What do you think?


Taylor Swift: The Whole Story - Free Sample
INCLUDES EXCLUSIVE BONUS CHAPTER: The Wit and Wisdom of Taylor Swift
The first 2 chapters from the full story of Taylor Swift’s stratospheric rise to fame; all any dedicated Swifty needs to know about the pop superstar who’s taking over the world.
A small-town girl with an incredible talent, and the strength to realise her dream, Taylor has grown into an award-winning, chart-topping artist and worldwide star, as well as a strong and stylish woman. But how did she get there? And what lies in store for her in the future?
From childhood dreams of a musical future in Pennsylvania, to determined and budding teen musician with a trademark she’s stayed faithful to ever since: honest lyrics about real-life events; her fight to be taken seriously in the music industry, through to the rewards of success and the intense pressure of expectation, Taylor Swift: The Whole Story is a full account of Taylor’s incredible journey, with everything you need to know about America’s Sweetheart.
This compelling book is packed full of fascinating details revealing the true Taylor – what drives, motivates and moves her, how she overcame the challenges that loomed on the road to fame and how authentic her wholesome image is, plus the truth about her relationships with Harry Styles, Jake Gyllanhaal and Conor Kennedy and who she’s really talking about on her tracks.
The full portrait of a girl who could so easily have faded into the background – but who blossomed in the spotlight into a grounded, graceful and inspiring young woman.
46 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 28, 2013
About the author
Chas Newkey-Burden
46 books24 followersChas Newkey-Burden is a British journalist and author. His books include The Reduced History of Britain, Great Email Disasters and Not In My Name: A Compendium Of Modern Hypocrisy (co-written with Julie Burchill). He has also written unauthorised biographies of Simon Cowell, Paris Hilton, Amy Winehouse, Alexandra Burke and six official publications for Arsenal football club.
He has written for publications including The Guardian, Four Four Two, Total Football, Time Out, Attitude and The Big Issue; and internet sites including Ynetnews, The First Post and Guardian Blogs. A former Contributing Editor to Loaded magazine and former editor of the football website icons.com, where he was also Dennis Bergkamp's official biographer. Interviewees include David Beckham, Ricky Gervais, Frank Lampard, Rachel Stevens and James Bourne.
Newkey-Burden has discussed his books, football news and the Middle East on TV and radio shows including Sky News, CNN, BBC Breakfast News, The Today Programme on Radio 4, Five Live Breakfast, TalkSport, Capital Gold and BBC Radio London. He was featured on the BBC 2 documentary Cold War Kids, the Sky One show Celebrities On Heat and The Biography Channel and Fuse Television's documentaries on Amy Winehouse.
Newkey-Burden has a blog, entitled OyVaGoy, in which he describes himself as 'philosemitic' and posts opinions firmly in support of the state of Israel, and critical of those he perceives as being against Israel.
In July 2008, the British satirical magazine Private Eye reported that Newkey-Burden had posted positive reviews of his own books on the Amazon.co.uk online bookstore.
He has written for publications including The Guardian, Four Four Two, Total Football, Time Out, Attitude and The Big Issue; and internet sites including Ynetnews, The First Post and Guardian Blogs. A former Contributing Editor to Loaded magazine and former editor of the football website icons.com, where he was also Dennis Bergkamp's official biographer. Interviewees include David Beckham, Ricky Gervais, Frank Lampard, Rachel Stevens and James Bourne.
Newkey-Burden has discussed his books, football news and the Middle East on TV and radio shows including Sky News, CNN, BBC Breakfast News, The Today Programme on Radio 4, Five Live Breakfast, TalkSport, Capital Gold and BBC Radio London. He was featured on the BBC 2 documentary Cold War Kids, the Sky One show Celebrities On Heat and The Biography Channel and Fuse Television's documentaries on Amy Winehouse.
Newkey-Burden has a blog, entitled OyVaGoy, in which he describes himself as 'philosemitic' and posts opinions firmly in support of the state of Israel, and critical of those he perceives as being against Israel.
In July 2008, the British satirical magazine Private Eye reported that Newkey-Burden had posted positive reviews of his own books on the Amazon.co.uk online bookstore.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
June 5, 2014
Taylor Swift
Very Unique! different, I liked what I read. Interesting.This book is an inspiration towards my own goals. Thank you Taylor Swift.
Very Unique! different, I liked what I read. Interesting.This book is an inspiration towards my own goals. Thank you Taylor Swift.
August 11, 2015
The fact that the writing was terrible and the book was unauthorized, meaning zero first-source quotes from taylor makes this a 2-star read. However, I did learn some things about her I didn't know, so that was cool.
January 29, 2016
This book is a really good insight on Taylor's fame! It is very informing and even gives off explanations to songs that most people most likely wouldn't know! I bet no one knew Taylor starred in a few plays !!!
February 22, 2022
better than I thought
September 9, 2022
Did I ever read this entire book? No, I was just a middle school student who downloaded the free sample. Did I add this book as Read on Goodreads just so I could make quotes public from my Kindle with my Notes that are just Taylor Swift lyrics that match the vibe of the quote? Yes, I did. Deal with it.
August 17, 2023
I love how this book actually focuses on taylor’s music, explaining each songs in detail, talking about the creative process behind them and their meaning for taylor.
some parts are pure unintentional comedy, this is so 2013 😭😭the five stars are given uniquely by my nostalgia and my love for taylor because the writing isn’t surely the strong suit of this book.
some parts are pure unintentional comedy, this is so 2013 😭😭the five stars are given uniquely by my nostalgia and my love for taylor because the writing isn’t surely the strong suit of this book.
