Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run by Paul McCartney, edited by Ted Widmer

 

Reviewed by Kristin

How many books have been written about The Beatles, individually or collectively, and/or about their post-Beatle musical collaborations? A quick Google search (scroll past the AI overview, because that is likely to be generalized and somewhat inaccurate…) tells me that it is at least thousands, and possibly tens of thousands.

I believe it, because I have read quite a few. Not a thousand, but I have at least 20 on a bookshelf at home. In fact, a friend just gave me a vintage book containing letters written to each Beatle in their heyday, appropriately titled Dear Beatles and compiled by Bill Adler. One I must count among my favorites is Mark Lewisohn’s first volume in his comprehensive trilogy, The Beatles: All These Years: Tune In, published in 2013. We’re still waiting for volume two. Since it took him over a decade to publish the first one, I’m holding out hope. Tune In is worth the read, all 932 pages.

The book I’ve just finished reading is a much shorter 550 pages; Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run is told through a variety of voices as an oral history. Paul McCartney is prominent, of course, but every member of Wings and various people who knew them also have their words recorded. Linda McCartney, Paul’s late wife and Wings member, is quoted many times. Right after Ted Widmer’s editorial introduction, the “cast in alphabetical order” is listed. From photographers to sound engineers to other musicians to family and more, their thoughts are woven together to create a narrative about a band, well, in the famous words of Paul himself, a band on the run.

Interspersed between these voices are descriptions of projects and timelines placing Wings’ work amongst other major world events. Black and white photos are included throughout with a glossy color photo section in the middle. Appendices include band biographies, Wings’ discography, Wings’ gigography (a term I’d never heard, but loved seeing every public appearance Wings made from 1972-1979), and finally a Paul/Wings specific timeline from 1969-1981.

As you may have guessed, I really enjoyed this book. Another amusing thing that ran through my head while reading was my then two-year-old child singing “Band on the RUG” . . . repeatedly. At least we influence our kids’ musical tastes for a while.

Visualizing The Beatles: A Complete Graphic History of the World’s Favorite Band by John Pring and Rob Thomas

Reviewed by Kristin

I’ve read many Beatles books over the years, and Visualizing The Beatles was certainly a fresh take on a subject that has been analyzed by hundreds (or thousands!) of writers and millions of worldwide fans. The authors delve into all sorts of Beatles facts and present them graphically.

For example…

Songwriting: Who Wrote That? In graphs showing rough percentages, the authorship of each song is displayed. In the early days, it was usually John or Paul in the famous Lennon-McCartney, partnership, but eventually George found his place. This segment was repeated for each album and was fascinating as a visual representation of how the band changed over the years. Lead singers are also included in charts, with Ringo usually getting his one song per album, at least after the first few.

Style Through the Years. Details on their iconic looks are woven through the book, with their representative style highlighted as the band members went from grey and black suits to more colorful designs (and back to black in late 1965-66) to more diverse looks as the sixties came to a close. Their wardrobe uniformity made way for individual expression, and these charts show that very nicely.

Instruments: What Can You Hear? I really enjoyed this segment (again, repeated for each album) in which instruments played by each Beatle are identified. Besides the more obvious piano, guitar, or drums, other instruments like the cowbell, maracas, and harmonica are listed. The graphics become more complicated but still easily understood as time goes on, listing tape loops and other instruments like the sitar or the guiro or the flugelhorn.

The graphics show so many more things: dominant musical keys, track lengths, words most often used, where they were when, filmography, covers vs. originals, musical influences, world timelines for context, and so much more. Two pages of tiny print contain a list of every singer or band which has recorded a Beatles song to date. This is definitely a book worth seeing if you have any interest the history of rock and roll.

One more noteworthy inclusion: for the week of April 4, 1964, The Beatles held the top five spots on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with Can’t Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Please Please Me. In addition to those top five, they also held an additional seven spots in the top 100, with I Saw Her Standing There at #31, From Me to You at #41, Do You Want to Know a Secret at #46, All My Loving at #58, You Can’t Do That at #65, Roll Over Beethoven at #68, and Thank You Girl at #79. Less than two months after their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, The Beatles were indeed riding the wave of Beatlemania across the US.

