Biography Books > J Biography Books > 5 GBP to 9 GBP

Advantages: Easy to read and follow
Disadvantages: Controversial at times with strong opinions

This is the story of one of Britains most controvercial and opinionated Shock Jock Radio presenters. It takes you along the road of his life in Radio, including Top Shop Radio, for the Top Shop clothes store, Local Radio in Newcastle, Radio Aire in Leeds, where he took his show to Television, to his last show on Talk Sport Radio. It also talks about his diagnosis with Cancer and the setting up of his cancer charity. This book does not dissapoint. ...
...his opinions on a variety of subjects as well as charting his life and career. It also has a wonderful tribute to his personal friend, Bernard Manning, who passed just before the book was published. Witty, controversial and entertaining, this is a must read for all who have listened to the James Whale Radio Show. The book is written by James himself and charts his life at various stages as well as sharing his experiences and opinions. ... Read review

Advantages: Entertaining and interesting read
Disadvantages: Could have been longer

...John recently published his autobiography Anything Goes, chronicling his first forty years. His sister, Carole E. Barrowman helped him write it and between the two of them, the tone is perfect and you can easily hear John's voice coming through the text. The hardback version has a cover price of £18.99, but you can buy it for about half that if you look online. I got mine from Amazon UK for £9.49. It is around 250 pages, split into nineteen chapters. ...
...the end of the book. Anything Goes never becomes dull and each chapter has something interesting and shows the reader more about John's life, career, family and friends. He comes across just as he seems on television appearances - warm, friendly, caring, energetic, and full of life, frank, cheeky, confident and endearing. He isn't afraid of writing it how it is and is happy to laugh at his own actions. Although a couple of incidents he recalls did ... Read review

Advantages: A compelling factual read
Disadvantages: Slight repetition in parts

...product of a very mundane family with only a minimal number of skeletons in our closets, I was hooked and ordered the title immediately. The uncovering of this fact led Lanchester to a realisation of how little he actually knew about his parents’ lives and to a recognition that his upbringing had been permeated by his mother’s “ enquiry suppression field, in which there were things you couldn’t ask, psychic places you couldn’t go and wishes you ...
...hidden areas by means of family archival documents, interviews with family members and historical research makes for fascinating reading. Lanchester traces his mother, Julia’s life from her Irish roots as the eldest of eight in a comparatively poor family in County Mayo, though her education to her entry as a postulant into a Roman Catholic order, her subsequent leaving of that order and training as a nurse , followed by her re-entry into holy orders ... Read review

Advantages: Captivating
Disadvantages: None

What I found captivating about the book was the entrapment of a particular experience of childhood in words which though simple deliver to the adult reader an understanding of the complexity a child is faced with as consciousness and understanding grow and develop. In our times there is little time for childhood. It's baby minders and after school clubs and knackered stressed out parents. Or it's dad in the jail or on the dole , and knife crime and ...
...mother, was there to pick up the slack, to be around, to keep the home fires burning, to give some constancy to the family unit. Food in Mr Boyle's household certainly wasn't fancy, but it was wholesome and it was there, every day , at 'dinner time'. When you read this book, you will look into a world of family life which has virtually disappeared, and we are much the poorer for it. We live in a new kind of poverty which is far more destructive. ... Read review

Advantages: Touching, honest account from incredible people
Disadvantages: None

...actually find my thoughts on Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S Thompson a valuable insight into the man behind not only a number of critically acclaimed literary successes, but also the man behind the conception of the new style, new era, new view that was Gonzo. What makes Wenner and Seymour suitable biographers for Hunter ******************************************************************* ******* Jann Wenner, is arguably the best placed person to ...
...the founder and Editor in Chief of Rolling Stone Magazine since 1967, owner of Men's Journal and US Weekly, and reknowned interviewer of any number of iconic figures, from musical legends like Bob Dylan, John Lennon and the Rolling Stones to political leaders John Kerry, Al Gore and Bill Clinton, there is no questioning his credentials. However, what matters most is that for more than 30 years, he and Hunter shared a unique partnership which began ... Read review