I've read many books on McCartney and the Beatles in particular. This is one of the best; it continues until the present day (so it'll date!), it speaks to people when and where it can and it contains a number of previously-unearthed facts. McCartney doesn't come across as a sait; by the end of it we understand his flaws and why they're there, but he emerges as much less of a cartoon character than some of the coverage he's had would have us believe.

i am just a girl, in love with paul mccartney.

I greatly enjoyed getting to read and understand the life of Paul McCartney through the lens this book had. I know Norman has a reputation for being typically dismissive of Paul’s contributions, but having read this before any of his other work, I could only really see that if I looked. I felt as though it was a fair account of a very action-full life that gave me a relatively well rounded view of Paul.
However much I enjoyed this book, I feel as though you have to be at least into the Beatles/Paul before reading this. There are many references to well known events that I found often weren’t expounded upon just because they were assumed to be in the public consciousness already. I feel like it’s very possible to get through this and place random significance on minor events and remember much more important ones in lesser detail just by virtue of how Norman approaches well-known topics. Any part that focuses on their creative process and references to specific album eras would just be confusing. It’s certainly not a book to pick up just because you recognize the name.
The Beatles half of the book is absolutely the most entertaining part and more than likely the reason you would want to read it. I found myself more bored by his post Beatles life, but nonetheless glad I read it. Just something to keep in mind when deciding to read.

I loved every minute and every word of this massive tome. A wonderful look at McCartney’s life from childhood to the present. Clearly exhaustively researched, with insights from many family members and friends throughout the years. Despite the size of this book, it reads quickly, thanks to the author’s easy style. Exceptional!

As a Beatles and Paul McCartney, this book is a must read. Of course, it talks in more detail about the Beatle era than the rest, but I think everyone expected that.
There is a lot of information that I didn't know about Paul McCartney or The Beatles and I have never thought about Paul as an insecure person, as is explained in the book. Also, everything written here just make me admire him more.
After reading this book, I'm looking forward to reading the other books Philip Norman have written about The Beatles (one about The Beatles and other about John Lennon).

I am just shocked I stuck with and finished a book about and written by an old straight white man.