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Harry: The Unauthorized Biography
What happens to the boy next door when he becomes part of the planet's hottest boy band?
When Harry Styles auditioned for the X-Factor, little did he know he'd soon be leaving behind school, his Saturday bakery job, obscurity and an ordinary life. One Direction made it to the final and won a record deal, and it wasn't long before Harry's face covered bedroom walls up and down the country.
But how did Harry cope with his new-found fame? And what happens when you take America by storm in a 'British Invasion'?
With gorgeous green eyes and curls that send girls wild, Harry has found himself surrounded by beautiful women. But what's the truth behind the rumours? Here, his relationships with Caroline Flack, Emily Atack, Taylor Swift and the married Lucy Horobin are laid bare.
And what next for Harry and 1D? This book will give you the low down on how Harry and the boys are set to take on the world.
When Harry Styles auditioned for the X-Factor, little did he know he'd soon be leaving behind school, his Saturday bakery job, obscurity and an ordinary life. One Direction made it to the final and won a record deal, and it wasn't long before Harry's face covered bedroom walls up and down the country.
But how did Harry cope with his new-found fame? And what happens when you take America by storm in a 'British Invasion'?
With gorgeous green eyes and curls that send girls wild, Harry has found himself surrounded by beautiful women. But what's the truth behind the rumours? Here, his relationships with Caroline Flack, Emily Atack, Taylor Swift and the married Lucy Horobin are laid bare.
And what next for Harry and 1D? This book will give you the low down on how Harry and the boys are set to take on the world.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
19 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 28, 2015
Въпреки че я прочетох бързо, леко и най-вече с желание, няма как да прикрия факта, че беше доста зле. Не знам как това е биографията на Хари като през повечето време дори не се говори за него. Имаше много невярна информация или информация, базирана на непотвърдени слухове и клюки. Цялата книга беше една огромна смешка, в която авторката ти е предоставила няколко интервюта и туита, който непременно е преувеличила. Това е по зле и от жълто списание.
January 28, 2025
How many other books I’m gonna read with the same exact information and pictures?
↠ 3 stars
↠ 3 stars
March 9, 2013
This book is a biography of Harry Styles, deemed to be 'the most popular' member of UK boy band One Direction. The book is split into chapters about different aspects of Harry Styles' life/career but it's not really chronological It follows the timeline of Harry's life very loosely and the chapters do jump around a bit and repeat information from previous chapters. The first chapter is about Harry's relationship with Caroline flack and after reading it, the little respect I had left for Harry Styles had been completely depleted. I thought the age gap between himself and Caroline Flack was weird, but it only just hit me that he was only seventeen. Seveteen. I, myself, am seventeen and I can't for the life of me imagine dating a thirty-two year old. The book then moves on to talk about One Direction's time on the X factor and as I watched the show myself it didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know and also it wasn't focused on Harry at all but rather the band as a whole, the show and the judges. There were some snippets about how Harry and the band coped with the show that I didn't know about but there was nothing majorly exciting there. The next chapters were about Harry's childhood, One Direction's rise to fame in the UK, their breaking of the USA, more about Harry's relationships, more about One Direction as a band, the huge success that they've had, Harry's relationship with Taylor Swift and where One Direction and Harry Styles are headed now.
When One Direction first debuted as a band on the X Factor several years ago, I have to admit, I was completely smitten. I was a Directioner through and through despite the fact that their voices really weren't that great. I found this book particularly interesting to read because I've been following One Direction's story right from the very beginning and I've either been to or heard a lot about some of the events that were discussed in this book. Despite that, there were still loads of details about their rise to fame that I didn't know about and the fact that this book isn't solely focused on Harry Styles is a good thing because as 1/5 of One Direction, you can't possibly just focus in on him.
Having finished this book, I logged onto Goodreads to have a look at what other people had written about it and some people have give this book absolutely awful ratings which I disagree with. For the most part, those reviewers are basing their ratings on their opinion of Harry Styles and not their opinion of the book itself and it is important to distinguish between the two. I wasn't a very big fan of Harry Styles prior to reading his biography, and i'm even less of a fan of him now, however, the book itself wasn't all that bad. It covers the key points in both Harry Styles and One Direction's life/career as well as adding in extra details that most of the public aren't aware of. It discusses all of his most controversial moments since his rise to popularity but digs a little deeper than the online sources so even if you're a massive 1D fan you'll still probably learn something new from reading this.
