Customer Reviews

Nowhere Man:The Final Days Of John Lennon

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An infinite number of books have been written about the life and death of John Lennon, but very few have taken us into the inner sanctuary of the last years of his life when he was the self-proclaimed house-husband. Most people think that Mr. Lennon lived those last years in domestic bliss, taking care of Sean, baking bread with his biggest worry being what to watch on TV. Robert Rosen once had access to Mr. Lennon's personal diaries and he reveals that those above notions aren't the actual truth. The John Lennon we read about it in this superb book is a very fragile man who was concerned about his weight, his relationship with his first son Julian, his own relevance. We learn of his bizarre belief in numerology and how he delighted in any misfortune that befell Paul McCartney especially his drug bust in Japan. Mr. Rosen doesn't just focus on the failings of John Lennon, he tells stories of his tender relationship with Sean, the pride he took in learning how to sail and of his captaining a boat and the recording of Double Fantasy. The book also chillingly details the downward spiral of Mr. Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman and the days and months leading up to him actually firing the shots that ended Mr. Lennon's life. Nowhere Man expertly breaks down the final chapters in John Lennon's life and we see him as a human being and not just a reclusive rock star.

Even a dedicated Lennonphile who find new material in this well-written and poignantly sad examination of John's last year. The closer Rosen edges towards the assassination, the sadder and more wistful the reader feels. It's puzzling and amazing that an icon like Lennon was not very happy towards the end of his too-short life. The book brings out the numerous infidelities that marred the Lennon-Ono partnership, supposedly one of the greatest love stories of the era. Yoko comes off fairly well here, which is surprising considering the usually brutal treatment she receives at the hands of biographers.

Her manipulative nature is exemplified in Lennon's decision to include Yoko's pathetic musical material on his last album, "Double Fantasy," which was utterly compromised by having Yoko wail on every other track. Her control over Lennon's decision-making processes is detailed here and is sobering. It's frustrating that John relied upon Yoko so heavily in making professonal decisions when his musical career had benn nearly without parallel.

Ultimately this is an interesting and well-written book with few errors of fact and some new information (rare for any Beatles-related book). One of the most depressing nights of my life was when I heard John was killed, and this book brings back the anguish quite well. Twenty years later, all Lennon fans will eternally ask themselves how much more great music John had within him. Tragically, we will never know because of Mark David Chapman.

This is an interesting book. I'd rate it higher, but for the whole legal disclaimer bit that says, "this is a work of imagination" etc., and is oblique in how the Lennon diaries were used. So you're uncertain whether what your reading is true or false. Obviously a lot of it is true, as Rosen admits to using other sources than the diaries. But, that aside, it is an interesting and well-written book. And one extreme but perhaps fair point is John Lennon's demons, and self-proclaimed--in his PLAYBOY interview--violent impulses. John Lennon in this book is madly jealous of Paul Simon and Paul McCartney for being bigger solo successes than he is. He is happy when McCartney gets thrown in jail in Japan. And the end bit gives an oblique comparison to John's killer...that if Brian Epstein had not come into the Cavern Club and discovered the Beatles, and Lennon had stayed a nobody, Lennon might have reacted with the envy his killer had toward him, toward someone else who became a big star. John's killer was jealous of Lennon...Lennon was jealous of Simon and McCartney...and what if Lennon had gone absolutely nowhere, and stayed in Liverpool? As he said in Hunter Davies' biography, "If not for the Beatles, I might have ended up like my father," a failed bum. Just like Lennon's killer. That's an extreme comparison. But As McCartney said in the expanded Davies' book, "Ever since John died, he's become Martin Luther Lennon." This book shows the anger and jealousy and pettines of Lennon...which makes him less than saint-like...but nonetheless human, and somewhat endearing because of it. A good book to be read with a pinch of salt.

I thought about this book for days after finishing it. There are books on the Beatles as a group and individually...and then there are show biz books on the pitfalls of fame. This SUPERB book shows that his last years of his life, contrary to conventional wisdom, Mr. Lennon didn't live an ideal life -- free of money woes, free to contemplate, write beautiful music, travel, a life filled with hundreds of friends etc. In fact, as Mr. Rosen's GREAT reporting shows, he was worried about his physical appearance, jealous of Sir Paul, lonely, distrustful of people since he felt they wanted to use him, and striving to be a better father and friend to his son Julian.

Rosen temporarily had access to Lennon's diaries (which were later taken back) and the book quickly evolves into less a book about Lennon or a Beatle than someone enslaved by fame and fortune: the once rebellious Lennon had become highly materialistic, a boss who almost gleefully hired and fired servants frequently and a person emotionally chained and drained by Yoko. Indeed, the book confirms fans' suspicions that had he not been with Yoko he might have created MORE during his lifetime. With all his wealth, real estate and servants he led a somewhat depressing, hum-drum life, holed up in his apartment, creatively bankrupt until when, towards the end, he recorded Double Fantasy.

