a great visual journey into john lennon's life with plenty of intimate photographs

i bought this book after seeing the rave reviews it got, thinking it was a real reading book. turned out to be a HUGE, glossy pictorial account..... but it's just as good probably better. awesome rare photos and quotes by the man and friends, and packed full of priceless memories. get it.

All I can say is that this book is the best I've ever owned on any member of the Beatles. Jammed full of pictures and a detailed bio, this book is everything that you need to know about John Lennon's life, work, and social standings. I give it an A++++. Forwarded by Yoko Ono.

After finishing this book in the wee hours of this morning I've come to the conclusion that Cale must be appreciated for his solitary genius in the fields of art and expression but also must be taken with a grain of salt. The entire book seems to be a thinly veiled attack at Lou Reed whom Cale seems overwhelmingly jealous of (thou others would tend to disgree) Plus it shows him as a very difficult individual to get along with (ie his many wives, his broken colaborative relationships with Reed and Brian Eno) I also found it amusing how he brought it other commentators only to attack Reed and make Cale out to be a saint. Overall this is a very well written book filled with sardonic wit and dry humor with an excellent view into the VU, The Factory days, and the progression of one man's struggles through himself and art. Cale is not blameless in his trangressions but I think he sees this...

I just recently bought this book. I love it. Great stories, and nice pictures. Sometimes it is painfull honest. It is so nice to read about the start of the Velvet Underground.

Also the pictures are wonderful.

Bettina

I devoured this book about my top music hero and pronounce it good! It's not perfect though, I would have liked more background on some of the albums (people involved in the recording, events etc) especially his work with e.g. Nick Drake, and the editing is really sloppy: in one place early in the text, the title of a newspaper has just been left out, and Cale's collaboration with Bob Neuwerth is called Last NIGHT On Earth (it is DAY). It provides valuable insights into his personal life and artistic development, and early reflections on Andy Warhol and The Factory. Great photographs and illustrations too make for a very pleasing design. Certainly worthy of the man and his achievements.

I've been a fan of Buddy's since he was still alive. This is the best biography available. The authors do not deal in sensationalism and wacko explorations of Buddy's sex life or possible contributions to the crash of the plane. He died at 22, and was only famous for two years, and never was wealthy. He can be expected to have had moments of immaturity, and to have made mistakes in judgement. But the overwhelming evidence is that he was a nice, normal young adult with abnormal talent for singing, songwriting, guitar-playing and record-producing. He's been gone for more than 40 years, and he left about 80 recordings behind. Those performances are still wonderful, and this book tells you a lot about how they were created and captured and preserved. Who needs anything else?

This is, hands down, the best biography of Buddy Holly available. I have read them all and though others have their moments (mainly rare photos) this is the standard by which all others are judged. The updates keep making the book better (and more accurate) but I will always keep my first copy which I've had signed by Buddy's parents, his brothers, Jerry Allison, Niki Sullivan, Joe Mauldin, and, of course, the author John Goldrosen. If you only read one biography of Buddy Holly, this should be the one.

This is the book to buy if you want an accurate, well-written biography of Buddy Holly, the greatest rocker of them all and the most influential person in the genre's history. If it were possible, I would give this book ten stars. It is absolutely the best biography of Buddy Holly. I got my first copy in August 1975 and have gotten updated versions as they came out. I've read it several times. John Goldrosen spent a year or so of his life (circa 1972) researching this book and talking to the people involved.

This book is fantastic. If you like bouldering and John Sherman's humorous tales you will enjoy this book.

The SOFT COVER BINDING FALLS APART after one or two openings. Of three people I know with the soft cover, all three have fallen apart. BUY THE HARD COVER VERSION!

It reads as a guidebook, a history, and as literature. Sherman writes with surprising grace and introspection about the sport. Nice profiles of the locals at different areas, too. And I was relieved to see no reference to the finest, and apparently still secret, problem at Carderock, MD.

Stone Crusade is THE book of bouldering and the history of the sport in the USA. John Sherman's witty and irreverent writing style and his artistic photographic skill capture the true feeling of the sport across the entire country. A guide book, history lesson, and entertainment all rolled into one. You will want to hit the road on your own Stone Crusade.

Having come from a traditional climbing background, and having discovered John Gill through Pat Ament during my peak, I evolved into a boulderer for the sake of bouldering, rather than just training for traditional climbing. Why? For me personally, bouldering was the obvious channel for a mortal being to follow while coping with the reality that I am a maturing human. Because the nectar of laying hands on Mother Earth's various forms of lithified artwork was never to evaporate, the need to ascend soaring heights of the stuff has. In short, no more Sentinel Mental Journey's. John Sherman has written an honest, humorous, and quality book that describes the nuances involved with high limit bouldering. Of particular credit is John's painfully objective efforts at describing even those controversial elements of bouldering that exist such as cheater stones, route altering and manufacturing, etc. Don't despair John, it was the right thing to do. The beauty of bouldering is in its inherent variety of ways it can be approached. John Sherman does not advocate one way or the other but does indeed get his beliefs across to the reader without appearing too evangelistic. That is noble. So whether you choose to boulder nude without shoes or chalk, or if you choose to approach bouldering with a flak jacket, John Sherman's book epitomizes its title, Better Bouldering. He should be proud of this book and you should buy it and read it if you too decide that you don't want anymore Sentinel Mental Journeys.

