Biography Books > B Biography Books > less than 5 GBP

Advantages: a good read
Disadvantages: depressing

I found this book in our local charity shop for a £1 its original price should have been £7.99. I dont usually read biographies, but something in the title intruiged me. It is about an east end family who grew up in depressing conditions with little money. Jenny and her sister oftern suffered under their father who used them to gain moeny from the authorities..The father failed to work as he supposedly had fits. Although he was still capable of ...
...but is not believed. The girls only repireve is when they go to visit thier Aunt. The thing which touched me is Jenny has included family photos in the book, these photos say so much that words cannot, the expressions on the faces, the body language being portrayed its all there, the photos upsset me more than reading the book. The shocking thing near the end is that jenny is martin mccutheons mum. (tiffany in eastenders) ... Read review

Advantages: emotional, informative
Disadvantages: more photographs would have been nice

I read this book after seeing it advertised online at Amazon.co.uk.I ordered this book for £7.99 from a local book shop. 222 pages, paperback format. Set in the perilous years between the fall of the last Emporer and the Communish Revolution, Pang-Mei Natasha Chang tells the story of her Great Aunt Yu-i's life in China and America where she strives for independance. Yu-i refuses to have her feet bound, as was the tradition of her time and so starts ...
...This is a dual biography of author and Great Aunt, giving the reader an insight into the customs and traditions of Chinese heritage. There is a small selection of black and white photographs in the middle of the book, which I constantly turned to, to put faces to the names I was reading about. There is a chronology of events at the beginning of the book which i found helpful to put dates and events in order as I was reading this book. At £7.99 ... Read review

Advantages: A true story, compelling and emotional
Disadvantages: none

Beautiful Child is a book written by Torey Hayden an educational psychologist and a special -education teacher. Her work chronicled in a series of books, was based in America. This true story is about a young girl who is trapped in silence, and the teacher who refuses to give up on her. As the story unfolds Torey works hard to reach the young girl who is electively mute, trying to encourage her to speak . I found myself not wanting to put this book ...
...this little girls life behind closed doors is unveiled. However with the help and support of Torey and the team, she will find empowerment and be able to achieve a better future. I reccomend this book to anyone working with special needs children and/or who loves emotive stories. It's wonderful. ... Read review

Advantages: Hilarious insight to Rik Mayall's life as a comedy god!
Disadvantages: Can be a bit slow/boring in places - only for a serious Rik fan.

"Bigger than Hitler better than Christ" - couldn't have put it better myself!! First off I would like to say: "If you are not a serious Rik Mayall fan but have seen or enjoyed some of his work this may not be the book you were looking for or expecting!" Anyway read on and see if you might enjoy this book... Rik Mayall is very well known in comedy entertainment for The Young Ones, Filthy, Rich and Catflap, The New Statesman and Bottom. Rik mayall ...
...to some extents have annoyed a few people over the years, but personally, I love him (figure of speech). Throughout the book Rik's personality is thrown in your face, even from the start with rude remarks about you "the reader", work colleagues from over the years and of course the most noticeable remark is of himself - "The Rik Mayall". He adamantly believes that he is the best, and that he is solely to blame for the start of great British television. ... Read review

Advantages: Difficult to determine
Disadvantages: Disturbing

Becoming Anna is an autobiographical account of a sixteen year old girl, born as Tiffany Blake in America’s Midwest. Tiffany’s Father physically abused her or showed her no love whatsoever, while her Mother and Grandmother who lived next doorwere emotionally cruel to her, and blamed her for all the family problems including her mother’s own illnesses and diabetes which had started after her younger brother was born. Her mother and grandmother labelled ...
...kids tried to cope by becoming friends with each other and becoming involved as girlfriends/boyfriends although they could not even enjoy physical comfort with one another in friendship as touching other patients was “against the rules” as was passing notes to one another, although sometimes these things went on. Being committed to a mental institution when you are not ill is bad enough for any child to endure but Tiffany’s parents went one step ... Read review