[Closed] Recommend Me A Biography.

Auto biography - With The Jocks.

Humbling and fascinating.

Andy Kershaw - no off switch.

End of thread.

Except he's not dead. +auto

Things the Grandchildren Should Know - Mark 'E' Everett

Harry Patch's biography was all those things op.

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Ultramarathon Man - Dean Karnazes

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I'm enjoying Bear Gryll's - Mud, Sewat & Tears. I like how he's not up is own arris in it.

Michael Crawford. It's an autobiog. Very good.

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Moons-Balloon-David-Niven/dp/0140239243 ]The Moons a Balloon[/url]

It's probably about the only biography I can say I have enjoyed, but I am not sure how much is truth and how much fiction. But he was certainly an interesting character in Hollywood's heyday.

Frank Skinner's autobiography is a good contrast, and really intersting. Its absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious, yet quite harrowing in its honesty about his descent into chronic alcoholism

I've just read 'Jerusalem, the biography' by the splendidly named Simon Sebag Montefiore. Absolutely fascinating. Not what you were looking for though, I guess.

+ 1 for racing through the dark, excellent read
About half way through the Tyler Hamilton book, excellent so far, incredibly honest (I think, who really knows ?), hilly recommend

'eddie would go'

wicked read, especially if you have any interest in surfing

If you're musically inclined, this:

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An old favourite.

Autobiogs:

The Flying Scotsman: Graeme Obree - fascinating and thought provoking on so many fronts.

Slash: for pure insanity and decadence this is brilliant.

Motley Crue: The Dirt - this is insane.

Biog:

Steve McQueen - A biography, Marc Eliot - really interesting.

Scar Tissue's pretty good Camo16 - concur.

Another blinding Music One. Motley Crue's biography. Epic, biblical scale wrongness!!!!

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and Danny Sugermans Wonderland Avenue is a must. Also very very wrong

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Everyone should read this:

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Another recommendation for Scar tissue. Great book.

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I tried reading "Scar Tissue". Gave up after a chapter and a half. Deadly dull trivia written by a boring druggy has-been with nothing to say, frankly.

failedengineer - Member

I've just read 'Jerusalem, the biography' by the splendidly named Simon Sebag Montefiore. Absolutely fascinating. Not what you were looking for though, I guess.

Mr Montefiore wrote a biography of Stalin that's also well worth a read - there's even a glowing recommendation on the cover by that nice mister Alex Ferguson (and therefore the nearest to a football biography i'm willing to go), make of that what you will.

Ronnie Barker's is excellent.

And the Milligan war memoirs are fantastic. Don't read them in public though.

I really enjoyed this one:

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David Millar book is the best cycling biography I have read and am actually reading it for the 2nd time at the momment.

Laurent Fignon's bio is also excellent.

Strange, looking at that cover, I keep hearing a voice repeating "Buy this book, buy this book, buy this book...." 😯

Non-cycling recommendation...

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Deadly dull trivia written by a boring druggy has-been with nothing to say, frankly.

You got all that from a chapter and a half, Mr. W?

+1 on Papa_Lazarou's choice.

or John Lydon's "No Irish, No Blacks, No dogs"

+1 steve jobs

Also surprisingly Bill Clinton - my life

Also, Also Mr Nice - Howard Marks

Matt Hampsons' book Engage is a really inspiring book whether youre into rugby or not.

I'm half wayb through Steve Jobs. I find it frstratingly staccato in nature and poorly written.

Unless things change later in the book, the first half is just series of para's about he's cyclical personality.

+1 for Slash though. Being a GnR fan I knew a fair bit already but this highlight the decandance of it all....

If you are of a certain age.

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Julian Cope - head on/repossessed

absolutely, completely and totally looney tunes

power walking at midnight? oh yes.

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+1 for motley crue's Dirt - - made me literally laugh out loud, cry, then laugh again and I seriously couldnt put it down. its full of sex drugs and rock and roll but also some really great heartfelt stuff. I dont think you need to like the music to enjoy the book.

+1 on the Miller book, and Scar Tissue is a great read - I'm amazed he's still alive. Frank Skinner's is also good as is Peter Kay's.

Wiggins one, although written before his decent result in the 2009 is dull as. I personally wouldn't bother.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang. 3 generations of Chinese women growing up under the Kuomintang and then Mao. Riveting.

"Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know" +1

Matt Seaton's 'The Escape Artist' is nominally about his career as an amateur road racer. Wry, sad and uplifting, and hugely enjoyable overall. He was the Guardian's cycling correpspondent for a long while, and is a quintessentially metropolitan type, so those of you with certain dispositions should keep well clear.

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Really. It's tremendous.

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Won the Pulitzer prize, the whole harrowing truth about America in Vietnam told through the life of John Vann. Damning on Nixon and Kissinger. One of my top 10 books of all time.

