doctor ordered and is just so much fun. Don't be surprised if you shake your bangs and start singing Beatle tunes.

I give this a round of thunderous applause and a hearty YEAH, YEAH, YEAH! I love it!

I couldn't put the book down. I read it from cover to cover without a single stop. Glassman did a good job at putting this one together. Of course almost anything you write about The Beatles will be great though.

Paul McCartney has been my favorite musician for a long time now. His music has filled moments of my life with joy, anticipation, and wonder--al of the good things that we live for. I've had his tunes stuck in my head as I've walked through spring fields after it's been winter for a seemingly endless time. I've listened to his albums while going for drives on sunny mornings and felt the warm sunlight refracted through the windshield on my face.

Paul's music is also good for a rainy day when you can smell the wet dirt, or a foggy morning when your imagination starts to wander. Paul's music is wonderful. I always probably would have said that it's his sense of melody and chord structure that I really like.

But reading Paul's lyrics naked here, without the clothing of the music, I realize that I also really love the playfulness of the words themselves. This is a great book if you're a Beatles fan or a McCartney fan, because it'll make you come to the songs in a new way. You can see how inventive McCartney really is, not just musically, but also lyrically.

He paints with his words in much the same way that he paints with his music: in a colorful way, and when his mind is wandering, there he will go...

Great fun for any fan of music or poetry. If you like this book, you should also check out McCartney's recent book of his paintings. That one's really good, too.

Paul is alive and well in my poets garden. Among the tomatoes and peppers is a living walrus who has generated a dynamic work for all time. Yes! Paul is the only surviving Beattle to make use of Beattlemania and his emotions are laid bare in this book. He still reaches out to the public today. Recently I recieved as a gift a copy of his book "Blackbird Singing" published by W. W. Norton and Company. New York, 2001. I have a passion for honest works of art and Paul McCartney authored true nirvana for my generation. He is a saint who pioneered Mass art on global scale. The lyrics and poems in his book sent me back thirty years to a happy childhood with the Fab four blarring tunes over the radio and Hi-fi. Paul has always been my favorite. In his book you'll find songs like; "Yesterday", "Hey Jude", and "When I'm sixty four"-my sentimental favorites. His poems opened a new door for me a budding poet. I read aloud, "Standing Stone" to my reverie. I think I know the true Paul more because of this timeless book. I recommend it to poetry lovers, and old baby boomers like me. This collection of lines is a hit in a life time of successes for Paul.

This book is a real gem. I love it.

Paul McCartney, a gifted artist whose talents span several different media (composing, musical prowess, painting/drawing, ability to play several musical instruments, singing and writing) as this book plainly demonstrates.

His voice is a strong and lyrical one; it is interesting to note that he has included several of his songs in this collection as well. Stripping the songs of the melody and notes, one can imagine the rhythm and flow of the words. A master communicator, Paul McCartney writes poetry in the manner of the true virtuoso. He plays upon the full range of senses and his work elicits the full range of emotions. One poem in particular about a good friend who was born the same day as he was and who died young stands in poignant contrast to many of the other works included in this collection.

This is truly a rare and valuable gem. This book commands respect. It is definitely a must have.

How did such a normal day lead to such a phenomenen? Was it destiny? Did John Lennon and Paul McCartney have any idea as teenagers as to what lay ahead of them? These are questions that can never be answered, but eight years of painstaking research and a little artistic license has produced a book which plants many a romantic thought in the mind about how the Beatles started. "The Day John Met Paul" is a book about the 6th of July 1957, focusing primarily on events in Woolton, a leafy suburb of Liverpool, where a local village fete leads to the first meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, later to become the driving forces behind the band that became the Beatles. Author JimO'Donnell describes these events as a present-tense review of the day, and it is this approach as well as the remarkable factual detail which makes his book unique and compelling. His introduction to the book is mesmerising in itself, as he explains how his research sought to capture the atmosphere of that place at that time. He also describes world events which were happening simultaneously, taking into account time differences, meaning that these events were literally happening at the precise moments. This gives emphasis on the physical normality of what happened that day but as it is written now, it is an experience to read the book while obviously knowing what happened subsequently. This is where O'Donnell engrosses the reader, forcing us to imagine the scenes taking place, and the book, although really an acquired taste, actually works on a historical level as well. For those who never saw 1957, images are conjured of life at that time on a Saturday in the middle of summer. What O'Donnell also acheives is as mentioned the romanticism of the Beatles story and myth and the idea that the real reason for their success and incredible longevity as a part of people's lives was the personal relationships between them and the higher spiritual plane that they seemed to stumble on together. As Paul watches John play at the fete, and later vice versa, there is a "meeting of minds" and a sharp vision. Whether the true story was anything like this is always open to speculation, but the telling phrases used by O'Donnell in his book lead us to believe that was a union so important that it must have been written in the stars. O'Donnell starts off from the early hours of the morning as the teenagers and most of Liverpool sleeps, and he describes the surrounding scene before the main protagonists have had a chance to contribute to events of the day. We see the build-up to the event which, while not big in itself, began something special, and as the event unfolds, his vivid imagination is given full rein as he describes what might have been going through their minds, and how they were spurred on not just by the sound of the music but what it really meant to them on a personal level, creating the collective vision that would eventually be shared with the world. This is of course primarily a book for Beatlemaniacs and positively demands multiple readings and musings.

