Bob Spitz

I'll start out by saying I love to cook and bake. To the point that when I was packing up to move, a friend took one look at the row of boxes marked "Kitchen" and said, "It looks like Julia Child is moving."

So I was glad to find such a detailed biography. I didn't know until now that during World War 2 she worked in Sri Lanka for the OSS, which was the forerunner of the CIA. If you're like me and spend too much time watching Food Network, an organization quite different from the spy agency show more may come to mind - the Culinary Institute of America - but Julia Child worked for the spy agency. I also didn't know that she didn't start out caring all that much about food or in learning how to cook. It was her husband (whom she met in Sri Lanka) who was the foodie, and she started becoming interested in food so that she could cook for him. It didn't start out well - once she forgot to prick the skin of a duck to let the fat out and it exploded in the oven - but she gradually started improving as her sister-in-law started teaching her how to cook.

After her husband (who worked for the Department of State) was assigned to Paris, she signed up for cooking lessons at Le Cordon Bleu. While she was in Paris, she also made friends with several French women who loved to cook, and they helped her compile "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

I was also struck with how much has changed with food since then. When Julia was working on her cookbook, shallots, leeks, and Gruyere were all unavailable in the United States, but now it's easy to find shallots and leeks at the supermarket, and I can usually find Gruyere near the deli section, with other imported specialty cheeses as well. And there has been another change for the better: no more insane combinations of processed food. During the fifties, "an editor's suggestion for a "Harvest Luncheon" included a recipe for Twenty Minute Roast, which featured slabs of Spam slathered with orange marmalade and a layer of Vienna sausages broiled with canned peaches." (Page 280). Just reading about that combination made me sick. Even worse, when Julia's husband was reassigned to Oslo, the welcome luncheon the embassy wives put on included "a cluster of grapes and sliced mushrooms floating in a kind of pink-gelatin amniotic sac with a crown of frozen whipped cream crusted with rock-hard fruit," with a cake-mix banana cake and lime Jell-O for dessert! Whoever came up with those must have had no taste buds, and I'm having difficulty imagining who thought it was a good idea to serve such things to Julia Child. Well, actually, to anyone...

I also found it interesting to read about the emergence of nouvelle cuisine: "Heavy cream sauces and overworked recipes were replaced with imagination and ingenuity. Fresh flavors were emphasized, new combinations encouraged. The revolutionary concept...called for far lighter and delicate fare - a white wine reduction, say, instead of flour and butter and cream, an infused oil, maybe, instead of, well, flour and butter and cream. Sauces underneath instead of obscuring the main attraction. Perhaps Asian accents, more spices and herbs; vegetables cooked only long enough to release their flavor, crisp to the bite." (Page 400). In other words, exactly what you see on "Chopped" right now.

This book also told the story of how the Smithsonian National Museum of American History got Julia Child's kitchen, which is now on permanent display, and which I got to see there.

However, the book is also very long and somewhat repetitive, and near the end I started getting the feeling of, "I just want to finish this." But I did enjoy it overall. show less

ummary: A biography of the band from its beginnings, rise, Beatlemania, studio work, and demise, with mini-biographies of each of the Beatles, their manager, Brian Epstein.

One of those “where were you?” moments for those of us of a certain age is “where were you when The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show for the first time?” I was a fourth grader, watching them on my grandparents television while the adults tut-tutted about the “long hairs” and their music. Inside, I was show more fascinated, as were all my classmates, especially the girls, who talked endlessly about “my favorite Beatle.”

The 2005 “biography” of the Fab Four brings back all those memories and so much more–much that was fascinating and some that I’d rather not have known. Spitz traces the history of the band from its beginnings with John Lennon and The Quarrymen, the meeting with Paul McCartney, the Liverpool years and the various combinations of musicians including the fan favorite drummer Pete Best whose home was a favorite hangout until he was unceremoniously ditched and Ringo brought on board on the eve of their fame. Spitz writes abbreviated biographies of each of the Beatles and their manager, Brian Epstein.

