Chambers Biographical Dictionary

by Magnus Magnusson (Editor)

Slightly worn and creased cover

Genres: Reference, Biography, History, Nonfiction

1604 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Magnus Magnusson, KBE, was an Icelandic television presenter, journalist, translator and writer. He was born in Iceland but lived in Scotland for almost all of his life, although he never took British citizenship. He came to prominence as a BBC television journalist, and was best known as the presenter of the BBC television quiz programme Mastermind, which he hosted for 25 years.

Under Icelandic naming conventions, his name would have been Magnús Sigursteinsson (Magnús, son of Sigursteinn), but his family adopted British naming conventions and he took his father's surname. Although born in Reykjavík, Magnusson grew up in Edinburgh, where his father, Sigursteinn Magnússon, was the Icelandic consul.

Reviews

[Jeremy Thomas]

Not sure why I keep this in the days of the Internet.

Actually, I’ll chuck it now.

[Leonard Pierce]

This, on the other hand, is a reference book that's easy to review: it's flat-out terrific, I'd say even indispensable. Alongside the Encyclopedia Gastronomique (also by Larousse), it's a perennial candidate for book I'd most want to take to a desert island.

[Paul]

Invaluable reference