15. Boy by Roald Dahl

Dahl, Roald. Boy: Tales of Childhood, London : Jonathan Cape, 1984

Now we end with a beginning. This book was the first autobiography I ever read. Not as out-and-out funny as many of the other titles on this list. This is a book for children of all ages, and despite its humour being quite warm and gentle it is nonetheless recognisable to readers of Dahl’s more macabre stories. Roald Dahl tells the stories of his formative years, from his earliest memories to his first job at the Shell company. He also points out the origins of his most beloved books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as Matilda.

Later, his first job sent him on a posting to Africa, a tale that is told in his second volume of memoirs Going Solo. That book then goes on to detail Dahl’s exploits as a fighter pilot in the Second World War. That book is as highly recommended as this one.

Sources:

• http://www.roalddahlfans.com/books/boy.php
• http://childrensbookshop.com/images/bookimages/74/74560.jpg
• http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780141322773/boy-and-going-solo

14. Radio Days by Woody Allen

Allen, Woody. Radio Days, New York, N.Y. : 1987.

This 1987 film is Allen’s paean to his youth, and to the long-gone days of listening to the radio dramas. The film is set in the early 40s, when every family depended on a radio set for the evening’s entertainment. Around this theme, several intertwining stories are told. A young boy (a surrogate character for Allen, and played by a young Seth Green) is a huge fan of all the radio series and would like nothing more than to spend his free time by the radio, he is often thwarted by the various eccentricities of his family members. Meanwhile, the stars of those radio shows are not the glamorous figures that their smooth voices would suggest, and life for them is no picnic, either.






















Sources:

• http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2277095424/tt0093818?ref_=tt_ov_i
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-Days-DVD-Mia-Farrow/dp/B00005V8VR/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383393964&sr=8-1&keywords=radio+days
• http://news.moviefone.com/2012/01/27/radio-days-woody-allen/

13. Comedy Rules by Jonathan Lynn

Lynn, Jonathan. Comedy Rules: From the Cambridge Footlights to Yes Prime Minister, London : Faber and Faber, 2011.

Jonathan Lynn is probably best known for co-creating the classic comedy sitcom Yes Minister, as well as directing many movies and stage productions. His whole professional life has been spent in the field of comedy, via one medium or another. In this book he tells his life story in the form of 150 rules for an aspiring comedy writer. Rule #1: There are exceptions to every rule in this book. Except this one, of course.

Sources:

• http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/comedy-rules/9780571277957
• http://anthonycamber.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/comedy-rules-cover.jpg
• http://www.jonathanlynn.com/books/Comedy_Rules/comedy_rules.htm

12. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

Adams, Scott. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, London : Penguin, 2013.

The latest book by American cartoonist Scott Adams, best known as the creator of Dilbert. This one differs for his previous works in that it is mostly text, with only occasional comics sprinkled throughout. It’s his attempt to pass on the important lessons and methods he has learned in trying to find success. To do this he tells countless self-effacing stories of his many varied failures, and the lessons that he learned from every one of them. The book was only published last month.

Sources:

• http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/how_to_fail_at_almost_everything_and_still_win_big_kind_of_the_story_of_my_life/
• http://www.npr.org/2013/10/21/236207605/scott-adams-explains-how-to-fail-at-almost-everything-except-dilbert
• http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781591846918,00.html

11. Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry

Fry, Stephen. Moab is my Washpot, London : Hutchinson, 1997.

The first volume of memoirs by the actor and comedian Stephen Fry. Renowned these days for having a ‘brain the size of Kent’, Fry had an extremely troubled youth, being expelled from several schools for various offences including repeated lying and theft. Eventually, this behaviour landed him in prison at the age of 18, for credit card fraud. At the end of this punishment and with his entry to Cambridge University that this book ends. By the way, don’t worry about what the title means. I don’t know either.

Sources:

• http://leavesandpages.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/moab-is-my-washpot-steven-fry.jpg
• http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/stephen-fry/moab-is-my-washpot-9780099457046.aspx
• http://www.booklore.co.uk/PastReviews/FryStephen/MoabIsMyWashpot/MoabIsMyWashpotReview.htm

10. The Liar by Stephen Fry

Fry, Stephen. The Liar. London : Arrow, 1992.

Before Stephen Fry wrote his first memoir, he wrote several novels (as well as  TV shows, sketches, newspaper columns and a play). His first, The Liar, was first published in 1992, five years before he wrote Moab is My Washpot. It’s an engaging and amusing read (and downright hilarious in parts). It’s the tale of Adrian Healey, and his life from his later years of high school to his later years in university. He may or may not get caught up in an international conspiracy along the way, I won’t spoil anything.