We learn how formative their time in Hamburg was and the significant advance they made under Brian Epstein’s management. Spitz takes us through all the things he did to polish their image, how they became “The Beatles,” his efforts to get them recorded and promoted, and the mistakes he made in setting up recording contracts. As their records hit the charts and they toured Great Britain, we see them reach the “toppermost of the poppermost.” Then Ed Sullivan. America. Beatlemania with its surging crowds, shrieking and swooning girls, and ever-increasing danger to the Beatles leading to their end of touring in 1966.

Spitz takes us behind the scenes and we see the genius of the songwriting duo of Lennon-McCartney as well as the eventual strains in their relationship, the guitarwork and growing skill of George and how Ringo not only provided the musical foundation for the band but also a certain emotional glue. We learn what it was like to record at Abbey Road. We observe the self-effacing genius of George Martin, who never profited beyond his modest salary, helping with the innovative work on albums like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Spitz reminds us of the trip to India to learn meditation as the band sought both to grow spiritually and mend the growing artistic and personal rifts that would ultimately lead to their demise, particularly after Yoko Ono entered the scene, helping further alienate John from the others. We read accounts of the final recording sessions and the release of “Abbey Road” and their last live concert on a London rooftop, where amid all the tensions, they momentarily recaptured the joy of making music together.

Then there is the seamier side. The drug use beginning with amphetamines, marijuana, and eventually LSD, and in John’s case heroin, from which he was often strung out and increasingly erratic. The women. So many “birds” to have sex with, as was the case with many rockers. At one point, all were being treated for gonorrhea. There is the brilliant and sad Brian Epstein and his closeted gay life, including rough sex leaving him beaten and robbed, and his growing despair as he felt he was losing control of the Beatles, leading to his death, whether accidental or suicide, from an overdose of drugs. While they were rich, through Epstein’s mistakes and their own debacle with Apple, they foolishly lost millions.

There is the tragic. Going back to Hamburg days, the death of onetime bandmate Stu Sutcliffe, the firing of Pete Best and the way it was done. The betrayal of Lennon’s wife, Cynthia, and Paul’s girlfriend, Jane Asher. The end of the band itself, chronicled in agonizing detail. And later deaths: John, George, Linda Eastman McCartney.

This is a huge biography, coming in at 983 pages, including photos and notes. Yet it is a fascinating read that gives one a sense of the hard work it took to become “The Beatles” the genius of Lennon and McCartney, the trauma of Beatlemania, the behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of each album and so much more. At the same time, we see them as all-too-human, flawed and forming young men thrust into the fame and fortune they’d dreamed of but were not prepared to handle. What is astounding is to consider that most of the output of The Beatles took place over just seven fraught years, from 1963 to 1969. Yet they changed rock ‘n roll forever. Spitz gives us the “crowded hours” of that epic journey. show less

This was the first extensive biography I had ever read on the Beatles, and I don't think I could have picked a better example to start with. This massive tome covers the entire history of the Beatles, from their childhoods to their skiffle beginnings to their angry final sessions at Abbey Road Studios, and everything in between.

The problem of chronicling the history of the Beatles (or any pop culture superstar, for that matter) is that myth and reality get so wrapped with each other that show more it's hard to tell which is which. And with a group as legendary, controversial, and beloved as The Beatles, it's even harder for the author to keep subjective emotions from clouding the facts.

Now, this biography is not free from the author's emotions (his dislike of Yoko Ono, for example, is quite noticeable), but Bob Spitz goes to great lengths to dispel the myths surrounding the Beatle's existence and make each member of the Fab Four stand out as individuals. And to this extent, he succeeds marvelously. John Lennon is portrayed as a conflicted, frustrated, yet violent artist, Paul McCartney as a diplomatic, ingratiating, and slightly arrogant musician, George Harrison as a brooding, sarcastic, and occasionally biting guitarist who was never given much of an opportunity to grow within the band, and Ringo Starr as an easygoing band mate with tendencies towards brooding and moodiness. Are these perceptions accurate? It's hard to say. With the Beatles, there will never be one "correct" account of their work, but it's really something to see these larger-than-life personalities become grounded and somehow almost more human.

