I'm a writer, primarily known for my John Lennon biography Nowhere Man . I've recently completed a book about the history of pornography, Beaver Street. That’s what I did for 16 years—edited and directed photo shoots for D-Cup, Shaved, Plump & Pink, Stag, High Society, Swank, on and on. Once, a long time ago, I was a speechwriter for the Secretary of the Air Force in the Ford administration, John McLucas. I worked in the Pentagon. “Nuclear weapons are not for killing people. They’re to deter killing, and there can’t be too much deterrence.†That was our core message and that’s why I quit. Better to drive a cab in New York than promote nuclear warfare. Since 1999 I’ve been promoting Nowhere Man. I’ve gone to Mexico, South America and England to talk about the book; I’ll go anywhere, I’ll talk to anybody. I’m married now. Did that a month after 9/11, at the Municipal Building, five blocks from Ground Zero, not far from where we live, the ceremony broadcast live on Radio Free Ohio, the Louie Free show . My wife, Mary Lyn Maiscott, the Mistress of Syntax, has released a CD. We’ve formed our own record company, Mostly Maiscott Music. So, check out her myspace page , and listen to “Blue Lights,†her antiwar Christmas song. It rocks.
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Nowhere Man: The Blurbs
"Nowhere Man is a gripping read that no Lennon fan will be able to resist." —Nigel Williamson, The Times (London)
"Controversial...intriguing...surprising." —Catherine Crier, Court TV
"Rather like re-reading a favorite detective story...though you know how the story's going to end, you still wind up willing the events to unfold differently." —David Thompson, Mojo
"Entertainingly salacious." —Mike Tribby, Booklist
"Robert Rosen's gripping account of Lennon's five-year seclusion in the Dakota building makes it impossible any longer to agree with the cozy popular image of him during this period as a devoted father and bread-baking domesticated househusband. This is a portrait of...the twilight of an idol." —Alan Jones, Uncut magazine
"After reading this book I felt an affinity for Lennon; his life with all its torments, joys and pains was real to me" —Sydney Murray, Vision magazine
"What makes this book valuable is the sense that Rosen is providing as honest a characterization as possible—honest enough so that, in spite of Lennon’s quirks and foibles, his genius ultimately shines through." —B.A. Nilsson, Metroland
"We become privy to first-hand knowledge about Lennon's final days which has never before seen the light of day...this book makes for engrossing reading." —Steve Wide, Beat magazine, Australia
"One of the most fascinating insights in Robert Rosen's book is that John knew that he, in the last half of the Seventies, exercised his greatest power to the extent that he wasn’t seen; he was beyond success; he had achieved such fame that his five-year silence hummed more loudly than, say, any of Paul McCartney’s appearances in People Magazine." —Brian Murphy, Oakland University Journal
"Eminently readable, whether you’re a fan or not…. An excellent, beautifully written book.†—Bob Smith, Chaotic Order, UK