A compendium of the year's milestone stories and watershed events in popular culture and politics. This year alone saw The Beatles' first No 1, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, the BBC's launch of Doctor Who, the Great Train Robbery, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley begin operating, the Profumo Affair rocks politics, Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman in space, the coldest winter since 1740, James Bond becomes an international phenomenon, 70,000 protest against nuclear weapons in London, Harold Wilson is elected, onset of "new politics" and satire, and the assassination of JFK. Arranged in a chronological, month-by-month format, 1963: The Year That Was pieces together these happenings, exploring their immediate and long-term effects and implications.