This book is a must-have for all Lennon fans. It has summaries and origins of all his songs from 1970- .It's full of photos, too! [...]

Most biographors who have written about Mr. Lennon ether tell you very little or they tell you too much about his private life. This book did not do that it told you about his acheivements and it also told you about his faults. When Mr. Coleman wrote this book he showed his love for the person and not the name. There have been writters who have written in envy or hate. There is not one part in this book that is written under thoes pretences. This book helps you see his human side and how giving, caring, and how loving this man was. It told you about his life from childhood right up to his death. I would not recomend this book for any one who can not stand to read a verv long time but if you really are interested in John Lennon, out of all the books I've read this would be the one I would recomend

This volume includes forty-six fun arrangements of familiar Lennon and McCartney tunes. All are arranged for both lever and pedal harp. Some have only a few lever or pedal changes, while others are more involved. Chord symbols, all the words, and a discography are also included. This volume is highly recommended for intermediate to advanced students and professionals alike.

I think that John lennon was a brillent writer. he did everything with such creativeness and it shows in this book and in A Spaniard in the Works. I found the words to be twisted in such a way that the mind HAS to imagine it all. He foreplayed the words around. I got this book from my best friend.I highly recommend it if you want to expand your imagination to it's highest point.

Once A Man Twice A Child has completely changed my perspective and understanding John Lennon's death. Before reading this book I did not know much about Lennon or The Beatles other than the songs they recorded. I live in the same town as the author and was lucky enough to meet Dan Alice. He handed me a copy of his manuscript. The first thing that captivated me about this book was the strange image on the cover; A man dressed as a walrus with outstretched arms similar to Jesus on the cross. It seemed kind of taboo to me. Later I discovered that this Walrus was also found on the cover of The Magical Mystery Tour Album. The walrus is also the Scandinavian symbol for death. I found it even stranger that the song I Am The Walrus from this Magical Mystery Tour Album was released exactly 13 years to the day before Lennon was murdered. Was this album and walrus a sign predicting Lennon's death or just a coincidence? When the novel suggested this I thought that this was insane. Personally I am very skeptical when it comes to coincidences, prophecies, astrology, spirits, etc. However, after reading this novel and the hundreds of strange coincidences and facts interpreted through numerological and astrological interpretation I began to think twice. I became so obsessed that I looked up as many facts the book brings up and every one of them is completely true! People, places, dates, events, ect., all 100% true. It made me wonder if the spirit of John Lennon's deceased best friend Stuart Sutcliffe was still among us and if Lennon's death was written into the stars. It has really spooked me out especially since so much evidenced has been overturned in this novel and examined from a perspective no one has ever taken before. I love this novel and give it two thumbs up. I would recommend it to anyone especially if you are a Beatle or Lennon fan.

it is a great book, its great LEnnon had such great views with his words

Ray Coleman's biography is terrific due to its depth. It gets longs and tedious at times, but many of the details are essential to understand such a complex man as John Lennon. Coleman being a personal friend of John also gives the reader great insight, rather than reading a book by someone who has never been acquainted with him. I believe Coleman portrays Lennon warts and all. He doesn't really shy away with faults of John, and tells about how he roughly treated Cynthia and Julian, describes how he hurt many people in his young days being inconsiderate of cripples and deformed people, and tells about how he did get involved with drugs too heavily and ignored many important things going on around him. Being personaly acquainted with Lennon, Coleman also tells about the intimate, vulnerable side of John rarely revealed during his life. The book gives an accurate representation of John as it shows many sides of such a complex man. I believe this is a true must have for beatles fans and those he want to find the truth about a great man stolen from us by some maniac.

I loved this book. I all of my reading about the Beatles and John Lennon himself, this one told me the most. I had spent the last four months reading a different Lennon book, that was even smaller then this one, and I think I read "Lennon" in about two weeks. It was so much easier to read and Coleman wrote it beautifully. From the start "Lennon" was a book that I never wanted to put down. I think I even read it twice, it was so good. This book is guarenteed to make to laugh, cry, and maybe even curse when you hear about the treatment John recieved during his lifetime. From his tragic childhood, to the Beatles, to Yoko, to Sean and his awful death in 1980, you will love and maybe even understand John a little better than before. This is one of the greatest biography book ever published and ever will be published for that matter. It's a must read for any Lennon fan out there, young and old

