protomattr reviewed Paul McCartney by Norman, Philip
Review of 'Paul McCartney' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is a curious book, written by a journalist whose earliest contact with the Beatles included having Paul toss him his bass backstage before being sort of ignominiously escorted out. Having covered the Fab Four for so many years, but also having written about Paul in unflattering ways put Philip Norman in an peculiar position to write a biography. He had the skills and clout needed to interview those in various of Paul’s orbits for such a project, but all Paul would give, out of dislike, or perhaps just disinterest, was “tacit” approval.
Nevertheless, Norman manages to chronicle Paul’s life, from childhood to the present, in incredible detail, with what seems like a fair hand, and in mostly compelling prose. The challenge, of course, is working within the arc of Paul’s life, which reaches its apogee very early. This is done mostly successfully, though I have to admit I sort …
This is a curious book, written by a journalist whose earliest contact with the Beatles included having Paul toss him his bass backstage before being sort of ignominiously escorted out. Having covered the Fab Four for so many years, but also having written about Paul in unflattering ways put Philip Norman in an peculiar position to write a biography. He had the skills and clout needed to interview those in various of Paul’s orbits for such a project, but all Paul would give, out of dislike, or perhaps just disinterest, was “tacit” approval.
Nevertheless, Norman manages to chronicle Paul’s life, from childhood to the present, in incredible detail, with what seems like a fair hand, and in mostly compelling prose. The challenge, of course, is working within the arc of Paul’s life, which reaches its apogee very early. This is done mostly successfully, though I have to admit I sort of lost interest after Linda’s passing.
Still, I was looking for insight into the life of one of the musical geniuses of our times, and I wasn’t disappointed.