The Last Days of John Lennon by James Patterson with Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge

 

Reviewed by Kristin

As a Beatles fan, I’ve read quite a few Beatles biographies over the few years (okay, decades) since I became infatuated with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Hunter Davies wrote The Beatles: The Authorized Biography back in 1968, and although I didn’t read it till much later I still enjoyed it. In recent years, the best one I’ve read is Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years Vol. 1 by Mark Lewisohn (reviewed here.)

James Patterson just had to get his name on a Beatles biography also, tackling the time before Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon on December 8, 1980.

The title is a bit misleading. Sure, Patterson and his co-writers/co-researchers Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge delve deeply into the mind of Chapman the murderer. The authors switch between chapters detailing what Chapman was doing in the days leading up to the murder, and then moving back in time all the way to the early days of the Beatles. If you have never read anything about the Beatles, this work might be a great overview (with an emphasis on John’s history.) However, having quite a few Beatles books on my personal shelves, I didn’t learn more than one or two new facts.

If you are a true crime aficionado, you might also be a little disappointed because the authors don’t go too deeply into the blood and gore of the murder. The seeming calm that Chapman displayed is rather creepy though; he claimed that during his time in jail leading up to his trial he never slept better in his entire life.

As many other people have questioned, I can’t help but wonder how much writing Patterson himself does on his co-authored books. I found an article that says he often creates extremely detailed outlines, up to 80 pages or more, for his collaborators who then flesh out the book. Does this launch their careers? Or simply sell more books with the Patterson name? Patterson has donated millions of books to schools and millions of dollars to schools and independent bookstores, so I have to applaud him for his commitment to literacy.

I recommend this book only to readers with a casual interest in the life and death of John Lennon, or to die-hard James Patterson fans. We know the latter exists, or we wouldn’t have so many shelves dedicated to his books.

The Question of the Missing Head by E.J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen

Reviewed by Jeanne

The subtitle is An Asperger’s Mystery, which gives readers a heads up about Samuel Hoenig, the narrator and operator of “Questions Answered.”  Samuel is counting on using his analytical mind to answer questions on any topic to earn a living, so he has set up an office to do just that.  There are a few obstacles yet to overcome, however, including Samuel’s ability to be so focused on one thing that he misses others—the ringing of his telephone, for example.  Fortunately, he soon acquires an associate, Janet Washburn, who is able to help him navigate social situations.

And not a moment too soon, because he is presented with a most unusual case:  a preserved head has been stolen from the Garden State Cryonics Institute.  Unless it is recovered promptly, all hope of a future revival will be lost, along with the Institute’s reputation.  A trip to the Institute to examine the scene brings another complication when the body of one of the staff doctors is discovered, and Samuel quickly ascertains that she has been the victim of foul play.

I found this first in series book to be delightful.  Samuel views his Asperger’s not as a disability but simply as a facet of his personality.  He is often aware that he perceives things differently from most of those around him, but his awareness doesn’t always lead to understanding.  He is an intense observer, but the subtleties of emotion often elude him.  He can’t always tell if someone is being sarcastic or why a person might be upset at being questioned about the death of a family member. He’s both astute and naïve, and more than a little obsessive about certain subjects, especially Beatles’ songs and baseball.  (He likes to ask people which song is their personal favorite and draws conclusions about their personalities based on the answer.)

He also needs his routine. Yet Samuel makes his habits all seem normal, because of the matter of fact way he presents his needs. Of course he needs to walk one third of a mile every few hours, even if he’s in the middle of questioning a suspect; of course he needs to be home at seven to have dinner with his mother.

There’s a great deal of humor in the book, but never at Samuel’s expense.  I enjoyed seeing the world from his perspective.  It’s a lighter version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, giving readers a glimpse inside the world of a person with Asperger’s.  Cohen has some personal experience with Asperger’s, so he is on familiar ground.  (The author credits are a bit of an inside joke:  Cohen writes other books under the name E.J. Copperman.)

Overall, I found the book to be very entertaining.  The plot was convoluted enough, the resolution was satisfactory, and the information about cryonics was interesting. The characters were well developed, even when viewed through Samuel’s sometimes limited perspective.  