Sherman the Vermin scores again with this wonderful book on the sport of bouldering. A life-long boulderer and a gifted smart-aleck, Sherman lays it out in a fun and informative style that will give you all the tricks of the trade while keeping you chuckling the whole way through.

Verm (Sherman) hits the mark with this guide. Read it and you will climb (boulder) better and will not look or act like a geek. Lots of insider hints and tricks, gently sprinkled with John's particular humor. A must buy.

Fantastic photography in another large book from Versace. This book captures the 'rock chic' glamourama which the late Versace excelled at creating. The association between 'Rock and Roll', and art is full indulged here creating a empirical illusion to the Versace dynasty. The glossy presentation of the images also adds to an overall feeling of luxury. The only reason I have not given this book the top rating is for its inclusion of Elton John - who makes me sick. So what if its expensive, luxuries like this don't come cheap. ciao,

Maureen Farquhar (maureenfarquhar@yahoo.com)

Gianni Versace was a designer who loved to push the envelope. His clothes were a mixture of extremes: sexy, sleazy, colorful, tacky, and elegant. One adjective you'd never find in a sentence with the word Versace is "boring." His clothes commanded--and often got--attention, which is why he was such a favorite among celebrities such as Madonna, Elton John, Liz Hurley, Courtney Love, Prince, Jon Bon Jovi and even Princess Diana. This book is a fabulous, eye-opening collection of vivid photographs of models and rock stars in Versace: from Prince to the members of British boy band Take That. Some outfits are more releaving than others, but they're all unmistakably Versace. Diana herself is also included in the book, along with a few words of praise for the designer. Tragically, Versace was murdered in the summer of 1997, but his spirit and influence live on. This book comes highly recommended. Drop it on your coffeetable, and your guests won't want to put it down.

A must have book for all Versace fans.

This well researched book explores a possible political component to the 1980 murder of John Lennon. Outspoken and involved in political causes, the late former Beatle had a dossier by the FBI. He was considered an insurgent rebel by many politicos of the day.

Bresler's book does an excellent job of following the man who killed John Lennon. He accurately chronicles the assassin's movements during the latter part of 1980 and his boyhood overidentification with the former Beatle. Bresler does not skip a beat, his work takes his readers along that sad, psychotic trail Lennon's killer took in late 1980.

The assassin, caught in a love-hate obsession concerning John Lennon appears to be confused about his own identity. A former Beatles fan, the killer would, by 1966 turn against them because of John Lennon's comment that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Irate and confused, the killer appeared to try to suppress his natural love for their music while justifying his hatred of John.

It is indeed the killer's behavior that calls attention to his desire to emulate the late Beatle. The assassin marries a woman who is Japanese; he expresses an enjoyment for the same types of art and music that Lennon publicly endorsed. By late 1980 the lines between reality and fantasy blurred; on his last day of work, the killer signed out of his company log book as "John Lennon." He then left Hawaii where he was then living for New York. An extremely confused man, he overidentifies with Holden Caulfield, the young protagonist of "Catcher in the Rye" infamy. He, like Holden declares a moratorium against "phonies" and in his mind, John Lennon is one of those phonies His fantasies ultimately consume him and the results are...devastating.

Bresler does an excellent job of chronicling the series of events that took place when and after John Lennon was murdered; he also does an excellent job of debunking many of the tabloid biographies of the day, e.g. Goldman and Guiliano's biographies of the late Beatle. John's youngest son, Sean, for example comes down hard on the Goldman book which portrays John as punitive and uncomfortable around children as a "total lie." He said that John did indeed enjoy being kissed by Sean and his older half brother Julian and that Goldman's statement otherwise was untrue.

I was impressed with the accuracy and objectivity of this work. It will certainly hold a reader's interest and is an invaluable source of information. I'm lucky to have this. It would be nice to see this back in print.

John Lennon's death never DID make sense to me outside of the context of some kind of conspiracy. When he died, I was 27 years old. I had lived through the trauma of JFK's, RFK's and MLK's assassinations. I did not believe they were lone nut killings either, they were too important, and the question "who benefits?" usually leads to an obvious motive and an obvious suspect, even if it can't be proven. Once he was dead, I understood that John Lennon was the last hope of a dying spirit, the spirit of the 60s, the hope of a generation that had dreamed of creating a world of freedom, love and non-violence. That, to me, was the motive of a generation unwilling to pass the torch of life onto the next generation, the very baby boom they had created at the end of WWII to expand their own egos, yet were unwilling to acknowledge as having minds of their own and perhaps valid resentments having grown up with the values of a war torn parentage. This book dovetails nicely with the other books I have read and reviewed (see more about me) and the evidence is startling and massive to validate Bresler's theory that Chapman was, indeed, a mind controlled killer. The fact is, the CIA's shenanigans go far beyond MK-ULTRA, and have not stopped yet. They are gathering power as you read this, and looking the other way will not stop them. I'm not sure what will, but letting anyone else do your thinking for you won't. Learn as much as you can and know your own mind. Question authority, as the mantra from the 60s challenged, and do not allow the dreams and visions of the flower children to be silenced. They are not dead. They did take root. The toxic poison that surrounds us all is a deadly threat, but as long as we are open to learning and knowing and speaking truth to power, there is hope.

