Paul McCartney: The Life - Hardcover

Norman, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316327964 ISBN 13: 9780316327961

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2016

Synopsis

The definitive Paul McCartney biography, written with his approval by bestselling biographer Philip Norman.

Since the age of twenty-one, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock-n-roll lives played out on the most public of stages. Now, Paul's story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with McCartney's consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. PAUL McCARTNEY reveals the complex character behind the façade and sheds new light on his childhood--blighted by his mother's death but redeemed by the father who introduced him to music.

This is the first definitive account of Paul's often troubled partnership with John Lennon, his personal trauma after the Beatles' breakup, and his subsequent struggle to get back to the top with Wings--which nearly got him murdered in Africa and brought him nine days in a Tokyo jail. Readers will learn about his marriage to Linda, including their much-criticized musical collaboration, and a moving account of her death. Packed with new information and critical insights, PAUL MCCARTNEY will be the definitive biography of a musical legend.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Norman is the bestselling biographer of Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Elton John, and Mick Jagger, and the author of the classic Beatles biography SHOUT! He is also a novelist and playwright. He lives in London.

Review

One of Amazon's Best Books of the Month

A San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide Pick

"An enormous and sympathetic book.... It's rich with detail about Mr. McCartney's philanthropy, his knighthood, his taste in country homes, his dabbling as a painter, a poet and a composer of classical music.... The story of its subject's life from his childhood in Liverpool through the breakup of the Beatles in 1970 has lost none of its ability to charm ... One of the best stories the past century has to tell."―Dwight Garner, New York Times

"Norman offers a fully-fleshed out biography . . . What Norman gets so very right are the feelings: the intense relationship between John and Paul with its curves and angles; the normality being a husband and father brought him; the improbability of being one of the most famous men in the world. The shelves are full of books about the Beatles, but fans will want to make room for this one."―Ilene Cooper, Booklist (starred)

"The most thorough and insightful biography of Paul McCartney to date.... Paul McCartney: The Life is loaded with wonderful passages, fascinating stories and cracking humor... A masterful account, the kind of biography fitting McCartney's continued prowess and genius. Or, as McCartney said at the end of one Beatles take, 'Keep that one. Mark it 'FAB.''"―Jeremy Mikula, Chicago Tribune

"Norman's portrait of McCartney is fascinating and exhaustive.... Norman lifts the curtain to show us the real guy."―William McKeen, Boston Globe

"A thorough, objective telling of McCartney's story--in and out of the most famous band ever. But it's also a breezy read, considering the tremendous ground it covers."―Jeff Slate, Esquire

"Norman is an enviably skilled pen-portraitist, with a consummate ability to conjure the presence of [McCartney].... A powerful sense of McCartney the man comes across in this book's evocative high points.... A capably executed biography, brimming with detail."―John Harris, The Guardian

"A compelling narrative about a working-class Liverpudlian whose extraordinary musical gifts made him the most successful songwriter in history... McCartney emerges from [the book] as a textured but decent man."―Graham Boynton, Newsweek

"Norman is thorough... and his book gives us a fuller McCartney than you'll find anywhere else."―Colin Fleming, Washington Post

"Norman shows McCartney in all his colors: artist, songwriter, genius, family man, and businessman... Even those of us with bookshelves full of Beatles books and libraries of bootleg recordings will be surprised by what they read in The Life."―Laurie Ulster, bio.

"The once-for-all-time record of the lad from Liverpool whose song lyrics and boyish good looks broke hearts and whose career after the Beatles was almost as successful as his time with them."―Henry L. Carrigan Jr., BookPage

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0316327964
• ISBN 13: 9780316327961
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 864