IK: You've said that you've researched this book for three years and I wondered if during that period of time when you were working on the book, you ever panicked and said to yourself, "Is anybody going to buy another book about John Lennon?" especially after last year with those "tell-all" books that came out.

JW: In 1981, when I first decided to do this book, I was unable to get a publisher to sign a contract for my proposal. Every publisher told me that there were dozens and dozens of Lennon proposals floating around and that the market was completely glutted and no one would want a serious book about John Lennon. So, that was certainly discouraging. On the other hand, I was confident that people would be interested in a serious book on Lennon and that the market for gossip and sleaze would be saturated. So I kept working on my own. Fortunately, I'm a tenure professor at the University of California, so I still got paychecks; I kept on teaching my courses and I think that's what made it possible for me to keep doing the research. If I'd been an independent writer, I wouldn't have been able to do it without a contract.

IK: In all of your research and discussions with the people who were involved in the protest movements and radical organizations of those days, can you come up with even one possible reason why the Reagan administration would still be withholding FBI files for "national security reasons"?

JW: Well, I can come up with two. I think the Reagan administration has a general, what I would call, allergy to the Freedom of Information Act. They just don't want people to find out what the government has been doing. The Lennon case is the most absurd, but by no means the only one. The Reagan administration has also been attempting to impose lifetime censorship on government policy-makers. I think that the Lennon files have a more specific signficance for the Reagan administration. Seems to me that Lennon's significance as a symbol of the Peace Movement is stronger now than it was when he was alive. At the Central Park Peace Rally in the summer of '82, one-million people took part in what was the largest demonstration in American history. The song they sang was "Give Peace a Chance." The peace issue is the one on which Reagan is most vulnerable in the coming election campaign, and if they release the remainder of the Lennon files about how the government has harassed and intimidated a leader of the Peace Movement...well, I think that's a message that the Reagan administration does not want people to get. That's why they're trying to keep it a secret.

IK: Basically, it seems to be another situation where a president doesn't want John Lennon to hurt his election.

JW: That's what it seems like to me. Otherwise, it seems it would be much wiser for the Reagan administration to separate themselves from this material. I thought they would say, 'This is just more Nixon-era dirty tricks, but everybody knows Nixon committed dirty tricks. That's why he was driven from office, it's ancient history, it has nothing to do with us and here it is.'

IK: This next question is partially asked out of my own curiosity, and partially because some IK readers consider one of your sources suspect. Elliot Mintz was interviewed by you and gave you the use of some of his interviews with J&Y for your book. Some fans feel that Mintz is nothing more than a mercenary hired by Yoko to undermine the credibility of the likes of Pang, Green and Brown. From what you know of Elliot Mintz, would you say this description fits?

JW: John, Yoko and Elliot were good friends for many years and Elliot sort of kept an eye on John when he was out here (in L.A.) in '73 and '74. He tried to see that John didn't get himself into too much trouble; so Elliot was basically a very good friend of John and Yoko's for the entire decade of the '70's. Since then, especially since John's death, Elliot has become a kind of spokesman for Yoko, especially on some of the more painful and horrible questions that she doesn't really want to have to say anything about. Elliot is willing to go out and say something about them. Elliot saw John when he was out here with May (Pang) and so what Elliot has to say is, I think, certainly relevant; he certainly has a perfect right to say it. He is especially loyal to John's memory and he's also very dedicated to Yoko. But as far as I know, everything that Elliot has said that could be checked factually is true. I interviewed him and the quotes I got from him appear in my book. I think they help us understand what John was going through. I like the guy.

IK: Well, a lot of people wonder about Elliot Mintz because he's always out there taking the bruises; sometimes that's a bad position to be in.

JW: You know, I think that Elliot really dislikes May's book. He felt it wasn't true. He was around at the same time, and he wanted to tell people what he saw of John during this period. I don't think that Yoko put him up to this or anything.

IK: What do you think of May Pang's book?

JW: The main thing to remember about May's book is that that period of time was really the low point of John's adult life. His personal life was really in disintegration. His work as a musician and an artist had fallen apart. He was very disappointed with the music he was making. He was extremely self-destructive during this period. A picture of John at his low point is what you get from May. That was all that May saw of him.

IK: She tries to make it sound like he was having a wonderful time.

JW: I think all you have to do is listen to Lennon's music. The music he made before that was great - the music he made during that period was a disappointment to everyone, especially to himself. And then if you listen to "Double Fantasy" I think it's perfectly clear how he felt about Yoko and what he was going through when he was with May. His music is the best evidence of this question.

IK: Back to "Come Together: John Lennon In His Time." Anyone attempting to put together a book about someone as famous as John Lennon would have at least some preconceived notions about the subject matter. Did your opinion of John change as you researched the book and interviewed people?

JW: When I started it I was just a fan who was very interested in how he got to be himself and I felt that his death was really tragic. I think now I have a much deeper appreciation of the kind of person that he was and the kind of struggle that he went through. I have much more admiration for him; not just as a musician and as an artist, but as a person who was really struggling to face the difficult questons and to overcome his own weaknesses and failings. And also, a person who was tremendously inventive and a lot of fun.

IK: This interview that we're doing right now will be read in IK by some of Yoko's most ardent followers. They'd be interested to know how you got your interview with her and what your impressions were of her when you met her at the Dakota.

JW: Let me first say, I did my book independently. I had not talked to Yoko at all while I was doing the book, so it was not authorized and I did not have her cooperation or approval. When I finished the book, I approached her and asked for an interview which she granted. She granted it, I think, because..without looking at my manuscript..I think she was satisfied that I was doing this in a serious way, that I was a legitimate historian and that I was concerned about accuracy. I know that she must have been unhappy about the sleazier books that had come out that year and the year before, so she said I could come talk to her. I was wildly excited, a little star-struck and very nervous when I went into the Dakota and went into the White Room.

I liked her tremendously and I found that she was one of the most direct persons that I've ever met in my life. She looks you right in the eye and talks absolutely straight, no beating around the bush, and no polite evasions. It really was an incredible experience to spend two afternoons with her. Then over the next few months, we talked on the phone quite a bit. She thought of other things she wanted to go into the interview; she wanted to put things in a slightly different way. So we worked on it and I found she had an amazing mind. She could remember - she'd be in England promoting "Milk & Honey" and she'd remember some sentence that wasn't quite accurate. She'd call me up a few days later and say, "You should change it in this way." I was tremendously impressed by the way her mind works. We've remained in touch. I'd say every week I've talked to her, depending on what's going on. If I get new materials from the FBI files that I'm going to be releasing to the press, usually I let her know that it's going to happen.

IK: Has she given you her opinion of your book? Has she read it?

JW: I sent her one of the first copies and she has told me she's impressed by how accurate it is. She says there are some parts that she was amazed by how well I had evoked these things which she had forgotten about. There are some things she doesn't like, that she disagrees with my interpretation. I criticize her at several points. She isn't different than anyone else and she doesn't like to be criticized. She's told me where she thinks I was wrong, but she's also able to keep that in perspective I'm glad to say. We can have differences of opinion and remain friendly.