Biographies and autobiographies offer us unique and sometimes surprising insights into the lives of those we think we know from their public personas. They also make great gifts.
Here are some of the best books released this year offering a fascinating look at the lives of well-known and loved musicians, fashionistas, writers, entrepreneurs and television personalities.
1. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
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The blue-collar rock star best known for his hits such as Born in the USA and Dancing in the Dark describes his life in music, including a dangerous childhood in New Jersey and the moment he saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show, which he refers to as "the Big Bang moment". Springsteen takes us through his early years in bar bands to the rise of his E Street Band, as well as the personal struggles that inspired his work and the story behind his hit Born to Run.
Buy Born to Run from Amazon
2. Dame Vivienne Westwood – Get a Life
Punk's fashion doyenne began Get A Life as an online diary in 2010, writing two or three entries each month. The resulting book is heavily illustrated and includes discussions of her life in fashion and her involvement in art, politics and environment campaigns. There's also a generous helping of name dropping, from tales of hanging out with Pamela Anderson to trips to India for Naomi Campbell's birthday party and watching Black Sabbath in Hyde Park with Sharon Osborne.
Buy Get a Life from Amazon
3. Phil Collins - Not Dead Yet
A warts-and-all account of the drummer's life in music and his personal struggles. Collins takes us through the early years, from playing in the seedy clubs of 1960s' swinging London to sitting behind the drums for Genesis and finally stepping into the spotlight as a singer. He outlines his solo career with classic 1980s hits such as In the Air Tonight and his experiences jamming with Eric Clapton and Robert Plant. The book also offers a harrowing counter-narrative of the flip-side of fame - Collins's descent into alcoholism, his failed marriages and debilitating illness.
Buy Not Dead Yet from Amazon
4. Alan Bennett – Keeping On Keeping On
The playwright, scriptwriter, novelist and national icon assembles a collection of personal prose, including his diaries from 2005 to 2015. Bennett reflects on a creative decade of theatre premieres and films such as The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. The book also includes wry reflections on his "cuddly" persona, essays on education, a passionate defence of the public library and a darkly comic radio play. "Cleverer and funnier than any one person has a right to be", Bennett is always "irresistibly likeable", the Sunday Times says.
Buy Keeping On Keeping On from Amazon
5. Jo Malone - My Story
Known around the world for her eponymous brand, the queen of scent's autobiography is as much a business manual as an insight into her life. Malone tells the story of her rise from humble beginnings, struggling with dyslexia and leaving school with no qualifications, to becoming a super-entrepreneur. Her business journey begins with scented candles and oils made in her kitchen in 1983 to her first London store in 1994 and selling her business to international cosmetics giant Estee Lauder, while her personal tale includes a battle with breast cancer and the challenges of balancing family life with the demands of business.
Buy My Story from Amazon
6. Alan Partridge – Nomad
Steve Coogan's beloved alter ego embarks on personal journey around the UK following in his father's footsteps. The endearingly tactless radio star diarises his ramble in the form of a "journey journal", with vignettes about the people and places he encounters and ruminations on matters large and small. Chortle says Nomad "perfectly and hilariously captures Partridge's self-delusion and parochialism, both in what it says and the way that it says it".
Buy Nomad from Amazon
7. Jeremy Paxman – A Life in Questions
The University Challenge quiz-master and one of the top political interviewers of our time offers reflections on his early life and four decades in front of the camera. The former Newsnight presenter delves into his difficult childhood with a bullying father before describing his most notable interviews with slippery politicians and stars such as Dizzee Rascal, David Bowie and Russell Brand. He also offers reflections on a career that has taken him to trouble spots from Central America to Beirut and Belfast.
Buy A Life in Questions from Amazon
