Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World

A very subtle, fascinating and intricate insight into the Beatles' influence, role and legacy within our society and theirs. I used it for an essay in one of my classes and everything i found inside was extremely relevant to the subject. It's most likely to be one of the best books you can find upon The Beatles and their influence over society. I definitely advise it, would it be for your studies or your personal knowledge. It's well-written, enjoyable, and it doesn't indulge in gossips nor is it flooded by "useless" facts (or facts that you can find into any good biography).Steven D. Stark definitely stresses more the analysis rather than the cold, plain facts, and that's what makes his book genuinely interesting and worthy.

The Author assumes some working knowledge of the Beatles - which I hardly had. But from the preface the author, and subtitle, explicitly state that this is not a comprehensive, or even an abridged, history of the Beatles. Instead this book aims to explain the cultural status at the time of the Beatles and their impact on that culture.This is my first book on the Beatles that I have read. Since I was born in the late 70's, I was looking for a book that would help explain the cultural context of the Beatles. The book delivers on this point.The writing style was engaging, and the book was pleasant to read. I reccomend it.

Almost 40% of the total size of the book is references to other works, but Stark comes up with some interesting ideas and observations. Not much new, if you've read other histories of The Beatles, but a lot of good background, and he summarizes material gathered elsewhere into a good narrative. Worth reading.

I recommend this book as it is filed with lots of useful information. I needed it to do a term paper/PowerPoint presentation fpr a class in college. Not only did I think the book was interesting but there is enough information to keep you reading on....

This is a well researched and chronologically accurate book. The author starts by asking the question “why do we need another Beatle book.” I finish the book by saying why the heck did I read another Beatle book – – I really didn’t learn anything.However I could not give it a bad score because I was grading the writing and not my personal background about the Beatles – which is extensive. So if you don’t much about the Beatles; this is a great book for you but if you know things it’s a good review.

Nice shape

used for school. perfect quality and pristine condition

I was pulling books on the Beatles while writing a research guide for my library when this book intrigued me and invited me to investigate it further, despite its rather plain, no frills black and white cover. There have been dozens of biographies of the Beatles and even more books that have discussed the music and other aspects of the cultural impact the band had upon the world in a very short period of time. This book seemed like a fresh take on the various factors that contributed toward making this particular set of people so influential. It's a cliché to state that the time was ripe and, while some might state that if it hadn't been the Beatles some other phenomenal popular attraction would have molded the culture I don't think that's true. While I admit the time was right for something like the Beatles to occur, the confluence of factors, beginning with the mingling of these particular individuals, unleashed a cultural phenomenon that hasn't been equaled in five subsequent decades.Steven Stark includes enough of the biographical details to set the context. Other books have explained ad infinitum the social and historical background of these four young men. Stark explores various factors and connects dots that other writers may not have connected in quite the same way. Others have mentioned the fact that John Lennon and Paul McCartney both lost their mothers in their adolescence and that their common motherlessness drew them together on an emotional level that cemented the creative bond that was developing between them. Stark takes it further and says this affected their attitude toward women in general, both in their personal relationships as well as through their songwriting.He perhaps takes the psychoanalysis a bit far although he does have a point. The Beatles were not built upon standard group models built on male leadership. While John may have always considered himself the leader and founder, he knew that the group would improve with collaboration. That's why he admitted Paul into his band originally. The group was stronger than the sum of its parts. This attitude governed the decisions to add George and Ringo to the band as well and extended to those peripheral to the group itself such as producer George Martin. The Beatles conveyed images of non-threatening male energy through their appearance with `softer' appearances and lack of masculine swagger. As has been mentioned in other books, they were just what the general public in America needed in the wake of the Kennedy assassination.And so the alchemy was assembled from natural talent and the boldness and willingness to try new approaches to songwriting and recording but also from a collective group unity and humor and sense of fun. As George Martin said, they were the kind of people that made you feel good while you were around them and let down once they'd left. They had that effect through their records as well as their appearances on TV and film.Stark maintains a fairly even-handed, neutral attitude toward the group as personalities and as creators. Unlike some writers who will display their pro-John or pro-Paul bias within a few sentences, Stark acknowledges that the greatness of the Beatles' music depends not only on John's and Paul's immense talents but on the contributions of George and Ringo as well. Like any author, he has his opinion regarding individual albums and songs but he remains fairly objective in his assessments.One aspect of their music that Stark neglects to describe is their vocal as well as instrumental sound. He mentions the importance of Paul's bass playing (as most writers do at some point) and he states that Ringo's drums are distinctive, even mentioning their importance as the opening sound of "Free as a Bird," the John Lennon song the three surviving members transformed into a Beatle song as part of the Anthology project in the mid-90's. He also neglects George's superlative guitar playing and ability to craft perfect solos that are exactly what a song needs. He also neglects to discuss the vocal harmony. Other than stating that they sounded feminine, especially in the context of doing cover versions of songs by `girl groups', he fails to mention the magical vocal alchemy of the voices or the fact that their vocal approach spawned many other vocal groups.Nevertheless, Stark's book does draw conclusions about the Beatles that I've not seen any other writer on the group reach. I commend him on his attempt at reducing the magic of the Beatles to its core elements. As someone whose life was irrevocably altered by the Beatles it is inconceivable to me that younger generations may not understand what was so significant about these people or that they will ever be forgotten. Stark's book is not the first book to read about the Beatles although I would suggest it as a viable second or third to understand the conditions that produced this creative force and, in turn, changed the culture of its time.