MEET THE BEATLES: A Cultural History of the Band that Shook the World
by Steven Stark
U.S. Publisher: HarperCollins (May 2005)
Foreign Publishers: Het Spectrum (Holland)
In a new, compelling interpretation of the importance of the 20th century's greatest cultural phenomenon, MEET THE BEATLES examines why the Beatles became so phenomenally popular and influential by concentrating on the tumultuous social forces of the 1960’s, as well as their early lives.
The book relies on hundreds of sources and materials which haven’t been tapped before, including a number of interviews with women who were their constant companions or deeply affected by them -- from fans, to school colleagues, to former friends and girlfriends.
MEET THE BEATLES is filled with new facts and interpretations. Just a few of the themes covered for the first time or in new ways include:
- Their sympathetic and special bond with women, from their teenage fans, to the mothers of their friends, to close partners Linda and Yoko;
- The profound effect on their outlook and music caused by the deaths of both Paul and John’s mothers when they were in their teens;
- The unique conditions which allowed the band to conquer America in early 1964 in a matter of weeks -- faster than any other cultural phenomenon in history;
- The way a "gay sensibility" permeated the workings of the band through Brian Epstein, their manager;
- The central importance of drugs -- both for the Beatles and for the youthful counter-culture they led;
- How and why the Beatles' hairstyle set off a cultural revolution;
- Why the Beatles really broke up and what was responsible;
- How the band through their lyrics and look created a new vision of the role of women: They were feminists before there was feminism.
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