The break up of the Beatles, arguably the most famous band of the 20th century, has been observed in many ways in the past, and will be for generations to come. Yet there will still always be something mysterious about why and how the Beatles came apart the way they did, in so much rancour and avarice. John Lennon always referred to the band's end as 'a divorce', but that was simply how he justified his own leave-taking. In this thought-provoking, sensitively researched new book, music journalist Mikal Gilmore concludes that what actually happened was something different and worse than divorce: the Beatles' end was an accident, a manoeuvre by John Lennon that went horribly wrong. Gilmore weaves together the stories of the four men who changed the face of popular music, exploring the painful impact the band had on each of them as they strained against each other. Drawing on decades of research and interviews, Gilmore paints a vivid, disturbing, and insightful picture of the end of the Beatles.