What's It All About?

by Michael Caine

From Alfred to Zulu, Michael Caine has been Britain's best-loved actor for half a century.

Now, for the first time, he reveals the truth behind his remarkable life. From his time as an evacuee during the Blitz to his front-line military service in the Korean War, from his early days as an assistant stagehand to becoming Peter O'Toole's understudy, from walk-on parts in local theatres to blowing the bloody doors off with his legendary roles in Zulu and The Italian Job, Caine's life was never simple or easy.

Discussing his little-known childhood and family alongside his hard-fought journey from London to Hollywood, Caine writes with astonishing candour about the good years and the lean years, bringing his unique charm and humour to his anecdotes and memories of a sprawling movie-making career. If you worked in Hollywood in the last few decades, you've probably worked with Michael Caine - and his accounts of his relationships with other superstars, both on and offscreen, make this autobiography essential reading for any fan not just of Michael Caine, but of film in general.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Film, Biography Memoir, Celebrity

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Sir Michael Caine, CBE was born Maurice Joseph Micklewaite near Elephant and Castle in South London. His first major starring roles, beginning in the 1960s, include 'Zulu,' 'The Ipcress File,' and 'Alfie.' He is a major Hollywood film star and two-time Academy Award winner with a career spanning over sixty years.

Reviews

[E.d. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that Maurice Micklewhite would be an excellent subject for an autobiography even if he never became famous. Caine writes the rare star autobiography that is just as interesting in telling of life before fame as after. He writes just like he talks. You get a sense of his personality. I loved his descriptions of his childhood in the English countryside during the war and of his ridiculous idea to enlist in the military to go to Korea. I was moved by his solitary get away to Paris. Reading this is like going out to dinner with your wittiest, most exciting friend.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I was once asked in an interview: "How would you sum up your life in one line?" and I answered, "All my dreams came true."'

I don't read many celebrity autobiographies. Of the countless books I've read there's been maybe 3? Or 4, if John Stuart Mill counts as a celebrity. (Perhaps he did, but not since he broke up with Kim Kardashian.)

Michael Caine is one of my favourite actors. I even enjoy some of his bad movies, or at least his movies that other people consider bad, like Blue Ice. And for some reason I just love the way he talks. So if I was ever going to read another celebrity autobiography, it was his.

I knew almost nothing about Michael Caine's life outside movies before I read this, so I was able to be suitably surprised at the places he's been and the things he's done. He's had a great life and an interesting one, and I'm sure he's still having a great life right now. If you've ever seen him being interviewed, you may have an idea of how he speaks: he writes just like that. It's always easy to hear his voice while reading his book. It's a good voice. If you have the idea that all celebrity autobiographies are ghostwritten, you can rest assured that this is written by the real Michael Caine. My hyperactive bullshit detectors decided this on the first page.

(As an aside, I'm not against ghostwritten autobiographies. In many cases, it's no doubt for the best. A good writer who's spoken with the subject, or seen some interviews, is probably better able to express that person's life, in their authentic voice, than the person who lived it.)

This is the story of Maurice (pronounced 'Morris') Micklewhite, a poor kid from the south of London who dreamed of becoming a movie star and made it, after years of struggle. He survived the Blitz, and poverty, and the Korean war, and years of being a struggling actor constantly in danger of going to jail for failing to pay child support, all the while sticking to his improbable dream. As time wore on, some of his like-minded friends found fame and fortune, making Michael think he'd missed the boat; and some, stricken by poverty and hopelessness, thought it would never happen and killed themselves.

The first few hundred pages of What's It All About?, recounting those years of struggle, are quite different to the rest of the book. I think this is largely because they're an excellent version of the 'rags to riches' story, one of those archetypal narratives, the 'seven basic plots'. These pages are also much better-written than most of the rest of the book. More care seems to have been taken with them, either by the author or an editor or proofreader. In a few passages Michael really brings to life London in the swinging sixties, communicating the spirit of that place and time as well as anyone ever has, in just a few paragraphs. These passages led me to lengthy contemplations of why the city I live in could never be home to a cultural revolution like 1960s London. (In summary: 1- the basic necessities of life are so expensive that few creative people can pursue a dream for the time it takes to learn a craft and get lucky, because they must either get a regular energy- and soul-sucking job or become homeless; 2- There's nowhere for fun creative people to hang out and meet, as all the night clubs are run by and for awful people.) The occasional foreshadowings of Michael's future life as a celebrity movie star, which are injected into his poverty-stricken youth, show that he knows exactly how to leaven the potentially depressing content with hints that it all turned out all right in the end. Also, these flashforwards to the celebrity life could be seen as bones thrown to those movie fans who want to know why this book about movies is all about poor people being bombed by Nazis.

