Biography Books > M Biography Books > B > less than 5 GBP

Advantages: Great Caine filmography
Disadvantages: You need to like Caine

THE AUTHOR Christopher Bray graduated in Film and Literature at Warwick University. He's written about films and books for the Observer, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times, Independant, New Statesman, Spectator, etc. This is his first book. BIOGRAPHY OR FILM BUFF'S CRITIQUE? A critical filmography and biography. The personal biography takes second stage to the analysis - nay deconstruction - of Caine's performances in every film he appeared in, up ...
...here, from his earliest to 'Mona Lisa' (which arguably heralded his 'comeback'), to 'Last Orders', the 'Quiet American' etc, as well as many you may never have heard of. It's a film buff's book, but also a Caine buff's book. Bray interleaves biography with social history, showing how Caine's initial circumstances, his escape from these, and his later film roles, reflect wider social changes in the latter 20th century. Specifically, Bray is talking ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to follow, heart warming, he doesn't get killed, an unspun version of events in Iraq
Disadvantages: Describes an ongoing brutal war

My War - Killing Time in Iraq is the first book I have taken the time to read relating to the experiences of US forces in Iraq. The book written by Infantryman Colby Buzzell follows in detail his 12-month tour of duty in Iraq in the months following the official end of the Iraq war. The book itself follows a 3 year period in the life of Colby Buzzell, a punk rock loving Californian living in the San Francisco area in his journey from relative obscurity ...
...from his favourite songs. My first impression of the book itself was that it was rather funny! Buzzell tries to write everything as he sees it, there doesn't seem to be any artistic licence used. There is very little of the macho "I fear nothing" approach that you would expect from someone who joined up to go and fight. The views expressed are brutally honest and at times just down right frightening, but this aside it does provide an amazing insight ... Read review

Advantages: Fabulous twisting of the English language
Disadvantages: May not appeal to those of a weak disposition

My Booky wook is a brutally honest biography of the English dandy Russel Brand. He may fool us with his massive hair and strange twistings of the english language but Brand opens up and lets us enter what became a drug fueled hedonism jumping from extreme highs to dangerous lows. When I first saw the book I knew I wanted to read it, with a name like 'My booky wook' written in slightly blurred neon pink, it perfectly reflects Brand's unique sense ...
...of what else is included here are some of the chapter names (in no particular order), - umbilical noose - boobaloo - Dagenham is not Damascus - First class twit - A gentleman with a bike This book begins and ends with Russel in a sex addiction clinic everything in between re-enforces why it was probably a good idea that he ended up there. Following his life so far, from baby to bounder we see how the women in Russel's life played a key role ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap, fun and easy to read
Disadvantages: I want her life

I bought this book on a spur of the moment shopping trip, basically because I was interested to see how Coleen went from being a schoolgirl to a WAG in such a short space of time. I was amazed to read her story and see how down to earth she really was, even after being catapulted at amazing speed into the limelight. She was even thoughtful enough to come back to her book and update it with her wedding plans for the release of the paperback edition. ...
...quick life update, within which she includes girly pages with tips on make-up, fashion, nights out and quizzes, making it so much more like a diary. It is really easy to read and highly enjoyable to learn how down to earth she is and how she enjoys nothing more than snuggling on her sofa watching the soaps just like the rest of us. ... Read review

Advantages: Shows a reverse perspective.
Disadvantages: Heartbreaking at times.

...six, makes this sometimes a little difficult to read and comprehend. ( I have a six year old daughter and the idea of her seeing the atrocities that the author did is heartbreaking to me). Amongst all the fear, desperation, hunger and complete and utter exhaustion is the story of the true hero's of this book……. The people. The true humanitarian feeling you get throughout the entire book is astounding, the people who have nothing and nowhere to ...
...a stranger, the people who fear for their homes due to the "invasion" of the English and like, who at a moments notice, will have someone "billeted" to them, ( this is what they called the refugees, after they were allocated a bed or home in the village they happen to come across) and show the refugees unforgettable kindness by providing a warm bed for the night and a delicious meal to boot. This book is full of sadness, and the stories of the complete ... Read review