Recommend me a good autobiography

[loltolhurst]

michael caines was good i seem to remember

[Eric Mc]

Strangely Brown said:

If you like real Boys' Own adventure stories...

Autobiographies:
Carrying the Fire - Michael Collins
Lost Moon - Jim Lovell
The Unbroken Chain - Guenter Wendt
Two Sides of the Moon - David Scott and Alexei Leonov
Flight - Chris Kraft
Failure is Not an Option - Gene Kranz
Schirra's Space - Wally Schirra
Deke! - D.K. Slayton
The Last Man on The Moon - Gene Cernan

Biographies:
First Man - James R. Hansen
Rocketman - Nancy Conrad
Light This Candle - Neal Thompson

I can see a theme there

I'd also add "Riding Rockets" by Mike Mullane.

[Captain Flashman]

Huff said:

Guy Gibson Enemy Coast Ahead
Samuel Pepys Pepys' diary
Primo Levi The Periodic table

- The last would definitely be on my 'Desert Island' wishlist.

Edited by Huff on Sunday 22 August 00:03

Levi's If this is a man, is one of the best books i've ever read, but back on topic i've heard nothing but good things about Errol Flynn's autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways

[Toyless]

Proper Ph biogs.....

The Mechanic's Tale - Steve Matchett

Ring of Fire - Rick Broadbent

Thrust: The Remarkable Story of One Man's Quest for Speed - Richard Noble

James Hunt: The Biography

Ayrton Senna: The Whole Story

Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One - Sid Watkins (very good!)


Just a few Ive read over the last 9 months or so.

[nobodyknows]

Toyless said:

Proper Ph biogs.....

The Mechanic's Tale - Steve Matchett

Ring of Fire - Rick Broadbent

Thrust: The Remarkable Story of One Man's Quest for Speed - Richard Noble

James Hunt: The Biography

Ayrton Senna: The Whole Story

Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One - Sid Watkins (very good!)


Just a few Ive read over the last 9 months or so.

Jackie Stewarts is also very good

[Mobile Chicane]

South, the story of Shackleton's last expedition, 1914-1917.

As tale of human courage and endurance, this has to be high up on the leader board. The expedition photographs are superb too.

[AndyFoo]

Don't judge me on the first choice, I was reluctant in reading it at first but a friend gave me a couple, 'my booky wook' by Russell Brand.

Second choice would be the Richard Hammond book after his crash in the Vampire Rocket car. Very interesting read ANC quite interesting the way it is seen from him and his wife.

[DickyC]

Touch Wood by Duncan Hamilton; Fifties motor racing, funny.

Huff's recommendation for Pepys' Diary gets my vote too. Fascinating. As a schoolboy he saw the execution of Charles I and as a man was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Monarchy with Charles II. Pepys' accounts of London during the Plague and in the Great Fire are astonishing.

[timbob]

For something a bit leftfield, try Miles Davis' autobiography. It's a very interesting read!

[FunkyGibbon]

Who on Earth is Tom Baker

[Urik Hunt]

Wasn't he the fella that played Dr Who. English actor, originally known as Tom Stewart..... Or is that someone else?

[Strangely Brown]

Urik Hunt said:

Wasn't he the fella that played Dr Who. English actor, originally known as Tom Stewart..... Or is that someone else?

You're lucky that you never got a "whoosh parrot" for that.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Earth-Tom-Baker/dp/000...

[Pothole]

Cheeky Jim said:

Dixie68 said:

Pothole said:

Robert Mason - Chickenhawk

Yes! Fantastic read.

Thirded... Very moving.

not just a great autobiog, but a great book!

[snowy slopes]

Jackie chan's autobiography My Life In Action is a good read

Peter Fonda's Dont Tell Dad also not a bad read

Murray Walker's autobiography is worth perusing

[corradoG60]

Tycho said:

Also worth a look is Sir Ranulph Fiennes autobiography.

+1 im reading it now.

[Simpo Two]

'Rickenbacker' by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker.

Racing driver, top scoring US pilot in WW1, founder of Rickenbacker Cars and later President of Eastern Airlines.

[Alfanatic]

Another recommend for Sid Watkin's Life At The Limit, and for Slash. What an eye opener that book was!

Also I've read dozens of WW2 pilot autobiographies and enjoyed all of them, including Guy Gibson's, but, if a biography is good enough then for me Reach For The Sky (Douglas Bader's story) stands out.

Has Chuck Yeager written one? He's got a good sense of humour in his writing so I'd expect his autobiography would be a good read... but I don't know if he's written one. Or more.

[Strangely Brown]

If you'd like an autobiographical account of life from the other side, I can recommend:

Spitfire On My Tail, 10 minutes to Buffalo and Full Circle - Ulrich Steinhilper.

For an autobiographical view of how the Soviets treated German soldiers:

Sniper Ace: From the Eastern Front to Siberia - Bruno Sutkus.

[sans souci]

Yeager by General Chuck Yeager : First man to break the sound barrier

Unreasonable Behaviour by Don McCullin : War photographer

All Arms and Elbows by Innes Ireland and Touch Wood by Duncan Hamilton : Proper racing drivers

[Strangely Brown]

A couple more PH themed ones:

The Real McRae - Colin MacRae
Jo Ramirez - Memoirs of a Racing Man.

Another for flight fans:

Sea Harrier Over The Falklands - Commander "Sharkey" Ward.
Tales of My Time - Raymond Baxter

War memoirs:

Whicker's War - Alan Whicker
All of the Spike Milligan memoirs.

Biographical accounts of real heroes:

Supreme Courage - General Sir Peter de le Billière

And if you like Fred:

Did You Like That? - In His Own Words - Fred Dibnah.