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Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World – The Rolling Stone Columnist's Essays on the Emotional Impact of Pop Culture's Most Beloved Icons
John, Paul, George, Ringo--the band that inspired and changed popular culture forever. In this revealing and provocative new account, Steven D. Stark puts their impact into unique perspective by revealing both the personal details and the larger events that made them into the twentieth century's greatest cultural force.
"They were magic," said their producer George Martin, and most of us would agree. But the band has become so shrouded in cultural mythology that it is difficult today to really understand how or why. This book explains that why--unpacking the legendary band's aura and examining the ways in which the Beatles' own lives were inextricably tied to the cultural, youth, and gender revolutions they helped create and lead during the 1960s.
Based on extensive research and more than a hundred new interviews, Meet the Beatles offers a compelling fresh interpretation of their story, beginning with their childhoods in England and the profound effect on their outlook and music caused by the deaths of Paul's and John's mothers when they were young. It documents their subsequent special bond with women--from their teenage fans to the mothers of their friends to close partners Linda and Yoko. It illustrates the central importance of drugs, both for them and the youthful counterculture they led; why their unusual hairstyles set off a cultural revolution; how the band came to create a new vision of the role of women; and the unique conditions that allowed these four to conquer America faster than any other cultural phenomenon in history. It explains why the group's popularity has never faded--even now, more than four decades after they first hit the charts.
From Liverpool and Hamburg to Ed Sullivan and Shea Stadium, it's all here--from the improbable decision to fire their original drummer and bring Ringo into the band to why they broke up and who was responsible. After reading Meet the Beatles, you'll never think about the Beatles or listen to their songs the same way again. Live the magic once more.
"They were magic," said their producer George Martin, and most of us would agree. But the band has become so shrouded in cultural mythology that it is difficult today to really understand how or why. This book explains that why--unpacking the legendary band's aura and examining the ways in which the Beatles' own lives were inextricably tied to the cultural, youth, and gender revolutions they helped create and lead during the 1960s.
Based on extensive research and more than a hundred new interviews, Meet the Beatles offers a compelling fresh interpretation of their story, beginning with their childhoods in England and the profound effect on their outlook and music caused by the deaths of Paul's and John's mothers when they were young. It documents their subsequent special bond with women--from their teenage fans to the mothers of their friends to close partners Linda and Yoko. It illustrates the central importance of drugs, both for them and the youthful counterculture they led; why their unusual hairstyles set off a cultural revolution; how the band came to create a new vision of the role of women; and the unique conditions that allowed these four to conquer America faster than any other cultural phenomenon in history. It explains why the group's popularity has never faded--even now, more than four decades after they first hit the charts.
From Liverpool and Hamburg to Ed Sullivan and Shea Stadium, it's all here--from the improbable decision to fire their original drummer and bring Ringo into the band to why they broke up and who was responsible. After reading Meet the Beatles, you'll never think about the Beatles or listen to their songs the same way again. Live the magic once more.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
31 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
About the author
Steven D. Stark
11 books1 followerSteven D. Stark, a former world sports columnist for the Montreal Gazette and the author of four books and one e-book, has been a commentator for CNN, National Public Radio, and the Voice of America, where his role was to try to interpret American culture to the rest of the world. He has written frequently for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Boston Globe where he was an op-ed columnist."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 16, 2021
"Before the Beatles, rock [music] had a lot of id but not much ego. Around this time the Beatles then did something terribly unusual and difficult: They took serious artistic questions, usually asked in high culture, and brought them into popular culture." -- critic / writer / historian Neal Gabler, page 175
Fifty years after the dissolution of the group, and forty years after John Lennon's senseless murder, is there really a need or desire for yet another book about the beloved Fab Four? Well, of course there is!!! (Especially if you're a devoted fan with a bottomless appetite for anything involving 'the boys.') Stark's Meet the Beatles takes an unusual step in attempting to cover many avenues - brief biographical segments, a chronological history of the group, production / songwriting background, etc. - and does that well (if not extensively in-depth), but its strong focus is on the sociological and psychological aspects that shaped the four young personalities from Liverpool. Then he turns around and explains how teenage and young adult audiences in American and British culture were influenced, sociologically and psychologically, by this uniquely trend-setting band during that heady and explosive decade known as the 1960's. There was a possibility of this book being boring, or a retread of old material, but author Stark strikes a good and proper balance - it's respectful but not overly sentimental or sanitized, and he's just as likely to single out a weak song or questionable business decision as he is to dole out praise for a classic track or sympathy during a sad moment. Think there's nothing new to be covered about the Beatles, even at this late date? Think again.
