Benefiting from exclusive interviews with the band themselves and key associates, the book was the first to explore the background and inspiration to every U2 song up until 1996. It explains how 'I Will Follow' stemmed from the death of Bono's mother in 1974, the Van Morrison influence that led to 'Promenede', and the long, hard slog that finally led to the production of 'One' in 1991.

The October 1996 cover contains extracts from the full discussion of every song, found in U2: Into The Heart.