I couldn't stop reading once I started this gem, and of the many Beatles books, I'd rate this as one of the best. For pure literary artistry, it ranks high: the descriptions are vivid and bring you completely into that fateful day (one moment stands out in which the Quarrymen go on their second, evening, show and a minute into the set, a rare Liverpool lightning storm sweeps through the town, knocking out the power, leaving John and his bandmates in darkness for a moment...
the proverbial, but in this instance real, "lightning flash" of greater things to come?!)
Definitely recommended to any Beatles fan.

Jim O'Donnell is a very gifted writer. His descriptions of the past are like painted murals in our imagination. The images he creates with his words take us back in time when John Lennon and Paul McCartney were teenagers, in Liverpool, England, and the world was just learning how to rock around the clock. I couldn't put this book down. Besides his great writing ability, it is very obvious that Mr. O'Donnell has done his research well. This book will NOT insult the intelligence of any Beatles' fan. It will make the reader understand a little more of the genius behind the remarkable songwriting team of Lennon and McCartney. Their strong differences of personalities brought John and Paul together... and yet, drew them closer. The author, I feel, has done the job well.

I finished reading this book recently and I have to say it is an excellent book. When Hunter Davies first interviewed the Beatles for this book from 1967-1968, it was before all the bickering and fighting started and before Yoko came into the picture. Davies takes an inside look in thier home and family life, the songwriting process, and recording sessions. It also gives a pretty good background on their childhoods and how they all met. Not to mention a lot of great pictures, including some I never seen before. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it is not a totally definative bio. Lots of things were left out because it upset thier family members. For example, it is not mentioned that Brian Epstein was homosexual because it upset his mother at the time. And some things were left out of John's childhood because it upset his aunt Mimi. Other than that, I reccomend that you read this book. It is smart and thouroughly researched. A must have for all Beatles fans!

This is an essential document for Beatles scholarship. At the time it was simply a pop bio by a competent writer, but it depicts the Beatles at a fascinating juncture in their career. It is particularly notable for its accounts of songwriting and recording sessions, for a glimpse of their home lives, and for their opinions about life in general at the time. Since this is an authorized biography, critics may complain that it is whitewashed - but one can read between the lines and gather the full meaning of everything pretty well. All in all, it is remarkably honest. This updated edition features a sterling introduction by the author about the writing of the book and offers further insight into the personalities of the Beatles.

Thank heaven for Beatle scholarship that this book was written. Competent journalist Hunter Davies spent a year observing the Beatles and interviewing them in their own homes during the heady, fascinating year of 1967. He emerged with a time piece: the Beatles as they were at that time, reflecting on what came before and unaware of what was yet to come. A chapter describing the writing and recording of "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Getting Better," and "Magical Mystery Tour" offers unique and especially valuable glimpses of the Beatles at work. Chapters depicting the home life and personal outlook of each Beatle are also very interesting. I must also say that for an authorised biography, this is remarkably honest. Perceptive readers will be able to detect the whole truth here, and a fine introduction written by the author years later helps fill in any gaps. Apart from being hugely entertaining, this book is a tremendous boon to historians interested in the Beatles.

It will be very hard to find the right words to describe the pictures in this book, but I will try!! Jorie Gracen was able to CAPTURE PAUL THE WAY I SEE HIM!!!!!Her pictures are the BEST PICTURES I HAVE EVER SEEN OF PAUL!!! If you are a Paul McCartney fan you will love the way the author/photographer is able to make you feel like you are sitting in the FRONT ROW!!

She has great little stories to go with each photo, what is going on at that moment, the song he is singing. There are also some great interviews and stories from fans just like us that have seen Paul in concert or had the opportunity to meet him in person. For me it was a way to see all of the magic and excitement surrounding this great musician and man!

I think another thing that is so admirable about Ms. Gracen is that she will be donating percentages of HER own personal money to Breast Cancer Research in memory of Linda.

I feel that not only does her EXTRAORDINARY TALENT shine through as a FIRST RATE PHOTOGRAPHER with this book, but also her geniune love and respect for Paul and Linda.

