Rating: 
Summary: The Lives of Albert Goldman
Review: I read this book when it was first released in the 80's and could not put it down, enjoying it even more than his previous book, ELVIS. Since Elvis had no pretensions about his public image vs. private (he's been called "the Howard Hughes of show business"), he received a harsh treatment from Goldman and it did feel like, as one reviewer said, Goldman "was picking on the rube." But looking at John Lennon, Goldman ventures behind the Lennon-Ono "myth machine" to expose a mad couple's packaging of themselves and the weird reality they really lived. I liked Lennon and loved his wicked sense of humor, but I also have to admit that madness also fueled his genius and Goldman's book filled me with more pity than anything else.
The only thing missing from the new edition is the article Goldman wrote about the persecution he endured for writing about Lennon in the first place (only Penthouse would publish it at the time!). By taking on the cult of rock stars, he ended up enduring the wrath of America's mass media and the rock establishment itself (Rolling Stone dedicated an entire issue to defaming him and U2, those peace-loving ambassadors of goodwill, wrote a song that included lyrics calling for his death!).
Rating:
Summary: The Only honest Lennon/Beatles biography!!! BUY IT!
Review: First Of All, thank you for reading this review. At last!!! A badly needed and long overdue reality check for all those zombie-brained Beatle fans who refuse to see any shortcomings in their holier-than thou heroes!! Maybe now they will GROW UP, or at the very least, understand that this book in no way demeans Lennon's phenomenal talent as an artist and musician, rather, it gives us a more balanced and realistic view of John Lennon the man as opposed to the superstar celebrity.It certainly increased my respect and admiration for Lennon's courage to assert his unique individuality.
I bought this book one year after its original release in 1988, and it is still as entertaining to me now as it was then.
This book is not only well-written, but also meticulously researched. It is thought-provoking, refreshing and eye-opening! It gives the reader a chance to experience John Lennon on a more personal level.
Almost every other Lennon/Beatles biography I have read is nothing more than a sugar-coated fairytale more concerned with perpetuating the Beatles' myth than honestly exposing Lennon as an imperfect human being. The deluded fans who continue to unjustly malign this book simply cannot face reality and refuse to leave the fantasy world of Pepperland! Many of them probably never got over the fact that the Beatles broke up because Paul stabbed his mates in the back out of cynical showbiz opportunism.
Goldman should have called this book THE TRUTH ABOUT JOHN LENNON. It is precisely that! The book exposes the Ballad Of John and Yoko for the lie it really was!! It also finally exposes Yoko as a talentless copycat who is incapable of loving anyone but herself and her empty pretensions. This is one of many truths Goldman was the first Beatles biographer to acknowledge. Far from being the perfect couple, John and Yoko never really loved one another!! The loveless Yoko only got involved with Lennon to exploit his fame and spend his money. Yoko began exploiting John's death from the moment he took his last breath! This is a cold fact about a cold blooded woman! Undoubtedly they would have divorced if John had survived. The only woman John ever really loved was May Pang. Goldman effectively smashes the Lennon mythology and I, for one, applaud him for that.Admittedly, this book takes on a rather mean-spirited mood in spots but the author's respect for Lennon's genius is easy to see for one who can look beneath the surface.
A truly loyal Lennon/Beatles fan will recognize that the truths revealed in this book should not and will not change the fact that, in spite of his mountains of faults, John Lennon made invaluable contributions to rock and roll, the music he loved all his life! Toss all your other Beatle biographies and give yourself a treat! Buy This Book!
Rating: 
Summary: Nowhere Man & the Great Debunker
Review: I hope Goldman got paid for his deserved abuse. Perhaps a good debunking job requires reams of salacious detail. The book certainly comes highly recommended for readers who enjoy that kind of stuff. But it must be conceded that Lennon was sainted after his tragic murder (boy, would he have been surprised!) and there were many who wanted to believe. So Goldman talked to Lennon's domestic help and Yoko Ono's parttime love and to second lady May Pang and in the end Goldman delivers this news: Lennon and Ono, like so many other sixties figures, succumbed to substance addiction and its accompanying ennui. The public relations picture of domestic amity was a fraud. A pity and a very sad story, made all that much sadder by Lennon's murder by a deranged and disillusioned former fan at the very moment he returns to the music biz. There seems to be a good amount of fiction amongst the facts in this book, but the fundamental picture rings true.
Rating: 
Summary: ...but, I like Lennon, really, I do!
Review: Okay, here's the thing with this book. A)How do you know that what Goldman says isn't true? You're not the one who did six years of research. B)As much as I admire John Lennon, it was refreshing to read a book that was the opposite extreme of all the sappy, fan-clubby stuff that's written about him, and C)with brutal honesty, it sheds light on the fact that Lennon vacillated between a need for commercial success and a need for artistic integrity in his work, something that all artists go through but no one wants to admit to it, especially about the great artists like John Lennon because it's much easier to slap the label "genius" on them and move on. Yeah, the book is mean, but for the most part, I find the meanness necessary in light of all the other sappy tripe that's been written about him- and maybe it'll pave the way for more middle of the road approaches. The only thing I don't like is, he totally takes these cheap shots at Yoko Ono... yeah, Goldman, like THAT'S really original. I happen to like Yoko Ono.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best biography ever written of John Lennon
Review: This book has been unfairly maligned ever since it was published. This hostility says a lot more about the childishness of the average rock fan than it does about Goldman's work. Goldman has written a work of the highest and deepest biography. It does not pretend to be a hagiography, nor a work of music criticism. Anyone with a sincere interest in John Lennon's life as he lived it will be riveted by Goldman's revlations. To begin with, he gives us much more of Lennon's childhood than was previously known -- here's John's mother and stepmother and father and half-brothers and -sisters -- and he uses this information to fashion a compelling analysis of John's personality and character, attributes that defined him for the rest of his life. He's also tremendously insightful about Yoko Ono, Brian Epstein, Phil Spector, May Pang, Stu Sutcliffe and Allen Klein, all of whom were key in John's life. Likewise, Goldman opens up the world of the business of the Beatles and makes it interesting. The portrait of John Lennon that emerges after 700 pages is by far the most nuanced, intelligent and, yes, sympathetic portrait that has been, or ever will be written of Lennon. It will only disappoint those who insist that biographies of the great man must paint him as a saint.
