The John Lennon Letters

This book is a treasure trove of showing Joh's thoughts and creative actions and reactions to the life that was going on around him. As I'm also very big on In His Own Write and A Spaniard In The Works, this volume of letters starting from his youth up till the end share the singular and creative nature of these two masterworks. (Skywriting By Word Of Mouth doesn't succeed in scaling the heights of his earlier two books, but there still a number of fine pages in this third volume of his writings that still make the book worthwhile.) As you'd expect, the large array of letters show him in all the various modes of being that John possessed, including passion, humour, whimsy, non sequitur, caring, anger, inventive syntax etc. And special mention must be given to Hunter Davies, whose design and painstaking work to collect and present a lifetime of letters is a great homage to John. This is one of the coolest offerings from the vast sea of Beatles books. Highly recommended!

The first thing you will notice is how beautifully this book is designed. Great thought was put into the paper which has a wonderful thick and rich feel, to the tones of the overall color scheme(white and ivories) to the actual letterpress look of the typography, it's a package that had careful attention paid to it. The actual book is revelatory in that it actually gives the innermost thoughts of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. John was honest and was never afraid to say what he was feeling at the time, those feelings changed and shifted as he moved through the events of his life. The letters are funny, cruel, witty, romantic, bitter, loving, happy, sad, nasty, contrite and brutal. They are also peppered with his simple yet beautiful Thurberesque drawings and doodles. Admittedly I am an unabashed Lennon fan, this collection is a gift, allowing a glimpse into this complicated artist and icon's thoughts, but more importantly his humanity.

This is one of my favorite Beatles-related books. I've seen a couple of people criticize this book, saying that John would have viewed it as "invasive," however, I could not disagree more. As much as John truly did want to be a "normal" person, the thing that was most important to him was that he was viewed as a creator of art. If he could have looked into the future to discover that his letters -- of all things -- would be this closely analyzed, he would've been quite pleased. While I am surprised that Yoko approved this sort of project, I have to say that I'm glad she did. Additionally, this book is extremely aesthetically pleasing -- while I was a little bit nervous about the white dust jacket, it seems to repel most dirt. Everything is beautifully laid out, and the pages are made of nice, sturdy paper.

I absolutely loved this book. While it’s not like the traditional books about John, it does offer a real glimpse into his personality with a big variety of written items. If you’re a true fan or know someone who is, this would make a wonderful gift to yourself or someone else. It’s all about John, what’s not to love?!

Wonderful book for all those curious about Lennon's more personal side. Much of it has to do with domestic issues, getting in touch with family back home in the early/mid Seventies. I do hope a second edition will bring out more than the paltry 285 "letters." You get the sense he must have written thousands of them, and hopefully they'll start turning up. I could read them forever. Several are laugh-out-loud funny. The funniest is the letter to Todd Rundgren. Perhaps a second edition with letters of more substance might enable the deletion of the postcards where he just says, "Hi. -John Lennon." I should point out a glaring error in the caption to the photograph on page 98. It states "John by the pool at home, Kenwood." Well, the photo looks more like it was shot in L.A. during the lost weekend sometime in 1974. I think the bell-bottoms should make that clear. As to Davie's formatting of the book: each letter is prefaced with an explanatory note. Too often he steals Lennon's thunder by giving too much away. I quickly regarded them as spoilers and only read them after the letters. Davies should have used this approach: preface each letter with the date and to whom it was written and where. Each letter could then be followed with explanatory notes about its context. There's a great deal of Cynthia stuff, early love letters, etc, which surprised me as the book had Yoko's blessing. I was unaware that Cynthia showed up with Julian in L.A. during the lost weekend. The letter he wrote to her later is a bombshell, though I won't give it away. Interesting too, that in the many Lennon interviews I've read over the years he never said her name. It was always "his mother," or "Julian's mother." In his private letters he still calls her "Cyn." The domestic/household notes to Fred Seaman are interesting. Apparently things went missing while John was still alive and this is addressed in one note. On YouTube you can find videos John shot at their Cold Spring Harbor home. He was very excited about the new Sony camcorders then coming out. How those videos got out is a mystery, though I don't want to add flame to the fire.

Even if you're not a Lennon/Beatle fan. The depth of thought that John had through his entire life shines here. Hunter Davies does a wonderful job in delivering us with a properly and well written introduction. Takes us on a ride through different emotions that John had while writing these letters and it's so good to receive something as unique ('cause some of us are already fed up with remastirng the remasters for the umpteenth time) and fresh as this book. Go. Buy. You will not be dissapointed. Just lloking at the back cover photo made me smile and want to not put the book down until i was finished with it. We love you John and, no, you didn't need to take piano lessons, your genius outshined your insecurities over and over again. Cheers!

If you are a fan or friend of John Lennon and his memory, this book of letters leaves you with a more intimate portrait of the man as he really was---a human being, with faults, limits, and strengths--- just like the rest of us! This book paints a true image of this man. The letters brought me closer to John, and now, I feel like I know the man much better. I praise and thank the hard-working author who put all these pieces of John's life together, for us to read in our leisure. It's a shame that he died so unnecessarily! Handguns should be made illegal like they are in Scotland and the UK in general. These countries do not have mass-murders, the way we do here, in the U.S.A. You connect the dots... what does it tell you? Robert

One of my favorite books in the Lennon canon b/c it's JL in his own words throughout his life.