From Publishers Weekly
"Who knows why the Beatles happened?" John Lennon asked in 1980: if anyone did, it would be the Fab Four themselves, who tell their own storyDwith plenty of visual aidsDin this giant compendium. Festooned with more than 1,300 photographs, posters and documents (many in color), the weighty (6.6 lbs.) volume offers the Beatles' "own permanent written record of events up to 1970," some of it previously published, but much of it transcribed from new or unpublished interviews. Paul, George, Ringo and Beatles-related folks (Brian Epstein, George Martin, Derek Taylor) contribute text from interviews conducted for the book and for an accompanying TV program. Words from the late John Lennon have been gathered from print, broadcast and manuscripts (each with an indicated date), then spliced together to create coherent pages and paragraphs. The book opens with the band members' separate accounts of their childhoods, then moves into a year-by-year organization that allows for great detail and many digressions. Here are what the Beatles have said, or say now, about particular sessions and gigs. Here, too, are comments and reminiscences on every topic in their careerD from marijuana to Manila to Murray the K, from Hamburg to "A Hard Day's Night" to "Hey, Jude." Most of the text appears oral-history style, in short paragraphs with rapid switches between one Beatle and another: the format makes it sound as if all the Beatles (including John) were being interviewed simultaneously. The visuals bring in cartoons, signed letters, scrawled drawings and photos. As a whole the volume is beautiful, big and a bit intimidating, somewhere between the Yellow Submarine and the Death Star. (One-day laydown, Oct. 5) Forecast: Do people still care? You bet they do. With massive publicity, innumerable tie-ins and enduring, worldwide passion for the music, this is poised to be one of the biggest nonfiction books of the year. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
What should be the final word on the Beatles has arrived. It takes the form of a massive oral-history tome, its contents derived mostly from recorded conversations with Paul, George, and Ringo for the recent TV documentary The Beatles Anthology. Those are augmented by excerpts from interviews with John that are integrated effectively and almost seamlessly with the new material, and by occasional comments from the group's closest associates, such as recording producer George Martin. Big as it is, the volume virtually overflows with fascinating tidbits about growing up in Liverpool, early gigs, the rise to unprecedented fame and acclaim, and the Beatles' pervasive social influence. It seems crammed much in the way that the Beatles crammed several lifetimes' worth of music and living into the decade of the group's existence. Although the contents are somewhat sanitized--this is, after all, essentially a group autobiography--the four address less-pleasant incidents, such as the sacking of original Beatles drummer Pete Best and the petty squabbles that led to the group's 1970 breakup. The text is accompanied by more than 1,300 photos, many letters, and other memorabilia. There isn't much news, though. After 30 years and hundreds of books, few secrets remain to be revealed. But even familiar bits of Beatle lore seem fresh when told in the band's own words. Expect heavy demand for this monumental release, especially after the holidays, from frustrated Beatlemaniacs who failed to find the pricey item under the tree. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Created with their full cooperation, The Beatles Anthology is, in effect, The Beatles' autobiography. Like their music, which has been a part of so many of our lives, this landmark release is warm, frank, funny, poignant and bold. At last, here is The Beatles' own story. Each page is brimming with personal stories and rare, vintage images. Includes over 340,000 words and over 1300 images, including unseen photographs and personal memorabilia.

About the Author
John: "The Sixties saw a revolution among youth--not just concentrating in small pockets or classes, but a revolution in a whole way of thinking. The youth got it first and the next generation second. The Beatles were part of the revolution, which is really an evolution, and is continuing. We were all on this ship--a ship going to discover the New World. And the Beatles were in the crow's nest." Paul: "To thine own self be true." I think that was very apt with The Beatles. We always were very true to ourselves--and I think that the brutal honesty The Beatles had was important. So sticking to our own guns and really saying what we thought in some way gave some other people in the world the idea that they too could be truthful and get away with it, and in fact it was a good thing." George: "The moral of the story is that if you accept the high points you're going to have to go through the lows. For The Beatles, our lives were a very heightened version of that: of how to learn about love and hate, and up and down, and good and bad, and loss and gain. It was a hyper-version of what everybody else was going through. So, basically, it's all good. Whatever happened is good as long as we've learnt something. It's only bad if we didn't learn: "Who am I? Where am I going? Where have I come from?" Ringo: "They became the closest friends I'd ever had. I was an only and suddenly I felt as though I'd got three brothers. We really looked out for each other and we had many laughs together. In the old days we'd have the hugest hotel suites, the whole floor of a hotel, and the four of us would end up in the bathroom, just to be with each other."

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
"What can I tell you about myself that you have not already found out from those who do not lie?" These words by John Lennon commence The Beatles Anthology, and they encapsulate what is so spectacular about this sprawling, exquisite book. After all, John's words couldn't be farther from the truth: Fans of the Beatles have long been aching to hear the real story, after hearing so much from so many who, if not deliberately lying, certainly didn't know everything about the Fab Four and their unbelievable journey. And now, finally, there is The Beatles Anthology. It includes extensive interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison conducted exclusively for the book; it includes John Lennon's words, in reproduced interviews and journal entries, gathered with the help of Yoko Ono; it contains scores of photographs from the Beatles' private collections, many of which have never been published. In short, like the Beatles themselves, The Beatles Anthology rocks.

