A radical event and a joy to read - Lewisohn tells the tale with such authoritative command of the evidence and so intimate a grasp of the Beatles' daily lives that the reader emerges knowing - with a certainty denied all previous generations - that this is how it really happened.
Lewisohn's work stands as a monumental triumph, a challenge not merely to other Beatles biographers but to the discipline of biography itself. If only all important subjects had their Lewisohn
(
Washington Post)
A triumph. Not only an enthralling account of the Beatles' origins, far superior to anything that has gone before, but also an essential piece of social history.
Lewisohn has set out to do the Beatles justice and write the definitive history. I think he is succeeding
(
The Times)
Mark Lewisohn raises the biographical bar to stratospheric heights. This first volume suggests he is on the verge of achieving what was heretofore considered impossible: blowing the cobwebs off one of the late 20th century's hoariest cultural myths, scraping away decades' worth of accumulated crud and revealing detail no one previously suspected was there (
Literary Review)
An epic unprecedented in rock 'n' roll biography, and a great read ... Does far more than enrich with mind-boggling detail, there's a surprise on every page ... The detail is sharp and incisive ... It's the kind of book where want-to-know and need-to-know is wrapped into a narrative that unfolds brilliantly and, for once, justifies that 'real story of the Beatles' billing (
Mojo)
Positively a page turner, both for excitement and anticipation - Lewisohn has enhanced the story as a beautifully flowing factual tale that reads like a classic novel. Nobody but nobody could begin to match this work of joy and detail; and reassuringly, nobody ever will. This is the best work ever produced on the subject of the Beatles. A five star review is an insult, it merits an unheard of ten (Colin Larkin
Best Things On Earth)
The accomplishments of the Beatles has given rise to a near deification of them as both people and myth. Lewisohn brings that story back down into the world of real people.
Tune In clears the air of myth and legend, leaving as much reality as a biography can offer. Every single page brings the Beatles back into focus and moves them away from legend. Common myths fall apart under Mr. Lewisohn's research
(
New York Journal of Books)
Presents the Beatles story in a way it's never been seen before: truthfully and completely. The end result is a herculean effort, a fast-moving page-turner overflowing with warm humor, passion, and (of course) music. Likely to become a principle text in 20th-century studies, a sort of Complete Shakespeare with a much better soundtrack. For anyone who loves music, this book is the genuine ultimate (
VH1.com)
The saga is clearer and richer here than it's ever been. Lewisohn writes in novelistic detail and with the obvious conviction that none of the previous Beatles biographies have ever been good enough (
Entertainment Weekly)
This is Torah! Huge on a massive scale, the most altruistic thing anybody's done in the arts since the Beatles, and it needed to be done. God keep Mark Lewisohn alive to finish what he's started (Howie Edelson
US radio writer/producer)
Tune In is brilliant in describing the addictive power of rock and roll when there was no imaginable alternative in a doomed town. Mark Lewisohn's achievement lies with the fact that he never tries to 'explain'. He is not argumentative but turns up the colours in a world that has faded to grey (
Herald Scotland)
