The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz, a review from The Christian Science Monitor by John Kehe.
"If you like your Beatles just as you remember them ? cute and cuddly and dusted with magic ? you might want to avoid this book. Conversely, if you're looking for insights into the flesh-and-blood men behind the mop tops ? warts, peccadilloes, drugs, and all ? then The Beatles: The Biography is your definitive Beatles volume.... At three inches thick and almost 900 pages, it's by no means a quick read, but it's a cracking good one, especially for fans who think they already know the whole story." Read the entire Christian Science Monitor review.