Despite the exciting plot hint I just dropped, the main character isn’t quite as original as the readers in 1992 may have suspected. Adrian Healey is a bisexual, lying, self-hating, extremely intelligent, witty young man. All of which could be applied to his creator, as was later admitted in the memoir.

For those who are familiar with Fry’s subsequently-told life story, many aspects of this novel make for interesting and even uncomfortable reading. I include both books as an fascinating contrast between two styles for telling one’s life story.

Sources: 

• http://www.randomhouse.com.au/content/titles/9780099457053.jpg
• http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/stephen-fry/the-liar-9780099457053.aspx
• http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/11/books/books-of-the-times-a-rebellious-young-weed-and-how-he-grew.html

9. I, Partridge by Alan Partridge

Coogan, Steve, et al. I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan, London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2011.

Now for something a bit different. This book is the autobiography of a fictional character, Alan Partridge, and was written by a team of writers. The character has been well known in the UK for the last two decades, appearing on both radio and TV. With his career originating in sports broadcasting, he is a spoof of the worst aspects of celebrity. Since the outset he has been portrayed by the comedian Steve Coogan, who was one of the writers on the book, read the audiobook edition, and most recently portrayed him in the new film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. This book, released in 2011, is intended as a mockery of the worst kinds of celebrity memoir.

Sources:

• http://i1.cdnds.net/11/34/618w_alan_partridge_bio_cover.jpg
• http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/23/i-partridge-alan-partridge-review
• http://www.harpercollins.com.au/books/Partridge-We-Need-Talk-About-Alan-Alan-Partridge/?isbn=9780007449200

8. Mungo: The Man Who Laughs by Mungo MacCallum

MacCallum, Mungo. Mungo: The Man Who Laughs, Melbourne, Vic. : Duffy & Snellgrove, 2002.

"I come from a political family. This is less of a boast than an admission. While a trace of convict or aboriginal ancestry that was once a matter for shame and concealment is now considered rather chic, politicians remain the pits". The author, Australian journalist Mungo MacCallum, details his involement is politics, from his youth in the 1940s & 50s through to the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975. MacCallum’s distinguishing features as a political writer are habit of backing left-wing causes (often too left-wing to be successful) and gift for humour unrivalled among the commentariat.  MacCallum is one of the Australian political journos who’s been around for years, and so has a million entertaining anecdotes at hand, covering all of Australia’s post-war prime ministers. 

Sources:

• http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/9/2/0/8/8/7/webimg/448249782_o.jpg
• http://www.duffyandsnellgrove.com.au/titles/mungos_memoirs.htm
• http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/display_title.asp?ISBN=9781876631505&Author=Maccallum,%20Mungo

7. A Liar's Autobiography: Volume VI by Graham Chapman

Chapman, Graham. A Liar’s Autobiography: Volume VI, London : Methuen, 1980

The title isn’t kidding. It’s by Graham Chapman, one of the Monty Python comedy team (the only member to be either gay or deceased), and tells his life story. Allegedly.

This book is far more lies than autobiography. But they’re entertaining lies. Once inside the book four additional authors are credited:  two of note are David Sherlock (Chapman’s partner) and Douglas Adams (best known for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).

If you’re a fan of the Python team this book may have been bought to your attention recently when an animated film was made of the book, with the long-gone Chapman providing the narration via an audiobook recording he’d made, and with almost all of the surviving Pythons starring.

Like an episode of Monty Python, the book repels any attempt to summarise it. But if you’re a Python fan, you’ll find something here for you.

Sources:

• http://www.methuen.co.uk/a-liar-s-autobiography/b/164
• http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y0wf8zjfL.jpg
• http://www.liarsautobiography.com/stuff/

6. Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall by Spike Milligan

Milligan, Spike. Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, London : Penguin Books, 1971.

Comedic memoirs of war are not so common, but the British comedian Spike Milligan always was a trailblazer. The book is the first in a trilogy of war memoirs; a trilogy that concluded after seven volumes. The tone is almost cartoonish (as odd as that may seem in a written book) and like with Clive James Unreliable Memoirs, the tone is set immediately: “After Puckoon I swore I would never write another novel. This is it…” Despite this, the basic facts are often clear, and it is clear that Milligan is not attempting to deceive, but only entertain.

Sources:

• http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/AdolfHitlerMyPartInHisDownfall
• http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780241958094/adolf-hitler-my-part-his-downfall
• http://www.zaum.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Penguin-3520-f-Milligan-Adolf-Hitler.jpg

5. Cavett by Dick Cavett

Cavett, Dick and Porterfield, Christopher. Cavett, New York, N.Y. : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974.

