John Lennon: The Life

This book is considered the final word on music's greatest legend, with Philip Norman revealing a John Lennon the world has never truly seen. With groundbreaking insight into the pain, beauty, and frustration that shaped the genius of modern music, John Lennon: The Definitive Biography redefines a legend.

John Lennon, the iconic songwriter, composer, and one quarter of The Beatles, was a giant of the twentieth century. As a founding member of the most successful group ever, he changed countless lives. The popularity and significance of The Beatles are beyond comparison in our age; in the UK alone, they released more than forty number one singles and albums. However, their impact extended far beyond their music. Their clothing, hairstyles, pronouncements, and even their choice of instruments made them trend-setters from the 1960s to this day, while their growing social awareness, reflected in the development of their music, saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

Following the painful collapse of The Beatles, John emerged a wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono, he attempted to transform the world through non-musical means. Their bed-ins in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent engagement with political activists and radicals, all garnered massive media attention. These events were in pursuit of world peace. John Lennon was tragically shot dead by a mentally disturbed fan outside his New York apartment building on 8 December 1980. Featuring previously unseen photographs, this truly is the definitive John Lennon.