Fire and Rain

Title: Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970
Author: David Browne
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages (words): 392 (N/A)
Readability: N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): **1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Browne follows four major 60s rock bands through the year 1970, chronicling the way that the bands came apart in the midst of a changing era.  The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, and CSNY all struggled mightily in 1970, and in many ways this year altered the course of rock music drastically.
Thoughts: I thought I would like this book more than I did.  I really like the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and James Taylor (but I'm not a big CSNY fan), so I figured this would be an interesting read and a great way to learn a bit more about this point in American history.  While I did get a bit of that, I often caught myself thinking about something else entirely while I listened to the book--a sure sign that the book isn't holding my interest well.  I think I hoped for a more coherent narrative that told a story.  Instead, the book was more like 4 separate timelines of a single year--one timeline for each band--that just marked off major events in the lives of the bank members.  At the end of the book Browne tried to show that the events reflected a bigger theme, but I just didn't buy it.  Instead, I felt like I just read about one concert or rehearsal after another, with lots of drugs and arguing in between.
Disclaimer: Some swear words, and lots of drug usage.