Biography Books > F Biography Books > M > 5 GBP to 9 GBP

Advantages: Thrilling
Disadvantages: Terrifying

...where fighting was commonplace. Fifty Dead Men Walking is the best selling autobiography that tells us his story of behind the scenes at both the IRA and the Special Branch, working as Agent Carol, it is estimated that he has saved over fifty lives (hence the title of the book), most of whom would never know the risks he has taken to save them, but he shares it all with us and it truly is a fascinating read. As a child Marty witnessed much brutality, ...
...see in our lifetimes, not just at the hands of the IRA but also at the hands of the Armed Forces, but as an adult he witnessed far more than imaginable. Like many any young boys from working class families, he ends up wheeling and dealing in many illegal money making schemes never seeming to gain any reputable full time employment always managing to avoid the IRA Policing Squad, many would report crimes to the IRA rather than the local authorities ... Read review

Advantages: Great personal view of the 1960's
Disadvantages: Tails off towards the present day

This book is exciting - the use of an external author stops this book from focussing too much on what Marianne remembers and gives a structure to her story. Starting with her ancestor Leopold von Sacher Masoch and coming to the present day, the story of the girl who loved the Stones is bright and hopeful. A stunning portrait of Dylan and a wistful feeling of the love Marianne still holds for 'Keef' Richards are the most outstanding features. I would ... Read review

Advantages: Informative
Disadvantages: None

People have the impression of Gordon as an arrogant, foul mouthed chef. However, this is the persona he adopts to achieve his goals successfully, and this read highlights how he has got there. A follow on from Humble Pie, the book goes in to more depth on the business side of his life, where risks were taken to get where he is today. Lessons that he has learnt along the way are both informative and amusing. His plight to go from a well known UK ...
...What we do learn about Gordon is his passion to develop the people who have been most loyal to him. Angela Hartnett is mentioned a few times throughout the book, as it goes from him owning his first restaurant right through to his MNC Gordon Ramsay Holdings. Loyalty is shown to be a key factor in his life, and as he has progressed, so have the people who have helped him get there. A great read and very inspiring! ... Read review

Advantages: Well written, easy to read
Disadvantages: Nothing new, its all been written before

Madonna - love her or loathe her, it seems that everyone has an opinion about her. With a career that now spans over 25 years her rise to fame from the early days when she first arrived in New York, penniless but with huge ambitions has been well documented many times. Madonna - Queen of the world by Douglas Thompson could at first glance quite easily be dismissed as yet another regurgitated account of Madonna's rise to fame but from the sleeve notes ...
...that everyone claims to already know everything there is to know about. Madonna has given many interviews throughout her life. Usually these interviews are carefully timed to coincide with her latest project, be it a new album, movie, book or other project and the new image that compliments the project is always flaunted to its maximum effect. When it comes to being interviewed Madonna always calls the shots, so how can anyone really expect to know ... Read review

Advantages: A true life account of a terrible accident.
Disadvantages: You don't always get a happy ending in real life.

The book I will now review contains probably one of the worst nightmares any parent could anticipate, the fact is a biography detailing the entire scenario makes it even more difficult and heart wrenching to read. The book I will now review is "Shattered", by Mavis Marsh and ghost written by Andrew Crofts. The book starts with the awful words of the doctor that has done the pre assessment on Mavis's son Mathew - "Your son will be a cabbage for ...
...a vegetable, or what-ever you want to call him". From that awful statement the story goes back to Mavis's ( the mother, writer and teller of this somewhat frightening story), childhood, first detailing her parents life, from jobs and home life, through to her father serving in the war and the untold horrors he had witnessed. From this she went on to her school life, until reading further into the book I never quite understood the purpose for all ... Read review