5 comments about Lennon in America: 1971-1980 Based on the Lost Lennon Diaries.

1. What a piece of garbage! Rarely have I read a book that purported to be "historical" in nature that had so many well-known facts completely wrong. Those who gave this book any more than one star obviously no nothing about the history of The Beatles or of John Lennon. I have read dozens of well-researched books on both subjects, and this is by far the worst of the bunch. I'm not speaking from a like or dislike of Lennon, or even Giuliano's approach (supposedly using Lennon's stolen diary, which I don't believe he used anyway). I'm speaking about his historical inaccuracies. Giuliano has John meeting Paul on June 15, 1956 in his chronology. I don't know where that date came from, but certainly not from the historical record. As all Beatle afficionados know (and Giuliano is supposed to be something of an expert), John met Paul on July 6, 1957. Towards the end of the book, he writes that Paul and Linda visited John and Yoko in John's apartment on March 22, 1978. Many incontrovertible sources will reveal that Paul and Linda were on a boat on the Thames River holding a press conference to discuss the release of their new album, "London Town", eating fish and chips, and having their photographs taken by a slew of photographers from the media on this date. In between, this book is filled with inaccuracy after inaccuracy, unprovable assertions, and flights of fancy. Giuliano even goes so far as to state that Lennon was having dreams of performing fellatio on George Harrison (or was it the other way around?) Where did he get this earth-shattering information? Why, from Lennon himself, who wrote it in his diary. I don't know... I suppose it could be true, but I never heard that "fact" from any other source in the 26 1/2 years that Lennon's been dead. This "biography" is a complete waste of time and money. Guiliano should hang his head in shame for putting photos of himself with Yoko and Sean in the book. He has done the Lennons a great disservice by writing this so-called "historical biography."



2. I bought this book in Chicago when I was travelling around the country. It didn't take long to read and even less time to realize the author was clearly fabricating most of this. I wish I could get my money back. Reads more like an extended National Enquirer article, kept waiting for Aliens to abduct John.



3. I think all anyone needs to know about Geoffrey Guilliano is that this man faked his own death to avoid being chased after all the money he owed.
   And he did it by taking advantage of the 9/11 tragedy where he had messages sent to dubious sources to say he'd been in one of the Twin Towers that day.After which his body was one of many never discovered thus saving any positive sighting of it and an obituary.
   At first he got a heap of sympathy messages on a Beatles website
   until he was rumbled
   Its Reassessment Time here.
   His Harrison book bears the blurb "Guilliano knows more about my life than I do"
   Which is doubtful as Harrison threatened to sue him!
   So he no doubt added that himself
   1 Star is because you can't award lower



4. The author plays fast and loose with basic facts. As others have pointed out, among other things Lennon supposedly had a blow-up with his father at the Magical Mystery Tour premiere in the latest '60s -- which John somehow forgave in 1964. John supposedly had sexual fantasies about Madonna, whose first album came out after John was killed. The author can't even get the spelling of Patti Boyd's name right. This kind of "reporting" calls into question everything in the book. When I read about John's mother's supposed sexual advances to him, the first thing I did was look around for a footnote or other indication of source material, but none was to be found. And of course, the book is unrelentingly vicious to Yoko Ono, but that's to be expected.



5. My review will be brief because I generally agree with the comments made by others who gave this book 1 or 2 stars. The opening chapter (oddly entitled "Prologue") gives you the flavor of what is to come. Clearly the author is on a mission to write the juiciest tabloid version of Lennon's life possible. The first chapter is not a prologue at all, but a description of John's alleged sexual adventures.
   
   There are many things that trouble me about this book. Among others, the author claims to base it in part on tapes made by JOhn and Yoko as well as John's diaries. While some of what he writes rings true, how did he get a hold of these forbidden items? He claims he go the diaries from Harry Nilsson, something Nilsson's web site has contested over and over. How did Harry get these diaries or tapes? Who knows. Clearly the diaries were notes, written in John's notoriously bad handwritting. And abbreviated notes at that. If the author quoted the diaries or tapes verbatim, that would have been much more convincing than interpreting these items. If you have the tapes and diaries in front of you, why not just quote them? Or photocopy pages of the diary and put them in the book for all to see?
   
