This is certainly the best book that writer Guiliano has ever been involved in. It is interesting to hear about this untold side of John Lennon's family life, straight from a real member of that family. Nice.

This is a very interesting book about the family man John Lennon. His sister Julia tells all the true about the relationships between John and his mother, his stepfather, his little sisters, the tragedy when their mother was killed by a drunk policeman, and the beginnings of the group that four years later became the greatest phenomenon of the popular music, The Beatles. Also, Julia remembers for us, the phone conversations with John in the late 70's, near to John's death, and the feelings of all family when John was tragicly death by the gun of an out of mind man. Great book.

This book covers Paul's youth, parents background and some background info on his family tree. A great way to get comfortable with the environment which created Paul; as a son, brother, friend & ultimatly as a musician and enertainer.

Interviews with teachers, friends from Liverpool create a well balanced look at Pauls background and the dynamics of how and where the Beatles met.

A must read for Beatle and McCartney fans.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is well researched and equally well written.

I really like the way interviews with people who knew the former Beatle are included; one gets a "personal" picture of Paul McCartney. This author is skilled at bringing Paul McCartney to the forefront of his readers' collective consciousness.

This book gets three cheers and a hearty "yeah, yeah, yeah"! from me!

First I thought it should be called Wide Range because of all Linda's varied interests but as I looked through it, which took all of l0 minutes to review, I was very disappointed in it. The pictures were too simple and looked like a child's first attempt at photography. I am a staunch Linda McCartney fan of her photography and share in her many interests, but felt let down by this book of simplicity.

I found this book an inspiration. Not surprising since I have always been inspired by Linda's pictures, but I now have a collection of moving moments that she has caught on film. As an amateur photographer I am now inspired to experiment with the medium. I now keep my camera handy where ever I am.

She was, indeed, one of the best photographers of her generation. There is a terrific sense of reverence for the natural world in these photos, in which she demonstrates that nature provides the most satisfying, serene, and dramatic of images, if you look for them. And you need not travel to the Grand Canyon or the redwood forests to see them--looking out your back door, out the plane window, in your garden, across the beach, or through the glass teapot on your table, may yield views as delicate and mysterious as the old masters. Of her photographs of people, John Lennon said "She has an eye for an eye." Of her photos of nature, we can say that she had an eye for the most intense beauty in the most fleeting of moments.

Well, first of all, this book is a bit overpriced---it should be in the $24-26 range (though many of the books offered by this publisher---mostly books about rock music, television and Stephen King---are similarly priced) and the cover art is bland and prosaic (or as my wife put it, it's "butt ugly").

However, let me say that if I were stranded on the proverbial Desert Isle and I could take only 10 Beatles books with me, this would be among the lucky dozen (I always pack intemperately). I have accumulated quite a healthy library of Beatles books over the years (at last count, I had 194 tomes devoted to the Fab Four).

"Turn Me On, Dead Man" is oddball fun, giving a delightfully askew glimpse of Paul McCartney and company during the band's final days at Abbey Road. As each Beatle wandered off to find personal fulfillment outside of the band during the summer of 1969, a rumor began circulating among the college kids and radio disc jockeys of the midwestern US. They all began to notice that McCartney was presented somewhat "differently" on the Beatles' album covers (barefoot on the obverse of *Abbey Road*; with his back turned toward the camera on the *Sgt. Pepper's* back sleeve). But it was the discovery of several backwards "messages" in the songs that really got this urban legend going (e.g., if the end of the song "I'm So Tired" is spun in reverse, a mysterious voice mumbles, "Paul is a dead man---miss him, miss him"). Spooky stuff!

Of course, all of this was (and is) a wicked brew of nonsense, coincidence and wild speculation. But therein lies the strong sociological aspects of this mere rumor. People need to believe in something: a hero, a martyr, a deity. People look for guidance in "times of trouble" (see McCartney's own composition, "Let It Be"). Besides Reeve's layman discussion of this factor, the author also includes a more professional essay by Barbara Suczek among the hefty collection of post-text appendices.

There's even a compendium of the visual and auditory "clues" to McCartney's death that were discovered during the heyday of the rumor. All in all, a fun and spirited little book.

Beatle fans always knew that someday there'd be a whole book on the subject, but this book surpassed my expectations. Before reading this book, every written account of the 'Paul Is Dead' rumor seemed the same to me...not much more than a list of the 'clues' and the Beatles' explanations. But Andre Reeves' book is not just a listing of clues...in fact, he saves that for the very end of the book. Instead he wisely gets behind the origin and evolution of the rumor, showing how a college student's tongue in cheek newspaper article snowballed into a national obsession, almost like a small fire gradually getting out of control and turning into an inferno. Reeves puts the reader right into those crazy weeks of October 1969 so that he/she can get a glimpse of a world unsure if the baby-faced Beatle was still walking the Earth, barefoot or otherwise. The accounts from the rumor's key players provide information previously unavailable in any Beatle books, and shed new light on many areas. Those who continue to profess that the Beatles concocted the whole thing really need to read this book before uttering another word about it. If you just want a fun-to-read listing of clues, there are many web sites that provide one. But if you are looking for some true stories behind the rumor that put it in a whole new perspective (in other words, if you truly wish to learn something,) 'Turn Me On Dead Man' more than satisfies.

