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Lennon: Definitive Biography, The

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I love John Lennon. I love the Beatles. Heck, I even love Yoko Ono's solo albums. So I should probably agree that this Lennon adoration is the definitive biography...but it isn't.

Like most biographies of celebrities, Lennon's bios fall into two extremes. The most notorious extreme is Albert Goldman (The Lives of John Lennon): mean-spirited, doing whatever he can get away with to tear down the subject even if it means passing off rumors as fact, speculating on the flimsiest of evidence, and using obscuring resources to the point that you're hard-pressed to know what to believe.

But it's just as bad to write something at the opposite extreme, and that's what Ray Coleman does with Lennon. I expect that there's a lot of truth here, particularly when it comes to the Beatles, Lennon's radical period and his fight for U.S. residency. But an awful lot of it is fawning, worshipful John-was-always-right fluff.

Any book that relies so much on Elliott Mintz's testimony as the second half of this book does is going to be badly slanted--bear in mind that Mintz is Yoko's publicist. He's PAID to whitewash and pretty up the stories. And this publicist has always been particularly sycophantic: he's Yoko's puppet. So when he calls May Pang an outright liar, or implies that after the Lost Weekend John and Yoko never had a single marital dispute again, take it with the biggest grain of salt you can find.

But then again, Coleman does a lot of the window dressing himself. Look, anyone who's seriously looked at Lennon knows how capable he was of immature and nasty behavior, and if you're writing a book about him you have to acknowledge that. Instead we get very little story about the "Lost Weekend," which lasted a whole year and a half and is dispatched here in about ten pages. (Peter Brown's The Love You Make is the best account of John's public obnoxiousness at the time.) The closest Coleman comes to giving John human flaws is pointing the finger and saying, "Sure, John did this or that, but it was only because he/she/they picked the fight first!" For example, apparently every time Paul McCartney said something in an interview about John, even something as earnest and understandable as "I wish we could all sit down, just the four of us with no outside interference, and work out our problems," it was apparently a personal attack on John and a deliberate snubbing of Yoko. I'm sure that's how John saw a lot of these things, yes, but Coleman need not take such a "Yes, that's exactly how it happened" approach to all of John's interpretations of every event.

Finally, there's the question of Yoko, who comes off in the book as almost more perfect than John, the absolute soul mate who was wise and good and deeply in love with John. The relationship is pretty much a fairy tale in Lennon; any relationship that was so close for so long HAD to have complications, spats, entanglements, and so forth. Coleman gives us hints that those might have happened, but what were they and why? Just a gloss-over. There has indeed been a lot of negative press about Yoko, and it's true that a lot of it has come from people who knew her and have a clear axe to grind (like Fred Seaman, who Yoko personally fired from the estate in 1981)...I don't believe most of those accounts, but the fact that so many people who knew Yoko had an axe to grind leads me to believe she's not all sunshine and lollipops. But that's what she is in Lennon.

Most people should read Lennon, because it covers the whole forty-year ground and it's very good in some parts. But realize that what you're essentially reading is "The Gospel According to Ray" and that you can't take this kind of posthumous [...] too seriously. While I admit that this is probably the best biography yet written of John Lennon, the "definitive" biography is yet to come.

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.

This is the most in-depth of all John Lennon biographies, but I wouldn't recommend it to casual or new fans. Ray Coleman's non-linear analysis of the ex-Beatle's life, constantly flashing back and forward to illustrate an angle or exhaust a topic, can only be appreciated if you're already familiar with the basic story. Since no other good Lennon biographies are currently available ("The Ballad of John and Yoko", by the editors of Rolling Stone, would be a good start, but it's out of print) you can either begin with a Beatles biography (The Beatles' own "Anthology", Phillip Norman's "Shout" or Hunter Davies' "The Beatles") or you can research about John Lennon on the Internet and other sources. THEN, if decide you want to go really deep into the subject, you'll find all you need in Ray Coleman's book. On the other hand, if you're a long-time Lennon fanatic, this book is a must.

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

As the only readily available biography of John Lennon, Ray Coleman's eponymous book must serve as the benchmark. However, decades after his death there really should be other quality biographies available. The fact that there aren't is surprising and distressing.

Ray Coleman (of "Melody Maker" magazine) does a good, but not great, job telling the story of Lennon, who was far and away the most talented and dynamic of his bandmates.

In discussing Lennon's childhood and teen years, and in recounting the very early days of The Beatles (coach bus tours and all), LENNON is a wonderful, albeit non-linear book which discloses much about John's early life and the influences that shaped him. Reminscences of old friends fill the pages.

