Biography Books > A Biography Books > less than 5 GBP

Advantages: heart-felt personal account
Disadvantages: Lacks the fire of Revolt of the Cockroach People

Author: Oscar Zeta Acosta Publisher: First Vintage Books Publish Date: 1972 Genre: autobiographical Pages: 204 RRP: £6.47 Amazon Price: £5.52 ***Who is Oscar Zeta Acosta*** edited from Revolt of the Cockroach People Oscar Zeta Acosta was a man of many faces; He was an attorney specialising in human rights, he spent time in the Air Force, he was a fledging politician, he was a Chicano movement activist and he was an writer. That sums up his ...
...complicated. For those of you who have read Hunter S Thompson's Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas, or seen the film starring Johnny Depp and Benito Del Toro, you will know Acosta as Samoan, Thompson's perpetually drugged out attorney and friend. Acosta's keen use of marijuana, amphetamines and particularly the hallucinogenic, LSD are well documented not only by others but also by the man himself. Acosta's involvement with the Chicano movement, earned ... Read review

Advantages: It is quite interesting to read about the places she has been to
Disadvantages: Can be a bit long winded in places, and is just about her career

...Kate Adie is one of the world's more well known female reporters for the BBC and has been in some of the most dangerous places. She has reported from Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq, Northern Ireland and China, just to name a few. My title was inspired by a cartoon featured in the book, of two soldiers waiting to go into battle in Iraq, with one saying "We can't start yet ... Kate Adie isn't here..." To me this is quite poignant, as being married to a soldier, ...
...give her kudos for having the determination to go there. I certainly wouldn't be off to Iraq or Afghanistan to report the news! My husband actually told me a story about when he was in Kosovo at the height of the troubles there, and one officer told him it wasn't that bad because Kate Adie hadn't arrived there yet - when she arrived, then you knew that the poop had hit the fan! The book itself is really the story of how she came to be a reporter ... Read review

Advantages: Detailled and insightful
Disadvantages: Slightly long in parts

I agree with the previous review that after reading several biographies this was far more indepth, shocking and exciting. There are several biographies that portrayed Jimmy as a Brad Pitt pin up of his time, however he had quite a complex character. This book tells you about some interesting charcters he met in New York and then LA including Marlon Brando who was a hero to Dean, it shows how driven he was to becoming an actor. It details the many ... Read review

Advantages: Deep feelings, empathy, sadness ; Everyone needs a little bit now and then
Disadvantages: No Illustrations other than the written word.

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.... The day that I picked this book up, I was around nineteen years old. I read the title and knew, yes knew, exactly why the caged bird sings --if he can find the voice to do so. At nineteen = my age then-- people had hardly heard of or knew of Maya Angelou. Yet there was something about this title that drew me to the book. Was my life filled with so much sadness in the past that whenever it called out to m e in ...
...the blurbs about it. So I came to this book unpredjudiced as far as deciding what this book would be or was about. Seems that lots of this book is about Maya . (She was raped in real life and she suffered tremendously), and I'm guessing that some of these writings have come from real-life experiences. I was amazed, astonished and my heart was touched by Maya's words. Somewhere we had something in common --though I'm not saying that I related to everything ... Read review

Advantages: A must have for the die-hard fans
Disadvantages: Has got some tedious moments

An easy and interesting read. I bought this book partly because I have personally interviewed Adam and his guitarist Maro Pirroni when I was working as a free-lance journalist. I will immediately say that once I read this biography I was pleased to have purchased it and found it worth it's pennie's. It starts, as expected, in Adam's childhood and gives a very detailed account, sometimes painfully so, on more than one occaison did I pause reading ...
...Adam's language will change from gentle to somewhat stronger at times. Hat's off for total openess about a not always so rosie time. As you continue through the book you will learn how Adam got his inspiration, the friendships and up's and down's, and his sheer will to succeed. (Which is what he certainly did) Here a word of warning, the middle of the book consists almost completely of tour-dates and experiences formed during his different career ... Read review