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The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon
A radio playlist could easily follow John Lennon’s "Mind Games" with "Do Ya Think I’m Sexy." But comparing the two, it becomes obvious that Lennon had more in common with the great thinkers of any age than with the songwriters who were his contemporaries. Cynical Idealist reveals, for the first time, the spiritual odyssey of this extraordinary man. Out of a turbulent life, from his troubled, working-class childhood throughout his many roles — Beatle, peace advocate, social activist, househusband — Lennon managed to fashion a philosophy that elevates the human spirit and encourages people to work, individually and collectively, toward a better world. Like Socrates, Lennon wanted to stimulate people to think for themselves. "There ain’t no guru who can see through your eyes," he sings in "I Found Out." Cynical Idealist beautifully articulates this and the other lessons John Lennon passed along through his songs and through the example of his life.
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 27, 2009
The Compleat John Lennon
Gary Tillery has managed in this concise book to offer us a quality biography of the musical giant John Lennon, a biography as sensitive as any in print. Not only does he share the details of Lennon's chaotic childhood, suggesting the factors that built his adult self as an artist who was driven to discover the meaning in a world that seem to lack meaning. But wisely Tillery spends enough time with the personal traumas as well as the germinal events the resulted in the formation of the singing group the Beatles (a clever reference to the Beat generation in altering the beetle spelling!) and the changes that occurred with fame. The book also has a superb chronology that allows the reader to follow the important phases in this man's life and career.
But the book is not only a fine biography that makes the reader revisit the heyday of the Beatles, it goes much further than that. Tillery uses his matrix of an artist's life to unveil the development of the man who would become a popular philosopher especially among young people asking the same questions that Lennon explored. His wise but common street talk and his actions delved into the important issues of his time - challenging authority and instead searching for our own reality, that reality that allows of self-transformation, fostering the concept of world peace, supporting feminism, and changing the things we feel need revision. Though these ideals may sound simplistic, in Lennon's words and actions he stood for the kind of being that cared for mankind and would settle for nothing less than self improvement and involvement in the deeds that would improve not only his time but also the future.
What makes Gary Tillery's THE CYNICAL IDEALIST: A SPIRITUAL BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN LENNON important is the manner in which he writes: clarity of prose, reality of expression of analyses, and commitment to honor an important man of our times. As Tillery points out the other peace leaders - Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. - met the same end as Lennon, death by assassination or murder. Without resorting to puffery or hero worship, Tillery places Lennon's accomplishments with the arts as well as with the framework of political upheaval of his day to reveal a man who will be remembered not only for his prodigious talent, but also for his influence on philosophical thinking. This is a fine book that deserves wide readership.
Grady Harp
Gary Tillery has managed in this concise book to offer us a quality biography of the musical giant John Lennon, a biography as sensitive as any in print. Not only does he share the details of Lennon's chaotic childhood, suggesting the factors that built his adult self as an artist who was driven to discover the meaning in a world that seem to lack meaning. But wisely Tillery spends enough time with the personal traumas as well as the germinal events the resulted in the formation of the singing group the Beatles (a clever reference to the Beat generation in altering the beetle spelling!) and the changes that occurred with fame. The book also has a superb chronology that allows the reader to follow the important phases in this man's life and career.
But the book is not only a fine biography that makes the reader revisit the heyday of the Beatles, it goes much further than that. Tillery uses his matrix of an artist's life to unveil the development of the man who would become a popular philosopher especially among young people asking the same questions that Lennon explored. His wise but common street talk and his actions delved into the important issues of his time - challenging authority and instead searching for our own reality, that reality that allows of self-transformation, fostering the concept of world peace, supporting feminism, and changing the things we feel need revision. Though these ideals may sound simplistic, in Lennon's words and actions he stood for the kind of being that cared for mankind and would settle for nothing less than self improvement and involvement in the deeds that would improve not only his time but also the future.
What makes Gary Tillery's THE CYNICAL IDEALIST: A SPIRITUAL BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN LENNON important is the manner in which he writes: clarity of prose, reality of expression of analyses, and commitment to honor an important man of our times. As Tillery points out the other peace leaders - Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. - met the same end as Lennon, death by assassination or murder. Without resorting to puffery or hero worship, Tillery places Lennon's accomplishments with the arts as well as with the framework of political upheaval of his day to reveal a man who will be remembered not only for his prodigious talent, but also for his influence on philosophical thinking. This is a fine book that deserves wide readership.
Grady Harp
February 13, 2018
I was really looking forward to an examination of John Lennon's spiritual beliefs and how they were expressed and examined in his work. I didn't get it.
