Biography Books > S Biography Books > C

Advantages: Detail, detail, detail
Disadvantages: Ditto

'Very well written, critical and thoroughly researched' it says on the back. Well, two out of three ain't bad, as some other popster had it. The other quote is 'Rigorously researched and thoroughly readable'. Notably these quotes are for the author and not attributed to this particular book. I cannot fault the research - and 'critically' Sandford is honest and portrays as many sides as he can find. 'Well written' only applies in a technical sense, ...
...take on this book, you possibly need to know my starting point. "Bruce Springsteen" is the backdrop to my own Glory Days. I can't pretend to have ever come close to the remotest possibility of meeting the man in person - unless the jogger outside St James' in '84 were he (the bandanna suggests little Stevie as a more likely possibility) - or maybe if the chap we took to be a scamster at the last gig were for real, I might just have..! I came across ... Read review

Advantages: Much more readable than the diaries
Disadvantages: None really

I first came across Samuel Pepys in a TV serial, with Peter Sallis (of Last of the Summer Wine fame) in the lead role. That was a good few years ago – anyone else remember it? Since then I have considered reading the diaries themselves.However I have always been put off by the thought that it might be a tedious read, if modern diarists were anything to go by, and the comments of others who did try Pepys. That all changed earlier this year when I ...
...in a three for two display in one of the High Street bookstores. The cover proclaimed that the book was the “2002 Whitbread Book of the Year” and that the Sunday Times had described it as “A fabulously entertaining biography of the great diarist” The book itself is published by Penguin at £8.99, and is 500 pages long. More than 100 pages are reference pages, backing up quotes in the main text. In this respect the book itself is very thorough, not ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting, awe inspiring
Disadvantages: sad and upsetting

...someone with such injuries can still make an amazing life. Worth the read. I would probably not read this book again, but would recommend it to others who are iunterested in Biographies. I did find the last chapter a bit repetative but the rest of it was quite an amazement, how anyone can achieve what Christopher Reeve did makes us realise how lucky we are. I found it sad because of his accident and rather frightening as I ride horses and realised ... 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