Most of all, I enjoyed Samuel’s observations such as, “It is always a mistake to assume that people will conform to stereotypes.  It’s taken me years to understand, but incident after incident has proven to me that one must see hard evidence before making a statement.  . . .   It’s possible to make an assumption based on a probability, but it is not a reliable way to decide a question.” 

Other titles include The Question of the Unfamiliar Husband, The Question of the Felonious Friend, and The Question of the Absentee Father. I plan on reading them all.

Citizens, World Order, Foundation, Beatles vs. Stones, and More!

Reported by Meygan

Nevermore opened with the discussion of Citizens: a Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama. This book discusses the French Revolution starting with the very beginning and ending with the Reign of Terror in 1794. Our Nevermore reader said this book was very readable and a good book about the French Revolution! 

World Order by Henry Kissinger was the next book discussed and I must say that this book was highly recommended! The reader stated this book should be book of the year and is certainly in his top ten books of all time. Former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Kissinger is an expert on foreign policy and he explains there can’t be peace around the globe unless we (as a world) have sense of order. Kissinger doesn’t discuss every country, but he does focus on the big ones (Japan, United States, European countries, the middle east, etc.) and examines each country’s history and builds upon on how each country got to where they are. The author doesn’t offer an easy solution to creating world order, and one Nevermore reader questioned if we could truly ever achieve that sort of a settlement where there is complete world order. The Nevermore reader also stated that he enjoyed the author’s writing style, which was very simple and clear. When he finished speaking about the book, a member told him that every time he talks about a book, he makes her want to read it! What higher praise could a Nevermore reader receive than that?

Next, we discussed The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, a science fiction novel that is easy to read! (Have you ever heard of such a thing?) The Nevermore reader enjoys the unique font which adds to the science fiction feel of the book. Within this trilogy are the books Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. Foundation introduces readers to Hari Seldon, a man who must create a new empire. The Nevermore reader said even though this book is science fiction, it is very believable! He felt that the author used the opportunity to select certain philosophies to tell within his stories that will assist the main character with building the new empire. 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, a New York Times bestseller, seemed to pique the interest of our Nevermore readers. The book takes place during WWII and tells two parallel stories about a blind girl who lives in Paris and a young German orphan boy who lives in an industrial part of Germany. The boy is extremely bright and he is offered the opportunity to attend a Nazi sponsored school. When the girl is twelve years old, the Nazis invade Paris causing her and her father to flee to Saint-Malo. When the Nevermore reader was asked how the boy and girl meet one another, she replied that she didn’t want to give anything away. However, she did warn us that once we started reading then we wouldn’t be able to stop! “I was caught up in it. I finished a 500 page novel in two days!” 

For all you music lovers out there, you may be aware of the music debate of who is better: The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? Well lucky for you, John McMillian wrote Beatles vs.The Rolling Stones! Our Nevermore reader highly enjoyed the book, and he stated that he learned a lot about the mechanics of the music industry. However, the more he learned about John Lennon, the less he wanted to know! He stated that after reading about The Beatles, Ringo, who was his least favorite Beatles, ended up being the only one with any humanity. Still, maybe this is a good book for readers to solve the argument! Or maybe it will only fuel the fire. Either way, check out Beatles vs. Stones!

The last book discussed was The Ten Best Days of My Life by Adena Halpern. Alexandra is only 29 when she is struck by a car, and she finds herself in Heaven. And not just in Heaven, but the highest level of Heaven! However, there seems to be a mistake. She is asked to write an essay discussing the ten best days of her life to try and persuade the higher power why she should not be sent to a lower level in Heaven. In Alexandra’s Heaven, she can eat whatever she wants and she doesn’t have to worry about gaining weight! Also, she gets to choose from high-end name brand clothing and choose any car she wants. But she is told that the level she may be placed at is where all of the Rock n’ Roll stars are and even though she won’t have as much fancy clothing or be able to eat whatever her ravenous stomach desires, she will at least be surrounded by good music! The Nevermore reader described this book as being “cute”, but it doesn’t make the cut when comparing it to her favorite books. She also said the main character is spoiled and her ten days only prove how she doesn’t belong in the highest level of Heaven. She is certainly a character that if you were to be friends with her, you would have to love her for who she is or not love her at all!