Customer Reviews

Life: Remembering John Lennon: 25 Years Later

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An eerie photo of John Lennon signing an autograph in a book, as Mark David Chapman looks on just hours before he would shoot our beloved John dead, is absolutely chilling. Another of Chapman holding his finger to his head like a make believe gun(depicting him as the madman he was),brought back the reality of what happened, made me shiver and lose the smile that accompanied me through this otherwise beautiful look at the beautiful life celebrated cheerily in Life's "Remembering John Lennon: 25 Years Later".

128 pages of wonderful photos, including fabulous shots on both the front and back cover of this must have keepsake for loyal fans. A compilation from the Photojouranlists that were lucky enough to capture and immortalize, Lennon and the Beatles at work and at play.Astrid Kirchherr, Terence Spencer, Robert Whitaker, Bob Gruen, Allan Tannenbaum and Harry Benson's pictures and words tell the story.

There are black and whites, as well as color shots that chronicle and celebrate John's life. Pictures from his childhood, a wonderful shot of the"Quarry Men" at their first gig,his life and loves, family portraits with his children, candid shots with the likes of Elton John and Andy Warhol, and of course the rest of the FAB FOUR, all make for a sentimental look at the treasure we lost.

So, this is not a biography. This is a fabulous photo album, with three main sections. "A Liverpool Lad", "The Fab Four", and "John & Yoko", along with the photojournalists remembrances weaved through the book. My copy is a large(magazine size), softcover of excellent quality , I purchased at my grocery store. It would make a wonderful gift for the Lennon or Beatle fan. Probably would be nice for the coffee table as well, but I think I'll keep my copy in a safe place for now.

If you are looking for a more in depth ride with the Beatles, from a journalists point of view, I would recommend "Ticket To Ride" by Larry Kane, who covered their 1964-65 American Tour.

"Imagine" all that could've been....Laurie

...we've loved him more.

This is an excellent selection and collection of photographs of the man who founded the World's Number One Band, the Beatles! I also like the inclusion of people who were instrumental influences in John's life and the short, to the point captions.

This is primarily a collection of stellar photographs and fortunately it does not get too bogged down in text. This book is what it is - a nice photo album, if you will with salient moments captioned and persons identified. As a lifelong Beatles fan with an extensive Beatles library and Beatles collection, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter some pictures that I had not previously seen.

The only objections I had was that John's murderer's picture was included. I, too felt that could have been omitted. This book was a celebration of 40 years of John's life, not recognition of the man who ended it. I also felt there was a bias against May Pang. That bothered me.

All in all, this is a really good collection that no Beatle fan should be without.

As one would expect from the editors of Life Magazine, this is predominantly a book of touching and beautiful pictures of John and those important to him: the other Beatles and his family. I happen to be a big Beatles fan and own many Beatles related books and magazines. This particular book contained a number of photographs I had seen previously in addition to many I had never seen. The new pictures are particularly refreshing.

Unfortunately, there is also a portrait of Lennon's murderer which, I believe, could have been omitted.

The book also has some essays here and there, but if you want detailed prose, one should go elsewhere.

As one would expect, the book is in vague chronological order, depicting John's childhood, rise with the Beatles, Cyn and Julian, his relationship with Yoko, his romance with May, his reuniting with Yoko and love of Sean and his assassination. In my view, the book has a clear pro-Yoko anti-May slant. Perhaps Life needed Yoko's permission before publication.

All in all, a very enjoyable picture book.

In my life, I remember John Lennon and he is still with us with his music, with his influences, with his lasting words.

I think this is a great tribute of pictures and words to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his exit from our world.

Personally I prefer to look at the positive rather than the negative. Remember what he gave us, rather than what we lost.

I just picked this up, I was near the check-out line at the supermarket when I noticed it and I couldn't help but pick it up and thumb through it, once I did, I couldn't put it back down. I really am grateful to John for what he gave me in the music he created with The Beatles mostly, but some of his solo work is good too. He has left a lasting impression on me that will last my lifetime. Pick-up a copy of this for yourself today.

I can't figure it out. What is it about John Lennon that makes his photographs so fascinating, fresh, and appealing all these years after he was killed? Is it because he is the only Beatle that didn't grow old? Is it because he is the image of my generation's youth? Is it because of the music he created that still resonates today? Is it simply because he was so photogenic? Is it because he was an enigma, someone we thought we knew, someone we wanted to know better? Is it all of these things, or some combination?

I don't know; but this book is a haunting joy. It features John alone, with the Quarry Men and Beatles, with his family, in shots there were staged, but often shots that gave us a hint of the real person. The book is composed of the work of several photographers that spent time with John and got to know him. The photos and brief write-ups give some insight into the real person, one that is nicer and more vulnerable than the persona that he fronted. You get a real sense of personal loss that the photographers felt after he was killed by a madman in 1981, a loss that was personal for the rest of us too - for some reason. (Again, what is it about John Lennon?)

Not a bad retrospective.

Wonderful book!
I found this book at a grocery store bookstand. I had only $20.00, and I needed to buy some groceries. When I saw this book, I immediately put back $12.00 worth of food to buy it.

The book is pretty much what you would expect. There are a lot of pictures, and short stories. I saw a couple of childhood photos of John that I haven't seen before.

And just like every other person (so far) who has reviewed this book, there was no need to included a picture of John's killer.

``Katrina

This is a fine book containing many gorgeous pictures of John arranged in a chrono;ogical order.
My only objection is the inclusion of a picture of John's murderer - it should not have found a place in a book celebrating Lennon's life.

A fair collection of John Lennon photos at a reasonable price. Text is kept to a minimum, altho' I felt some captions were a little too sparse: Many faces that remain anonymous here are identified in other existing Beatles tomes. A few more names wouldn't have hurt.

Most photos already appear many times over in the standard Beatles works, but some of John's youth are AFAIK new releases. What I appreciated was that the photographers themselves are given the opportunity to have their say. That I found informative.

I agree his murderer needn't have been honoured with an image. As long as Yoko has anything to do with it, we're unlikely to ever be endangered by him.

This is a nice book of memories of the world's best musical genius of all time.I still miss him. We lost a lot when we lost him.

For anyone who loved John Lennon and who was alive when he was murdered, the memory will never leave you. Everyone will remember exactly where they were when they heard the news that was horrifying and shocking. For me, it seems like yesterday when my brother walked into my bedroom and said, "Howard Cossel just announced on Monday Night Football that John Lennon was shot." There's no way to describe the numbing agony of that moment and its aftermath. For people of a certain age, this moment marked a turning point: an end of childhood innocence and the death of an icon of a generation.

This book is an excellent one for people who weren't around in 1980 and don't have actual memories of John Lennon. For those who have long followed his life, there are no new photographs or information contained here, but it's still worth the ride. It's heavily weighted towards the Beatles years, but there is still adequate coverage of the Dakota years and the assassination itself.

To sum up: excellent for newbies, adequate for long-time Lennon lovers.