Biography Books > less than 5 GBP Biography Books

Advantages: Interesting story
Disadvantages: Not always in chronological order

...of reading material. Platinum Blonde is the title of a portrait of Debbie Harry written by Cathay Che. It was written with Harry's full co-operation and when published in 1999 it was actually the first official book that had been published on the woman, which I quite find incredible considering today's current climate where flash in the pan celebrities from reality game shows have their own biographies and autobiographies and some footballers that ...
...new generation of performers. Platinum Blonde is the frank story of Debbie's rise to fame and draws heavily on the only Blondie biography that was ever written in 1981, "Making Tracks - The rise of Blondie. There are plenty of quotes from this book but this time around these quotes are analysed and elaborated upon by Harry in a reflective way that wasn't possible at the peak of the band's fame. It is quickly evident that even when this book was ... Read review

Advantages: Contains a lot of Moyles Wit and Observations
Disadvantages: Feels Rushed and not as good as it could have been

...it a go, but The Difficult Second Book wasn't just difficult in title, it was also difficult to read. The book is described as an insight into the double life that Moyles lives. In the mornings he is the award winning host of Radio's breakfast show, helping millions of people to start their day. Then for the rest of the day he is just your average guy, with the exception of a few celebrity mates. Throughout the book he looks at events over the last ...
...to be the self-proclaimed saviour of Radio 1. Having woken up to Moyles on the way to work for the last 5 years I've actually enjoyed listening to him whilst stuck in traffic. I thought the book would be an extension of the radio show and while to a degree it is, there just seems something a little forced about it all. The ideas for each of the 18 chapters seems to have been a little rushed and in fact one of these is apparently republished from ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic, true story, told by the descendant of one of the participants.
Disadvantages: Might take a long time to read.

A remarkable book on several fronts, it is a comprehensive account of the factors and events leading up to a due to the death in the town of Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland, and more interesting, it is written by James Landale, a descendant of David Landale, one of the participants (the surviving one, as it happens). In brief, it recounts a dispute between a merchant (David Landale), and his banker (George Morgan, an ex army officer). Surprisingly, ...
...the (fatal) winning hit on George Morgan, and instantly becomes a fugitive, as duelling was illegal by that time. He made good his escape, but later surrendered to justice, and was dealt with leniently, as he had not instigated the confrontation, but had been obliged to take part as a result of the moral code that pertained at the time. Cover price £14.95 in hardback, and available cheaper online from the usual places. Well worth a read, but a long ... Read review

Advantages: alot you never knew about Lewis
Disadvantages: Needed more detail on early years

...for is the chapter where Lewis goes into detail about his relationship with Fernando Alonso, his Mc Laren teamate to get Lewis's version of what went on in their supposed rocky relationship which claimed much front page as well as back page headline in the press. Well far be it for me to let the cat out of the bag. I, knowing quite a lot about this young man must be objective, fair and not spoil anybody's xmas afternoon browsing. The book written ...
...of the input was from Lewis himself. So much so that the writing shows a fair amount of repetition and a naivety of someone not used to tell a story, after all Lewis has been a bit busy the last 12 years or so. Having said that the book has a reasonable balance, the first 3 chapters devoted to what it takes to be an F1 driver. The next 3 chapters are devoted to his early life, growing up in Stevenage and getting into competitive racing and his family ... Read review

Advantages: A damned enjoyable read to raise a laugh.
Disadvantages: None for me.

The Author. Stephen D. Smith, locally known as Steve, started work as an office boy in a law firm, attending night school and eventually becoming a qualified solicitor himself. Two years after qualifying, he set up his own practice in Rotherham with a partner Steven Wilford in 1981. Not only has he become a highly successful solicitor but also an accomplished public speaker and author. He was awarded the MBE in 2006 for his services to charity. ...
...uncorrected proofs version published in 2006 and although there is a new titled edited edition, I would think that the basic content would be the same. I also believe that the book was originally published in the mid 1990's, although I am unable to confirm that. There are the usual initial pages to begin with, an about the author, contents pages, a foreword by another author, Gervase Phinn, a preface by the author himself and a page of acknowledgements. ... Read review