"Turn Me On, Dead Man" is an excellent book and is very interestingly written. While the story is a historical account of a slice of life from our musical past, it reads like a novel. I am not an avid Beatles fan, but I was totally captivated by the book. Andru Reeve obviously spent a lot of time researching the background for his book and talking to the people who actually lived through and participated in some way in the Paul is Dead hoax. It is delightful reading and is a book that I would heartily recommend to anyone, but especially to those fans of the fab four. My only complaint is that this is the only book that Reeve has published. The guy has the talent to be recognized as a first-rate journalist and novelist

Okay. I read this book like 2 years ago, so this review may not be so "accurate" if you know what I mean. I'm a Beatles fan & Paul McCartney is my fave. I'm 15 so I didn't witness "Beatle Mania" but after I saw the Anthology on TV, I fell in love. Well, I heard about the rumors that Paul was dead over the internet & I didn't know it was a joke, so when I heard that this book was out, I just HAD to buy it. Well, let me tell ya. If you have the internet, you really don't need this book at all. There are tons of webpages w/the exact same info that you can get for free. Okay, so there may be 1 or 2 more clues, but not enough to buy the book. Now if you don't have the internet, then you should buy the book cuz it has all the clues plus some other stuff. All in all, the title pretty much describes the book.

P.S. I want you to know that I don't believe any of that "Paul is Dead" stuff, it's just fun to read about:)

This is a very interesting book that I just had to have after I read about it. Because I'm such a big Beatles fan? No, because I've always been amused by all the "Paul Is Dead" speculation. No matter which side of the fence you are on, you have to admit some of this stuff is freaky, coincidential, and down right reaching for it. Either way, this is a good reference book to make up your own mind. Or just do what I do and read it like all the Roswell/UFO stuff - it makes for good fiction. If any of it turns ot to be true then you'll be up to speed (but entertained in the meantime). I really enjoyed Patterson's discussion on tying in the works of Lewis Carroll. Now go put on your headphones, dust off your turntable, and ruin another needle (or use a simple child's toy and use your cassettes). For the record, let me just state that I was never the Walrus. Goo goo g'joob.

As a former student of Mr. Patterson's...I learned all of this in Senior English class! I loved it then and I love it now!

John Lennon's untimely death was one of the great tragedies of Paul McCartney's life.

Not only did he lose a former best friend and half of the best songwriting team of all time, but the resultant rush to eulogise Lennon was often done at the expense of McCartney, whose own contribution was often trivialised.

This is McCartney's version of the history of the Beatles and their music. It is hard to imagine McCartney being insecure about anything, but he certainly seems territorial, protective and sensitive of his own legacy.

Perhaps the greatest injustice to McCartney was being inducted to Rock and Roll Hall of fame seven years after Lennon, in spite of being an equal contributor to the Beatles, and having a far more commercially successful solo career.

As far as the Lennon McCartney compositions go, there are a few surprises, for instance, he says he wrote the music to 'In My Life' a song which is obviously very Lennon but this actually makes sense. On many of the other Lennon songs he wrote the middle eight or the words of the last verse and vice versa. At times this seems petty, but to be fair he does give Lennon credit on some songs that are obviously strongly McCartney compositions such as the middle sections of Michelle and She's Leaving Home, and a 50/50 credit on I saw her standing there. On Eleanor Rigby he credits Lennon some of the lyrics to the final verse, although in the Anthology documentary he says the song is 100% his. The key to crediting any Lennon McCartney song is he who sung it wrote it or most of it.

The most interesting portions of this book are the direct quotations by McCartney about his life, his relationship with John and the other Beatles and his relationship with Linda, and his insights into John and the meaning of many of his songs which are the best I've read. He is surprisingly candid and open, compared to tv interviews where he has rarely allowed interviewers to get behind the McCartney persona.

Some of his comments about John are quite touching. The history of how he met Linda, and how their relationship developed is a compelling love story.

For instance we get to hear about the death of Paul's mother when he was 14, the tragic death of John's mother the business relationship with Brian Epstein, the Apple fiasco,the wrangling, the naivety of the Beatles in business matters, the loss of ownership of their songs and so forth.

As for Mr Miles himself, he is not the world's greatest writer, which is why I only give it 3 stars. The chapter on avantgarde London is the most boring thing I have ever read. He could easily have edited 100 pages out of this book without compromising the content.

