Includes bibliographical references (p. 377-380) and index

First words: Present day/violent past -- Stirrings : The milkman ; Inspiration, perspiration, and admiration ; Paul: yesterday -- Fever : See you at the Jac ; Pen pal #1: Bill Harry ; He was just seventeen -- Across the Sea : Hamburg, part 1: The wild side ; Breakthrough at Litherland ; The life and death of Stuart Sutcliffe ; Hamburg part 2: "Love me do" ; The fearsome foursome ; Forgotten friend: Hurricane Rory -- Where were you in '61? : Nineteen steps to heaven ; The prince of Mathew Street ; The poll ; Tower of power ; Bob Wooler: "Can you dig it" ; Brian Epstein: Silky soft whispers in the dark -- Turning points : "Mean, moody, magnificent" -- Pete Best ; The Decca disaster ; On the poor side of town: Hurricane Ringo ; Triumph at Parlophone -- Secrets to success : Bands on the run ; Secret-agent girls ; The boys of the road ; The makeover -- New Year's Day : Music stampede: A story of two countries ; Barrow on the beat ; Pen pal #2: Derek Taylor ; Momentum with a royal and foreign touch ; A December to remember: the end or the beginning?

Never before told stories of the Beatles seven-year rise from teenage dreamers to icons, both the heartbreaks and lucky breaks. From their humble beginnings in Liverpool to the cellars of Hamburg, this includes an eyewitness account of that first meeting between Lennon and McCartney, the inside story of how Ringo replaced Pete Best, a chapter devoted to the brilliant but troubled soul of manager Brian Epstein, the real scoop on their unlucky first visit to Hamburg and the death of Stu Sutcliffe