Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison

Speaking from the point of view of being a great fan of George Harrison (the man and most of his music) I was looking forward to a good read about his Spiritual and musical life. Certainly the book goes into great detail about his Spiritual life which has filled in a few gaps for me, but in some ways this is overdone. There is a great emphasis on George's involvement with the Krishna movement - appropriate one may think as he was a considerable supporter and devotee - but the author himself has stated his own involvement, at least in the past, with this movement and the bias does come across. There is also relatively little information on his musical influences and his unique contribution to both the Beatles as one quarter of the band and as a guitarist. Also his musical legacy is not discussed at all.For quite a lot of the book there was a growing unease for me that this was a book putting George up on a pedestal he would not have wanted and I almost gave up reading it because of this. For me, a person's greatness is as much about personal achievement in the face of difficulty and human frailty as anything else, maybe more.George was not perfect; as Jeff Lynne, his good mate said, 'He wasn't a Saint, he could be grumpy at times.' This makes George one of the human race which of course is what he very much was. He needs no deifying and don't believe he would want it.George loved his garden and renovating his house and grounds; some more of the humour that was a huge part of the man and how he expressed this in his life and his home would not have come amiss.Having said all that, it was a good read and there are things in the book I haven't read elsewhere, and I've read a lot about George. The minor mistakes about the Beatles which as another reviewer has said Beatles fans will pick up on immediately, are only mildly irritating but leaves me wondering what other inaccuracies are there in the lesser-known material.Enjoyable, worth buying/reading.The enormous Spiritual legacy that George left is largely unacknowledged and it's good to see the balance somewhat corrected.I have re-read the book and stand by the comments above but would like to add that the inspiration the author manages to give through these pages recounting George's life is considerable, and my recommendation is higher now than it was at first. On second reading I found I was moved far more . . . a good reason to read most books more than once.Maybe the frame of mind I was in first time round had something to do with it!

I really enjoyed this book,couldn't put it down as I'm really interested in Georges spiritual journey, similar to my own,finding The indian tradition more enlightening to the actual truth than the Christian one, its rather biased to Hari Krishna movement although I didn't really mind that.One Glaring omission is there is no mention of Sai Baba the Avatar whom George Olivia and Ravi Shankar visited in 1976,its actually on film on Youtube,I was looking forward to reading Georges reaction to this world famous "Man of miracles"who has millions of followers,whom he has turned Godward, including me,Ravi Shankar was an ardent friend and devotee of Sai Baba and often played for him in concerts and festivals, no mention of that either.Sai Baba materialised some sacred ash,which has healing properties, for George on the film, a special blessing gift for George not many have, but wish for, maybe that kept George alive longer than he really had.this is from a person who was there:"This was at Dharmashektra in Mumbai in 1976. I was sitting right behind George and Ravi just two people back and was thrilled to be that close to my favorite Beatle. A few days later George & Olivia went to see Baba at the Whitefield ashram (Bangalore) for a few days and I got to speak to both of them for awhile. George was really key to the beginning of my spiritual journey and I continue to listen to him to this day. May you continue to touch us from "that ocean of bliss".Another glaring omission was there was no reference to Georges funeral or the reports of his ashes being scattered on a sacred river in India.No mention of the very moving"Concert for George" a year after his passing.For these omissions which I feel are mystifying I can only give it it 4 stars, the book is incomplete for me,what else has been omitted? what a pity a good account is not complete.

A good read, a very interesting & readable book, it highlights the spiritual path that George was on as well as the musical path he took after he went solo. I was more interested in the spiritual path & I found that the author did a good job of giving & sharing insights here. It also gives one an understanding of the Hare Krishna movement & how it started especially in the UK & the major input that George had both financially & musically in both assisting financially & also in promoting the movement by his music & at his concerts.The book shows how George came from humble beginnings & achieved everything he wanted materially very quickly & at a young age but was spiritually perceptive to realize that there was something more that he needed that he couldn't get from the material world & so began his spiritual journey right the way through his life until his death.The Beatles early experiments with drugs gave George an glimpse of a heightened consciousness but he saw though that not everybody had a spiritual experience from using drugs & hence drugs was not the answer or vehicle to transcendence & spiritual growth & this started his exploration of Indian spirituality leading later to his association with some Krishna devotees in the UK who became his friends & helped him to explore his spirituality & who introduced him to Srila Prabhupada the founder of ISKON. He also became a vegetarian also spiritual & health reasons.Although he had this association with ISKON he preferred to further his spiritual side predominantly alone in nature gardening, chanting & meditating & bought a huge estate that facilitated this.Good book for anybody on the spiritual path to read & be inspired by this celebrity's spiritual walk.