Biography Books > less than 5 GBP Biography Books

Advantages: feel waht the writer is feeling.
Disadvantages: some parts bring you close to crying/vomiting

a truly heartfelt story of a boy who is physically abused by his alcoholic mother. she treated him like a slave & made him know as 'it', he was no longer a child but a thing that she could control who was so naive & weak. many times managing to put him on the edge of death & injuring him to such an extent. you really feel dave pelzers misery & pain the way he describes the things he had to go through & how he found it so hard to stop hoping & loving ... Read review

Advantages: great read an absolute must have
Disadvantages: none

I purchased this book in November of 2006 from Asda at the price of £9.96, I loved Michael Barrymore in Big Brother and that is the reason why I opted for this book! (He should have won!!!!) Michael was once one of britans favorite entertainers; he regularly appeared on TV and was loved by the public for being so funny and so unique. We first saw Michael in 1975 when he won the talent show 'New faces' from then on he became a familiar and loved ...
...shows included Barrymore Strike it lucky My kind of people My kind of music And kids say the funniest things Michael Barrymore also won 13 national TV awards including best entertainment show, most popular comedy performer and even a special recognition award ...with a raft of other awards Despite all of his success he got heavily into drink and drugs and in 1997 he split from his wife of 18 years, this was when he admitted to being gay. Then ... Read review

Advantages: A beautiful collection of happy, sad and funny memories
Disadvantages: It's not a starting point

...asked many friends to contribute memories and both the friends and memories are extremely varied. Every part of Lennon's life is covered from childhood (remembered by his cousin Mike Cadwallader and mentioned by others), to the days in Hamburgh, Beatles stardom, peace protests, immigration problems, the househusband/dad years and, finally, his brutal, inane and tragic murder. I was delighted to discover aspects of Lennon's character as remembered ...
...in this book. The memories also vary in length, from Normal Mailer's "WE HAVE LOST A GENIUS OF THE SPIRIT" to much longer recollections from Jann Wenner and Elliot Mintz. The collection also includes various photographs, including ones that are rarely seen, drawings, a few poems and even copies of FBI documents relating to Lennon (heavily blacked-out!). Say what you like about Yoko Ono, but she is responsible for this masterpiece and what a perfect ... Read review

Advantages: Truly remarkable and utter love and compassion from this author
Disadvantages: Shocking and upsetting - utterly heartrending

A friend leant me this book and I must admit I wasn't sure whether it would be that good. I have read a lot of childhood memoirs starting off with A Boy callede It and found that a lot of them are very alike, a bit "woe is me". Yes I know they have all had a bad childhood, but I stopped reading them after a a while because they were all very similar. I must admit I was amazed by this book. The book is written by Cathy Glass who is a Foster Carer. ...
...violent, aggressive, and has already been through numerous foster families when her last hope is Cathy Glass. Cathy is "pushed" into taking on Jodie as a last resort after she has been rehomed many times. If Cathy wouldn't take her on then she would be forced into a Children's Home. Cathy decides to give Jodie a chance, and what a time she has. The patience shown by Cathy in the face of such adversity is truly aspiring. Jodie frequently soils herself, ... Read review

Advantages: Non really
Disadvantages: Horrifying

This is the story of a woman who used to be a nanny for Fred and Rose West. She was unaware of their behaviour even when she was living with them, but as soon as something went wrong, she ran a mile. Caroline didn't have a normal life. She was born to a woman who wasn't married and her father didn't want to know after a few years as he was a devout Catholic. Soon her mother remarried to a man named Alf who she argued with and did a typical "step ...
...normal. She was introduced to the children and she got on fine. However she wasn't happy with the Wests' behaviour. They had men coming round all the time and Rose would take them into the bedroom. She soon found out that she was not a massager like first thought, but was part of a "sex circle". At the first chance, Caroline ran back home, only to be caught again by a deceiving Rose. Caroline was sexually aussaulted by both Fred and Rose, then raped ... Read review