Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1073132 in Books
• Published on: 1989-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The title does not exaggerate: In the six years that he devoted to their careers, their creative freedom and their personal happiness, Brian Epstein did make the Beatles, and soon after his sudden death in 1967 at age 32, the group split up. Based on interviews with Epstein's family, friends and associates, this biography, by a man who knew him well, sensitively describes and tries to explain the charming, artistic, resourceful manager who realized the potential of his four young fellow-Liverpudlians. Having made the Beatles famous internationally, and amassed a fortune for them and for himself, Epstein nevertheless was restless, depressed, capricious, easily bored and increasingly irrational. From a middle-class, orthodox Jewish family, Epstein suffered the "dreadful inner conflict of reluctant homosexuality" at odds with his deep desire to marry and be a father. Coleman, biographer of Eric Clapton and John Lennon, writes fluently, objectively and with warmth but, in an attempt to provide as detailed a picture as possible, strings along more quotations and opinions than are necessary. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This is a business history of the Beatles, as told through the life of the man who launched them and managed their early career. The story of Epstein's five-year professional and personal relationship with the Beatles will be of great interest to fans. Coleman is at his best when he assesses Epstein as a businessman "better at visualizing, promotion, sales, and marketing than at hard dealing" and as a pioneer in the pop music industry with a unique sense of "grandeur" and "emotional commitment." As Coleman shows, Epstein "made the Beatles" with his special ability to bond four divergent personalities into an artistic whole. When he died of an accidental overdose in 1967, the Beatles' days as a group were clearly numbered.
- Donald W. Maxwell, Carmel Clay P.L., Carmel, Ind.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

He loved them, yeah, yeah, yeah
The biography of the Beatles manager which gets to grips with the enigma that was Brian Epstein.
Ray Coleman examines Epstein's life with telling contributions from family and friends and the artistes and business associates who populated his brief life.
Epstein's childhood and adolescence are sensitively probed with Coleman playing sleuth psychologist to good effect.
Interesting observations are made with regard to Brian's family and his peers. The author builds this picture of the young Brian Epstein skilfully.
Of course, the real meat of this story begins with Epstein's own discovery of The Beatles and Coleman doesen't disappoint. Aside from his own reflections of what drove Brian to enter a sphere alien to him, he ellicits some great contributions from the stars in Brian's stable (Cilla Black and Gerry Marsden, particularly). His business partners and rivals also get a good airing and the overall picture of the man and his devotion to his stable of chart-toppers becomes clearer with each page. Indeed, the many poignant examples of Brian's sheer love of The Beatles makes what happened towards the end unbearably painful to read.
As, it seems, with anything to do with The Beatles, there is a definite change of mood from mid 1965 onwards. From here on in melancholia is the watchword. I defy any reader not to feel a huge sadness at the way Brian Epstein's personality/character became imbued with negativity and chaos. The author pulls no punches as he guides us towards the ultimate despair.

Lovely Book
I spent more time with reading this book more than my other Beatle books. Mr. Brian Epstein is very well brought out in this book than any other. Things writen in this book will be moved as the author describes almost every detail in the book. It has alot of interesting facts: The funny experiences Brian had in the military, how Brian was an off-and-on homosexual, his mood swings, the time he screamed with the other fans during a Beatle concert, problems he were having with his boyfriend Dizz, the relationship he had with the Beatles, cute pictures of him when he was a baby, and I could go on and on. Just read the book, Beatlefans interested in the Man who made The Beatles will enjoy it.