Come Together: Lennon and McCartney in the Seventies

The never-before-told story of how the Beatles nearly reunited.

Although it wasn't made official until an announcement from Paul McCartney in 1970, The Beatles--the most influential rock band of the 20th century--spent most of the late 1960s breaking up. The split was marked my animosity and acrimony, with pointed conflict, in particular, between the groups two most prolific songwriters, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Lennon left the band in 1969, and the '70s were marked by public feuding as the band members embarked on solo careers.

Beatles fans know the '70s as a bitter time, with Lennon and McCartney making pointed and hurtful comments about each other, both in recorded songs (Lennon's "How Do You Sleep," is particularly nasty) and public comments. Lawsuits proliferated, as did an explosive correspondence between McCartney and his wife Linda, and Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono.

But most fans don't know that McCartney and Lennon nearly renewed their creative alliance in the aftermath of the Beatles breakup, and were close to putting aside their difference and reuniting. Come Together is a compelling account of a crucial period in post-'60s Beatles history, providing a new look at the Lennon-McCartney relationship from an entirely new perspective, emphasizing the efforts these larger-than-life rock stars made to overcome their enmity. It also offers fresh insight on the musical ambitions and personal motivations for renewing a creative alliance that so nearly happened but was thwarted by circumstances beyond their control.