Auto/biographies you read recently

I have quite a liking for Autobiographies recently and I have to say my favourite would have to be The Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela's Autobiography. It was so interesting and really gave you an insight to life in South Africa before, after and During Apartheid. I have also read Martin Luther Kings and Mhatama Ghandis. Though I found Ghandis very complicated to read. On an embarrassing note I will admit to buying and liking Sharon Osbourne's Autobiography as well.

I've read Peter Kay's, Sharon Osbourne's and my favourite is the one I got for Chrismtas, Billie Piper's.

Son of Oscar Wilde, by Vyvyan Holland, the eponymous son. A fantastic, but restrained, look into how the scandal affected the family, a story that tends to get forgotten by other biographers of Wilde.

Has anyone read the Regan Diaries? I think it would be an interesting read, but I'm not sure if I want to spend the money on it and then not get into it. :blush:

I think the only biography I read (without being forced into it at school) was a children's book biography of Babe Ruth. :rotfl: I was very into baseball as a kid.

I tried really hard to read Nelson Mandela's autobiography - but it's so long. Sile I salute you for being able to read it! I also tried to read Bill Clinton's autobiography, but again it's really, really long!

Just wondering would Marley & Me count? :lol: if so, it's the best one in a long time!

I've also read Alan Alda's autobiography - it's great. He's one of my favourite actors and his life is as interesting as the characters he plays!

I am a fan of both modern autobiographies and historical biographies. Modern autobiographies (or perhaps a more appropriate term would be "memoirs") that I enjoyed include "A Girl Named Zippy" and the sequel "She Got Up Off the Couch" by Haven Kimmel; "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs; "A Child Called It" by Dave Pelzer; and "Blackbird" and "Still Waters" by Jennifer Lauck.

I loved reading "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Allison Weir. I found her style to be easy to read and well organized plus her descriptions of court life were obviously well researched.

Years ago I read a couple of biographies that I wish now I could remember the names of. One was about Lucille Ball who I absolutely adore and admire and the other was about Elvis Presley.

The latest one I've read was A Lotus Blooms in Mud by Goldie Hawn. In it she goes through her life picking out the parts that stand out, what happened and what lessons she gained. I rather enjoyed her book.

The lastest one I read was the new one about Albert Einstien, but I wasn't able to finish it, because someone else wanted to read it. I had to return it to the library, but I plan to read it during the Christmas break when I have more time.

This year: Michael Palin Diaries 1969-1979; Clive James North Face of Soho; One Full Hour, Neil Davis by Tim Bowden; Live from the Battlefield, Peter Arnett, the Hugh Lunn series.

I love, love, love Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl!! It's probably my absolute favorite non-ficiton book.
I recently read Anthony Rapp's autobiography, Without You, and I could NOT put it down! If you love RENT, you'll probably love this book. Seriously.

Just finished Memoirs of a British Agent by H.R. Bruce Lockhart. A bit of a slog (he ain't no stylist) but an interesting semi-inside view of the Russian Revolution.

I have been given Gary Barlows not so much of a biography but his take on life with Take That at the beginning through the split and then their reformation.

I've never had much of an interest in autobiographies, but I've read "A Child Called It" by David Pelzer (I think that's his name) and the rest of his series, and they were really honest account of his life being abused as a child. It was awful and Pelzer was very brave to write these books and I'm sure that they have been an inspiration to help others.

I've read some biographies but they tend to just account things in a very matter of fact way. I don't find them that interesting. :)

I tried to read the Pelzer books but they were appallingly written and entirely unconvincing.

Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents, Secret Lives of the First Ladies, and Secret Lives of the Civil War. I guess they're kind of collective biographies...but they're not written in a boring manner, lots of humor involved while still giving you good info.

Well, I never read non-fiction. :whistle: But I love Night by Elie Wiesel. That was the last autobiography I've read, and it was one of the most powerful books I've ever read in my life. It's so haunting and appalling about the lengths of oppression the Nazis used against those in the concentration camps. I couldn't even cry, it was that shocking for me - I was speechless. If anyone hasn't read it, I highly recommend reading it.

I think the only biography-type book I have ever read was The Diary of Anne Frank. And it was one of the most moving books I have ever read. I think everyone should read this book.

I think the only biography-type book I have ever read was The Diary of Anne Frank. And it was one of the most moving books I have ever read. I think everyone should read this book.

Ooh, I second this. :D It was such a wonderful book, and a very inspiring one. Anne Frank was around thirteen when she started to actively use the diary, and her maturity was beyond her years. I was a lot more immature at that age, at least. She has a big heart and is very optimistic. I find her admirable, and if anyone hasn't read the book, I would highly suggest reading it soon.

I was struck by how mature she was too.

