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Yoko: A Biography
An intimate and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Boy.
John Lennon once described Yoko Ono as the world’s most famous unknown artist. “Everybody knows her name, but no one knows what she does.” She has only been important to history insofar as she impacted Lennon. Throughout her life, Yoko has been a caricature, curiosity, and, often, a villain—an inscrutable seductress, manipulating con artist, and caterwauling fraud. The Lennon/Beatles saga is one of the greatest stories ever told, but Yoko’s part has been missing—hidden in the Beatles’ formidable shadow, further obscured by flagrant misogyny and racism. This definitive biography of Yoko Ono’s life will change that. In this book, Yoko Ono takes centerstage.
Yoko’s life, independent of Lennon, was an amazing journey. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo, her harrowing experience as a child during the war, her arrival in avant-garde art scene in London, Tokyo, and New York City. It delves into her groundbreaking art, music, feminism, and activism. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless, and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history.
This book was nearly a half century in the making. In 1980, David Sheff met Yoko and John when Sheff conducted an in-depth interview with them just months before John’s murder. In the aftermath of the killing, he and Yoko became close as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and betrayals, and went on to create groundbreaking art and music while campaigning for peace and other causes. Drawing from his experiences and interviews with her, her family, closest friends, collaborators, and many others, Sheff shows us Yoko’s nine decades—one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived.
Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive, and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. The book not only rehabilitates Yoko Ono’s reputation but elevates it to iconic status.
John Lennon once described Yoko Ono as the world’s most famous unknown artist. “Everybody knows her name, but no one knows what she does.” She has only been important to history insofar as she impacted Lennon. Throughout her life, Yoko has been a caricature, curiosity, and, often, a villain—an inscrutable seductress, manipulating con artist, and caterwauling fraud. The Lennon/Beatles saga is one of the greatest stories ever told, but Yoko’s part has been missing—hidden in the Beatles’ formidable shadow, further obscured by flagrant misogyny and racism. This definitive biography of Yoko Ono’s life will change that. In this book, Yoko Ono takes centerstage.
Yoko’s life, independent of Lennon, was an amazing journey. Yoko spans from her birth to wealthy parents in pre-war Tokyo, her harrowing experience as a child during the war, her arrival in avant-garde art scene in London, Tokyo, and New York City. It delves into her groundbreaking art, music, feminism, and activism. We see how she coped under the most intense, relentless, and cynical microscope as she was falsely vilified for the most heinous cultural crime breaking up the greatest rock-and-roll band in history.
This book was nearly a half century in the making. In 1980, David Sheff met Yoko and John when Sheff conducted an in-depth interview with them just months before John’s murder. In the aftermath of the killing, he and Yoko became close as she rebuilt her life, survived threats and betrayals, and went on to create groundbreaking art and music while campaigning for peace and other causes. Drawing from his experiences and interviews with her, her family, closest friends, collaborators, and many others, Sheff shows us Yoko’s nine decades—one of the most unlikely and remarkable lives ever lived.
Yoko is a harrowing, moving, propulsive, and vastly entertaining biography of a woman whose story has never been accurately told. The book not only rehabilitates Yoko Ono’s reputation but elevates it to iconic status.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2025
167 people are currently reading
1787 people want to read
About the author
David Sheff
27 books952 followersDavid Sheff is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Beautiful Boy. Sheff's other books include Game Over, China Dawn, and All We Are Saying. His many articles and interviews have appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Wired, Fortune, and elsewhere. His ongoing research and reporting on the science of addiction earned him a place on Time Magazine's list of the World's Most Influential People. Sheff and his family live in Inverness, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
June 14, 2025
John Lennon would be 85 in October and Yoko Ono turned 92 in February. Their story shines on.
This is a thoughtful, respectful biography of the most maligned woman and artist of recent times and even today, sixty years on, Ono’s extraordinary vision and creativity remain almost unmatched.
An excellent, if subjective, introduction to Ono’s extensive and provocative body of work.
This is a thoughtful, respectful biography of the most maligned woman and artist of recent times and even today, sixty years on, Ono’s extraordinary vision and creativity remain almost unmatched.
An excellent, if subjective, introduction to Ono’s extensive and provocative body of work.
April 7, 2025
This author has written about the Lennons before- most notably his iconic Playboy interview THE PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS WITH JOHN LENNON & YOKO ONO. conducted shortly before John Lennon's murder. He spent so much time with the Lennons in preparation for that piece, in the lead up to their joint album "Double Fantasy" being released. In addition, he fashioned another iteration of that book called All We Are Saying in recent years. He has been a stalwart friend to the Lennons all these decades, so you have to keep in mind that's where his loyalties are. Last year another decades-long friend of the Lennons named Elliot Mintz also wrote a book about John and Yoko called We All Shine On: John, Yoko, and Me. Yoko is in her nineties and in frail health, choosing now to live in her upstate New York farm in privacy rather than in the Dakota in NYC. While this book draws from Sheff's original Playboy interviews, he also received cooperation from others such as Yoko's children- son Sean Lennon and daughter Kyoko Chan Cox. Their insights were very intelligent and insightful to read. I've read so much about John and Yoko over the years that it's hard to know where I've drawn the information from- whether it's from this author's other books, Mintz's...etc. However, I did enjoy this book's focus on Yoko, her childhood, in-depth coverage of artistic output, evolution of grief following John's death, and her incredible resilience. The book proper ended at the 66% mark, with a section of wonderful, never before seen photographs starting from Yoko's early childhood, Acknowledgements, About the Author, Notes, and Index. If you don't know anything about Yoko Ono, this would be an excellent biography to read.
