Favourite Autobiography?

out of all the autobiographys you have read , which has been your favourite and why?

for me it has got to be the ECW rise and fall book , very honest account about behind the scenes of the wrestling company.

Does it have to be auto-?

I read a biography of Christopher Reeve set (is that the right word?) between his accident and his death. It went into loads of really interesting detail on the behind-the-scenes stuff with the Superman films and poignantly ended with how he will definitely walk again.

It was only a cheap thing, I found it in a hostel in NZ somewhere, but was really good.

Mr. Nice (Howard Marks) is a great, great book too. One of my favourites of all time.

I tend to avoid them like the plague but of the few I have read, Clive Woodward's book 'Winning!' is an excellent effort and I would recommend it highly, especially if you have any love for rugby.  He can come across as quite smug on TV, but his book really is good.  It talks about how he managed the transition in rugby union from the amateur to the professional era and took England to world cup glory in '03.

One of the accusations leveled at Woodward over the years is that he was just a facilitator, not a coach, despite playing international rugby.  He almost admits as much in the book, but his grasp of sports administration and his ability to create a winning environment at the highest level of sport is second to none in this country.  He took an outdated, closed minded Union run by old farts (copyright Will Carling) and turned the England rugby set up into the absolute envy of the rest of the world.  From vision coaches, tight fitting shirts, proper medical staff to getting the right coaches in on proper salaries, it is all covered.  There is a great anecdote about him paying for a team hotel on his own credit card as the one that his bosses had sourced was, in Woodward's eyes, inadequate for a international sports team.  His philosophy on changing 100 things by 1% rather than 1 thing by 100% is one that still rings true now and if you look round top level professional sport in this country, Woodward's vision can be seen everywhere.  I genuinely think he was a pioneer in sports administration, especially in rugby.

To balance that, I have read Oscar De La Hoya's effort and Nigel Benn's autobiography (thanks, Jeff) and both of them are up there with the worst things I have ever committed to my mind.  Shockingly bad.

Someone at work lent me My Life by Bill Clinton about 6 years ago and I still haven't read it.  It is enormous, absolutely enormous.  Like a slab of concrete.  I might just have to filter through it to find the blowjob bit and leave the rest.

Spike Milligan's WWII memoirs are very good.

Galted wrote:Spike Milligan's WWII memoirs are very good.

They should but that on the cover of the book, Galted.

I was going to say "exceptionally good" but, after much deliberation, settled on "very good".

'Walking on Water' by Brian Clough is a fantastic book. Haven't read a shed load of autobiographies but other ones I've enjoyed are 'The Player' by Boris Becker and 'The Big Fight' by Ray Leonard.

No Ordinary Joe by Joe Calzaghe. A real thriller of a read.

As someone has got the ball rolling on boxing related ones Henry Armstrong’s is good but reasonably hard to get hold of for a sensible price. Outside of boxing but still staying with sport Duncan Fletcher’s is a good read. Towards the end he settles a few scores from his time as England coach and gives it both barrels to the likes of Botham and Boycott. Probably says more about me than the book that these were my favourite parts of the book.

Can I just remind you Tina you swapped me De La Hoya's for Benn's so we are more than even on that front

Rowley wrote:

Can I just remind you Tina you swapped me De La Hoya's for Benn's so we are more than even on that front

I actually think you got the sh*tty end of that particular stick, Jeff. I am genuinely sorry.

Steve Gerrard - not as bad as I'd feared (that's my opinion, not the title)

Charlie Chaplin - very interesting read

Alan Partridge - We Need to talk about Alan (hilarious)

Alan Partridge - We Need to talk about Alan (hilarious).

I listened to the audio book with Coogan reading it as Partridge.  Made for some interesting commutes into work as people wondered at the strange guy trying to suppress laughter with tears runnig down his cheeks.  

That and the fact I was rubbing myself.

superflyweight wrote:

That and the fact I was rubbing myself.

  

Thanks.

Coffee. Spat. Keyboard ruined. Invoice in post.

I'm having some difficulty suppressing the laughter at that as well.