I've recently read Busy Body: My life with Tourette's Syndrome by Nick Van Bloss and A Blessing and a Curse: Autism and Me by Caiseal Mor.

I've also just finished all of the Torey Hayden books although they're more narrative non-fiction.

I'm going on a bit of a Take That buzz at the min and started to read Feel. This is more a look into Robbie Williams life at the min. You have to feel sorry for him sometimes all this fame and wealth yet he still isnt satisfied seems to be a bit of a manic depressive. :(

Hi everyone!

I am currently reading Elizabeth I a biography by Paul Johnson. I love to read. I read several novels recently about Henry VIII, Boody Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, so I thought I'd read a biography. It's a really long book, but it is so interesting and I can see where the novel authors used facts from Elizabeth's life to create their novels.

The only autobiography (or biography of any kind) that I've read is Richard Hammond's. I thought the bits he wrote were brilliant and funny and cleverly put together. The bits his wife wrote were good as well, but something about it seemed a bit...false...or too dramatic. I had to kind of keep reminding myself that it had all actually happened because it had such a Hollywood thing about. But it was a great read and the photos in it were brilliant.

Does Angela`s Ashes count as a biography?
Anne Frank - we had to watch the movie in school.

The other I read was Hons and Rebels, well....

I think the only biography-type book I have ever read was The Diary of Anne Frank. And it was one of the most moving books I have ever read. I think everyone should read this book.

Absolutely, it's a heart-wrenching book, it gives a real, personal face to one of the worst events in human history. She had an amazing talent for writing about her everyday life in hiding and reflecting honestly on what was happening in her life and in her mind. It's been years since I last read it, but I remember being really upset a the parts where Anne writes of her dreams for the future, of one day being a writer, as I already knew of her fate.


Does Angela`s Ashes count as a biography?



Well, semi-autobiographical, I think. A few years back, when the film version came out, there were complaints from people who had lived in that area in Limerick and known the McCourt family that some aspects were exaggerated or fictionalised.

I've read a few this year. I read John Lennon: All I Want Is The Truth, which was really good :drool: . Slash, which was okay, I just think his life wasn't meant to be in a book. I read a Johnny Depp one, which was really good, but I don't remember the name of it. I also read Cash, Johnny Cash's autobiography, which was really good too. :tu: I read Break On Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison, that one was extraordinary. There was another one, but it might take a while to recall......:hmm:

I read Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's auto-biographies and am very impressed by both :D But my favorite auto-biograohy is Angela's Ashes... Nothing can top that

The most recent one I have read is David Attenborough's 'Life On Air'. It is fantastic. Though I'm probably biased as he is one of my heros!

I tried to read "Blackbeard", thinking that it'd be a swashbuckling tale of action and adventure, but it's obvious that I've never read a biography before and I am severely misinformed. I couldn't make it past the first chapter, which took about 50 pages trying to figure out what the first documented account of Blackbeard was.

Last autobiography I read was "Man in White" (I drew a blank on the title, but I'm pretty sure that's what it's called), by Johnny Cash.
It was really interesting. It was mostly about his religious and spiritual growth throughout his life.

I've been reading The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Discovery, The Investigation, The Debate and am really enjoying it.

The Diary of Anne Frank

Desert Flower by Waris Dirie,she's now an Ambassador to the UN, fighting against female genital mutilation. She grew up in Somalia and her memoirs are really fantastic. Well worth the read. What a woman!

I read the Pelzer books. Misery doesn't go down too well with me, and I didn't think they were great, but hey, if you wanna tell your story I'm likely to read it.

Bill Bryson's The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, it's so so so funny. He's well worth reading too.

George Jonas wrote Vengeance, about the Operation, Wrath of God, sanctioned by the Israeli government after Black September killed Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphange et le Papillon, en francais) by Jean Dominique Bauby. He suffered a stroke and subsequent "locked in" syndrome, only able to transcribe by blinking his eye, the only movement he could make, to communicate. It's an inspirational story.

Falling Leaves and Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah.

Dev, by Diarmuid Ferriter. If you're into Irish history, De Valera was a huge part of it, regardless of personal thought. It's a good read and the documents in it are wonderfully used for factual evidence.

Joe Sacco wrote "Palestine", a graphic novel about the situation in the middle east following the intifada. It takes into account stories from many different areas of that space, and though it's very biased, it never says it won't be.

Hurm. Can't think of any more..

Oh! Chronicles, Volume I by Bob Dylan. It's a great read, written by the man himself!

Night by Eli Weisel is amazingly written, though extremely saddening. The book is his account of his experiences during the Holocaust. As a jew in Europe, he was in and out of many consentration camps and ghettos. The horrors he tells of are truly terrifying; the book should not be read right before one goes to bed for fear of nightmares. And yet his book is a must read, not in the least part in order to truly understand what happened during the Holocaust.

