John Lennon: The Life

In JOHN LENNON: THE LIFE, Author Philip Norman has complied possibly the most complete, concise, honest and forthright biography of the late John Lennon to date. And it saddens me that Yoko couldn't bring herself to endorse it because, as she said, "He was mean to John." That may be the most telling aspect of the whole ordeal. For, if anything, it was John himself who was most mean to John - and nearly everyone else. Even the most casual Beatles fan knows that. And Yoko was, in many ways, his facilitator. In others, the mother figure he never truly experienced. Nonetheless, from his early childhood to Quarry Bank, to Beatlemania and well beyond - until the day of his tragic murder - Philip Norman covers it all in exacting detail, straight from the mouths of John Lennon's family, friends, and closest confidants. And all the names and footnotes are laid out for all the whole to see. So, to that end I say, "Bravo Mr. Norman!" You've taken on one of the most beloved and controversial figures of the 20th Century, laid him bare, raised him up, praised him where deserving, and - not really criticized - but shown us all just how complicated, confused and conflicted this self proclaimed "Working Class Hero" could be. In doing so you've painted a picture of a man with parental & authority issues, who never quite grew up, yet managed to reach heights never before scaled by anyone in his chosen profession. A man full of insecurities and paranoia. A drug addict. Sex addict. And God only knows what else. And yet he managed to author some of the most endearing, inspiring, tender, and meaningful songs of his time. And despite all his flaws, bared to the world for decades now, he remains beloved by untold millions still. You've taken the story of this complicated man, and told it in a straightforward, unapologetic fashion. Told his story, good, bad and otherwise - warts & glory - in a manner easy for anyone to understand and relate to. And done a fine job of it sir. And John Lennon fans everywhere (this one included) are forever in your debt.

Fifteen years ago, in the nascent stages of my Beatles super-fandom, I read Philip Norman's band biography Shout!. I didn't much like it. While it was readable and imprinted the band's basic career arc into my head, I balked at Norrman's snide tone and his questionable musical judgment, which seemed biased against every Beatle who wasn't John Lennon. Even worse, while Norman got the facts right, he provided almost no sense of who John, Paul, George, and Ringo were as people. Shout! was the story of four caricatures, some music they made, and lots of business dealings. All of this is to say that I approached Norman's biography of John Lennon with skepticism. Looking back, some of it was warranted. Norman can still be judgmental, with nary a good word to say about George Harrison; and he retains some odd opinions about pop culture. To his credit, he's changed his view of Paul McCartney, no longer holding it against him that he isn't John Lennon. Despite Norman's shortcomings and quirks, I finished the book impressed with his improvement as a biographer. And whatever the book's flaws, I devoured it with the same eager enthusiasm that I normally reserve for detective novels and television shows. I still disagree with some of his music criticism, but at least he's realized in the last 30 years that "Can't Buy Me Love" is a good song. Maybe in another decade or two, he'll even come around to the merits of George Harrison. Sadly, in the service of telling a zippy and engaging tale, Norman leaves out many of the details - as well as a bibliography and even footnotes - that might have marked a major work of scholarship. Consequently, we're often left with a gauzy view of John's adventures, jumping from Greatest Hit to Greatest Hit, lucky that John happened to have 800 pages' worth of them. This is particularly maddening when Norman gives short shrift to some of the more significant figures in John's life. In particular, we learn almost nothing about John's first wife Cynthia and his son Julian. Yes, John was a neglectful husband and father; but as Cynthia's excellent autobiography illustrated, there's a story to tell about that side of John's life. May Pang is similarly dispensed with, as are Pete Shotton and the myriad assistants who shared John's life at the Dakota. Sometimes the lack of detail even frustrates Norman's narrative. It's never made fully clear why Yoko sent John on his early-seventies "lost weekend"; or what caused him to settle down so definitively in the last five years of his life. Things just happen, quite entertainingly, and then other things happen, and on and on. Norman relies on a small number of sources, but to his credit, he goes deep with them - especially Yoko Ono, who provides invaluable insight into her husband, and whose own complex story is respectfully related. One of Norman's most interesting finds is a teenage girl who struck up a correspondence with John's Aunt Mimi, whose letters provide a unique perspective on our hero. Still, it's hard not to wonder what a biographer with the commitment of Mark Lewisohn might do with John's story - especially given that Lewisohn's magisterial Tune In managed to be both dense and compulsively readable. The details of John Lennon's life matter, and one day they will hopefully fill heavier books than this one. At the same time, Norman managed to paint as vivid a picture of John Lennon as I've ever come across. The star of Norman's story shines brightly from beginning to end, thanks to stories from his friends, his own quotes, and the author's own deft insights into what made him tick. We see John at his charming best, and at his violent, destructive worst. We see a deadbeat father whose music made millions happy, and a fickle political activist whose whose enthusiasm inspired countless good works. We see a controlling, all-consuming narcissist who brought introspection and lacerating honesty to popular music, and whose piercing takes on himself led so many people to better understand themselves. Norman shows us an angry young man who, at one point or another, viciously and needlessly alienated everybody who loved him; and a magnetic personality whose charm and energy drew them all back, again and again. Perhaps most importantly, Norman makes clear that John Lennon was one of the most fascinating public figures of the twentieth century. Impressively, he does this by stepping back and letting John's life speak for itself, with a minimum of editorializing. When John was cut down, Yoko, Sean, Julian, and John's fellow Beatles lost an irreplaceable figure in their lives; and, perhaps most frustratingly, John himself lost the peaceful, happy, and stable future he'd spent his last few years fighting to build. But it was always John's gift to reach further and move as many people as he could; and most of us have indeed been affected by his life and music. Norman's evocative book makes it clearer than ever how much we all lost that night in 1980.

un merveille - même pour quelqu'un qui pensais de connaître l'histoire de la vie de Lennon - je ne connaissais pas - les details sont surprenants et il est très bien écrit

This book seems in my opinion like a great and true book about johns life it tell everything perfect anf all the story’s and everything, it’s just sweet sad and also funny in some way. Perfect book for perfect Lennon fans!

John Lennon was a great composer and a decent musician, but he was quite a difficult person. This book helped me understand his complex character. This biography is very well documented and written. I highly recommend it to any serious Beatles fans.

Livro muitíssimo importante para conhecer sobre a vida desse estupendo artista.

Quick and easy to buy but received Book and it's fairly weathered. Not in new condition at all. Disappointing