Perhaps the only true definitive biography of
Beatles genius, John Lennon, was his own
music, lyrics, art, interviews, idealism,
and life work itself. Ray Coleman's "Lennon",
however, is a classic work that comes in a close second;
as it remains the very best end-to-end biography and
portrait of the complex, often misunderstood, brilliant, and
legendary Beatle's leader and visionary - spanning his whole
life from child to death. Ray Coleman knew all of the Beatles
first hand as a reporter and traveled and toured with them.
His intimate knowledge is unique and extends beyond the mere
research and interviews (of other would-be biographers) to
having had direct personal experiences with John Lennon, with
the band, and with their whole entourage.
Coleman's biography reveals and explores John's great
personal lamenting and dissastifaction at the very height
of "Beatlemania" and his unprecedented success - the key to
understanding who John Lennon really was and what would
lead to the Beatles breakup and form his post-Beatle goals
and objectives. While exploring John's dispair, depression,
lows, and highs head on - the book also refreshingly explores
John's humor, warmth, charisma, loyalty, leadership,
actitivy, positive ideals, committments, and desire to be
"real" and credible - unlike various cheap, tabloid-style,
one-dimensional, ill-willed, character assassination books
that have unfortunately surfaced in the wake of his murder
seeking to trivialize (arguably) the 20th century's greatest
songwriter and one of it's most influential and inspirational
figures. For a complete examination of John Lennon's life
in-total, this excellant book, and Jon Wiener's book
"Come Together" (which focuses on John's political thought
and activism, solo career, and the U.S. government harassment
and abuse against him in detail) provide and form an
excellant and complimentary set. Other absolutely essential
reading is John's own lengthy 1980 Playboy Magazine
interviews (published in book form) that includes the most
accurately documented song authorship breakdown of the
Beatles songs and also his self analysis of his solo
music. The musical analysis of John's work provided
in "Lennon" is a little bit lacking as it focuses mostly on
just the lyrics. However, the book "BeatleSongs" rounds out
this information as does the book "Tell Me Why". But, if
you are buying only one book on either the Beatles or John
Lennon, Ray Coleman's book "Lennon" provides the best single
and substantive source of insight available into the
phenomena of Lennon and the Beatles - containing none of the
irrelevant aimless drivel of the much ballyhooed "Beatles
Anthology" book and far more substantive information.
This book is the benchmark. A must read for any fan,
Rock archivest, or musicologist.

How did such a normal day lead to such a phenomenen? Was it destiny? Did John Lennon and Paul McCartney have any idea as teenagers as to what lay ahead of them? These are questions that can never be answered, but eight years of painstaking research and a little artistic license has produced a book which plants many a romantic thought in the mind about how the Beatles started. "The Day John Met Paul" is a book about the 6th of July 1957, focusing primarily on events in Woolton, a leafy suburb of Liverpool, where a local village fete leads to the first meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, later to become the driving forces behind the band that became the Beatles. Author JimO'Donnell describes these events as a present-tense review of the day, and it is this approach as well as the remarkable factual detail which makes his book unique and compelling. His introduction to the book is mesmerising in itself, as he explains how his research sought to capture the atmosphere of that place at that time. He also describes world events which were happening simultaneously, taking into account time differences, meaning that these events were literally happening at the precise moments. This gives emphasis on the physical normality of what happened that day but as it is written now, it is an experience to read the book while obviously knowing what happened subsequently. This is where O'Donnell engrosses the reader, forcing us to imagine the scenes taking place, and the book, although really an acquired taste, actually works on a historical level as well. For those who never saw 1957, images are conjured of life at that time on a Saturday in the middle of summer. What O'Donnell also acheives is as mentioned the romanticism of the Beatles story and myth and the idea that the real reason for their success and incredible longevity as a part of people's lives was the personal relationships between them and the higher spiritual plane that they seemed to stumble on together. As Paul watches John play at the fete, and later vice versa, there is a "meeting of minds" and a sharp vision. Whether the true story was anything like this is always open to speculation, but the telling phrases used by O'Donnell in his book lead us to believe that was a union so important that it must have been written in the stars. O'Donnell starts off from the early hours of the morning as the teenagers and most of Liverpool sleeps, and he describes the surrounding scene before the main protagonists have had a chance to contribute to events of the day. We see the build-up to the event which, while not big in itself, began something special, and as the event unfolds, his vivid imagination is given full rein as he describes what might have been going through their minds, and how they were spurred on not just by the sound of the music but what it really meant to them on a personal level, creating the collective vision that would eventually be shared with the world. This is of course primarily a book for Beatlemaniacs and positively demands multiple readings and musings.

I couldn't stop reading once I started this gem, and of the many Beatles books, I'd rate this as one of the best. For pure literary artistry, it ranks high: the descriptions are vivid and bring you completely into that fateful day (one moment stands out in which the Quarrymen go on their second, evening, show and a minute into the set, a rare Liverpool lightning storm sweeps through the town, knocking out the power, leaving John and his bandmates in darkness for a moment...
the proverbial, but in this instance real, "lightning flash" of greater things to come?!)
Definitely recommended to any Beatles fan.

Jim O'Donnell is a very gifted writer. His descriptions of the past are like painted murals in our imagination. The images he creates with his words take us back in time when John Lennon and Paul McCartney were teenagers, in Liverpool, England, and the world was just learning how to rock around the clock. I couldn't put this book down. Besides his great writing ability, it is very obvious that Mr. O'Donnell has done his research well. This book will NOT insult the intelligence of any Beatles' fan. It will make the reader understand a little more of the genius behind the remarkable songwriting team of Lennon and McCartney. Their strong differences of personalities brought John and Paul together... and yet, drew them closer. The author, I feel, has done the job well.