Are you sure they were tears?

Any response along the lines of "Well, they tasted salty" will have me requesting your immediate banishment from the boards

Lance Armstrong..It's not about the bike...

Basically documenting his early life...his struggles with the deadly disease......the setbacks...the uphill battles.....medical insurance problems......the survival rates....and then...

Moaning about the French calling him a cheat and protesting his innocence..........

~Whether its considered an biography or not, I am not sure, and whether its true or not, I am not sure but I found Nick Leesons Rogue Trader a cracking read.

Its unusual that even though you know he gets caught at the end, you are kind of rooting for him to get away!

Adam D wrote:~Whether its considered an biography or not, I am not sure, and whether its true or not, I am not sure but I found Nick Leesons Rogue Trader a cracking read.

Its unusual that even though you know he gets caught at the end, you are kind of rooting for him to get away!

Same with Mr. Nice.

Even though he was doing a really bad thing, he was describing it in such a likeable way that I was gutted when he got caught.

Groucho and Me

Jimmy Connors Saved My Life - part biography of Connors and part autobiography of the author. Despite the dodgy title, an excellent book

The Bible (or how I did everything). God

bhb001 wrote:The Bible (or how I did everything).  God

Dunno, only really livened up when it got to Revelation.  As for all the history, preferred Lord of the Rings.

I thought it was an overblown potboiler

Really enjoyed Teddy Atlas', even if I suspect it's a partial work of fiction.

I love autobiographies and have read loads. The ones I enjoyed were:

Mick Foley
Ant & Dec (really funny)
Vinnie Jones
John Barnes
Christopher Reeve
Buster Merryfield

Eric Clapton. Great read until the last few chapters which turned into "and then I did this. And then he did that.

Bob Dylan the chronicles part one. Decent read. Not as good as made out and I think he's made half of it up.

And Niall Quinn's autobiography is great.

Currnetly reading Young Stalin.

What a nutter he was.

Malcolm X bio is very good as is Fredrick Douglas.

X Ray by Ray Davies is a good read. Am planning to start Morrissey's soon just to see if it is as whiny as I am anticipating.

Not sure if the Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton qualifies but it is one of the best books I've read.

Rowley wrote:X Ray by Ray Davies is a good read. Am planning to start Morrissey's soon just to see if it is as whiny as I am anticipating.

I wouldn't mind reading the Ray Davies book. Is it worth me spending money on it or should I ask someone to buy it for me for Christmas?

Probably get it for christmas. Obviously it only really tells the story from his perspective so does not really give you the full pciture. There is another Kinks book around by Nick Hasted which I read recently which is excellent. Goes into detail about them getting banned from the states and the madness and arguments in the 70's. Cannot really recommend that highly enough for any fan of the band.

I'll have a look for that one then. I am a massive fan of The Kinks. Cheers Rowley.

I haven't read many autobiographies but I thoroughly enjoyed Lenny McLean's, "The Guv'nor"

MIG wrote:I haven't read many autobiographies but I thoroughly enjoyed Lenny McLean's, "The Guv'nor"

try Roy ' Pretty Boy ' Shaw's that's good aswell


Robert Mitchum's is a good read

Given the amount of wrestling fans on the sight I'm surprised no one has recommended Bret Hart's book, despite hardly being one of my all time favourites the guys had one incredible experience in wrestling, experiencing the death of the territories first hand, the rise of the WWF and the early wrestlemanias, the Montreal screwjob, the death of his brother live on PPV, being on board during the dying days of WCW, at a book near 1000 pages it's probably the most comprehensive first hand look we'll ever get from someone inside US/Canadian wrestling.

Roy Keanes first book, the second one is Keano blaming others for his mistakes.

Shantaram - Reads like an autobiography, though I'm sure some of the stories are more fictional in the book.

Such a well written book, has the ability to paint beautiful pictures with his words. After reading it I was tempted to get a trip to India so I could see the delights of their shanty towns directly.....

Errol Flynn's autobiography My Wicked Wicked Ways is a fascinating read.

I enjoyed Clapton's