My Review (3 stars out of 5) This is Karen Blixen’s account of her time in Africa from 1914 up until 1931 when she left to return to Denmark. Arriving in Kenya to run a coffee farm, she describes her love for the land and the people, her affection for the landscape and animals, and…
Category: Autobiography
‘Into the Void’ by Geezer Butler
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Following in the footsteps of two of his former bandmates, Black Sabbath bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler adds to the biography of the world’s first heavy metal band. Selling more than 70 million records, the band influenced thousands of musicians, including Judas Priest, Metallica, Guns ‘n’ Roses, and…
‘As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning’ by Laurie Lee
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Leaving his home in a Cotswolds village, Laurie Lee walked to London, earning a living as a labourer and busking in the streets with his violin. Yearning to travel, he set out for Spain, travelling from the northern to the southern coast… I never got around to…
‘Mack the Life’ by Lee Mack
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Lee McKillop – also known as Lee Mack – reveals how being brought up in a pub, taking a job in a holiday camp, and trying to be a jockey, ended up with him earning a living as an actor, writer and comedian. I’ve been a fan…
‘Adventure in Zanskar’ by Amy Edelstein
My Review (4 stars out of 5) In 1983, 21-year-old Amy Edelstein began a solitary 500-kilometer journey in Zanskar, the highest valley in the world and the westernmost corner of the Tibetan plateau. Sleeping in caves, meeting other travellers, high lamas and monastics, she explored an ancient culture in her quest for wisdom, insight, and…
‘Masquerade: The Lives of Noel Coward’ by Oliver Soden
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) As a playwright, Noel Coward is best known for his most popular stage plays ‘Private Lives’, ‘Hay Fever’ and ‘Blithe Spirit’, though he wrote many works that are largely unfamiliar to the theatre-going public. He also wrote novels, screenplays and serious and comic songs, such as ‘Mad…
‘Did I Ever Tell You This?’ by Sam Neill
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) During 2022, Ireland-born Sam Neill began making a few notes which eventually became a book. This is the story of his life from doing odd jobs on farms to working with the likes of Meryl Streep, Isabel Adjani, Sean Connery, Steven Spielberg and Jane Campion. Sam Neill…
‘Forever Young’ by Hayley Mills
My Review (4 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Actress Hayley Mills recounts her journey from an untroubled childhood in post-war Britain, to worldwide fame as a child actor. Coming from a well-known theatrical family (John Mills, Juliette Mills etc), she got to know a host of famous actors, writers and directors, including Walt Disney, Bryan…
‘The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man’ by Paul Newman
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1986, together with close friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern, Paul Newman began to tape an oral history. His aim was to provide a biographical record, including comments from family members, friends, actors and movie directors. The idea focused on everyone being entirely truthful – a no-hold-barred account…
‘Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries’ by Alan Rickman
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Alan Rickman shot to fame as villainous Hans Gruber in Die Hard, back in 1988. Up until then he’d done a lot of theatre, mostly in the UK. His diaries run from 1993 until his death in 2016 and offer insight into the actor’s public and private…
Colin Garrow 