when he signed out for the last time he inscribed the name john lennon in the condominium logbook and then he crossed it out. six days later on october 29th, mark chapman flies to new york city, armed with the gun he bought in hawaii. he stakes out the dakota and waiting for his chance to take revenge on the hero he believes has betrayed him, but john lennon is not the only potential victim. chapman, it seems, has backups. so he brought the gun with him and came to new york, and he had planned at that point to kill someone who was a celebrity, and in order the bring attention to himself. lennon wasn t his only target. he had a list of substitute targets if you will. if he could not get to lennon, then he would have attempted to kill walter cronkite, johnny
shop, then quits, and then goes to work as an unarmed security guard at a high-rise apartment chapman identifies closely with the books protagonist, and one who rails against the phonies he encounters. chapman claims that by the summer of 1980, he was coming unhinged. j.d. salinger who has been reclusive for years wrote the catcher in the rye and read by and admired by millions, and wonders what he must be thinking watching this? in 1992, larry king interviewed mark henry chapman via prison. mark, why are you blaming a book? i am blaming myself for calling inside of the book. i want to say that j.d. salinger and catcher in the rye did not cause me to kill someone. to kill john len none.