Bryce Zabel

Cosa sarebbe successo se i Beatles non si fossero sciolti nel 1970? In questo libro Bryce Zabel scrive un'ucronia, sotto forma di biografia del quartetto dal 1968 al 1975. Un po' come in Sliding Doors, la storia comincia con una minima differenza. Quando John e Paul furono ospiti del Johnny Carson Show, non furono lasciati al "supplente" Joe Garagiola; all'ultimo momento Carson cancellò un suo show per partecipare. Da lì parte una narrazione alternativa, con il quartetto sempre sul punto show more di sciogliersi ma che anziché fare album solisti pubblica album formalmente di gruppo. Se non amate i Beatles, il libro non fa per nulla per voi. Che senso avrebbe una biografia fasulla? Ma un esperto beatlesiano si diverte a vedere il mix tra realtà e fantasia che riprende anche cose effettivamente avvenute, ma in tutt'altro contesto. Pensate ai Beatles che partecipano a Woodstock oppure recitano in Lord of the Rings sotto la regia di Stanley Kubrick... (Ci furono davvero contatti per entrambi i progetti, come Zabel spiega nell'appendice) Diciamo che per me Zabel ha saltato lo squalo quando racconta del rapimento di John (fin qui nulla di male) che alla fine viene salvato anche con l'aiuto di... un diciannovenne Steve Jobs. Carina l'intervista finale per il tour 2015, con John (dopo il rapimento la security nei confronti dei Beatles fu accresciuta, e perciò Chapman fu fermato prima che riuscisse ad assassinarlo), Paul, Ringo, e... No, non vi posso dire chi ha preso il posto di George che anche in questa ucronia è morto nel 2001 (la scelta di Zabel è stata di non modificare le morti per malattia, che sono indipendenti da cosa hanno fatto i Beatles; anche Linda è morta). show less

What if JFK had survived the attack on his life in Dallas?

This book was really intriguing and well written. Instead of dying in Dallas in 1963 JFK survived and one gets a chance to see how his life and those around him change with him alive. But it is not a fairy tale with everything ending well. His involvement with women, especially affairs with women of questionable reputations that are something everyone knows about nowadays, but something that was not a public knowledge during the 60s show more is the thing that in this "what if story" will come to light during his presidency. And, that combined with his ill health that he has been hiding from the general public and orders he has given to alleged assassinations of foreign leaders will, in the end, lead to his impeachment. In the end, when they could not kill him they tried in every way to kill his political career instead.

I enjoyed this book immensely. A favorite subject, the Kennedys told in one of my favorite ways of telling a story; a what if story. It helped that it was really good and it felt like it could have happened if JFK had lived. Well except one thing, in the end, something that has to do with John-John was a bit too much even for me!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! show less

What a darling of a book. A skilful weaving of fact and fiction to the point where it's hard to remember what's made up and what isn't, assuming that what we thought we knew to be true actually was.

A sheer joy to read, faultless in its execution and bringing people to life in a way that biographies never do. I could rave on about this, but if you are of that generation you really should read this. Also puts me in mind of the movie Yesterday.

In no time at all I have no doubt you could feed show more this book into an AI program and have it create the movie because every character in the book is already well documented. Personally, I can't wait. show less

Disclosure. Will any government ever admit they don’t know what in hell is going on (regarding any subject one might like to bring up)?

Here are Richard Dolan and Bryce Zabel, who seem to think the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES will soon be forced to admit that the US government doesn’t know Jack regarding what UFOs are, who runs them or where they come from (because, let’s face it, that’s the truth). They then go on to say that this admission will be the beginning of a freer and show more more open society.

How this follows, I must confess, I don’t understand. My feelings regarding this were best expressed by Charles Fort in 1919:

“I think we’re property.

“I should say we belong to something:

“That once upon a time this earth was No-Man’s Land; that other worlds explored and colonized here, and fought among themselves for possession, but that now it’s owned by something:

“That something owns this earth—all others warned off.” (The Complete Books of Charles Fort, Dover edition (ISBN 0-486-23094-5), p. 163)

Mr. Fort goes on to express his belief (or, rather, “acceptance”) that we are not higher to the (assumed) owners of Earth than are sheep, chickens, pigs and cattle to human beings.

Why else would deniability be so imperative? Who can guess what the purpose of the (supposed) aliens might be toward human beings? Who can guess what a real “disclosure” might result in?

In the end, I would have to say, be careful what you wish for: you might get it. show less