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I first received this book as a birthday present from my Dad, three years ago. It was one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten.

That summer, I devoured it. What a perfect excuse to go through The Beatles� repertoire, song by song, listening to them with new and sharpened ears. It was a revelation. I had heard that music hundreds of times. Yet, with MacDonald guiding me, the songs seemed so new. He just hears things. I thought I had receptive ears, but his ears are monstrous. He rips into the songs—pointing out errors, quirks, influences, instruments—opening up a whole new world.

It is strange what books become touchstones in our lives. It is somewhat embarrassing that this is one of those for me. For months, I was haunted by MacDonald’s voice. When I would reflect, I would hear his opinions and phrases echoing through my mind. In many ways, this was very depressing, for MacDonald is an acute cultural as well as music critic. His reflections on the course of history, the ways that technology is changing our lives, and the progress of art are extraordinary, even if you disagree with him. He was convinced, and managed to convince me, that Western culture was in a precipitous decline. This strikes me as somewhat dramatic now, but it’s a fun read anyway. It just goes to show how powerful was The Beatles� music that it could attract a mind of this caliber.

There is something momentous about his prose. Not only is it erudite and precise, but also direct and forceful. This goes to show that education need not enervate your writing. Often, MacDonald’s pronouncements on particular songs or trends sounded like the very voice of God judging a sinner. His learning is so wide that he often seems omniscient. The most intimate of personal details and the broadest of cultural trends both figure in his analyses. He then manages to distill these complex thoughts down to just a few sentences—sentences that stick in your mind like the Sermon on the Mount.

My, how I’m going on. I must have read this book at a very sensitive age (not to mention that its subject is my absolute favorite music).

I’m writing this now because I’ve been given the opportunity to go through The Beatles� oeuvre once more, in a graduate class. Although this book was never assigned, I couldn’t help but return to it. Turning from the dry theoretical discussions in Everett’s The Beatles as Musicians to this slim, well-organized, beautifully written book was always a relief. The writing was just as potent as I remembered it. And MacDonald's arguments, even if less convincing this time around, are always interesting. I can’t imagine a better book on The Beatles. Or, for that matter, on any music.