The best book about The Beatles, ever? Postcards From The Boys by Ringo Starr. Why not? It is entirely written by members of the band, in their own hand no less. It's light and satisfies any sentimentality requirements the reader may have.
No earth shattering revelations can be found in it's pages but it's very existence covers one thing that most Beatles themed books fail to adequately address. All of the members actually loved one another deeply. Seriously, how often have you sent postcards to your family and friends through the years? That type of contact, as simple and almost clockwork regular as it was, spoke volumes of their love for one another.
The best book written about Bob Dylan? It hasn't been written yet, or at least the next volume of Chronicles hasn't been published yet. I really did enjoy Positively 4th St and it is one of the books I've easily resisted the urge to cull for sale, but the first volume of Chronicles really struck me.
Dylan has been analyzed to death, every letter of every word of every line. These days I think about Dylan as a normal person, not as a legend. I play his records more now than I did 10 or 20 years ago and I enjoy them more. I don't analyze his lines and appreciate them more. I just let the man work and the words soak. You can look up and see the sun on almost any day, but none of it compares with the first warm day of spring when you can let the sun warm your body and renew your soul. That's what it feels like to just let it all go.
Then again, maybe John Lennon was right? Everybody's talkin' but nobody says a word.
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