Perhaps it's easier to write well when you're writing a story that fits one of those 'seven basic plots'. Perhaps the terrible deadline that oppressed Michael as he wrote the book (he mentions it several times) led to some haste. After Michael becomes rich and famous, the book seems less artfully constructed, more prone to clichéd expressions, more inclined to include dinners and meetings and trips and films that don't seem 'book-worthy'. In anyone else's book I'd wince at some of those clichés, but because they sound perfectly natural in Michael Caine's conversational voice, I was able to accept them in his book. A couple of times I thought, after several attempts at an incomprehensibly ungrammatical sentence, 'If you or anyone else had re-read that before sending this book to the printer, it would be a very different sentence now.'

After fame strikes, the book stops being a great story and becomes a series of anecdotes, many of them great, and some only OK. A lot of them are about movies, and your enjoyment may depend on whether you have seen those movies. The quality of the writing often seems proportional to the author's emotional investment in the story he's telling, making me wonder if the most important stories, the personal ones, were all written first, and finessed, and proofread, and the rest of the book was written quickly to meet a deadline.

I've seen a lot of Michael Caine's movies, more than half I guess, and I largely read this because I like a lot of them, so it was interesting that I liked the book best when Michael wasn't talking about movies. After he becomes famous, the best stories are about his beautiful wife Shakira. I loved the story of how they met. He's also very good at expressing his love of the great homes he's lived in, and I can't think of any book that has expressed this aspect of life, the joy of living in a really great house, so well as this one.

[Salomé McSmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful read it was. Never once was I bored or felt that I'd rather have it finished soon. I read the book while hearing the author's voice in my head as if I was listening to an audiobook. Once I came across the famous photo of Michael Caine accompanying his mother while browsing the Internet and it were the comments that grabbed my attention. People praised the book and the special relationship Sir Michael had with his mother. That was it! I had to lay my eyes on what he had to tell me in his autobiography. Fortunately I wasn't disgruntled. Quite contrary, I would recommend this book to anyone no matter whether you like films featuring Michael Caine or not. I myself have watched only a couple of them, Sleuth included, both, the old and the new one. I'm not sure whether I'm going to watch more than 3 or 4 of his films, but I'm so glad Sir Michael is still around and wrote this lovely book.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biographies are not really my genre, but this was entertaining book. The most vividly remembered parts of this book are his early years, for example London during WWII and his early excursions with Peter O'Toole.

Nice, nothing deep, but with a good sense of humour and it does sound like him...

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed every moment of this 500+ page book. In addition to being one of my favorite actors, Michael Caine is extremely witty, unabashedly low brow, humble but not shy, and a surprisingly good writer. My favorite thing about him is his intentional inclination to say YES to every role offered, even when he thinks, for whatever reason, that the film might not be great. Freely admitting that he’s been in a number of flops, he also acknowledges his coworkers who made these projects fun, spinning insider yarns and anecdotes.

He drops a lot of names, but always to convey stories about his professional and personal interactions with his colleagues. He also talks quite a bit about his mum and family members, who he took care of financially as soon as he had the means. And who knew that his mum gave him his first acting opportunity—to discourage bill collectors by pretending that she wasn’t home and slamming the door!

For film buffs, What’s it all About? is a goldmine. Caine discusses aspects of every film that he’s been in up to 1992, in chronological order. His descriptions are quite entertaining. He’s also candid about his personal life, including his first brief marriage and the daughter who he stuck by even when he was broke. His later, longtime marriage and resulting daughter are discussed as an integral part of his life. He also talks of his longtime friends with little regard to whether or not they became famous.

All in all, if you love Michael Caine, or rags to riches stories filled with candid and irreverent humor, you’ll love this book.

