Beatles Book:

		List Price: $14.95		Publisher: Cache River Press Salesrank: 870323
		Our Price: $11.90
		Used Price: $26.91
		Media: Paperback

Before He Was Fab : George Harrison's First American Visit Reviews:
Amazing Story about George Harrison!
2008-04-24 - This story is amazing! George Harrison comes to a small town of 7,000 in Southern Illinois a few months before he was famous to visit his sister who was living in Benton, Illinois at the time because her husband worked as an engineer in the coal mines. The first Beatle Record played in the airwaves was played during that visit. Amazing and most people don't know anything about it. I write about it in my book as well, which is on Amazon, "While You Do your Business" which is a funny account of the story. Nevertheless, this is amazing stuff, very easy to read, lots of photos and a great read for anyone interested in the Beatles.

Completely True Front to back!
2006-04-26 - I live in Benton, I know everyone that was in the Four Vests and talk with them often. This is a great peice of history about a young Englishman that visited a small town not unlike Mayberry on Andy Griffeth. No one at the time, Harrison was in Benton, knew anything about him except that he was a musician and was from England. Everyone said he was really a nice guy, very polite, and quiet. This book is an attempt to capture some of the history of the visit. It is an interesting read and completely true. I have lived in Benton my entire life and would like to state for the record that the events described in this book took place and it is NOT an attempt to separate Beatle fans from their money as one of the previous reviews described. We in Benton take offence to that.

Delightful
2006-04-21 - For the true Beatles fan, "Before He Was Fab: George Harrison's First American Visit" by Jim Kirkpatrick is delightful. It's a small book - just over 100 pages.

In September 1963, George Harrison visited his sister, Louise, in a coal-mining town in Illinois. Beatlemania was already going gangbusters in England, but America would not meet The Beatles for another five months. Kirkpatrick sets the background by describing what was going on in the world that month, how much things cost at the corner store, and who was on the television and radio.

It's a carefree trip back in time, a charming account, filled with local color, of the visit of a "polite young Englishman with long hair and sandals." It's a fun addition to any Beatles fan's memorabilia collection.

A Fab Story
2006-04-01 - Although I have visited this house which is now a Bed & Breakfast and have met Louise Harrison a few times at Beatlefest in Chicago where she told the Story of her Brothers visit to Benton , I was glad somebody wrote a book on this subject but also dissapointed by the fact that nobody had pictures of Georges visit even though his Brother Peter was with him at the time taking pictures why didnt the Author try to contact Peter during this book and yet Peter is not mentioned a lot in this book where was he all this time George was hanging out with the Four Vest !!! I think more research could've been done but still a good book to pick up and read !!!

Before He Was Fab
2002-12-11 - I was fortunate enough to purchase a copy of this book from George Harrison's sister Louise Harrison, at Liverpool Days in Pasadena this year. I must tell you that she fully endorsed the book as being true by offering it up for sale. I had a chance to talk with her at length and louise is a forthright, humorous woman. After reading the book (being a 53 year old woman who is a die-hard Beatles fan) I felt I had a little more understanding of the times and of George's vast curiousity of the US. Ultimately I became a huge admirer of George's for his belief of a higher power and his quest to know more. I would highly recommend this book for a little peek into this most private man's early life. The goodness and kindness of this man should never be forgotten. I think he was always FAB, he just didn't know it at an early age.