Little known nowadays in Australia, Dick Cavett was once the greatest talk show host in America.  The book is both an autobiography and a reflection on the medium of television. Not written in a conventional style, most of the content takes the form of conversations between Cavett and his best friend from Yale Christopher Porterfield. Cavett was previously a stand up, and finds it difficult to take the whole endeavour seriously.

Two chapters within the book are essays by Porterfield on the subject of watching Cavett prepare and work on his talk show. The book was first published in 1974 and covers the entirety of Cavett’s life up to that point. Groucho Marx himself said of the book: “The greatest book I have ever read about television. I wish I had written it.

Sources:

• http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/clives_lives/2007/02/dick_cavett.html
• http://afflictor.com/2010/03/31/excerpted-cavett-1974/ 
• https://dx5y3z85enc4t.cloudfront.net/200x200/scale/books/1359520334/17305457.jpg

4. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade, New York, N.Y. : Delacorte, 1969.

Here’s a book that ticks several varied boxes on this blog: fiction that is a disguised autobiography, the author’s recollections of war, and science fiction. As a young soldier during the Second World War, Vonnegut witnessed the firebombing of Dresden and was left 3extermely shaken by the experience. He had a compulsion, as a writer, to tell this story but did not know how he could do it justice. The eventual result is a slim volume filled with an extraordinary mix of humour, science fiction and, of course, a chilling account of a terrible war crime, informed by the author’s personal experience.   





















Sources:

• http://www.nytimes.com/1969/03/31/books/vonnegut-slaughterhouse.html?_r=0
• http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/slaughter/
• http://rowdyrecommends.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/slaughterhouse-5-960x1536.jpeg

3. Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James

James, Clive. Unreliable Memoirs, London : Picador, 1979.

This book concerns the misadventures the young Clive James from his birth in 1939 to his departure from Sydney for London in the early 60s.The first lines set the tone: “Most first novels are disguised autobiographies, this autobiography is a disguised first novel”. Now widely regarded as an Australian classic, the central joke behind the book is somewhat unappreciated these days. When James wrote and published the book in 1979, he was a successful TV critic and occasional TV host, but was not quite famous. His idea was to write an autobiography without having achieved much of note, with the resulting story being just a string of amusing failures. Unlike so many of the imitators, however, James’ book endures because it is funny, elegant and learned. 

Four more books in the series have since been published:

• The second, Falling Towards England, details his misadventures in London. 
• The third, May Week Was in June, his misadventures at Cambridge University. 
• The fourth, North Face of Soho, his misadventures in journalism. 
• The fifth, The Blaze of Obscurity, his misadventures as a TV host.

Sources:

• http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/events/book_stack/Unreliable_Memoirs_by_Clive_James_Chapter_1.pdf
• http://www.clivejames.com/current-books
• http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/cover2/9780330264631.jpg

2. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

Bryson, Bill. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, London : Doubleday, 2006.

In this book, Bryson, who achieved fame as an author of humourous travel memoirs, goes back to tell the story of not just his own childhood but of the land and time he grew up in: 1950s America. As a kid, Bryson had a vivid fantasy life, and that is not neglected in the memoir. For example: the discovery of an old sweater decorated with the image of lightning bolt radically shifted the boy's world view. He realised that he could never have been born to his dorky, conventional parents. He could only be the lost child of an alien civilisation: The Thunderbolt Kid.






















Sources:

• http://www.randomhouse.com/book/20569/the-life-and-times-of-the-thunderbolt-kid-by-bill-bryson
• http://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/sep/06/billbryson.biography
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3c/Bill_Bryson_-_The_Life_and_Times_of_the_Thunderbolt_Kid.jpg

1. It’s Too Late to Die Young Now by Andrew Mueller

Mueller, Andrew. It’s Too Late to Die Young Now : Misadventures in Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sydney, N.S.W. : Picador, 2013.

This is Andrew Mueller’s memoir of his teens and twenties, a period he spent as a writer about music. The book serves as a eulogy to not just that phase of his life but to an era in musical journalism. The Australian-born Mueller got his start in Sydney at Time Out magazine before relocating to London to work on his favourite music publication, Melody Maker. Beginning in the late 80s through to the mid 90s Mueller details his travels around the world to gigs and festivals, all of it paid for by the record companies. Mueller’s sharp, if cruel, humour makes his story engaging even to individuals who have little to no interest in popular music (such as myself).

Sources:

• http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/cover1/9781742612294.jpg
• http://messandnoise.com/articles/4608886
• http://www.andrewmueller.net/its-too-late-to-die-young-now.php

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