From the Publisher
Filled with sharp criticism that challenges conventional wisdom. Once you know the history by heart, this is the place to understand what the Beatles mean now.” — Pitchfork
“This is the best book about the Beatles ever written…passionate and eloquent…If aliens land tomorrow, and demand to know why we keep on pumping this particular brand of music into space, this is the first book you would hand them.” — Mashable
“You’ll have a fantastic, joyous time reading Dreaming the Beatles from cover to cover.” — USA Today
“[B]efore I began writing this I paged through Ian MacDonald’s canonical Revolution in the Head and Devin McKinney’s renowned The Beatles in Dream and History...But neither has a chance of topping Rob Sheffield’s Dreaming the Beatles.” — Robert Christgau, Village Voice
“Dreaming the Beatles is the individual exploration of a universal pop experience—listening to the Beatles, thinking about the Beatles, reinventing the Beatles in your mind, listening to them again...explaining your own life through the only four people who will always belong to everyone.” — Chuck Klosterman, author of the New York Times bestseller But What If We’re Wrong
“Usually hilarious, always surprising.” — Griel Marcus, author of Mystery Train
“The essential joy of Dreaming the Beatles are these connections made between historical events, mythological band history, and the song itself—it’s sparkling, insightful, occasionally humorous writing unclouded by irony or cynicism about a capital-G Great Band.” — Spin
“Rob Sheffield’s unconventional rock-band bio is must-read material.” — Forth Worth Star Telegram
“As he’s proven in, well, all of his books, Sheffield writes about fandom, about the condition of loving a thing, as well or better than anyone, which is no small thing for a critic as savvy as he is.” — Austin American-Statesman
“For Sheffield, a chronicler of pop culture whose work blends thoughtful criticism and unabashed fandom, the heart of the Beatles story is about relationships.” — Boston Globe
“Half a century after their apogee...is there anything left to say about the most chronicled rock band in history? It turns out there is. Rob Sheffield’s new book Dreaming the Beatles looks at the Fab Four from a fresh point of view.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
“[Sheffield] offers enough memory-sparking to take Boomers back a few decades and plenty of insider gossip to satisfy younger readers...enjoy Dreaming the Beatles,...You know you love the music, and you may have read other books about the Beatles, but in your life, you’ll love this more.” — Journal Sentinel
“wistful, elegiac...Dreaming the Beatles...[is] a strong and heartfelt appreciation of The Beatles...Sheffield has added an extended chord to this seemingly never-ending story of The Beatles that’s lush and resonant with infinite varied possibilities. ” — PopMatters
“This is the definitive Beatles book, the only one that comes close to the rush of listening to Rubber Soul or Revolver for the first time...It’s a 318-page-long ‘yeah, yeah, yeeeeah.’” — Pitchfork
“One of the most original and insightful books ever written about the Fab Four. He’s brilliant on everything from George Harrison’s disastrous 1974 solo tour to the Bee Gees’ Sgt. Pepper’s movie.” — Rolling Stone
“A brilliant, giddy book, teeming with life.” — Cass R. Sunstein, New York Times bestselling author of The World According to Star Wars
“One of the best books about the band ever written…What interests Sheffield is the countless ways the band is alive.” — Sean T. Collins, MTV.com
“Sheffield approaches the group with his trademark humor, intimate candor, encyclopedic knowledge of pop music, and unabashed enthusiasm for a subject that also endlessly fascinated John, Paul, George and Ringo: girls.” — Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon
Robert Christgau
[B]efore I began writing this I paged through Ian MacDonald’s canonical Revolution in the Head and Devin McKinney’s renowned The Beatles in Dream and History...But neither has a chance of topping Rob Sheffield’s Dreaming the Beatles.
Chuck Klosterman
Dreaming the Beatles is the individual exploration of a universal pop experience—listening to the Beatles, thinking about the Beatles, reinventing the Beatles in your mind, listening to them again...explaining your own life through the only four people who will always belong to everyone.”
Pitchfork
Filled with sharp criticism that challenges conventional wisdom. Once you know the history by heart, this is the place to understand what the Beatles mean now.
Austin American-Statesman
As he’s proven in, well, all of his books, Sheffield writes about fandom, about the condition of loving a thing, as well or better than anyone, which is no small thing for a critic as savvy as he is.
USA Today
You’ll have a fantastic, joyous time reading Dreaming the Beatles from cover to cover.
Griel Marcus
Usually hilarious, always surprising.
Boston Globe
For Sheffield, a chronicler of pop culture whose work blends thoughtful criticism and unabashed fandom, the heart of the Beatles story is about relationships.
Mashable
This is the best book about the Beatles ever written…passionate and eloquent…If aliens land tomorrow, and demand to know why we keep on pumping this particular brand of music into space, this is the first book you would hand them.
Forth Worth Star Telegram
Rob Sheffield’s unconventional rock-band bio is must-read material.
Spin
The essential joy of Dreaming the Beatles are these connections made between historical events, mythological band history, and the song itself—it’s sparkling, insightful, occasionally humorous writing unclouded by irony or cynicism about a capital-G Great Band.
USA Today
You’ll have a fantastic, joyous time reading Dreaming the Beatles from cover to cover.
Sean T. Collins
One of the best books about the band ever written…What interests Sheffield is the countless ways the band is alive.”
Journal Sentinel
[Sheffield] offers enough memory-sparking to take Boomers back a few decades and plenty of insider gossip to satisfy younger readers...enjoy Dreaming the Beatles,...You know you love the music, and you may have read other books about the Beatles, but in your life, you’ll love this more.
Rolling Stone
One of the most original and insightful books ever written about the Fab Four. He’s brilliant on everything from George Harrison’s disastrous 1974 solo tour to the Bee Gees’ Sgt. Pepper’s movie.
Cass R. Sunstein
A brilliant, giddy book, teeming with life.
PopMatters
wistful, elegiac...Dreaming the Beatles...[is] a strong and heartfelt appreciation of The Beatles...Sheffield has added an extended chord to this seemingly never-ending story of The Beatles that’s lush and resonant with infinite varied possibilities. ”
Mary Elizabeth Williams
Sheffield approaches the group with his trademark humor, intimate candor, encyclopedic knowledge of pop music, and unabashed enthusiasm for a subject that also endlessly fascinated John, Paul, George and Ringo: girls.”
Los Angeles Review of Books
Half a century after their apogee...is there anything left to say about the most chronicled rock band in history? It turns out there is. Rob Sheffield’s new book Dreaming the Beatles looks at the Fab Four from a fresh point of view.
Library Journal
05/15/2016
A columnist for Rolling Stone, Sheffield reflects on what the Fab Four mean for today's young music fans—those who learned about the band from their parents. Since Sheffield is the author of Love Is a Mix Tape, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, and Turn Around Bright Eyes, you know the writing will be affectingly good. Lots of promotion and a 75,000-copy first printing.
JUNE 2017 - AudioFile
Rob Sheffield is a hip ROLLING STONE writer, but his cool cultural criticism comes with a charming nerdy-fan quality. His voice is both languid and enthusiastic as he explores the long-lasting impact of the Beatles in these eclectic essays. Sheffield heads off on tangents that are often startlingly original—quite a feat with such an oft-discussed topic. He argues that the Beatles have the best first song on a debut album ever, ponders RUBBER SOUL as their best album, and identifies Ringo as the friendly Beatle even as the band split apart around him. The age-old question of the Beatles versus the Stones even has a new spin. Sheffield knows he can’t pull off a British accent, but it’s always clear when he is riffing with song lyrics or quoting a British mop top. A.B. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