With remarkable candor, the Fab Four discuss everything, from the fateful decision to replace Pete Best with Ringo to their drug experimentation and sexual exploits, their marriages, life during the height of Beatlemania, and rivalry within the group. In a particularly revealing quote, John says of his relationship with Paul, "It wasn't resentment, but it was competitive. I mean, rivalry between two guys is always there: it was a creative rivalry...it was not a vicious, horrible vendetta, because it's not on that level."

The slow breakup of the group is also discussed at great length and with great frankness. George describes the mood of the concert at Candlestick Park, which would be their last: "We knew. 'This is it -- we're not going to do this again. This is the last concert.' It was a unanimous decision. It was all too much with all those riots and hurricanes. Beatlemania took its toll, and we were no longer on the buzz of fame and success." Interviews with Beatles insiders like Brian Epstein, Neil Aspinall, and George Martin are incorporated into the book, providing a somewhat objective perspective. There is also a touching passage in which the Beatles talk about Brian Epstein, whose death left an indelible mark on the group.

In presentation, The Beatles Anthology is unparalleled. Gorgeous photographs adorn the pages like hidden treasures. Childhood photos and family snapshots abound, in addition to the candid pictures of the Beatles and spectacular photos taken from their private collections.

The Beatles Anthology is not simply the kind of sugar-coated retelling of events that one might expect. It is the real thing. What shines through the narrative of each member of the Beatles is a bittersweet mix of friendship, remembrance of good times, resentment, remembrance of bad times, and, above all, love of the music and amazement that four ordinary lads from Liverpool endured such a whirlwind ride of fame and fortune.

--Karen Burns

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Created with their full cooperation, The Beatles Anthology is, in effect, The Beatles' autobiography. Like their music, which has been a part of so many of our lives, this landmark release is warm, frank, funny, poignant and bold. At last, here is The Beatles' own story. Each page is brimming with personal stories and rare, vintage images. Includes over 340,000 words and over 1300 images, including unseen photographs and personal memorabilia.

SYNOPSIS

For the first time ever, the history of the Beatles in their own words and pictures.

FROM THE CRITICS

London Sunday Telegraph

The book will provide the frankest account yet of the band's rise to the top of the pop world in the 1960s...

Publishers Weekly

"Who knows why the Beatles happened?" John Lennon asked in 1980: if anyone did, it would be the Fab Four themselves, who tell their own story--with plenty of visual aids--in this giant compendium. Festooned with more than 1,300 photographs, posters and documents (many in color), the weighty (6.6 lbs.) volume offers the Beatles' "own permanent written record of events up to 1970," some of it previously published, but much of it transcribed from new or unpublished interviews. Paul, George, Ringo and Beatles-related folks (Brian Epstein, George Martin, Derek Taylor) contribute text from interviews conducted for the book and for an accompanying TV program. Words from the late John Lennon have been gathered from print, broadcast and manuscripts (each with an indicated date), then spliced together to create coherent pages and paragraphs. The book opens with the band members' separate accounts of their childhoods, then moves into a year-by-year organization that allows for great detail and many digressions. Here are what the Beatles have said, or say now, about particular sessions and gigs. Here, too, are comments and reminiscences on every topic in their career-- from marijuana to Manila to Murray the K, from Hamburg to "A Hard Day's Night" to "Hey, Jude." Most of the text appears oral-history style, in short paragraphs with rapid switches between one Beatle and another: the format makes it sound as if all the Beatles (including John) were being interviewed simultaneously. The visuals bring in cartoons, signed letters, scrawled drawings and photos. As a whole the volume is beautiful, big and a bit intimidating, somewhere between the Yellow Submarine and the Death Star. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Hyped, anticipated, and cloaked in secrecy, the Beatles' autobiography is articulately told through quotes from John, Paul, George, and Ringo, as well as the group's closest aides: George Martin, Neil Aspinall, and Derek Taylor. Taken largely from interviews for 1995's Beatles Anthology documentary, the quotes were further expanded by interviews exclusive to the book. Lennon's quotes are seamlessly cobbled together from scores of sources (listed in the back) and smoothly integrated with the others' comments. Topics are discussed in more depth than the film, though a few significant career points (e.g., the "Lady Madonna" single) are ignored. Many of the over 1300 images come from the private archives of EMI Records, the Beatles' own Apple Corps., and the band members themselves. Unfortunately, the lavish design sometimes takes precedence over substance, as many previously unseen documents, including original hand-written drafts of song lyrics, are hard to read because the texts are either superimposed in color onto other illustrations or are printed like a watermark behind the main text. Captions for only a small percentage of the illustrations are listed in an appendix, often making the reader flip to the back to look for a caption that doesn't exist. The density of the text is daunting, but the book's browsability makes it as appealing to casual readers as it is indispensable to Beatlemaniacs. Despite its price, this is essential for most libraries.--Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Mim Udovitch - New York Times Book Review

Entertaining and, to a degree that depends on your previous grasp of the information, informative...Anthology also highlights, as no work by an outsider could, how close the members of the group really were to one another...

Futterman - Washington Post Book Review

In effect, the Beatles tell their own story, without critical commentary. Revelatory pictures, many never seen before, accompany the text.