Fifty years after the dissolution of the group, and forty years after John Lennon's senseless murder, is there really a need or desire for yet another book about the beloved Fab Four? Well, of course there is!!! (Especially if you're a devoted fan with a bottomless appetite for anything involving 'the boys.') Stark's Meet the Beatles takes an unusual step in attempting to cover many avenues - brief biographical segments, a chronological history of the group, production / songwriting background, etc. - and does that well (if not extensively in-depth), but its strong focus is on the sociological and psychological aspects that shaped the four young personalities from Liverpool. Then he turns around and explains how teenage and young adult audiences in American and British culture were influenced, sociologically and psychologically, by this uniquely trend-setting band during that heady and explosive decade known as the 1960's. There was a possibility of this book being boring, or a retread of old material, but author Stark strikes a good and proper balance - it's respectful but not overly sentimental or sanitized, and he's just as likely to single out a weak song or questionable business decision as he is to dole out praise for a classic track or sympathy during a sad moment. Think there's nothing new to be covered about the Beatles, even at this late date? Think again.
April 22, 2011
Meet the Beatles bills itself as a different sort of Beatles book: one that looks at the band’s impact on the culture at large as opposed to retelling the famous lads’ story for the umpteenth time. And that it does, but it takes awhile getting to the heart of the book. Expect to do some wading through the Quarrymen, Aunt Mimi, the Cavern Club and all the other stuff we all know by heart.
I will say that Meet the Beatles is one of the funniest Beatles books I have read. Consider these laugh-out-loud little gems plucked from the text:
The Beatles obtained H-2 work permits that allowed them to come and play their music [in the US] “so long as unemployed American citizens capable of performing this work cannot be found.”
...
[Brian Epstein’s] problem was his homosexuality, combined with an addiction to danger. “His demon was semen,” Bob Wooler later said.
...
Victor Spinellti, who appeared in two of the Beatles’ movies: “Each of the Beatles visited me separately, and the way they visited me when I had the flu is what they are really like.
There was a knock on the door. Paul McCartney opened it, looked around and asked, “Is it catching?” I said “Yeah,” and he closed the door.
George Harrison walked in and said, “I’ve come to plump your pillow because whenever you’re ill people come to plump your pillows.”
John Lennon walked in and said [in a German accent], “You are in zee state of Austria. You are going to be experimented on by zee doctors and your skin will be made into lampshades. Heil Hitler!” Then he walked out.
Ringo walked in, didn’t say anything, sat on the side of the bed, picked up the room service menu, looked at it, and said, “Once upon a time there were three bears, Mommy Bear, Daddy Bear, and Baby Bear...”
...
‘Instructions’ appearing in Yoko’s book “Grapefruit”: “Carry a bag of peas. Leave a pea everywhere you go. and “Smoke everything you can. Including your pubic hair.”
Aside from the humor, I found this book, although slow starting, to be insightful once it got going. Readers will see how the Beatles both reflected the culture at large and shaped it to a far-flung degree. We also read of the sad naiveté of the 60s generation:
Later in [the 1960s] the San Francisco journalist Ralph Gleason wrote, “I am convinced that rock’n’roll in its total manifestations will cause one [a government] to fall,” and millions believed him. “Out of it will come the programs. Out of it will come the plans,” he wrote.
Many of us who enjoy 60s nostalgia notice a distinct difference between the British and American hippies, especially in their attitudes toward material possessions. The author notes:
In the sixties Americans had politics as the root of their rebellion; the British had style. Though it is obviously trivializing important changes to say, as Dylan did, that the sixties were ultimately about clothes, it is true that the British were ahead on that score.
It may be sad for some to think that the most easily recognized component of the 1960s to modern audiences are indeed clothing styles and popular music. It reminded me of my high school days, when the only way I could express my devotion to the music stars of the 60s was to purchase contemporary releases of “retro” clothing styles.