March 5, 2025
Ultimately, Sean said, “It’s one of my mom’s most powerful talents: that she had this ability to overcome difficulty with positive thinking. She really wanted to teach the world to do that. She taught my dad to do that.” from Yoko by David Sheff
She took the trauma of her life–the distant parents, the war with its starvation and bombing of Tokyo, the sexual abuse, the social ostracism, misogyny and racism, the drug addiction, the loss of a child stolen by her ex, the murder of her soul mate, the betrayal by trusted confidences–and turned it into visionary art, and an anthem that transformed the world.
I was not a “Beatlemaniac” but remembered the gossip surrounding Yoko Ono, the famous photographs. When offered this biography, I was drawn to learn about Yoko. The woman I encountered in these pages is a remarkable survivor of unimaginable tragedy since childhood. She took that pain into her art, exposing her vulnerability.
David Sheff was a trusted family friend to Yoko and John Lennon, and his biography is sympathetic while revealing troubling insights.
“As usual, there’s a great woman behind every idiot” John Lennon, quoted in Yoko by David Sheff
Yoko’s art and music is described in depth. Shocking or dismissed at the time, her art became formative to later musicians and artists.
John Lennon was depressed and unhappy when he met Yoko at one of her art exhibits. He became deeply dependent on Yoko. It took years and a separation for their marriage to settle into a mutually supportive and happy one, then John was murdered. Not only did she have to deal with that loss, she received death threats for her and Sean. And people she trusted stole money and memorabilia from her. She found solace in tarot cards and psychics.
It was heartbreaking to read.
But she was a survivor.
Yoko committed to keep John’s legacy and music alive. She performed new music with Sean and was now recognized as a pioneer in conceptual art. She reconnected with her daughter from her first marriage.
“I’m not really that optimistic. I am trying to make us survive. And in the course of survival, we don’t have the luxury to be negative. That’s a luxury we can’t afford.” Yoko Ono quoted in Yoko by David Sheff
Yoko’s contribution to Imagine was finally recognized. The message “had always been central to Yoko’s life and work–the basis of her conceptual art and thinking, and indeed, her survival,” Sheff writes;”Yoko imagines a better world–and she worked to create one.”
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.
She took the trauma of her life–the distant parents, the war with its starvation and bombing of Tokyo, the sexual abuse, the social ostracism, misogyny and racism, the drug addiction, the loss of a child stolen by her ex, the murder of her soul mate, the betrayal by trusted confidences–and turned it into visionary art, and an anthem that transformed the world.
I was not a “Beatlemaniac” but remembered the gossip surrounding Yoko Ono, the famous photographs. When offered this biography, I was drawn to learn about Yoko. The woman I encountered in these pages is a remarkable survivor of unimaginable tragedy since childhood. She took that pain into her art, exposing her vulnerability.
David Sheff was a trusted family friend to Yoko and John Lennon, and his biography is sympathetic while revealing troubling insights.
“As usual, there’s a great woman behind every idiot” John Lennon, quoted in Yoko by David Sheff
Yoko’s art and music is described in depth. Shocking or dismissed at the time, her art became formative to later musicians and artists.
John Lennon was depressed and unhappy when he met Yoko at one of her art exhibits. He became deeply dependent on Yoko. It took years and a separation for their marriage to settle into a mutually supportive and happy one, then John was murdered. Not only did she have to deal with that loss, she received death threats for her and Sean. And people she trusted stole money and memorabilia from her. She found solace in tarot cards and psychics.
It was heartbreaking to read.
But she was a survivor.
Yoko committed to keep John’s legacy and music alive. She performed new music with Sean and was now recognized as a pioneer in conceptual art. She reconnected with her daughter from her first marriage.
“I’m not really that optimistic. I am trying to make us survive. And in the course of survival, we don’t have the luxury to be negative. That’s a luxury we can’t afford.” Yoko Ono quoted in Yoko by David Sheff
Yoko’s contribution to Imagine was finally recognized. The message “had always been central to Yoko’s life and work–the basis of her conceptual art and thinking, and indeed, her survival,” Sheff writes;”Yoko imagines a better world–and she worked to create one.”
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.
April 17, 2025
This is a tough book to review without writing at length. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed learning about Yoko’s conceptual art, which struck me as clever and often funny. I like the interactive stance she embraces in her art and her ongoing themes of feminism and pacifism.
Her life is full of privilege but also packed with loneliness and rejection. All the info about her first husband, her life with John, Sean, and her life after John is interesting and, at times, eye-opening. (Fame is no picnic.)
I find myself ambivalent about whether to trust the author’s perspective. He’s a long-time friend of Yoko’s which gives him an informed perspective about his subject. But, it also means he could be motivated by wanting to whitewash the reputation of a friend who has been particularly maligned by the press professionally and personally.
To that end, he goes to great lengths to explain that Yoko’s terrible art reviews were due to misogyny and racism in the art world. No surprises there. But did her art also suck? Did it get better? Why late in Yoko’s career did she achieve icon status and win award after prestigious award? Did her art improve? Did the world soften towards her after John was so brutally murdered? Surely misogyny and racism haven’t gone away.
