George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle

George Harrison, Beatle, songwriter, movie producer, and sometime actor, deserves a more laudatory biography than this current one. The author treats Harrison’s widow fairly but apologizes for the dismissive obituary he gave Harrison. Harrison’s life commands over four hundred and fifty pages of accomplishment, although much of it details more sordid activities such as adultery, drug use, and overall anger issues.

Yet much of the world thinks of Harrison as the spiritual one who brought the world’s greater attention to Eastern religions. His concert for Bangladesh was first in a series of mega-star concerts to raise funds to mitigate the suffering in the world. That he organized it in four weeks speaks of his ability to administer great undertakings, but the author finds Harrison disinterested and blasé about his pending financial ruin at the hands of dishonest managers.

It was fascinating for this reader to learn that at age fifteen, Harrison was exposed to the most lurid scene in Germany, working illegally and trying to keep up with Lennon/McCartney, who posed as much worldlier mentors. Those of us fascinated by the extraordinary accomplishments of this man will find the book interesting.