Dave James Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 The only Lennon bio I've ever read is Albert Goldman's hack job. If anyone can recommend a balanced and informative alternative, I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold_Z Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Goldman was atrocious. This is a guy who never should have written ANYTHING about music. He pissed me off so much that I wrote on the inside of a library book of his "This guy knows NOTHING about music" before I returned the book. It's the only time I've ever done that with a library book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jostber Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Here is a new one that might be interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Cynical-Idealist-Spi...482&sr=1-40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 There's also the Phillip Norman book although I can't vouch for it. However, it appears to be comprehensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Goldman was atrocious. This is a guy who never should have written ANYTHING about music. He pissed me off so much that I wrote on the inside of a library book of his "This guy knows NOTHING about music" before I returned the book. It's the only time I've ever done that with a library book. Here's what he wrote inside his own book—I won't comment on it, except to say that the book rests on my shelves, largely unread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Actually, a very good Lennon bio is the Brian Epstein bio. Lots of interesting Lennon detail that gets overlooked elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeith Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 I have read both the Ray Coleman and more recent Philip Norman biographies and liked both. Norman has the benefit of some more recent info., but Coleman's book is great too. THere are some different emphasis, Norman's book caused a lot of uproar about whether Lennon may have been interested in Paul in the biblical sense - but he doesn't spend much time on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmce Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I liked the Norman alright, but he's a tad opinionated and a bit tawdry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I had read that Yoko cooperated with the Norman book but then also heard that she then withdrew any cooperation. Don't know if the latter is true or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmce Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 He says in the introduction that she cooperated, but withdrew her support after reading it, though not her contributions. She decided that it was "mean" to John. I'm torn on this; it's no secret that John was a complicated guy who could definitely be cruel and made dubious decisions regarding his treatment of the women in his life, but like I said above, I think Norman is more tawdry than he needs to be with regards to the latter and is liberal in his psychoanalysis of the former. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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