Similarly, there’s a weird juxtaposition in the way Yoko is demonized in the 60’s versus the way she’s accepted and even lauded post-John Lennon. They said she broke up the Beatles, was a witch or bitch, cold and aloof, self-absorbed and drugged out. The author counters that she is not cold, she is shy, she did not break up the Beatles, they had their own issues. That Yoko is not a quack or a fake, she is passionate artist, she’s from one of the most esteemed and richest families in Japan, cultured and highly intelligent.
In the end, Yoko remains an enigma. But what an interesting life.
Her life is full of privilege but also packed with loneliness and rejection. All the info about her first husband, her life with John, Sean, and her life after John is interesting and, at times, eye-opening. (Fame is no picnic.)
I find myself ambivalent about whether to trust the author’s perspective. He’s a long-time friend of Yoko’s which gives him an informed perspective about his subject. But, it also means he could be motivated by wanting to whitewash the reputation of a friend who has been particularly maligned by the press professionally and personally.
To that end, he goes to great lengths to explain that Yoko’s terrible art reviews were due to misogyny and racism in the art world. No surprises there. But did her art also suck? Did it get better? Why late in Yoko’s career did she achieve icon status and win award after prestigious award? Did her art improve? Did the world soften towards her after John was so brutally murdered? Surely misogyny and racism haven’t gone away.
Similarly, there’s a weird juxtaposition in the way Yoko is demonized in the 60’s versus the way she’s accepted and even lauded post-John Lennon. They said she broke up the Beatles, was a witch or bitch, cold and aloof, self-absorbed and drugged out. The author counters that she is not cold, she is shy, she did not break up the Beatles, they had their own issues. That Yoko is not a quack or a fake, she is passionate artist, she’s from one of the most esteemed and richest families in Japan, cultured and highly intelligent.
In the end, Yoko remains an enigma. But what an interesting life.
April 5, 2025
In the prologue to this biography David Sheff lays out his bona fides, relating his close relationship to both John Lennon and Yoko and giving thanks to their generous cooperation while he was writing a piece on them for Playboy which they found got to the truth of them, unlike what was being bruited about in other branches of media. Sheff has employed this friendship kindly, and thusly fleshes out Ono's personality and contributions to the world of avant garde music and art. Having sublimated her own talents to that of her wildly famous husband, she was nonetheless flattened by his untimely death, but has continued creating well into her 90's, also overseeing retrospectives of earlier works which are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Her diminutive size belies her strengths, and one cannot help but admire her facing up to accusations by deluded fans and episodes of racism and hatred. Quite a lady.
September 23, 2025
Fascinating and absordbing biography that stays a little surface level and doesn't dare to criticize its subject too much. It's heavily biased towards her. Still, I think it managed what it sought out to do and I feel I have a deeper understanding of and more compassion for Yoko Ono than i did before - both as a person and as an artist.
January 29, 2025
So happy I scored an early copy of this!
March 17, 2025
I’ll be interviewing David about the always fascinating Yoko Ono, and his book on her. April 3rd at the Beverly Hills Library.
April 22, 2025
Yoko is in capable hands with David Sheff and is honored here for her own artistic perseverance through many ages of disrespect and disregard in her long life. Not easily understood, clearly misunderstood, Yoko works on as if her life depends on it. And her life does depend on her work.
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July 23, 2025soooo new york,new york! (i knew that yoko ono married john lennon because they’re in crosswords but I didn’t know that yokoono’shusbandjohnlennon was murdered)
May 9, 2025
Hagiography written by an admiring family friend. Very little new here.
Yoko was treated very badly in her early years with Lennon. Loads of racist & sexist garbage was thrown at her, so unfairly and so viciously. She didn't break up the Beatles. She put up with that wonderful yet difficult John Lennon, and she gave him love, a home, and a child. So, on some basic level, she deserves respect. But she has an unusual personality which this book does little to illuminate.
It is a little strange to see that numerous employees ended up betraying her or stealing from her. The episode with May Pang is dealt with very briefly. It is pretty clear that John and Yoko rather callously used that young woman. Yoko had a post-Lennon boyfriend for something like 20 years whom she didn't publicly acknowledge and ended up dumping by changing the locks. But the author never dwells on the meaning of these relationships in terms of Yoko's personality or character.
I am glad to see that she has a good rapport with her adult children. That speaks well of her. As for her art, it is presented here as innovative, original, important, etc. I am not convinced of this, but that is a matter of taste.
The book shows us what the subject wishes us to see. Nothing wrong with that. Who among us wouldn't prefer to have a hand in polishing our reputation by having our biography written by a friend? It's fine. Yoko owes the public nothing at this point. But I would submit that a book with a more objective approach is still needed and perhaps is currently in production.
Yoko was treated very badly in her early years with Lennon. Loads of racist & sexist garbage was thrown at her, so unfairly and so viciously. She didn't break up the Beatles. She put up with that wonderful yet difficult John Lennon, and she gave him love, a home, and a child. So, on some basic level, she deserves respect. But she has an unusual personality which this book does little to illuminate.
It is a little strange to see that numerous employees ended up betraying her or stealing from her. The episode with May Pang is dealt with very briefly. It is pretty clear that John and Yoko rather callously used that young woman. Yoko had a post-Lennon boyfriend for something like 20 years whom she didn't publicly acknowledge and ended up dumping by changing the locks. But the author never dwells on the meaning of these relationships in terms of Yoko's personality or character.
