This is not merely a biography of The Beatles but a unique and vividly personal, first-hand account by a Liverpool-born author who knew John, Paul, George and Ringo as friends throughout the height of their fame. As The Beatles' Press Officer, he worked within the group's closest circle for six breakneck years during the Beatlemania era of the Sixties. Few were closer to The Beatles than Tony Barrow, and here, for the first time, he holds a mirror up to the Fab Four and offers his own insider's perspective on that four-way dynamic that spawned the greatest pop group the world has ever seen.

John, Paul, George & Ringo minutely traces the meteoric rise of the Beatles from 1960 to 1970, with detailed timelines of their day-to-day activities, fascinating photographs (many exceedingly rare), penetrating biographies of everyone associated with the spread of Beatlemania, and contemporary excerpts from London’s influential Daily Mail. This exhaustive record, which closely follows the four young lads as they rose from Liverpool obscurity to become universally acknowledged titans of pop music, is the most comprehensive account of the history of the Beatles ever published.

A gift set containing four books which document each of the Beatles' solo career and life after the iconic rock group disbanded.

The national bestseller that Newsday called “the most authoritative and candid look yet at the personal lives…of the oft-scrutinized group,” from the author of All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words. In The Love You Make, Peter Brown, a close friend of and business manager for the band—and the best man at John and Yoko’s wedding—presents a complete look at the dramatic offstage odyssey of the four lads from Liverpool who established the greatest music phenomenon of the twentieth century. Written with the full cooperation of each of the group’s members and their intimates, this book tells the inside story of the music and the madness, the feuds and the drugs, the marriages and the affairs—from the greatest heights to the self-destructive depths of the Fab Four. In-depth and definitive, The Love You Make is an astonishing account of four men who transformed the way a whole generation of young people thought and lived. It reigns as the most comprehensive, revealing biography available of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Includes 32 pages of rare and revealing photos A Literary Guild® Alternate Selection

A BOSTON GLOBE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • With unwavering humanity and light-footed humor, this intimate account of the interminable year of 2020 offers commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic, protests for racial justice, the U.S. presidential election, and more, all with a miraculous dose of groundedness in head-spinning times. "This book is so funny and so true. Charles Finch unpacks a year of plague, fear, shameless venality, and dizzying stupidity with an irrepressible wit and surgically precise cultural observations. I didn't know how badly I needed exactly this. Maybe you do too?" —Joe Hill, author of Heart-Shaped Box In March 2020, at the request of the Los Angeles Times, Charles Finch became a reluctant diarist: As California sheltered in place, he began to write daily notes about the odd ambient changes in his own life and in the lives around him. The result is What Just Happened. In a warm, candid, welcoming voice, and in the tradition of Woolf and Orwell, Finch brings us into his own world: taking long evening walks near his home in L.A., listening to music, and keeping virtual connections with friends across the country as they each experience the crisis. And drawing on his remarkable acuity as a cultural critic, he chronicles one endless year with delightful commentary on current events, and the things that distract him from current events: Murakami’s novels, reality television, the Beatles. What Just Happened is a work of empathy and insight, at once of-the-moment and timeless—a gift from one of our culture's most original thinkers.

Profiles the individual and collective careers of the rock music group that made a phenomenal impact on the popular music world in the 1960's.

The Beatles were a British rock band formed in Liverpool, England in 1960, consisting of John Lennon, James Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ritchie Starkey. They are widely regarded as the greatest and most influential band of the rock era. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as Beatlemania. From 1965 onwards, The Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The White Album (1968) and Abbey Road (1969). They eventually disbanded in 1970, and John, Paul and George and to a somewhat lesser extent Ringo, enjoyed successful musical careers on their own and with others. According to statistics from the RIAA, The Beatles are the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 177 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other musical act in the world. In 2008, the group topped Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful "Hot 100" artists. As of 2014, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty. Most people know that part of their story but not many know the conspiracy theory which has shadowed them for nearly fifty years. Proponents of that theory claim that Lennon, Harrison, Starr and their manager Epstein were also involved in the biggest cover-up in rock and roll history when they conspired, with others, to conceal from the general public, the death of their most popular member, bass guitarist James Paul McCartney and replaced him with an impostor. It may seem utterly preposterous but in 2009 two eminent Italian scientists conducted a forensic examination of the pre-1966 McCartney and post-1966 McCartney and determined that it was highly unlikely that Sir Paul McCartney is the original Beatle James Paul McCartney. This book examines the documentary evidence upon which this theory is based, including over one hundred hidden messages about the death deliberately left by The Beatles themselves in their album covers, lyrics and in backword masking. As Heather Mills McCartney said on national TV: "Something so awful happened. People don't want to know what the truth is because they could never ever handle it, they'd be too devastated." Prepare to be shocked as we unravel the greatest rock and roll mystery ever. But before reading, ask yourself one question: Can you handle the truth?

A unique insight into the friendship between the members of the Beatles through postcards sent to Ringo from John, Paul and George. Sensationally presented, this book features 53 postcards sent by John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney to Ringo Starr. The superb facsimile reproductions of the cards, complete with the occasional drawing, depict both the spontaneous wit and art of the Beatles. The reproduction of the postcards is supplemented by revealing text from Ringo explaining the meaning behind the cards and documenting the corresponding moments in his life. This visually stunning and intriguing book is, quite simply, a must-have for anyone interested in the story of the Beatles phenomenon.

It is October of 1963, and after years of hard work and obscurity, the Beatles’ music fame has begun in earnest, and with that fame comes success that no one in music has ever achieved before. Under the guidance of their devoted manager, Brian Epstein, their eminence and adoration have taken possession of the news media and persuaded minds in government. The days of their lives have become synonymous with adventure. But because of an Oxford professor’s desire for power, another kind of adventure transforms the Beatles’ lives forever. With the help of their loyal manager they must keep their new secret from even their closest relatives, friends and fans.