I finished reading this book recently and I have to say it is an excellent book. When Hunter Davies first interviewed the Beatles for this book from 1967-1968, it was before all the bickering and fighting started and before Yoko came into the picture. Davies takes an inside look in thier home and family life, the songwriting process, and recording sessions. It also gives a pretty good background on their childhoods and how they all met. Not to mention a lot of great pictures, including some I never seen before. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it is not a totally definative bio. Lots of things were left out because it upset thier family members. For example, it is not mentioned that Brian Epstein was homosexual because it upset his mother at the time. And some things were left out of John's childhood because it upset his aunt Mimi. Other than that, I reccomend that you read this book. It is smart and thouroughly researched. A must have for all Beatles fans!

This is an essential document for Beatles scholarship. At the time it was simply a pop bio by a competent writer, but it depicts the Beatles at a fascinating juncture in their career. It is particularly notable for its accounts of songwriting and recording sessions, for a glimpse of their home lives, and for their opinions about life in general at the time. Since this is an authorized biography, critics may complain that it is whitewashed - but one can read between the lines and gather the full meaning of everything pretty well. All in all, it is remarkably honest. This updated edition features a sterling introduction by the author about the writing of the book and offers further insight into the personalities of the Beatles.

Thank heaven for Beatle scholarship that this book was written. Competent journalist Hunter Davies spent a year observing the Beatles and interviewing them in their own homes during the heady, fascinating year of 1967. He emerged with a time piece: the Beatles as they were at that time, reflecting on what came before and unaware of what was yet to come. A chapter describing the writing and recording of "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Getting Better," and "Magical Mystery Tour" offers unique and especially valuable glimpses of the Beatles at work. Chapters depicting the home life and personal outlook of each Beatle are also very interesting. I must also say that for an authorised biography, this is remarkably honest. Perceptive readers will be able to detect the whole truth here, and a fine introduction written by the author years later helps fill in any gaps. Apart from being hugely entertaining, this book is a tremendous boon to historians interested in the Beatles.

writing from his experiance as well as his heart fred seaman brings to life in this book tons of personal information about john lennon and yoko ono.having to keep a very heavy load taking care of johns every need,studio one office duties and yokos wild request,seaman is able to capture life at lennono at its best and worst.fred tells of johns wierd obsessions with cults,clothes,fear of fans,and even death.this book also tells of john lennons comeback,the writing of new songs in bermuda,recording double fantasy,how the album got its name,problems in the studio with yoko,on and on,all the way up to johns death.the last days of john lennon is worth every penny.i read it from cover to cover,it was hard to lay it down.i have always been a beatles fan.i have always been a john lennon fan.now i can say that i am a true fredric seaman fan.fantastic job fred! buzz sawyer

No matter what slander has been hurled against Fred Seaman, I refuse to believe that he would be lying about so many of the intricate details of John Lennon's life. When I read this book, my eyes were opened to the human being that John really was. As much as I would ever hate to offend anyone in John's family I can't help but be overwhelmed by how believeable this book really is. I'm just glad to see that there are other people out there that didn't listen to all the scrutiny pertaing to Fred Seaman. I'm glad they gave the book a chance like I did. And in so doing I discovered how believeable it really was. Some people don't realize how much heat and scrutiny that Fred is up against. In reading his book I felt that a terrible injustice had come upon him for a small mistake he had made with his heart. It was unfortunate how it turned out for him. This book is the most believeable account of the last two years of John's life that I've ever read. I've never put stock in any Beatle or John Lennon Book until now and I have just about read them all. But because of Seaman's private memoirs I no longer want to read another book about John Lennon. Freds book said it all. I wish the best for you, Fred. Remember Bermuda? It was a peaceful time? sincerely Isis & MeganJaye

I've read many Lennon bios, from Goldman to Coleman...John has been my favorite Beatle, and human being, since I was about 15 (I'm now 29)...and I feel sorry for Yoko that she has to stifle this book. This is an entirely human account of the life John and Yoko led in the last year or two of John's life...written by the guy who was a staple in their everyday living, ordering the groceries, setting up flights, witnessing his own Aunt Helen trying to control the young Sean, as his nanny...There is no vindictiveness in this book...it's a loving account of John as a real man. I never, ever, in reading this got the feeling that Seaman was some kind of pariah bent on reaping the profits of a world famous man...Just a mere recording of daily events...with John a central presence....one sequence that stood out was John hearing Paul's song "Coming Up"....and remarking that it was a song he could not get out of his head..he asked Seaman to get hold of the latest McCartney album..."McCartney II'...
a riveting account of a man we all admire, but whose faults are there, in full display.....still feeling for his past, wanting more...this book is a display of passion, a true gem....