The Beatles - All These Years

Reviews / Votes

A radical event and a joy to read - Lewisohn tells the tale with such authoritative command of the evidence and so intimate a grasp of the Beatles' daily lives that the reader emerges knowing - with a certainty denied all previous generations - that this is how it really happened.


Lewisohn's work stands as a monumental triumph, a challenge not merely to other Beatles biographers but to the discipline of biography itself. If only all important subjects had their Lewisohn * Washington Post * A triumph. Not only an enthralling account of the Beatles' origins, far superior to anything that has gone before, but also an essential piece of social history.

Lewisohn has set out to do the Beatles justice and write the definitive history. I think he is succeeding * The Times * Mark Lewisohn raises the biographical bar to stratospheric heights. This first volume suggests he is on the verge of achieving what was heretofore considered impossible: blowing the cobwebs off one of the late 20th century's hoariest cultural myths, scraping away decades' worth of accumulated crud and revealing detail no one previously suspected was there * Literary Review * An epic unprecedented in rock 'n' roll biography, and a great read ... Does far more than enrich with mind-boggling detail, there's a surprise on every page ... The detail is sharp and incisive ... It's the kind of book where want-to-know and need-to-know is wrapped into a narrative that unfolds brilliantly and, for once, justifies that 'real story of the Beatles' billing * Mojo * Positively a page turner, both for excitement and anticipation - Lewisohn has enhanced the story as a beautifully flowing factual tale that reads like a classic novel. Nobody but nobody could begin to match this work of joy and detail; and reassuringly, nobody ever will. This is the best work ever produced on the subject of the Beatles. A five star review is an insult, it merits an unheard of ten -- Colin Larkin * Best Things On Earth * The accomplishments of the Beatles has given rise to a near deification of them as both people and myth. Lewisohn brings that story back down into the world of real people.

Tune In clears the air of myth and legend, leaving as much reality as a biography can offer. Every single page brings the Beatles back into focus and moves them away from legend. Common myths fall apart under Mr. Lewisohn's research * New York Journal of Books * Presents the Beatles story in a way it's never been seen before: truthfully and completely. The end result is a herculean effort, a fast-moving page-turner overflowing with warm humor, passion, and (of course) music. Likely to become a principle text in 20th-century studies, a sort of Complete Shakespeare with a much better soundtrack. For anyone who loves music, this book is the genuine ultimate * VH1.com * The saga is clearer and richer here than it's ever been. Lewisohn writes in novelistic detail and with the obvious conviction that none of the previous Beatles biographies have ever been good enough * Entertainment Weekly * This is Torah! Huge on a massive scale, the most altruistic thing anybody's done in the arts since the Beatles, and it needed to be done. God keep Mark Lewisohn alive to finish what he's started -- Howie Edelson * US radio writer/producer * Tune In is brilliant in describing the addictive power of rock and roll when there was no imaginable alternative in a doomed town. Mark Lewisohn's achievement lies with the fact that he never tries to 'explain'. He is not argumentative but turns up the colours in a world that has faded to grey * Herald Scotland * The best book I read all year. I expected data collection. I got data, but also interpretation at a very high level, obsessive reporting and high quality music criticism. Lewisohn's a writer as much or more than an assembler of information. This is a great book, there's nothing like it in music and damned little anywhere else (it makes The Power Broker seem superficial) -- Dave Marsh * Rock & Rap Confidential * Lewisohn amasses and investigates facts without sacrificing an iota of the excitement. In its close focus and historical ambition, the trilogy may be compared to Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson, or John Richardson's Life of Picasso; it is unlikely to be surpassed * Daily Telegraph * A game-changing study which raises the bar in a genre characterised by pap or pretension. A meticulous piece of work - I can't wait for volume two * Independent * I can think of no greater praise for Tune In than to say that it gives the Beatles the beginnings of the biography they deserve. It is hard to imagine the subsequent volumes, covering more familiar ground, matching the gripping quality of this constantly surprising work * Financial Times * With imagination, energy and a gripping plotline, Lewisohn manages to put flesh and blood on the story as never before * Sunday Times * Packed with revelations and demystifications -- James Woodall * The Economist * A major event in music publishing . . . the definitive account of the Beatles * GQ * I doubt anyone expected to be surprised about the Beatles again, but the story only needed supersizing. I continued reading with bewildered pleasure * Daily Telegraph * Fills in vital details that had been missing from the existing Beatles canon and corrects mistakes that have been reprinted for years. A definitive history of the band * Wall Street Journal * The widest possible angle on an extensive and engrossing group biography built on a well-raked mountain of exacting new research ... expertly controlled and propelling * New York Times * Epic in its scope, forensic in its detail, Tune In is like reading the Beatles' story for the very first time.

Lewisohn's art is to tell the story compellingly: his prose has a vibrancy that sustains a remarkable page-turning momentum throughout its entire length. And what a story! Tune In leaves the reader breathless * R2/Rock 'n' Reel * Lewisohn manages to fill in blanks that no one knew were empty * New Yorker * This is the story told in Proustian detail . . . The first edited-down volume, is largely a delight, and the story is told so definitively that, after this, that really should be it. Secondary sources are comprehensively mined; letters, public records and business documents have been found in places no one else ever thought to look . . . Lewisohn is a Beatles oracle -- John Harris * Guardian * Never previously have the Beatles' formative years been recounted in such detail. It is unlikely to be surpassed -- Michael Watts * Daily Telegraph * I can think of no greater praise for Tune IN than to say that it gives The Beatles the beginnings of the biography they deserve. It is hard to imagine the subsequent volumes, covering more familiar ground, matching the gripping quality of this constantly surprising work. But Lewisohn's clear head and good humour augur well. The main feature may not have even started yet, but this is the classiest of prequels -- Peter Aspden * Financial Times * A major event in music publishing this month as Tune In by Mark Lewisohn lands..the definitive account of The Beatles * GQ * Lewisohn has done an astonishing job. I can't wait for volume two * Independent * An epic on an unprecedented scale . . . Lewisohn has no serious rival * Irish Times * A brilliant narrative, propelled by character, action and chance encounters as thrilling as any great novel. It is a fantastic social history, illuminating life in post-war Britain in compelling detail -- Steve Hilton * Telegraph *