As much as I loved this book, this would not be the best title to start with if someone is just beginning to explore the history of the Beatles. For example, the first third of the book focuses solely on the Beatles early beginnings, back when they were still in school and playing local gigs as the Quarry Men. While it sets the stage brilliantly for the triumphs and challenges that were to come in later years, that section is overwhelmingly detailed, to say the least, and may be unnecessary for someone who is solely interested in the Beatles' heyday.

This book requires commitment and an open mind, but the journey it creates for the reader is exhilarating, shocking, heartbreaking, infuriating, and awe-inspiring - just like the Beatles themselves.

Recommended for: dedicated Beatles fans and/or rock 'n roll buffs.

Readalikes:

There aren't many books that can match this one in terms of scope or detail, but here are some other acclaimed books about the Beatles.

The Beatles Anthology. A massive collection of original interviews, rare photos, and artwork from the Beatles' career.

The Beatles - Hunter Davis. Davies was the authorized biographer for the band, and his biography was published in 1968. There's a lot of information about the band, coming firsthand from someone who knew them well, but unfortunately, it's an incomplete history.

Revolution in the Head - Ian MacDonald. A thorough analysis of the Beatles' music and its relationship to the social changes of the 1960's. It mixes a fan's enthusiasm with the highest level of musical history & criticism.

Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles - Geoff Emerick. As the Beatles' primary sound engineer for Revolver & Sgt. Pepper's, Emerick has many fascinating tales about the band, their music, and their group dynamics at the height of their musical career. There's a lot of emphasis on technical aspects, but it's still a highly readable book, and it packs a heck of an emotional wallop by the end show less

Normally, I'm not much into non-fiction. No matter how interested I may be in the topic, I just have a hard time getting through it. Nevertheless, I did a little research and found this, which seemed to be a well-respected Beatles history, and decided to give it a shot.

Despite my love for music, rock music in particular, I have come to the Beatles relatively late in my life (in my 30s) for a myriad of reasons which are not particularly relevant to a discussion of this book. What is relevant show more is that, as my appreciation for their music grew, I realized that I knew less than the bare essentials of their story. Knowing the cultural impact that their music - and really, their entire existence - had, and continues to have, I was intrigued. So I picked up this book, determined to find out.

The fact that I did not struggle to get through this and was only very occasionally tempted to give it up is a testament to how well written it is, as well as to how interesting the story of the Beatles actually is. Sometimes non-fiction can be dry or joyless, and this book was neither. The book was obviously researched exhaustively, but Spitz manages to spin it into a yarn, more like he's telling a story than presenting information. And I appreciated that.

I read some criticisms of the book that mentioned its lack of discussion of the Beatles' music. Personally, I found what discussion there was to be perfectly appropriate for this particular book. It highlights a few songs and gives at least cursory attention to a whole bunch more. This time around, I just wanted the story of their time together. When I'm ready to read more about their music - and I will be, at some point - I'll seek out a different book. A more thorough music discussion didn't really fit into the purview of this book's intent.

I did think the book was a little uneven in its descriptions. At one point the band would be great; later, they'd lack polish, or talent, or they'd be wooden onstage. Now, it could be that he was referring to how they were perceived relative to where they were in their careers - e.g. they were great for the Cavern but too raw for a record deal - but it seemed like Spitz was just speaking in general. I also felt like he could have done a better job of emphasizing which individuals outside the band were going to be important throughout. I knew about Brian Epstein and George Martin, for instance, but a couple of other names kept popping up, and I couldn't always remember who they were. And finally, I think it ended too abruptly; it cut off just as McCartney's first solo album was released, signaling the breakup of the band. I think it could have carried on at least long enough to deal with public reaction to the breakup, as well as the reception of Let It Be on the heels of McCartney's album.

Of course, I'm also interested in each of their lives and solo careers from that point on, their relationships with each other as non-Beatles, and so forth, but all that would be outside the purview of this book as well, so I'll have to seek out that information elsewhere. As for this book, I find that I have a good deal of fondness for it, a feeling I never really knew I could have for a work of non-fiction. Most of it is due to the subject matter (interestingly enough, despite the fact that only Ringo comes off as actually likable, I gained quite a bit of respect and even affection for each of them, even Epstein and Martin, at least as "characters"), but that wouldn't come through without a good writer to give it direction. So, kudos to you, Mr. Spitz. show less