This masterly biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at every aspect of Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into a near-secular saint. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, Norman presents the comprehensive and most revealing portrait of John Lennon ever published. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom being a Beatle was never enough. If you aren't into the 60s and the music of the decade, the book won't be as interesting for you.For more than a quarter century, biographer Philip Norman's internationally bestselling Shout! has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. I would recommend this book for any Beatles fan or anyone who enjoys biographies. From Sean we get a view of John Lennon as a loving father, a real person, not just a rock-star character.

The most affecting chapter is the epilogue, a discussion with Sean Ono, Lennon's son who was just five when his father was shot. He is also very fair to Yoko Ono, widely vilified for taking Lennon's attention from the Beatles.

This book is, of course, John-centric, so it is his view that dominates, but Norman gives Paul McCartney's side in the discussion of the breakup and business disputes. His account of the Beatles' success and recording careers is mostly what I've read before. Norman's account of John's early music years, his meeting with Paul McCartney and the formation of the band don't offer too much that is new to the knowledgeable Beatle fan. Throughout the book, Norman tries to show how Lennon's early family trauma affects him all his life, but I found his mention (three times) of a near-Oedipal event between John and his mother a bit much. John's early years were traumatic, with his father mostly absent at sea and his mother leaving him in the care of her sister, John's Aunt Mimi, who ended up raising him. The reader then draws her own conclusion. Norman lets the events and participants speak for themselves. But there isn't a lot of emotion in the book. He includes lots of detail, but doesn't get bogged down in it. Philip Norman's account of the life of John Lennon, the first member of the group and the first to die, is thorough and even-handed. As a Beatles fan, I open every book about the group or its members with anticipation.

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