Night by Eli Weisel is amazingly written, though extremely saddening. The book is his account of his experiences during the Holocaust. As a jew in Europe, he was in and out of many consentration camps and ghettos. The horrors he tells of are truly terrifying; the book should not be read right before one goes to bed for fear of nightmares. And yet his book is a must read, not in the least part in order to truly understand what happened during the Holocaust.

Weisel is outrageously talented with a pen, and deserved huge admiration for his bravery in writing down what happened to him. I think he did deserve that Nobel Prize, even though he's not impartial in a wartime situation.

Adding to the list, I read "Shakespeare" by Bill Bryson recently. It's a great book, really worth the read. Very, very funny in places!

I read 'Shakespear' by Bryson too. :tu:
Also I've been reading 'My Story' by Helen Keller' she wrote it herself, its very depressing I cried a lot when reading it.

I read 'Shakespear' by Bryson too. :tu:
Also I've been reading 'My Story' by Helen Keller' she wrote it herself, its very depressing I cried a lot when reading it.

Helen Keller? Blind and deaf from birth?

Inspirational lady, isn't she?

"The Kennedy Curse"- it traverses through all the members of the famous Kennedy family..it's pretty good actually.
And I plan to re-read Gandhi's "My Experiments With Truth" - i always feel inspired after reading it:tu:

I actually love to read biographies and auto-biographies.

The most recent one I have read, was Ray Kroc's autobiography. Although I actually had to read it for work, I was very intruiged by the book and enjoyed reading it. I think Kroc was an impressive person and creatively overcame many obstacles in his life.

I recently read Manhunt: The Twelve Day Chase for Lincoln's Assassin. It was really good, however, I don't know if its a biography. :hmm: There is another on Abraham Lincoln's life I want to read, but its like $25 and its gigantic! It seems pretty good though.

I'm re-reading Elli: Coming Of Age In The Holocaust by Livia E. Bitton Jackson.

I've read a biography of Robert F Kennedy and it was quite good. Yes, I have a bit of a Kennedy obsession :lol:

I also read Agatha Christie's Autobiography. It was quite satisfying.

Persepolis 1&2 for pleasure.

Biographies of Johnny Adair, David Hicks, Osama bin Laden, Stella Rimington, Richard Woolcott and Richard Wilkie for background.

I just read a very interesting Phaidon book about Gandhi. The presentation and photographs in the book were simply beautiful, and though it's not comprehensive, the beauty of the book alone was worth it.

And adding to that, since I'm a Phaidon fan, (check out their website, they sell the most beautiful books!), I also read "Century", which is one of the best books I've ever picked up. It just details everything from 1899 to 2001, and it really is wonderfully written. Each of the paragraphs are clear and concise, and the pictures are just outstanding. There are some photos in there of historic events that I had never seen before.

I just read a very interesting Phaidon book about Gandhi. The presentation and photographs in the book were simply beautiful, and though it's not comprehensive, the beauty of the book alone was worth it.

And adding to that, since I'm a Phaidon fan, (check out their website, they sell the most beautiful books!), I also read "Century", which is one of the best books I've ever picked up. It just details everything from 1899 to 2001, and it really is wonderfully written. Each of the paragraphs are clear and concise, and the pictures are just outstanding. There are some photos in there of historic events that I had never seen before.

That sounds intersting! I'll have to add it to my never-ending booklist. :cool:

Has anyone read "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years" by Julie Andrews?

I read Lemony Snicket's biography, but I'm not sure how real that is. :lol:

John Adams by David McCullough

Although it is down the road, the next I plan to read is Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

The latest one I've read was A Lotus Blooms in Mud by Goldie Hawn. In it she goes through her life picking out the parts that stand out, what happened and what lessons she gained. I rather enjoyed her book.

Yeah that was a fantastic book, highly enjoyable. She just chose bits where what she did/heard/read/seen changed her view on things, or bits that formed her life, and made her who she is.

I haven't read that many autobiographys.
I read Micheal J. Fox's when I was younger and it made me cry. And I don't normally cry at books. :agree:

I just picked up 'The Queen- A biography of Elizabeth II' by Ben Pimlott. I've always wanted to know more about The Queen and this book seemed pretty acclaimed and well written, according to my Aunt. I'm looking forward to the read :)

Heath: A Family's Tale. It was a really good insight of the life that Heath Ledger lead. It gives a lot of details about his family and how he struggled with the papparazzi, especially those from his home country. It also talks about his struggle with the break-up with Michelle, the mother of his daughter, Mathilda. I really enjoyed hearing about the other movies he had made, there were some I hadn't even known he was in.

