The Last Days of John Lennon

I am curious if all of Pattersons books are as poorly written as this book. I find myself re -reading sentences and paragraphs because I can’t clearly understand what is being conveyed. (Page 32 has a sentence that starts with the word “Gets”….what the heck??) There isn’t much of a narrative, just references to dates and what happened on that date. A very very dull book.

This book is embarrassingly bad! Littered with mistakes it reads like the Readers Digest John Lennon story. I’m glad that I borrowed it from my local library rather than actually buying a copy. If you’re looking for the story of John’s last days I would recommend ‘John Lennon: The Last Days in the Life’ by Kenneth Womack.

James Patterson’s “The Last Days of John Lennon” is a sloppy, often inaccurate attempt to weave together the events of Lennon’s life (his whole life, not just the “last days” of the misleading title) with that of his murderer, Mark David Chapman. Patterson and his co-writers (I hesitate to call any of them “authors”) Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge intersperse chapters on Lennon’s life with chapters on what Chapman was supposedly doing and thinking in the days leading up to the murder. As mainly a writer of fiction, Patterson seems to dabble in true crime like the bored, idle rich dabble in hobbies: with limited understanding of or appreciation for his subject. The book is written in the present-tense (e.g., “John and Yoko create an international ad campaign…”), which may work as a device to maintain forward momentum in crime novels, but here, becomes tedious after the first few chapters. He unnecessarily prefaces each of the Lennon chapters with lyric quotes from well-known songs, some by the Beatles, some by other artists. But the quotes in no way link thematically to the events in the subsequent chapters, and are occasionally quoted inaccurately. Is Patterson trying to convince his readers that he “gets” rock and roll? He obviously doesn’t (and side note: nowhere in the book are the composers of these songs even credited). Despite the copious sources cited at the end of the book, errors abound, some just purely bone-headed. For example, at the beginning of chapter 29, Patterson feels the need to tell the reader that in February of 1966, Lennon was 26 years old. Wrong – he wouldn’t turn 26 until October 9 of that year, something any Beatles fan would catch. If Patterson felt it was important to give Lennon’s age at that point in time, wouldn’t it have been just as important to fact-check this to ensure accuracy? And redundancies abound. On page 92, Patterson notes that Lennon lives in St. George's Hill in Weybridge, a detail that’s repeated on the very next page. Finally, Patterson includes a bonus chapter on “what inspired Lennon and the Beatles.” Much of this info is anecdotal and easily found in other, better-written bios. Given the mess of the previous 300 or so pages, he’s hardly qualified to pontificate on what he thinks inspired the

I am happy for JP for figuring out a way to cash in. Odd little book I read in a couple of days.

The book is titled The Last Days of John Lennon. However, it covers the career of Lennon and the Beatles from their humble beginnings in Liverpool to worldwide fame, breakup and immortality as rock legend.
Lennon was raised by a strict aunt in Liverpool, attended art college before flunking out and devoted time to writing poetry, songs and playing hi guitar. Lennon founded the Beatles when he was 17 soon teaming up with Paul McCartney only 15. Later George Harrison and drummer Ringo Star joined the group. The Beatles played in Liverpool, Hamburg Germany and became popular in their BBC broadcasts. America called in 1964 when they first appeared on the Ed Sullivan variety show. Years of hit songs, constant touring and recording followed before the Beatles last performed in 1969. The group was named the Beatle by John in homage to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. The lad met Elvis and John became friendly with Elton John, John Sebatian and Jerry Rubin in the antiwar movement against Vietnam and violence. John had two children: Julian by his first wife and Sean by Yoko Ono his second spouse.
He dabbled in heavy cocaine and alcohol use and could be abusive and rude. At the time of his murder he was living in the famous Dakota building in New York City. There it was that he was shot to death by the deranged Mark David Chapman
Patterson and his co-writers have produced a readable and well documented biography of the complex genius John Lennon. Recommended!

Couldn't put it down. Great overview of the Beatles and John and the monster that took his life

This book is confused in its audience, in who it wants to glorify. Its opening chapter takes us into the mind and actions of John’s murderer—who in their right mind wants to do that? Who, with so much a desire to learn of John (whether a new fan or an old one), seeks to sympathize with his killer? I certainly don’t.

Many have complained that this book is misleading, which it is—it is less of John’s last days and more of all his days. Though that’s exactly what I wanted to learn of when looking for a Beatles book, so I didn’t mind at all. I also like how it reads like a novel, instead of just spitting facts at me, but it does so in a somehow equally dull and confusing way. It is both painfully simple and needlessly complex; even as a very new Beatles fan, I recognized parts of their history I already knew, yet retold in a more confusing manor.

I would recommend this book to younger people looking for an overview of John’s life based on its reading level (pretty basic), yet I couldn’t do that because of its crude language, awkward descriptions, and wholly unnecessary look into John’s killer. So this ends up being a dull and overly simplistic, even offensive read for adult fans.

I’ve read everything on The Beatles. To add I saw the Fabs at the Deuville Hotel in Miami Beach when I was 18. When I’m asked what I majored in college I reply truthfullyThe Beatles.

I enjoyed te details of the Beatles life and recording sessions. It was a page turner. I learned a lot.

It was very poignant when we got to John’s death by that jerk Chapman. So sad.

John. Paul. George and Ringo. The Muhammad Ali of music. Greatest of all time.

Really good book

What I expected to be a detailed account of the days before Lennon was killed turns out to be a poorly written history of the Beatles. The writing has no coherence whatsoever. It reads like a bunch of short notes cobbled together and called a book. I’m surprised it gat published in the condition it’s in. It got two stars because it was a bit fun to reminisce about the Beatles but other than that it’s a complete waste of time and money.