John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs
BOOK SUMMARY
We think we know John and Paul; we don't.
The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960's and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship. John and Paul's relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John and Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Leslie is a writer and author of acclaimed books on human psychology and creativity, relationships and communication, and writes about the intersection between psychology, popular culture and business for the Economist, the Atlantic, the Financial Times, the Guardian and the New Statesman, among others. He is the author of Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends on It, Conflicted: How Productive Disagreements Lead to Better Outcomes, and Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit. Ian co-hosted the podcast series "Polarised", on the way we do politics today, created and presented the BBC radio comedy series "Before They Were Famous" and writes an influential Substack newsletter called "The Ruffian." Ian lives in London with his wife and two young children.
PRAISE
"One of my favorite writers." —Malcolm Gladwell
"Ian Leslie's writing is a cool bath of sanity in a world of frenzied hot takes." —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic
"It's a book called John & Paul and it's about the working and emotional relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And it's the most extraordinary book." —Roddy Doyle
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Hardcover with dust jacket 448 pages Non-fiction 9.6 in H | 6.6 in W | 1.4 in T | 1.5 lb
