---
product_id: 10554837
title: "John Lennon: The Life"
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---

# John Lennon: The Life

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## Description

For more than a quarter century, biographer Philip Norman's internationally bestselling Shout! has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom being a Beatle was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, Norman presents the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon ever published. This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folklore—his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennon—whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never seen before—and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John. “[A] haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work.” - New York Times Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictions—tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecure—and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days.

Review: I've read pretty much all of the essential Beatle books, and this is now, without hesitation, one of them. - This is one great biography. Seriously. For one thing, it is very well-written. Mr. Norman brings to life the early Liverpool years, the Beatlemania period, and his final decade of activism mixed with domesticity. His writing is clear, often elegant and frequently plain hilarious. There are dozens "turns-of-phrase" that'll having you grinning and sometimes flat-out laughing sprinkled throughout the book...I got the feeling he was being influenced by Lennon's own legendary humor. I felt like I got a clear picture of the man John Lennon. In fact, the parts of Lennon that were not so attractive are what add to the three-dimensionality of my impression. He is presented in all his prickly, thorny beauty. This is not all just "the good parts" nor is it a one-sided Goldman-esque vitriolic spew. It feels complete. There are myths that are cleanly debunked, his good-natured, sweet side is on full display and yet his treatment of first wife Cynthia and son Julian are among the numerous aspects of his character that will make you wince a little while reading. He's no angel. I knew a lot about John Lennon. I now know a LOT more. I've read pretty much all of the essential Beatle books, and this is now, without hesitation, one of them. If I have a quibble, it's that the last period of Lennon's life gets the short end of the stick when compared to the pre-Beatles and Beatles sections. However, if you know about Norman's first Beatle book, "Shout", (which stoked my nascent Beatle fervor when it was originally released over 20 years ago), then this is not surprising. He's just better at that stuff. But it's still a fascinating section...I just wanted more, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I have to say that as I was nearing the end of this thick tome, I felt an acceleration. The only thing I can compare it to, and this is morbid as hell, is that crescendo roar before a plane crashes into the ground. I knew this horrible ending was coming...it was one of those thing, for me, where I will always remember where I was when I heard...yet I was still irrationally hoping for some different ending. I couldn't stop reading...I inhaled the last 100 pages without blinking and barely breathing. I was involved in this terrific life, and the book proper ends, with a wrenching jolt. There is no reportage of the aftermath; of the reactions, of the tributes. However, there is an epilogue of heart-breaking poignancy. It's a conversation with Sean Lennon. I read those last pages through tears, the presence of which surprised me. He was five when his dad died. My son is five now. That may have had something to do with my reaction; big deal. I used to like John Lennon. I love this guy now and his absence, for me, is all that much greater. The things he would have done, said, sung, been...this book will make you think.
Review: Very informative book about John Lennon with an emphasis on filling in about John's youth and Yoko. Not comprehensive. - Lots of details, some of them entirely new to me and likely to be to any regular Beatles fan. Competently written but not as energetic as the author's prior Beatles book. Enfatuation with detail remains, the sometimes envious but always enthralled tone of his prior work is gone. "The Life" is decently paced, interesting, follows chronology but appears to have limited resources (John's 'lost weekend' lasted a year and a half and I think its description covered only 10 pages in this book... getting Nilson to scream himself hoarse and thus ruin his career isn't covered, the many women John slept with while 'on a break' with Yoko aren't detailed any more than to list the one that was assigned as his designated lover (a Ms. May) by Yoko). I was surprised to learn so much more about Yoko, like that she was a classically trained musician and heiress of a famous Japanese art/banking line before meeting John (but which she had broken from prior to meeting him). Her expressing herself in Beatles' recording sessions, onerous as that must have been for the rest of the band, appear to have been informed by more than mere whim. The fact that John had been an aspiring artist, real artist artist with turtleneck and a broad reading list and crazy friends, before his occasional band got good helps to explain partly why he left the Beatles for the actively avant garde Yoko... I think he was well on his way to being an acid casualty too and his plunge into symbiosis with her certainly saved him from the worst of that. Its strange to realize that John was already a married man, already on his way to being a father before he showed up anywhere on TV in chirpy lad mode. This book is heavy with info on his youth, about which I'd only read dribs and drabs here and there before. The last chapter, apparently distilled from an interview with John's son, was surprising and very moving.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #360,591 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #220 in Rock Band Biographies #242 in Rock Music (Books) #720 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,964 Reviews |

