The Book of Life

by EveClaxton (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $3.25

  From childhood through to adulthood - if not necessarily maturity - The Book of Life offers the literary journal of a lifetime, in the company of the most fascinating and talented figures in history. From Alan Bennett's wartime childhood in Yorkshire to Mahatma Gandhi's experiment with cigarettes; Katherine Hepburn on her first acting job aged 21 and Primo Levi on being captured by Fascist militia at the same age; Darwin on his lifelong love - his work - and Nelson Mandela on his release from prison aged 71 ...life and living in all its manifold glories is represented. With insights that encompass generations and continents, this is a uniquely enjoyable immersion in some of the world's best, and most personal, writing.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $3.25

  The Book of Life is an intensely captivating, diverse collection of the best-written memoir and autobiography through history. Organised into four parts this unusually enriching book begins in childhood and takes us on a thought-provoking journey through the length of a life. Good-sized extracts from some of the world's most extraordinary personalities and writers give unparalleled insight into humanity through the ages and across continents. From Charlie Chaplin's dandily dressed walks through Victorian London and Alan Bennet's wartime childhood in Yorkshire; through the day Muhammed Ali discovered boxing and Gandhi experimented with cigarettes to Primo Levi's capture by Fascist Militia at 21 and Katherine Hepburn's first film job at the same age; then onto Nabokov on becoming a late father, Darwin on his lifelong love - his work - and Nelson Mandela on being released from prison at 71. Through contrast and exquisite and frequently funny writing The Book Of Life forms an unparalled anthology within a highly popular genre. This is a uniquely enjoyable immersion in some of the world's best, and most personal, writing.