As mentioned here recently, a law school buddy of mine is currently on his way to becoming the chair of the SEC. Now comes word that a law school roommate of mine has a major book coming out on the Beatles.

Steve Stark, with whom I lived for a few months while I was on a special assignment at the Yale Law School, has released Meet the Beatles, published by HarperCollins. Yeah, it's another book about the Fab Four, but it's different in that it mainly tries to delineate the cultural impact of the group, and it looks at the toll that fame took on the group's members as well.

Stark has had an amazing career. Professional journalist, campaign advisor to Jimmy Carter, Harvard law professor, regular on National Public Radio, guest articles in several big-time newspapers, and some other stuff that I've lost track of. He tells me he's been in the U.K. for the past three years, no doubt most of it working on the Beatles book. Stark's an indefatigable researcher; he started the project by reading everything that's ever been written about the Beatles. And I can tell you, his mind is a steel trap, so probably little or nothing of what he took in was lost.

Back in the late '70s when we were running together, there were three big things on Steve's mind: his girlfriend (to whom he is now married); Muhammad Ali (he had covered the famous Zaire fight as a reporter); and Elvis, who at the time was in the final year of his life. I believe we attended my one and only Yale-Harvard football game at the Yale Bowl together. (Steve and I, that is, not Elvis. I believe Elvis went to Dartmouth.) Anyway, it was a truly special time, and Stark was a true gentleman.

I'm looking forward to reading what he has to say about the Beatles and their impact on youth and gender. Did "She Loves You" contribute to the feminist revolution? And how much of the Beatles' identity was a result of John and Paul both losing their moms as boys?

Stark always inspires me. As in, no offense to the blog, but I've got to start thinking bigger.