"THIS SPIRITUAL, FAST, FUNNY BOOK ABOUT THE BEATLES IS ALMOST INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING" - THE TIMES John Updike likened them to 'the sun rising on an Easter morning' Bob Dylan introduced them to drugs. Leonard Bernstein admired them, Muhammad Ali called them 'little sissies', J.R.R. Tolkien dismissed them, and the Rolling Stones copied them. The Beatles left no one untouched. Craig Brown recounts the lives of the 'Fab Four' with literary finesse, a captivating verve and irresistible wit. One Two Three Four is a brilliant mix of anecdotes, stories and reflections. Craig Brown draws sparks from party lists, diary entries and fan letters, and also uses bizarre details to get to the heart of his story: the actually accidental union of John, Paul, George and Ringo to form the most successful band of all time. The 'Fab Four' conquered the world, created songs in which everyone could find themselves in their own way, and split up when they were all less than thirty years old. Craig Brown brings together a diverse cast of characters from the Beatles' orbit with their sometimes bizarre, sometimes unfortunate stories: from Fred Lennon and Yoko Ono to the legendary Brian Epstein, psychedelic dentist John Riley and infamous detective Norman Pilcher. All of these stories sparkle in their own right - together they tell a captivating and moving tale of a band that changed the world and a feverish, turbulent time. 80th birthday of Paul McCartney on June 18 "The perfect antidote to these times." Julian Barnes, The Guardian "One Two Three Four" won the 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize, the UK's top prize for non-fiction "over 100,000 copies sold in the UK Published in ten countries.