I will say that Meet the Beatles is one of the funniest Beatles books I have read. Consider these laugh-out-loud little gems plucked from the text:
The Beatles obtained H-2 work permits that allowed them to come and play their music [in the US] “so long as unemployed American citizens capable of performing this work cannot be found.”
...
[Brian Epstein’s] problem was his homosexuality, combined with an addiction to danger. “His demon was semen,” Bob Wooler later said.
...
Victor Spinellti, who appeared in two of the Beatles’ movies: “Each of the Beatles visited me separately, and the way they visited me when I had the flu is what they are really like.
There was a knock on the door. Paul McCartney opened it, looked around and asked, “Is it catching?” I said “Yeah,” and he closed the door.
George Harrison walked in and said, “I’ve come to plump your pillow because whenever you’re ill people come to plump your pillows.”
John Lennon walked in and said [in a German accent], “You are in zee state of Austria. You are going to be experimented on by zee doctors and your skin will be made into lampshades. Heil Hitler!” Then he walked out.
Ringo walked in, didn’t say anything, sat on the side of the bed, picked up the room service menu, looked at it, and said, “Once upon a time there were three bears, Mommy Bear, Daddy Bear, and Baby Bear...”
...
‘Instructions’ appearing in Yoko’s book “Grapefruit”: “Carry a bag of peas. Leave a pea everywhere you go. and “Smoke everything you can. Including your pubic hair.”
Aside from the humor, I found this book, although slow starting, to be insightful once it got going. Readers will see how the Beatles both reflected the culture at large and shaped it to a far-flung degree. We also read of the sad naiveté of the 60s generation:
Later in [the 1960s] the San Francisco journalist Ralph Gleason wrote, “I am convinced that rock’n’roll in its total manifestations will cause one [a government] to fall,” and millions believed him. “Out of it will come the programs. Out of it will come the plans,” he wrote.
Many of us who enjoy 60s nostalgia notice a distinct difference between the British and American hippies, especially in their attitudes toward material possessions. The author notes:
In the sixties Americans had politics as the root of their rebellion; the British had style. Though it is obviously trivializing important changes to say, as Dylan did, that the sixties were ultimately about clothes, it is true that the British were ahead on that score.
It may be sad for some to think that the most easily recognized component of the 1960s to modern audiences are indeed clothing styles and popular music. It reminded me of my high school days, when the only way I could express my devotion to the music stars of the 60s was to purchase contemporary releases of “retro” clothing styles.
January 2, 2009
If you're going to read just one book on the Beatles, this is a good one to consider. It's a very readable, 270 overview of their lives and careers.
The book hits all the major points of their career without going into too much detail, and takes time to place everything into its larger cultural context.
The book hits all the major points of their career without going into too much detail, and takes time to place everything into its larger cultural context.
February 3, 2012
Nothing special here; thoroughly forgettable. Basically an introductory history of the Beatles, the grandiose title claims to explain What It All Means but doesn't present anything new or surprising.
June 21, 2017
I was pulling books on the Beatles while writing a research guide for my library when this book intrigued me and invited me to investigate it further, despite its rather plain, no frills black and white cover. There have been dozens of biographies of the Beatles and even more books that have discussed the music and other aspects of the cultural impact the band had upon the world in a very short period of time. This book seemed like a fresh take on the various factors that contributed toward making this particular set of people so influential. It’s a cliché to state that the time was ripe and, while some might state that if it hadn’t been the Beatles some other phenomenal popular attraction would have molded the culture I don’t think that’s true. While I admit the time was right for something like the Beatles to occur, the confluence of factors, beginning with the mingling of these particular individuals, unleashed a cultural phenomenon that hasn’t been equaled in five subsequent decades.
Steven Stark includes enough of the biographical details to set the context. Other books have explained ad infinitum the social and historical background of these four young men. Stark explores various factors and connects dots that other writers may not have connected in quite the same way. Others have mentioned the fact that John Lennon and Paul McCartney both lost their mothers in their adolescence and that their common motherlessness drew them together on an emotional level that cemented the creative bond that was developing between them. Stark takes it further and says this affected their attitude toward women in general, both in their personal relationships as well as through their songwriting.
