Summer of love

Books: Forty years ago Beatlemania peaked | Matthew P. Ristuccia

We're already hearing a lot about The Beatles during this 40th anniversary of the haplessly-called "Summer of Love." With the June 1967 debut of the era-defining album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the simulcast that month of their single All You Need Is Love, John, Paul, George, and Ringo were the reigning princes of pop psychedelia.

Such hoopla should not be lost on Christians, especially if we take seriously the call to understand "the times" (1 Chronicles 12:32). The recent release of two books about The Beatles affords an opportunity to know our times today by doing some Christian cultural analysis of yesterday—the '60s. After all, even ardent despisers of Sergeant Pepper cannot deny the enduring influence of The Beatles on contemporary culture.