In addition, he is obviously biased towards McCartney and disses Lennon by act and omission. He zeroes in on McCartney as a painter making him out to be a better artist than Lennon, and making the most pretensious comparisons between McCartney's art and classic painters.

He doesn't seem to understand that by undermining Lennon he is also undermining McCartney's credibility. Fortunately, McCartney's own comments are far more respectful, and seemingly objective.

In Mr Miles favour, I must say there are very few questions about McCartney that are left unanswered, and in spite of all its obvious flaws this is still the best psychological insight into Paul McCartney and John Lennon that I have read, so I would recommend this book. I would strongly recommend the books by Hunter Davies and Philip Norman.

This book is great for all Beatles and Paul McCartney fans. Paul's quotes and words about what the songs are really about are terrific. The story rarely gets boring as it tells almost everything about Paul's life, from losing his mother and meeting John, to playing in Hamburg, to the fame of the Beatles and finally to the present time and all that fits in between. One trouble I found with the book is how ready Barry Miles is to put down John as a doped up, lazy junkie...very far from the truth. He also finds ways to put Paul on an altar and condemn nearly EVERYTHING John has done. This is not true at all of Paul's words which are quoted as he rarely has anything bad to say about John, which is reassuring. Finally, another fault I found with the book is how Paul seems to be a glutton for credit of nearly every great Lennon-McCartney song...he gives himself much of the credit of the great songs of John's and claims he could almost never write a "middle-eight". Most disturbing of these claims is his taking 40% of the writing credit for "Norwegian Wood", says he wrote the entire musical part of "In My Life", and he takes a lot of credit for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". However, he is not as ready to share the credit with many of his songs. But all in all I would recommend this book for Beatle fans as it gives an inside view of how things began and tells a story behind most of the songs made and then gives good details surrounding the break-up and justifies his actions when suing the other Beatles.

This is the best book I have ever read about Paul McCartney, and for that matter about the Beatles.

I really enjoyed reading it because it explains very detailed many aspects of Paul McCartney's life, such as when he met people, how some things and some people in Paul's life influenced him, how songs started, how an album cover was designed from the beginning, why a song was done the way it was made and many other interesting details about his career, leaving out the stupid gossip about his sex life, and things like that, that only the Enquirer would be interested on.

Another interesting aspect of this book is that it explains the Allen Klein fiasco clearly, much better than all the other Beatles books that I have read.

The only way this book would have been even better is if the author would have continued with Paul's solo career, album by album, year by year up to today, in the same format, but maybe Mr. Miles and Sir Paul McCartney are already working on that book!

This is a book that should be in any Beatles fan's home. I would also recommend this book to anybody that wants to understand what went on in the 60's.

Good work Mr. Barry Miles!! Please write Part II!

This book has fantastic pictures and a great view on Paul McCartney's life since his childhood in Liverpool, as a member of The Beatles, his marriage to Linda Eastman, his family life, and the birth and rise of his group Wings. However, it only shows information up to 1975, so it needs to be updated. But it's indeed a treasure for any McCartney fan, with dozens of rare and private photos.

Tony Jasper gives us an overview of Wings from the band's inception in 1971 up until 1977. Each album and band member is profiled, as well as giving us a chapter on Paul and Linda's homelife. Mostly geared toward younger readers.

I have been wanting to read an intimate biography of Linda McCartney for some time now, so I was anxious to read this book. Written by her long-time close friend, Danny Fields, I would have expected a bit more. Even though the book delves deeper into Linda than any book on the Beatles has been able to, it still wasn't quite enough. A lot of what Fields says about her childhood and teen years, before he met her, is conjecture. There is very little detail about that period of her life. Fields knew her best in the mid-sixties when, as a single mother in New York City, Linda entered the then embryonic world of rock photography. There really was no rock press at the time, and Linda got in on the ground floor, and was able to be a part of a scene that very few people could imagine today.

While Fields vacillates from defending Linda to criticizing her, he is more than fair in his assesment, and, at times, a bit overboard in his praise of her. Although I didn't feel I knew Linda much better after reading the book, one point in Linda's favor became very clear. She was a very strong woman, with self-confidence and a deep, abiding love for her husband and children. She weathered storms I cannot imagine most women being able to handle. And, when the slings and arrows were aimed solely at her, instead of wallowing in self-pity, she felt instead a sense of pain for what the embarrassment caused Paul and her children to suffer.

This book doesn't shed a tremendous amount of light on Linda Eastman McCartney, but it is still valuable for the brief glimpse into the woman before Paul.

