Autobiographies and Biographies

[wordsgood]

From all I've ever read, Lincoln had a pretty "challenging " wife ,but it sounded as if he learned how to get along ok with her and overlook a lot of her shortcomings.

 

Julie: You're most welcome! From what I read in that excerpt, I "challenging" is probably as good description of his wife as you can get! I checked and this one's been out since 1997 so I would think you could find it a library somewhere. And nope, don't think I'd have wanted his job.

 

Oh, and I'd be interested in hearing about the mental illness books you mentioned, if they are any good?

 

Frankie: Thanks for those titles; I will definitely be looking them up! As for books I'd recommend about this topic, you should never ask me those kinds of questions. You're likely to get far more info than you wanted.

 

I've forgotten, again, how to make my links look pretty and will have to look it up again later. In the meantime, I've just included the entire web addresses to some Amazon links for each of them.

 

The Faber Book of Madness, edited by the late Roy Porter (Hands down my favourite.)

http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/0571143881

 

Sad, Mad and Bad: Women and the Mind Doctors From 1800, by Lisa Appignanesi

http://www.amazon.co...49237154&sr=1-1

 

The History of Madness, by Michel Foucalt

http://www.amazon.co...49237215&sr=1-1

 

Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalmania and Modern Medicine, by Andrew Skull

http://www.amazon.co...by Andrew Skull

 

Hi Wordsgood, this sounds very interesting. Does it cover his early career as a vampire hunter?

 

Vodkafan: Hmm, interesting thought. Maybe that’s why he always wore the stovepipe hat...so he had a place to hide his trusty wooden stake?

[NickB]

Has anyone read Gandhi: The story of my experiments with truth?I'm tempted to buy it and just curious as to peoples views on it.

[buddha quaffing bourbon]

Shock Value by John Waters is an excellent autobiography which i would recommend to anybody not burdened with a virtuous streak or weak stomach. from the opening paragraph: To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits watching one of my films, it's like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste. ... To understand bad taste one must have very good taste.

 

on hold for me at the liberry: All I Need is Love, by Klaus Kinski (!); and, on the subject of statesmen, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, who would make a much better drinking buddy than Lincoln, in all likelihood. though who i'd choose between Franklin, Kinski, and Waters, i'm not sure.

[frankie]

Frankie: Thanks for those titles; I will definitely be looking them up! As for books I'd recommend about this topic, you should never ask me those kinds of questions. You're likely to get far more info than you wanted.

 

You are wrong: I should ask these questions, because now I got some great new, interesting titles to add to my wishlist! Thanks so much! They're all definitely going on wishlist.

[wordsgood]

You are wrong: I should ask these questions, because now I got some great new, interesting titles to add to my wishlist! Thanks so much! They're all definitely going on wishlist.

 

Just realized you replied to this one. Your welcome, Frankie! I frequently get new ones to add to my wishlist from your thread.

[Echo]

I want to find a really bood biography of Beatirx Potter, or maybe a collection of her journals. Does anyone have a recommendation?

[emelee]

Just ordered a biography by Henrik Berggren about former Swedish prime minister Olof Palme who was shot & killed in 1986, and whose murder is STILL not solved. The biggest crime investigation in Sweden's history. Olof Palme was deeply loved - and hated. He's probably my biggest political idols. Always prevailing Olof Palme.

[Peahen]

I read Miranda Hart's Is It Just Me on a recent flight, it was a quick read. I did like the way she brought in the younger her asking all these questions that you do at the age of 16 and her sidestepping the issues as to how life turned out.  I am a major Miranda Hart fan, but it is the first auto-biography have read in a long time.  I think the last one was Peter Kaye's. 

[Nollaig]

I recently finished The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne, the first autobiography he wrote which deals with his childhood self, the origins of Winnie The Pooh and only slightly with the impact Pooh had on his life. I think his second autobiography is more about the reality of dealing with it, but The Enchanted Places was a fantastic read, and I would say an absolute must for any fond fan of Pooh. I must get around to writing up a review for it, I might do it tomorrow.