I am glad to see that she has a good rapport with her adult children. That speaks well of her. As for her art, it is presented here as innovative, original, important, etc. I am not convinced of this, but that is a matter of taste.
The book shows us what the subject wishes us to see. Nothing wrong with that. Who among us wouldn't prefer to have a hand in polishing our reputation by having our biography written by a friend? It's fine. Yoko owes the public nothing at this point. But I would submit that a book with a more objective approach is still needed and perhaps is currently in production.
March 30, 2025
I had forgotten that Yoko had a relatively successful career before her relationship with John Lennon. The Beatles somewhat rabid fanbase and the media most definitely demonized her and after reading the book I couldn't help but feel sorry for how she has been treated for most of her long (92 years old at this point) life starting right from the beginning with her cold parents. It's kind of amazing to think that she and John were together for a mere 14 years out of her life.
October 21, 2025
I wanted to rate this higher bc I read it quickly and RLY enjoyed learning about Yoko’s art, but this should be called Yoko: A Defense of Her Art because it’s a bad biography. The book is not curious at all (the ultimate crime in nonfiction) and doesn’t want to share any new info about Yoko at all, there is basically no research beyond quotes from Yoko and Sean Lennon (and no fact checking of what they say), and the content was 1:4 info on Yoko:Analysis of her art. It’s basically her Wikipedia page - I don’t think there is a single piece of information that hasn’t been in the public record since like 1980. Would be curious to read a biography of Yoko that decided to actually try to learn more about her rather than just telling a story that has been told with a few random asides about how he rode in her car so he knew her driver.
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January 23, 2025While well-written, this was not something that interested me. I did not get far enough in to provide feedback.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.
December 22, 2025
Quite biased towards Yoko (it’s to be expected) however that is kind of necessary considering how much abuse she’s got over the years. Certainly changed my opinion on her and got me interested in her music
July 3, 2025
Kennt ihr das auch? Ihr möchtet etwas machen/oder kaufen und aus Gründen, die euch selbst irgendwie fadenscheinig erscheinen habt ihr es nicht gemacht? Und kurz danach bereut ihr es? So geht es mir gerade nach dem Lesen dieser Biografie. In Düsseldorf lief bis Mitte März die Ausstellung „Music of the mind“ eine Retrospektive, die sieben Jahrzehnte künstlerische Schaffen von Yoko Ono zeigte. Ich war zu träge hinzugehen und jetzt tut es mir richtig leid
In der Biografie von David Sheff werfen wir einen ausgiebigen Blick auf diese Ausnahmekünstlerin. Ich denke, dass die Allermeisten von uns bei ihrem Namen als erstes an John Lennon denken, und auch ich gehörte vor Jahren zu denen, die ihr unterschwellig Vorwürfen machten, den Beatle negativ beeinflusst zu haben. Irgendwie kam sie mir immer komisch vor. Heute finde ich meine Mutmaßungen sehr ungerecht und sie zeugen nicht von großer Kenntnis der Beziehungen. Mittlerweile habe ich viel gelesen über die Beatles und natürlich auch über sie, und mein Bild über diese Frau, die ihrer Zeit weit voraus war, hat sich nach und nach verschoben. Mit allen restlichen Zweifeln hat der Autor dieser Biografie aufgeräumt.
Was für eine Ikone! Sie ist die Mutter der konzeptfreien Kunst und Musik. Ihre Performances haben Kultstatus und im hohen Alter von 70/80, mutierte sie zur Queen des Dance Floors. Ihre andere Seite war leidend und tragisch. Das Verhältnis zu ihren Eltern war nicht gut. Ihre Tochter wurde ihr jahrzehntelang vorenthalten und die große Liebe ihres Lebens vor ihren Augen erschossen. Natürlich hat sie das nachhaltig traumatisiert. Doch sie hat versucht, diese negative Energie in eine positive Haltung zu verwandeln, unsere Welt und den Menschen gegenüber! Das imponiert mir sehr und ist meiner Lebensphilosophie sehr nah, wenn es mir auch nicht immer glückt. Aber das ist es ihr wohl auch nicht durchgehend. Es hat mich sehr berührt, wie schwer sie es nach Johns Tod hatte. Und ihre Verständnis von Mutterschaft ist mir ebenfalls sehr nahe gegangen. Außerdem liebe ich die Art, wie sie sich künstlerisch ausdrückt. Das ist genau mein Ding. Jetzt, wo ich weiß, welche Gründe hinter den einzelnen Aktionen und Objekten steht, bekommt mein Bild von ihr fundamentale Substanz
Sheff war ihr ein enger Freund. Sean Lennon hat ihn mit Informationen und Interviews versorgt, so dass sich ein relativ wahres Bild von Ono zusammensetzt. Dass manche Aspekte nicht ganz stichhaltig sind, hat mich dabei wenig gestört. Am meisten Zeit bei der Suche nach Bestätigung im www habe ich damit verbracht, zu recherchieren, ob es wirklich ein Bild vom toten John Lennon gibt. Es scheint eins zu existieren aber ob es echt ist, daran scheiden sich die Geister. Und somit haben wir es hier mit einem Sammelsurium von Fakten zu tun, die vielleicht nicht alle den Realitätscheck bestehen würden, aber im Großen und Ganzen doch wiedergeben was, für eine große Künstlerin, Friedensaktivisten und Feministin Ono ist. Mittlerweile ist sie 92 und lebt sehr zurückgezogen auf ihrer Farm im State New York. Es ist absehbar, dass sie bald mit der Liebe ihres Lebens wieder vereint ist. Ich denke, John hält ihr bestimmt schon ein Plätzchen neben sich im Wolkenbett frei.
