The Beatles: The Biography

时间：2007-10-10 02:57:16

（单词翻译:单击）

   

Author: Bob Spitz 

List Price: $29.95

Pages: 992

Publisher: Little, Brown (November 1, 2005)

Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 2.0 inches

ISBN: 0316803529    

 

    | Book description |

 

In just under 1,000 pages, Spitz offers a fresh, terrifically entertaining perspective on the world's most famous rock group. The book is packed with details and anecdotes1 that bring the Fab Four to life.

Immensely talented but humanly flawed, they created remarkable2 music during an extraordinary time and were often caught up in events and circumstances beyond their control. At first amused by Beatlemania, their attitudes changed to horror when the roar of the crowds came to include death threats, and obligations became unrelenting.

Spitz retells many familiar stories: when John met Paul, the triumph in America, the infamous3 "butcher cover" of "Yesterday and Today, the debacle in Manila where the Beatles unintentionally jilted First Lady Imelda Marcos, the Beatles-are-more-popular-than-Jesus comment, the remarkable response to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, manager Brian Epstein's death, and the breakup. Good though less well known is the meeting with Elvis in the King's rented house in Bel Air, California; the Beatles, nervous in the presence of a boyhood idol4, were unsure about how to act and resorted to embarrassing silence. Spitz's group portrait should now be considered the definitive5 Beatles biography, especially for new generations of Beatles enthusiasts6.

Book review

The uproar7 among Beatles fans about this book suprises me, but it probably shouldn't. It reminds me of Ayatollah Khomenei's reaction to the Satanic Verses: anything short of hagiography is seen as vicious, and anything short of factual perfection is seen as unforgivable sloppiness8. It is true that the photo captions9 are inaccurate10 to the point of perversity11 (the editor of these sections had clearly never even read Spitz's text, where the same mistakes are not repeated). The book also bears the scars of ruthless editing to get it down from a reputed 2700pp to a mere12 850. As a result of this, sometimes things that seem to be foreshadowed (for instance, the Beatles first encounter with the Animals) never actually appear.

Despite an earlier comment, I would say that Spitz spends the most time on the Fabs early career, and tries to spend as little time as possible on the painful details of their last two or three years together. Despite another earlier comment that the book is a love-letter to Paul and a character assassination13 of John, I must respectfully disagree. Neither man emerges from Spitz's book as an especially nice person, but I found the portrait of John elicited14 more sympathy. Maybe it was just easier to relate to John's way of dealing15 with his problems, than it was McCartney's relentless16 perfectionism and bossiness17. Ringo comes off very well, and George gets high marks for his spiritual development. What really brings the book through is the storytelling. This book is about the men, not the music, insofar as it is possible to separate them. It may not be THE book on the fabs for all time, but it is a pretty good one for right now.
Author introduction

Bob Spitz is best known for Barefoot in Babylon, his eye-opening account of the Woodstock music festival. Before that, he represented Bruce Springsteen and Elton John, for which he was awarded four gold records. The author of hundreds of articles, Spitz has been published in Life, the New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Mirabella, and the Washington Post. He lives in New York City.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 anecdotes anecdotes     
n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
3 infamous K7ax3     
adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的
参考例句：
  • He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
  • I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。
4 idol Z4zyo     
n.偶像，红人，宠儿
参考例句：
  • As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
  • Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。
5 definitive YxSxF     
adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的
参考例句：
  • This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
  • No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。
6 enthusiasts 7d5827a9c13ecd79a8fd94ebb2537412     
n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册
7 uproar LHfyc     
n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸
参考例句：
  • She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
  • His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。
8 sloppiness HiozHx     
n.草率，粗心
参考例句：
  • The choice of Sarah Palin epitomised the sloppiness. 选择佩琳作为竞选伙伴凸显草率。 来自互联网
  • He chided the boy for his sloppiness. 它责怪这男孩粗心大意。 来自互联网
9 captions 6b4aeece714abf706fa5b974cc5a9a41     
n.标题，说明文字，字幕( caption的名词复数 )v.给（图片、照片等）加说明文字( caption的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • I stared, trying to grasp the point of the picture and the captions. 我目不转睛地看着漫画，想弄清楚漫画和解说词的意思。 来自辞典例句
  • Indicates whether the user or the system paints the captions. 指示是由用户还是由系统来绘制标题。 来自互联网
10 inaccurate D9qx7     
adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的
参考例句：
  • The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
  • She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。
11 perversity D3kzJ     
n.任性；刚愎自用
参考例句：
  • She's marrying him out of sheer perversity.她嫁给他纯粹是任性。
  • The best of us have a spice of perversity in us.在我们最出色的人身上都有任性的一面。
12 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
13 assassination BObyy     
n.暗杀；暗杀事件
参考例句：
  • The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
  • Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。
14 elicited 65993d006d16046aa01b07b96e6edfc2     
引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • Threats to reinstate the tax elicited jeer from the Opposition. 恢复此项征税的威胁引起了反对党的嘲笑。
  • The comedian's joke elicited applause and laughter from the audience. 那位滑稽演员的笑话博得观众的掌声和笑声。
15 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
16 relentless VBjzv     
adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的
参考例句：
  • The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
  • Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。
17 bossiness 4c029c309501e26adaca1edc18420019     
跋扈作威作福
参考例句：
  • They resent what they see as bossiness. 他们对自己眼中那些专断蛮横的行为非常厌恶。 来自柯林斯例句

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