Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction
Chapter OneChapter Two
The Scene at the "Jac" * Stu Sutcliffe * Baby George Harrison Joins the Beat Scene * Johnny and the Moondogs on the Circuit * Hamburg, a Sexual Disneyland * Johnny and the Moondogs Become the Beatles * Return to Liverpool and a New Professionalism
Chapter Three
Brian Epstein: A Stranger in a Strange Land * Brian Discovers the Beatles * Brian Smitten * Under New Management: The Big Image Change * The Recording Contract * Cynthia's Desperate Play * John Marries Cynthia
Chapter Four
Pete Best Forever-Ringo Never * Richard Starkey's Bit Part * "From Me to You" * The NEMS Stable Begins * Julian Lennon Is Born * Brian and John Tryst in Spain * Paul Meets Jane Asher * Ringo Meets Maureen Cox
Chapter Five
London: Sunday Night at the Palladium and the Royal Command Performance * Brian to New York * The Beatles and Company Move to London
Chapter Six
An American Beachhead: The Ed Sullivan Show * The Seltaeb Fiasco
Chapter Seven
Swinging London * A Hard Day's Night * George Meets Pattie Boyd * ohn In His Own Write * Brian's Cellarful of Noise * Paul's Pocketful of Lawsuits
Chapter Eight
The Bon Voyage Party * First American Assault * Bob Dylan and the Great Turn-On * Nat Weiss * Brian Blows a Fuse
Chapter Nine
Kenwood * Ringo Becomes a Daddy * Help and the Great Tax Dodge * Have a Sugar Cube * NEMS Branches Out * The Saville Theater * Brian's Discontent: Enter Dizz * The Beatles at the Palace
Chapter Ten
Aunt Mimi Gets a House * The Second American Tour * The L.A. Acid Trip * Dizz Gets a Car
Chapter Eleven
Splitting Up the Pie * From Black and White to Color: Rubber Soul and Revolver * Tokyo and Manila: Terror on the Road * Brian's Balance Tips * The "Bigger than Jesus" Scandal * The Beatles' Third American National Tour * Dizz Gillespie's Coup de Grace
Chapter Twelve
The Four-headed Hydra * John's Discontent * On the Loose in London * Magic Alex * John Meets Yoko Ono * Brian's Downhill Slide * The Stigwood Deal
Chapter Thirteen
Paul Discovers America * Brian's Sleepless Sleepcure * Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band * The Arrival of Linda Eastman * The Kingsley Hill Acid Party * The Haight-Ashbury Hate Trip * The Beatles Go Greek * The Beatles Go India: Introducing the Maharishi * The Final Demise of Brian Epstein
Chapter Fourteen
The Magical Mystery Tour * The Seeds of Apple * From Here to the Himalayas: The Untold Story of Rishikesh * Escape from India * John's Confession D'Amour
Chapter Fifteen
Yoko in the Limelight * A Messy Divorce * John and Yoko Retreat: The Heroin Days * Paul McCartney's Black and White Minstrel Show * Jane Asher Makes a Nasty Discovery * The Apple Pie: A Piece for Everyone * The White Album
Chapter Sixteen
Targets of the People: John and Yoko on the Cross * Two Virgins * Won't You Please Let It Be
Chapter Seventeen
Eastman and Eastman Meet the Beatles * Allen Klein Meets the Beatles and Eastman and Eastman * The NEMS Battle * The Setup of Pattie and George * John and Yoko's Quickie Wedding * Peace: The Amsterdam Bed-in * A Call to Arms: The Northern Songs Battle * The Only Winner Is Klein
Chapter Eighteen
The Power of Publicity: John and Yoko Go Public * "Cold Turkey" * Toronto Rock and Roll Festival * John Off the Edge * In Pursuit of Peace and Kyoko in Denmark * John Discovers Dr. Janov * John and Yoko Discover L.A. * Paul Is Dead but Alive and Well in Scotland * McCartney, Abbey Road and Let It Be * And in the End
Chapter Nineteen
George, Ringo, and Paul-From Then Till Now
Chapter Twenty
The Search for Kyoko * John and Yoko Discover New York * John and the White House Follies * Uncle Sam Wants You Out * Paranoia Runs Deep * The L.A. Lost Weekend: 18 Months in Hell * Together Again
Chapter Twenty-One
The Househusband Years: John as a Father * The Dakota Hermitage * The Big Comeback: Starting Over * Mark David Chapman * The Spirit of Yoko Ono
Index

Cynthia Lennon's Rude Awakening * Romance Blooms in Liverpool * John Lennon's Childhood: Double Desertion * Aunt Mimi and Mendips * The Skiffle Craze * John Meets Paul McCartney * Paul as a Young Boy

About the Author

Peter Brown was Executive Director of NEMS Enterprises, the Beatles' management company, and maintains a close relationship with the surviving Beatles.

Steven Gaines is the author of Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons; Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys, and other books, and numerous articles on pop culture.

Reviews

"Finally the real story."-Rolling Stone "Literate, complex...more than sensationalism...a hard-hitting yet sympathetic book that unflinchingly captures the highs and lows."-The Boston Globe "The best backstage memoir yet of the most amazing musical phenomenon of our times."-The Washington Post Book World "The definitive book on the Beatles."-New York Post "Beatles aficionados will be amazed by the wealth of detail, the questions answered, and the tale of what happened to the Beatles, their women, their children, and their friends."-Liz Smith, New York Daily News "Leaves the reader tearing through it as though one didn't know how the story ended."-San Francisco Examiner "A gothic tale of drugs, sex, music, greed, booze, and genius...an entire generation's loss of innocence."-People "Fascinating."-The Indianapolis Star "The most sensational Beatles biography...emotionally involving."-Esquire "The definitive book on the world's greatest rock group...tells the truth with surprisingly little varnish."-Chicago Tribune "A dramatically good story....Peter Brown catches us with the headiness of it all."-Publishers Weekly