Honestly? This is a rehash of material found in other Lennon biographies and illuminated nothing for me; showed me nothing I didn't already know about the man or his work. Disappointing.
Honestly? This is a rehash of material found in other Lennon biographies and illuminated nothing for me; showed me nothing I didn't already know about the man or his work. Disappointing.
March 12, 2022
Darling, darling, darling, darling John you were a truly cynical idealist! It's fascinating to read about his life, how can a boy from the suburb makes what he made? like face the reality and still design his own fate. John Lennon made the most famous band in the whole world, made the most beautiful song (imagine) that someone could have ever written. I´m very thankful for the blessed day when my sister and I decided to watch hard days night, because of that now I'm a Beatlemaniac and ill always love John. I also appreciated how Tillery put his words together to write about this genius, but more specifically how he let his biography very soft and lovely. To my idol, John, rest in peace dear walrus.
April 23, 2012
This book focuses on John's philosophies of life: peace, love, anti-war, and an openness to anything until it is proven false. The author explains John's childhood with a distant father, a mother who frequented pubs and hung out with other men, and most of his life lived with is Aunt Mimi. John was a genius but was often in trouble in school due to questioning authority. This attitude would continue for the rest of his life. The author goes on to share about John's role in the formation and demise of The Beatles, his love of Yoko and his later years more away from the spotlight raising Sean in New York City. Through all these experiences, John grows as a peace activist and uses music to share his message.
April 29, 2010
If you love Lennon, you'll probably enjoy this book. The author analyzes the musician/artist's passionate search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless, and too often vacuous, celebrity world. He truly did want to do good in the world, but he had no time for hypocrites, phonies, disingenuous religious leaders, or naive followers. He managed to pack a lot of living, and a lot of teaching, in his 40 years of life.
December 20, 2020
3.5 stars
May 29, 2022
¿Cómo unas semanas después de ser condecorado con el mayor galardón que un ciudadano inglés podría llegar a soñar, la Orden del Imperio Británico a manos de la reina Isabel II, un hombre puede ser capaz de escribir una canción como “Nowhere Man”? Poco después de llegar a niveles de fama inéditos dentro de la industria musical, de llegar a ser una de las celebridades más aduladas en ambos lados del Atlántico, e incluso más allá, en el marco de su profunda insatisfacción y su vacío existencial, una frase suya marcará un quiebre fundamental: “Los Beatles son más conocidos que Jesús”. Lennon siempre se debatió entre el músico popular, creador, bajo el legado urgente de Buddy Holly, de la canción pop perfecta y el intelectual autor de “In His Own Write”, que le valió el mote del “Beatle intelectual”. El autor de este libro, Gary Tillery, nos conduce a través del tortuoso viaje de autoconocimiento de John Lennon tras el griterío de sus admiradores y las presiones de la industria, y nos muestra como, luego de haberse despojado de todo dogma (la magia, el I-Ching, la Biblia, el Tarot, Hitler, Jesús, Kennedy, Buda, el Mantra, los Reyes, Gita, el Yoga, Elvis, Zimmerman y los Beatles), acepta ser solo John y con su mensaje hacer temblar a las instituciones. Mensaje que sobrevive hasta hoy, más de cuatro décadas después de su trágica muerte, un 8 de diciembre de 1980.
August 27, 2024
"Mit der Zeit vermochte er die bis dahin nutzlos vergeudete Energie allerdings zu kanalisieren: Aus ihr speiste sich sein Drang, in jenem einen Bereich Erfolg zu haben, in dem er–und mochte dies auch noch so vage sein–eine Möglichkeit sah, den inneren Dämonen zu entgehen."
philosophenlifestyle vs. selbstvergessener dämmerzustand durch tv, sex & religion ⚔️
philosophenlifestyle vs. selbstvergessener dämmerzustand durch tv, sex & religion ⚔️
November 25, 2009
Reviewing for Quest Books:
“Lennon was growing more alienated at the same time millions went to sleep envious of him. …The more I have, the more I see, and the more experience I get, the more confused I become as to who I am, and what the hell life is all about.” (CI p.4)
The troubled entertainer is a familiar story now. The public knows the athlete, musician, or actor’s public persona, and fills in the blanks as if knowing this person on a personal level to the extent of believing it possible to manage life differently when put on such a grand pedestal. We make these performers Gods, throw money at them, and then cannot understand when they act human, vulnerable, un-Godlike after all.
