The Forgotten Highlander

The facinating insights into a by-gone era of Aberdeen's pre-war dance halls are the simple backdrop to this story of a simple man yanked out of his life at the point of reaching manhood to have it changed forever.<br /><br />This was the lot of Mr Urquhart's generation, but The Forgotten Highlander is no hackneyed World War Two memoir, and I've read a few.<br /><br />A reader may be familiar with the events that Urquhart found thrust upon him, but never have they been laid so bare as here. The joyous, simple life of dancing away his evenings with the girls of Aberdeen cast a depressing shadow over the man as he fights so hard to suppress these memories to survive.<br /><br />The Forgotten Highlander is not a book for the faint-hearted yet it demands to read by all. Mr Urquhart never fired a shot, he never asked to be involved in the events in which he found himself and a warrior hero will not be found here. This is a story of an ordinary man who survived some of humanity's most atrocious acts of barbarity and destruction in a century littered with them. <br /><br />That the man is still alive to again dance the evenings away is a miracle for him, but it is an opportunity for us. The reader will gain an insight in to what man is capable of both in terms of evil and what is required to survive it - for Alistair's war was not one of battles but of the conflict's most grim example of raw physical and emotional endurance. What this memoir offers is an unflinching account and it pulls no punches.

It certainly is awe inspiring

After reading many tag lines on book covers such as the"best book this year",or"a most remarkable read",or as 3 cups of tea has"awe inspiring", it is refreshing to read a book that really lives up to these grandiose selling introductions.<br />This book is not only a incredible story about an incredible man doing incredible things in a much maligned country, Pakistan, but it is also a well written and riveting read. I thoroughly recommend it to anybody.

VERY INTIMATE

A very intimate read indeed, so intimate i felt a lil naughty reading it on the train. I love this book and i'm still reading it!

Loved it!

I laughed, I cried. A great read about a woman trying to make sense of her life's choices and what to do next about it all.<br /><br />A mid-life crisis with lots of laughs. Gilbert endears you to her plight for life to just make some damned sense.

Incredible and illuminating

If you are a true Patti Smith fan, then you will devour this over and over again, it is an incredible read which is moving and illuminating all at once. A must read.

We have heard the chimes at midnight...

I finished this book in two sittings. Not because it's superficial, but because it's positively riveting, at least<br />to music lovers who came of age with the golden age of the NME. Nick Kent may not have the quirkiness of a Lester<br />Bangs, but he wields equal authority, as the inevitable --though always very welcome -- list of favourite albums <br />and tracks at the end confirms. He is also refreshingly honest and suitably circumspect about his personal trials<br />and tribulations. For those yet to discover the true delights of rock/popular music (Stooges, MC5, Beefheart, Can, Al Green,<br />Television, VU, etc.) this will be an education; for those who have, it will call them back to why they love it all so much.<br /><br />

Interesting topic: Not so sure about the writing

This isn't a badly written book, but it could easily be improved upon. It differs from the style of most historical popular books. Whereas Weir, Starkey et al present the reader with the evidence from which they've drawn their conclusions, Moore tends to make a lot of statements without substantiating her claims. It's also difficult to follow at times, as Moore jumps between chronological and thematic presentation. <br /><br />But, it is an interesting topic. It's essentially the historical version of a Dan Brown novel; If you can allow yourself to overlook the flaws in style, you'll enjoy the read.

The Real Deal

Neil Strauss has written about his experience as a PUA (PickUpArtist) and living in a community with other PUAs or PUAs wannabes.<br /><br />It's certainly a book I'll remember. A book that kept me awake at night, because I just couldn't stop reading, and when I did stop it gave me weird dreams.<br /><br />A friend recommended it to me as one of the characters in my new novel is a manipulative, but charming man, and I got a lot of inspiration from the PUAs in Neil's book.<br /><br />I'll never look at dating the same way again, and am very weary of guys in bars. If somebody tries to chat me up, how do I know that he's genuine? He might as well be a robot who has practised opening lines.<br /><br />The Game's strong point is Neil himself; he's the only one who's observing the PUA community and is looking at it from a distance. He never truly loses himself as so many of the others do.<br /><br />The Game reminds me a lot of Luke Rhinehart's The Diceman, but whereas The Diceman was a made-up story, The Game is the real deal ... <br />