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage; John is probably turning in his grave
Review: I was lying in bed last night when I realized what an evil thing Albert Goldman has done here. He has taken the memory of John Lennon chewed it up spit it out and then stomped on it. Its disgusting. It has been proven that most of this book is garbage. John is gone. He is not here to defend himself against these horriable alligations. Any true Lennon fan shouldn't touch this book with a ten foot poll. I"m sorry that I did. If I could give this no stars i would.
Rating:
Summary: Burn It
Review: I can't imagine how this kind of publicity makes his family feel. John's not here to respond to these allegations. I found out after reading this that Albert Goldman's book is banned from all BeatleFests. Some places have had book burnings. This unecessary and nasty read is no longer on my shelf. It is the most disrespectful and cruel hearted thing to speak of such a beautiful man and artist who is no longer with us.
Rating:
Summary: Unnecessary
Review: My question is why? I'm realistic enough to believe that rock stars don't deserve sainted status. But I do know how to recognize musical abilities and talents. Do I really need to know every sordid detail, does anyone? I finished this book by sheer force of will, and I felt psychologically dirty afterwards. I listened to some Beatles & solo albums and realized that it was about the music, not the painfully tortured lives behind the music. This book is a reminder of how invasive we really are. What kind of cruelty is it to reveal all the faults and failings of man who is now dead and can never have the opportunity to respond? Maybe some of the book is true. But I really don't care. I'm sorry to Mr. Lennon and his families for the exposure this has brought to them(even though it was written over 15 yrs ago).
Rating:
Summary: Good Fiction, But Not Fact
Review: Back in 1988, there's was a two part article in People magazine which included excerpts from the book "The Lives Of John Lennon" by Albert Goldman. It was described as the definitive biography which breaks the Beatle and Lennon myths so prevalent in other Beatle/Lennon biographies. I remember the furor surrounding this book. In August 1988, I bought it new. While half way into it, I heard many stories on TV and the radio denouncing the book. Many who knew Lennon said a lot of details were wrong. Despite this, I finished it. I'm not going to go into all the inaccuracies, but I will list a few. First, Goldman has John saying "I'm a mocker" as a response to a reporter's question and proof of his dyslexia. Anyone who's seen A Hard Day's Night knows that Ringo said that.
Second, John is said to have killed a sailor in a street fight and kicked Stuart Sutcliffe in the head, which caused the hemorrhage which later killed him (Stuart). Wrong again. Horst Fascher killed the sailor (see the film The Compleat Beatles) and Stuart along with the rest of the group was attacked in Germany when they were touring there.
Third, Goldman actually says in one sentence "John and Brian had sex." According to the 1980 Playboy interview with David Scheff, John was quoted as saying that it was an affair, but 'never consummated'. It remains debatable as to what really happened, but it annoyed me that Goldman presumed to know. The list goes on. If you find the sources Goldman used, you will notice he misquoted more than half the time. The book is brilliantly written and makes good fiction, but don't treat it as a biography. Treat it as a well written novel.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Beatles Books
Review: Goldman's portrait of John Lennon as a reclusive, drug-addled nutcase, and Yoko Ono as a talentless artist-manque and evil, manipulative harridan rings, unfortunately, sadly true. Refreshingly, this book is free of the gushing and fawning that mars the vast majority of other books about the Beatles. For the most part, Goldman is clear-eyed and sharp of judgment. Among other things, he skewers the myriad laddish fictions of Beatlemania, and has no illusions about the slightness of George, Ringo, John and even Paul as musicians (even Paul apparently doesn't understand the functionality of a major seventh chord!). Goldman also rightly sees the slightness of a number of the compositions on Sgt. Pepper, and yet is still able to gauge its importance in popular music history. He certainly has no illusions about the Beatles as men, yet can speak with greater lucidity and insight than most about the greatness, and limitations, of their recorded legacy. In short, Goldman is that rare example amongst rock commentators of an informed, intelligent fan. On the downside, one wonders exactly how much of this book is unregenerate gossip being perpetrated by those with chips on their shoulders, for the music business is ultimately a cut-throat one, and the Beatles certainly have more than their share of jilted rivals and skeltons in the closet. Still, the general outlines of the portrait of Lennon and his mates rings sadly true. In addition, Goldman sometimes gets carried away and overplays his hand, such as, for example, in his failure to see the IMAGINE album as the pop masterpiece that it is (also, surely he is being facetious in suggesting that, along with Charlie Parker, La Monte Young is the other great musical innovator in American history????). Note: this book is NOT recommended to anyone inclined to vertigo by exposure to a contrarian sensibility. In other words, most Amazon customers should probably stick with those otiose Beatle hagiographies which do little more than perpetrate the fictions Goldman so gleefully skewers in his book.
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