The Man Who Made the Beatles: An Intimate Biography of Brian Epstein

Popular account of Epstein and his contribution to the success of the Beatles. Comprises interviews with Epstein's family, friends, business associates. No bibliography. Acidic paper. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

The title does not exaggerate: In the six years that he devoted to their careers, their creative freedom and their personal happiness, Brian Epstein did make the Beatles, and soon after his sudden death in 1967 at age 32, the group split up. Based on interviews with Epstein's family, friends and associates, this biography, by a man who knew him well, sensitively describes and tries to explain the charming, artistic, resourceful manager who realized the potential of his four young fellow-Liverpudlians. Having made the Beatles famous internationally, and amassed a fortune for them and for himself, Epstein nevertheless was restless, depressed, capricious, easily bored and increasingly irrational. From a middle-class, orthodox Jewish family, Epstein suffered the "dreadful inner conflict of reluctant homosexuality" at odds with his deep desire to marry and be a father. Coleman, biographer of Eric Clapton and John Lennon, writes fluently, objectively and with warmth but, in an attempt to provide as detailed a picture as possible, strings along more quotations and opinions than are necessary. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This is a business history of the Beatles, as told through the life of the man who launched them and managed their early career. The story of Epstein's five-year professional and personal relationship with the Beatles will be of great interest to fans. Coleman is at his best when he assesses Epstein as a businessman "better at visualizing, promotion, sales, and marketing than at hard dealing" and as a pioneer in the pop music industry with a unique sense of "grandeur" and "emotional commitment." As Coleman shows, Epstein "made the Beatles" with his special ability to bond four divergent personalities into an artistic whole. When he died of an accidental overdose in 1967, the Beatles' days as a group were clearly numbered.
- Donald W. Maxwell, Carmel Clay P.L., Carmel, Ind.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.