Can literature change your life? Yes ... along came Will Hermes, who cost me several hundred pounds on iTunes and ruptured my relationship with guitars

It was the best of times, it was the best of places: Will Hermes captures the creative incandescence of New York in those five years that changed music

Brings depth and discernment and an eye for odd detail, making his book an essential work of cultural history

One of those addictive biographies in which you start by looking in the index for items that interest you . . . and as dawn breaks you're reading the book from cover to cover

How the son of a market porter gave up a career as an electrician to become one of Britain's most successful and best loved actors ... the long awaited story...

It really is a life story, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

He comes across as hugely likeable and approachable.

Touching, funny and warm-hearted.

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.