My ultimate favorite Beatles biography is "SHOUT! The Beatles in Their Generation" which was published in 1981 by this author. My son read it a few years ago and savored it also, finding its depth of information useful prior to his interview as a Beatles historian. My elder brother is reading it now, and commented to me in wonder at the research that must have gone into it. So I approached this reading of his George Harrison biography with a lot of expectation.

Roughly the first half of the book is comprised of George's birth, inclusion into The Beatles and their rise to fame. Because of Norman's previous incredibly detailed 1981 biography of The Beatles, I was comparing this portion and finding it less dense and rich than I remembered. In hindsight this had to be- because when the prior Beatles biography was written it was 1981, so imagine the breadth of facts crammed into an entire book covering just that 20-year period. Here it is over forty years later, and Norman had to flesh out Harrison's later solo musical career, second marriage, involvement with making movies (HandMade Films), home invasion/murder attempt, extra-marital affairs, and two bouts with cancer- which ultimately took him from us. As a hardcore Beatles fan, I confess I was so unimpressed with the beginning section that had I not been reviewing this I might have put it aside. However, a casual Beatles fan probably would ingest this as a first primer on the subject, and not find it boring.

The second half of the book was a game changer for me. The focus on George Harrison commenced and blossomed for the remainder of the book. I learned a lot of new George Harrison minutiae and loved it. The intense recounting of a deranged fan that broke into his home Friar Park and stabbed him 40 times was riveting and horrifying. The coverage regarding his medical travails with cancer and acceptance of impending death was very informative and poignant. As I closed the book contentment settled over me and I was grateful for the ride.

Thank you to the publisher Scribner who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Why would someone who actively dislikes a person decide to write their biography? If you’re not aware of Mr. Norman’s dislike of George, check out the obituary he wrote when he died.

I was about 60% in and we were still in Beatleland. I love George, and unfortunately Mr. Norman wanted us to be fully versed in all things Beatles before getting to George.

George was a very grumpy guy. He deserves to have been. He was underrated, underutilized, and undervalued by a group of guys he’d been friends with for years. Mr. Norman just discounts that as sour grapes. It wasn’t, he was right.

There needs to be a book written on the dysfunctional and bizarre friendship between George and Clapton. George comes off here as the bad guy, and history has shown he wasn’t. He wasn’t an angel, but no one deserves Clapton’s crap. Pattie, who shows up for her usual reasons of bragging about how famous men wrote songs from her and fought over her, adds nothing new to the story.

George was a complicated man and deserved an unbiased view. Maybe one where they talked to his son and widow.

I learned some new stuff in this, but this wasn’t a biography of a serial killer, and the bias against him really tainted this for me. George, as usual, deserved better than he got.

I’d recommend it with the caveat that you should know this isn’t the type of biography where the writer stays out of it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Highly researched, entertaining biography of "the quiet Beatle," George Harrison. The Beatles were a bit before my time so although I'm familiar with most of their music, and John Lennon's tragic, violent death, I wasn't familiar with the story of their rise, breakup, etc. I thought the early years of their residency at The Cavern, a dive bar in Hamburg, was the most fascinating part of the book. I had the sense that the Beatles kind of burst onto the scene and became insta-famous, but that wasn't the case at all. It was a long, slow grind to the top for the Beatles, and their extreme poverty and horrid living conditions for many years while they toured and tried to make a name for themselves would have broken most people. Small wonder that while Pete Best gets the most attention for being dismissed as the band was on the cusp of stardom, the band had many members who quit out of not being able to take the grind. The four left standing—minus Best, who was replaced with Ringo Starr—went on to a mega-stardom that most people will never experience, and likely would not want to. (Harrison too was the victim of a crazed "fan"—a man who broke into his house and stabbed him 40 times. It's a miracle he wasn't killed like his former bandmate, Lennon.)

People (or at least me) forget that Harrison—who was completely overshadowed by the prolific songwriting and more brash personalities of John Lennon and Paul McCartney—wrote some of the band's most popular tunes, including Here Comes the Sun, Taxman, and Something.

Harrison isn't always the nicest person (wasn't Paul the Nice Beatle or am I imagining it?). He desperately wanted to be a spiritual person—and to that end spent many years chanting, playing sitar, and practically living in India. However, he couldn't seem to bring himself to be nice to his first wife, Pattie Boyd, who famously goes on to marry his best friend, Eric Clapton. He also famously had an icy relationship with John and Paul (mostly Paul), and even ended up falling out with his beloved sister, Lou, who was partly responsible for getting the Beatles on the map in America.

There is also some great stuff on Harrison's rather successful foray into the movie business. His production company produced Monty Python films. The book takes a short but amusing turn when Harrison's company funds the Madonna/Sean Penn bomb "Shanghai Surprise."

If you want a much deeper understanding of the most inscrutable Beatle, Philip Norman's book is required reading. And if you just happen to like biographies of musicians, this is a great one to pick up.

Thank you Philip Norman, the publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

George was always my favorite Beatle! Philip Norman has written an outstanding book on George. It's very interesting that he was jealous with his wives and that he was such an acute paranoid person. I find it shocking that a nut broke into his home and stabbed him 40 times. This breaks my heart! he never fully recovered from that. This is a book into the life of my favorite musician ever! Heartbreaking, he should still be alive playing his glorious music!

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review "George Harrison” prior to publication. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

It should be little surprise that the quiet Beatle should have so little written about him, I'm glad that this author attempted to fill that space with such a wonderful book.

A worthwhile addition to the Beatles book canon, this tome pays homage to the inner world of George Harrison. Especially for Beatles completists, there is little new information, but a greater depth to his contradictions is clarified.

His individuality is not highlighted until almost halfway through the book. The first part is a history of the Beatles as a group, and he is definitely given the feeling that his is underappreciated and often mocked. Possibly as a result of this, and other factors, his varied characteristics play out clearly in the 2nd part of the book, which is about him, his life after the Beatles, and his varied interests and dichotomies.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This biography of George Harrison was a great read. Fascinating stories about the 'quiet beatle', his upbringing and how he found himself in the rock world, hobnobbing with the greats. His early life was not easy. Extremely talented and devoted to his passions and friends. A brilliant songwriter. So sad that his life was cut short.