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Post by briank on Jan 5, 2009 22:14:12 GMT
Me too on the Spitz book. This is sore subject for me;
MOST of the single-person "here's my story" books are too full of slanted (or wrong) information as well. I think Norman Smith's book came out terrible, and definitely hard to read, and that's sad. Same for Emerick's, which could have been great, but for all the mistakes. Even George Martin's and Patti's books were "filled in" with inaccurate stories and facts by the co-authors.
The Beatles'Gear instruments book has as many errors as Spitz's book (300+), but then I am a fanatic for detail and experienced about their instruments. That "Vox Equipment Guide" just came out and showed how wrong it was... just for the amps, the previous book was over 60% wrong!
To people who "don't know" (and this includes authors like Spitz!) the books may seem good. But that doesn't mean they are accurate or serving history properly...
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Post by The End on Jan 6, 2009 15:20:03 GMT
Mark Lewisohn is apparently starting from scratch and relying on myth. Maybe that's why his series of books is taking so long.
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Post by briank on Jan 8, 2009 8:13:57 GMT
Mark Lewisohn is apparently starting from scratch and relying on myth. Maybe that's why his series of books is taking so long. I hope you meant NOT relying on myth?!? Yes, he is working very hard constantly and uncovering all kinds of previously unknown things - sometimes putting to rest many myths from before with evidence and proof. His books ARE the best Beatles books - full of solid research and quality.
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Post by The End on Jan 8, 2009 13:22:30 GMT
Ha ha, yeah! I'll amend that
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Post by Michelle Revolution on Feb 19, 2009 22:26:25 GMT
Anything by Geoffrey Giulliano (sp) is pretty dire, in my opinion.
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Post by briank on Mar 9, 2009 7:11:19 GMT
Anything by Geoffrey Giulliano (sp) is pretty dire, in my opinion. He's a strange person, I hear. Not well-liked in the Beatles or Who camps. VERY unpopular in those crowds. I'm not sure why... but I have heard stories.
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Post by musicismyradar on Mar 14, 2009 0:45:14 GMT
bobber- that is unbelievable! Shocking. I won't be buying it now I tell thee
by the by, I didn't much like 'Hard Days Write' much. Hunter Davies all the way!!
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nimrod
And That's A Start
Posts: 10
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Post by nimrod on Apr 18, 2009 0:03:37 GMT
Here's part of Spitz's write up on Wikipedia - says it all really. What a tosser.........I think I'll use the book for cat litter paper. That's not hygenic though. I can't expect the cats (George and Ringo by the way!) to crap on crap! Bob Spitz is an American writer and author best known for his celebrity biographies. He is the author of The Making of Superstars, Barefoot in Babylon, Dylan, Shoot Out the Lights, The Saucier's Apprentice and a Beatles biography entitled The Beatles: The Biography. Apparently, The Beatles had a number of errors, which the publisher corrected in second printings [1]. When he was asked about these errors by the editor of Beatles fan zine Daytrippin‘, Spitz replied with a verbally abusive letter, saying "You need an enema. Really! Do something useful with your life."[2] if it says that on Wiki, thats great I hate the Geoffrey Giuliano books, pure crap IMO. Just too many people trying to cash in on the boys, I didnt like Cynthia's book either..
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inmylife
What Goes On In Your Heart
Posts: 61
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Post by inmylife on Apr 23, 2009 14:48:57 GMT
H i guys , just to say having read the comments on the worst Beatle related book i was very suprised to read that 60% of the " Beatles Gear " book relative to the Vox Amps , was incorrect . I really thought that the book was a fascinating read and would have rated it in my top four or five Of all time Beatle books , But now i,m not so sure as i was belive it or not going to, the second i left this site ,order a copy from Amazon as i have been borrowing the copy from the local library on a rather more regular basis than is healthy !! SOOO ! any suggestions as to any publications containing a more accurate summary of the equipment used by the boys throughout their careers ?? Please .
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Post by Bobber on Jan 23, 2017 11:41:11 GMT
Guys, we were all wrong about the Bob Spitz book. He showed us alternative facts.
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Post by mrmustard on Jan 23, 2017 15:14:41 GMT
Guys, we were all wrong about the Bob Spitz book. He showed us alternative facts. Really??? Surely not!
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Post by brewmaster on Jan 23, 2017 18:13:06 GMT
Great thread. I'm lucky, having read several Beatles related books, but no really bad ones. I would say for factual errors and a leavening of self-promotion "The Man who gave the Beatles away" by Alan Williams, and "The Rocking City" are my worst; but, judging from the above reviews/comments, seem nowhere near as bad as the Spitz/Goldman atrocities. A book I found tiresome was Hamburg: Cradle of British Rock Author Alan Clayson doesn't seem to like the Beatles, especially John, and attempts to minimise their importance. For example, he claims that Dave Dee, Beaky, Mick and Titch were more popular in Hamburg than the Beatles. Well, they were, after the Beatles stopped playing there and moved on to bigger things. He also rates Paul Gadd above the Liverpool groups. For our overseas members who may not know about him, here's the murky story of GaddReviews on forums such as this can certainly save wasting time and money on books which peddle myths and nonsense. Writers of biography and history have an implicit duty to be as factual as possible. Personally, I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume from Mark Lewisohn.
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Post by oldswanrory on Jan 23, 2017 22:31:38 GMT
The sacking of Pete Best - Spencer Leigh... Could not finish it, bored me to tears.
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Post by Bobber on Jan 24, 2017 10:47:39 GMT
Guys, we were all wrong about the Bob Spitz book. He showed us alternative facts. Really??? Surely not! You missed the buzz about Kellyanne Conway's comment in defense of Donald Trump.
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Post by ROCKY on Jan 25, 2017 13:55:57 GMT
Without a doubt that ass Albert Goldman's book 'The Lives of John Lennon', not worth the paper it's printed on!!!
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kp2479
And That's A Start
Posts: 9
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Post by kp2479 on Jul 10, 2017 19:17:22 GMT
I do recall from the Bob Spitz book that he described George's religious embrace as "traditional Christianity" or something (sorry, book not on hand)...um, no! Hare Krishna?
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Post by Mr Kite on Jul 10, 2017 19:27:02 GMT
I`ve recently had given to me the Peter Brown book The Love You Make I keep looking at it on the shelf Did`nt Macca throw his on the fire or something ?!
Anyone read it ?
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Post by Amadeus on Jul 11, 2017 10:28:19 GMT
I read it back in the nineteen hundreds once. Don't remember much.
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Post by lovelyrita1 on Jul 11, 2017 10:50:30 GMT
Mark Lewisohn is apparently starting from scratch and relying on myth. Maybe that's why his series of books is taking so long. I thought i'd finished The Mark Lewisohn book about a month ago, then i came to the notes section. Unfortunately they were interesting too. Just finished that part last night but now i've come to the acknowledgement section, there seems still some more to read. It's a never ending story.
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