The Beatles by James Gallagher is an interesting book that is also informative. The book is a nonfiction book that tells the story of the formation of the British rock group. It also discusses the various famous songs that the Beatles wrote. Throughout the book, there are also actual pictures of the Beatles. The book also includes sections about people associated with the group such as Bob Martin. The book also has many commendable characteristics.


Being a nonfiction book, the book was very informational. It had a lot of dates and other details. Some of these included how the band came together, and the private lives of the four Beatles. The entire book works in chronological order with the guys starting as the Quarry Men, and how they became the Beatles. The story continues through the Beatles success, and how many other stars wanted to be associated with them. One of these stars was Muhammad Ali. Not only was there a lot of information, but it was also easily relatable, as many of the Beatles’ music is very popular. For instance, songs like “She Loves You” and “Twist and Shout” are popular songs that I have listened to. There was also another reason why this book was enjoyable.


This book had an aspect in it that gave it a little bit more credit than some other biographies. Instead of having dry information about the Beatles only, there were also first-hand quotes coming from the legends themselves. For example, in one part George Harrison states, “ Rubber Soul was my favorite album, even at the time…” This gives an insight into what the band thought of their music, which was additional information. This in some ways was more interesting than the actual information, because it comes from the people making the music. These factors, among others make this an interesting, yet educational read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the Beatles, but would also like some background knowledge on them past their songs.