[willoyd]

Just completed Stephen Bown's biography of Roald Amundsen, The Last Viking.  A gripping read - full review copied over from my Reading Blog:

 

The Last Viking by Stephen Bown ****

 

Roald Amundsen all too often gets a rotten press in Britain, being cast almost in the role of the nefarious villain who cheated in beating Scott to the South Pole. One of Stephen Bown's self-professed aims behind the book was to help put the record straight. That is not to say that this is some sort of hagiography: Bown makes no bones about Amundsen's weaknesses, but he also brings out his many strengths, not least his all consuming commitment to polar exploration, his passion for being perfectly prepared, and his superb (but not faultless) leadership skills that generated almost universal loyalty and approbation from the men who worked with him. Nor is this a biography where every twist and turn, every nuance of the written record, is examined in microscopic detail. Amundsen's life is full of adventure, almost larger than life, and the author makes sure that none of this sense is lost, telling a story that fairly rattles along, with just enough time to pause and reflect where necessary. The result is an enthralling story told by a writer with a

huge but well balanced sympathy for his subject.

 

 

I have to admit this broader brush approach did have a slight downside: I never felt that we really got inside Amundsen's personality, rather that we were on the outside looking in. There were occasions where I would have liked to hear a bit more of Amundsen's own voice rather than an author's rather cool analysis. And there were occasions when we rattled through events rather too quickly for my taste. However, these are relatively minor points. Roald Amundsen has for too long been seen in this country as a mere adjunct to the Scott story. Stephen Bown has not only given him the prominence he deserves in his own right, but amply demonstrated that, at least from Amundsen's perspective, the South Pole expedition was but one event in a life full of others of equal stature. Not only a good read, but probably an essential one for anybody interested in polar exploration.

[Wipples]

I haven't read many,but my favorite is Speak Memory-Nabakov

[Snowla]

I enjoyed a gabrielle chanel biography,and a audrey hepburn biography as well. Actually It's the glamourous pictures inside that acttracts me. I'm now working on anna fraser's marie antoinette: the journey, and it's very well wirtten. It changes many stereotype of the french queen of mine.

[Anna Begins]

Unbroken: A World War Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption By Laura Hillenbrand.  One of the best books ever read.

 

A track runner almost to make the Berlin Olympics, Louis Zamperini  becomes an airman, crashes and then his held by the Japanese.  That description is grimm, but the story isn't.  Hillderbrand is a great writer and its impossible not to fall in love with Zamperini- especially when seeing him on a skateboard at 81.

 

Supposedly, Angelina Jolie is going to Produce and Direct this into a mmovie.  I'm not to keen on movie adaptations.

[geordie9]

Bobby Robsons, Kevin Keegans, Alan Shearers, Gazzas,

[wordsgood]

I'm currently finishing one of two memoirs by the same author, Marina Nemat.  The first is about her experience of being imprison at the age of 16 in Iran's infamous prison, Evin, for having spoken out against the new regime when the Shah was deposed for the religious regime led by Ayatollah Khomeini.  The second is a follow-up about her life after being released over two years later, specifically about how her survivor's guilt drove her to finally write about it speak about the horrors she and thousands of other teenagers suffered revolution and religion changed every aspect of life for them.

 

They are relatively small books, but by no means a light read, so I do recommend caution if you are not prepared to deal with a very emotional read about a period of history not yet over.

[vodkafan]

I'm currently finishing one of two memoirs by the same author, Marina Nemat.  The first is about her experience of being imprison at the age of 16 in Iran's infamous prison, Evin, for having spoken out against the new regime when the Shah was deposed for the religious regime led by Ayatollah Khomeini.  The second is a follow-up about her life after being released over two years later, specifically about how her survivor's guilt drove her to finally write about it speak about the horrors she and thousands of other teenagers suffered revolution and religion changed every aspect of life for them.

 

They are relatively small books, but by no means a light read, so I do recommend caution if you are not prepared to deal with a very emotional read about a period of history not yet over.

 

Stuff about Iran and Afghanistan just makes me upset. I read A Thousand Splendid Sons, The Bookseller Of Kabul and that other famous non fiction one about the woman's book club. The things these women go through all justified by religion is just horrible.

[Anna Begins]

I'm currently finishing one of two memoirs by the same author, Marina Nemat.  The first is about her experience of being imprison at the age of 16 in Iran's infamous prison, Evin, for having spoken out against the new regime when the Shah was deposed for the religious regime led by Ayatollah Khomeini.  The second is a follow-up about her life after being released over two years later, specifically about how her survivor's guilt drove her to finally write about it speak about the horrors she and thousands of other teenagers suffered revolution and religion changed every aspect of life for them.

 

They are relatively small books, but by no means a light read, so I do recommend caution if you are not prepared to deal with a very emotional read about a period of history not yet over.

