Lennon : Definitive Biography, The

Rating:
Summary: Great table book!
Review: i think it is a very good book but that it ignores the dark side goldman might have written a bad book but coleman wrote a too good book i think it santifies a man who was just a man i think coleman looks at john with love in his eyes but overall it is better than goldman's character assasination

Rating:
Summary: a witty genius
Review: I think Ray Coleman gave an in-depth approach to writing this book. He didn't attack John Lennon in any way, he just told facts. He talks a lot about John as a teenager, a star, a father, and a husband. This book was well written and insightful. At times it did get very tedious, but nonetheless interesting and definitely a book for any Beatles, or John Lennon fan to read. Being a HUGE Beatles fan, it made me see another side to John Lennon that I was oblivious to. Paul used to be my favorite Beatle, but now it is John. It was obvious that Ray was a close friend of John's, which really let the reader see the REAL Lennon. He doesn't sugarcoat Lennon at all. He tells about how John would make fun of cripples, and how he was heavily into acid and other drugs. He tells about John's arrogant approach toward women, and how he sometimes ignored his family. He also lets us see the sensitive side of John. Ray Coleman really lets the world see what a witty, intelligent, loving on the inside, "hard" on the outside, genius that John Lennon was.

Rating:
Summary: Very well written
Review: I was very impressed with Coleman's highly readable biography. A must-read for those looking back at the life of Lennon

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book!
Review: I'm only going to say that I've read MANY books on the Beatles, but this was the first I ever read and I will always think it is the best and most thorough.

Rating:
Summary: best Lennon bio around
Review: I've read a lot of books on Lennon and I have to say that this is the best one around. It gives a good detailed account of the life and times of Lennon. And it also has old love letters that John wrote to his first wife Cynthia which I thought was great and some art work he drew when he was in school. However, the book tends to be a bit repetative. That slightly annoyed me. It would have also been nice if they included more pictures. But as I said before, this is the book to get on John Lennon. A must have for all Lennon and Beatles fans!

