Biography Books > C Biography Books > less than 5 GBP

Advantages: An excellent read, hard to put down!
Disadvantages: I have some concerns - see the review.

Why I got the book This book had been on my Amazon wishlist for a long time, so when I joined BookMooch it was one of the first books I mooched. Although I'm generally drawn towards autobiographies, especially when they involve mental health issues, I was particularly drawn to this one as I had been told that it involved themes of self-harm. Having personal experiences of self-injury, and spending a great deal of my spare time as trustee ...
...my aim to read pretty much every book which involves the issue. To start with my collection of books consists of factual books about what self-harm is, some of which are excellent, but some of which are a load of drivel. My collection is pretty comprehensive aside from a couple which are on my wishlist and I can't justify spending £20 each (and that's second-hand) on at this time. Then there's fiction books, and autobiographies specifically about ... Read review

Advantages: Gives a Good Insight Into Policing in the UK
Disadvantages: Quite a Negative Book

I recently read Wasting Police Time by David Copperfield (not the author's real name). It was a hilarious read but also exposed the shocking insight of what the British Police have to deal with on an almost daily basis. PC Copperfield's writing is full of sarcasm and I found the book quite negative, but he had me laughing out loud and I was even reading extracts to my family and partner. PC Copperfield writes about being a frontline Police Officer ...
...real place) he writes about the Force / Government / cases / crimes and people he has dealt with over the years. Copperfield has a passion about policing and this comes across in the book. He clearly states at the beginning of the book that he joined the Force to catch and convict criminals but finds himself spending more and more time doing endless duplication of paperwork, reading about new government initiatives and trying to reach targets, whereas ... Read review

Advantages: Compelling read, honest account
Disadvantages: Too short, lacks an 'end'

I'm unsure of how I first came across Rhona Cameron but either way, when I saw her book on play.com I felt I needed to buy it. I have a thing for learning more about 'out' comedians and seeing as comedians are usually very honest and open about themselves on the stage I figured the same would occur during an autobiography. This can deffinitely be said for 1979. Rhona retells her childhood growing up in Scotland with her parents, focussing mostly ...
...year a lot happened for her; her father died and she came to realise her sexuality. Her accounts are honest and compelling to read, even when she tells of her tales involving herself and young hot blooded males. When writing the book she went back to where she grew up and met with some of the said males to see what they remembered of their shared pasts, which shows the research and memory jogging that occured during the book. This book is her debut ... Read review

Advantages: A great read, if you like his humour, you'll love this book
Disadvantages: Sad in places

...fan of the 2 Ronnies, and was gutted whenever Ronnie Barker died. This is the story of the 2 Ronnies, how they met, and their career in showbusiness. This is autoboigraphical in a way, it catalogues Ronnie Corbett's life, but soon, Ronnie Barker's presence takes over the story,and it seems more of a memoir than a biography. This book is written in a very conversational style, you can hear Ronnie's voice as he tells the story, and he paints some ...
...up to the present day, and paints a very different side of the 2 Ronnies than we have seen on TV. You see their lives offscreen and what sort of people they really were. This is an excellent tribute to Ronnie Barker, well written, and both laugh out loud and poignant. I did giggle through some parts of it, including some of the sketches that were included in full, and also some of the stories. Really worthwhile read for any 2 Ronnie's fan ... Read review

Advantages: Educational
Disadvantages: Heartbreaking

“The Girl in the Picture” is the story behind the subject of one of the Vietnam War’s most shocking images; that of nine year old Kim Phuc, who was badly burned, and was captured on film running naked from her village back on 8 June 1972. the picture itself was shown around the world and won a Pulitzer prize for its cameraman. There were in fact many pictures of this terrible war, but this picture more than any other around the world, made people ...
...Phuc lived in the village of Trang Bang, north of Saigon in South Vietnam in 1972. She was the middle of nine children, born in 1963 to parents Nu and Tung. It was widely reported that she lost two brothers in the napalm attack, although the two boys in question were in fact cousins. Kim’s life was never to be the same again, not only for the injury and the devastation on her country and family, but for the fact that she was an unwilling celebrity, ... Read review