And in the End

The Last Days of the Beatles

By: Ken McNab

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Ken McNab's in-depth look at the Beatles' acrimonious final year is a detailed account of the breakup featuring the perspectives of all four band members and their roles. A must to add to the collection of Beatles fans, And in the End is full of fascinating information available for the first time.

McNab reconstructs for the first time the seismic events of 1969, when the Beatles reached new highs of creativity and new lows of the internal strife that would destroy them. Between the pressure of being filmed during rehearsals and writing sessions for the documentary Get Back, their company Apple Corps facing bankruptcy, Lennon's heroin use, and musical disagreements, the group was arguing more than ever before, and their formerly close friendship began to disintegrate.

In the midst of this rancor, however, emerged the disharmony of Let It Be and the ragged genius of Abbey Road, their incredible farewell love letter to the world.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Guide to the 100 Best Books of the Year - 2020

A Macmillan Audio production from Thomas Dunne Books

"In And in the End, the Scottish journalist Ken McNab focuses engagingly, and insightfully, on the band’s final year...Mr. McNab’s portrait of the band in its twilight neatly conveys the hazards of fame and the enduring value of youth, talent and a touch of madness.” (Wall Street Journal)

©2020 Ken McNab (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Interesting look into the end of The Greatest Band of Them All

The story itself played out like a strange abstract film, (mostly thanks to John and Yoko) yet it also shows the depth of the relationship that these 4 men had. Their band, their business, (and their brotherhood) was dissolving around them and they had to try to keep up an illusion that things were "business as usual" to keep from destroying their legacies and fortunes. It is frustrating and also depressing at times to see some of the little things that could have helped to soften this inevitable explosion from taking place the way it did. I enjoyed the book overall, and the only negative about it is that the narrator's attempt at American accents is painfully bad! It's also occasionally difficult for me to understand what he's saying in his British accent. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book to all Beatles fans!!

So many reasons why

Good story with insight
Tells how everything started falling apart. So many reasons and hurt egos.

Depressing story, but the author can’t help that.

I grew up with the Beatles and have read many books about them. While this was a depressing listen, that’s because 1969 was a depressing year for the Beatles. The author and narrator just told it like it was, which is good and how it should be handled.

The story could make you think less of the Fab Four individually, but it shouldn’t. These were young men who lost their way after the death of Brian Epstein, and fell into the clutches of people like Allen Klein and Magic Alex. They were so naive, even with the street smarts they learned early on. None of this should take away from the rest of their story, which was about a musical an personal tour-de-force that is unlikely to be repeated in today’s environment of media noise and saturation. It is the stuff legends are made of, but even the characters in legends can be flawed like the rest of us.

You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two

I thought that this was a very interesting “take” on The Beatles last year as a group. I am well versed with Beatle history and found this audiobook to be factual. What I really liked about it was that the author gives us a sequential breakdown of the calendar events of 1969 that led to the final disillusion of the band. Especially interesting to me was the arrival of prospective manager Allen Klein and the author’s analysis of how his contractual actions were the final straw in driving a wedge between The Lads. Also, the added historical significance of certain events, such as the date of the last appearance of all four Beatles together in the studio. My only criticism is I wish the author would have spent a little more time discussing how Paul McCartney recorded and released his first solo album with the DIY press release that led to the press publishing the headline “Paul Quits The Beatles “ and the aftermath of the fan’s reaction. Overall, this is an excellent audiobook and I plan to listen to it again as there is so much understand.

The end of an era

Well told final year of the Beatles. Sad, but a must read for any Beatles fan.