The Brian Epstein Story Book

Ray Coleman was the first to write about the life of the Beatles' Svengali, in his typically thorough 1989 biography Brian Epstein; and with an estimated total of 400 Beatle books already available, there is inevitably a sinking feeling when yet another comes along to chronicle the rise of the world's most extraordinary entertainment phenomenon.So it is all the more to Debbie Geller's credit that she brings fresh perspective to a familiar tale with this collection of transcripts, culled from 1998's two-part BBC documentary. As well as obtaining access to Epstein's unpublished correspondence, she has rounded-up an impressive array of former chauffeurs, attorneys, employees and ex-Beatles to tell their tales of the shy salesman who chanced upon a scruffy quartet in a Liverpool cellar and went on to help them conquer the world. Particularly illuminating are the details of Epstein's business deals: "I think...Brian did good deals", Paul McCartney says, "he looked to his dad for business advice, and his dad really knew how to run a furniture store in Liverpool. This was a little bigger than that!"Back then, the full impact of The Beatles was impossible to foresee--but, when it did finally come, it was immense and immediate. A month before he died, aged only 34, Epstein wrote of his beloved charges: "The boys have gone to Greece to buy an island. I think it's a dotty idea but they're no longer children and must have their own sweet way". Had he lived, one can only speculate how different things might have been for The Beatles, and the world. --Patrick HumphriesRead More