A fascinating case~(was Lennon bumped off by Mark Chapman via someone else?, higher up who wanted to put the nozzle on a politically out-spoken singer-songwriter with an army of adoring young fans?)~Fenton Bresler tracked it for 8 years,conducting unprecedented interviews & extracting a ream of previously unreleased government documents. Though the paper trail to support the theory is still thin,the best one is an airline ticket found in Mark Chapman's hotel room; a Hawaii-New York connection departing December 5. But Chapman had actually purchased a Hawaii-Chicago ticket to depart December 2,with no connecting flight. The ticket found after his arrest had apparently been altered. None of his friends knew that he traveled on to New York. They thought he went to Chicago for a 3-day stay.

Arthur O'Connor,the detective who spent more time with Mark Chapman immediately following the murder than anyone else,saw things another way. He said "It is definately illogical to say that Mark committed the murder to make himself famous. He didn't want to talk to the press from the very start...It's possible Mark could have been used by somebody. I saw him the night of the murder. I studied him intensely. He looked as if he could of been programmed."

An alternative insight into bewildering history. I hope it comes back in-print someday.

Willis has a genius for searching climbing literature and coming up with gripping passages to incorporate into his anthologies. Some readers will find that they already own most of the original books, making the anthology unnecessary. However, for those who only like the exciting bits, or who don't want to collect dozens of volumes, Willis' works are perfect. The latest installment continues to incorporate writings on many different climbing styles and historical periods, both fiction and nonfiction.

This is a great compilation of climbing stories. Some are inspiring while others will make you think about whether this is really something you want to be doing. Also highly recommended for those addicted to mountaineering literature is the editor's book "Epic" for more of the same...

As you can see from the table of contents and the editorial reviews, this book contains writings by lots of great mountaineers and climbers. Many of the authors discuss experiences when they have had to deal with fear, loss, and the difficult question of risk; they also share some of the lessons that they have learned from years of being challenged by nature and other people. Willis' compilation includes a selection of both fictional and true stories that I found to be a balanced combination of very funny, poignant, sad, and--best of all--inspiring. Reading this book really made me want to get outside! One of the convenient things about this book is that the stories are rather short, so it's easy to pick it up for a brief escape from the hustle and bustle of the city...There is also a bibliography so one can read further about any of the stories, if one chooses.

This book contains several rarely seen pictures of the band. Some are action shots, while others are stills.. All in all, this book captures the G'N'R' attitude very well!

As a huge fan of gnr, i was anxious to get some kind of book about them. I had all the records and even some rare bootlegs, but i could not find any literature about them. When i stumbled across this book at this site, it was an instant buy. i was very impressed at the quality and depth of Robert John's photographs. I have happened to see GN'R live and Robert John's photos certainly capture their flare and stage presence. A very good book. If you are looking for a biography go buy "The most Dangerous band in the world" or"The True story" If you want a good book of photos spanning GN'R wildest days, i suggest you buy this.

This is the only GNR book I have. I have only started liking them 6 months ago and I'm surprised that book stores still have GNR material around. I'm positive that any fan would love this book. The book has GNR pictured from their early days in 1985 to almost the end in 1992. I love the fact that Robert John shows them from the beginning with their teased hair, and lipstick to a more mature look as they get older. The book has concert photos, backstage pics, GNR rehersing and even some more personel ones with Axl by himself. If you are looking for a biography of the band, then don't buy this one. On the bottom of the pictures Robert John tells you the place and year it was taken but otherwise it is strictly just a photo book, nothing else. I highly recomend it in any way.

I think that this book was very good. It took the reader in to the private lives of both John and Yoko. It gives us an inside look on what their own private lives were really like. That being when John was with The Beatles and his life afterwards and up to the end of his life. I recommend reading this book. It takes you into John's thoughts about life!!

I love John lennon so i started reading biographys on him and interviews, etc to learn more about him. When I read "The Playboy Interviews With John Lennon and Yoko Ono" I HONESTLY COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! I couldn't believe it; i started reading it in the afternoon and didn't put it down until late at night where i finished it! It is a wonderful, wonderful book with John's sense of humor and yoko's too and their insight into the world. It really is my favorite book because it is close to a John Lennon autobiography as the world will ever know. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

This is the definitive book regarding John Lennon. He reviews almost every song he wrote with or without Paul McCartney, which alone is worth the price of admission. In addition to that, he provides insights into his personal philosophies and world views. One could call it the perfect companion to the recent Beatles Anthology book. Crucial reading. How sad he had to die a little over 2 months after these interviews were conducted. Unfortunately out of print, do yourself a favor and try an out of print book search; you won't regret it.