John Lennon: Shoulda Been There
Shoulda Been There by Jude Southerland Kessler Massive new book that documents John Lennon s life from 1940 to 1961. Nearly 800 pages trace the events that motivated his desire to become a famous rock star, along with the day-by-day activities of the early Beatles. Over 20 years of research and interviews went into the book, which is written with a "factional" approach to effectively recreate events and conversations. The book is finely padded out with a timeline, pictures, a Scouse glossary, and most importantly an indispensible section containing short biographies of the main characters involved in early Beatles history. The book is available at On The Rock Books. --Beatlelinks.net<br /><br />Shoulda been there, the first researched historical novel on the life of John Lennon, is truly extraordinary. The book, the first in a promised trilogy of Lennon novels, written by Jude Southerland Kessler, covers John's life from 1940 to 1961, and traces the events that motivated his desire to become a famous rock star and the day-by-day activities of the early Beatles. No less an authority than Bill Harry, founder of Mersey Beat, the '60s magazine that documented the Liverpool scene of the time, says in the book's foreword that Kessler got it right. In what Mr. Harry referred to as a "factional" approach, Kessler blends twenty years of research on Lennon with her ability to create authentic Scouse or Liverpudlian dialogue and with an incredible familiarity with the ins and outs of northern England. Jude describes events in Lennon's adolescence as if she were there, as if, as Bill Harry notes, she had been a fly on the wall during these landmark events. In the pages of this remarkable book, you will experience the Quarry Men's first performance and each moment in John's youth and teen years becomes a moment in the reader's own experience. For 795 pages, the reader is John's shadow. Each reader is John's comrade. The accounts are not fiction. Jude documented these events in over twenty years of research including 7 trips to Liverpool and an incredible number of interviews of the people who were actually there and around at the time. The book is footnoted, and Jude's end notes debate the veracity of past non-fiction research, pointing out contradictions where they exist. Beatle myths are exposed, and new truths are suggested. The book, Shoulda Been There, works to present John Lennon as he really was, not as we've imagined him to be over the last 40 years. The novel also supplies Beatle enthusiasts with a great deal of documentary material. Jude includes the "Encyclopedia of Real Characters" which provides 125 short biographies of those closest to The Fab Four, and her "Scouse Glossary" gives a necessary insight into the language of Merseyside. There is more at work here than just an extremely good read. The book carefully balances on that tightrope between fact and fiction, plainly telling us when the author leans to one side or the other. Capturing the essence of long-lost, half-remembered conversations is what Jude sets out to do, all while separating fact from fiction with regard to myths and legends that have been handed down for years about Lennon's youth and The Beatles' unimaginable rise. What happens, through the magic of Jude's words, is that readers come to know the younger Lennon and relive his painful childhood. The book is an exhaustive work for the early Lennon years. It captures the imagination, but tells the truth. Shoulda Been There. You'll feel like you were. Review posted by Dave Haber, May, 2005 --daytrippin.com<br /><br />Shoul --whatgoeson.comShoulda been there, the first researched historical novel on the life of John Lennon, is truly extraordinary. The book, the first in a promised trilogy of Lennon novels, written by Jude Southerland Kessler, covers John's life from 1940 to 1961, and traces the events that motivated his desire to become a famous rock star and the day-by-day activities of the early Beatles. No less an authority than Bill Harry, founder of Mersey Beat, the '60s magazine that documented the Liverpool scene of the time, says in the book's foreward that Kessler got it right. In what Mr. Harry referred to as a "factional" approach, Kessler blends twenty years of research on Lennon with her ability to create authentic Scouse or Liverpudlian dialogue and with an incredible familiarity with the ins and outs of northern England. Jude describes events in Lennon's adolescence as if she were there, as if, as Bill Harry notes, she had been a fly on the wall during these landmark events. In the pages of this remarkable book, you will experience the Quarry Men's first performance at The Roseberry Street Festival and The Beatles days in Hamburg, you'll walk with John into Liverpool College of Art as a freshman in 1957, and you'll stand beside John at his mother's funeral in 1958. Each moment in John's youth and teen years becomes a moment in the reader's own experience. For 795 pages, the reader is John's shadow. Each reader is John's comrade. As vivid as these are recounted, the accounts are not fiction. Jude documented these events in over twenty years of research including 7 trips to Liverpool and an incredible number of interviews of the people who were actually there and around at the time. The book is footnoted, and Jude's end notes debate the veracity of past non-fiction research, pointing out contradictions where they exist. Beatle myths are exposed, and new truths are suggested. The book, Shoulda Been There, works to present John Lennon as he really was, not as we've imagined him to be over the last 40 years. The novel also supplies Beatle enthusiasts with a great deal of documentary material. Jude includes the "Encyclopedia of Real Characters" which provides 125 short biographies of those closest to The Fab Four, and her "Scouse Glossary" gives a necessary insight into the language of Merseyside. There is more at work here than just an extremely good read. The book carefully balances on that tightrope between fact and fiction, plainly telling us when the author leans to one side or the other. Capturing the essence of long-lost, half-remembered conversations is what Jude sets out to do, all while separating fact from fiction with regard to myths and legends that have been handed down for years about Lennon's youth and The Beatles' unimaginable rise. What happens, through the magic of Jude's words, is that readers come to know the younger Lennon and relive his painful childhood. The book is an exhaustive work for the early Lennon years. It captures the imagination, but tells the truth.  Shoulda Been There. You'll feel like you were. Review posted by Dave Haber, May, 2005 --daytrippin.comShoulda Been There by Jude Southerland Kessler Massive new book that documents John Lennon s life from 1940 to 1961. Nearly 800 pages trace the events that motivated his desire to become a famous rock star, along with the day-by-day activities of the early Beatles. Over 20 years of research and interviews went into the book, which is written with a "factional" approach to effectively recreate events and conversations. The book is finely padded out with a timeline, pictures, a Scouse glossary, and most importantly an indispensible section containing short biographies of the main characters involved in early Beatles history. The book is available at On The Rock Books. --Beatlelinks.net