Rating:
Summary: enlightening & engrossing
Review: it really got into the psyche of the man & the myth through the people that knew him best (aunt mimi,astrid,cynthia&yoko)i especially enjoyed the first half of the book but mr chapman gave little insight into john's work in the making of my favorite beatles albums i.e. (sgt pepper & abbey road) and trying to make yoko a songwriter ahead of her time was a bit too much - But i did feel i got a good understanding of john & yoko's amazing relationship.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Classics: The Definitive Biography
Review: Perhaps the only true definitive biography of
Beatles genius, John Lennon, was his own
music, lyrics, art, interviews, idealism,
and life work itself. Ray Coleman's "Lennon",
however, is a classic work that comes in a close second;
as it remains the very best end-to-end biography and
portrait of the complex, often misunderstood, brilliant, and
legendary Beatle's leader and visionary - spanning his whole
life from child to death. Ray Coleman knew all of the Beatles
first hand as a reporter and traveled and toured with them.
His intimate knowledge is unique and extends beyond the mere
research and interviews (of other would-be biographers) to
having had direct personal experiences with John Lennon, with
the band, and with their whole entourage.
Coleman's biography reveals and explores John's great
personal lamenting and dissastifaction at the very height
of "Beatlemania" and his unprecedented success - the key to
understanding who John Lennon really was and what would
lead to the Beatles breakup and form his post-Beatle goals
and objectives. While exploring John's dispair, depression,
lows, and highs head on - the book also refreshingly explores
John's humor, warmth, charisma, loyalty, leadership,
actitivy, positive ideals, committments, and desire to be
"real" and credible - unlike various cheap, tabloid-style,
one-dimensional, ill-willed, character assassination books
that have unfortunately surfaced in the wake of his murder
seeking to trivialize (arguably) the 20th century's greatest
songwriter and one of it's most influential and inspirational
figures. For a complete examination of John Lennon's life
in-total, this excellant book, and Jon Wiener's book
"Come Together" (which focuses on John's political thought
and activism, solo career, and the U.S. government harassment
and abuse against him in detail) provide and form an
excellant and complimentary set. Other absolutely essential
reading is John's own lengthy 1980 Playboy Magazine
interviews (published in book form) that includes the most
accurately documented song authorship breakdown of the
Beatles songs and also his self analysis of his solo
music. The musical analysis of John's work provided
in "Lennon" is a little bit lacking as it focuses mostly on
just the lyrics. However, the book "BeatleSongs" rounds out
this information as does the book "Tell Me Why". But, if
you are buying only one book on either the Beatles or John
Lennon, Ray Coleman's book "Lennon" provides the best single
and substantive source of insight available into the
phenomena of Lennon and the Beatles - containing none of the
irrelevant aimless drivel of the much ballyhooed "Beatles
Anthology" book and far more substantive information.
This book is the benchmark. A must read for any fan,
Rock archivest, or musicologist.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Classics: The Definitive Biography
Review: Perhaps the only true definitive biography of
Beatles genius, John Lennon, was his own
music, lyrics, art, interviews, idealism,
and life work itself. Ray Coleman's "Lennon",
however, is a classic work that comes in a close second;
as it remains the very best end-to-end biography and
portrait of the complex, often misunderstood, brilliant, and
legendary Beatle's leader and visionary - spanning his whole
life from child to death. Ray Coleman knew all of the Beatles
first hand as a reporter and traveled and toured with them.
His intimate knowledge is unique and extends beyond the mere
research and interviews (of other would-be biographers) to
having had direct personal experiences with John Lennon, with
the band, and with their whole entourage.
Coleman's biography reveals and explores John's great
personal lamenting and dissastifaction at the very height
of "Beatlemania" and his unprecedented success - the key to
understanding who John Lennon really was and what would
lead to the Beatles breakup and form his post-Beatle goals
and objectives. While exploring John's dispair, depression,
lows, and highs head on - the book also refreshingly explores
John's humor, warmth, charisma, loyalty, leadership,
actitivy, positive ideals, committments, and desire to be
"real" and credible - unlike various cheap, tabloid-style,
one-dimensional, ill-willed, character assassination books
that have unfortunately surfaced in the wake of his murder
seeking to trivialize (arguably) the 20th century's greatest
songwriter and one of it's most influential and inspirational
figures. For a complete examination of John Lennon's life
in-total, this excellant book, and Jon Wiener's book
"Come Together" (which focuses on John's political thought
and activism, solo career, and the U.S. government harassment
and abuse against him in detail) provide and form an
excellant and complimentary set. Other absolutely essential
reading is John's own lengthy 1980 Playboy Magazine
interviews (published in book form) that includes the most
accurately documented song authorship breakdown of the
Beatles songs and also his self analysis of his solo
music. The musical analysis of John's work provided
in "Lennon" is a little bit lacking as it focuses mostly on
just the lyrics. However, the book "BeatleSongs" rounds out
this information as does the book "Tell Me Why". But, if
you are buying only one book on either the Beatles or John
Lennon, Ray Coleman's book "Lennon" provides the best single
and substantive source of insight available into the
phenomena of Lennon and the Beatles - containing none of the
irrelevant aimless drivel of the much ballyhooed "Beatles
Anthology" book and far more substantive information.
This book is the benchmark. A must read for any fan,
Rock archivest, or musicologist.

Rating:
Summary: Finally a good book about the man much adored and missed.
Review: Ray Coleman's biography is terrific due to its depth. It gets longs and tedious at times, but many of the details are essential to understand such a complex man as John Lennon. Coleman being a personal friend of John also gives the reader great insight, rather than reading a book by someone who has never been acquainted with him. I believe Coleman portrays Lennon warts and all. He doesn't really shy away with faults of John, and tells about how he roughly treated Cynthia and Julian, describes how he hurt many people in his young days being inconsiderate of cripples and deformed people, and tells about how he did get involved with drugs too heavily and ignored many important things going on around him. Being personaly acquainted with Lennon, Coleman also tells about the intimate, vulnerable side of John rarely revealed during his life. The book gives an accurate representation of John as it shows many sides of such a complex man. I believe this is a true must have for beatles fans and those he want to find the truth about a great man stolen from us by some maniac.

Rating:
Summary: Complete
Review: Ray Coleman's book addresses many of the rumors that swirled around John Lennon, and brings out personal information from the best possible sources. I agree that the organization of the book favors readers with a good amount of prerequisite knowledge because it does jump back and forth in time. The book successfully forms a picture of John's forty years of life.