From Publishers Weekly
Newcomers to the Lennon legend might find some of the reminiscences and artwork in this compendium interesting and novel, but those alive in Lennon's time will recognize many of the quotes, especially the ones from Lennon's most famous friends, like Mick Jagger and Elton John. (They were culled from other books previously published about Lennon and/or the Beatles.) The most interesting essay—apart from Yoko's own charmingly loopy introduction—may be from the least famous person in the book: Cynthia O'Neal, Lennon's neighbor at the Manhattan landmark apartment building, the Dakota. She recounts what it was like the day the singer was shot in their entryway, and how she used to peer into his apartment while he was having breakfast with his family. The most important moments, clearly, were also the most mundane. (Dec.)
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From Booklist
To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Lennon's murder, the musician's widow, Yoko Ono, has assembled tributes from people who were touched by his life. The 73 contributors range from family and friends from before the Beatles hit it big to musicians whose only connections are musical. John Fogerty says, "I never met John, but I always felt that I knew him," and Bruce Springsteen's guitarist Nils Lofgren calls Lennon "the best friend I never met." The most compelling entries are by such intimates as Peter Brown, the Beatles' business manager and John and Yoko's best man, and Hamburg photographer Astrid Kirchherr, who befriended the Beatles in the early sixties. Other perspectives come from journalists, photographers, and DJs whose paths crossed Lennon's during the heady days of Beatlemania and from those who, like Tom Hayden and John Sinclair, met Lennon because of radical politics. Many contributions are effusive: Bangles member Vicki Peterson confesses that "John Lennon was my earliest sexual fantasy." Others are terse: Dennis Hopper just says, "All my memories are in the music." Although heartfelt and intermittently interesting, the volume's necessity is questionable, especially since many contributors have written about Lennon previously. Fans will at least want to browse it, however, for poignant reminders of why Lennon was so widely mourned and is missed to this day. Gordon Flagg
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