WAR IS OVER! Hardcover – Picture Book, November 4, 2025 by Sean Ono Lennon (Author), Dave Mullins (Author), Brad Booker (Author), Max Narciso (Illustrator)
Publisher : Viking Books for Young Readers
The Academy Award winning video short of the animated War is Over film has now become a book due out the first week of November, 2025. The film was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s early 70s anti-war peace message and song. The film was superb and all of the members of the creative team that put the film together are to be congratulated. A storybook based on the film has been created with several illustrations from the short telling the sad but beautiful and meaningful story.
My personal copy has been ordered. There are several links provided below for your convenience if you are also interested in this title…THE BOOK CAN BE ORDERED (IF YOU WANT IT) !!!
War Is Over!
STRAND BOOKS IS/ WAS OFFERING A SIGNED EDITION – I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG THEIR OFFER WILL BE VALID! THIS NOTIFICATION WAS SENT TO ME BY A GOOD FRIEND-JEFF SMULYAN. PLEASE NOTE THAT ORDERING A SIGNED COPY CAN BE TRICKY. THERE IS A PLACE WHERE IT INDICATES SIGNED AND I CLICKED ON IT UNTIL IT INDICATED YES AND PRIOR TO PAYING I MADE SURE THAT IT INDICATED IT WOULD INDEED BE SIGNED BEFORE I COMPLETED THE TRANSACTION. AS STATED BEFORE I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG THAT SIGNED COPIES ARE GOING TO BE OFFERED AT THE SITE!
One of the rarest literary items concerning the fabulous animated film of the Beatles entitled Yellow Submarine is the March 1968 issue of Yale University’s, Yale Literary Magazine!
Very difficult to find this issue, especially one in very good shape. I was able to find my copy many years ago on eBay at a very reasonable price. Over the years, the value of this particular issue has risen significantly. The late Erich Segal, who taught Classic Literature as a professor at Yale, was solicited by the late Al Brodax to be one of the screenwriters for this Beatles movie, Yellow Submarine. Very few people at the time, including the Beatles themselves, knew that this film would eventually be regarded as an animated film classic!
Some background information about the Yale Literary Magazine:
I would like also to share with you a few sample pages from my personal copy of the magazine which I treasure:
The back cover of the magazine:
The Table of Contents and a View about the inspiration of creating this issue of the magazine:
Credits and Contributors to this issue:
A few comments from Erich Segal:
One excerpt of many of the wonderful pictures in this issue:
A little background on the then 30-year-old Yale professor, Erich Segal:
My Erich Segal’s signature from my copy of his international hit and book, Love Story , which also became a worldwide film sensation:
The last word should of course belong to the Beatles who apparently gave a wave and a big thumbs-up to the long-term choice of the mascot of Yale being THE BULLDOG, on their Yellow Submarine soundtrack! Even if that was not the Beatles intention, it still helped to serve that function or purpose with Erich Segal’s involvement with the movie!
I always thought it was a big mistake not to issue Hey Bulldog as a single in the US and in the UK. Apple, did however show some good sense to release the song as a 45 in Italy.
Hey Bulldog
A plush toy of the Yale mascot called Handsome Dan:
The Bulldog
The original Handsome Dan, bought byYaletackle Andrew Graves in 1889
It is 1954. Steve and Dave are looking for adventure. Their hometown of Liverpool is scarred by war. New York is the future and it will soon be the richest city in the world. They need to see it and feel the excitement. They need to be there. They need to become Cunard Yanks.
Gary Wright was famous for his song “Dreamweaver”. Though the primary purpose of this blog is to highlight books about the Beatles specifically, a secondary purpose is to highlight the accomplishments of many of the musical associates that they chose to play with on their solo recordings. One such artist is musician Gary Wright!
Musician Gary Wright passed away in 2023 at the age of 80. He certainly had a very distinguished musical career during those 80 years. He was a child actor, and as a musician was member of the blues/rock band, Spooky Tooth, was in a group called Wonderwheel, made numerous solo recordings, and for people interested in this blog, backed both George Harrison and Ringo Starr during their solo careers.
