John McMillian is assistant professor of history at Georgia State University and author of the critically acclaimed Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America. His writing has appeared in scholarly journals, magazines, and major newspapers. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
"A delightful read . . . I've no idea whether universities still
offer classes on the great rock and roll acts of the '60s and '70s,
but McMillian's Beatles vs. Stones ought to be included in any such
curriculum."--Russ Smith, Splicetoday.com
"Fun and eye-opening . . . If you thought you knew everything there
was to know about these two groups, think again. . . . John
McMillian has done something I thought was no longer possible. He
has written a book with a fresh perspective about these rock
legends. . . . Beatles vs. Stones is one of the best rock
biographies I have seen this year."--Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Incisive . . . Masterful . . . McMillian works a certain magic
here. . . . Beatles vs. Stones is the best kind of pop culture
study, revivifying familiar material while stimulating the reader
to question his own assumptions and tastes."--American
Spectator
"John McMillian's rich, engaging, and thoroughly researched new
book is a grand story . . . [He] displays the sure professional
touch of a serious historian. His use of obscure teen magazines,
offbeat underground newspapers and inside-the-band accounts
animates a 'you are there' Norman Mailer-style knowledge. That,
coupled with what can only be called a journalist's nose for noise,
makes Beatles Vs. Stones that most precious thing--a prize
potboiler with the poise and crescendo of first-rate cultural
history."--The Wichita Eagle
"What is there that's left to be said about such a tired debate in
2013? As it turns out, there's still plenty to be said. . . .
Beatles vs. Stones takes on a wholly different angle on how the
greatest rock 'n' roll rivalry of all time was fostered by the
fans, the music industry, the media, and by the bands themselves.
By bringing to light mounds of source materials that most scholars
and critics have never mined, namely the alternative newspapers and
fan magazines of the late '60s and early '70s, McMillian taps into
the stories of both bands as they unfold. By tracing their
evolutions, side-by-side, as they appeared in the underground
publications of the times, McMillian offers fresh insight into the
dynamics of both groups as they grew and changed, with a real-time
and palpable sense of excitement."--Creative Loafing
"I didn't read this book--I inhaled it. This is a terrific new take
on a great old rock 'n' roll story, a clash of the musical titans.
The book is a boombox full of surprises and even if you have stacks
of Beatles and Stones books, you will find hidden tracks of new
information. This is a dual biography, telling the Beatles' story
wrapped up in the saga of the Stones. Take a magical mystery tour,
through the past, darkly. It's rock history held up to a funhouse
mirror, with emphasis on the fun."--William McKeen "author of
Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson "
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