Philip Norman (1) (1943–)

Philip Norman's JOHN LENNON: THE LIFE (2009), at over 800 pages, could be - and is - a major undertaking, but if you read it in smaller bites over a week or two, It's actually kinda fun, especially if you were a Beatles fan from the very beginning, as I was. I first heard of the Beatles when they traveled to New York for their first American tour in 1963. News of the Beatles landing at La Guardia came across the teletype in our Operations building in northern Turkey where I was stationed show more with the Army. We all scratched our heads, wondering, What are Beatles? But our questions were answered soon after when the Beatles' first two British albums (on the Parlophone label) showed up in the base PX. I bought both of them. My roommates and I were at first kinda mystified by their raw sound, but, after a few plays, they kinda grew on us, and soon we were all singing or humming along. So yeah, been a fan ever since. And since then I've also read a couple Beatles biographies - Hunter Davies' early one, and, much later, the one by Bob Spitz, both of them very interesting. So a lot of stuff here in Norman's book I already knew about, at least vaguely, but much of the info on Lennon's life post-Beatles was new to me. For example, his so-called "lost weekend" - the fourteen month period when he separated from Yoko and cohabited (on both coasts) with May Pang, their 'personal assistant,' and apparently with Yono's approval. This was a time of much drinking, drugging and hanging out with Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon - both very bad influences. I also had several of John's post-group LPs, a couple of them products, I learned, of his Primal Scream therapy. Because it seems John Lennon was a bucket of fears, insecurities abd unresolved issues regarding his mostly absent parents. I also was very interested in learning more about the important role that producer George Martin played in the lives and musical successes of the group. And Lennon's shoddy treatment of his long-suffering first wife, Cynthia, and their son, Julian, is brought painfully to light here too - behavior he tried hard to rectify in his meticulous caring for Sean, his son with Yoko. It's all very complicated, and so was John Lennon, a confused and tortured soul, despite all of his wealth and success. And of course there is no happy ending, which we knew from the start.

But this is a damn good book, full of facts, myths and misunderstandings about Lennon - who was, after all, just a guy from Liverpool, very human - from before, during and after the Beatles. Philip Norman also wrote another, earlier book about the Beatles phenomenon called SHOUT. And now he has a new book, all about George Harrison. I enjoyed making my way through this massive tome, remembering the songs, the albums, those wonderful, strange and turbulent times. Thank you, Phil. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

I'll just say this. I've been a fan of the Beatles for almost five full decades. Their first single, Love Me Do came out less than 24 hours before I was born. I heard the Beatles from birth. My older brother and sister kept me current with each new song. I was struck dumb by the deaths of John and George. I've seen countless Beatles tribute bands, seen Beatlemania! three times, seen Paul three times, watched all the movies, watched the full Anthology series, seen the Backbeat stage play, and show more read hundreds of articles on the band. And, to top it off, I've read over 60 books on the Beatles, both as a band, and the four individuals.

Through all of that, this is the singular best book I've ever read on the Beatles. Period. show less

This book is a very comprehensive biography of a man who was always an enigma. Even though he achieved fame through the monster success of The Beatles, he was always the guy in the background playing his guitar. George admits through his lifetime that he always felt like a third wheel in that group, but he wanted to play his guitar, and that's what he did. I have always maintained that George Harrison is probably the most under-rated guitarist there ever was. He could play any instrument, show more and he could play any song after listening to it a few times. He could put any spin on any song if he so wished, and he didn't need to read music to do this. It was all done by ear. He came from a very poor but loving family and went on to the stars when he joined up with two guys who were from his neighbourhood. With the addition of a fourth, who always felt like a brother to George, they became THE BEATLES. The book gave a great picture of George's life as a Beatle, but it did not stop there. George went on to many successes, and much heartbreak after The Beatles broke up, but still he kept displaying his genius in music and in film. I loved reading how his songs came to being, especially my favourites like "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun", and "Something". I loved reading how he grew and matured as a musician, albeit with many bumps along the way. I have always loved George's music, but now I feel that I understand the man behind that music a little better. RIP George Harrison, and thank you for the memories. show less

It seems like a lot of biographies in this class focus on the seminal, important earliest years and fade out with nothing to say later, as in Life. (That autobiography gets pilloried as full of lies, such as Richards cuckolding Jagger with Marianne Faithfull.) As cannot be avoided, this is basically a Rolling Stones biography covering individual albums and tours. Along with also painting Mick as a heartless womanizer and ruthless business partner this goes deep into non-music parts of Mick's show more life, such as the Redlands bust and convincing arguments that it was an FBI-MI5 orchestration involving later New Wave impresario David Jove as the mysterious Acid King. There is much dirt on the philandering and infidelities and Jagger children. Mick's solo career gets coverage, though not as much details as the elusive acting career. The book goes up to 2010 and the formation of SuperHeavy. show less