He perhaps takes the psychoanalysis a bit far although he does have a point. The Beatles were not built upon standard group models built on male leadership. While John may have always considered himself the leader and founder, he knew that the group would improve with collaboration. That’s why he admitted Paul into his band originally. The group was stronger than the sum of its parts. This attitude governed the decisions to add George and Ringo to the band as well and extended to those peripheral to the group itself such as producer George Martin. The Beatles conveyed images of non-threatening male energy through their appearance with ‘softer’ appearances and lack of masculine swagger. As has been mentioned in other books, they were just what the general public in America needed in the wake of the Kennedy assassination.
And so the alchemy was assembled from natural talent and the boldness and willingness to try new approaches to songwriting and recording but also from a collective group unity and humor and sense of fun. As George Martin said, they were the kind of people that made you feel good while you were around them and let down once they’d left. They had that effect through their records as well as their appearances on TV and film.
Stark maintains a fairly even-handed, neutral attitude toward the group as personalities and as creators. Unlike some writers who will display their pro-John or pro-Paul bias within a few sentences, Stark acknowledges that the greatness of the Beatles’ music depends not only on John’s and Paul’s immense talents but on the contributions of George and Ringo as well. Like any author, he has his opinion regarding individual albums and songs but he remains fairly objective in his assessments.
One aspect of their music that Stark neglects to describe is their vocal as well as instrumental sound. He mentions the importance of Paul’s bass playing (as most writers do at some point) and he states that Ringo’s drums are distinctive, even mentioning their importance as the opening sound of “Free as a Bird,” the John Lennon song the three surviving members transformed into a Beatle song as part of the Anthology project in the mid-90’s. He also neglects George’s superlative guitar playing and ability to craft perfect solos that are exactly what a song needs. He also neglects to discuss the vocal harmony. Other than stating that they sounded feminine, especially in the context of doing cover versions of songs by ‘girl groups’, he fails to mention the magical vocal alchemy of the voices or the fact that their vocal approach spawned many other vocal groups.
Nevertheless, Stark’s book does draw conclusions about the Beatles that I’ve not seen any other writer on the group reach. I commend him on his attempt at reducing the magic of the Beatles to its core elements. As someone whose life was irrevocably altered by the Beatles it is inconceivable to me that younger generations may not understand what was so significant about these people or that they will ever be forgotten. Stark’s book is not the first book to read about the Beatles although I would suggest it as a viable second or third to understand the conditions that produced this creative force and, in turn, changed the culture of its time.
Steven Stark includes enough of the biographical details to set the context. Other books have explained ad infinitum the social and historical background of these four young men. Stark explores various factors and connects dots that other writers may not have connected in quite the same way. Others have mentioned the fact that John Lennon and Paul McCartney both lost their mothers in their adolescence and that their common motherlessness drew them together on an emotional level that cemented the creative bond that was developing between them. Stark takes it further and says this affected their attitude toward women in general, both in their personal relationships as well as through their songwriting.
He perhaps takes the psychoanalysis a bit far although he does have a point. The Beatles were not built upon standard group models built on male leadership. While John may have always considered himself the leader and founder, he knew that the group would improve with collaboration. That’s why he admitted Paul into his band originally. The group was stronger than the sum of its parts. This attitude governed the decisions to add George and Ringo to the band as well and extended to those peripheral to the group itself such as producer George Martin. The Beatles conveyed images of non-threatening male energy through their appearance with ‘softer’ appearances and lack of masculine swagger. As has been mentioned in other books, they were just what the general public in America needed in the wake of the Kennedy assassination.
And so the alchemy was assembled from natural talent and the boldness and willingness to try new approaches to songwriting and recording but also from a collective group unity and humor and sense of fun. As George Martin said, they were the kind of people that made you feel good while you were around them and let down once they’d left. They had that effect through their records as well as their appearances on TV and film.
Stark maintains a fairly even-handed, neutral attitude toward the group as personalities and as creators. Unlike some writers who will display their pro-John or pro-Paul bias within a few sentences, Stark acknowledges that the greatness of the Beatles’ music depends not only on John’s and Paul’s immense talents but on the contributions of George and Ringo as well. Like any author, he has his opinion regarding individual albums and songs but he remains fairly objective in his assessments.
