Rating: - Last Years Of John Lennon
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.
Rating: - Depressing yet Moving
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.
Rating: - Basically written by an obcessive fan...
There are things about how this book was written, the way the info was obtained and the author's bizarre quest to "get inside" Lennon's head that are off-putting and tend to make me take this book with a heaping handful of sodium chloride. The author claims he has distilled the essence of the man's last year by allegedly analyzing Lennon's pilfered diaries, starving himself down to John Lennon's weight and chasing after former servants of the Lennons. I would say this book does give us a picture of a person who lived a very strange life but whether that person is or is not Lennon, really, who can say? It is an interesting picture. Certainly a disticnt perspective that diverges wildly from the domesticated, retiree superstar Lennon like to style himself as. So it's an interesting read but the author is trying painfully hard to show us how well he knew a man he never actually met. It smacks of wishful thinking. There's something about it that feels forced and kind of...fictional.
- Last Years Of John Lennon
- Depressing yet Moving
- Basically written by an obcessive fan...