J.R.R. Tolkien. A Biography. by Humphrey Carpenter. I thought it was a great book. But then, I'm a bit Tolkien obsessed. :lol:

I'm re-reading Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography 'The Story of my experiments with Truth'

It's a brilliant read, though long. I loved it the first time and I always read excerpts whenever I feel I need to. Now I'm on my second complete re-reading session :)

I want to read the Tolkien's biography mentioned above and a few other authors. I will check in the library :P

I'm currently reading The Mayor of Castro Street, by Randy Shilts. It's a biography on Harvey Milk, and I love it. I consider it one of the best written biographies I've read.

I've purchased A Little Bit Wicked, Kristin Chenoweth's autobiography, but I haven't started it yet.

I read "Scar Tissue", the biography of Anthony Keidis; the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I actually enjoyed this one more than I had "Slash". It gave a lot of insight behind the band and Anthony's stuggle with his drug addiction. It was a great interesting read behind one of my favorite bands. :)

While I find people very interesting I haven't read many bographies. But I am reading one now. By Joan Haslip and the book: The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria. Sisi's story in truly fantastic. Sad and tragic yes, but in some odd way fantastic.

I'm currently reading "Piece By Piece" by Tori Amos and Ann Powers. It's part biography, part discussion on music and creativity. It's a fascinating read.

Another one that I really like is "Just a Geek" by Wil Wheton. The guy may have played a really annoying character on tv, but he's a very interesting person with a lot to say- and I really liked the sense of honesty in the book about his Star Trek days.

I've read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. I started Night by Elie Wiesel, but haven't yet finished it. I've also read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, though those two are memoirs, so not i'm not sure if they really count as autobiographies.

Has anyone read "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years" by Julie Andrews?

Yeah I am actually reading it right now. I am almost done. I like it. Did you?

I have not read the Diary of Anne Frank in a long time. It's the only other biography or autobiography I have read, besides Home, and I remember I really liked it.

I've read biographies of Gandhi (my favourite), Steve Waugh (former Australian cricket captain), Sean Astin (Actor), Muse, Nelson Mandela, Kevin Rudd (Australian Prime Minister) and John Howard (former Australian Prime Minister) as well as autobiographies by Marilyn Manson, Anthony Keidis and Adam Gilchrist (former Australian cricketer). Some better than others (I read the ones about the PMs for a university assignment) but all interesting in their own rights.

xhanax315
I read "Scar Tissue", the biography of Anthony Keidis; the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I actually enjoyed this one more than I had "Slash". It gave a lot of insight behind the band and Anthony's stuggle with his drug addiction. It was a great interesting read behind one of my favorite bands
I found his drug struggle very interesting too. I think it's one of those books you can enjoy without having to be a fan of the music. He had a very, very interesting childhood.

I just got a biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria called The Reluctant Empress. I've been interested in learning more about her for a few months, and a lot of my online friends who are also interested in her strongly recommended it. It's going to be the first biography I've read. :D

I've just re-read The Wah-Wah Diaries by Richard E Grant. It reveals all of the crucial moments along the journey of his directorial debut. It's amazingly honest and a very intimate insight into the filmmaking process.

Nehru:The Making of India by M.J.Akbar.

This is an epic book that chronicles the life of one of India's most prominent, legendary leaders and does justice to him. It is interesting, witty, elegant and powerful, much like Nehru himself.

Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson

Having only read a few of Thompson's works, this book gave great insight on his life and some of what he wrote for the Rolling Stone.

The most recent one I've read was Long Hard Out of Hell. By Marilyn Manson.

Quite good, and somewhat funny in some parts. Finally got to reading it, after a year wanting to sit down and read.

The last one I read was actually ages ago. It was Robin Williams'. I'm not a massive reader, but I love (most) of the stuff he's done - even some of the really early stuff (like "Club Paradise") which he'd probably cringe at if you ask him :lol:, so I was really interested to find out more about his background.

It was really interesting and he's certainly had a few tough times to get through (as I guess we all do at one stage or another).


The next one I'm looking forward to reading is Warwick Davis' which comes out this week. As well as HP, I love Star Wars and (for anyone who didn't know!) he played Wicket in that who I used to love as a kid. Him, R2, and the Stormtroopers were always my favs.

I've been lucky enough to meet Warwick a couple of times now and he's a really funny guy, so I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Mods: Are we allowed to post links here? If so, let me know and I'll add a link (I didn't want to do it without checking in case it looked like a plug! :lol:)

Recently I've read Agatha Christie's autobiography - and I loved it. :D

I just read Neon Angel by Cherie Currie about her time in the Runaways and her drug addiction - it was an amazing read.
Also, Cash by Johnny Cash is AWESOME!!

The last one I read was Catch A Fire by Melanie B. I've probably read it about 3 times by now.

Ozzy Osbourne's