For anyone who's got an OK grasp of French, Le Trace de l'Ange, about Marco Sifreddi, who died trying do snowboard the Hornbein Couloir on Everest is a great read.

If your french is a bit ropey but you're keen to improve, it's more interesting than reading about slices of ham in Montpelier, and checking odd things in a grammar book or a dictionary, means it's a pretty good way of learning. Especially if you want to talk about snowboarding and mountains!

Great read, very humbling and inspiring.

'eddie would go'

wicked read, especially if you have any interest in surfing

Long Walk To Freedom - excellent.

Bill Drummond, 45 - meh - read it once, very quickly. Quite poorly written, I think.

Get in the van, Henry Rollins - ordered it, haven't actually read it.

Frank Skinner's autobiography? Jesus...

Clive James, Unreliable Memoirs is by all accounts one of the best and funnies autobiographies ever written - so I have been told. Its next on my list for reading once the current 4 books have been read.

I am, at this very moment reading This Is A Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl. It has given me a different insight into the whole Kurt Cobain/Nirvana myth (not quite the "I don't want to be famous" personality everyone thought)

I've come to the conclusion I only really like books about music

Best 2 I've read:

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Mark "E" Everett "Things the grandchildren should know"

Inspirational despite his difficult upbringing and death of both parents and his sister.Not a bad musician either......

'The Death of marco Pantani' by Matt Rendell, which I've recommended on here umpteen times. Fabulously bleak, with very vivid race accounts. Also very informative about EPO abuse.

Non-bikey: 'An Evil Cradling' by Brian Keenan. This is his account of his time as a hostage in Lebanon. The writing is absolutely stunning; jaw-dropping accounts of what happens to your brain when you're shut in an unlit 6x6 cell 24 hours a day.

[quote=arrpee said]jaw-dropping accounts of what happens to your brain when you're shut in an unlit 6x6 cell 24 hours a day.

You find Binners' threads uplifting ? 😉

+1 Mad, bad & dangerous to know.

Howard marks Mr nice.
I didn't enjoy frank skinner though.

Also

Cloughie: Walking on Water. It's superb.

Read Scar Tissue and thought Keidis was just a t**t.

The Dirt is astonishing, 3 members come out of it ok and one is just a tool of epic proportions.

Will give Frank Skinners book a go.

The Moons a Balloon

It's probably about the only biography I can say I have enjoyed, but I am not sure how much is truth and how much fiction. But he was certainly an interesting character in Hollywood's heyday.

The Moon's A Balloon it is then. Big fan of Niven.

Thanks for the suggestions. Got a good list for when I finish it.

First Light - Geoffrey Wellum

Wow - that Julian Cope book looks right up my street.

I have recently read this and thought it was amazing - it really paints a wonderful picture not just of the science of the day but how it was taught too. This description doesn't really do it justice - far more than just Darwin's own story - a great history book too making those times come to life.

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Lawrence of Arabia..stuck in mind long after reading it, cant remember the author 😳

captain Scott by Ranulph fiennes,

Edit. I will be hunting down my copy of the moons a balloon to re read, it's been too long.

Loads of great ones I've really enjoyed up there. One more to add to the list...

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Lee Evans - Life of Lee

Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years with Brian Clough - by Duncan Hamilton, not a Biog but a brilliant, sad and funny book.

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[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samuel-Pepys-Unequalled-Self-ebook ]Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self[/url]

Fascinating man living in a fascinating time. And having a wild time of it.

Another book by Niven 'Bring on the empty horses' is imo also a good read.

dezb
Agree on "Shakey"---probably because I'm a big Neil Young fan, but fascinating reading---pretty amazing that he (and so many others in the business) survived.

In no particular order:

Vic Reeves - if you remember the 70's you'll love it.

Brian Moore (the rugby player) - candid and forthright only scratch the surface.

John Lydon - particularly like how he allows other contributors to give their own version of some of the more significant events, despite these generally conflicting with the author's.

Alexei Sayle - in much the same vein as Vic Reeves' insofar as they're both only really a 'Part One' and cover the period up to being about 20.

+1 for frank skinners book, brutally honest and so funny

I would 2nd The Moons a Balloon, whether mostly ficition or real its a great little read, also......
Dear Boy - The Life of Keith Moon
Evil Spirits - The Life of Oliver Reed

And though stretching the word biographical a little, I would really, really recomend all of the Spike Milligan books covering his national service and afterwards starting with....Adolph Hitler, My part in his downfall.
Its starts of very jokey but as you go through all 7 related books it really does give you a good insight into the man.

+1 for frank skinner's.loved it.just ordered arnie's too and looking forward to that.

For spaceheads

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For proper boys-own

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