“John Lennon was no fool. He was simply someone who saw the world through different eyes than most of his contemporaries – a genius. He struck out on his own path, paid the heavy price required, and left an influential body of creative work.” (CI p.5)
“His openly stated goal was to be measured against Shakespeare and Van Gogh and the other cultural giants who communicate across all borders, across all times – and he thought of himself as a philosopher. He was a philosopher in the sense of being an independent thinker who did not hesitate to question what his culture expected him to believe, to arrive at other conclusions, and then to challenge his fellow citizens about their assumptions. He preferred to stimulate people to think for themselves rather than strive to teach them something they did not know.” (CI p.5)
“Most adults continue on in their oblivion, doped with religion and sex and TV accepting the beliefs they have been handed and never attempting to find their own foundation. The only road to freedom people perceive is toward social and financial success – getting to the top.” (CI p.6)
“The only thing over which we have control is our own attitudes and behavior. If we focus on changing ourselves, internalizing love instead of possessiveness and violence, we take a small but significant step toward positive change. Kindness begets kindness; violence, violence.” (CI p. 7)
Cynical Idealist examines John Lennon’s life, quest and accomplishments with three guiding principles in mind:
1) We owe it to ourselves to question the truths our culture passes on to us and be cynical about the motives of experts and those in authority. Each has the right to assess each situation based on our own accumulated knowledge and insights.
2) We owe it to ourselves to live our lives as though creating works of art, using the
resources fate has dealt us. Happiness is to be found in spending the time fate
allots to us at some endeavor we enjoy and participating in loving relationships.
3) We owe it to ourselves and to our posterity to aim at transforming ourselves, being aware of the ripple influence of our words and actions. We should contribute to the creation of the world we want to see, not some future we dread.
Be the change you want to see in world said Gandhi. Taking a look at John Lennon’s life can be an inspiration for the kind of spiritual transformation required of each of us to look inside ourselves. If we can imagine peace within, live peacefully with our self, peace might be attainable with each other.
It would be interesting to read a chapter of this book at a time and then play selections from John Lennon’s music, with the Beatles and solo, and come to a greater understanding of the thinker, philosopher, and activist born out of musical creativity.
“Lennon was growing more alienated at the same time millions went to sleep envious of him. …The more I have, the more I see, and the more experience I get, the more confused I become as to who I am, and what the hell life is all about.” (CI p.4)
The troubled entertainer is a familiar story now. The public knows the athlete, musician, or actor’s public persona, and fills in the blanks as if knowing this person on a personal level to the extent of believing it possible to manage life differently when put on such a grand pedestal. We make these performers Gods, throw money at them, and then cannot understand when they act human, vulnerable, un-Godlike after all.
“John Lennon was no fool. He was simply someone who saw the world through different eyes than most of his contemporaries – a genius. He struck out on his own path, paid the heavy price required, and left an influential body of creative work.” (CI p.5)
“His openly stated goal was to be measured against Shakespeare and Van Gogh and the other cultural giants who communicate across all borders, across all times – and he thought of himself as a philosopher. He was a philosopher in the sense of being an independent thinker who did not hesitate to question what his culture expected him to believe, to arrive at other conclusions, and then to challenge his fellow citizens about their assumptions. He preferred to stimulate people to think for themselves rather than strive to teach them something they did not know.” (CI p.5)
“Most adults continue on in their oblivion, doped with religion and sex and TV accepting the beliefs they have been handed and never attempting to find their own foundation. The only road to freedom people perceive is toward social and financial success – getting to the top.” (CI p.6)
“The only thing over which we have control is our own attitudes and behavior. If we focus on changing ourselves, internalizing love instead of possessiveness and violence, we take a small but significant step toward positive change. Kindness begets kindness; violence, violence.” (CI p. 7)
Cynical Idealist examines John Lennon’s life, quest and accomplishments with three guiding principles in mind:
1) We owe it to ourselves to question the truths our culture passes on to us and be cynical about the motives of experts and those in authority. Each has the right to assess each situation based on our own accumulated knowledge and insights.
2) We owe it to ourselves to live our lives as though creating works of art, using the
resources fate has dealt us. Happiness is to be found in spending the time fate
allots to us at some endeavor we enjoy and participating in loving relationships.
3) We owe it to ourselves and to our posterity to aim at transforming ourselves, being aware of the ripple influence of our words and actions. We should contribute to the creation of the world we want to see, not some future we dread.
Be the change you want to see in world said Gandhi. Taking a look at John Lennon’s life can be an inspiration for the kind of spiritual transformation required of each of us to look inside ourselves. If we can imagine peace within, live peacefully with our self, peace might be attainable with each other.