January 22, 2015
Why I Like It!
On Taylor Swift: The Whole Story
It is awesome and I understand everything
I liked it because she expresses her fellings
On Taylor Swift: The Whole Story
It is awesome and I understand everything
I liked it because she expresses her fellings
December 31, 2022
I had to put this on goods reads so I would complete my challenge .
July 20, 2024
Chapters were very long
July 26, 2023
Like 3.5, not my usual reading style but was an interesting read about Taylors first 4 albums
April 17, 2021
if i saw this at the scholastic book fair in fifth grade, i would have ate this up. the writing is not the best but the taylor facts are fun. but where is this man’s credibility in saying holy ground is about joe jonas or taylor lautner. ahh sir you clearly didnt do enough research if you dont know about swiftgron
June 11, 2015
Great
What a magical person. No wonder She is so talented. Very smart, She is amazing. Good read. She has a long way to go.
What a magical person. No wonder She is so talented. Very smart, She is amazing. Good read. She has a long way to go.
October 14, 2021
LOVED IT!!! I’m such a big Taylor Swift fan and it was great to get exclusive information about her life during her early eras.
January 11, 2022
Love Taylor, but didn't love the writing of this book
April 13, 2024
Swifties Rule!
June 23, 2024
2.5 rating.
Not my cup of tea, I think some parts were repetitive and it was very detailed in other celebs too which I don't think was necessary. I also think there was a lot of jargon but then again I am a 16 year old so it just may be because I am not strong in vocabulary yet. One bit of advice which may have got you a higher rating from me was organisation as I felt some parts were muddled up and it did get confusing. I also wouldn't focus on critism and the press's views on Taylor's life as that could be twisted and not so factual. Good effort though for an unauthorised biography as it is difficult when you don't know the person personally, and in some parts I did want to re read and annotate.
Not my cup of tea, I think some parts were repetitive and it was very detailed in other celebs too which I don't think was necessary. I also think there was a lot of jargon but then again I am a 16 year old so it just may be because I am not strong in vocabulary yet. One bit of advice which may have got you a higher rating from me was organisation as I felt some parts were muddled up and it did get confusing. I also wouldn't focus on critism and the press's views on Taylor's life as that could be twisted and not so factual. Good effort though for an unauthorised biography as it is difficult when you don't know the person personally, and in some parts I did want to re read and annotate.
June 1, 2024
Tyckte denna var väldigt givande att läsa då jag är ett ganska stort Taylor Swift fan. Denna bok ger en bra insikt i hennes liv och vad hon vill förmedla med sina låtar. Hennes låtar har ett djupare budskap om man vill lyssna efter det, men de är precis lika bra att bara ha på i bakgrunden samtidigt som man gör något annat. Wow säger jag bara till denna bokens beskrivningar!
July 16, 2022
taylor is such an icon, I’m always gonna love her (also does anyone knows a biography that doesn’t stop at the red era because I really couldn’t find any)
Read
July 5, 2024This book is more than 46 pages long...who inputs the information on Goodreads?
January 23, 2025
This was essentially a 300 page middle school biography
March 7, 2024
This book is good but outdated, it claims to be the whole story but is 4 out of the 10 current albums she has. I also feel it is missing key points from the four albums it does discuss. It’s clear it is wrote by someone else but Taylor
December 18, 2017
I really enjoyed reading Taylor Swift The Whole Story. I think that it gives both facts and life helping situations. I also love how it has a young-adult and a children effect on it. This book is about a little girl growing up to become a famous pop-star, her struggles, and a little bit of backstory behind her music.it shows that you should always go with your guts and not what other people think about you, and that you should like people for who they are not what they are. I think that this book can really inspire so many young kids to be what they really want to be. Overall I really think that this book was really inspiring.
March 6, 2023
Probably the best Taylor Swift book there is. A biography charting the idol's life from the beginning till her Red era (2012). For Swifties wanting to know more about Miss Americana, definitely a recommend.
Read
June 29, 2014it wont let me read it, if someone could tell me how I can get to read it then that would be great
June 5, 2015
Enjoyed it
Very. Talented young lady. Determining to make it in this not so nice world. Great job Taylor.God bless and stay strong
Very. Talented young lady. Determining to make it in this not so nice world. Great job Taylor.God bless and stay strong
August 9, 2015
A great read for all the "Swifties" and I am proud to be a Swifty in my fifties. Eventhough it is unauthorised it has good information about Taylor's life and who she wrote the songs about.
April 15, 2018
I really loved getting even more backstory about Taylor’s life. It was really interesting and I’m glad I read it.
April 20, 2018
This book was really good. It went into detail with interviews and things she has said before. Everything was accurate too so I liked it.
June 5, 2018
Great read
I knew little about her, but wanted to find out why so many dislike her. She worked toward her goal, even as a kid. She is different, people do not like that, but I do!
I knew little about her, but wanted to find out why so many dislike her. She worked toward her goal, even as a kid. She is different, people do not like that, but I do!
Read
January 19, 2023I’m going to keep it short and sweet. I enjoyed this casual read as I am a HUGE swiftie ! I would pick it up whenever I wanted to relax and just read more about my idol.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews


