A page turning read

I've loved watching Lynda whatever she's in - All Creatures Great and Small, Faith in the Future, Loose Women etc etc - so I was very excited to hear her autobiography was coming out. Lost and Found had me absolutely gripped. Lynda has been through so much, in particular two bad husbands, a suicide attempt, tracking down her birth mother ... she is so strong to get through all this! I also loved her tales of growing up on the farm, her teenage years with the characters of the 'Dark Lantern', and there are some brilliantly funny stories from her acting career. Lynda has had a rich life, if not always an easy life, and has come out of it a wiser stronger woman. I can't wait to see her in Calendar Girls, but the real emotional story is in this book.<br />

Do not buy this if you nead to get anything else done...

I read this cover-to-cover whilst on a sailing holiday. When I finished the last page a friend ripped the book from my hands and read continuously until he had finished. Since we were the two who were meant to be sailing the boat, it is a miracle that we survived the holiday.

very good

I found this film was well acted, interesting and sexy so the book is quite interesting but really Billie Piper in the DVD brings it to life. The audio CD version hasn't the same zip as the DVD. But obviously as the film has a good storyline so too the book has too. Its fresh and fun and endearing. Very readable.

Excellent Read

I bought this book before going to see Sally live. Its a fascinating story about her

Insider Track

FAscinating and fast paced. Find out what really went on behind the scenes etc. Lot of fun and profanity.

A lucid, intelligently written primer

For the first thirty-six years of his life Michel de Montaigne led an unremarkable existence for a person of his standing. Born into a noble family, like his father before him he owned a substantial amount of land in the Dordogne, he inherited a chateau and served a couple of terms as mayor of Bordeaux.<br /><br />However this changed as a result of a riding accident. Hitherto he'd constantly imagined his own death, and consequently had a morbid fear of mortality. But it took his own near-death experience to shift his focus away from such things and towards the meaning of life; the way he did it was to turn his hand to writing. <br /><br />He evoked his philosophical thoughts in the form of a collection of rambling self-explorations which, when published in France to critical acclaim, were later categorized as `essays', and it is from these that Sarah Bakewell has created this biography. <br /><br />It serves three purposes: It presents to the general reader the basic facts of Montaigne's life, gives an introduction to his essays, and finally provides a commentary on the reception his work has received from the time of his writing it up to the present day.<br /><br />The result is an impressive example of diligent research, making the man and his work accessible to a contemporary audience that may be unfamiliar with either. <br />

Great insight into a living legend

As one would expect, Mandela's personal and political struggles are documented in detail in this book. But what I found most interesting was why he chose to do the things he did, and how in the midst of oppression he never gave up and continued his fight for what he believed in.

The Horse Boy

<br />This is a facinating story of fsther's love for his austistic child and the lengths he went to without ever giving up.<br /><br />Very thought provoking. I am a great believer that animals and not enough of our lives and the trust and instinct that we can out in them is without bounds.

Lynn Barber.. review of An Education

This book is a frank and rather too self centred account of a quite selfish life. It is slight in content , but makes compulsive and occasionally humourous reading and can be read at one sitting. The most uninteresting part was that about the newspapers. This is not a book to take up space on your book shelves and I have already passed mine on . It is a good book to take on holiday, read and then leave in the hotel.

A true champion.

After seeing Agassi in interview I wanted to buy this book,I was fascinated by his completely frank account of his upbringing,a controlling father who wants his son to succeed,his open dislike for the game he never wanted to play or even enjoyed,a sprinkling of Hollywood,Vegas,triumph and a lot of pain,you cannot fail to admire this mans achievements. Agassi wants to be understood,he has been honest and quite respectful of many well known people who have been in his life so far. A page turner and a happy ending too,entertaining and well written.If you have never liked Agassi read it,if you do not like tennis read it,you may change your mind.

The truth why she could write The Lucky Bones the way she did

The truth! Why Alice wrote TLB the way she did. The author, Alice was herself raped one night on her way home. Alice must have imagined herself dead a thousand times before picking up the pen to write TLB.<br />Gripping and raw in the beginning it goes on to a slower pace detailing her relationships afterwards as well as the quest to put the criminal behind bars. A brave lady!<br />