George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door

Thomson, a prolific contributor to various music magazines and author of a well-received Kate Bush biography (2010's Under the Ivy), adds to the mountain of Beatles bios with this long and thorough telling of the life of George Harrison (1943–2001). Eschewing Geoffrey Giuliano's mud-slinging approach in Dark Horse (1989) and Gary Tillery's overly subjective emphasis on Harrison's spirituality in Working Class Mystic (2011), Thomson instead delivers an extensive, evenhanded account of the former Beatles guitarist, covering his youth, his years in the Beatles, and a sporadically successful solo career. The author draws from both previously published interviews and new conversations with insiders, including wives, employees, and collaborators to craft an intimate portrait of a gifted and usually reclusive musician whose life followed two contradictory paths, one humble and spiritual and the other luxurious and entitled, as Harrison enjoyed the spoils of fame while mostly shunning the limelight. Thomson explores this fascinating dichotomy at length in prose that is both richly detailed and clearly written.