John Lennon's sense of the absurd and the bizarre is well documented (the book contains many of his early sketches) and Coleman revels in recounting examples of Lennon's weird and very original sense of humor. The man was unquestionably a genius, even though his focus and his choosings were often illogical or inexplicable.

One of the things that most strikes the reader is Lennon's unshakeable sense of loyalty. The devastation he felt at losing first his beloved mother, Julia, and then his best friend, Stu Sutcliffe, presages other, future losses, and goes far toward explaining his lingering sense of betrayal and bitterness as and after The Beatles broke up.

Sutcliffe is a case in point: Woefully short of musical talent as Sutcliffe was, Lennon refused to listen to the entreaties of the other Beatles to eject Stu from the band, even as The Beatles made their chameleonlike change from a local garage band to a minor (and then major) sensation. Despite the fact that he couldn't really play an instrument at all, (he faked it and made up for it by looking cute for female fans), Sutcliffe remained with The Beatles until his untimely death during the Cavern Club days (1962) from a brain aneurysm. Harsh as it may sound, Sutcliffe's death may have freed The Beatles from the ash heap of history. Still, it was a loss John neither forgot nor spoke of.

Coleman is best at retelling John's personal history.

The book is weakest during, ironically, the best-documented period of John's life, from 1964 to 1970. It is as though Coleman studiously wanted to avoid repeating information available elsewhere, and so the halcyon years of Beatlemania are slighted. The Beatles' 1964 triumphant American tour, Shea Stadium, the Hollywood Bowl, and their appearance on Ed Sullivan simply don't exist. Coleman hardly mentions the Colonies or the madness that met John, Paul, George and Ringo in the United States in 1964 at all, and the band's subsequent worldwide experiences read like an encyclopedia, being, for the most part dry and colorless.

One thing that does shine through is George Martin's critical role in shaping the sound of The Beatles. His ability to translate John's visual imagery ("I want this to look like a County Fair" in "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" and "I picture myself as a shaman on a mountaintop" in "Tomorrow Never Knows") into music was a huge part of The Beatles' success.

The solo career years of 1970 to 1975 are more completely documented, though Coleman did not have access to Yoko Ono. He did however, have access to John's friend, Elliot Mintz, to John's Aunt Mimi, and to other personalities of the "lost weekend" period. Coleman is fair and balanced, and not overly adoring of John in this period.

Coleman is delicate, dignified and respectful in discussing John's private years (1975 to 1980), and clearly sympathizes with Lennon's intense need for privacy and personal growth time. John's all-too brief musical reemergence and tragic death in late 1980 are handled with the same propriety and restraint.

The problem with LENNON is that it really only scratches the surface of the life of this marvelously complex and talented man who touched so many people so profoundly. Still, this is IT until another biography of substance comes along. As such it is recommended: THREE AND A HALF STARS.

On the anniversary of his death, there will be an inevitable surge in all things 'Lennon' and 'The Beatles'. There are a lot of books on Lennon, some good, some not so good. Some have simply done a hack job, relying on gossip and hearsay as 'fact' for the sake of profit and shock - such as Lennon's sexuality for example.

In this book, hearsay stays as hearsay, and doesn't evolve into fact or truth.

From early on in this book, it is fair to say that Ray Coleman does have a genuine fascination/respect for John Lennon and I thought this will sour the book and turn it into a biased sugary affair that will forsake Lennon's 'human' elements and instead opt for a crux to prop up The Myth, The Legend, and The Superhuman Lennon instead.

But, Coleman doesn't allow bias to get in the way of getting an accurate portrayal. Lennon comes across as a flawed human being -like we all are.

Lennon is not an angel, but nor is he a monster. He is, simply, and most interestingly, a rather complex man whose childhood was set by tragedy and rejection, therefore fuelling his temper and frustrations in the process. This book shows Lennon as a man who could cruelly hurt the ones he loved (both physically and mentally). But, he is also a man who could show compassion and generosity - and away from the media spotlight.

These contradictions in Lennon's life doesn't mean that one side of Lennon must be true and the other side not. But, instead, it reinforces Coleman's objections in this biography - Lennon was a complex human being, with the same faults, as well as the same kindness, of us all.

For more music-orientated fans, Lennon as a songwriter is vividly disected, with his songs broken up and analysed carefully.

My favourite part of the book is Lennon's time at Art college in Liverpool. Coleman manages to set an atmosphere in a city of unlimited supply of talent in young people, but have nowhere to channel it or turn it into something productive (obvioulsy, Lennon did). Nothing changes...

