The John Lennon Encyclopedia - Softcover

Harry, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753539217 ISBN 13: 9780753539217

Publisher: Virgin Books, 2011

Synopsis

The John Lennon Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive book about John Lennon ever produced. By bestselling author and Beatles expert Bill Harry, the A - Z guide will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about one of the twentieth century's most taleneted and enigmatic figures.

From his difficult childhood to his early days with the Beatles, and from his groundbreaking solo projects to his work with Yoko Ono, this book reveals in minute detail the man behind the myth, helping to explain Lennon's enduring status as a popular icon. It contains every track Lennon ever wrote or worked on, every gig he ever played, and full biographies of everyone who was involved in his life story. Packed with new material and unique insights, this is the only book Lennon fans will ever need.

About this title

Review:

Erstwhile Apple Records assistant Tony King once commented that although John Lennon's life ended tragically early, at the age of 40, he had lived the equivalent of several normal men's lifetimes. With a brief chronology of the life in question incorporating the most famous pop band of all time, groundbreaking solo projects, and an often intriguing relationship with the artist Yoko Ono, it would be hard to disagree. One of the consequences of this fascinating life has been that Lennon is one of the most written-about men of the 20th century, whether it be in the form of classic, fact-based biography, (see Ray Coleman's excellent John Lennon 1940-80), or scandalised, rumour-based fantasy, (such as Albert Goldman's often inaccurate The Lives of John Lennon).

The 1002-page John Lennon Encyclopedia represents Bill Harry's attempts at bringing together all of the available information about this musical icon. Harry's text-only tome consists of an A-Z guide in which exhaustive details are given of Lennon's music, films, art, writings, and relationships. The author was himself a central figure in the Liverpool music scene from which the Beatles emerged, his magazine "Mersey Beat" supporting the group from their earliest days, and thus his book is excellent in dealing with this period. Several "Beatles-myths" are skilfully taken apart, (not least the oft-repeated story that the group's early bass player Stuart Sutcliffe died of a brain haemorrhage brought on by a Lennon-inspired Liverpool scuffle; he actually fell down the stairs and hit his head), in what is an entertaining and spirited account. However, as with many friends of Lennon, Harry was to find himself ostracised following the musician's marriage to Ono, and the book suffers accordingly, becoming something of a "cut-and-paste" compilation of the thousands of media articles on his subject as the story progresses.

Despite such criticisms, however, this book is truly impressive in its detail. Certainly, until the Beatles' own account is published in the form of their Anthology, Harry's enthusiastically written tale of the characters and situations involved in the group's story will not be bettered. --Steve Price

About the Author:

Bill Harry is the world's leading authority on the Beatles. He attended Liverpool College of Art with John Lennon and is the author of a number of books including Beatlemania, The McCartney File, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles Encyclopedia, the sister volume to The John Lennon Encyclopedia, published by Virgin and now fully revised and updated.

About this edition

• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0753539217
• ISBN 13: 9780753539217
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 1008