"We're Going to See the Beatles!  An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There" was published in April of 2008 by Santa Monica Press.

      It is the first illustrated oral history of those American teenagers who, in the mid-1960s, attended Beatles concerts, kept scrapbooks, listened endlessly to their transistor radios, and followed the group’s every move as the Beatles changed the world of rock music. It revisits that era via those very fans whom I have found across the country using a variety of means.

      Their vivid and entertaining personal recollections are carefully and precisely arranged chronologically, according to the events being discussed. The result is a true reconstruction of that exciting era, complete with fascinating personal photos placing the reader right in the middle of Beatlemania, side-by-side with the original fans.  Legendary concert promoter Sid Bernstein, who organized the Beatles' Shea Stadium and Carnegie Hall concerts, has contributed the foreword, and Mark Lapidos, creator and producer of The Fest For Beatles Fans, also shares his memories as a young fan.

      "We're Going to See the Beatles!", as it documents a unique period in the lives of this generation, benefits from the participants’ hindsight and life experience as they re-create—with considerable humor, and even passion—what it was like to have their young lives turned upside down by the biggest rock group of all time.

       At the 2008 Fest for Beatles Fans in New Jersey, several of the book's contributors participated in panel discussions about their Beatle memories.

What they’ve said about We're Going to See the Beatles!:

"In this remarkably personal oral history of the Beatles in America, author and fan Berman (Best of the Britcoms: From Fawlty Towers to Absolutely Fabulous) tracked down 42 individuals from all over the country who cheered the Beatles at New York's JFK airport when they first landed in America, sat in "The Ed Sullivan Show" audience for the Beatles' live television debut, waited in line for hours (repeatedly) to see "A Hard Day's Night", and attended concerts during the group's three chaotic U.S. tours. Bridging their tales with breezy narration, Berman succinctly recounts the Beatles' entire history, from 1963 through the solo years and the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison. Though some of them have lapsed in their Beatle fanaticism, all of Berman's subjects realize the significance of their experiences and relate them with gusto. As put by Dale Ford, who saw the Beatles three times in San Franciso, including their final gig, "I was thinking to myself, 'Dale, savor this moment.  This is gonna down in history.' And it did."---Publisher's Weekly

"Required reading--Lifelong Fab Four fan Berman doesn't delve into Beatles archives or grill countless insiders and hangers-on.  He writes from the outside looking in, interviewing fans for their stories.  We find what it was like to try and sneak into the Plaza when The Beatles stayed there, how they played on Ed Sullivan's stage, what it sounded like at Shea Stadium."---New York Post

"Overall this reader quite enjoyed 'We're Going To See the Beatles.'  It gave me a chance to live a day in the life of a "real" Beatles fan who had the opportunity to experience the Beatles firsthand.  I could feel the excitement of the girls getting ready for a concert and wanted to scream along when they first laid eyes on the boys coming onto the stage at Shea Stadium.  I will forever be envious.  So for the second generation fans like myself or the first generation fans who want to relive the mania, I highly recommend this nicely written and well told book."---Daytrippin' Magazine

"For the most part, Berman keeps his own memories and opinions to himself, preferring instead to let the fans who where there at the time, caught up in the moment and experiencing the 'mania' first hand, tell the story.  Berman moves things along by taking on almost a 'narrator' role, introducing each phase of the Beatles' well-documented career, with more of a 'tour guide' approach.  He ties each chapter around comments from the fans who were living in the moment of Beatlemania.  It's a fascinating look into what life was like back then, discovering the phenomena that nobody could have ever foreseen would last (and continue to flourish) for so many generations to come"---Forgotten Hits

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