   As I said, some of it is believable, but parts of it are not, and the author is clearly a man on a nasty mission.

2 comments about What Little I Remember.

1. "What little I remember" is the story of the nuclear era seen by O.R. Frisch, a physicist that explained the nuclear fission (with his aunt Lise Meitner, Hahn's collaborator). Frisch was involved in the discoveries of the quantum mechanics. He worked in Cambridge with Rutherford, in Copenhagen with Bohr and in Los Alamos with Oppenheimer. Book full of anecdotes about the men that made great the physics.



2. A delightful book!

   Gives a very candid insight into the traits and personal characteristics of some of the scientific greats of the 20th century.

2 comments about The Code of Love.

1. This is simply the best book I have read in a long time.

   Andro Linklater writes clearly and eloquently about the love affair between Pamela Kirrage and Donald Hill at the eve of World War II. He brings to life the great excitement of their budding romance and the long, difficult years they spent apart, Pamela doing her part to support England's war efforts at home and Donald languishing in a Japanese concentration camp.

   The atrocities that Donald experienced are described in a matter of fact manner that does not take away from the sheer horror of what he must have endured. He was determined to document what happened in the camp at the risk of his own life and eventually coded his diary to ensure that it would not be discovered. Through it all, his promise to return to Pamela gave him the will to survive.

   Years later after Donald's death, Pamela resolved to know the contents of his diary so she could understand what had happened to him, what had happened to them. I found the efforts to decode his diary just as fascinating as the turbulent relationship between Pamela and Donald.

   This is an intelligent and articulate account of two passionate people caught up in the throes of war and their struggle to regain their lives and relationship once reunited. It is a romance, a war history, and a mystery all rolled into one.

   I am recommending it to everyone I know. Read it!





2. Pamela Kirrage and Donald Hill were very much in love and living in England right before the outbreak of World War II. Donald was sent overseas and spent three and a half years in a Japanese prison camp. He was never the same after the war, but tried to live a normal life with Pamela and their children.

   David kept a diary during his imprisonment, but no one could crack the code until years after Donald's death, when Pamela found a mathematician who solved the mystery.

   This book tells Donald and Pamela's sad, but moving story of true love, the horrors of war and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

No comments about Elizabeth I: The Golden Reign of Gloriana (English Monarchs-Treasures from the National Archives) (English Monarchs-Treasures from the National Archives).

2 comments about My Fight for Irish Freedom.

1. Most certainly one of the best books pertaining to the troubles from 1916-1922 to have survived over the years.
   Dan Breen in great detail describes his ascendancy to the top rung of the organization then known as the Irish volunteers (Later the IRA) in his native county Tipperary and the ensuing life on the run, the inevitable price to be paid for his part in the Soloheadbed Ambush in 1919, which arguably launched the Anglo-Irish War. His description of some of the leading characters of the day, most notably Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera, are as valuable as his tragic insights into the Civil War following the Peace Treaty of 1921, including his tireless efforts to bring peace between both the Free State and the Republicans.
   I have an extensive library that includes masterpieces by Ernie O'Malley, Tom Barry, and Pat Deasy, among others, but I still believe this might be the best account yet, always worth re-reading.



2. This is a good book and helps you understand much of how the Irish war for independence was gotten off the ground. For those interested in this period in Irish history it offers a unique insight from a hero of epic proportions. Some scenes from the book sound like they belong in a Hollywood script more than a true historic account and yet, that is what this book truly is. A must read for those interested in the struggle for Irish freedom.

No comments about The Last Lion Part A: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone, 1932-1940.

1 comments about D-Day Hero: CSM Stanley Hollis VC.

1. This book written by Mike Morgan is an absolute must for anyone interested in military history.Stan Hollis cannot be praised enough for his superb bravery and courage and Mike Morgan does him proud,Hollis is one of the all time British Heroes who makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Highly recommended well researched and well written.

No comments about Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth.

No comments about Josiah C. Wedgwood The Man And His Work.

No comments about Josiah And Sarah Wedgwood.