Apple to the Core: The Unmaking of the Beatles,

Although the narrative is a bit uneven, this book provides a lot of details on the Beatles' disintegration from a legal and business perspective. It was, after all, a legal and business breakup rather than an artistic hiatus. The analysis and insights are very good because the book was written nearly contemporaneously with the breakup. As such, the authors spoke with most of the main players: Allen Klein, John Lennon, John Eastman, Lee Eastman, Neil Aspinal, Derek Taylor, Clive Epstein, investment bankers, etc. They also poured over the court documents from Paul's lawsuit. The analysis is helped by the fact that one of the author's was pursuing an MBA and had a good undestanding of the contested stock deals involved with Northern Songs, NEMS, etc. Hopefully someone will republish this important little book. If you want to understand the Beatles and their breakup, you really have no choice, get this book!

This book puts all the rumors to rest on why the Beatles split up. No, it wasn't Yoko that did it -- although she didn't help matters any. No, it wasn't Paul and the Eastman's -- although they added fuel to the fire. And, no, it wasn't Allen Klein. It was Apple Records.The Beatles were recording artists, not businessmen. This book points out how the Beatles let their artistic tastes interfer with running a company. Moreover, the book discusses how the Beatles attempted to swat away hostile takeovers. This book suggests that because the Beatles got caught up in corporate politics, business ventures, and other financial endeavors, they lost touch with the art that made them famous. This became evident when Paul McCartney clandestinely purchased stock in the Beatles' businesses. Hence, McCartney got controlling interest. This started the mistrust among the Beatles. Here, at Apple Corps, is where the friendship among the four Beatles started to fall apart. By the time the Beatles started to record the tracks to Abbey Road / Let it Be in January, 1969; their friendship hit rock bottom. Yoko's pressence just fanned the flames of mistrust. The book also points out that recording artists should leave the management of their recording companies to professionals. In Apple's case, the Beatles picked their friends to run the business for them. Unfortunately, their friends weren't oriented toward business. In essence, Apple was a business endeavor doomed to failure from the start. No doubt about it; Apple Records was rotten to the core. Poor management, less than honest employees, and false friends eventually ran Apple to the ground. Unfortunately, these same three causes of Apple's failure also became the very core reason why the Beatles broke up.