[AsimovsZeroth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Caine's memoirs were absolutely fascinating for the first eighty to a hundred pages, but after that the next thirty or so it starts falling flat. I'm sure I could have forced myself past that and re-kindled my interest, but I simply don't have the motivation. The stories are amusing and you can't help but hear Michael Caine's voice while you read, but while he's certainly had an interesting life even before the acting career, he starts to get bogged down in too many details.

I usually don't find that to be a problem with what I'm reading and I'm rarely able to put down even a mediocre book down before I've finished it. That's just not the way I usually work. However, I've recently realized that I'm only ever going to be able to read a fraction of the books that I want to - life is just too short to read this book.

Not that I'm saying other people shouldn't read it. I think a lot of Michael Caine fans will absolutely love this book - it's just not my cup of tea.

[CF · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Caine has had a fascinating life. He tells his life story with charm, wit and minute detail. From his start in the South London area of Elephant and Castle, right up to 1992.

Caine has seen a multitude of amazing things, and remembers them with a clarity that is only rarely experienced. He name drops quite liberally, but always in a context that is relevant to the story. He chronicles his experience of World War II, his time in amateur theatre, his horrific time in the Korean War, and finally, his break into show business with 'The Ipcress File'.

His stories are absolutely riveting, I could not put this book down. Caine also shows the bad side of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Including the AIDS outbreak of the 80's, which took a few of his friends, who he always describes so dearly.

This book is highly, highly recommended. Even though I know 'The Elephant to Hollywood' is a lot of re-used material from this book, I would still like to read the last 18 years of his fantastic life.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be the first book I ever read about a movie star, certainly the first autobiography. Its pretty old too, written around 1993. But Caine (born Maurice Micklewhite) had an interesting rise from poverty in London and the story of his non-meteoric rise was much more interesting than the glory years. Most of that part consisted of name-dropping. Given his humble roots I think he was always amazed that he made it in that industry and it shows. But he tells all (or most) in a fairly self-deprecating and humorous manner that makes you think he'd be a guy fun to have a beer with. There is little if any back-stabbing and scandal revealing, perhaps as he had plenty of career to go or maybe he is just not that kind of guy. There are few movies I'd like to see as a result of reading this, although not as many as I imagined. 'The Man Who Would Be King' with Sean Connery is one.

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Caine's 'Don't Look Back' book which was really enjoyable. I liked the style, and the overall 'conversational' slant to the whole thing so I thought I'd buy both 'What's it all About' and 'Elephant to Hollywood' to get a more in-depth look at his life. Fortunately I only paid £3.50 for each book.

'What's it all about' starts off well enough, but after a while it simple degenerates into people, places, sexual conquests and money. Oh god, the obsession with money! There was no depth to the writing or any sense of growth.

Sadly I still have 'Elephant to Hollywood' to read. I'm not expecting any improvement.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This varies between 4 and 1 stars. Caine’s recount of his early life in poverty in London - the Blitz, evac, schooling - and his service in the army and Korea, are all four stars. Interesting, novel and unique, especially his account of Korea, compelling. His early struggles in acting and finding himself post-war service were also interesting.

Then he becomes successful. The name dropping, the details on movies that are not worthy of more than a sentence, the repeated accounts of partying with yet more name dropping. Boring. Oh the struggle of being wealthy and an actor!!! A job at which you can turn up pissed after a night on the booze. Jetting around. Yachts. Hanging with wealthy people. An occasional twinge of conscience at the disparity of wealth and the abject poverty in countries where filming takes place can be drowned with alcohol on the yacht or visiting a beautiful home of some “friend”. Or blocking right of access along the Thames so he doesn’t have to see people.

Return to accounts of his mother and family and my interest rises. So glad he did or I would have given it a one.

[Brian Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An addictive read - Michael Caine has led an interesting life, not least fighting on the frontline in the Korean War. Most of his stories and anecdotes were very entertaining, though in the last 10% it did fall into a pattern of listing famous names at dinner parties. Still, very much recommended.

[Drucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read! Michael Caine is an engaging writer and I enjoyed reading about all the famous people he met during his acting career and about a lot of the movies he was in, flops and successes both. He worked hard, is obviously very talented but above all was very tenacious and had great timing and luck.

[Michael Pryor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breezy, entertaining, charming.

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I saw Michael Caine in "THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING" and "THE EAGLE HAS LANDED" back in the 1970s, he has been one of my favorite actors. Now that I have finished this delightful and wonderful memoir (one of the best that I've ever read), I like him even more as a human being.

