I reviewed it briefly in my initial list of important Beatles books about two years ago, and satirically in my "if biographies and memoirs had fanfic disclaimers" list.
Basically: it does have the disadvantage of authorized biographies (as in: of course it's biased, and at no point does Barry Miles do things like ask "so, taking pot to Japan - stupid or stupid, Paul?" or "attempting to buy shares of Northern Songs during those final years in addition to those you already had: do you agree that John could feel betrayed that you didn't tell him about it when the both of you lost Northern Songs and your additional two percent came out?" Also Miles isn't the most riveting prose stylist. However, on the plus side he really got more out of Paul than any other interviewer, in often riveting detail, and there is a reason why all biographies afterwards are still quoting from MYFN (without sometimes admitting it). Be it from Paul's childhood and memories of his parents (he never talked about his mother that extensively before or after), the London cultural scene of the 60s, or any and all quotes relating to John, it's a gold mine. (And here it's really an advantage that Barry Miles was an old friend - I don't think Paul would have relaxed enough around a "new" interviewer to ramble on about the LSD trip and how he saw John as the Emperor of Eternity at one point and had to get out of the house, or come up with such gems as comparing John's hands with his son James' hands.) Basically, I see it less as a proper biography (which given that it covers the whole post Beatles life in about 20 pages, it can't be) than an interview book with explanatory footnotes from Barry Miles.
(I also wouldn't recommend it as the first thing to read on Paul, because it's very defensive in parts, and if you have no idea what he's defending himself against, it can come across as overbearing. Otoh if you're familiar with, say, Philip Norman's original "John Lennon was 80% of the Beatles" attitude, then you get where Paul is coming from with pointing out repeatedly he did the avantgarde stuff first.)
New JHP discussion: *looks* *blanches at over 100 comments* Oh good lord. Well, okay, I'll try to give my perspective as well.
Basically: it does have the disadvantage of authorized biographies (as in: of course it's biased, and at no point does Barry Miles do things like ask "so, taking pot to Japan - stupid or stupid, Paul?" or "attempting to buy shares of Northern Songs during those final years in addition to those you already had: do you agree that John could feel betrayed that you didn't tell him about it when the both of you lost Northern Songs and your additional two percent came out?" Also Miles isn't the most riveting prose stylist. However, on the plus side he really got more out of Paul than any other interviewer, in often riveting detail, and there is a reason why all biographies afterwards are still quoting from MYFN (without sometimes admitting it). Be it from Paul's childhood and memories of his parents (he never talked about his mother that extensively before or after), the London cultural scene of the 60s, or any and all quotes relating to John, it's a gold mine. (And here it's really an advantage that Barry Miles was an old friend - I don't think Paul would have relaxed enough around a "new" interviewer to ramble on about the LSD trip and how he saw John as the Emperor of Eternity at one point and had to get out of the house, or come up with such gems as comparing John's hands with his son James' hands.) Basically, I see it less as a proper biography (which given that it covers the whole post Beatles life in about 20 pages, it can't be) than an interview book with explanatory footnotes from Barry Miles.
(I also wouldn't recommend it as the first thing to read on Paul, because it's very defensive in parts, and if you have no idea what he's defending himself against, it can come across as overbearing. Otoh if you're familiar with, say, Philip Norman's original "John Lennon was 80% of the Beatles" attitude, then you get where Paul is coming from with pointing out repeatedly he did the avantgarde stuff first.)
New JHP discussion: *looks* *blanches at over 100 comments* Oh good lord. Well, okay, I'll try to give my perspective as well.
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