This book is largely unbiased though I would say that there is a slightly pro-Harry tone underlying her words. A lot of the things that Harry Styles has done are not things to be proud of and yet I didn't get the feeling that Alice Montgomery thought that Harry jumping from cougar to cougar was a bad thing. Nevertheless, this is was a very informative read and I learnt quite a lot about the background to One Direction and Harry Styles himself. A lot of the issues discussed are very controversial or caused a lot of media attention but the writing is quite good in that it isn't too judgmental and the facts are presented in a fairly unbiased way. Some of the facts used don't portray Harry in a good light but I'd say that the majority of the quotes used are in Harry's defense. This would tend to indicate that the author was biased; however, both sides of every argument are explored.
There are also two sections of pictures contained in this book though I don't think really adds much to it. These photos can all be found online and aren't really anything special. A few of them pertain to the scandals discussed but the majority of them are just random shots of Harry and the band looking cool or having fun. Fans of Harry Styles will no doubt lap these sections up but they don't really serve much of a purpose.
One particular thing that really bothered me about this book was that Alice Montgomery said about Harry Styles' relationship with Taylor Swift. I quote: "She was almost as famous as Harry, and together the two of then were going to become one of the most high-profile couples in the world of entertainment". I'm sorry, but in what world is Harry Styles more famous than Taylor Swift? Personally I think that this is a gross overstatement and that whilst One Direction, as a band, may currently be catching up to Taylor Swift's level of popularity or are possibly even on a level with her, Harry Styles, as an individual, is definitely not more famous that Taylor Swift. Another thing the author said was that Harry's fascination with older women stemmed from his parents divorce (when he was just 7) and his need to be 'mothered'. This is quite an assumption, and not really based on any facts. Given that the author isn't a psychiatrist I didn't really think that she had any right to include a judgement such as that without any real evidence.
Although I was initially very taken with this band, over time my infatuation for them has dwindled, despite their rising popularity. I still love their music, but I don't think that One Direction are particularly great role models which is worrying given that their main market consists of very impressionable teenage girls. After reading Harry Style's biography I have to say that my opinion of him has only dropped. From all that I've read in the tabloids and in this book, he is a massive player who goes for women who are, in my opinion, far too old for him. People are constantly saying that the One Direction boys have stayed true to themselves and haven't been absorbed by celeb culture which is why they are so likeable, and whilst that may be true, you can't deny that Harry seems to have taken fame in his stride moving from celeb girl to celeb girl. Despite the fact that my estimation of Harry has dropped, I have a much more positive opinion of One Direction as a music group as they have achieved a phenomenal amount of success in very little time which a lot of people don't appreciate. All in all, I would recommend this book for any 1D or Harry Styles fans. You will no doubt find lots of juicy facts in here that will fuel your obsessions ever further. This book will also prove to be an informative and interesting read for those that perhaps aren't massive fans of One Direction, but are simply interested in finding out more about the band that has been dubbed as the next Beatles and the boy that is said to be following Mick Jagger's footsteps.
Random facts: Harry has four nipples and a fear of goats
http://whats--hot.com
When One Direction first debuted as a band on the X Factor several years ago, I have to admit, I was completely smitten. I was a Directioner through and through despite the fact that their voices really weren't that great. I found this book particularly interesting to read because I've been following One Direction's story right from the very beginning and I've either been to or heard a lot about some of the events that were discussed in this book. Despite that, there were still loads of details about their rise to fame that I didn't know about and the fact that this book isn't solely focused on Harry Styles is a good thing because as 1/5 of One Direction, you can't possibly just focus in on him.
Having finished this book, I logged onto Goodreads to have a look at what other people had written about it and some people have give this book absolutely awful ratings which I disagree with. For the most part, those reviewers are basing their ratings on their opinion of Harry Styles and not their opinion of the book itself and it is important to distinguish between the two. I wasn't a very big fan of Harry Styles prior to reading his biography, and i'm even less of a fan of him now, however, the book itself wasn't all that bad. It covers the key points in both Harry Styles and One Direction's life/career as well as adding in extra details that most of the public aren't aware of. It discusses all of his most controversial moments since his rise to popularity but digs a little deeper than the online sources so even if you're a massive 1D fan you'll still probably learn something new from reading this.