It would be interesting to read a chapter of this book at a time and then play selections from John Lennon’s music, with the Beatles and solo, and come to a greater understanding of the thinker, philosopher, and activist born out of musical creativity.
July 9, 2013
John Lennon lived this GIGANTIC life...talented and intelligent, he lived by no one else's rules. He wanted his life to be a work of art. He tried to change the world (and let's face it , he failed). After decades of searching, he ultimately he found meaning and a personal transformation in perhaps a likely place. The peace he was looking for he found in the daily activities of raising his son, and just as he was reemerging into the public sphere, his life was cut short. Could he have changed the world if he had lived 4 more decades?
Tillery does an excellent job of distilling Lennon's work into an understandable philosophy. He paints a wonderferful story of Lennon not as a rockstar, but as an artist and a seeker.
Tillery does an excellent job of distilling Lennon's work into an understandable philosophy. He paints a wonderferful story of Lennon not as a rockstar, but as an artist and a seeker.
February 19, 2015
As a person who has read multiple biographies of the Beatles and one of John Lennon in particular, there wasn't very much new information here for me. However, I did quite enjoy thinking about Lennon's life and music in the context of his spiritual journey. I found the term "Cynical Idealist" a very apt descriptor of a man that vigorously questioned the established values of his era, but never failed to hope that there could be an answer out there and that humans could eventually become kinder, better, truer versions of themselves. I enjoyed how Gary Tillery wove in some of Lennon's most famous music to help tell the tale and the careful background research that is presented in a clear, enjoyable way.
March 27, 2014
Gary Tillery did a great job of conveying what Lennon was really trying to pass onto the world through his music, his goal of world peace, and the arenas of his involvement in social and political justice. Lennon was wanting people to question, to think for themselves and discover a better way to make changes in their personal lives and in the world. I was really impressed that Lennon didn't want change through violence, but through peace and he encourage others to get what they wanted by peaceful avenues. Not many people took Lennon seriously though because of his intermittent drug use and his use of unorthodox art. Most people misunderstood Lennon. I highly recommend this book.
December 17, 2013
Found this as well as the author's "spiritual biography" of George Harrison in Mirabai of Woodstock (www.mirabai.com).
Relying on a great deal of research (with copious footnotes), this also is supposed to be a "spiritual biography" spending little time on Lennon's life (pre-and post-Beatle)and most on his search for what he was and his place in this universe.
From reading of Lennon's journey, the reader can hopefully find inspiration to go their own journey and rise above to become someone better.
Relying on a great deal of research (with copious footnotes), this also is supposed to be a "spiritual biography" spending little time on Lennon's life (pre-and post-Beatle)and most on his search for what he was and his place in this universe.
From reading of Lennon's journey, the reader can hopefully find inspiration to go their own journey and rise above to become someone better.
August 18, 2011
Great information about John Lennon. Makes you really appreciate him and his achievements despite such self-torment.
I read this having very little background of Lennon's personal life. Since the book jumps around in time from chapter to chapter, it creates some confusion. However, there's a nice time-line included at the end cleaning things up a bit for the reader.
Would recommend this book to any Lennon or Beatles fan.
I read this having very little background of Lennon's personal life. Since the book jumps around in time from chapter to chapter, it creates some confusion. However, there's a nice time-line included at the end cleaning things up a bit for the reader.
Would recommend this book to any Lennon or Beatles fan.
November 13, 2015
Props to the author for digging into a different side of John Lennon. This book did a good job of exposing some of John's fundamental philosophies and basic outlook on life. It did seem like the author stretched it a bit here and there. Not everything John said or did was related to some deeper philosophy.
May 20, 2010
Lennon's idealogy is skillfully displayed in this great biography that chronolizes John's life as it is relative to his belief and causes during different periods. John is portrayed as a man with a vision- not a plastic idol. Lennon would have been please, I think.
August 8, 2010
I definitely learned a lot about the John Lennon before the one I've grown to recognize as a promoter of peace and love. The book did a great job of chronicling Lennon's spiritual path/formation of his personal philosophy.
July 29, 2012
There are lots of biographies of John Lennon and the Beatles, but this book traces the development of his intellectual life. Tillery does a great job of interpreting Lennon's songs, writings, drawings, and his life with Yoko Ono.
February 9, 2015
It's a good book since it reveals another side of his life. The author really explored his feelings and beliefs.
I just did not like the fact that it's not in chronological order what made me get lost a bit.
I just did not like the fact that it's not in chronological order what made me get lost a bit.
December 7, 2009
This book made me love John even more. His mind was so beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews