Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
John Lennon cover art

John Lennon

By: Phillip Norman
Narrated by: Russell Boulter
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $32.06

Buy Now for $32.06

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

For more than a quarter of a century, Philip Norman's internationally best-selling Shout! has been unchallenged as the definitive biography of the Beatles. Now, at last, Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough.

Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the most complete and revealing portrait of John Lennon that is ever likely to be published.

Honest and unflinching, as John himself would wish, Norman gives us the whole man in all his endless contradictions - tough and cynical, hilariously funny, but also naïve, vulnerable, and insecure - and reveals how the mother who gave him away as a toddler haunted his mind and his music for the rest of his days.

©2008 Philip Norman (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"[Norman] sharpens what we know about Lennon at just about every turn....Devotees will relish the new information, while casual readers will find a familiar story told more truly than ever before." ( Rolling Stone)

What listeners say about John Lennon

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    48
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    39
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    44
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A detailed and well told story.

It was extremely well put together, although extremely long .
So strap yourself in and enjoy like I did !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must for Beatle / Lennon lovers

Talented but complexed, this working class hero was created by many life events not of his own making. There are things here not in previous books on Lennon because they were pre-vetted by members of the Lennon family. What makes this special is the back history of Lennon’s early life from birth and how he later deals with changes that later affect him. More about Brian Epstein, Mimi, Julia and Alf and Lennon’s own engagements with the icons of modern music. One forgets they were all emerging at the same time. Then details of the later man, his dalliances and his final moments. A great piece of research. Not always a nice man - often chauvinistic, arrogant, hypocritical and intellectually confused: A man of many contradictions and paradoxes. Yet some of his nonsensical lyrics have stood the test of time and raised to the level of modern poetry. A man that was a Beatle, owed everything to their existence, yet hated and denigrated them, particularly Paul, for some years like an ex-errant wife. Yet no-one ever achieved what they did in such a brief period in time. More than ever, each brought their own contribution and the Lennon-McCartney domination put in a better perspective here thereby acknowledging the important contributions from Harrison and Star. They were the perfect storm. A must read for anyone interested in contemporary music.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I think it’s a nice portrait

I got a full understanding of Johns life.
I was completely fascinated by this biography ,
I felt changed by his life story and John will always be a hero until the end of time. Still so sad how his life was cut short after giving so much.
The narrator made it easy listening.Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very good

loved it will listen to it again. he was a genius
good job very well done

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding and insightful

Loved it. Hard to fault. Thoroughly researched and told. The narrator did a fabulous job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

interesting insight

I never really knew about John, this was very insightful. He was a very vulnerable person.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating life story

Very well researched and written. Narrator did a splendid job. I really enjoyed listening to him. It's very rare to come across audiobook this good.
Thank you for great experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it moving on to book 2<br />

fantastic can't wait to hear more.
whay a wonderful story
of a life cut too short

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.