The Lives of John Lennon

Rating:
Summary: The worst piece of trash I ever read about somebody!
Review: This guy should never show his face around Beatlefans! What kind of crap did this guy think he could get away with? The Star or the any of the tabloids are much more accurate than this! Don't waste your time or money or time reading this pile of junk! I have been a Beatlefan for 20 years and this book is a huge joke and an embarrassment to music in general!

Rating:
Summary: What is this guy's angle??
Review: An absorbing, if sordid, biography of John Lennon. While it's clear that Goldman did extensive research, did he ever verify his sources' information? It appears to me that he has published alot of and rumor, and this doesn't seem to be a particularly good way to write nonfiction. Still, if it's your cup of tea to see Lennon as a pathetic drug addict, tune in.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful in spite of itself
Review: Albert Goldman was trying to be lurid, there's no doubt about it. His writing style and choices of focus reflect that. Nevertheless, he did do extensive valuable research, and come up with some good insights - most notably in his description of Lennon as embodying the paradoxical personality of the Beatles as a whole, and his belief that LSD contributed to Lennon's ability to participate in the good vibes of the sixties when he himself was an angrier character. The chapter about his childhood is also good. In the edition I read, there were a few appalling lapses in need of editorial correction, like when later in life we are told that Lennon meets some woman on the beach who would haunt him somehow, and that he would not see again for many years... then it never mentions her again. I still don't know what Goldman was talking about there. It sounded interesting, I wish it had been included. All in all, a good read if taken with salt.

Rating:
Summary: Cheap Thrills
Review: Read this when it first came out in hardcover and a couple times since then. Goldman finds much to praise in Lennon's work, little decency in Lennon's various "lives." Even his criticism of the music is flawed and at times amusingly uninformed. With one hand Goldman denies Lennon the true musical talent possessed by, for instance, McCartney. With the other hand Goldman grants Lennon a genius for mishmash, gobbledygook and hodgepodge a la "I Am the Walrus" and "Strawberry Fields." In fact Goldman sees Lennon as essentially a synthesizer of influences and impressions at all points in his musical career. This observation goes down well with me, at least. But the tone of the book is mean-spirited throughout, and Goldman's sources (the Lennon's "maid," Jesse Ed Davis, Ronnie Hawkins) are not very authoritative. 3 stars because it is an eye-opener and deservedly out of print.

Rating:
Summary: Unfair.
Review: Although my opinion is biased, being a life long Lennon fan, I still feel that Goldman unfairly painted a bleak picture of a social icon, just because John Lennon was exactly that. I guess it's easier to defame the deceased, they can't defend themselves. It's also easier to write a biography with out actually interviewing the people who were there, it allows for more freedom with plot development. Goldman should recieve some credit where it is deserved. Though fictional, his work did invoke the response of many readers throughout world. I give him two stars for sensationalism.

Rating:
Summary: If only I could give it a more suitible rating- "0"
Review: This is the worst example of biography there has ever been . I first read this book a year ago - and couldn't finish it . I've heard of poetic justice- but this one really pushes it w/ "information" I'm sure the author found chiseled into a run-down men's room wall . It's a wonder the other Beatles wouldn't comment or allow an interview for this book . What is wrong with this guy ? Couldn't he say one good thing about Mr.Lennon ? And though I'm sure that the dates are correct ( they are common knowledge to Beatfreaks ) I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say that the rest wasn't . and in closing , I think I can shed some light on who the author might really be - Mark David Chapman himself , in sheeps clothing . You want a real look at lennon ? Read " Skywriting by Word of Mouth" It gives you a real look at the man who gave us "Imagine" and "Strawberry Fields"

Rating:
Summary: "Tabloid Trash"
Review: The validity of this book compares to the validity of every loony story in those tabloid magazines. Goldmans references are uncredible, and he robs Lennon of his dignity in this book. Most any other source on Lennon portrays completely the opposite. I think that Goldman's book should be sold by taking an ad out in 'The National Enquirer" or some other trash talking paper.

Rating:
Summary: Human As We All Pretend Not to Be
Review: Albert Goldman's portrayl of John Lennon in this book neither glorifies or demonizes John Lennon, but shows to us how truly human even the best and worst can be.

Rating:
Summary: The Reality of John Lennon
Review: I read this book,The Lives of John Lennon, at least 5 times. I know this book has been banned and shunned by other people, but this book is REAL. It shows a man, a human being, with a feeling of resentment his whole life caused by the stupid consequences of his parents. Albert Goldman not only shows the truth (or the possible truth) but he also explains in psychological terms why John was the man he was to others who knew him personally and the man he was to the world. I may not agree with some of his actions portrayed in the book, but I do understand why!

Rating:
Summary: A Paperback Writer He Is Not...
Review: I purchased and read Albert Goldman's "The
Lives of John Lennon" when it was first published
during the summer of 1988. Promoted as being the
definitive biography of John Winston Ono Lennon,
this book instead reveals itself to be nothing
more than a character assassination of the leader
and driving force of the greatest rock-and-roll
band ever--The Beatles. With poison-pen firmly in
hand, Mr. Goldam systematically reduces one of the
most artistic, creative, complicated, honest, at
times contradictory, yet ultimately gifted souls
of the Twentieth Century into an abusive, self-
centered, anorexic, reclusive drug addict. For
sources, Goldman often quotes nefarious
hangers-on from Lennon's last days at the Dakota.
By the time one reaches the end of this book, if,
indeed one makes it that far, the reader is left
with the impression that Mark David Chapman
committed a mercy killing on December 8th, 1980.
Chapman murdered John Lennon the man and,
in my opinion, Albert Goldman attempts to do the
same to Lennon's memory.