It's safe to say Bruce Spizer is a leading authority on the Beatles (he did write the questions and answers for the Beatles edition of Trivial Pursuit, after all), and his many histories of the band are always jam-packed with rare photos and ephemera. Originally published for their 40th anniversary, this one covers the Beatles' phenomenal first visit to the United States and what led up to their arrival on February 7, 1964. Spizer reveals why Capitol Records turned down the group four times, how two small labels (Vee-Jay and Swan) tried to sell their records in 1963 when Beatlemania was only a "fad" in Britain, and how the Fab Four got booked for The Jack Paar Program, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Carnegie Hall.