Eine große Empfehlung für alle die kurzweilige Biografien mit hohem Wahrheitsgehalt mögen, und der Frau neben John Lennon eine Chance geben möchten, im Mittelpunkt zu stehen.
In der Biografie von David Sheff werfen wir einen ausgiebigen Blick auf diese Ausnahmekünstlerin. Ich denke, dass die Allermeisten von uns bei ihrem Namen als erstes an John Lennon denken, und auch ich gehörte vor Jahren zu denen, die ihr unterschwellig Vorwürfen machten, den Beatle negativ beeinflusst zu haben. Irgendwie kam sie mir immer komisch vor. Heute finde ich meine Mutmaßungen sehr ungerecht und sie zeugen nicht von großer Kenntnis der Beziehungen. Mittlerweile habe ich viel gelesen über die Beatles und natürlich auch über sie, und mein Bild über diese Frau, die ihrer Zeit weit voraus war, hat sich nach und nach verschoben. Mit allen restlichen Zweifeln hat der Autor dieser Biografie aufgeräumt.
Was für eine Ikone! Sie ist die Mutter der konzeptfreien Kunst und Musik. Ihre Performances haben Kultstatus und im hohen Alter von 70/80, mutierte sie zur Queen des Dance Floors. Ihre andere Seite war leidend und tragisch. Das Verhältnis zu ihren Eltern war nicht gut. Ihre Tochter wurde ihr jahrzehntelang vorenthalten und die große Liebe ihres Lebens vor ihren Augen erschossen. Natürlich hat sie das nachhaltig traumatisiert. Doch sie hat versucht, diese negative Energie in eine positive Haltung zu verwandeln, unsere Welt und den Menschen gegenüber! Das imponiert mir sehr und ist meiner Lebensphilosophie sehr nah, wenn es mir auch nicht immer glückt. Aber das ist es ihr wohl auch nicht durchgehend. Es hat mich sehr berührt, wie schwer sie es nach Johns Tod hatte. Und ihre Verständnis von Mutterschaft ist mir ebenfalls sehr nahe gegangen. Außerdem liebe ich die Art, wie sie sich künstlerisch ausdrückt. Das ist genau mein Ding. Jetzt, wo ich weiß, welche Gründe hinter den einzelnen Aktionen und Objekten steht, bekommt mein Bild von ihr fundamentale Substanz
Sheff war ihr ein enger Freund. Sean Lennon hat ihn mit Informationen und Interviews versorgt, so dass sich ein relativ wahres Bild von Ono zusammensetzt. Dass manche Aspekte nicht ganz stichhaltig sind, hat mich dabei wenig gestört. Am meisten Zeit bei der Suche nach Bestätigung im www habe ich damit verbracht, zu recherchieren, ob es wirklich ein Bild vom toten John Lennon gibt. Es scheint eins zu existieren aber ob es echt ist, daran scheiden sich die Geister. Und somit haben wir es hier mit einem Sammelsurium von Fakten zu tun, die vielleicht nicht alle den Realitätscheck bestehen würden, aber im Großen und Ganzen doch wiedergeben was, für eine große Künstlerin, Friedensaktivisten und Feministin Ono ist. Mittlerweile ist sie 92 und lebt sehr zurückgezogen auf ihrer Farm im State New York. Es ist absehbar, dass sie bald mit der Liebe ihres Lebens wieder vereint ist. Ich denke, John hält ihr bestimmt schon ein Plätzchen neben sich im Wolkenbett frei.
Eine große Empfehlung für alle die kurzweilige Biografien mit hohem Wahrheitsgehalt mögen, und der Frau neben John Lennon eine Chance geben möchten, im Mittelpunkt zu stehen.
October 21, 2025
4 / Imagine a world without Yoko is what I ask myself after reading this, she was so resilient, ahead of her time and an inspiration to many.
If you have only heard or only know a little about her and want to know more of her story, then read this.
Below are a few of my favourites
“My father had a huge desk in front of him that separated us, permanently”
“It was a performance, it wasn’t meant to last.”
“Draw a line with yourself. Go on drawing until you disappear.”
“They never thought about the other side of it, that John might have broken up my home too.”
“During the writing and recording of those albums, John had a foot out the door. If he hadn’t had Yoko, the other foot might have followed sooner than it did.”
“Yoko imagined a better world, and she worked to create one.”
4 ⭐️ Audiobook read by Max Meyers
If you have only heard or only know a little about her and want to know more of her story, then read this.
Below are a few of my favourites
“My father had a huge desk in front of him that separated us, permanently”
“It was a performance, it wasn’t meant to last.”
“Draw a line with yourself. Go on drawing until you disappear.”
“They never thought about the other side of it, that John might have broken up my home too.”
“During the writing and recording of those albums, John had a foot out the door. If he hadn’t had Yoko, the other foot might have followed sooner than it did.”
“Yoko imagined a better world, and she worked to create one.”
4 ⭐️ Audiobook read by Max Meyers
April 9, 2025
It was interesting to learn about Yoko‘s art career. I know very little about avant-garde art. I did not realize she recorded as many albums as she did. As a baby boomer, to me, she was the woman that broke up the Beatles. I picked up this book because of the author he wrote the very powerful and moving My Beautiful Boy. Calling this book a biography, may be a bit of a misnomer. I think it is more accurately characterized as a tribute or a love letter. I enjoyed it, but I stopped short of recommending it. It needed some balance.
