No one expressed the heart and soul of the sixties as powerfully as the Beatles did through the words, images and rhythms of their music. Here, Devin McKinney uncovers the secret history of a generation and a pivotal moment in twentieth-century culture. He reveals how the Beatles enacted the dream life of their time and shows how they embodied a kaleidoscope of desire and anguish for all who listened - hippies or reactionaries, teenage fans or harried parents, Bob Dylan or Charles Manson. The reader will appreciate much of what lay beneath the social trauma of the day. Delving into concerts and interviews, films and music, outtakes and bootlegs, Devin McKinney brings to bear the insights of history, aesthetics, sociology, psychology and mythology to account for the depth and resonance of the Beatles' impact. His book is also a multi-faceted appreciation of the group's artistic achievement, exploring their music as both timeless expression and visceral response to their historical moment. Starting in the cellars of Liverpool and Hamburg, and continuing through the triumph of Beatlemania, the groundbreaking studio albums, and the last brutal thrust of the White Album, "Magic Circles" aims to capture the dream and the reality of four extraordinary musicians and their substance as artists.
