AND IN THE END

A look at the downfall of the Beatles.

In this dutiful but not particularly revealing biography of the band’s final year, Scottish journalist McNab delivers some entertaining stories but fails to bring much new to the discussion. Although he wisely chooses to focus on a single year—1969, the Beatles’ last as a cohesive unit—his book operates too much in the shadow of Peter Doggett’s You Never Give Me Your Money (2010), a history of the band’s finances. Doggett sees 1969 as important for a host of reasons, not least as a precursor for what one might call the Beatles’ afterlife, which continued for decades in the form of the business the four members shared. McNab is far less wide-ranging in his analysis, and the division of the text into 12 chapters, one for each month, constrains the narrative chronologically. Certainly, there’s logic in the decision: 1969 was a key year for the Beatles, not just because it marked their dissolution, but also because they continued to make superior music, culminating with Abbey Road. Throughout, the author tracks events that have been recorded elsewhere. To be fair, this is not without its charms; no matter how many times we have heard these stories, it’s always fun to read about, say, how the rooftop concert at the Beatles’ offices took shape. “Researching a subject like The Beatles requires you to combine the dexterity of a rock ’n’ roll detective with the patience of a jigsaw compiler,” writes the author. “It is a layer cake of intrigue, complexities and contradictions—one where stories have become myths, and myths have become legend. And quite frankly, it’s a massive undertaking to piece together the overall picture, even for a fan like myself.” The author’s patience is clear, but the final product is a middling contribution to Beatles scholarship.

A book that feels warmed over, dependent on material that any serious fan will already know.