Imagine This: Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon (Hardcover)

~ Julia Baird (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A tragic story...also a tenderly evoked memoir of a Liverpool childhood' -- John Walsh, The Independent 'A tragic story ... also a tenderly evoked memoir of a Liverpool childhood' -- The Independent 'honest and poignant, this enjoyable read offers fans a new perspective on their idol' -- The Sun 'A moving account of the Beatle's childhood by his half-sister ... fascinating' -- Observer Music Monthly 'Philip Larkin's much-quoted lines about sex being invented in 1963 "between the end of the Chatterley ban/ And the Beatles first LP" stand corrected here. Perhaps life was dull in Hull and Coventry, but on this account there was plenty of passion in Liverpool' -- The Irish Times 'A poignant powerful tale that throws new light on the Lennon legend' -- The Scottish Sunday Post 'An unusual treat' -- Aberdeen Evening Express 'His sister's important new account chronicles the pivotal childhood years that provided the source of both Lennon's rich creativity and personal vulnerability' -- Good Books Guide

Product Description

Until now, the true story of John Lennon's childhood has never been told. John's sister Julia has herself been on a personal journey that has made it possible only now to reveal the full extent of the pain and difficulties -- as well as the happier times -- living inside John Lennon's family brought. Julia reveals the various strong, self-willed and selfish women who surrounded John as he grew up. John was removed from his mother at the age of 5 to live with his Aunt Mimi, and here Julia shows for the first time the cruelty of this decision -- to both mother and son, she sheds a new light on his upbringing with Mimi which is often at dramatic odds with the accepted tale. John's frequent visits to his mother and sisters gave him the liveliness, freedom and love he sought and allowed him to develop his musical talents. The tragic death of their mother, knocked down outside Aunt Mimi's house by a speeding car when John was 17, meant that life for him and his sisters would never be the same again. Poignant, raw and beautifully written, IMAGINE THIS casts John Lennon's life in a new light and reveals the source of his emotional fragility and musical genius. It is also one family's extraordinary story of how it dealt with fame and tragedy beyond all imagining.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (February 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340839244
• ISBN-13: 978-0340839249
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #195,021 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #19 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lennon, John
  #22 in	Books > Entertainment > Pop Culture > Music > Beatles > John Lennon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual perspective, March 30, 2007

By	A reader (Seattle) - See all my reviews

I found Julia Baird's book on her half-brother, John Lennon, well-written and very enjoyable. I've read dozens of books on John and the Beatles, and hers provided a unique perspective which definitely humanized this "icon" in a way few others have. These days it is hard to find anything but the highly-sanitized, Yoko-centric version of John, but this look into his childhood, adolescence and later years has a ring of truth to it. He lived more than half of his life before Yoko, and this book reminds us of that.