He will be forever known as the composer of the song Dream Weaver, which he decided to use as the title of his autobiography spotlighted below. Not only did he play on George’s All Things Must Pass album, he also co-wrote a song with George and he was a member of RIngo’s All Star group as well
Gary Malcolm Wright (April 26, 1943 – September 4, 2023)
Dream Weaver: A Memoir; Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison Hardcover – October 2, 2014 by Gary Wright (Author)-Publisher-TarcherPerigee
It is 1954. Steve and Dave are looking for adventure. Their hometown of Liverpool is scarred by war. New York is the future and it will soon be the richest city in the world. They need to see it and feel the excitement. They need to be there. They need to become Cunard Yanks.
The costs of collecting Beatles-related memorabilia has become very expensive (exorbitant might be a better word) as time has gone by. Some of the items are simply unaffordable to the average fan. When you get to the stage I am, as a retiree with a fixed-income, there is one way as a compromise to being able to avoid the purchase of the original items. The answer to that one lies in purchasing auction catalogs that feature the very expensive Beatles-related items. For example, I bought this catalog many years ago from It’s Only Rock n Roll and it features Paul McCartney signing the record album cover for Meet the Beatles for George Harrison’s late sister, Louise Harrison back in 1964.
Collecting these catalogs depending in the presentation of the items in the catalos is a wonderful substitute for capturing the magic of the times. I would like to share with you a couple of sample pages of what may be featured in these type of memorabilia catalogs. Hope you enjoy!
The cover of one of the catalogs that I own:
Back cover shows a phot of John satirizing the attempts to create the “perfect” Paul McCartney signature with his “what about me” “Oh Yeh?” retort!
The introduction to the signed Meet the Beatles album:
This is the album that Louise Harrison had signed on the Beatles first visit to America.The details of the item are provided below the photograph:
Early drawings and signature practising by Paul McCartney:
AND IN THE END…
The signatures of George and Ringo to EMI executive Joseph Lockwood, informing him they were using Allen Klein to manage their business affairs:
This rare item really intrigued me as it involved unreleased music. This was a cassette tape apparently belonging to NY disk jockey, Howard Smith which featured backstage rehearsals of John and Frank Zappa for their Fillmore East jam.
See the item description below for greater detail.
Unreleased music from one of the Beatles always seems to hold a special fascination for Beatles collectors.Sometimes we end up being disappointed, but at other times we can discover long forgotten gems…
Another catalog I purchased for my collection was this one with Bob Dylan on the cover. It was a Sotheby’s auction catalog from 1994. My main interest in acquiring this one was to have the signature of the man that happened to bring his German Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder to the Woolton Village Fete back in July of 1957 and recorded several songs of the Quarrymen playing at the Fete where John Lennon was introduced to Paul McCartney. It is my understanding that EMI was to purchase Bob Molyneux’s tape that was being auctioned from this catalog and paid the equivalent of approximately $130,000 for it. Hopefully with today’s electronic wizardry, they will be able to restore the recording so that you can clearly discern John’s vocal performance of the 2 surviving songs Puttin on the StyleandBaby, Let’s Play House!
The former reel-to-reel tape owner and operator of the Woolton Village Tape Bob Molyneux and his signature in the catalog that I purchased. Having the signature of a participant in that very historical musical event is very special to me.
One of my hopeful wishes is that they can one day fix the audio so we can recognize the full performance of the 2 surviving songs. It would be the proper opening intro to Anthology 1. John after all of these years would be providing some retirement income to the surviving members of the Quarrymen…Keeping my fingers crossed!!!
In the Sotheby’s catalog was a picture of the tape and the Grundig recorder that preserved the Quarrymen recordings for the ages…
Collecting rock ‘n’ roll auction catalogs can be entertaining, fun and affordable. That is the route I am now taking as my age rapidly advances.
Hope you enjoyed the few samples I have provided to you on today’s post…
Be Healthy and Be Happy!
