Harry, a History

The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

By: Melissa Anelli

Narrated by: Renée Raudman

Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

During the brief span of just one decade, hundreds of millions of perfectly ordinary people made history: they became the only ones who would remember what it was like when the Harry Potter saga was still unfinished. What it was like to seek out friends, families, online forums, fan fiction, and podcasts to get a fix between novels. When the death of a character was a hotter bet than the World Series. When the unfolding story of a boy wizard changed the way books are read for all time. And as webmistress of the Leaky Cauldron, one of the most popular Harry Potter sites on the Internet, Melissa Anelli had a front row seat to it all. Whether it was helping Scholastic stop leaks and track down counterfeiters, hosting live PotterCasts at bookstores across the country, touring with the wizard rock band Harry and the Potters, or traveling to Edinburgh to interview J. K. Rowling personally, Melissa was at the center of the Harry Potter tornado, and nothing about her life would ever be the same.The Harry Potter books are a triumph of the imagination that did far more than break sales records for all time. They restored the world's sense of wonder and took on a magical life of their own. Now the series has ended, but the story is not over.

With remembrances from J. K. Rowling's editors, agents, publicists, fans, and Rowling herself, Melissa Anelli takes us on a personal journey through every aspect of the Harry Potter phenomenon - from his very first spell to his lasting impact on the way we live and dream.

©2008 Melissa Anelli (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Chronicling 10 years of Pottermania, Anelli dishes up a revealing, delicious insider's view." ( Kirkus Starred Review)
"Infectious, at times frenetic, excitement." ( Publishers Weekly)

A wonderful book that brought back so many memories.

Regardless if you are a Harry Potter fan or not this book offers all an opportunity to remember our past and how Harry influenced us all.

Interesting story; disorganized telling

The subject matter is interesting, but the author jumps around between different years, book releases, and events so much that I often lost track of what was supposed to have happened and when. For a “history” that’s a pretty big flaw. Most of the content is interesting but I think it could stand to be updated with a chronological (or otherwise better organized) structure and more scholarly approach to the material (and less about the authors’ friends who aren’t central to the story). Second edition please!

Loved the 'background' of the Harry Potter Story

There was a lot of information about how 'Harry' came to be,, marketing, and rhe Fandom. it would have been better if the narration was British, to keep the continuity in the telling. JKR without an accent didn't seem right.

If you love HP you'll like this book

interesting stuff especially for someone who was way out of the loop at the time the HP phenomenon was at its height. where was I? I don't know but I wasn't paying attention at the time. If you love Harry Potter I think you will find this book worth it.

Exactly right

Reading this brought me back to reading the Harry Potter books. The magic is still alive.

An entertaining walk down memory lane

Normally I'm rather nerdy in the audiobooks I read with most being science or non-fiction history books so this was a different kind of book for me. I really enjoyed the growth of the author and how "she found her people" in the online Harry Potter universe. While the book was fun, and easy, to read what I came away with is what happens when you follow your passion. Most of us become unstoppable which is why I will listen again with my kids so they can see someone who did just that.

Wonderful Memories

I consider myself a huge Potterhead but there were still a few things that I never took part in during this time such as conventions, wizard rock. It was neat being brought back to the time when we were all waiting for the next books and trying to figure out what might happen. I loved finding out about other aspects I had missed. I downloaded my first Harry and the Potters album from iTunes a few days ago and can't wait to check out more bands! It still amazes me what kind of a fandom we built for Harry Potter during this time and it is still growing almost 9 years after Deathly Hallows was published. I can't wait to see what happens with Newt Scamander and Albus Severus in the Fantastic Beasts movie and the Cursed Child play. Listening to this book reminded me of all of my Harry Potter memories - midnight releases of books and movies, rereading the books when the next book or movie was released, hours and hours spent reading fanfiction of all kinds and all ships, etc. I have truly enjoyed my time as fan of Harry Potter and I can't wait to make more memories and learn more about the characters!

Emotional, relatable, & positive

I wasn't sure I would like this story, because while I love Harry Potter, I have never been a "hardcore fan". I've never joined a fan site, wore a costume, heard the bands, or listen to the podcasts (sorry Melissa!). Melissa has convinced me I missed out on the camaraderie of all that activity. I do, however, know the stories (from the 90's) and relate to the emotional cycle of looking forward to the next book, dreading the end of the series, and coming to peace when the final outcome played out. Melissa's personal experience with this rollercoaster is relayed clearly, thoughtfully, & with such positive messaging in this book, and I enjoyed joining in the re-living of her journey. Great read by Renee, making it seem like we were there as it all happened.
Now I have to go read...

I pretty much hated this book

Harry,A History holds a unique place in my library. It is the first audiobook I did not finish. Generally if I have difficulty getting through a book it's because of the narration. Not so with this book. It was egotistical, poorly written and had very little to do about the actual "phenomenon" and more to do with the author's work as a webmaster. The author continuously tried to create suspenseful situations by dragging out the point of a story or situation. I couldn't handle it any more. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan but my interest in the books was not enough to keep me going with this book. I have no complaints with the narration, I just really disliked the story.

Spectacular. Very insightful, a tear-jerker and g

spectacular. Very insightful, a tear-jerker and a good extention of the Harry Potter world. Also gave stories to those who were behind the scenes of the whole thing and how they felt about the Harry Potter world. I loved that it told the whole story from start to finish from multiple points of view.