This book is largely unbiased though I would say that there is a slightly pro-Harry tone underlying her words. A lot of the things that Harry Styles has done are not things to be proud of and yet I didn't get the feeling that Alice Montgomery thought that Harry jumping from cougar to cougar was a bad thing. Nevertheless, this is was a very informative read and I learnt quite a lot about the background to One Direction and Harry Styles himself. A lot of the issues discussed are very controversial or caused a lot of media attention but the writing is quite good in that it isn't too judgmental and the facts are presented in a fairly unbiased way. Some of the facts used don't portray Harry in a good light but I'd say that the majority of the quotes used are in Harry's defense. This would tend to indicate that the author was biased; however, both sides of every argument are explored.
There are also two sections of pictures contained in this book though I don't think really adds much to it. These photos can all be found online and aren't really anything special. A few of them pertain to the scandals discussed but the majority of them are just random shots of Harry and the band looking cool or having fun. Fans of Harry Styles will no doubt lap these sections up but they don't really serve much of a purpose.
One particular thing that really bothered me about this book was that Alice Montgomery said about Harry Styles' relationship with Taylor Swift. I quote: "She was almost as famous as Harry, and together the two of then were going to become one of the most high-profile couples in the world of entertainment". I'm sorry, but in what world is Harry Styles more famous than Taylor Swift? Personally I think that this is a gross overstatement and that whilst One Direction, as a band, may currently be catching up to Taylor Swift's level of popularity or are possibly even on a level with her, Harry Styles, as an individual, is definitely not more famous that Taylor Swift. Another thing the author said was that Harry's fascination with older women stemmed from his parents divorce (when he was just 7) and his need to be 'mothered'. This is quite an assumption, and not really based on any facts. Given that the author isn't a psychiatrist I didn't really think that she had any right to include a judgement such as that without any real evidence.
Although I was initially very taken with this band, over time my infatuation for them has dwindled, despite their rising popularity. I still love their music, but I don't think that One Direction are particularly great role models which is worrying given that their main market consists of very impressionable teenage girls. After reading Harry Style's biography I have to say that my opinion of him has only dropped. From all that I've read in the tabloids and in this book, he is a massive player who goes for women who are, in my opinion, far too old for him. People are constantly saying that the One Direction boys have stayed true to themselves and haven't been absorbed by celeb culture which is why they are so likeable, and whilst that may be true, you can't deny that Harry seems to have taken fame in his stride moving from celeb girl to celeb girl. Despite the fact that my estimation of Harry has dropped, I have a much more positive opinion of One Direction as a music group as they have achieved a phenomenal amount of success in very little time which a lot of people don't appreciate. All in all, I would recommend this book for any 1D or Harry Styles fans. You will no doubt find lots of juicy facts in here that will fuel your obsessions ever further. This book will also prove to be an informative and interesting read for those that perhaps aren't massive fans of One Direction, but are simply interested in finding out more about the band that has been dubbed as the next Beatles and the boy that is said to be following Mick Jagger's footsteps.
Random facts: Harry has four nipples and a fear of goats
http://whats--hot.com
October 16, 2022
what. was. that.
March 4, 2013
First off all, the author is not mostly at fault here. She has tried to make Harry Styles look positive but no amount of sugar coating can hide who Harry Styles really is.
To be honest, I didn't read the biography thoroughly, in fact I skim read it yet I still was bored. After reading, you find out how superficial and small he is regardless of his popularity. He jumps from one woman to another, reflecting his womanizing character.
Most of all, I absolutely hated the cheesy, overrated description of him. Yes he has curly hair, so what? Many people do. I strongly feel that Harry Styles is overrated and the most stereotypical boy from a boy band possible.
All the book was about was his relationships, how he went through females, one after the other.
Overall, I wouldn't even recommend this book to 1D/ Harry Style fans as all the information in it, is what ever was in magazine articles but expanded on with great detail, most unnecessary.
To be honest, I didn't read the biography thoroughly, in fact I skim read it yet I still was bored. After reading, you find out how superficial and small he is regardless of his popularity. He jumps from one woman to another, reflecting his womanizing character.