Buzz
OUR BOOK OF THE WEEK AT THE BEATLES BOOKSTORE
Any Rhyme At All
Any Rhyme At All is a book of poems written by a first generation Beatles Fan who grew up listening to their music and becoming a huge fan
CHAIN REACTION: A BOOK ABOUT CAUSE AND EFFECT IN ROCK & ROLL HISTORYBY JON KREMER
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines CAUSE AND EFFECT as: “the direct relationship between an action or event and its consequence or result.”
In this 2024 book, author Jon Kremer explores the issue of some 16 primary events in rock ‘n’ roll history and the potential causal effects that other events had in making that a reality. For example Jon Kremer states, the meeting of John and Paul at the Woolton Village Fete is acknowledged as the spark that began the Beatles, but what if Eddie Cochran had never recorded Twenty Flight Rock. History may have played out in a significantly different way (as that was the song that Paul played to John that impressed Mr. Lennon so much that day).
See the impact of how singer Bobby Darin responding to a question posed to him by a man with the initials of A.K. at a wedding in 1959, would possibly eventually lead to the end of the Beatles in 1970. This book is like reading a great mystery novel.
Author Jon Kremer plays the role of Sherlock Holmes in this book and you will be entranced by the 16 chapters.
Published by New Haven publishing, you can find the book at the following locations:
You will truly enjoy Chain Reaction and when you are through with that title you will want to read another Jon Kremer title:This is the title that I originally did a blog post about!
A Go! Go! Revisited Beatles Bournemouth-and Beyond
Some great Beatles stories in this book and even when the stories do not relate to the group specifically, the book brilliantly helps to define the times!
Watch Jon Kremer being interviewed about his books by Angie and Ruth McCartney on their excellent YouTube Teaflix podcast:
One of the wonderful stories that Jon Kremer and Al Stewart experienced together when they met John Lennon in 1963 in Bournemouth! The book goes into much greater detail than this stage description of the event by Al Stewart from one of Stewart’s live appearances that is on YouTube but you will enjoy Al’s confirmation of what happened after one of the Beatles Bournemouth shows!
Another interesting book due to hit the marketplace soon from Canadian author, Aaron Badgley. He examines Ringo Starr’s solo career from 1970-1980. Aaron’s first Beatles-related book dealt with the story of George Harrison’s Dark Horse label.Aaron is a very busy guy as he is also currently working on a Klaatu biography. Klaatu was a Canadian-based band who many radio stations thought represented a shadow or clandestine Beatles reunion in the 1970s. It was not, of course, but the story and the band are fascinating.
Ruth McCartney wrote the foreword to the Ringo Starr book. I look forward to reviewing this title in the very near future!Stay tuned...
Love the handlebar moustache cover, Aaron!!! Ringo of late, is finally getting the recognition he always deserved!
Available on November 10, 2025
Product details
Publisher : New Haven Publishing Ltd
Publication date : November 10, 2025
Print length : 228 pages
Amazon description of the book:
On April 10, 1970, when The Beatles officially called it a day, it was not the end, for Ringo Starr it was just the beginning. He was no longer Beatle Ringo, but now a solo artist who would have to establish himself with his own solo music. During the 1970s, Ringo Starr did just that. He became a commercial success and firmly established himself as a force in music.
Ringo Starr Solo Career: Got to Pay Your Dues explores the work Ringo Starr did to carve out his own name and his own persona. Through films, music, writing, acting, producing, directing, and even designing furniture, Starr kept extremely busy during the 1970s. Included in the book is a detailed account of his label, Ring O’Records.
With Ringo Starr Solo Career: Got to Pay Your Dues, Aaron Badgley takes a deep look into Starr’s artistic endeavours from 1970 to 1980. Through exclusive interviews Badgley tells Ringo Starr’s professional story. His albums, singles and work with other artists are all detailed. The films he produced, directed and appeared in are documented. A discography of Ringo Starr’s solo albums and singles and his Ring O’Records label are included plus exclusive, never before seen photos, illustrate this incredible career during the 1970s.
