Includes bibliographical references (p. [948]-958, discography (p. [959]-961), and index.

A proper upbringing -- The messiah arrives -- Muscle and sinew -- The showman -- A simple twist of fête -- The missing links -- A good little sideshow -- The college band -- Chalk and cheese -- Moondogs and Englishmen -- Hit the road : Jac -- Baptism by fire -- A revelation to behold -- Mr. X -- A gigantic leap of faith -- The road to London -- Do the right thing -- Starr time -- A touch of the Barnum & Bailey -- Dead chuffed -- The jungle drums -- Kings of the jungle -- So this is beatlemania -- Once upon a time in America -- Tomorrow never knows -- In the eye of a hurricane -- Lennon and McCartney to the rescue -- Into the cosmic consciousness -- Just sort of a freak show -- A storm in a tea cup -- A very freaky experience -- The summer of love -- From bad to worse -- An additional act -- Goodbye to the boys in the band! -- Disturbing the peace -- And in the end.

Even before the Beatles hit the big time, a myth was created. The Beatles legend smoothed the rough edges and filled in the fault lines, and for more than forty years this manicured version of the Beatles story has sustained as truth--until now. This biography is the product of almost a decade of research, hundreds of unprecedented interviews, and the discovery of scores of never-before-revealed documents.