How are you liking the books?  They keep being recommended to me...  I hear they are graphic, but that's ok with me- can you give me a brief review?

[Anna Begins]

Stuff about Iran and Afghanistan just makes me upset. I read A Thousand Splendid Sons, The Bookseller Of Kabul and that other famous non fiction one about the woman's book club. The things these women go through all justified by religion is just horrible.

Reading Lolita in Tehran?  That was an excellent book, I thought it more about what they wouldn't do for religion.

[wordsgood]

Hi Anna,

 

If you head over to my personal thread in the Member's reading log, you'll find that I have already reviewed the Prisoner of Tehran on my thread. I just finished reading the follow-up one, After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed, last night and will add a review for that one later. I was so taken with both books that I went to her Facebook page and left a large comment. It's a small thing, but I was still quite excited to get a quite excited when she sent me a thank you note. Hmm, maybe I'll copy the text of my comment that I posted on her wall, as well as my book review.

 

Also, yes I have read, Reading Lolita in Tehran. It's an excellent book book that I highly recommend! The basic message is the same as Nemat's, though thankfully she did not have to experience prison or torture like Marina Nemat.

 

Vodkafan, I know what you mean, but as upsetting as books like Marina Nemat's are, I still think they are important reads. So much so, that I honestly think they should be required reading. If we don't keep the conversation about these kinds of things that are still going on right now, even as I write this, the cycle of violence and oppression will never stop. Just as it's important we learn about WWI & WWII, Korea, Vietna, Hitler and the Holocaust, along with all of the other historical horrors in recent and ancient history, we also need to be rather frequently reminded of the horrors and genicides playing out right now in various parts of the globe. We are, as a species, far too easily have collective amnesia about such thing. The only way we are ever going to learn is to keep beating ourselves over the head with what history has to teach us. Especially history in the making.

[dtrpath27]

My two favorites are Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng and Crashing Through by Robert Kurson.  Although I don't think the former is as well written, both are very thought-provoking and provide insights into worlds about which I would otherwise know nothing.

 

Life and Death in Shanghai is Nien Cheng's autobiographical account of her harrowing experiences during and survival of the Great Cultural Revolution in China.  I am humbled every time I read it.  Crashing Through is the true story of a blind man, Mike May, who undergoes surgery to restore his sight.  

Edited March 4, 2014 by dtrpath27

[timebug]

In the last three weeks I have read Autobigraphies by

David Mitchell (The TV actor and comic),Lee Mack,

Paul Merton and John Cleese.Plus the two books by

Danny Baker,that the TV series 'Cradle to Grave' was

(Very) loosely based on.

A mixed bunch and I loved the Baker books and the Paul

Merton one. The John Cleese was better than I had expected

as he is usually such a grouch in interviews,but the Lee Mack

one left me thinking that had I met him in person, I probably

would not have taken to him! But I mostly like his TV work,so

it is a double edged sword!

Edited November 20, 2015 by timebug

[JeanW]

I'm a biography fanatic but not of current people or film stars or celebrities or sportspeople etc. I have a fascination with the 1900-1940 era and especially of the Bloomsbury group and  the other famous figures of that time. I've just finished Renishaw Hall - a history of the Sitwell Family, a fascinating account of a very eccentric family. Before that, I read If Love Were All, an account of the long secret affair (and child) David Lloyd George had with his secretary.  Before that, The four Sisters, a bio of the four Romanov girls who were shot along with the ret of their family in the cellar in Russia.

[Kylie]

Hi Jean and welcome to the forum! Good to have another Aussie here. We have one or two fans of the Bloomsbury set here. Have you read anything by or about the Mitford sisters?

[Anna Begins]

Although it's not a biography of a person, The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan is about the history of Israel and if you know some of the history and geography of the country, it is a good read if interested.  The basis is the true story of a Jewish Israeli woman and a Palestinian Arab man who meet over the boarder town house he grew up in and the house she now resides. 

Edited January 4, 2016 by Anna Begins

[JeanW]

Hi Jean and welcome to the forum! Good to have another Aussie here. We have one or two fans of the Bloomsbury set here. Have you read anything by or about the Mitford sisters?

 

Thanks, Kylie.  Yes, I've read quite a bit about the Mitford sisters - I have The Mitford Girls by Mary S Lovell and The Mitfords by Charlotte Mosely - and read quite a few others which have been partly about them.  They tend to pop up in many other biographies!

 

I recently read Darling Monster - letters of Lady Diana Cooper to her son - and they got several mentions in those.