When They Were Boys: The True Story of the Beatles' Rise to the Top

"Larry Kane was the only broadcast journalist to travel with the Beatles on their triumphant 1964 and '65 North American tours.... Combining the results of some deep digging and revealing interviews with those who knew them best, Kane unearths fascinating details from the earliest days of the boys' growing up in hardscrabble Liverpool in the 1950s to the eve of their world conquest in 1964" (Christian Science Monitor). This is the story of the Beatles' harrowing rise to fame: focusing on that seven-year stretch from the time the boys met as teenagers to early 1964, when the Fab Four made their momentous first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. From the boys' humble beginnings in Liverpool, to the cellars of Hamburg, When They Were Boys includes stories never before told, including the heartbreaks and the lucky breaks.
Included are an eyewitness account of that first meeting between Lennon and McCartney, the inside story of how Ringo replaced Pete Best, an exploration of the brilliant but troubled soul of manager Brian Epstein, and the real scoop on their disastrous first visit to Germany and the death of Stu Sutcliffe. With an eye for life in Liverpool during the 50's and 60's and over 65 eyewitness accounts from those closest to the Beatles, Larry Kane brings to life the
evolution of the group that changed music forever.