Category Archives: Biography

Review: Life, Keith Richards

Posted on March 12, 2012 by

The Blurb With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the original rock and roll life: taking the chances he wanted, speaking his mind, … Continue reading →

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Why Cycling is like Writing and This Must Be The Place

Posted on May 4, 2011 by

This occurred to me as I was cycling to work this morning. I have a computer on the bike and I upload my data to http://MapMyRide.com. Then it shows the ride data and also a calendar. There’s a little bicycle … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Cycling, Paris, Research, Salazar, Writing targets | Tagged , | Leave a comment

We Are The Walrus

Posted on April 27, 2011 by

I was about twelve, it was 1982. Lying on my bed I’d been listening to The Beatles Blue Album (1967-70). I decided I wanted to be in The Beatles. I knew of course that they were no more – I … Continue reading →

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Raymond Chandler: A Biography, Tim Hinley

Posted on March 23, 2011 by

This book starts off a little slow. The first chapter is a mini family history before his birth. Then there is a lot of detail about his alcoholic father abandoning the family. Chandler and Mother stay with family in the … Continue reading →

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Ways of Escape, Graham Greene

Posted on March 20, 2011 by

This is the second part of Graham Greene’s autobiography – the first was A Sort of Life. However, A Sort of Life was genuine autobiography where this was a story behind the stories book. It starts with his earliest novels … Continue reading →

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Stalin, Simon Sebag Montefiore

Posted on October 31, 2010 by

This was another Audio Book (unabridged). I got it from Douglas Library and the first evening I got it home my youngest daughter got hold of it. She put all ten disks into her little CD player and jammed the … Continue reading →

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Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life, Steve Martin

Posted on October 17, 2010 by

I didn’t read this book I got an unabridged CD from the library and listened to it. I listen to audio books when I cycle so I can still hear the traffic. This one was read by Steve Martin- so … Continue reading →

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You can’t be neutral on a moving train, Howard Zinn

Posted on September 21, 2010 by

This is an engrossing autobiography by Howard Zinn. Through his life of activism he has shown episodes and incidents which give him hope when faced with the oppressive tyranny of government. The reasons for this hope have two main aspects, … Continue reading →

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Tomorrow We Ride, Jean Bobet

Posted on August 2, 2010 by

A biography by Jean Bobet, Professional Cyclist during the 1950′s. His brother Louison won the Tour de France 3 times in succession. I enjoyed it, the only real criticism is that it over sentimentalises the past – champions were better then as they … Continue reading →

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McQueen: The Biography

Posted on May 5, 2010 by

I got about 1/3 of the way through this – it really bored the hell out of me. I don’t normally just give up on a book but this one was from the library so I took it back. There are … Continue reading →

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