## Images

![John Lennon: The Life - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51e7q5xYnAL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I've read pretty much all of the essential Beatle books, and this is now, without hesitation, one of them.
*by M***. on December 17, 2008*

This is one great biography. Seriously. For one thing, it is very well-written. Mr. Norman brings to life the early Liverpool years, the Beatlemania period, and his final decade of activism mixed with domesticity. His writing is clear, often elegant and frequently plain hilarious. There are dozens "turns-of-phrase" that'll having you grinning and sometimes flat-out laughing sprinkled throughout the book...I got the feeling he was being influenced by Lennon's own legendary humor. I felt like I got a clear picture of the man John Lennon. In fact, the parts of Lennon that were not so attractive are what add to the three-dimensionality of my impression. He is presented in all his prickly, thorny beauty. This is not all just "the good parts" nor is it a one-sided Goldman-esque vitriolic spew. It feels complete. There are myths that are cleanly debunked, his good-natured, sweet side is on full display and yet his treatment of first wife Cynthia and son Julian are among the numerous aspects of his character that will make you wince a little while reading. He's no angel. I knew a lot about John Lennon. I now know a LOT more. I've read pretty much all of the essential Beatle books, and this is now, without hesitation, one of them. If I have a quibble, it's that the last period of Lennon's life gets the short end of the stick when compared to the pre-Beatles and Beatles sections. However, if you know about Norman's first Beatle book, "Shout", (which stoked my nascent Beatle fervor when it was originally released over 20 years ago), then this is not surprising. He's just better at that stuff. But it's still a fascinating section...I just wanted more, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I have to say that as I was nearing the end of this thick tome, I felt an acceleration. The only thing I can compare it to, and this is morbid as hell, is that crescendo roar before a plane crashes into the ground. I knew this horrible ending was coming...it was one of those thing, for me, where I will always remember where I was when I heard...yet I was still irrationally hoping for some different ending. I couldn't stop reading...I inhaled the last 100 pages without blinking and barely breathing. I was involved in this terrific life, and the book proper ends, with a wrenching jolt. There is no reportage of the aftermath; of the reactions, of the tributes. However, there is an epilogue of heart-breaking poignancy. It's a conversation with Sean Lennon. I read those last pages through tears, the presence of which surprised me. He was five when his dad died. My son is five now. That may have had something to do with my reaction; big deal. I used to like John Lennon. I love this guy now and his absence, for me, is all that much greater. The things he would have done, said, sung, been...this book will make you think.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very informative book about John Lennon with an emphasis on filling in about John's youth and Yoko. Not comprehensive.
*by B***H on August 30, 2014*

Lots of details, some of them entirely new to me and likely to be to any regular Beatles fan. Competently written but not as energetic as the author's prior Beatles book. Enfatuation with detail remains, the sometimes envious but always enthralled tone of his prior work is gone. "The Life" is decently paced, interesting, follows chronology but appears to have limited resources (John's 'lost weekend' lasted a year and a half and I think its description covered only 10 pages in this book... getting Nilson to scream himself hoarse and thus ruin his career isn't covered, the many women John slept with while 'on a break' with Yoko aren't detailed any more than to list the one that was assigned as his designated lover (a Ms. May) by Yoko). I was surprised to learn so much more about Yoko, like that she was a classically trained musician and heiress of a famous Japanese art/banking line before meeting John (but which she had broken from prior to meeting him). Her expressing herself in Beatles' recording sessions, onerous as that must have been for the rest of the band, appear to have been informed by more than mere whim. The fact that John had been an aspiring artist, real artist artist with turtleneck and a broad reading list and crazy friends, before his occasional band got good helps to explain partly why he left the Beatles for the actively avant garde Yoko... I think he was well on his way to being an acid casualty too and his plunge into symbiosis with her certainly saved him from the worst of that. Its strange to realize that John was already a married man, already on his way to being a father before he showed up anywhere on TV in chirpy lad mode. This book is heavy with info on his youth, about which I'd only read dribs and drabs here and there before. The last chapter, apparently distilled from an interview with John's son, was surprising and very moving.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ HOME RUN!
*by B***Y on September 13, 2015*

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.

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