Biography Books > M Biography Books > by Author Surname (First Letter)

Advantages: True Story, great detail, inspiratrional
Disadvantages: heart wrenching and sad

Shattered is a true story which has been written by Mavis Marsh about a tragic accident which happened to her son. She starts to book with a short Prologue and then chapter one takes us back to her childhood. She was a war baby and grew up with her two sisters, mother and father. She openly admits that she was always the spoilt one of the family. As she grows up she has two very close friends who she would go dancing with and she still remains very ...
...Keith and in time they married and set up home. They soon started a family with 2 girls, Dena and Gaynel and then they had a son, called Matthew. Mavis talks about the children growing up and tells how hard she and Keith worked to give them a good life and help them get a good education. Dena and Gaynel both leave home in time to start their own lives and following them soon after is Matthew. Matthew is studying at university and working towards ... Read review

Advantages: great read, well written and inspirational
Disadvantages: sad and disturbing in some places, made me cry!

As a fan of autobiographies and true stories, this book caught my eye at the school I volunteer in. The book people bring in products for us to look at and purchase every few weeks and this one was an absolute bargain at just £4! RRP is £9.99 The title grabbed my attention immediately and when I read the back and discovered it was an autobiography, I placed my order. When the book arrived the following week, I started reading it straight away. Once ...
...heart rendering story of Martha had me in tears from laughing one minute and sadness the next. The book is written from the point of view of Martha, born a bastard to a teenage mother, growing up in slums of 1950's Dublin and the various trials and tribulations she has to overcome. The story begins with a nearly four year old Martha living with her Mother, Auntie and Cousin and remembering a relatively ok childhood with some happy memories, compared ... Read review

Advantages: Great food writing, delicious recipes, interesting factual stuff
Disadvantages: Not enough recipes; overly flowery descriptions; unappealing characters

...is Marlena de Blasi's debut a book that is difficult to label but it is one that confounds and and yet enchants with each turn of the page. I raced through the book relishing every word, but found myself seething with indignation at bad writing and annoyed with a narrator who just made me want to scream. "A Thousand Days in Venice: an unexpected romance" is usually stacked on bookshops with travel writing and indeed, it does fit into that genre. ...
...domestic. It is undoubtedly a memoir, but a memoir that is forever pointing the reader forwards, wondering what may be. The cover notes say that the book "Includes recipes" but in reality there are few. In her subtitle de Blasi refers to a romance, and romance there is - in bucketfuls. This is a love affair not only between two people but between one woman and a city: Venice, arguably the most romantic city in the world. The book is an account of ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting look into a TV series
Disadvantages: You might want to sleep with the light on

Review of Haunted Homes- True Stories of Paranormal Investigations I bought this book from a bargain book shop, having seen the television series and also having a bit of a fascination for such things I decided to treat myself. The first thing you realise is that Mia Dolan, billed as Britain's most famous psychic, is a normal, down to earth person who eats, sleeps and goes to the toilet, just like the rest of us. There are no airs and graces about ...
...with a description of each haunted house, the family affected and the story of the visit when the house was cleared and the program made. The team consisted of a team of professional paranormal investigators, a sceptic researcher whose job it was to find rational explanations of each event, the film crew, make up and Mia herself. When we saw the series on TV we remarked that we could tell where she had bought her clothes (Evans) and reading the ... Read review

Advantages: Extremely well researched and presented facts.
Disadvantages: Style slightly too academic for me.

...Girls. This biography, Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth, is her latest published work. Her next book is due to be a family biography called The Churchills. She lives in the New Forest area of Hampshire and is interested in horses, aviation and sailing. She also likes travelling and is a member of The Royal Geographical Society. *** Peak District Connections *** I love relaxing in the Peak District, and as a result of spending many happy ...
...a lot about Bess of Hardwick, through visiting property once owned by her, and wanted to find out more. This book tells in academic detail her rise to become the second wealthiest women in Elizabeth I's England, having acquired much property in the Midlands including the Chatsworth Estate and Harwick Halls (both new and old versions). The author appears to want to accept no previous research into this lady at face value. (Inaccurate "facts" have ... Read review