The irony is that just as he began to lift himself out of his creative and personal slumps, Mark David Chapman started going quickly downhill. This book brilliantly details Chapman's transformation into Lennon's assasin. And it's done with no corn or cliche -- just brilliant reporting that makes you feel the loss even more when it's over.

On a personal note, I was working on a newspaper in Kansas (I am now a fulltime ventriloquist) doing night shift the night Lennon was murdered. When the editor on duty said "They shot John Lennon" my reaction was "Was he hurt?" You'll feel the loss AGAIN when you read this -- but this time a SPECIAL LOSS since it was clear he was finally getting his life, priorities, work and relationships on track when he was struck down. EXCELLENT BOOK ON THE PITFALLS OF FAME EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE BEATLES.

This is a fabulous book--a real page-turner. The intimate details about Lennon's day to day life in those last years are really something special. The book is very funny throughout, and of course, finally very sad. I enjoyed the way the author chose to end the book. And I liked the interweaving of the astrological forecasts, numerology information throughout, and all the contradictions of spirituality and materialism. The entire book seemed to be written with a delicate touch, even though we were seeing into more than one person's inner world.

This is a book you can't put down. I was so fascinated by this amazing look into the mind and life of such an eccentric, tortured soul. I had no idea John Lennon had so many demons. Robert Rosen is a brilliant writer with a great talent for telling a story with heart.

Nowhere Man is an excellent read, and was especially fascinating to me, because I really know so little about Lennon. After all the brouhaha about Yoko's potential response to the book, it is not that hard on her. And certainly not in any gratuitous way. One of the saddest aspects of the story is the way in which Lennon was beginning to pull himself back together after his long hiatus, once he began working again, just before he was killed. When he no longer had the time to sit around all day thinking about himself, which is always very dangerous, he was able to open himself back up to inspiration. The last section, about Honolulu and Chapman, is memorable. Chapman is vividly painted in the strange and intense environment of Honolulu in a way that makes one understand the reason "fan" is a part of "fanatic." The moment of his first sighting of Lennon, when he momentarily forgets his mission and becomes, again, a fan, is amazing. People tend to take strong positions on Lennon, a tribute to his stature. Nowhere Man is certainly a worthy addition to the canon.

When I started this book, I knew, from the many years of following the story, that John Lennon was a unique person. But this book puts into perspective his daily struggle to maintain his life in the face of his personal demons. He was and is a testament to the fact that fame, however lucrative, creates a development pattern for the "star" that actually secludes its participant and forces the person to live inside a self created world, devoid of outside normalization. This is a tribute to a man who continued to the end to search for himself in the middle of all the noise. In my mind, he succeeded in ways you and I will never have to understand. Great insight and easy reading. I recommend this highly for any Beatle fan.

Although Nowhere Man is subtitled as the final days of John Lennon, I think the reason that the book is as excellent as it is, is because it truly gives you an idea of who Lennon became from all of his life experiences. After I finished reading Robert Rosen's account, my somewhat adolescent and naïve image of Lennon, and The Beatles was shattered. Delving in to the particulars of the gruesome ex-Beatle, Rosen is a genius at creating Lennon's persona on paper. Also equally disturbing, was the enlightening that came from reading through the perspective of Mark David Chapman. This was obviously a time period in which the entire world was dwelling on fame and fortune, but the fact that it drove him to murder seems to be blatantly disconcerting. The book covers virtually every aspect of Lennon's life, yet the writing includes little "fluff", thank to the reporting skills of Rosen. The simple insight into Lennon's music will forever change the way we listen to his numerous albums. Doing significantly more than just giving us a little background information on Lennon, Nowhere Man is the essence behind Lennon, and everything he turned out to be.

I've read scores of Lennon bios over the years and "Nowhere Man" has become a personal favorite. A lot of the Lennon books that have come out in recent years aren't bringing anything new to a subject that's been written about to death in the 25 years since his horrific murder. Robert Rosen's "Nowhere Man" is coming from an entirely fresh perspective. Not only in the WAY it was written (the author read Lennon's diaries) but in the writing style itself, which features an almost poetic sensibility that really appealed to me. One of my favorite things about "Nowhere Man" is Rosen's savvy decision to incorporate the reading materials that figured so prominently in Lennon's life during his final years. By doing so he takes the reader on a journey into Lennon's inner mind. A journey the author himself took when reading Lennon's diary. The end result is a vivid portrait of Lennon's final years. I would highly recommend it to anybody looking to learn more about that era of his life.