Philip Norman grew up on Ryde Pier, Isle of Wight. His bizarre childhood as the son of an unsuccessful seaside showman inspired his memoir Babycham Night. Norman went on to win the Young Writer of the Year Award contest organized by The Sunday Times Magazine (London), where he became a star interviewer, profiling celebrities ranging from Stevie Wonder to Libyan President Moammar Gaddafi. Norman's early career as a rock critic led to his first biography, Shout!, which received critical acclaim and sold more than a million copies. He is the author of numerous highly praised works, including John Lennon: The Life; Paul McCartney: The Life; Slowhand: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton; Rave On: The Biography of Buddy Holly; Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix; and a memoir of his Sunday Times years, We Danced on Our Desks.

"George Harrison was not just the reluctant Beatle. With his wizardly vim on the guitar, feathery voice, and knack for songcraft, he was certainly the most underrated one. Here, the Fab Four's inimitable chronicler Philip Norman gives us the portrait of Harrison's remarkable life that only he can: myth-dispelling, richly detailed, and full of humor. The story of how this young, poor, quiet Liverpool kid rose to musical mastery and fame is the triumph of an oft-overlooked hero--and a delight on every page."
--Ian S. Port, author of The Birth of Loud

"Norman knows his subject and the soulful torments Harrison endured. A well-informed biography of an enigmatic musician."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Being in the Fab Four might have given Harrison fame, wealth and boundless opportunity, but as Philip Norman shows in this absorbing biography [with] its eye for period detail, the burden it placed on his far-from-resilient shoulders stayed with him for the rest of his life."
--Wall Street Journal

"Norman has fashioned an authoritative portrait of Harrison that leaves you liking and feeling sympathy for his subject while being fully aware of the tetchiness...that was never far away. Norman is something of a one-man Beatles industry."
--The Times of London

"Norman captures the creativity, the humanity, and the great humor of the man in this keen and lovely tribute."
--Booklist (starred review)

"[A] wonderful new biography. . . Philip Norman captures [Harrison's] class consciousness vividly [and] does a marvelous job evoking Harrison's working-class Liverpool upbringing. Norman writes with a mix of affection, irreverence and whimsy that feels perfectly aligned with his subject."
--Robert Dean Lurie, The Spectator World

"George Harrison offers a full serving of Beatlemania through the specific lens of the group's youngest member. The entire dynamic of The Beatles is on full display in these career-spanning chapters. Thanks to illuminating anecdotes that reveal the band's complex relationships, Beatles fans will be enthralled page after page."
--BookPage

"Norman's book will likely go down as the best and most comprehensive single volume biography. And it's a solid choice as a Christmas gift for the Beatles fan on your 'nice' list."
--Houston Press

Publisher: Scribner Book Company

Pub date: 2023-10-24

Length: 512 pages