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People who you wish had written, or would write, an autobiography.

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    People who you wish had written, or would write, an autobiography.

    Shakespeare for starters. Although in his day they were rare.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobi...rough_the_ages

    #2
    My dad often used to say "When I write my book..."

    He never wrote his book.

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      #3
      Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
      My dad often used to say "When I write my book..."

      He never wrote his book.
      That's touching and poignant, especially since you've written with great fondness about him on here. I've no idea if he was famous in any way, but memoirs of seemingly "ordinary" people can hold great interest and resonance in themselves, as a kind of counter-balance to the well-worn anecdotes of more famous folk. My mother started her own life story and I read the first chapter of the manuscript, but it was never completed.

      As someone who has ample records, scattered writings, diaries, letters etc. I could write my own autobiography but obviously hardly anyone would be interested and the quality of the prose would be patchy at best. However, on a separate private forum some years ago several of us, over various months and threads, wrote of our own life stories, and the results were eye-opening, educational, sweet and sour but above all completely addictive.

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        #4
        It might have tidied things up a bit if your man from Nazareth had been given a week to pen his memoirs before they nailed him up.

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          #5
          Why an autobiography in particular? In some cases where one has massive respect for and trust in the individual (e.g. Mandela) an autobiography might be just the ticket, but in over 90 per cent of cases I'd much rather have a well-researched close-to-contemporary biography, for greater objectivity.

          Edit: and, for the same reason, not an "authorised" biography, which in most cases I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.
          Last edited by Evariste Euler Gauss; 17-10-2021, 12:05.

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            #6
            Fair point. But the inner feelings of the subject are important too. It's not just facts.

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              #7
              Also a fair point! (I mean, a good biographer will cover feelings as well where it's called for, but of course not with the same authority.)

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                #8
                Like PT, I wish my Dad had written his - or I'd written it with him.

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                  #9
                  An incongruous collection perspectives and experiences which I wish I could know more of;

                  - Charles Dickens' long suffering wife
                  - the native Americans who saved the Pilgrims from starvation
                  - the ancient human beings who interacted with Neanderthals (not being "species-ist" here, just not sure whether or not the Neanderthals would have thought in terms comprehensible to us.)

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Rogin the Armchair fan View Post
                    It might have tidied things up a bit if your man from Nazareth had been given a week to pen his memoirs before they nailed him up.
                    He did, but the Jerusalem Magic Circle suppressed it because he gave away how he did the trick with the loaves and the fishes.

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                      #11
                      Hitler, in May 1945, rather than 1925…

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                        My dad often used to say "When I write my book..."

                        He never wrote his book.
                        My Dad's would have been "how I won the war (in both Europe and the Far East)"

                        (Needless to say, he didn't, but it was the recurring family joke that he and his comrades did)

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Guy Profumo View Post
                          Hitler, in May 1945, rather than 1925…
                          It would be the same shit,only even more horrific and drug addled.

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                            #14
                            I wish John Peel had lived long enough to write the whole of his autobiography, especially given the appendix letters in Margrave of the Marshes which he sent to a literary editor back in 1992(!), when he was first approached about doing one, promised a potentially fascinating full read. I seem to recall reading somewhere that once he did start on it, he had to restart writing it after accidentally deleting the first several thousand words.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Evariste Euler Gauss View Post
                              An incongruous collection perspectives and experiences which I wish I could know more of;


                              - the native Americans who saved the Pilgrims from starvation
                              Yes, I'd want to read that - was musing on a related issue the other day (and decided not to start a new "Discovered America?! Yeah, sure" thread):

                              Article about proof being established of Vikings living in Newfoundland in around 1050 which mentioned that it bore out aspects of the Icelandic oral sagas of Leif somebody.

                              But nothing about whether the myths and legends of the native Americans mentioned them, seeing as tgeir arrival/presence would've been noteworthy.

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                                #16
                                Robert Mitchum, Humphrey Bogart and a lot of the other co called golden eras lot.

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                                  #17
                                  I've read a biography of Bogart, and he was a fairly ordinary bloke, although in his own words would be better.

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                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by Evariste Euler Gauss View Post
                                    the ancient human beings who interacted with Neanderthals (not being "species-ist" here, just not sure whether or not the Neanderthals would have thought in terms comprehensible to us.)
                                    Might be a slim read. The latest estimates on the population of Central and Western Europe during the Upper Paleolithic reckon it was about 1,500 individuals.

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by elguapo4 View Post
                                      I've read a biography of Bogart, and he was a fairly ordinary bloke, although in his own words would be better.
                                      Probably the one I read.
                                      There was a ok Mitchum biog written a few years back. I think his movie star years would be matched by his WW2, hobo, prison and drug exploits if done in his own words. The weed obsession probably meant there were less interesting movie year stories to tell.

                                      Ive Quincy Jones autobiog nearing the top of the reading pile and the good Dean Martin one in there as well. Im half way through Joe Esterhauz at the moment. On a movie thing currently for some reason I can’t fathom.

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