One aspect of their music that Stark neglects to describe is their vocal as well as instrumental sound. He mentions the importance of Paul’s bass playing (as most writers do at some point) and he states that Ringo’s drums are distinctive, even mentioning their importance as the opening sound of “Free as a Bird,” the John Lennon song the three surviving members transformed into a Beatle song as part of the Anthology project in the mid-90’s. He also neglects George’s superlative guitar playing and ability to craft perfect solos that are exactly what a song needs. He also neglects to discuss the vocal harmony. Other than stating that they sounded feminine, especially in the context of doing cover versions of songs by ‘girl groups’, he fails to mention the magical vocal alchemy of the voices or the fact that their vocal approach spawned many other vocal groups.
Nevertheless, Stark’s book does draw conclusions about the Beatles that I’ve not seen any other writer on the group reach. I commend him on his attempt at reducing the magic of the Beatles to its core elements. As someone whose life was irrevocably altered by the Beatles it is inconceivable to me that younger generations may not understand what was so significant about these people or that they will ever be forgotten. Stark’s book is not the first book to read about the Beatles although I would suggest it as a viable second or third to understand the conditions that produced this creative force and, in turn, changed the culture of its time.
August 8, 2018
This is a good book about the Beatles, but not the best. I enjoyed it. If you're looking for something that specifically gives you a history of the Beatles and discusses their effect on the world, then this is the one to read. That being said, if you've read your fair share of books about the Beatles (like I have) there probably isn't much here that you didn't already know. There are some interesting tidbits here and there, and overall it was a good read, but don't expect a brand-new eye-opening account full of new and exciting information.
June 24, 2007
An intellectual history of the band and the culture that produced them, and the culture they produced. The book analyses how The Beatles changed perceptions of gender,and how they even brought Eastern mysticism into the mainstream. Beatles fans will truly appreciate this but others interested in cultural history might also be interested.
March 22, 2011
Fascinating--not so much a story of the Beatles but a story of the culture tht allowed the Beatles to be the Beatles. There were some great insights into why the Beatles were such a social sensation of their times.
October 17, 2013
An excellent book about the psychology of the Beatles, the culture that helped create them, and the culture that they helped create. Very well-researched and very well-written. I consider it among the best Beatles books I have ever read, and a must-read for any Beatles fan.
December 28, 2014
The book gave me a glimpse of what the 60's were like and damn I missed a fun decade. After reading this book I understand the forces that shaped Beatles and the generation that grew up with the Fab Four.
May 31, 2013
I loved the way Stark gave us insight into their lives. It really showed the group dynamic that they had
March 19, 2014
if you are going to read one book on The Beatles and their deep impact on music..... do not overlook this book.
June 6, 2017
Great cultural history of the Beatles and their music that discusses the forces, places, and events that shaped them and the impact that they had on the world.
September 5, 2021
A lot of work went into the writing of this book and from my perspective it was really well done.
January 22, 2023
I had a whole college course devoted to the Beatles and this book taught me so much about the Beatles. Humorous at times too!
December 20, 2023
Hundreds of books have been written about the Beatles (and I've read a few dozen), but Stark, it seems, has done a better-than-average job of assessing the cultural impact of the band. His immersion in the post-war world of Liverpool was a good place to start, and he is especially strong on the differences between America and the UK, and how the Beatles managed to transcend that gulf. Likewise his assertion that the tension between Lennon and McCartney drove both to new artistic heights. He trots out some of the same old anecdotes, probably because they are illustrative. A good overview of what made the greatest and most influential band on the planet exactly that.
August 12, 2019
Another Beatle Book
This is a well researched and chronologically accurate book. The author starts by asking the question “why do we need another Beatle book.” I finish the book by saying why the heck did I read another Beatle book – – I really didn’t learn anything.
However I could not give it a bad score because I was grading the writing and not my personal background about the Beatles – which is extensive. So if you don’t much about the Beatles; this is a great book for you but if you know things it’s a good review.
This is a well researched and chronologically accurate book. The author starts by asking the question “why do we need another Beatle book.” I finish the book by saying why the heck did I read another Beatle book – – I really didn’t learn anything.
