The Last Days of John Lennon

The book is a nonfiction narrative that interweaves the biography of John Lennon with the story of Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered him on December 8, 1980.

The prologue opens on December 6, 1980, as Chapman, a heavyset man from Hawaii, arrived at New York's LaGuardia Airport carrying a legally purchased .38-caliber revolver and five hollow-point bullets. He took a cab to the West Side YMCA, near Lennon's residence at the Dakota apartment building. In the cab, Chapman snorted cocaine, muttered about shooting Lennon, and told the driver to remember his name. He had attempted this trip once before but lost his nerve after confessing his plan to his wife, Gloria.

The narrative shifts to 1957 Liverpool, where 15-year-old Paul McCartney watched 17-year-old John Lennon perform with his skiffle band, the Quarry Men, at a church fair. Paul impressed John by playing Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock," and John invited him to join. Paul later championed 14-year-old George Harrison, who earned a spot by playing a difficult guitar instrumental. John's early life was marked by loss: His mother, Julia, who had left him in the care of his strict Aunt Mimi Smith, was struck and killed by a car on July 15, 1958. Paul had lost his own mother to breast cancer in 1956, and the shared grief forged a deep bond between them.

By 1960, John renamed the band the Beatles, a wordplay on Buddy Holly's Crickets, and they landed a residency in Hamburg, Germany, playing grueling six-hour sets and rapidly improving as performers. They befriended drummer Ringo Starr, born Richard Starkey, who played with a rival band. Fellow art student Stuart Sutcliffe, who had joined on bass, stayed behind in Hamburg and died of a cerebral hemorrhage in April 1962 at 21, devastating John for the second time.

In Liverpool, 27-year-old Brian Epstein, manager of the NEMS record store, offered to manage the Beatles after hearing them at the Cavern Club. He cleaned up their image and secured a contract with George Martin at EMI's Parlophone label. John, Paul, and George replaced drummer Pete Best with Ringo, transforming the band's chemistry. John quietly married his girlfriend Cynthia Powell on August 23, 1962. "Love Me Do" climbed the charts that October, and "Please Please Me" became their first number-one hit in January 1963.

Beatlemania erupted through 1963 and 1964. The Beatles released 12 consecutive number-one songs and, on February 9, 1964, appeared before 73 million viewers on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their first film, A Hard Day's Night, was a commercial and critical success. On the 1964 American tour, folk singer Bob Dylan introduced the Beatles to marijuana, marking a creative turning point.

The narrative returns periodically to Chapman. On December 6, he practiced drawing his revolver before a mirror, rehearsing the assassination. At the Dakota, he charmed two devoted fans who suggested he buy Lennon's new album, Double Fantasy, and get it autographed. Chapman seized on the album as a ruse to approach Lennon. He moved to the Sheraton Centre and arranged items for the police he expected would search the room, including a Bible inscribed with Lennon's name beside the Gospel of John.

In a March 1966 interview, John observed that the Beatles had become more popular than Jesus. The remark passed unnoticed in Britain but ignited backlash in America when reprinted in the teen magazine DATEbook: Radio stations organized record-burning bonfires, and the Ku Klux Klan picketed concerts. At the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, a cherry bomb exploded during a performance, and each Beatle looked at the others, believing someone had been shot. On August 29, 1966, the Beatles played their final concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park.

In late 1966, John attended an art exhibition by Yoko Ono at the Indica gallery in London and was captivated by her conceptual work. The Beatles recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released in June 1967 to worldwide acclaim. That August, manager Brian Epstein was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills at 32. In February 1968, the Beatles traveled to the ashram of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a Hindu spiritual teacher, in Rishikesh, India, where John and Paul wrote most of the songs for the White Album. During the return flight, John confessed his extramarital affairs to Cynthia, ending their marriage. He soon invited Yoko to his home.

Yoko's constant presence during White Album sessions violated the band's unwritten rule against partners in the studio, deepening tensions. George quit on January 10, 1969, though he returned five days later. On January 30, the Beatles gave a rooftop concert atop their Apple Corps headquarters in London, their last live performance together. John and Yoko married in Gibraltar on March 20 and staged "Bed-In" peace protests; John recorded "Give Peace a Chance," which became a protest anthem. The Beatles recorded Abbey Road that summer, and on September 20, John privately told the others he was leaving.

Paul publicly announced his departure on April 10, 1970. In 1971, John composed "Imagine" at Tittenhurst Park, his Ascot estate, inspired by Yoko's book of poetry, Grapefruit. That August, John and Yoko moved to New York, settling first at the St. Regis Hotel and then at 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village. John befriended counterculture activists and performed at political rallies. President Nixon, fearing John's influence on young voters, ordered FBI surveillance and pursued his deportation. John and Yoko fought the case for years with immigration lawyer Leon Wildes.

After a painful separation in 1973-1974, during which John lived in Los Angeles with assistant May Pang and reconnected with his son Julian, he reconciled with Yoko. Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born on October 9, 1975, John's 35th birthday. John retired from music to become a full-time "househusband." On July 27, 1976, a judge granted him permanent US residency.

In June 1980, John sailed to Bermuda and experienced a creative breakthrough, writing dozens of songs. At the Bermuda Botanical Gardens, he discovered a flower called Double Fantasy and adopted it as his album title. Record executive David Geffen won the bidding war for the album. Double Fantasy was released on November 17, 1980, and John told friends he was in the best shape of his life.

The parallel threads converge on December 8. Chapman arrived at the Dakota carrying Double Fantasy and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, inscribed with a message to and from Holden Caulfield, the novel's protagonist. He encountered five-year-old Sean heading out with his nanny and knelt to shake the boy's hand. That afternoon, Rolling Stone chief photographer Annie Leibovitz photographed John and Yoko for the magazine. After 4:00 p.m., Chapman approached John with his album, and John signed it. Chapman reached into his pocket but did not draw the weapon.

That evening, John and Yoko returned from a recording session at the Hit Factory, where they learned Double Fantasy had gone gold. John's last words in the studio were that he wanted to go home and kiss Sean good night. As John walked toward the Dakota entrance, Chapman assumed a combat stance and fired five hollow-point bullets, designed to expand on impact, into John's back and shoulder. Doorman Jose Perdomo disarmed Chapman, who dropped the gun and pulled out The Catcher in the Rye. Officers rushed John to Roosevelt Hospital, where Dr. David Halleran performed an emergency thoracotomy, opening John's chest and manually pumping his heart. The damage was irreparable. John Lennon was declared dead.

Howard Cosell broke the news on Monday Night Football. Paul McCartney broke down in his wife Linda's arms. Ringo chartered a plane to New York, where he spent hours playing with Sean at Yoko's request. Yoko told five-year-old Sean directly that his father had been killed. On December 14, 100,000 mourners gathered in Central Park for a silent vigil. On June 22, 1981, Chapman pleaded guilty against his attorney's advice. At his August 24 sentencing, he read from The Catcher in the Rye before receiving 20 years to life. Alone in his cell, he reflected with satisfaction, convinced he had achieved the eternal fame he sought.