Know of any good Autobiographies?

I am writing an essay. Basically I will be applying a personality theory to someones life. To do this I need to find an autobiography.

(NOTE: You do not need any knowledge of the following personality theory, or even personality theory in general to help me, as I am just after suggestions for autobiographies that I can possibly use. The part in the asterix is for people who have some knowledge of Jung, if not, read on.)

**At the moment I will most likely be using Jung's personality theories. His theory of archetypes. His theory to do with Introversion - Extroversion and the functions (eg. Introverted Intuition, Extraverted Feeling, etc). Hell, I might even use his dream analysis theory if the autobiography contains information about any of the persons dreams.**

I need to find an autobiography, so the person themself has to have written or co-written it. Also, the person's surname has to be between the letters M and Z. Obviously if the person has a one word name, then that would count as the surname for all intents and purposes.

I will be using this autobiography as the basis of my essay. I will be using the autobiography to draw examples from to support claims about the person's personality.


I already came up with:

- Nelson Mandela ("Long Walk to Freedom".. does anyone know if this is a good read?)
- Frank Skinner (he's some comedian I don't know, with an autobiography. Anyone know if this would be worthwhile?)
- Mark Twain (it's a 2 volume autobiography, but I'd only be required to use one of those volumes)

Obviously it's hard finding people who are:

a) Interesting
b) Surname starts with between the letters M and Z
c) has written an autobiography

All suggestions welcome (and kinda the point of the thread).

A friend has suggested:

- Marilyn Manson
- Ronald Reagan

I'm thinking Marilyn Manson might be a good one. I'm not a fan of his and hardly know much about him, but he seems an interesting character, and lack of fan status just means I'll be a more objective judge of his personality.

Suggestions still welcome, for autobiographies I haven't mentioned or opinions to do with the people and autobiographies already mentioned.

Marylin Manson's autobiography is a good read.. I'm not a fan either but whatever, it's entertainingly fucked up. And it seems quite truthfully written; it's meant to give an idea of the man behind the stage persona (who is himself, um, quite a character anyway). I'd go with that.

why the odd limitation on the surname?

i'm an estj and my last name begins with 'm'. you could use mine (if i had written it yet )

i'll have a think. frank skinner is a british comedian. i have not read his biography but, personally he's not very funny so i would probably skip it. that said, i tend to find biographies to be hugely enjoyable regardless of the subject.

how about: The Kenneth Williams Diaries? would that count as an autobiography. i have not read this but it' son my to-read list.

what about margaret thatcher? i hated her but i bet her biography is very interesting.

alasdair

Another vote for manson's book. I had a hard time putting it down, I burned through it in a day. I'm sure some of the stories are embelished but it was entertaining. I read Drew Carrey's autobiography years ago (got it as a christmas present) and found it entertaining. Same goes for George Carlin.

oops, missed the last name thing. They're still worth checking out.

alasdairm said:

why the odd limitation on the surname?

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Ahh. Well the class ran last year as well, so those students had a A-L limitation. It's so that I can't go to a student from last years class and use their essay.

alasdair said:

i'm an estj and my last name begins with 'm'. you could use mine (if i had written it yet )

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Yes I remember you said this once before (that you are ESTJ). I remember thinking that you'd mistyped yourself as I was convinced you are INTJ.

Though with my current more solid understanding of type I think ESTJ is still quite possible. I think the problem is that I was getting caught up with generalisations, ie. you seemed wise and intellectual and introverted so I assumed that you were "whatever type".

< Rated INFJ

alasdair said:

i'll have a think. frank skinner is a british comedian. i have not read his biography but, personally he's not very funny so i would probably skip it. that said, i tend to find biographies to be hugely enjoyable regardless of the subject.

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Thankyou for this. I just happened to turn him up in a Google search for autobiographies, and looked at the cover and noted it as a possibility. I guess I just assumed he was American for some reason.

But knowing this I will not use him.

alasdair said:

how about: The Kenneth Williams Diaries? would that count as an autobiography. i have not read this but it' son my to-read list.

what about margaret thatcher? i hated her but i bet her biography is very interesting.

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Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm liking these words of support for Marilyn's autobiography... Any nay sayers to that idea?

On another note, it feels so bizzare and rewarding to be using an internet forum to help get my school work done rather than avoid it.

AWW! Lemmy from motorhead wrote an excellent biography. His name is just a little off.

Maya Angelou. I talk to her alll the time, this is one hot lady you wanna know. Im soo fucking serious, shes a real woman for sure. PLUR

I heard Sting's biography was real good as well.

Iceberg Slim's 'PIMP' is a very interesting read. Quite fascinating. And shocking. Kinda disturbing there was/is a whole subculture of these types living in the word.

I don't think you will use it but I am going to throw it out there anyway, Xaviera Hollander wrote "The Happy Hooker" which is her autobiography about her life as a hooker.

I thought it was a good read.

"Meetings With Remarkable Men" -G.I. Gurdjieff.

His last name starts with a "G"....but it's worth reading anyway.

Did Howard marks make a biograpy if he did that would be a good read

and also nikki sixx (motly crue) did one thats supposed to be really good

BeefcaKez said:

Did Howard marks make a biograpy if he did that would be a good read

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awesome suggestion! it's called "mr. nice" and it's a great read.

rated e - it meets all three of your criteria.

alasdair

I love Klaus Kinski's demented, wholly self-obsessed yet totally fascinating "Kinski Uncut" but then again...his last name starts with K so too bad

purplefirefly said:

I don't think you will use it but I am going to throw it out there anyway, Xaviera Hollander wrote "The Happy Hooker" which is her autobiography about her life as a hooker.

I thought it was a good read.

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You and me both dahlink!

Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramhansa Yogananda

One of the better books I've read recently.