Biography Books > 15 GBP to 19 GBP Biography Books

Advantages: Dispelling any preconcieved ideas
Disadvantages: Reading how somebody can be so naive

Shhh…don’t tell anyone but I have a confession to make…I’ve just read Anthea Turner’s autobiography, and do you know I couldn’t put it down. There, confession over. I don’t know why it is that the public opinion of Mrs. Grant Bovey is so bad or why she receives so much detrimental press. I can understand that when she had an affair behind the back of her ex-husband, the D.J Peter Powell, that the press jumped ...
...the first and in no way will be the last woman to have an affair during an unhappy marriage. I could even understand the public perception of her when ‘those’ photos from her recent marriage were printed; even I, at the time, thought that having your wedding sponsored by a choccy bar was just a tad in bad taste. But, if you are an individual that likes to make up their own mind about a star then read this book, your preconceived ideas ... Read review

Advantages: Beautifully presented book, great content, extensively researched
Disadvantages: Slightly expensive for the casual fan

...so many books available about Marilyn Monroe, that it is often a wonder why so many new ones get published. Biography after biography arrives, most of them rehashing the same old photos with the same kind of text. But occasionally, a new book on the film star comes along which has a refreshing perspective to offer. One such book is this – Marilyn Monroe Private and Undisclosed by Michelle Morgan. Being a longtime fan herself and President of the ...
...background knowledge of a devoted Marilyn fan, but has added a whole new level of research on the topic. In the quest to discover new aspects and details of Marilyn’s life, Morgan has contacted former boyfriends, co-stars and friends who knew the actress, many of whom have never shared their memories before. This extra level of research has also led to the uncovering and subsequent publication of rare and unpublished photographs. There are over seventy ... Read review

Advantages: Very funny and enlightening
Disadvantages: sometimes a bit too honest

...saying it Graham Chapman was a “poof”. To avoid that as an issue and as a word would be to ignore a large part of what made Graham Chapman what he was. The reason I choose the word is that, amongst other things, “a poof about town” is the way he chose to portray himself in this non too serious (or is it) autobiography. The trouble is the title, “A liars autobiography” and numerous references to Biggles (and his ...
...a large pinch of salt when reading it. It certainly isn’t a dull read and goes to unusual lengths to avoid the kind of name dropping present in other autobiographies such as David Nivens “The Moons a Balloon”. In fact Nivens ego massaging opus is lampooned on many occasions, the last, slightly psychedelic chapter is titled “The moods a full baboon”. Chapman describes his life from childhood, Biggles fixation and a nasty ... Read review

Advantages: Very readable, interesting, informative
Disadvantages: Sometimes lacking in detail, descriptions of executions

Marie Antoinette is a widely known historical personnage - infamous for her callousness towards the starving peasants ("Let them eat cake!") and for having her head chopped off during the French Revolution, a victim of the guillotine, yet few attempts have ever been made to go beyond the stereotypes and actually investigate the character of this celebrity queen. Noted historian Antonia Fraser aims to correct this, and has largely succeeded in a very ...
...reputed sexual insatiability (in truth Marie was quite sexually inexperienced even after marriage and quite pious as well, the allegations deeply upset and shocked her), and of her legendary arrogance, spending inordinate sums of money even as the people of France starved (while she did spend lavishly, even the Royal Family trimmed their expenses in the time of need!) My main criticism is that in its focus of Marie Antoinette alone, the book fails ... Read review

Advantages: Great personal view of the 1960's
Disadvantages: Tails off towards the present day

This book is exciting - the use of an external author stops this book from focussing too much on what Marianne remembers and gives a structure to her story. Starting with her ancestor Leopold von Sacher Masoch and coming to the present day, the story of the girl who loved the Stones is bright and hopeful. A stunning portrait of Dylan and a wistful feeling of the love Marianne still holds for 'Keef' Richards are the most outstanding features. I would ... Read review