Most of all, I absolutely hated the cheesy, overrated description of him. Yes he has curly hair, so what? Many people do. I strongly feel that Harry Styles is overrated and the most stereotypical boy from a boy band possible.
All the book was about was his relationships, how he went through females, one after the other.
Overall, I wouldn't even recommend this book to 1D/ Harry Style fans as all the information in it, is what ever was in magazine articles but expanded on with great detail, most unnecessary.
February 5, 2020
Tę pozycję czytam już tak naprawdę z samego sentymentu, ponieważ rzeczy w niej zawarte znam już na pamięć. Bardzo rzadko sięgam po biografię ze względu na to, że często informacje w nich są mało wiarygodne, a poza tym zauważyłam, że ostatnio się one do niczego nie nadają. Jeśli ktoś chciałby jednak poznać początki kariery Harry'ego to mogę tę pozycję polecić z ręką na sercu, ponieważ nie zawiera ona błędów, a do tego jest napisana krótko i na temat. Bardzo podoba mi się, że nie jest ona początkowo napisana chronologicznie, a wydarzenia z jego życia przeplatają się ze sobą, ale w taki sposób, że czytelnik się nie gubi.
January 21, 2022
A crippling one star review:
This book was so utterly sexist. Like you are talking about a 17-18 year old KID for gods sake. Take that and Caroline Flack was mentioned wayyy to many times. I felt so uncomfortable reading this, going in depth into harry life with the worst possible angle.As a 1d fan i know harry is nothing like this but it was gross to read this. The author clearly doesn't know anything about harry and only wants to make profit. There is a reason this is called an unauthorized biography
This book was so utterly sexist. Like you are talking about a 17-18 year old KID for gods sake. Take that and Caroline Flack was mentioned wayyy to many times. I felt so uncomfortable reading this, going in depth into harry life with the worst possible angle.As a 1d fan i know harry is nothing like this but it was gross to read this. The author clearly doesn't know anything about harry and only wants to make profit. There is a reason this is called an unauthorized biography
September 14, 2013
This is the book of Harry Styles, from One Direction, but actually, all it really focuses on is the X Factor, Caroline Flack, Take That and concerts, it doesn't give an insight into Harry's life, like its supposed to, I find that quote annoying. It does nothing to help his reputation about sleeping around either when he is mentioned, it just makes it worse. I would much rather read something from his point of view. All I got from this book is that he worked in a bakery.
October 21, 2016
Of course I enjoyed reading about Harry, because he is amazing. However, I feel like he was portrayed as a bit of a womanizer in this book, and I don't really think he's like that. But of course the parts about Taylor and Harry were my favourite - Haylor <3 It was nice to read something I'm comfortable with, however I already knew lots of the stuff that was in the book lol.
January 8, 2014
I was bought this book for Christmas as a joke. After finishing it I can confirm that that's all it is.
October 3, 2025
Amo Harry, ma qua si parla praticamente solo delle donne con cui è andato a letto e invece credo che ci sia tutto un mondo da dire su di lui.
(È stato scritto più di 10 anni fa quindi posso capire, però in ogni singola pagina sta con qualcuno di diverso e dopo un po’ viene a noia che si parli quasi esclusivamente di quello.)
(È stato scritto più di 10 anni fa quindi posso capire, però in ogni singola pagina sta con qualcuno di diverso e dopo un po’ viene a noia che si parli quasi esclusivamente di quello.)
December 1, 2020
Es una linda biografía para los seguidores de Harry. Me gustó, pero varias sentí en varias oportunidades que los datos no eran tan ciertos.
October 15, 2023
It was ok, i felt like a lot of what was said wasn’t proven and it kinda dragged but it wad good if u want to learn about one direction cause there wasn’t heaps about harry
May 25, 2025
I luv harry
September 27, 2021
Para quer conhecer um pouco do Harry no One Direction e até mesmo sua vida pessoal pode valer o investimento, mas não 100%. O livro foca somente nos relacionamentos, sempre frisando o cantor como um predador sexual e as mulheres como "presas" que não conseguem se desvencilhar deste papel. Extremamente ridículo e de mal gosto. único capitulo realmente bom é o dedicado a Taylor, quando realmente tem um Qi de biografia.
October 1, 2022
0.5 co to są za brednie w ogóle
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