The John Lennon Encyclopedia [Paperback]

Bill Harry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

The John Lennon Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive book about John Lennon ever produced. By best-selling author and Beatles expert Bill Harry, this A-Z guide will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about one of the twentieth century's most talented and enigmatic figures. From his difficult childhood to his early days with the Beatles, and from his groundbreaking solo projects to his work with Yoko Ono, this book reveals in intimate detail the man behind the myth, helping to explain Lenon's enduring status as a popular icon. It contains every track Lennon ever wrote or worked on, every gig he every played, and full biographies of everyone who was involved in his life story. This is the most comprehensive guide ever published to the guiding genius of the world's greatest band. It comes in at almost one thousand pages, and half-a-million words, this is the ultimate celebration of all things Lennon.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill Harry is the world's leading authority on the Beatles. He attended Liverpool College of Art with John Lennon and is the author of a number of books including Beatlemania, The McCartney File, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles Encyclopedia, the sister volume to The John Lennon Encyclopedia, published by Virgin and now fully revised and updated. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1008 pages
• Publisher: Virgin Books (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753504049
• ISBN-13: 978-0753504048
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,621,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate book on the magnificent John, July 20, 2003

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The John Lennon Encyclopedia (Paperback)

Everything Bill Harry publishes on the Beatles is always a high quality, well-researched effort and this is no exception. It's not hyperbole to say that this book contains virtually everything you ever wanted to know about Lennon; the details are prodigious, and it spans over 1,000 pages of text. It's an almost day by day chronicle of Lennon's life from 1940 until his tragic death in 1980. Casual fans might suffocate under the weight of all this info, but for Lennon fanatics, like me, this is nirvana.

The book is equally divided between personal material about John, his relationships, marriages, divorce, and two sons, and his professional career. His partnership with Paul is explored in exhaustive and fascinating detail and no discernible bias can be seen. Bill Harry has written about all of the Beatles but one can never tell which one is his favorite. That's a notable strength in his writing, he has no agenda or axe to grind, he just presents the glorious facts of the Fab Four. The index is easy to follow and cross-referenced so you can easily find what you're looking for.

If you are a serious fan of John Lennon, this is an indispensible guide to his songwriting, personality and his life. If only he had been allowed more than 40 years on earth, how many more classic songs would he have written? Sadly, we will never know, but this celebration of his life is as good as it gets.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars COULD'VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER!, December 25, 2003

By 

T. Brice (Lafayette, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The John Lennon Encyclopedia (Paperback)

This book has its moments, but I couldn't recommend it to anyone. It is full of errors, contradictions, omissions, misspellings, etc. Having previously read another of Billy Harry's books,("The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia") I knew that he wasn't too keen on hiring a good proofreader, but the Lennon book is just too much!!