Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman,the Man Who Killed John Lennon [Paperback]

Jack Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1992

Offers a chilling, tragic, and frightening portrait of the enigmatic young man who murdered John Lennon in December 1980 and answers many lingering questions about Chapman's motives and the killing itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the title's tasteless allusion to the Lennon song "Strawberry Fields Forever" to the excusing treatment of a psychopath, this sensationalistic biography proves repugnant. Jones, noted for being the first reporter to interview "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz, describes the personality of Mark David Chapman before and after he shot and killed former Beatle John Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980, in New York City. We learn of Chapman's fascination with The Catcher in the Rye protagonist Holden Caulfield; we hear the voices of the evil "child" and rational "adult" arguing within Chapman as he stalked Lennon; we read of Chapman's "possession by demons" after his imprisonment. Jones's introduction claims "Chapman asked the author to undertake the telling of his story in the hope that it might prevent future tragedy." Shamefully, however, this book serves only the ignoble purpose of promoting a criminal's narcissism. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 1980, Chapman gunned down ex-Beatle John Lennon in New York City and pled guilty to second-degree murder; he is now an inmate at Attica prison. This account of his life and the obsessive forces that culminated in the death of his former idol is based largely on Chapman's recollections. Jones's book would have been strengthened by a critical analysis of Chapman's pathology (he is variously described as psychopathic, schizophrenic, and narcissistic) but nonetheless it is engrossing reading and far superior to Fenton Breslar's Who Killed John Lennon? ( LJ 8/89). A good addition to the literature about violence directed against celebrities, this book will appeal to students of abnormal psychology and true crime fans. Recommended where interest warrants.
- Gregor Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Villard (November 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812991702
• ISBN-13: 978-0812991703
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lennon, John

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars does this book make MDC a "somebody?", October 30, 2000

By 

Elizabeth Caudy (Wilmette, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman,the Man Who Killed John Lennon (Paperback)

He said the reason he shot John Lennon was so that he'd be a "somebody" instead of a "nobody." He said he'd always wanted to have a book written about him. Is this book just feeding his narcisism? I sort of think the book can't decide whether it wants to be a legitimate psychological portrait or sensationalistic. The highlights of the book, for me, were the chapters "All the Lonely People" and "Fan Mail." These chapters examined the culture we live in that leads people to obsess over famous people. I was disappointed in the book because I thought it would examine that more than it did, and also because it glamourized Mark David Chapman. I mean, it includes a short story he wrote. I don't care about that, I don't care about HIM. I care about the sociological and psychological factors that made him do what he did. I don't want to know his life story, and I REALLY don't want to empathize with him.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Is Real, July 9, 2002

By 

Rod Quinn (Lyneham, ACT Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman,the Man Who Killed John Lennon (Paperback)

This book is not necessarily one for Lennon fans, and I can imagine that plenty would avoid it because they can't forgive Chapman for what he did.

However, the story that unfolds helps to explain why Chapman did what he did, and is a chilling examination of an unsound mind. It is also compelling evidence why handgun law reform is essential, and Lennon's death is a perfect example of what can happen when madmen can buy a gun and carry it around.

Don't judge the book by its subject..judge it by the fact that it is a superbly written explanation of why a tragedy happened.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid piece of work, but..., March 11, 2008

By 

T. P. Watt - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman,the Man Who Killed John Lennon (Paperback)

By his own admission, Chapman was a self-professed nobody, upset with his lot in life, and was looking to lash out at somebody famous. By killing Lennon, Chapman attained status as somebody (namely, "the guy who killed John Lennon"). In an odd way, reading this book only feeds into the attention Chapman craves. I wouldn't say this book is necessarily "pro-Chapman". Using Chapmans own words via interviews and in print form, the material within the book portrays Chapman (to me) to be every inch of the nobody he felt himself to be. There's really no deeper explanation to be found behind the assassination of John Lennon and the reasons why it happened are made abundantly clear; Chapman was exactly what he thought of himself as. A loser. The in-depth probings of the voices inside his head that drove him to do it just illustrate that point in detail, and after reading the book I felt that I was (in an odd way) just giving Chapman a degree of satisfaction, as he was and is little more than a child in a man's body content with receiving negative attention rather than none at all.