However I could not give it a bad score because I was grading the writing and not my personal background about the Beatles – which is extensive. So if you don’t much about the Beatles; this is a great book for you but if you know things it’s a good review.
September 15, 2021
J’ai lu la traduction française de cette biographie intitulée « Les Beatles: Histoire d’un mythe incarné ».
Livre prêté par Claude Simard. Bonne biographie avec une bibliographie exhaustive.
Livre prêté par Claude Simard. Bonne biographie avec une bibliographie exhaustive.
May 7, 2024
yeah I met the beatles, alright
July 9, 2025
Thought this book gave a great dive into the Beatles. Definitely learned more about my favorite band.
December 24, 2025
The format and scope of the bibliography alone should be the gold standard for bibliographies everywhere
May 14, 2012
I was eleven and my little sister was seven on an early spring afternoon in 1964. We were over in "town" looking through the Popular Music "B" long playing records bin at Little Al's Record Store in Wilmette, Illinois, when we found what we were looking for. It was the first Beatles album released by Capitol Records, "Meet the Beatles." Between our two allowances we had just enough to pay the four dollars and change to buy the first record album either of us ever bought. Only a few weeks earlier we had watched the Beatles along with our older brother and parents on all three of their "Ed Sullivan Show" appearances, which created a sensation throughout the nation. Just prior to Ed Sullivan I saw a not very clear newspaper photo of the Beatles merrily jumping on a bed in their suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City and assumed they were four young women with all that long hair on display. With the Beatles the visuals were always very important - now with the purchase of their album it was time to discover the music, too. After all, this was a recording group that turned out to be the most successful entertainment act in the history of western civilization. In the process they influenced millions of lives around the world. I don't expect that will happen again too soon.
Superlatives are in order for Steven D. Stark who really did his research well and tells the whole implausible story from bright beginning to immortality. Four fun loving Liverpudlians go off to Hamburg in the early sixties playing raucous rock and roll and pulling outrageous pranks like one them (John Lennon) wearing a toilet seat around his neck while singing and playing his electric guitar. Yet from the beginning it was all about talent, conscious artistry, and most of all, the magic that happened when John, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and eventually Ringo Starr played together. They were always greater than the sum of their parts, starting in 1962 right up to their peak in 1967, when they released the greatest pop record of all time, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
The Beatles both inspired and captured the spirit of their tumultuous era like nobody else. At their best they embodied a joyous collective spirit that captured the hearts first of their fans (most particularly female fans) and then the entire youth culture that emerged in the mid-sixties. The dark stuff is here, too, of course, including the drugs, the marital and relationship problems both with their women and each other, the long drawn-out breakup of the band, and John's tragic death at the hands of a crazed fan a decade later. The author explores how both John and Paul lost their mothers at an early age and the way it played out both in their songs and their love relationships with women. Overall though, it is a superbly written narrative of triumph beyond the level anyone could have ever expected from a rock and roll combo. The whole story is here and very well told. If you read just one book about the Fab Four, let this be the one. Bravo!
Superlatives are in order for Steven D. Stark who really did his research well and tells the whole implausible story from bright beginning to immortality. Four fun loving Liverpudlians go off to Hamburg in the early sixties playing raucous rock and roll and pulling outrageous pranks like one them (John Lennon) wearing a toilet seat around his neck while singing and playing his electric guitar. Yet from the beginning it was all about talent, conscious artistry, and most of all, the magic that happened when John, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and eventually Ringo Starr played together. They were always greater than the sum of their parts, starting in 1962 right up to their peak in 1967, when they released the greatest pop record of all time, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
The Beatles both inspired and captured the spirit of their tumultuous era like nobody else. At their best they embodied a joyous collective spirit that captured the hearts first of their fans (most particularly female fans) and then the entire youth culture that emerged in the mid-sixties. The dark stuff is here, too, of course, including the drugs, the marital and relationship problems both with their women and each other, the long drawn-out breakup of the band, and John's tragic death at the hands of a crazed fan a decade later. The author explores how both John and Paul lost their mothers at an early age and the way it played out both in their songs and their love relationships with women. Overall though, it is a superbly written narrative of triumph beyond the level anyone could have ever expected from a rock and roll combo. The whole story is here and very well told. If you read just one book about the Fab Four, let this be the one. Bravo!
