The late Nicholas Schaffner packed tons of detail into "The British Invasion," with the first section devoted to the major artists of the 60s (the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, The Who, David Bowie, Marc Bolan and T-Rex, and Pink Floyd), followed by short vignettes of the numerous groups who also inhabit the pop music firmament - nearly everyone who recorded from 1962 to 1982, from the Small Faces to the Police and from Yes to Siouxie and the Banshees.

The quality of the writing is what makes this book so enjoyable. Schaffner dispels myths, clarifies histories, and lays out credible evidence that each of the major acts has made an indelible mark on rock music (although some may wonder why such greats as Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin were relegated to the second section).

In the second section, Schaffner is joined by other music writers for a thorough review of British pop, and though the year at which the book ends ('82) truncates the careers of folks like Elvis Costello, it's still a fascinating read. Also included are each band's hit records, dates of release and chart positions.

For a book with so few pictures (and black and white at that), it is a must for anyone interested in pop music history. One subjective criticism: much as T-Rex may have predated Bowie's glam-rock, I don't think that Marc Bolan really deserves a spot in the Top Eight.

Although it may be a hard-to-find book, it's worth it.

Hands-down, the best parts of this book are the personal touches. Nick's original reactions to Beatles films, his memories of being burned on bootlegs by soundalike groups in 1964, etc., are things you really don't get in any other book. It's a Beatle book written from the perspective of a Beatle FAN and it shows. Those are my favourite parts, and those are the parts I still enjoy reading. OTOH, sorry to say, a lot of Nick's fact-checking, while state-of-the-art for the mid1970s has been rendered inaccurate by Lewisohn's wonderful, more recent work. Still, every author deserves to be judged by his best moments, and because Nick's love for his subject matter shines through his accesible writing style, I recommend this book to anyone who can track down a used copy.

This book must have taken Nicholas Schaffner all his energy to write. It's a wonderful account of the lads music from their rise to fame in 1964 to their solo careers in 1977. Schaffner cares most about the music and he definetely knows his stuff. He's not escatic about Sgt. Pepper, which is an overated album, and he mentions a forgotten George Harrison masterpiece, "It's all too Much". Schaffner writes in a dry witty factual style focusing on the Beatles albums, their influence on rock music, the ups and downs of their solo careers, and anaylizes their lyrics. There are pictures of all the Beatles singles and rare pics of the beatles infamous butcher cover. This is my favorite Beatle book.

I read THE BEATLES FOREVER when it first came out. Nick Schaffner managed to tell the history of The Beatles and combine that with the memoirs of a fan growing up in the United States. And the combination of those two elements were an unqualified success, as evident by the thousands who have read and admired the book over the last 25 years.It influenced me to write AS I WRITE THIS LETTER: AN AMERICAN GENERATION REMEMBERS THE BEATLES. In fact, I wrote to Nick in 1980 to tell him about my idea. He wrote back and was very encouraging, giving me reason and validation to continue in my endeavor. I had the opportunity to meet Nick Schaffner at a Beatles Convention, the first one held after the assassination of John Lennon. He was a true gentleman, who took the time to talk to me despite the collective grief of the convention attendees.To put it simply, THE BEATLES FOREVER as stood the test of time. It's still wonderful and can never be duplicated. We all wish that Nick was still here to bask in the adulation this book deserves. Somehow...I think he knows. Haven't read it yet? What are you waiting for?Marc A. Catone

I just finished reading this book and I really enjoyed it. The author gives excellent background on the early days of the group including the demise of Syd Barrett. Perhaps what is the most interesting are the paralells drawn between Pink Floyd and the Beatles. The demise and the reasons for the demise of both bands are similar. The author takes a very pro-Gilmour stance in the post-Waters era of the band. Although I may not agree with his view, he does an adequate job of supporting his argument. The only reason the I gave the book 4 stars is becuase it is dated material. The information on goes up to the Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour. No mention is made of the Division Bell or other exploits. This may be due to the death of the author several years back.

Saucerful Of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey was a great book, written by a great author, Nicholas Shaffner, who has written many books on the Beatles. This was a well researched report,if you will,from members of the outer core of the band, but not the big members, such as Syd Barrett and Roger Waters, who Shaffner claims in the Epilogue refused. Roger's interview was needed because of the dramatic brake-up, and his points on Rick, Dave, and Nick trying to bring the band back from 1987-1990. The pros of this book is that they have interviews from all over, not just interviews given by Shaffner. They have interviews from magazines, other books, and quotes from memoirs written by the people surrounding the band. The con is one big one: detail. Although the book is 309 pages in regular length from Chapters 1-24(Not counting Epilogue and Prologue)it is very easy to get through a page without understanding anything that was said. Towards the end of the novel, I believe Shaffner got sloppy with the story of Water's resurrection of The Wall, stating it as if the whole process took one day. In fact, it took a full year to put it together, but no additional detail was shown. Shaffner easily got through three in fact BIG subjects in one page, especially in the early and latter stages.

Though the bad blood between Roger Waters and David Gilmour is no big secret, here we start to understand how it and the biggest band in "psychodelic" music came about. From its "crazy" founder Syd Barrett to the Roger Water's "The Wall" concert in Berlin, Schaffner shows how egos and talent built and tore apart this band.

"Saucerful.." seems a bit one sided at times. Waters is almost always depicted as a need-to-be-in-charge egomanic, and despite being kicked out of the band some 25 odd years ago, Barrett's story takes up almost half of the book. This doesn't however take away from the information that's presented here. All of the thoughts, feelings, and goings-on that were present during the making of "Dark Side...", "Atom Heart Mother", "Animals", "The Wall", and all the other great Floyd albums are well described here.

This book is a must read for any Floyd fan to see how it all became to be.

Pete Shotton was John Lennon's best friend throughout his life, and this book gives a positive upbeat and revealing look at that friendship.

Starting from their rebellious childhood antics in Woolton and Quarrybank we are taken on a "Magical Mystery Tour" through the Quarrymen formation and onto Beatles superfame. Throughout it all Pete was the sane down-to-Earth component of John's life. Here's a glimpse of the Real John Lennon from getting every bird around (and the rest) to going off the deep end with Acid. It's sure to entertain you and keep you laughing with uncanny Lennon humor. The book is no whitewash, but neither is it the blackwash of Goldman's book. It's basically as close to the truth as a good friend can get. I also recommend The Man who Gave the Beatles Away and the new book, Lennon in America. I await the release of John's Diaries.

I very highly recommend this book to any Lennon/Beatles fan with a good sense of humour and an open mind. I Loved Every Page Of It. You wont be able to keep a straight face while you read it. What A Clown!

There are only three decent books on John Lennon: Albert Goldman's, Ray Connelly's and Pete Shotton's "In My LIfe". This book is almost completely free of the schmalz that ruins other biographies. It's truthful and frank and is quite fascinating. A good thing about the book, is that it focuses on the man rather than the music. From reading it, you do get an idea of what he was really like. Regrettably, I lent my copy to a friend who promptly left it on a table in a cafe or hostel in Paris (early '96). So if you found it - I want it back!