Indispensable ... This is a masterly, highly readable account and the most comprehensive to date of the life and work of one of the 20th century's great musical figures

[A] wise, cautious, challenging book ... Kildea's verbal explorations of the music are done with level-headed sensitivity leavened by a quirky lightness of touch

A wonderfully dry and deadpan Glaswegian comic . . . one the most exciting talents to have emerged from Scotland since Billy Connolly

Wonderfully sharp, assured stand-up from the preternaturally gifted young comic

Scotland's young comedy prodigy

Fascinating. Donald Spoto's book captures his essence.

You have captured Alan and his life... It has been very moving to read and to relive.

Spoto ... can turn a life into a page-turner.

Touching and funny ... it really is a top read.

Written with real charm.

Affable, humble and unpretentious.

Lovely-jubbly.

An engaging and entertaining read.

I absolutely loved reading this because it was just like [he] were talking to me.

An exceptional man who’s led an exceptional life…The book is wonderful ... It made me laugh a lot and then it made me quite weepy at times as well

Now his autobiography is out in paperback and reading it is like having the man himself talk to you from the comfort of his armchair. It’s a fascinating insight into a lost world … A true gent.

In his brimmingly insightful, stimulating study of how stories work, Yorke compellingly unpicks how a whole range of films, plays, novels and fairy tales all display the same archetypal structures . . . His book, in telling scores of stories in such a fresh, enlightening and accessible manner, is a gripping read from beginning to end

The best book on the subject [of storytelling] I've read, tells us everything we need to know about it. Yorke's analysis is superb

A mightily impressive opus, both hugely informative and highly educational. I love the way it's populated with so many examples - the many combinations of both mass market and the slightly more esoteric giving a something-for-everyone feeling. A brilliant work

Yorke sets out to analyse the patterns behind storytelling, explaining why the fundamentals of narrative have remained the same from Aristotle to Aaron Sorkin. A great starting point for anyone wanting to create a story

I've just read a book about professional writing which has genuinely helped me. It's for those who are serious about avoiding bad 'How To' books and want to raise their game, and it's more intelligent than most of the others. John Yorke's Into The Woods: How Stories Work And Why We Tell Them is a genuine game-changer and has helped me put past bad habits to rest

Into The Woods is utterly brilliant

Love storytelling? You need this inspiring book. John Yorke dissects the structure of stories with a joyous enthusiasm allied to precise, encyclopaedic knowledge. Guaranteed to send you back to your writing desk with newfound excitement and drive

Into The Woods is brilliant. One of the best books on script writing out there . . . I loved the book. Inspiring

There is no end of books that instruct us on how to write the perfect screenplay, but few that delve more deeply into the art of storytelling than this erudite volume

Its strength is Yorke's acute perception of the wellsprings of universal narrative structures relevant to all artistic activities

Terrific . . . It's a great read, wise and cogent, and a must for all screenwriters

It's a great read. It makes me smile and say 'Yes!' aloud. Only this and PG Wodehouse do that

Not How 2 Write them but how stories work. John Yorke's Into the Woods: A 5 Act Journey into Story is brilliant, illuminates & explains

I'm only 70 pages into John Yorke's Into the Woods but it's already helped me crack two stories

Highly recommended reading

Yorke is aware that the world is not suffering for lack of prescriptive screenwriting manuals. Instead, with Into the Woods, he takes a scalpel to narrative structure - dissecting protagonist, antagonist, inciting incident, crisis and so on - before asking how and why this underlying shape still holds audiences spellbound like a fairytale witch. "A story is like a magnet dragged through randomness," Yorke writes, but while he elegantly untangles the deepest roots of storytelling, he also honours the human need for truth and sense with some more superficial questions: why do series tend to "jump the shark" round about season three, for example, or why is clunky exposition - particularly in medical dramas - so appallingly comical? Sit comfortably, then begin

I absolutely love this book. It's incredible and so well written. I keep trying to find fault but so far no joy - It's so good

[John Yorke's] writing book is arguably possibly almost as good as mine, all right it's loads better shut up

Probably, in the hackneyed phrase, "the last book on screenwriting you'll ever need." He is very good at debunking the claims of some screenwriting gurus, all of whom are busy trying to sell you their own particular brand of snake oil. It's truly excellent

Of all the books I've read about story construction and the art of fiction, this one is the most comprehensive and concise