Born into poverty in London in 1933, Caine had a childhood ambition to be an actor. Up until he was almost 30, he struggled, largely unrecognized, to develop his talent. With the success of "ZULU", Caine became a star and further solidified his career in movies such as "THE IPCRESS FILE", "THE ITALIAN JOB", "GET CARTER", and "SLEUTH" (starring with Sir Lawrence Olivier).

Caine is a very engaging storyteller and this book is replete with his varied experiences of working on various movie sets around the world, making friendships with some of the most remarkable people in his profession (as well as the arts, royalty, and politics), and his love and devotion to his family and friends great and small.


I'll sum up my review of "What's It All About" with 2 observations made by Mr. Caine himself in it -
"I was once asked the difference for me between theatre, film and television. They were like three women, I said. The theatre was a woman whom I loved but who didn't love me back and treated me like shit. The cinema was a woman whom I loved who loved me back so deeply she didn't care when I treated her like shit. And television was a one-night stand."

"So what was it all about? In my case it was about ambition and anger and despair and determination, the everyday driving force of the poor who wish to find a ladder out of the well of hopelessness. It was also about my companions on my journey through show business. We are not, of course, without our faults. For the most part we are spoiled if we are successful, and bitter if we are not. We can be conceited and arrogant, and we are all, without exception, insecure. Finally, we are all slightly mad, or we would not be in this business in the first place, and only cling on to some sanity by a thin thread of incurable optimism."

[Bebc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just recently finished reading this Michael Caine autobiography. I enjoyed it for several reasons. First of all I've always considered English acting as the very best and that coupled with the fact that Caine and I are the same age gave me the chance to compare his life long experiences to those of mine at the various stages of our lives. We both grew up in grade school during World War II. Obviously the effect on him much more severe than on me. He served in the trenches of North Korea as a teenager and I flew over Viet Nam as a 30 year old. Again, not the same, but we both participated in ugly wars. His professional life obligated him to travel to numerous places throughout the world as did mine. I guess the one big difference is the fact that I retired 30 years ago and I see he is now again in another new movie. Good for him! Tom(B.E.B.C.)

[Craigb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every so often I like to read an autobiography of someone I like. This is a good read of Michael's life and career up to 1992 (I think - I read this about 4 years ago and it was published back in the 1990s; he has written more since). I loved the bit about the filming of Zulu and Caine's naivety of the film industry at that time. It got me thinking, is Caine a talented actor even if you make it in Hollywood. The answer is yes, and although he's made some bad films he will always be remembered for starring in some of the greatest British movies of all time, such as the Italian Job, Alfie and my personal favourite To Be The King (all of which he writes about). Written in the style we've come to know about Michael this is still worth a read.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read, the kind of book you pack in your beachbag for a summertime read. Caine writes almost the same way he speaks, so there is constant humor and a love of life. His start in life was tough and he doesn't hide his own failings regarding his first marriage and child, so the honesty is appreciated by the reader.

Sometimes he seems to aim for the heights conquered by David Niven in his enjoyable memoirs and doesn't quite get there. I'm not sure all of it is truly happening as he states or whether he's using hindsight to his advantage. But, not for me to decipher, just for me to read and enjoy.

[Brian Connolly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Michael Caine. But this book was just a long list of names dropped. It started out brilliantly with the wonderful story of his hard work against the odds rise to stardom, but then turned into a procession of stars he hung out with who were all very nice apparently. I'd love to hang out with him for a while, and I love that he wouldnt care about my review. But not a great book in my mind.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this surprisingly lengthy autobiography, Michael Caine doesn't come off as a very deep thinker or even terribly intelligent, but he certainly had an interesting life and it was a pleasure to read the many stories he tells about the movie business. The book was written in 1992 and he is still alive so much has happened since then.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of Michael Caine’s 1992 memoir, “What’s It All About?”, is enthralling. His life is one struggle after another: poverty, escaping the Blitz, unhappy times at school, military service in Korea, one dead-end job after another in hopes of making it as an actor despite his Cockney background and accent.