I was anxiously awaiting this book as I was interested to read about Linda Eastman's time in New York before she became Mrs. McCartney. Danny Fields did a wonderful job of letting us know what it was like to hang out with his good friend Linda in the mid-60's when rock was just starting to happen. That part of the book is fascinating. I actually felt like I was there. Unfortunately, there is really very little information about Linda prior to this period. I would like to have read about her growing up and meeting and marrying her first husband. Hopefully, there will be an actual in-depth biography of Linda one day. Also, surprisingly, most of the photos that were used to illustrate this book were very disappointing. Danny shows us what it was really like for Linda when she married Paul and the Beatles broke up. She's the one who was able to hold it all together for Paul and their family. Danny Fields gave an accurate and affectionate account of a very special woman. This is the only book about the real Linda.

To anyone with enough genuine interest in the story of Linda McCartney--if you've read this far down the webpage, you deserve to hear the truth. And not the truth as seen by a stuffy, clueless professional reviewer who can sense an easy-target book to slam a mile away. I have read over 30 books about the rock scene in the 60's and this one told me details I'd never ever heard. I rank it as extremely well-written and the author names names because there are so many great ones to choose from! This book is as much about the beatles and the stones and Warhol's bunch as it is about Linda. You feel like you are PART of the story because Danny Fields certainly was her very good friend. And he can write and involve you in a book you just can't put down...

Best known and most successful as a composer of popular music, McCartney has branched out to explore his creative nature in classical music and painting. McCartney surely can be considered a Renaissance man of our generation.

It's nice for us fans to see the results of his endeavors, but for the most part, McCartney's legacy will only include a brief footnote in reference to his painting. This book will be of interest to die-hard McCartney fans, but I doubt that either the book or McCartney's paintings will gain much attention in the world of contemporary art. I rather doubt that these paintings would have garnered the attention of a gallery curator and been exhibited were it not for the celebrity behind the work.

The book includes an interview with Sir Paul, as well as essays by Brian Clarke, Julian Treuherz, Barry Miles, Wolfgang Suttner and Christoph Tannert. Photographs of the painter at work, taken by his late wife, Linda, are also included. The paintings which are reproduced in this book were first displayed publicly in the Lyz Art Forum, Siegen, Germany in 1999.

McCartney's style is certainly his own, as one can see that McCartney the artist is exploring the canvas with his choice of colors, brush strokes and imagination. Clearly, he is "entirely fearless about getting lost" as Brian Clarke says in his essay in the book.

Paintings that might have some interest for fans of Paul the Beatle are Patti Boyd, a cartoonish caricature of the ex-wife of George Harrison; Yellow Linda with piano, a study of his late wife and one of the more interesting portraits in the collection; Elvish me, a "Paul as Elvis" study which is rather whimsical; and Green head, which looks a lot like one of the characters in the Coming Up video. No doubt that McCartney fans will spend hours trying to analyze the hidden meaning in his abstracts.

Is it for everyone? Certainly not. Do I regret paying the $50.00? Not really. I would expect those with a casual interest will be more likely to check the book out of a local library than adding it to their own collection.

It's a joy to flip through this book of wildly inventive faces and colorful dreamscapes. There is a freedom and a vibrance to McCartney's paintings, that, like his music, can't help but draw you in and infect you with a buoyant kind of wonder.

These paintings tear at the boundaries of what you think can and can't be done. They're appealing and yet completely unpredictable. In short, they are paintings from the same imagination that came up with both "I Will" and "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" and then had the not-so-common-sense to put them back-to-back on the same record.

McCartney is obviously setting the artist inside free with these bold, bright canvases. Whether this is great art, that is really a question that each pair of eyes must answer in its own way, in its own unique language.

I for one am glad that McCartney has chosen to make his paintings public. I find these colorful canvases, and the artisitic courage that propelled them into being, quite inspiring.

Regardless of the high brow reviews of this book, I chose to purchase this book to see if this was another celebrity who found art and realized their celebrity could sell their art. Bottom line I had hoped that McCartney's personality would triuumph and his down to earth philoposphy would come through. Indeed it did and this is the first Unpretentious book on Art I have ever read. If anyone has the desire to paint, draw or create but is held back through social conditioninig this book is for you. McCartney albeit through interviews and ghost writers tells how he himself freed himself from his own perfectionist procrastination mode and at the age of 40 painted. What resulted I found to be liberating in the way that in his celebrity circle of friedns he learned from William De Kooning how to "kill the canvas" and get over the fear of standing in front of a blank canvas. Additionaly McCartney goes onto explain his creative process for his paintings again influenced by De Kooning. He discussed how he would write a friends name on a canvas or a sketch or just a smudge of paint and see what stimulated his creative enery to produce and be led by creativity instead of coming to the easle prepared with a pre-conceived idea. McCartney never pretends to be a De Kooning or indeed a high brow artist. He comes across as someone who enjoys the process and output that art offers. Through his own conditioning he is also seeking the feedback for his efforts, regardless of the technicalities I for one see his work as inspirational and has encouraged me to go and "kill the canvas" myself.