July 2, 2025
John Lennon broke up Fluxus.
May 13, 2025
Genuinely quite unbelievable to think that it's taken so long for a comprehensive Yoko Ono biography to come out. Her story is known by everyone, but not in any detail. David Sheff does a pretty unbelievable job of connecting her personal and aesthetic life, in a way that really understands her most extreme aspects. I've been really interested in Yoko for a long time, and it's felt like such a task to find proper information by her which isn't filtered through the prism of The Beatles and John Lennon. For anything that is written about Yoko Ono from this point onwards, this will be foundational. You could maybe accuse this of being a slight hagiography - some of the more unsavoury aspects of Yoko Ono's personality are manoeuvred around without much analysis - but I think that she probably deserves a biography full of praise and love after facing a half century of constant abuse.
June 17, 2025
Interesting and captivating biography. To be honest, I read grapefruit and I wasn't a fan of it. Haven't understood Yoko Ono's art. And after this read, not necessarily makes me more interested making me go look for her art morw. However, I can appriciate this biograhy of her. Yoko Ono have had an unique and eventful life! Hard to imagen one person going through all this. She seemed to have had many privileges but also hardships in her life. Makes me think that Yoko Ono is a strong woman in many ways.
In the end, glad I picked up this book. Learned a lot and had a fun ride while it lasted :)
In the end, glad I picked up this book. Learned a lot and had a fun ride while it lasted :)
June 14, 2025
This is a very interesting book. It finally made me understand the importance of the work “Cut Piece.” Where Yoko invited audiences to cut away her clothing. Male audience members would try to aggressively get her naked, or feign harming her. This was in public. In front of others. Male aggression knew no shame. She exposed that by making herself publicly vulnerable.
How prescient was she? In 2025 we have 70,000 men in a German chat room for how to rape and abuse women. In France we have a chat room for men who want to drug and rape women, including a husband who let 80 men rape his drugged wife.
So, kudos to you, Yoko Ono. You were ahead of your time.
How prescient was she? In 2025 we have 70,000 men in a German chat room for how to rape and abuse women. In France we have a chat room for men who want to drug and rape women, including a husband who let 80 men rape his drugged wife.
So, kudos to you, Yoko Ono. You were ahead of your time.
July 25, 2025
It was so interesting and enlightening to read about Yoko as the main focus in the story, especially her time before and after John. It wasn't as deep and comprehensive as the type of Beatles biographies I generally like, but still definitely worth the time and there are some tidbits in here I'm SO glad I read.
August 5, 2025
A stellar biography about one of the coolest artists of our time. We're so, so lucky to share a planet with Yoko Ono. Her approach to art, philosophy, and life is so highly compelling and I'm so glad she finally is getting the flowers she's deserved since day 1.
Yoko Ono, they could never make me hate you.
Yoko Ono, they could never make me hate you.
Read
November 10, 2025I didn’t learn TOO too much. Still: a good breezy and sympathetic read for all of us who consider Yoko, next to Warhol, the quintessential pop artist of the 20th century.
August 1, 2025
This 2025 biography of Yoko Ono, written by a journalist who was a long time friend of the Lennon family, is informative and entertaining.
To mention a couple of biographical details new to me: a) Yoko was born into not one of Japan's wealthiest families, but the wealthiest; b) Her parents were either physically or emotionally absent, or both and as a child she was surrounded by nannies, maids, and other abundant hired estate employees. c) During early 1945, Yoko, age twelve witnessed wave after wave of bombers that set Tokyo ablaze; she traveled without her parents, by train, with her two younger siblings and one servant to the rural village of Nagano where, often being anemic and sick, she begged and bartered for rice.
These traumas shaped her life. She could rely on no one but herself.
If you know anything about Yoko, her music, and art it's that there is a lot to research and write about. Details about how her conservative parents, eventually, cut her off from the family's money and social life due, in part, to her being opinionated and because of her independent nature, are described. She dropped out of school, moved to NYC and got mixed up with New York's avant-garde scene and often slept on the couches of friends.
And who wouldn't be entertained by details of some of her shows, like 'Yoko Ono No. 4', which consisted solely of extreme close-ups of 365 pairs of naked buttocks, each pair being given fifteen seconds of screen time. Or how about her famous 'Cut' shows? Not to mention her very imaginative and fun 'Bag Piece' shows.
I like the narrative provided about how her and John Lennon met. Hint: their first meeting took place at a small London venue which presented one of her early art shows and involved her, now, well known sculpture, titled, Apple (instruction piece).
I viewed one of her art shows titled, "War Is Over! (if you want it): Yoko Ono" and it was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney in 2013. Several of her pieces were influential and have stuck with me, though this isn't the place to go into details. Except to say that although most of her art was, to some extent, instructional and some pieces involved active participation, they were all characterized by child-like inventiveness and playfulness. Her art there evoked a desire for my continued curiosity. No doubt, she broke new ground and I have seen her influence in today's more mainstream artists.
Of course, her music provides enough biographical content for a stand-alone book. Although, the range of music styles documented by her two dozen recordings is broad, I tend to associate her with music recorded on the Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band recording. And I have often wanted to know more about her unusual vocalizations. This sort of detail is provided. Although, I've not read this anywhere, I suspect some of the vocalizations recorded by backup singers on some of Pink Floyd's songs were inspired by sounds made by Yoko.