And then, success. First comes “Zulu,” the 1964 film that earned him his first major notice; then “The Ipcress File,” the first of the Harry Palmer films; and then, of course, “Alfie,” which gives the book its title (courtesy of one of his lines, made the title of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s theme song). Caine revels in Swinging London and his friendships with Terence Stamp, Sean Connery and British Invasion rock stars, then he leaves for Los Angeles and meets the cream of Old Hollywood, including Cary Grant and John Wayne.

He also gets dull.

Well, not dull. I don’t think it’s possible for Michael Caine to be dull. I once interviewed him and he was gracious and funny, and his self-deprecating sense of humor continually pops up throughout “What’s It All About?” Early in the book, he mentions looking back on an incident “when I was living on a Beverly Hill,” and he mentions how “remarkably inefficient” the neighborhood trucks were in his downtrodden London neighborhood, given that “the amount and variety of stuff that fell off the back of them and found its way into our house was amazing.” Later, referring to the Oscars, he remarks, “The security is heavy and so is the insecurity.”

The book also contains perhaps his most famous witticism, referring to the making of “Jaws: The Revenge”: “I have never seen the film but by all accounts it was terrible. However I HAVE seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”

But post-“Alfie” Michael Caine just isn’t as interesting as the struggling version. There are times his stories of childhood and young adulthood give Frank McCourt and “Angela’s Ashes” a run for their money, though in place of McCourt’s deadpan, dour narration – which seems to cloak 1930s Ireland in the gray murk of, perhaps, the 1830s – Caine is always hopeful, if often desperate, which allows a bit of sunshine to break through.

Indeed, he was a lucky man, and he doesn’t take his good fortune for granted, even when it looked like it was running out.

In his late teens, having survived poverty and the Blitz, he’s sent off to Korea. He offers no illusions of military service. His first memory of the Korean peninsula is the smell of human manure that came wafting over to his troop ship; the second is the incredible hardship of the Korean people. He slept with rats and dodged mortar fire. He also made sure to avoid sex, given that the country’s prostitutes were rift with venereal disease. And yet he almost died upon returning, having developed a rare form of malaria. He was saved by an enterprising American doctor with an experimental cure that required him and his colleagues to remain motionless for 10 days. Fortunately, the cure worked, and if he’s been restless since – Caine has often been criticized for taking roles indiscriminately – you can’t blame him.

Still, I wish he’d been more discriminating with his stories of movie success. He’s not a man who criticizes publicly, so except for complaints about high British tax rates and what he saw as an unfair story by Gloria Steinem, everybody he’s worked with is wonderful or talented or both. His marriage to his second wife, Shakira, is made-for-Hollywood fantastical: He saw her on a TV commercial, pursued her, and their marriage has been nothing but happiness. (They’d been married close to 20 years when the book came out; he’s now been with her for 45.) He calls out bigots and refrains from gossip. And except for certain movies – “Sleuth,” “The Man Who Would Be King,” a bit of “Hannah and Her Sisters” – his filmography zips by, a career he sometimes seems to maintain so he has enough money to invest in his homes.

However, he’s such an ingratiating writer it’s hard to complain. I read the original edition, so I do hope his publisher has fixed a number of errors I caught: the great set designer Ken Adam, allegedly a close friend, is routinely called Ken ADAMS; he attends the premiere of ��Alfie” with “all four Beatles and all four Rolling Stones” (I wonder which one didn’t count – probably Bill Wyman); and in one paragraph he misspells the names of both the 19th-century British actor Edmund Kean and the 20th-century British actor Paul Scofield. There are also some issues with chronology – I think he mentions the Profumo scandal as happening either a year before or after it actually did, in 1963 – but I’ll forgive those as lapses (or conflations) of memory.

So “What’s It All About?” About 520 pages, of which the first half is rich and savory and the rest … well, consider it a breezy dessert. And Michael Caine, of all people, deserves a nice dessert.

[Mike Futcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given Michael Caine's status as a national treasure and his well-earned reputation as a raconteur, it is no surprise that his autobiography is so amiable and entertaining to read. There are no grotty, salacious revelations in the style of the modern celebrity 'tell-all' gossip biography; that would only cheapen Caine's remarkable story. What we get is something more wholesome (but yet willing to address alcoholism and perceptions of 'womanizing' from the Sixties, amongst other things); we're spending time in the company of a man who you become very interested in.

