There are lots of books that claim to be the definitive read. There are also lots of books about The Beatles and their transformation and influence on the music scene. Tune In by Mark Lewisohn combines both. This book is exhaustive! This book is also only Volume 1!

Lewisohn looks at a wide variety of sources to create a pretty complete look at the first 5 years of The Beatles. This book is so well researched and well written that I got drawn into the story. While it doesn't read like a novel, which is the usual thing to state, it does read rather well and it isn't a dry history. If one is a Beatles fan and you wanted a more complete history, this is the book for you.

I have to be honest in stating that I am still surprised there will be more to come in the narrative from Lewisohn and I cannot wait.

I gave this one 4 stars.

*I want to thank Blogging for Books and Three Rivers Press for the review copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Being only the first volume, this comprehensive history of the Beatles up to the end of 1963 is magnificent. The detail is stellar. I'll certainly be anticipating the other volumes with bated breath. ( )

My interest in The Beatles was reignited by Craig Brown's One Two Three Four and now I'm halfway through watching the Anthology DVDs. Mark Lewisohn's tome - and this is only volume one! - lacks the pep of the first and the personal touch of the second. Lewisohn is the chief anorak of Beatles' knowledge but this is just far too in-depth. When I got into the swing of the chapters, I quickly learned what to skim (chart timelines) and later skip (George Martin - not interested, thanks - and lengthy quotes from teenage fans called Margaret and Beryl and the like).

I will admit to primarily wanting to read about Ringo, but of course - with this volume ending in 1962 - I had to suffer through Pete Best to get there (‘We never liked you all the years we’ve known you. You were never raelly [sic] one of us you know, soft head.’) It's a testament to the 'Fab Four' that I only just realised how Ringo was joining a tight trio of friends and had to earn both their trust and his place in the band in very short order. I did feel sorry for poor Stu, though. And I think I learned more about Brian Epstein from one chapter of this book than the whole of Ray Coleman's homophobic hack job of a biography! 'I was determined to go through the horror of this world. I feel deeply, for I have always felt deeply, for the persecuted, for the Jews, the coloured people, for the old, and society’s misfits. When I made money I planned to devote and give what I could to these people.'

Recommended as a reference book, but reading from cover to cover - or 1% to 60% on KIndle (the rest being notes and the index) - is only for the truly dedicated. ( )

listened to this one in the car. I know I wouldn't have been able to read it in book form and maintain enough interest to finish it. that's not saying it's not good...its just incredibly detailed - being pulled along with an audiobook was a good thing. thought it was a fantastic book and am looking forward to the second book. it's a fascinating and extremely detailed accounting of not just the band, but also the people who helped them along the way. ( )

What an absolutely stunning achievement! The penultimate for any Beatles fan. I only wish my mother had been able to read this...her excitement would have been beyond 5 stars. ( )