Rating: 
Summary: A tomcat who lost five of his lives...
Review: I wasn't going to review this book, but I am shocked at the immature and personal reader reviews so far. Why pick on Goldman? I read this book cover-to-cover in one night several years ago, and it never even occurred to me to hate the author. Whether or not all of the tackier details are true, this is biography of the highest order- we learn who Lennon was in each of his "lives" , in painstaking detail. Writers don't go to that much trouble with a subject they don't like. Goldman not only nails each of Lennon's masks, he gives a spot-on analysis for why he need ed them... and it wasn't just his hypocricy. Far from resembling a tabloid, The Lives of John Lennon is similar to Alice Miller's Thou Shall Not Be Aware in the absolutely subjective view of history through one person's wonderful and horrible life. This book will be enjoyed by ANYONE who is interested in the varieties of human emotion, music business, Jungian psychology and modern history. It will be rejected by anyone who takes criticsm of any kind as an attack.I am not a Beatle's fan ( although my mother was, and I love Primal Scream),but my I feel more, not less, for John Lennon after reading this book. If your image of your loved ones is so fragile that you reject them for being human, well, I refer you to the first chapters of Lennon's life. Oh, and incidentally, Albert Goldman is the only person I have ever heard of who made sense of Lennon's attraction to Yoko.
Rating: 
Summary: sad old 'hip' sod feels deep jealousy for rock star
Review: Why anyone has ever taken a word written by that useless old fraud Albert Goldman seriously is beyond me. His Elvis biography was notably flawed, not least because of his inability to recognise the fact that it is actually possible that a poor white Southern American may not actually want to restore slavery. His Lennon book is equally soiled as the despised 'professor' can't help but show his annoyance at watching the man he admires fall into a relationship with a woman he sees as unworthy ( despite the fact that Yoko was at least as posh as one Lady Diana Spencer RIP). The only Goldman book worth reading is his Lenny Bruce biog, where he begrudgingly admits that the crazed comedian is a smarter smartass New York Jew than him. Personally I couldn't give a toss if Elvis, Lennon or Cobain were mass murderers, wife beaters, or toilet traders, or if they died too young. They weren't my friends, they made some good music and that's it. There'll be another one like them along soon. Ignore this stupid jealous book. Albert Goldman died on a plane, and his body was reportedly shipped across the Atlantic repeatedly because he had no friends to claim it. John Lennon's death was felt by millions. You choose.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Changes Everything
Review: Before reading this book, my picture of Lennon was of a man, true to his beliefs, a great artist who loved what he did and a wonderful family man (to Yoko and Sean anyway) This book completely changes your whole perspective of him. For anyone reading this book, don't make it your first glimpse at John Lennon, as it is a harsh version of his life. Read something a bit more sugar sweet first. Not recommended for average Lennon fans, who know him as a great musician and honest man. The only reason I gave it two stars was for its detail. Just a very true, but disheartening book.
Rating: 
Summary: Quit thinking with your emotions
Review: Not a lot of people knew that Rock Hudson was gay until AIDS in Paris. Most people still think that JFK is a real family guy. Nobody knew that Brent Mydland was gay until his death; even the Grateful Dead was shocked. My point is that most people don't know that there is a vast difference between the image of an entertainer, and the real person. Regarding ELVIS by Albert Goldman; it may have seemed a harsh book to the fans that wanted to believe that Elvis was a lovable teddy bear, and a bitter pill to swallow. However, in the years since the publication of that book, volumes of evidence has come out to support every line that Albert wrote in that great book. I suspect that in the future, the same will hold true for THE LIVES OF JOHN LENNON. Evidence will come forward solidifying most of Albert's claims. If you don't want to know the truth, then just go and put on one of those "Yeah, yeah, yeah", records and hide your head in the sand.
Rating: 
Summary: Crappy book, pitiful author
Review: Unfortunately this was the first book I ever read about John Lennon - and unfortunately I uncritically, for some time, bought nearly everything it said about him and his wife. Fortunately (thank God!)I afterwards found Ray Coleman's fine biography of Lennon and realized Albert Goldman and his book are just full of %$#@; one can only wonder about his motives for writing and publishing a huge bunch of plain lies - and obviously thinking he could just get away with it!
Rating:
Summary: if this is true, i don't care!!!!!
Review: Maybe john lennon was a villain who the world never found out about. But the way this book was presented, it sounded like lennon was 100% evil, 0% genius. It also sounded more like a tabloid cover story than an in-depth biography.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the last word but interesting
Review: The emotional subtext of the late Mr. Goldman's book is "John Lennon was an anti-Semite, so take this!" Which is a valid emotion if a true assesment of Lennon's character but the book fails to be good because it is a relentles trashing. Also, it appears that portions of hte book were not written by the same author as he at times seems to concede Lennon's talent, then dismiss it. (His portrayal of Yoko Ono as an amoral and deeply disturbed psychotic feels true to me but it may be unfair.) Even if the overall portrait is true, if Lennon was indeed a self-hating, bigoted, overrated, violent lunatic, it only puts him in the club of most great artists. There is probably alot of true dirt here, but it is nto the last word on a man who by all encounters seemed witty, engaging, and even humble in candid moments as well as moments of performance.
Rating:
Summary: Putrid, Poisonous, Infuriating
Review: I can understand why I picked up this book in a bargain bin, it's simply awful. That might sound harsh, maybe, but once you start reading this book, you'll understand why I'm so critical of this trash. I was a third of the way through the book before I gave up altogether. Racism, bigotry, homophobia, hysterical overwriting...Goldman's obvious aim is to simply try and destroy a legendary figure. I recognise that Lennon wasn't a saint, but there should be a fair play for a dead man. Goldman does not provide it. Oscar Wilde once said: "A man in life has many disciples, but it is always Judas who writes the biography." That explains this book perfectly. If you are are looking for a biography of Lennon, I refer you to Ray Coleman's excellent, thoughtful study.
Rating:
Summary: Goldman is trash.
Review: Do not buy this book. This man is a liar who only intended to tarnish the reputation of a legend. Mind you, Lennon had his downs as well, but Goldman is ridiculous. He wrote that John could hardly stand to be around Sean and would not even hold him, but we see in countless interviews and footage that this is not the case. We see a man smothering a little boy with love that he did not receive from his own father. All we ever see is John with Sean. Let me just say that when Albert Goldman died nobody really missed his critiques. This book is garbage. Goldman was well-known for destroying reputations of people we love. He did an excellent job with Elvis and was working on Jim Morrison when he died. Do not waste your money. Lies, lies, lies.
Rating:
Summary: I'm ashamed I had to give it one star.
Review: As time goes on, the truth about Mr. Goldman's "research" is becoming known. It turns out, he didn't conduct the 1,200 interviews and rarely talked to people who were closest to John Lennon. Even in a period of his life when McCartney couldn't speak a good word about Lennon, he still came out publicly to say that most of this book is bogus. Claiming to know intimate facts about Lennon's family life, times where only Lennon, Ono, and Sean were present, Goldman makes it all to obvious that he's simply making up garbage in order to sell books. Just because I am a Lennon fan doesn't mean I think he is a great guy, but I still think that someone doing a biography should be more resposible than this. This guy ranks lower than Oliver Stone.
|
