Books & Audiobooks
July 4th is the 56th anniversary of the classic anti-war song “Give Peace a Chance.” It was recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in a hotel room at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, as part of their “Bed-in For Peace” protest in 1969. Such a relevant song still today. With that anniversary in mind, I want to suggest the new book, Yoko: A Biography by David Sheff. Perhaps it is a good time to give Yoko a chance. It’s always interesting to take a deep dive into someone who has seemingly been so misunderstood, and I think Yoko Ono would definitely fall into that category. Long touted as the cause of The Beatles break up and for John Lennon losing interest in the band, she has been the recipient of racism and sexism for literally decades.
Sheff writes that, while she embraced being “Mrs. Lennon,” she was also so much more than that and most certainly her own, individual person. Prior to meeting John and continuing through to her 80s, she was an intriguing musician and artist herself, only receiving real recognition for that in the later years of her life. Her conceptual art pieces have always been fascinating—from her early “Cut Piece” (1964), a performance piece during which she sat on stage and the audience proceeded to use scissors to cut off her clothing; to the moving and thought-provoking “Imagine Peace Tower”(2007). Located on Víðey Island near Reykjavik, it is an outdoor art piece dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. This monument of peace emits a huge shining beam of light into the sky and features peace prayers in 24 languages.
David Sheff is a journalist and writer, who first met Lennon and Ono back in 1980 for a magazine interview that he conducted. He stayed in contact after that first meeting and continues to be a friend of Ono’s to this day. Given their background, this is a fairly soft exploration of Ono and her life. Sheff offers a lot of specifics and behind the scenes details from her childhood growing up in Japan, to her immigration to the U.S., and her early years living with Lennon in New York City. He also presents unbelievable stories, such as the description of Yoko and John’s son Sean’s 9th birthday party—in attendance were Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Walter Cronkite. Steve Jobs was there, too and brought Sean a Macintosh computer (which had just originated that year)…what a wild kid’s birthday party!
Overall, while the insights are not terribly deep or challenging, the book does most definitely tell the tale of an unbelievable life. Ono is now in her 90s and no longer in the public eye, but she is still a fascinating subject and worth exploring through this book or some of the other recent material in our collection.
Some other interesting items about Yoko Ono from WPL include:
- John and Yoko: Above Us Only Sky DVD
- John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Year Canada Was Cool by Greg Marquis
- We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me by Elliot Mintz