Yoko believed in magic, unscientific things and had always been drawn to the occult. She regularly consulted with paid astrologers, numerologists, tarot card readers, palm readers, witches, and other mystics and seers. Although, she may have benefitted from this category of advisors, it also opened her up to fraudsters and manipulators. To believe in something that you can't see was a core principle of her art.
The racism and misogyny behind Yoko's denigration over the years can't be overstated. And for those who haven't understood the truth earlier, Yoko, without question, did not break up the Beatles.
I believe at around the age of 90, she moved out of the venerable Dakota apartment building in Manhattan. She continues to live on a lovely farm in upstate New York that she and John had previously bought. The author says she enjoys looking at passing clouds and the sky, in general. Which has always been one of her favorite past time activities.
I recommend reading this biography to learn about background influences behind the best known, living avant-garde artist.
To mention a couple of biographical details new to me: a) Yoko was born into not one of Japan's wealthiest families, but the wealthiest; b) Her parents were either physically or emotionally absent, or both and as a child she was surrounded by nannies, maids, and other abundant hired estate employees. c) During early 1945, Yoko, age twelve witnessed wave after wave of bombers that set Tokyo ablaze; she traveled without her parents, by train, with her two younger siblings and one servant to the rural village of Nagano where, often being anemic and sick, she begged and bartered for rice.
These traumas shaped her life. She could rely on no one but herself.
If you know anything about Yoko, her music, and art it's that there is a lot to research and write about. Details about how her conservative parents, eventually, cut her off from the family's money and social life due, in part, to her being opinionated and because of her independent nature, are described. She dropped out of school, moved to NYC and got mixed up with New York's avant-garde scene and often slept on the couches of friends.
And who wouldn't be entertained by details of some of her shows, like 'Yoko Ono No. 4', which consisted solely of extreme close-ups of 365 pairs of naked buttocks, each pair being given fifteen seconds of screen time. Or how about her famous 'Cut' shows? Not to mention her very imaginative and fun 'Bag Piece' shows.
I like the narrative provided about how her and John Lennon met. Hint: their first meeting took place at a small London venue which presented one of her early art shows and involved her, now, well known sculpture, titled, Apple (instruction piece).
I viewed one of her art shows titled, "War Is Over! (if you want it): Yoko Ono" and it was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney in 2013. Several of her pieces were influential and have stuck with me, though this isn't the place to go into details. Except to say that although most of her art was, to some extent, instructional and some pieces involved active participation, they were all characterized by child-like inventiveness and playfulness. Her art there evoked a desire for my continued curiosity. No doubt, she broke new ground and I have seen her influence in today's more mainstream artists.
Of course, her music provides enough biographical content for a stand-alone book. Although, the range of music styles documented by her two dozen recordings is broad, I tend to associate her with music recorded on the Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band recording. And I have often wanted to know more about her unusual vocalizations. This sort of detail is provided. Although, I've not read this anywhere, I suspect some of the vocalizations recorded by backup singers on some of Pink Floyd's songs were inspired by sounds made by Yoko.
Yoko believed in magic, unscientific things and had always been drawn to the occult. She regularly consulted with paid astrologers, numerologists, tarot card readers, palm readers, witches, and other mystics and seers. Although, she may have benefitted from this category of advisors, it also opened her up to fraudsters and manipulators. To believe in something that you can't see was a core principle of her art.
The racism and misogyny behind Yoko's denigration over the years can't be overstated. And for those who haven't understood the truth earlier, Yoko, without question, did not break up the Beatles.
I believe at around the age of 90, she moved out of the venerable Dakota apartment building in Manhattan. She continues to live on a lovely farm in upstate New York that she and John had previously bought. The author says she enjoys looking at passing clouds and the sky, in general. Which has always been one of her favorite past time activities.
I recommend reading this biography to learn about background influences behind the best known, living avant-garde artist.
April 21, 2025
3.5 stars
As a younger baby boomer, I knew of Yoko Ono as “the woman who broke up the Beatles.” (My mother had a fit and wouldn’t let us play any more of John Lennon’s music after he and Yoko posed nude on the cover of their first joint album.)
As I grew older, I realized this assumption about Yoko was probably unfair. So when this biography came out, it was a chance for me to get a clearer understanding of what kind of person she actually is.
This book fills us in on in her family background and art career before becoming involved with Lennon; the sexism and racism she was constantly subjected to for being an unconventional Asian woman; and her determination to continue Lennon’s legacy of activism after his death while pursuing her own career.
The author did a particularly good job of explaining Yoko’s art. She was in the forefront of an avant-garde movement in the mid-1960s called conceptual art, in which the idea itself, even if not visually represented, is as much a work of art as a finished object. Other authors of the Beatles would just describe what she did (usually ridiculing it) with no explanation of the vision behind it. While that kind of art doesn’t appeal to me personally, I appreciate that the author made the effort to interpret it for us.
And no, Yoko did not break up the Beatles. The group was already on its last legs long before she came on the scene. In fact, Sheff makes a good case for the premise that Lennon would probably have left the group much sooner than he did if Yoko hadn’t been accompanying him to the studio.
However, I’m not sure how much I can trust the author’s objectivity. Sheff is the journalist who wrote the famous interview with John and Yoko for Playboy Magazine that came out not long before Lennon’s death in 1980. He had unprecedented access to them for the interview, then was a family friend for many years before finally drifting apart from Yoko.
