This Boy
The Early Lives of John Lennon & Paul McCartney
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
“An impressive achievement… “This Boy” is a wonderful primer for the kind of kid who is nuts enough about music to want to grasp the social context in which it was made.”—The New York Times
An inside look at the early lives of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, This Boy is a perfect book for any young reader embracing their inner Beatlemania.
Meant for younger readers, This Boy is a gripping biography of two musical legends. Beginning with their births during World War II England and ending with their famous performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, this book is action packed from beginning to end. Whether you are a lifelong Beatles fan or new to their music, this book is an excellent source of Beatles lore that is relatively unknown.
With expert research from Ilene Cooper and rarely seen photographs of the Beatles in their early days, this book will serve as not only an interesting biography of two significant historical figures, but also a fun read about rock and roll and how the lives of two people can change the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Documenting the subjects' first meeting and leading up to their meteoric rise to fame, Cooper (A Woman in the House) highlights the stark personality differences that cultivated the "creative alchemy" between John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (b. 1942) in this cerebral origin story. Born to music-loving parents with "a sharp disdain for authority" and raised by a strict aunt, Lennon used his considerable charisma, as well as his guitar- and harmonica-playing prowess, to form skiffle band the Quarry Men. Polite, studious McCartney, meanwhile, also raised by music lovers, had a quiet and affectionate upbringing; guitar playing became his primary emotional outlet following his mother's sudden death in 1956. In prose that penetrates the Beatles' larger-than-life aura, Cooper emphasizes the duo's ordinary childhood experiences. Though the author details McCartney's joining of the Quarry Men in 1957 and his disciplined personality as a balancing influence to Lennon's "star power," frank text also dutifully renders both figures' similarities, including their controlling behavior with romantic partners. Archival photographs, an author's note, and concluding remarks on the Beatles' legacy round out the narrative, while thorough endnotes and a bibliography reflect Cooper's detail-oriented approach. Ages 10–14.