After reading this book, you have the strange feeling that you actually KNOW Lennon, rather than simply hating him or loving him, which I think, is a golden sign of a good biography.

Highly recommended.

While thoroughly worthwhile, I hesitate to call this the "definitive" biography. Coleman tells the Lennon story from his perspective as a British journalist and former acquaintance of John Lennon. As such he is in touch with many valuable sources, and not with others. Perhaps this books should be read in tandem with Albert Goldman's negatively sensational but well-researched biography. The truth may then emerge, for it probably lies somewhere in the middle.

This is an outstanding biography of the man who came to be known as the Chief Beatle and the Founder of the World's Greatest Band, the Beatles!

Coleman does an in-depth analysis of the former Beatle and traces his ancestry. One comes away with a "sense" of John, the natural and environmental forces that molded and shaped this highly gifted and articulate man. One can smile at the bright, high-spirited child who reached developmental milestones early and was also an early reader; one can smile at the artistic boy who created complex drawings at a very young age; one cheers for the talented young boy who proved to be quite adept at things musical.

Coleman does an admirable job of portraying John's natural parents, half-sisters and the indomitable aunt who raised him in realistic lights; one gets a good sense of how each one of these people influenced John and how his life experiences were expressed by his early experiences. In a very touching description of John reconnecting with his natural father, one feels John's anguish at having been promised a life with him and denied; one feels John's devastating maternal loss when his natural mother Julia is killed in an accident when John was in his teens.

John takes those experiences and fleshes them out musically; his songs "Mother" and "Julia" are songs that come straight from his early loss. His interpersonal relationships with the other Beatles, his first wife Cynthia and their son Julian and his second wife Yoko and their son Sean are fully examined in this work. John describes the "strong women" in his immediate family and how he drew strength from their examples. This book makes readers feel as if they are seeing John emerge from his own "Hard Day's Night" to "Starting Over," which appeared to be where he was in his life during his last five years. Sadly, on December 8, 1980 an assassin's bullet silenced the voice of the man who got the world to listen.

This is a must read for all John Lennon fans and for people becoming familiar with his work. Please listen to John Lennon.

This is a fairly good biography. The writing could be a little more involving (you can tell the writer got his start in journalism). And I was quite surprised how little Ringo is mentioned in this quite long book (only a few pages here and there). It has been said that Ringo was closest to John in the group. And I am interested in the group dynamic. I am a Beatles fan first, before being a Lennon fan. And some of John's rough spots are glossed over. Since AND THE LOVE YOU MAKE revealed that John had a little semi-gay affair with Brian in Spain, where they vacationed while Cynthia Lennon was dealing with the newborn Julian, this book tries to go to much effort to disprove John's gay impulses. Well, I don't think John had real gay impulses. He saw that Brian was in love with him, and, as an artist, probably thought he'd give it a brief try with him. John in his PLAYBOY interview said, "[In Spain with Brian] I was thinking like a writer all the time: `I am experiencing this'...It was almost a love affair [with Brian]. But it was never consummated." (John told his childhood friend Pete Shotton that Brian merely masturbated John, which wouldn't qualify as consummation). And in his interview with Jann Wenner, John said, "[with Brian] I enjoyed playing a bit faggy. It was enjoyable. But in those very large rooms in Liverpool, it was very embarassing." So there is John himself suggesting that his relationship with Brian bordered on the "romantic" (even though it doesn't quite qualify.) This biography should have mentioned this aspect of John and Brian, instead of trying so hard and obviously to deny it. And later, when John is separated from Yoko in the 70's, and Cynthia happens to be in L.A., and she and John, with others, go to Disneyland together, John never says a word to Cynthia, and won't let her say a word to him. She just wants to talk about their son Julian. And when they fly on the same plane later, he still won't talk to her, and she cries to herself during the flight. Coleman let's John off the hook here for his very insensitive behavior; that it was acceptable since John was going through problems being separated from Yoko. So what! John's treatment of Cynthia here is mean, especially for a man who preached peace and love. And John was furious at his own father for being a lousy father, but then John turns around and was less than a wonderful father for Julian. I admire John Lennon, and know he was far from all bad, and was mostly good. But this book goes too far to paint him as all-around wonderful!! And he wasn't that either. A very good bit of the book is seeing John's love letters to Cynthia Lennon before and when they were married. There is a belief that John didn't ever love Cynthia, and only married her because she got pregnant. But the love letters Cynthia provided the author show that John did in fact love Cynthia very much at one time (and let her know it in these letters). These letters show the warm and loving side of John, and it is nice to see it.

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.