This book is a class act! From the very first page, readers are lovingly drawn into the life and times of Paul McCartney, through Jorie Gracen's incredible photographs that capture the essense of a man and his music. The concert photos simply vibrate with life and give the reader a visual front seat perspective of Paul ripping up the stage or quietly enthralling his audience with a solo years hit, or a classic Beatles song. In addition, the off-stage photos of Paul portray the human side of a man who is husband, father, friend, businessman and fellow musician, simply living his life and loving it. The sensitive candid photos cover Paul's many moods and multi-faceted personality, from the irrepressible to the contemplative. The intriguing and colorful personal stories from enthusiastic fans who have had a close encounter with Paul, add humor, warmth and historical reference points that nicely compliment the stunning array of photographs. Jorie Grayson, a dedicated highly respected professional, with extensive music celebrity photo credits, is seen on the Intro page getting an affectionate hug from one of her favorite subjects -- Paul himself! Over the years Paul invited and readily posed for Jorie on numerous occasions, including the unforgettable picture on the book's back cover, of Paul on the steps of Abbey Road Studios! This book is a fun romp back through time that allows Paul's fans to see both the musical legend and the man, through the author's unique perspective.

I hate to read reviews such as the one by Mark Wilden. He is obviously not a McCartney fan and shouldn't be reviewing books about McCartney. How insulting to call Jorie Gracen, a renowned rock photographer, nothing more than a starry-eyed fan. I am very familiar with her work in People, Rolling Stone, Newsweek and other magazines and she is an accomplished professional in every way. It is not surprising that McCartney contacted Ms. Gracen to use her photo on his "Tripping the Live Fantastic" album. Her photography is breathtaking. I found her book to be very revealing about Paul with interviews that are humorous and insightful, hardly boring and banal. Mr. Wilden is no doubt looking for more juicy and scandalous tidbits. You won't find it here and rightly so. This is a book that honors one of the most famous songwriters of our time. Not a trashy tell-all. I hate to think that I'm some sort of "wacko" because I go to a McCartney concert and see the man I've admired since childhood. So what if I waited patiently to see his limo drive by? I doubt if that makes Paul wish he was a nobody. In fact he is just as happy to see his smiling fans as they are to see him. Without us he would be a nobody. As for the photographs, if Mr. Wilden had bother to read the captions or the book for that matter, he would know that there are no less than 18 concerts photographed in the book and many personal appearances from different locations. And yes it is obvious when you look at some of the photos that Paul is looking right at Jorie. I've observed it myself at concerts. He knows when he is being photographed by one of the best and gives her great shots. That is why this book is so good. Jorie's skill as a photographer combined with the warmth of a fan documents McCartney's greatest moments onstage. This is a must have for any McCartney fan.

Illistrated lyrics my a$*....Personally, I was a bit dissapointed with this book. Let me get one thing straight, I do love art, paintings, drawings etc, but this book is full of the most obscure pictures of random things that are totally irrelevent to the song, let alone depicting the lyrics.
Don't get me wrong, I am absolutly mad about the Beatles and there music, the lyrics and songs, and of course their handsomely good looks (hehe) , but this book just made it seem like someone took a whole bunch of meaningless doodles by un-notorious 'artists'and stuck them beside imagary, story telling lyrics. If you want to learn background about the beatles' songs, this book will take you nowhere . However, if you ARE looking for some unattractive illistrations and incorrect lyrics to beatles songs, you've found your match. So before you buy, think about it....LET IT BE for your own sake, and your wallet's

This book is utterly inspiring. The music of the Beatles is legendary, and the way the artists re-create the songs into art is visionary and fascinating. Plus, it's not bad having the lyrics handy, too. A must-have for all Beatlemaniacs!

"The Beatles: Illustrated Lyrics" is a must-have for Beatles fans everywhere. This book features the lyrics from most Beatles songs, each song paired with anadventurous illustration capturing the mood and theme/s of that particular song. Many of the illustrations are brilliant works of art, especially those for "Eleanor Rigby", "I Want You", "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Dear Prudence" and are great to look at when listening to the songs. I found the illustration for "She's Leaving Home" - a comic strip of the story told in the song to be ecceptionally neat. Some of the pictures are interesting to say the least: "Cry Baby Cry", "Blackbird" and "Tomorrow Never Knows", whereas others are just darned weird, such as "Dr. Robert", "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Within You Without You" - but hey, even some of the weird illustrations are fun to look at. Also featured throughout the book is a selection of fan art - all of it pretty good.

In conclusion, if you are a die-hard Beatles fan, you shouldn't be without this book. Sure, it's not for everyone (some of the art may be a little too much for some people), but if you love the Beatles and if you love poetry, by all means grab a copy.