The John Lennon Letters: Edited and with an Introduction by Hunter Davies - Tapa dura

I read it from cover to cover and will probably give it as a Christmas present. (Jarvis Cocker THE GUARDIAN)

The triumph of these 200 or so letters is that they are not just about John and Mimi, or John and The Beatles, or John and Yoko. they are all of that but, within the framework editor Hunter Davies has given them, they're about a time and place, and Lennon's role within it. (Arifa Akbar THE INDEPENDENT)

A labour of love (Simon Mayo R2 SIMON MAYO)

Hunter Davies, the man who wrote the official 1960s biograph of The Beatles, releases The John Lennon Letters today, a collection of nearly 300 quirky letters and postcards sent by Lennon to his family and friends, giving an insight into his life and humour. (EVENING STANDARD)

A treasure trove (Pat Kenny RTE RADIO 'TODAY WITH PAT KENNY')

Correspondence with estranged family is especially touching in later years (TIME OUT)

The detective work in sourcing the material was carried out by Beatles biographer Hunter Davies. As Yoko Ono writes in a foreword, he has done well. (BLOOMBERG NEWS)

Davies was contacted by the band's manager, Brian Epstein, to write the only authorised pre-Yoko Beatles biography (first published in 1968), so to be entrusted with the keys to the kingdom of Lennon's correspondence (to which Ono own the copyright) more than 40 years later is a diplomatic coup upon which Kofi Annan might look with envy. (Ben Thompson SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

Though most of the letters are slapdash and artless in themselves, they have a curiously moving cumulative effect when taken as a whole. (Craig Brown MAIL ON SUNDAY)

The book exudes beauty in an all-white hardbound book. The paper is especially high quality and heavy. The letters are in color, and very well-copied. I highly recommend this book for Lennon fans who want more than surface information; the fan who studies and researches Lennon's life, and want to understand his history. For those who care to really digest it, they will learn a great deal. (Shelley Germeaux IRISH EXAMINER)