The Essential...Taylor Swift: Her complete, beautifully illustrated story

by Caroline Young

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

Published July 9, 2024

Reviews

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read with a lot of insight into Taylor Swifts history and storytelling. If you already know some things about Taylor and her easter eggs, I doubt you'll find anything new here. But if not, it's a good starting point.

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Imogen Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light read, nothing unknown to fans but enjoyable

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taylor Swift’s monumental rise to stardom is known widely around the world and nobody has escaped the recent announcement and gossip surrounding her new album. “The Essential….” book featuring Taylor Swift is beautifully presented with some outstanding, colourful photos of Taylor in concert along with photos from her early career and personal life. I found this factual book fascinating and I’m not a Taylor Swift ‘super-fan’ but for those that follow her avidly and this goes without saying - it really is a must read for those that adore all things Taylor Swift. I particularly enjoyed reading ‘The Early Years’ chapter and learning how the friendly, Christmas loving, down to earth girl took the huge decision to leave RCA to write and record her own songs. Each chapter features information on each of her albums with a final chapter on “The Era Tours” and the songs sang at them with photos and relevant information. Finally there is a dedicated page to each of her albums, with the tracks, recording details and notes, including the infamous “The Tortured Poets Department” everyone is currently talking about.

Love or hate her, this book is an invaluable read to know all you can about Taylor Swift and her music, perfectly sized, appealingly presented and an ideal gift for any discerning fan!

#TheEssentialTaylorSwift - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Allyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first NetGalley book! As the title suggests, this is an overview of Taylor’s career, chronologically by albums/eras (stopping just after the announcement of TTPD). However I can’t quite put my finger on who the target audience is for this book because, as a Swiftie, I’m not sure it was me. There wasn’t too much I didn’t already know, and it glossed over so much (due to it being an “essential” overview rather than a deep dive) that I felt I was being critical whilst reading it about what was included and how things were described (for instance, I thought it was an oversight that the surprise song phenomena of the Eras Tour wasn’t even mentioned). But then if it was supposed to be for the average Joe, I felt there were a few Swiftie specific things that felt shoehorned in (ie. a mention of an album release date where the numbers added up to 13 without explaining why that was relevant). Great selection of photos throughout though, and of course always fun to read about Taylor.

[Stephanie Scambos Kisor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn’t really consider myself a Swiftie, but my daughter loves her so I thought this would be a fun opportunity to learn more about her background and career. This book delivers exactly that. I feel like it was a great introduction for someone like me who doesn’t necessarily already know much about her background or beyond surface the level of her music and maybe a few well known Easter eggs. The book was full of wonderful spreads, captivating images, and interesting tidbits.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley, and thank you to the author, Caroline Young, and the publishing house, Gemini Books Group, for making it available.

[Mike Heenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a (very) quick summary of Taylor Swift's career, from the start right up to The Tortured Poets Department. While I did not feel like I learned as new much information as I did from The Essential...Lady Gaga, there was still some interesting info - like Kenny Chesney giving Taylor a cheque to make up for having to remove her as an opening act for his tour.

While this book may be better suited for someone who doesn't have a full knowledge of Taylor's career, the detail and pictures make for a good read for anyone.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Caroline Young ( @carolinejillyoung ) Gemini Books ( @geminibooksgroup ), and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me to read The Essential…Taylor Swift (out now).

A Taylor Swift fan’s dream book! This book was expertly written in great detail from the timeline of Taylor’s life in Pennsylvania to the announcement of The Tortured Poet’s Department. In addition to the excellent storytelling of Taylor’s life, the book includes pictures from those different eras as well.

#TheEssentialTaylorSwift #NetGalley #CarolineYoung #GeminiBooksGroup

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great quick read that told the stories of her early career, music, and public life. It's a perfect read for new Swifties (or relatives and significant others of Swifties) to get a quick crash course on her career. It comes with pictures of her throughout her career and explanations of the inspiration behind most of her songs. It touches on her dating life but doesn't go into depth on he quest for love. Great book!

#TheEssentialTaylorSwift #NetGalley #CarolineYoung #GeminiBooksGroup

[Hannah Duckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read but informative to. She is such a strong woman and an inspiration for us all

[fn. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to describe it, but reading this book feels like going through an SPM English summary section—too simple. So... I’d say 3 stars?

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

книга дає гарне поверхневе уявлення про кар'єру Тейлор Свіфт, єдине що я не згодна з деякими інтерпретаціями авторки щодо пісень та подій :)
але дуже гарно підібрані фото і взагалі чудовий дизайн.

[Nat Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who absolutely loves Taylor Swift but has never followed along with everything that’s happened with her, this book gives a great breakdown. This book is written kind’ve like a college essay ? That’s the best way I can describe it. Has very bias wording, but since I agree with it I don’t have an issue. Overall a great read !

[Charlotte Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would not consider myself a groupie or even a big fan of Taylor Swift but I am always intrigued by how the celebrities got to where they are today. Taylor is the biggest of the big stars so I knew that I wanted to check out her story. This book was not about her pre-stardom life so much but more about everything that she went through once she started to become a star. I enjoyed knowing the background to her songs, seeing how other stars treated her, and how her personal life made such a huge effect on her writing and performing.

Everything Taylor puts out to her fans is deliberate. Every post, every song, every phrase has a reason. I love that she is mystical but never so much that people give up on figuring it out. Again, I do not stalk her social media pages but I did go look to see what was being talked about I truly enjoyed her pages and will be watching them more closely now.

Taylor has quite to following and she deserves it! I learned a lot about her music career and truly enjoyed the book. Whether you are a Swiftie or fan of music this is a great fun book.

[Leeni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tavoitteeni lukea kaikki mahdolliset Taylor Swiftistä kertovat kirjat mitä vain kirjastolta irtoaa jatkuu tällä teoksella. Tässä erityisesti ilahduttivat upeat kuvavalinnat. Jälleen opin uutta. Tätä oli ilo lukea, ja olen itse kaikista eniten yllättynyt että pääsen sanomaan näin, sillä monet aiemmista lukemistani kirjoista ovat olleet hieman heikompia yrityksiä.

[Araya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc Review:
Overall Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fun and enjoyable read with plenty of information on a girl Taylor, you get a summary of her career from her debut album all the way to the tortured poets department. I liked the pictures that were included it was fun and informative.

Thank you NetGalley