Biography Books > E Biography Books

Advantages: Charming book - makes you laugh
Disadvantages: Makes you cry too

I have loved Deric Longden's books for many years and I found "Enough to Make a Cat Laugh" whilst browsing on Amazon. Having been reading more 'serious' books recently the thought of his light hearted style of writing really appealed to me so I ordered the book. The book chronicles a year in the life of the Longden household, starting with spring then summer, autumn and finishing with winter. The 'household' consists of Deric, his wife Aileen and ...
...Other members of the family include Arthur's wire brush and a sultana called Ralph - but you will have to read the book if you want to know more about these two! This is a book guaranteed to make you laugh if you have any connection with cats in the house yourself but, on the other hand, it is equally able to move you to tears. For those not already familiar with his writing, Deric's wife - writer Aileen Armitage - is registered blind and occasionally ... Read review

Advantages: Informative, educational, moving first-hand account of the Holocaust
Disadvantages: Would have liked a follow-up section, some apparent innacuracies

...Filip Muller in his book Eyewitness Auschwitz - Three Years in the Gas Chambers. This is the first time I have read someone's first-hand account of working in the gas chambers, and according to this book, he was the only one of the crematorium team to survive and publish his memories. Muller was born in 1922 in Sered, Czechoslovakia and was taken to Auschwitz in April 1942 aged twenty. Being male, young and fit, he was chosen to work in the building ...
...Western Europe in 1969 and Eyewitness Auschwitz was published in 1979. As far as I can tell, Muller is still alive and 85 years old. I can't find a record of his death online anyway. His book is 180 pages long and is split into five chapters, with a glossary and diagrams of the concentration camp and crematorium set up at the end. The first chapter is called No Return and explains how he came to arrive in Auschwitz and his early days there. Into ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to read, inspirational
Disadvantages: Dwells a bit on the sport of cycling but is interesting.

I dont followw current affairs very much and have to admit until I heard about Lance Armstrong on "You me and Dupee" (quite a funny movie). I asked my friends and was interested in finding out a bit more about him, as I am always like to find out what drives people to do things. His story is fantastic he was diagnosed as having cancer in 1996 and with a positive attitute and with educating himself abiout the disease he managed to beat it to a fukll ...
...on to become a world leading athelet winning the tour de france 5 times, amazing. This book is I beleicve his second and tells of his battle to win the forth and fifth tour, telling of the ups and downs crashes, etc. He seems to be a extradinary person who can drive others such as his team mates and other cancer sufferers. Lance is quite modest which is always a benefit in such a high profile sportsman, his approach seems very genuine and straight ... Read review

Advantages: Explains everything clearly, entertains and portrays Eleanor in a new light
Disadvantages: Hard going at times with a rather dry style

...the dearth of material on Eleanor, especially from unbiased sources. Neither does it help that she never personally corresponded with anyone. Boyd cuts through the rumours and slander spread by Eleanor's enemies and presents her as a strong feminist who refused to be a victim. He tells the story of Eleanor's life using her image as a roadmap: from the sculpted face of her youth found in Bordeaux Cathedral to her effigy at Fontevraud. This adds an ...
...a linear fashion. I liked this device, especially as Boyd refers to the pictures he uses throughout the text, rather than lumping them together with no reference or explanation. From a literary point of view, it also allows the reader to imagine Eleanor more effectively and thus makes the story more enjoyable. Boyd wins brownie points for using maps of France to explain the various territories and who ruled them in the 12th century, and for including ... Read review

Advantages: Uncovering a sad piece of British/Australian history
Disadvantages: That it had to happen in the first place

‘At a time when empty cradles are contributing woefully to empty spaces, it is necessary to look for external sources of supply. And if we do not supply from our own stock we are leaving ourselves all the more exposed to the menace of the teeming millions of our neighbouring Asiatic races […] The policy at present adopted of bringing out young boys and girls and training them from the beginning in agricultural and domestic methods… has the additional ...
...and imbuing them with Australian sentiments and Australian ideals – the essential marks of true citizenship…’ His Grace the Archbishop of Perth, welcoming British boys arriving in Australia on the SS Strathaird, August 1938 (Empty Cradles, pp 11) During my stay in Australia in 1995/96 I read many books, but will never forget the day when I began reading Margaret Humphreys’ ‘Empty Cradles’. Sitting with the sun blazing down, the world darkened as ... Read review