Author:David Niven
ONE OF THE BESTSELLING MEMOIRS OF ALL TIME WITH OVER FIVE MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
Discover the heartfelt, laugh-out-loud account of one of Hollywood's greatest actors and, above all, greatest men
Debonair English wit and humourist extraordinaire, star of The Pink Panther, Casino Royal and Around the World in 80 Days, few Hollywood actors are remembered as fondly as David Niven.
In this bestselling autobiography, Niven shows how, even as an unknown young man, he knew how to live the good life, regaling us with tales of school expulsion and wartime hi-jinks. However, it is his accounts of working and partying with the legends of the silver screen - from Lawrence Oliver and Vivien Leigh to Elizabeth Taylor, Noel Coward and dozens of others - that turn this memoir into an outright masterpiece.
An intimate, gossipy, warm and above all charming account of life inside Hollywood's dream factory, The Moon is a Balloon is a classic to be read and enjoyed time and again.
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'An immensely enjoyable,witty and racy memoir' Sunday Times
'Forthright, bawdy, and often hilarious, zany and zestful, his anecdotes should keep you entertained for hours' Sunday Express
'Niven's life was Wodehouse with tears' John Mortimer
An immensely enjoyable, witty and racy memoir.
—— Sunday TimesForthright, bawdy, and often hilarious, zany and zestful, his anecdotes should keep you entertained for hours.
—— Sunday ExpressNiven's life was Wodehouse with tears.
—— John MortimerHigh Fidelity for classical music fans.
—— Publishers WeeklyThese dialogues...add up to a sprawling feast of Mahler-style “polytonality” - or, alternatively, the sort of protean jam-session that Monk and Parker relished.
—— Boyd Tonkin , Arts DeskMurakami is Japan's greatest living writer
—— Washington PostIts cool, conversational style is one of the trademarks of Murakami’s writing – his novels all have the easy calm of a bar room dialogue – and Absolutely On Music has the particular feel of sitting at a table with two friends while they bat around their ideas.
—— Ross McIndoe , SkinnyIt’s a conversation that is well worth hearing.
—— Richard Osborne , GramophoneA lively rumination on classical music.
—— Keeley Bolger , Belfast Telegraph MorningAbsolutely on Music is an intimate and fascinating conversation between two maestros… [A] compelling, moving novel.
—— Scottish WomenMurakami’s grasp of music is frequently both astonishing and inspiring. He has incredible ears and is able to distinguish and annunciate the smallest differences in interpretations… When Murakami writes in prose, he does so with the quick charm and alluring detail that fans of his novels will relish.
—— Andrew Mellor , RhinegoldA riveting story. Mitchell, an exemplary journalist, goes deep into the political dynamics of Cold War Berlin. John Le Carré couldn’t have done it better.
A narrative full of interest and acute observation.
—— Allan Massie , The ScotsmanTense, fascinating... Mitchell delivers a gripping, blow-by-blow account.
—— Publishers WeeklyA gripping page-turner that thrills like fiction.
—— Kirkus ReviewsOne of the most gripping stories of the Cold War.
—— Omnivoracious - The Amazon Book ReviewMonstrous behaviour and vanity suffuse this oral history of Hollywood’s troubled dynasties… Tragedy lurks around the manicured lawns and marbled halls.
—— Anthony Quinn , GuardianThe anecdotes come so thick and fast it’s like being machine-gunned with marshmallows. Gradually, though, the mood darkens, the catalogue of vulgarity, cruelty and insanity takes its toll. While the Technicolor tour is relentlessly fascinating, it is reassuring to be shown in black and white that, in La-La Land at least, with the millions comes endless misery.
—— Mark Sanderson , Evening StandardJean Stein’s approach to family history is unconventional… Stein weaves them together with immense narrative skill.
—— Christopher Silvester , Spears Wealth Management SurveyThe stories are mesmerising… Great for people who want to see beyond the world of make-believe.
—— William Leith , Evening StandardA very dark oral history of Hollywood… mesmerising.
—— iWriters like Costello because he's always taken writing seriously. That's obvious to anyone who pays attention to his lyrics, and it's even more apparent to anyone who reads Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, his charming new autobiography. The book is refreshingly free of salacious gossip and needless name-dropping; it's an intelligent self-assessment from a musician who went from angry young man to elder statesman of pop ... a defiantly fun autobiography.
—— Michael Schaub , NPR BooksThis is a big book, literally, by one of the best rockers in the business. Given the singular, and eclectic, nature of his career, it is no surprise that Elvis Costello's anecdotal autobiography is an idiosyncratic journey through his music and the people and places that have inspired him ... A must for Costello fans everywhere.
—— Booklist (starred review)Costello's prose cuts with the same spiky wit and observational power as his well-known lyrics ... packed with great lines, vivid anecdotes ... a treat for his many fans.
—— Kirkus ReviewsPlenty of tales to keep the pages turning. Readers will be fascinated by Costello's stories...his book feels like a discussion between friends over a pint.
—— Publishers WeeklyOften brilliant and wholly idiosyncratic
—— David Ulin , Los Angeles TimesRevelatory, evocatively crafted, [and] highly entertaining
—— David Fricke , Rolling StoneA winningly droll and good-natured guide to his life and many works throughout
—— Clark Collis , Entertainment WeeklyPunctuated with sardonic and self-aware truths
—— PitchforkVivid ... It's not surprising that one of rock's most literate songwriters would pen such a deep, free-form memoir
—— Houston ChronicleElvis Costello delivers an impeccably detailed autobiography. He's often as brilliant at turning a phrase in prose as he is in his lyrics
—— Paste MagazineEnthralling ... This is family history as musical encyclopedia, and to listen to Costello recount his life is to be buttonholed by an enthusiastic fan. Fandom for Costello is inseparable from the compulsion to write songs and, it seems, to understand his own life ... Fortunately for the fan of Costello's music the topic of discussion is often his own songs, and he is, unsurprisingly, a witty and eloquent guide
—— Paul Grimstad , New Republic[Costello] pens books with the same clever writing that he uses in song
—— Kathy Flanigan , Milwaukee Journal-SentinelCostello['s] book is capacious, clever, and full of heart and soul
—— Dan DeLuca , Philadelphia InquirerThe story unfolds like a movie that jumps across time, more thematic than chronological, as boyhood anecdotes and obsessions intersect with mature songs and adult reckoning.... The book doubles as a selective mini-history of 20th century music, as told by a discerning guide. He addresses artists both towering (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash) and relatively unheralded (David Ackles, Robert Wyatt) with a fan's affection and music scholar's insight
—— Greg Kot , Chicago TribuneWith an encyclopedic knowledge and appreciation for, and deep love of, music, and with an expressive power and heart, Costello's memoir will take its place in the highest echelons of the genre
—— Library Journal (starred review)His book is almost essential as an idiosyncratic history of 20th-century pop music
—— ExpressStudded with entertaining anecdotes
—— Evening Standard Best Music Books of 2015