150 Glimpses of the Beatles

Why was this book written? It's not a comprehensive biography of the Fab Four, it's not particularly funny, and it doesn't offer a new/unique viewpoint on the topic. Some of the “glimpses” are intriguing - a comparison of the different biographical versions of a seminal event such as John and Paul's first meeting, stories about people who briefly touched the Beatles' lives (one of the other acts who had the bad luck to be on Ed Sullivan the same night as the Beatles, a Liverpool mailman with a tragic secret), the bizarre Paul is Dead conspiracy theories - but the whole thing is disjointed and it covers very little new ground.

Brown is rarely critical about any of the Beatles, but don't get him started on Yoko Ono. Those who like to complain that she's a talentless hack who needlessly broke up the Beatles will be happy. And the very final glimpse, which portrays the most important and devastating event in the Beatles' history, is told in an unusual way that really packs a punch. Too bad the rest of the book couldn't have been as powerful. Recommended for Beatles completists, but for any Millennials who want to know why the Beatles were so important I would suggest you look elsewhere.