So he wasn't the best father in the world. Or the best husband. He was human, wasn't he? Philip Norman's new book, John Lennon: The Life, spares nothing to dig up the most sordid aspects of Lennon's life: his alleged abandonment by his mother (not true, says his sister), a homosexual crush on bandmate Paul McCartney (so not true, say Paul and Yoko) and sexual fantasies of his mother after accidentally touching her breast (reportedly divulged by a therapist). Even if all this were true, does it really matter, after all this time?

Philip Norman has attempted to soil the legend that many of us grew up with, not because we need to know, but for monetary gain. Even Andrew Morton knew when to leave well enough alone, but this guy has no tact or grace. He even convinced Yoko to cooperate with him initially; once she realized the tone and direction she quickly cut ties, but not before he got some salacious tidbits. I hope it festers on bookshelves until he has to return his advance to the publisher. Remind me to not buy any more books from HarperCollins.