Tesco Biography of the Year
Shortlisted Titles
| Book Title | Author | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| At My Mother's Knee | Paul O'Grady | Bantam Press |
| Coming Back to Me | Marcus Trescothick | HarperSport |
| Dear Fatty | Dawn French | Century |
| Dreams From My Father | Barack Obama | Canongate |
| Miracles of Life | J.G. Ballard | Fourth Estate |
| That's Another Story | Julie Walters | Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
About the Books
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At My Mother's Knee by Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady is one of Britain's very best loved entertainers. He is known and adored by millions, whether as the creator of the acid-tongued Blonde Bombsite, Lily Savage, or the presenter of the fantastically successful, award-winning "Paul O'Grady Show" on Channel 4. Now, in his own unique voice, Paul O'Grady tells story of his early life in Irish Catholic Birkenhead that started him on the long and winding road from mischievous altar boy to national treasure. It is a brilliantly evoked, hilarious and often moving tale of gossip in the back yard, bragging in the corner shop and slanging matches on the front doorstep, populated by larger-than-life characters with hearts of gold and tongues as sharp as razors."At My Mother's Knee" features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. It's a book which really does have something for everyone and which reminds us that, when all's said and done, there's a bit of savage in all of us...
Bantam Press -
Coming Back to Me by Marcus Trescothick
A true-life sporting memoir of one of the best batsman in the game who stunned the cricket world when he prematurely ended his own England career. Trescothick's brave and soul-baring account of his mental frailties opens the way to a better understanding of the unique pressures experienced by modern-day professional sportsmen. At 29, Marcus Trescothick was widely regarded as one of the batting greats. With more than 5,000 Test runs to his name and a 2005 Ashes hero, some were predicting this gentle West Country cricket nut might even surpass Graham Gooch's record to become England's highest ever Test run scorer. But the next time Trescothick hit the headlines it was for reasons no one but a handful of close friends and colleagues could have foreseen. Until now, the full, extraordinary story of what happened that day and why, of what preceded his breakdown has never been told. He reveals for the first time that he almost flew home from the 2004 tour to South Africa -- of what caused it and of what followed -- his comeback to the England side and a second crushing breakdown nine months later that left him unable to continue the 2006-07 Ashes tour down under. .
HarperSport -
Dear Fatty by Dawn French
Dawn French is one of the greatest comedy actresses of our time, with a career that has spanned nearly three decades, encompassing a vast and brilliant array of characters. Loved for her irreverant humour, Dawn has achieved massive mainstream success while continuing to push boundaries and challenge stereotypes. Here she describes the journey that would eventually establish her as a perhaps unlikely, but nevertheless genuine, national treasure. Dawn began her career as part of the groundbreaking alternative comedy group, the Comic Strip, marking a radical departure from the more traditional comedy acts of the time. Later came the all-female Girls On Top, which teamed Dawn with Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax and Tracy Ullman and firmly established women in British comedy. Dawn's more recent role in the Vicar of Dibley showcased not only her talent but also her ability to take a controversial and topical issue and make it mainstream - and very funny. From her early years as an RAF child and her flat-sharing antics with Jennifer Saunders, to her outspoken views on sizism and her marriage to Lenny Henry, Dear Fatty chronicles the extraordinary, hilarious rise of a complex, dynamic and unstoppable woman.
Century -
Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama
The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama was only two years old when his father walked out on the family. Many years later, Obama receives a phone call from Nairobi: his father is dead. This sudden news inspires an emotional odyssey for Obama, determined to learn the truth of his father's life and reconcile his divided inheritance. Written at the age of thirty-three, Dreams from My Father is an unforgettable read. It illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history, and what makes us the people we are.
Canongate -
Miracles of Life by J.G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard has been, for over fifty years, one of this country's most significant writers. Beginning with the events that inspired his classic novel, Empire of the Sun, in this revelatory autobiography he charts the course of his astonishing life. Beginning with his early childhood spent exploring the vibrant surroundings of pre-war Shanghai, Ballard charts the course of his remarkable life from the deprivations and unexpected freedoms of the Lunghua Camp to his return to a Britain physically and psychologically crippled by war. He explores his subsequent involvement in the dramatic social changes of the 1960s, and the adjustments to life following the premature death of his wife. In prose displaying his characteristic precision and eye for detail, Ballard recounts the experiences which would fundamentally shape his writing, while simultaneously providing a striking social analysis of the fragmented post-war Britain that lies behind so many of his novels. Miracles of Life is an utterly captivating account of an extraordinary writer's extraordinary life.
Fourth Estate -
That's Another Story by Julie Walters
Julie Walters has been described as the nation's most popular actress and comedienne. She has been delighting us on screen and on stage for over 25 years and we have taken her to our hearts. Now she tells us her own story, in her own words. She was born in fifties Birmingham, daughter of an austere Irish Catholic mother. She was sent to school in a convent and from a young age always wanted to be an actress but to appease her mother she first went into nursing. This didn't last for long though and she soon went to join the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. West End success followed, and she quickly replicated her success on film, earning an Academy Award nomination for her role opposite Michael Caine in Educating Rita. Julie's collaborations with her close friend Victoria Wood have given us, among others, the unforgettable character 'Mrs Overall' in Acorn Antiques and Petula in 'dinnerladies', and she's recently charmed a new generation of fans playing Mrs Weasley in the Harry Potter films and alongside Meryl Streep in 'Mamma Mia!', as well as co-starring with Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls. A natural writer with an instinctive sense of timing, Julie's memoirs are warm, moving, painfully felt, fiercely intelligent - and totally entertaining.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson