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Groucho and Me
Groucho and Me
Apr 26, 2025 7:33 PM

Author:Groucho Marx

Groucho and Me

'The temptation to write about yourself is irresistible, especially when you are prodded into it by a crafty publisher who has slyly baited you into doing it with a miserly advance of fifty dollars and a box of cheap cigars' - Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx's autobiography is a rags-to-riches story with a difference. The most outrageous and voluble of the legendary Marx Brothers had a career that stretched from Vaudeville to gameshow, conquering Hollywood on the way. From the triumphs and disasters of a life spent in show business to his unconsummated loves, Groucho's story is told with humour and wit and in Groucho's own unique style.

As TS Eliot said of him: 'The mind boggles'.

Reviews

The only thing the man can't do is sing, and that gave me an opening. But he can do everything else. I envy him this book, most of his wives and all of his talent

—— Frank Sinatra

In this book, Groucho gives all - and he deserves every dime of his royalties. I'm looking forward to my percentage for this puff

—— Jack Benny

Groucho brought the spirit of carnival to Hollywood. This book allows us to linger over the gags that went too fast on the screen

—— Alistair Cooke

An important and often beautifully written piece of historical revisionism

—— Observer Music Monthly

Hamilton has a keen, unforgiving eye...an eloquent book about people making the forgotten important

—— Roz Kaveney , Time Out

Hamilton's outstanding book profiles the folklorists and collectors who shaped the concept of Delta blues... A plausible and provocative book. And it has transformed my view of the blues

—— Ludovic Hunter-Tilney , Financial Times

Hamilton tells such a good story that she turns a work of scholarship into a page-turner

—— Times Literary Supplement

Hamilton has done a good job of researching a subject that blues fans will find fascinating

—— Prospect

Evocative and engaging

—— Tim Willis , Sunday Telegraph

Clapton's book is a candid, almost confessional look back on a starry life. This is a compelling, down-to-earth document of the man behind the guitar-hero mask.

—— Q

Clapton reveals all in this unflinching confessional.

—— Independent

A powerfully honest and very moving insight into the life of a rock legend

—— The Herald (Glasgow)

Clapton bares his soul. Fascinating. It's an absorbing read, like you've been granted access to a mind finally coming to terms with itself.

—— The Sunday Tribune (Ireland)

Difficult to put down

—— Sunday Times

Clapton provides an orderly account of life in which all other considerations are secondary to the frequently selfish needs of The Artist'

—— Guardian

Gold-plated tales of sex, drink, drugs and fame and moments of musical incandescence.

—— Observer Music Monthly

A warm portrait

—— FT Magazine

A harrowing and searingly honest book about the unreal rock star life.

—— Daily Express

Clapton lays bare his life story in this witty but also painfully honest autobiography. Compelling and accomplished.

—— Sunday Express

A painfully honest insider's account of an age all too often portrayed as one long party

—— Daily Mail

A glorious rock history.

—— New York Post

This book does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend...puts a lie to the glamour of what it means to be a rock star.

—— Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

Strong stuff. Clapton reveals its author's journey to self-acceptance and manhood. Anyone who cares about the man and his music will want to take the trip with him.

—— Anthony DcCurtis, Rolling Stone

Clapton is honest...even searing and often witty, with a hard-won survivor's humor...an honorable badge of a book.

—— Stephen King, New York Times Book Review

Riveting

—— Boston Herald

An even, unblinking sensibility defines the author's voice.

—— New York Times

An unsparing self-portrait.

—— USA Today

Both the youthful excesses and the current calm state are narrated with an engaging tone that nudges Clapton's story ahead of other rock'n'roll memoirs.

—— Publisher’s Weekly

Clapton is a confessional, an addiction memoir, and a glorious rock history rolled into one, with a smidgeon of guilt and, ultimately redemption thrown in for good measure.

—— New York Post

Clapton fills in many gray areas, recounting his highs and lows with a thoughtfulness often lacking rock memoirs.Methodically he whittles away at the larger-than-life rock god until a vulnerable, messed-up mortal emerges...Clapton is an absorbing tale of artistry, decadence and redemption.It's also an important reminder of the guitarist's imprint on rock music, as a sideman, solo artist and bandleader.Not bad for a blues snob from Surrey.

—— Los Angeles Times

Clapton: The Autobiography does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend, de-mythologizes one of the most mythologized electric guitarists ever, puts a lie to the glamour of what is means to be a rock star...It's a cautionary tale that spills over into tragedy several times as love, lives and talents are all wasted.

—— Chicago Tribune

Like the bluesmen who inspired him, Clapton has his share of scars...his compelling memoir is... a soulful performance.

—— People

Charming and surprisingly candid.

—— Entertainment Weekly

Absolutely brilliant

—— Daily Express
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