Rating: 
Summary: The best biography ever written on John Lennon.
Review: <P>Being born one year exactly after John Lennons death I could never experience the excitment of the Beatles or John Lennons solo years as it happens. Before the Anthology I never knew who The Beatles were, but ever since then I have loved them and read anything about them I could get my hands on. Because John is my favorite Beatle I have read the most about him and thought I knew almost everything about him. Then I read Ray Coleman's Biography and learned many new fascenating things about him.
Rating:
Summary: LENNON SAVES
Review: as a big Beatles fan, i can only say that this book was the most wonderfully written one I read in a long time. John will always be with us in our thoughts, dreams, memories, and of course his MUSIC. The book revives his personal life before, during, and after his Beatle years, ending tragically on December 8th (4 days after I was born) 1980. Those great things he left with us are the reason we remember him, his fabulous art of music, and everything else about him. Ray Coleman's account is a joy for numerous fans who didn't get a chance to live in the same time period as John, and all the others who miss him miss him miss him...............
Rating:
Summary: Definately definitive
Review: As a great fan of John Lennon, eventhough I'm too young to really know about the 60's and 70's, I must say that (thanks to Ray Coleman) I get a feeling of what was going on at that time. This book is wonderfully liberated from "we whom know as we were all into it". Ray Coleman describes a complex artist and throws the light on him without respect without being too impersonal. As a journalist myself (for a small local paper in Sweden though) I do appreciate the way he presents such a famous man. Coleman seems to be one of the closest journalists, though he is the first to admit that "nobody but aunt Mimi and maybe Yoko was really close to him). In other words, he doesn't claim to be an expert. He leaves a lot to the reader and since I now know more about his (John Lennon's) personal life it's even greater to listen to Beatles and Lennon again. //Anna Tidqvist
Rating: 
Summary: Probably the best bio out there
Review: Aside from being one of the best musicians in the history of rock and roll, John Lennon was also a philosopher and an activist, and while so many modern day activist/musicians seem to lack credibility, if not to be downright charlatans, Lennon seemed to deeply believe in what he was doing, and made serious use of his fame as a tool for social good. And, as I say, he was a phenomenal musician. This bio is one of many that have been written about the former Beatle, and it is, in my opinion, the best. The volume chronicles Lennon's early life and spends a substantial amount of space delving into the triumphs and conflicts of the Fab Four. You come away grasping much of the complexity that made Lennon such a prolific musician, but also what drove him to want to better the world. Coleman's intimacy with Lennon shines through the book. It is a must for any Beatle's fan.
Rating:
Summary: Definitive account of the late great Beatle.
Review: Coleman's book is loaded with fascinating detail of John's pre-Beatle days - must read for true fans. The insight this provides into his rebelious attitude, humour, and music makes this the best Lennon bio out there...period.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a good read but....
Review: I have read about 2-3 john lennon books in my teens and my first was the fred seamen one, he was his personal assistant from 1978-80,I have to say it ripped my hard days night cheeky chappy view of lennon apart.He showed the real sad,lonely,victim of his own mouth john lennon. He showed how really the most loudmouth, in yer face,"I don`t care what you think" speaker of the 20th century was the most unconfident and lowkey. He also told us how yoko ono was this money grabbin`,cold, divorce timing expert, but then again she is after all suing the guy for some unknown reason so maybe he wants to get back at her. I then read RAY COLEMANS version, a version that is the most "unrealistic" it shows lennon to be this fantastic hero sent to earth to stop all hate and show us how to be. Theres 2 ways to look at it, his sources were Yoko, and other "close family" members.Now they would either tell a true sight of lennon or they would protect him? "£$%^ Albert Goldman now that one is very sick , I`d stick with the COLEMAN one if your into peace and love but not if your into the truth! Buy it though he`s a very good writer!
Rating:
Summary: Best Lennon Biography Ever Written!
Review: I have read many Lennon biographies, but none of them compared to this one. The late Ray Coleman proves that he knew John Lennon at the best and worst times of Lennon's life. Coleman does a good job by including postcards John sent him. Instead of getting the same Beatles information that you can find in many other books. You get in-depth information, such as the time John had to choose between his mother and father, his hand-written love letters to his first wife (Cynthia), the price he paid for being a Beatle, his struggle with fatherhood, drug abuse, possible depotration and the F.B.I. I first read this book over the summer of '96 and I have read it many times since then. I highly recommend this book for Lennon fans or anybody who wants to know about John Lennon the man. END
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Biography of John Lennon
Review: I loved this book. I really did. Ray Coleman has written an objective, factual account of the late Beatle. To his credit, Mr. Coleman does not languish during John's years as a Beatle; on the other hand, Coleman's book picks up steam and speed after the Beatle years have been explored. Ray Coleman has plainy done his homework. This work is well researched and explores the psyche and personality of John Lennon in all his humanity. He does not make John to be anything other than human; he does not hammer home the point that as a human John had feet of clay; he does not enlarge John beyond his own artistic talents. The passages concerning John's murder in 1980 are handled in a factual and tasteful manner. Coleman has done a good job in tracing the movements of John's assassin and the series of horrible events that culminated in John's untimely death. This book will certainly leave readers with much to think about and has something to offer everybody.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For Any Lennon Fan
Review: I loved this book. I all of my reading about the Beatles and John Lennon himself, this one told me the most. I had spent the last four months reading a different Lennon book, that was even smaller then this one, and I think I read "Lennon" in about two weeks. It was so much easier to read and Coleman wrote it beautifully. From the start "Lennon" was a book that I never wanted to put down. I think I even read it twice, it was so good. This book is guarenteed to make to laugh, cry, and maybe even curse when you hear about the treatment John recieved during his lifetime. From his tragic childhood, to the Beatles, to Yoko, to Sean and his awful death in 1980, you will love and maybe even understand John a little better than before. This is one of the greatest biography book ever published and ever will be published for that matter. It's a must read for any Lennon fan out there, young and old
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Biography of John Lennon
Review: I loved this book. I really did. Ray Coleman has written an objective, factual account of the late Beatle. To his credit, Mr. Coleman does not languish during John's years as a Beatle; on the other hand, Coleman's book picks up steam and speed after the Beatle years have been explored. Ray Coleman has plainy done his homework. This work is well researched and explores the psyche and personality of John Lennon in all his humanity. He does not make John to be anything other than human; he does not hammer home the point that as a human John had feet of clay; he does not enlarge John beyond his own artistic talents. The passages concerning John's murder in 1980 are handled in a factual and tasteful manner. Coleman has done a good job in tracing the movements of John's assassin and the series of horrible events that culminated in John's untimely death. This book will certainly leave readers with much to think about and has something to offer everybody.
|