To his credit, he is upfront about his friendship with Yoko. But his friendship with her could account for the obsequious tone his writing sometimes displays. It’s as if he wants to make it up to her for being unfairly maligned for so many years.
This book could be a good start if you want to know more about this interesting woman, but keep in mind that it may not be totally objective.
As a younger baby boomer, I knew of Yoko Ono as “the woman who broke up the Beatles.” (My mother had a fit and wouldn’t let us play any more of John Lennon’s music after he and Yoko posed nude on the cover of their first joint album.)
As I grew older, I realized this assumption about Yoko was probably unfair. So when this biography came out, it was a chance for me to get a clearer understanding of what kind of person she actually is.
This book fills us in on in her family background and art career before becoming involved with Lennon; the sexism and racism she was constantly subjected to for being an unconventional Asian woman; and her determination to continue Lennon’s legacy of activism after his death while pursuing her own career.
The author did a particularly good job of explaining Yoko’s art. She was in the forefront of an avant-garde movement in the mid-1960s called conceptual art, in which the idea itself, even if not visually represented, is as much a work of art as a finished object. Other authors of the Beatles would just describe what she did (usually ridiculing it) with no explanation of the vision behind it. While that kind of art doesn’t appeal to me personally, I appreciate that the author made the effort to interpret it for us.
And no, Yoko did not break up the Beatles. The group was already on its last legs long before she came on the scene. In fact, Sheff makes a good case for the premise that Lennon would probably have left the group much sooner than he did if Yoko hadn’t been accompanying him to the studio.
However, I’m not sure how much I can trust the author’s objectivity. Sheff is the journalist who wrote the famous interview with John and Yoko for Playboy Magazine that came out not long before Lennon’s death in 1980. He had unprecedented access to them for the interview, then was a family friend for many years before finally drifting apart from Yoko.
To his credit, he is upfront about his friendship with Yoko. But his friendship with her could account for the obsequious tone his writing sometimes displays. It’s as if he wants to make it up to her for being unfairly maligned for so many years.
This book could be a good start if you want to know more about this interesting woman, but keep in mind that it may not be totally objective.
June 11, 2025
Gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised by this biography. I was interested in reading it, but I didn't think I'd enjoy it—or find as much insight—as I did.
Did I think Sheff may have glossed over some things? Certainly. Anyone who's been a close friend for almost fifty years likely can't help but do that.
But do I agree with Sheff that Yoko isn't quite the dragon lady and Beatles buster and screaming banshee she's almost always been portrayed as? Completely agree. While her music has never been my cup of tea, she's absolutely been ahead of her time with what she produced over the years, and the same can be said for all of her artwork.
She was influential on John—like it or not—and I think she opened first his eyes, and then the world's, to different views that, while they may not always have been pleasant, they were true.
This book is illuminating. Recommended.
Did I think Sheff may have glossed over some things? Certainly. Anyone who's been a close friend for almost fifty years likely can't help but do that.
But do I agree with Sheff that Yoko isn't quite the dragon lady and Beatles buster and screaming banshee she's almost always been portrayed as? Completely agree. While her music has never been my cup of tea, she's absolutely been ahead of her time with what she produced over the years, and the same can be said for all of her artwork.
She was influential on John—like it or not—and I think she opened first his eyes, and then the world's, to different views that, while they may not always have been pleasant, they were true.
This book is illuminating. Recommended.
April 23, 2025
I'm ashamed to say I didn't know much about Yoko before reading but I'm glad that I read the book and learned!
She seems to be a very complex personality and I admire the strength she has had in her life. I am not the biggest Lennon fan so some of the comments he made in regards to giving her proper credit for song writing made me upset. Maybe if he wasn't murdered, he would have made more comments showing his regret with how Yoko was ultimately treated.
I will have to check out more of her art and music to get the full picture of her. I read Beautiful Boy hears ago and I think the author did a good job capturing Yoko.
Thank you to NetGalley, David Sheff, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read Yoko. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.
She seems to be a very complex personality and I admire the strength she has had in her life. I am not the biggest Lennon fan so some of the comments he made in regards to giving her proper credit for song writing made me upset. Maybe if he wasn't murdered, he would have made more comments showing his regret with how Yoko was ultimately treated.
I will have to check out more of her art and music to get the full picture of her. I read Beautiful Boy hears ago and I think the author did a good job capturing Yoko.
Thank you to NetGalley, David Sheff, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read Yoko. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.
March 23, 2025
Having been fortunate enough to see Yoko Ono’s retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC in 2015, I was eager to read this biography, as her visual art definitely piqued my interest and left me wondering more about its creator.
This biography is wonderfully written and offers a personal side of Ms. Ono that seems to have been hidden for most of her public life. The narrative is clearly divided by the murder of her most famous husband in 1980, as no doubt her actual life has been, but both halves of the book withstand scrutiny. This is definitely a book written by someone who greatly admires his subject; however, it is far from a hagiography….any fan of biographies should spend the time—well worth it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for this review.
This biography is wonderfully written and offers a personal side of Ms. Ono that seems to have been hidden for most of her public life. The narrative is clearly divided by the murder of her most famous husband in 1980, as no doubt her actual life has been, but both halves of the book withstand scrutiny. This is definitely a book written by someone who greatly admires his subject; however, it is far from a hagiography….any fan of biographies should spend the time—well worth it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for this review.
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