Blackbird: 2the Life and Times of Paul McCartney

Giuliano ( Dark Horse: The Private Life of George Harrison ) offers a disparaging biography of former Beatle, Wings founder and solo musician McCartney. The book criticizes the star's inability to deal with grief in terms of his mother's untimely death and John Lennon's murder; rehashes the Beatles' evolution, sexual shenanigans, drug use and breakup; and chronicles the performer's romance with British actress Jane Asher. Disapproval creeps in as McCartney weds Linda Eastman: he becomes a ``sometimes annoying perfectionistic musician'' with an ``almost neurotic need to have Linda by his side,'' and she is a ``rather frumpy looking bride-to-be.'' The couple's heavy marijuana use is stressed and myriad injustices to collaborators compiled, rendering ex-Wings guitarist Laine's cheery introduction ironic. Despite the damning evidence against McCartney, fans will recoil from Giuliano's mean-spiritedness and, especially, his excessive sympathy and praise for Laine, on whose information the book is largely based. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)