Spitfire: The Biography - Jonathan Glancey

Advantages: Excellent, partly written from personal experience, covers pretty much everything
Disadvantages: Could've chosen a better cover photo, I want more!

...The main advantage of this biography is that Coleman actually knew Lennon. He is honest (sometimes painfully so), but not interested in digging up dirt. He doesn't set out to be controversial, nor does he glorify Lennon and his life: it's all there; the drugs, the affairs, everything. The layout is very comprehensive: it starts with an overview, goes on to a full, detailed and almost-linear account of Lennon's childhood, through the Beatles years, the solo career, the house-husband period and finally his murder. I found it very easy to read and it was detailed without over-analysing. I literally could not put it down - to the point where I spilt an orange alcopop over it because I was trying to pour while reading, there is now an attractive orange stain over some of the pages! Coleman has done his research and peppers... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: It's about Jeremy Clarkson
Disadvantages: Spelling mistakes, poor grammar, repetition, bad prose - they all destroy a good read

...familiar faces - not just in the UK but around the world, too - there is much to find fascinating about one man. It should be a great piece of biographical literature. Here it is, then. The book. Jeremy Clarkson - The Biography. And it has to be said that, if I were Clarkson, I'd be a touch embarrassed. It's a bloody shame that it's not an autobiography; a book about himself, by him, would undoubtedly be much more interesting than what we've got: a book about him, written by somebody else. Gwen Russell is, apparently, a successful journalist specialising in the celebrity circuit. Unfortunately, this book does not do her writing talents justice. The prose is clipped and often truncated in the wrong place, it's repetitive to the point of boring and the manuscript appears to have gone unedited or without any proof-reading prior... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A fitting monument to a literary giant
Disadvantages: Will appeal only to a limited audience

...- AN INTRODUCTION, WITHOUT WHICH YOU MIGHT HAVE FELT UNHAPPY - I first heard about BS (Bryan Stanley) Johnson as a student. Studying English, I was interested in his experiments with literary form, and intrigued by the most notorious facts about him. These were: - in the late 1960s he had published a novel as a set of 27 unbound chapters which could be read in any order; - he had written another book with holes cut in the pages. But until about 25 years later, that was the extent of my knowledge. In the meantime I discovered Jonathan Coe, another novelist, but of my generation. I enjoyed his novel 'The Rotters' Club'. So when I heard about Coe's biography of BS Johnson, my long-dormant interest was aroused. I sought out the handful of Johnson's seven novels still in print, better to appreciate the biography. I liked... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful