This collection of letters, postcards, and inscriptions by John Lennon covers his teenage years to what is believed to be the very last autograph he ever signed. The collection was put together by Hunter Davies, a long-time friend and biographer of the Beatles, and Davies provides valuable context for the more obscure fragments in particular. Where possible, he’s tracked down the original recipients to learn more about when the letter was written. For example, one letter John wrote in response to a letter in the Times about television rotting young minds. John’s defence of television, particularly educational TV such as Sesame Street, was forwarded to the writer of the original letter at John’s request, and the letter-writer’s wife framed both her husband’s letter and John’s reply. It was interesting to see this side of John.

It was also heartbreaking to read the later letters, particularly the ones where he talked about his health regimen and his practising yoga, and his assertion that he expected to live to a ripe old age. I felt dread as the book inched toward the last track of the last disc, knowing what lay at the end. But John’s letters live on.

The audio edition has two main narrators: Allan Corduner, who reads Davies’ explanations of each letter and the biographical segments, and Christopher Eccleston, who reads John’s actual letters. Eccleston played John in a biopic called Lennon Naked and was therefore a logical choice for this production. Having the two narrators worked well, and I especially enjoyed hearing Eccleston doing a Liverpool accent. (He was the reason I got this audio version.) There is also an introduction read by Hunter Davies, and a foreword read by Yoko Ono.

I recommend this in conjunction with the print book, so you can see John’s writing and hear an approximation of his voice. Overall, I gave this 3.5 stars for the content (some of the fragments were a bit of a stretch to be considered "letters") and an extra star for Eccleston, so a total of 4.5 stars. ( )