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  <title><![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Wed Dec 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[&quot;In September 2003, I suggested to John's widow, Yoko Ono, that I should become his biographer,&quot; writes Philip Norman in the Acknowledgements section of John Lennon: The Life. However, after reading the final manuscript, &quot;Yoko Ono was upset by the book,&quot; Norman tells us, &quot;an...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/36567761">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[Don't panic. I'm not going to give you a long (boring) review. I'm not very good at that. But I will say I just finished reading all 822 pages of JOHN LENNON - THE LIFE. I think it's an excellent book. Well written and very detailed. With all my  respect and love for Yoko Ono, who withdrew her suppo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47883203">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>77554067</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <date_added>Thu Nov 12 10:03:29 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 16 07:20:21 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[So I'm listening to the audio version of this book, and I get to Track 9 and the second CD.  Suddenly, within the same track, the narrative goes from John Lennon and his art-school buddies, straight to George Harrison joining the Quarrymen.  It skips John's first meeting with Paul McCartney.  This w...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77554067">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77554067]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>41825535</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Tonya]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>263</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Beatles and John Lennon fans]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Sun Jan 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 04 07:34:00 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 11 14:48:40 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is definitely a MUST for any John Lennon / Beatles fan. <br/><br/>Philip Norman, the author writes in this book:<br/>&quot;In September 2003, I suggested to John's widow, Yoko Ono, that I should become his biographer, Yoko Ono was upset by the book and would not endorse it . . . [saying:] I ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41825535">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[F.R.]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <date_added>Sun Jan 18 11:15:18 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 27 23:49:57 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A good read, which does capture something of John Lennon (I won't say that he leaps off the page, because I think it's very difficult for a real person to truly be captured in the pages of a biography. As in all of these books, there are some years captured in ten or so pages, and even if it was a d...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43471407">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43471407]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life CD]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p> Philip Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the definitive portrait of John Lennon. </p> <p> This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into almost a secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folklore. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John. </p> <p> Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
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  <read_at>Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Sun Oct 04 18:27:19 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I've been an audiobooks listener for more than 20 years and this is by far the worst abridgement I've ever heard. First of all, there is no reason why any book should be recorded abridged. Still, I have listened to several that were (when there was no other choice) and there was always an attempt to...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72027107">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72027107]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sat Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Sat Jul 18 05:20:12 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Norman's <u>John Lennon: The Life</u> provides tremendous insight into one of the most influential bands of the 20th century, albeit through a Lennon-tinted lens.  Starting in Liverpool with the life of Freddie Lennon, John's father, the book covers, in considerable detail, the larger-than-life life of Joh...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62003556">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 27 23:24:29 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 27 23:28:41 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[While he doesnâ€™t make sensational observations, Norman brings up new facts; some good and some bad. His goal is to give insight into Lennon as a human being.   Sorting through available information must have been a huge task.  Keep in mind, Lennon's life was well covered by the press and he foster...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69184058">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69184058]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69184058]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Tue Nov 18 21:32:31 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 04 11:51:44 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[What I learned:<br/><br/>John Lennon's parents were terrible.<br/><br/>He needed therapy.<br/><br/>A lot of drugs were involved, but never, remarkably, during a recording session.<br/><br/>John really was a genius.<br/><br/>Yoko Ono is not an artist.<br/><br/>Writhing around in a bag is ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38108808">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38108808]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38108808]]></link>
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      <review>
  <id>39172326</id>
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    <id>1364312</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sarah]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Tue Dec 02 22:25:24 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 02 22:28:26 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So far this is one of the best Beatles related book I've read. I'm a few chapters in and I they're still discussing his youth. Usually they just give the Readers Digest version we've all heard, but this sheds more light on John and how he came to be the man he was.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39172326]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39172326]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>38686038</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Madalene]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Nov 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Nov 26 07:10:33 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 26 07:16:29 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is over 800 pages, so to say it is very detailed is almost an understatment.  While I'm not particularly a Lennon fan, I thought it would be worth reading, and it turns out I really enjoyed it.  As the author says, the book is written for someone that might know next to nothing about Lenno...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38686038">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38686038]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38686038]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

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  <date_added>Thu Jan 08 06:00:24 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jan 08 06:00:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Critics generally praised <em>John Lennon: The Life</em>, though they often seemed shocked at how much hate and violence could be found in one of the 20th century’s most famous proponents of peace and love. Some were also taken aback by the book’s length—over 800 pages for a figure who famously lived only to...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42334349">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42334349]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>47184310</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>263</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Feb 22 15:10:45 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Feb 22 15:14:33 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[ Any new Beatles or Solo Beatles book is cause for celebration. It seems whenever I read one I find a new tid bit or two about the lads that I didn't know about from any previous work. <br/> This book was no different. Norman delves deep into Lennon's early childhood and teenage years and writes a ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47184310">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>60912845</id>
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    <id>67156</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Steven]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life CD]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p> Philip Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the definitive portrait of John Lennon. </p> <p> This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into almost a secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folklore. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John. </p> <p> Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 24 07:47:16 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 24 07:52:15 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This 12.5 hour long unabridged audio book is good for long drives. Interesting, but with frustrating gaps in narrative, skipping over large portions of history.  I was irritated when it jumped from the release party of Magical Mystery Tour to John &amp; Yoko's miscarriage, skipping over much of the deve...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60912845">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Fri May 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 23 23:25:42 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 04 08:09:55 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Norman is irritatingly besotted with his subject, with the Beatles, and with himself. His portentous references to Beatles songs, Beatlemania, and Lennon's death at the book's outset are cheaply written and painfully contrived, nor is he half so clever as he fancies. But despite the author, this is ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57125463">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57125463]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>54433011</id>
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    <id>39746</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Michael P.]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3423364.John_Lennon_The_Life</link>
  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Wed Apr 29 19:33:53 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jun 13 14:34:33 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[If you're a Beatle fan, you must read this book. If you're not a Beatle fan, you must read this book. If you have aspirations in music, art, politics, domestic homelife, or anything grandiose or banal, you must read this book. <br/><br/>It's easily the most comprehensive story of Lennon's life, an...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54433011">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54433011]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sat Jan 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 24 16:32:47 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 24 16:38:14 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[With the seemingly hundreds of books already available about Lennon and/or the Beatles, what more could we possibly learn the legend? Apparently plenty, as Norman uncovers all kinds of new info. For the first time ever, we get the true story of the father who was not a part of his life, along with t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44216866">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 09 19:55:14 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 09 20:07:30 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lennon was a very damaged and incredibly creative man.  The book tells you more than you'd probably ever want to know about him.  The most amazing thing I learned was that Yoko's maternal grandfather was a kind of super star in Japan, people had pictures of him in their homes because he inspired the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39744051">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39744051]]></url>
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</review>
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    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Lennon fans, Beatle fans, rock music history fans]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 04 06:35:17 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 16 12:13:38 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's unfortunate that Yoko felt Norman's bio was &quot;mean&quot; to John.  In actuality, the book is well balanced, informative and rich with new quotes from an impressive array of supporting characters that Norman interviewed just for this book.<br/><br/>Those of you who have read bios on John b...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41821613">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41821613]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41821613]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>55931568</id>
    <user>
    <id>1064407</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brian]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Dickson City, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1064407-brian]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">3423364</id>
  <isbn>006075401X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060754013</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">83</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[John Lennon: The Life]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3423364.John_Lennon_The_Life</link>
  <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>263</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>For more than a quarter century, Philip Norman's internationally bestselling <em>Shout!</em> has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.</p> <p>This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. In three years of research, Norman has turned up an extraordinary amount of new information about even the best-known episodes of Lennon folkloreâ€”his upbringing by his strict Aunt Mimi; his allegedly wasted school and student days; the evolution of his peerless creative partnership with Paul McCartney; his Beatle-busting love affair with a Japanese performance artist; his forays into painting and literature; his experiments with Transcendental Meditation, primal scream therapy, and drugs. The book's numerous key informants and interviewees include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir George Martin, Sean Lennonâ€”whose moving reminiscence reveals his father as never beforeâ€”and Yoko Ono, who speaks with sometimes shocking candor about the inner workings of her marriage to John.</p> <p>Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictionsâ€”tough and cynical, hilariously funny but also naive, vulnerable and insecureâ€”and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed May 13 09:32:47 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 30 04:28:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A very detailed history of both sides of Lennon's family, including details about his childhood, schooling and growing up in Liverpool.<br/><br/>It's a very detailed account of the Beatles early days, including the famous Hamburg days, and their rise during Beatlemania.<br/><br/>I was most inter...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55931568">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55931568]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55931568]]></link>
</review>
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