November 16, 2016
“Meet the Beatles” by Steven D. Stark was a very informational story but at times can get very boring if you're not a super fan for the Beatles. Steven D. Stark is a writer and cultural commentator. He has been the widely known culture analyst for National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday and a commentator for CNN’s Showbiz Today. He is also the author of “Glued to the Set” and “Writing to Win.” He is also been a huge fan of the Beatles ever since he was a little kid. The Beatles were amazing even before they hit America on February 7th, 1964. They have touched the lives of millions and for some changed their lives forever. John, Paul, Ringo, and George are all international superstars even to this day. Even though some are gone, they are never forgotten. Stark proceeded to elaborate how The Beatles phenomenon caused a cultural shock wave in America. The Beatles ended up to be somewhat the first androgynous rock stars. They were well-dressed in compared to Elvis and to lesser extent Buddy Holly. Stark also began to go on about how the encounter with Bob Dylan led to a lyrical experimentation that only helped their cause in becoming celebrities. There diversity interested the young culture of America and undoubtedly changed them. The style the story was written seemed to be very dragged out and wordy. It was quite annoying trying to piece together what Stark meant. It was so confusing sometimes that I just gave up on trying to understand his thoughts. The reason I picked it up is because my dad always tries to get me into the music he listens too and The Beatles happened to be one of the bands. My overall impression with the book is that it was Okay and probably would only recommend to people who have a love and passion for the Beatles.
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March 10, 2008
I've been on a bit of a Beatles kick lately, and when I read one, I always end up wanting to read another. (Like potato chips - mmmmm...) This one is an examination of the Beatle phenomenon from a sociological perspective. I thought that spin had promise - and I still think the premise does have promise - but this author didn't really pull it off. He talks a lot about the Beatles and feminism - really? It was a readble book but nothing really new or different. There are many better Beatles books to read than this.
April 25, 2012
This book was great in many ways, I just think I don't understand the full cultural aspect of it, since it was a lot bigger on HOW the Beatles affected music culture back then, not really saying how it affected music today. But shrug. It was still quite entertaining since it told many stories of the boys I'd never heard. Shrug. It was good, and if I wait a few years and go back to read it again I think I'll get way more pleasure out of reading it. It was really eye-opening in quite a few ways. Made you see other sides of the stories you already know. But maybe that's just me.
November 16, 2011
Author Steven Stark did an astounding job profiling my favorite band of all time. They way he ventured not only into their music lives, but their emotional lives as well. He found out things about them that most people find amusing, but never knew. Like that George Harrison was shy, but loved to sing. He loved his lyrics meaning something. My writing could better from Stark as a result of me researching heavier and trying to look at ideas and concepts in an uncommon light. Only interesting things can happen.
November 22, 2013
Meet the Beatles is a really good book in my mind. There are so many things that they have done that I had no idea about! In the book, they talk about all there albums and how they impacted the community. The author got into talking about there hit album magical mystery tour! I remember playing that in marching band freshman year! Now that is some good music! I really only recommend this book to people that are really into music and it's history. Along with really being a big Beatles fan like I am today!
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February 26, 2016Interesting take on the Fab Four. I've read more than just a few books on the band and this one has a particular slant on the Beatles influence on culture. Not a straight forward bio, the book nonetheless touches on the band's background and how it shaped them, with their Hamburg period especially being singled out. Other interesting bits the author brings out is the influence of women on the four, from childhood to the choice of wives they took { mainly Lennon and McCartney's }. I found this book a real delight and something out of the norm, which I appreciated. Recommended.
November 12, 2015
A really thought-provoking history of the Fab Four and the culture that grew up within and without them. The number of sources at the end of the book is impressive, although I wish that some direct quotes within the text had direct references to their sources. The text focuses mostly on Paul and John and a little on George but alas, poor Ringo, the drummer who will live on as the faithful everyman - not much text devoted to him.
September 2, 2016
I have read a LOT of books about The Beatles over the years. Maybe enough at this point, because this is the first one I can remember form which I learned nothing new at all. In addition, I found the opinions about their social impact to be contrived and superficial. This book is pretty much non-essential, especially if have read any other, notably Spitz's THE BEATLES.
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