Once There Was a Way: What If The Beatles Stayed Together? (Breakpoint, 2)

SPOILERS CONTAINED HEREIN...This was a decent book, could've been better, could've been so much worse.I'd always wanted to read "Paperback Writer" which was the first "Beatle Fiction" I ever heard of. Always heard how great it was, but I just missed it. I did catch "Liverpool Fantasy" some years later, which was ok."Once There Was A Way" is entertaining enough and worth the dough. It's very fun, as a fan, to think of what could've happened had The Beatles stayed together. I didn't think the Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon thing of keeping John and Paul together would've ever happened. I think that had it been Peter Sellars giving them the 'sage advice' or even Dudley Moore and Peter Cooke that it might've been more plausible. Carson and McMahon kind of were 'The old guard' at that time, and really had nothing in common with John and Paul. In fact that appearance on the show has always seemed like something they did purely for publicity and not because they were Carson fans. You might even say the same thing for Tom and Dick Smothers, they might've possibly been that persuasive with John and Paul. Carson and McMahon? nah.One other point - Paul's mentioning Yoko by name in "Too Many People". Paul would've never done that. John would've, but not Paul, just not his style.Where I began to lose interest was when John gets kidnapped. This just kind of went on too long and veered off from what I wanted to read in the book. It kind of steered the book into "political thriller" territory, which I wasn't into. This in spite of the fact that John and Yoko definitely WERE targeted by the Nixon administration and the Right just couldn't stand them once they went all peacenik.The one real kind of 'critique' that I had was the book should've ended with the Central Park show. After that chapter, having Clapton come in and then reading that they would've done more tours... I don't think that would've happened and it kind of killed a good ending for the book.

In baseball terms, Bryce Zabel is two for two in the alternate history realm. Or better still, I should say he’s knocked it out of the park a second time.His first alt-history novel, “Surrounded by Enemies,” focused on a well-explored theme: what if John F. Kennedy had not died in Dallas? Zabel managed to bring a fresh take to the concept, despite the fact that dozens of titles on that topic already being on the shelves. In his new book, “Once There Was a Way,” he delves into a lesser-explored subject, but just as compelling to Baby Boomers or anyone steeped in the history of the sixties: What if the Beatles had not broken up in 1970, but instead continued to make music into the seventies?It’s hard to provide a detailed plot summary without spoilers, so I’ll just tell you that the story begins in the post-Sgt. Pepper era. Small changes in the Beatles’ story produce a cascading effect that averts the breakup and allows the world’s greatest band to continue into another decade and another day. Zabel obviously has a deep understanding of not only the Beatles themselves, but the times in which they lived. The result is a story that’s by turns plausible, realistic, surprising moving (expect at least a couple of lumps in the throat)….in short a great read. In fact, the only complaint I can offer is that I finished the book wishing that it was fact, not fiction.

Full disclosure, I've known Bryce Zabel for years, but I have no trouble telling truth to powerful writers. That being said truth is, this book is great. I really thought "Surrounded by Enemies" was as good as "Alt-History" could get. I may have been wrong. The premise of this book is : what would have happened if the Beatles had stayed together, and while I was willing to suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy the novel, I was shocked at how quickly I bought in. It should be said, I'm a Beatle nut, I saw them at the Hollywood Bowl in 1965, and I know most good Beatle trivia.. and yet... Early in the book there is a meeting between John, Paul, Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. As I was reading I found myself wondering why I had never heard the story before, and how great it would have been to be a fly on the wall that night... totally forgetting it NEVER HAPPENED. So skilled is the writing that not 50 pages in and I had already completely accepted Bryce's reverse engineering of history. If you are a Beatle fan, you really need to read this. If you are not a Beatle fan, you really need to read it anyway. So many huge historical figures make cameo appearances, it would be great if someone would do a documentary to chronicle the events in this book. Damn it, I forgot again.. they NEVER HAPPENED. Kudos!

As a life long Beatles fan, I love to read "Beatles literature", fictional stories starring the Fab Four. There are actually a pretty decent amount of books in this little unique genre, which began with Mark Shipper's "Paperback Writer" , published when John was actually still alive. I have read some really good Beatle Novels throughout the years - "Liverpool Fantasy" (which was adapted from an even better play), rock guitarist Greg Kihn's "Rubber Soul", the fabulous rock and roll field of dreams entry "John Lennon and the Mercy Street Cafe" and the recent "Beatlebone" and "Saint John Lennon", not to mention the great fictional movie "Two of Us" and many lesser self published fan fiction stories that were very entertaining. But "Once There Was A Way" tops them all. It is hands down the best novel I've ever read about the Fab Four. What I love about it is that, like the best Alternative History Novels, its divergence from reality is very organic- there is not one single event that changes history but rather a series of decisions. This approach makes for a very realistic alternate path for the Beatles. And one that , as a passionate fan, I found myself wishing had been the actual path they had taken. Bravo Bryce Zabel! Hope this become a movie, because it would make an excellent one!

If your a Beatles fan you will love it.

I really enjoyed the author's alternative history book on JFK (Breakpoint book 1) but this one stretched things a bit too far for me. I thought the first half was strong, and made me think about how very small differences in events might have kept the Beatles together. The second half, however, got a bit too fanciful for me (I'm not going to outline the specific events to avoid spoilers), and so I thought credibility slipped. However, a good first half and that is well worth three stars for me.

Interessantissimo e divertente fino circa alla metà del volume, quando secondo me si comincia ad esagerare, facendo rapire John Lennon da affiliati o comunque amici dell'Esercito di Liberazione Simbionese; a parte tutto, il capitolo che riguarda questa sezione è troppo lungo. Per il resto, un volume divertente.

Just started to read this but there are already some factual errors. Firstly Gibraltar is not an island it is a rocky penisula . Secondly the band 'The Iveys' were not Scottish, they were Welsh. It would appear the author is mixing them up with Scottish rockers 'Marmalade'.

Delighted with the product.