Much of the book, of course, covers his film career and it is therefore a great relief that this is actually interesting. Caine mingled with a lot of the stars of Hollywood in a time when that still meant something. It seems like every other day he was meeting new and interesting people, whether in Swinging London, New York or Los Angeles. As he notes on page 255, "I seemed to spend a lot of time in Hollywood standing open-mouthed as I was introduced to someone astonishing", and that is the tone and content of a large portion of this book. But it's not a blitz of name-dropping; Caine is great at telling anecdotes and framing them as only a natural storyteller can. It somewhat inevitably becomes less interesting towards the end of the 1970s as Caine's leading-man status in films waned, but there's still plenty to hold one's attention from then on. Mercifully for such a long book with so much content, Caine writes well and the pages breeze by.

In contrast to many autobiographies, in Caine's case it is the years before fame that are the most riveting. As much as I enjoyed the celebrity hobnobbing of the later chapters, the enjoyment of those chapters is heightened by sharing in Caine's experiences and trials before his fame. From evacuation to the countryside in World War Two and growing up in poverty in working-class London, to struggling in both Britain's rigid class structure and the unsympathetic world of show-business until his big break at the age of 30, Caine is for all 557 pages of this book funny, warm and modest, and it's heartening to know that despite some titanic struggles such a person can indeed 'make it'. And for a man who comes across as such a decent and likeable person, with just enough rascal about him to keep him interesting, you don't begrudge him a single minute of it.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked Michael Caine as an actor though I haven't really seen a lot of his films. So seeing this autobiography whilst in a charity shop I thought I'd give it a go.

When it comes to 'celebrities' I'm not really one of those people who reads up on them and their lives, who obsesses over minutiae of what they do every minute of every day. When it comes to actors my one consideration is did you play/act your part well, was I convinced. Beyond that I don't particularly care what they do in their personal lives as its just that - personal, to them. But as Michael Caine has been in some great movies - Zulu, Italian Job etcetera I was interested to see his take on filming them.

If you're interested in the same details you might be disappointed, this book does talk about his experience on different films but they are merely a small part of his life so aren't particularly detailed. Zulu perhaps has more pages assigned to it, but that is because it was one of his first films and was filmed in apartheid South Africa with actual Zulu's so there is some political commentary that I found interesting.

The book covers Michael Caine's early years through to just as he was filming Muppets Christmas Carol. Part of me wishes the book was finished after that as it was a great film and I'd have been interested to read more about his experience in acting against Muppets but oh well.

A colleague mentioned to me that he'd heard a snippet of this book and and thought it was rather name-dropping, and there are segments like that but they don't feel name dropped. Instead we're treated to what feels like a realistic introduction into 'Hollywood' for an 'older' actor (older here meaning, in their thirties... same age as me... does that make me old?). I'm sure if Christian Bale or Keanu Reeves were to write autobiographies (NB, they may have done I was too lazy to check) they'd also talk about walking into rooms and meeting other famous people for the first time - it's the nature of the business they are in.

Overall an interesting read, but given my lack of interest in 'celebrities' personal lives I'm doubtful it is a book I'd read again.

[Nanci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent interesting autobiography which I couldn’t help but hear in Caine’s distinctive Cockney accent (plus the voices of the many celebrities he’s known over the decades in the entertainment biz). I’m pretty sure I found this first edition US hardcover in a Little Free Library or left in our building’s lobby, and I’m glad I picked it up. Loads of fun anecdotes from his life up to 1991 when the book was published; I’ll look to see if he’s done a sequel as he’s kept busy in the ensuing 30 years! The Internet Movie Database currently lists 176 credits, and of course the book doesn’t mention all of them. Born in 1933 as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London’s impoverished East End, he did a terrific job of evoking the different eras he’s lived through thus far, particularly the 1950s-60s as he transitioned from a poor lad scraping along with his mum & brother & rough fish market porter dad, to an unwilling soldier in the National Service, then struggled in the theater/tv/film until he was suddenly a recognized star via “Alfie”. I like his matter-of-fact presentation of his financial ups and downs, too, and that he found the love of his life and they’re still together. Bravo, sir, on your continued success! I hope to visit one of your restaurants someday.

[Chris C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago. Cool book, it does get a tad less interesting towards the end but it's still worth reading. There's a certain romance about a guy from a poor, gritty part of London, with dreams of making it as an actor and then amazingly succeeding. I found his tales of his early life really fascinating. Do I remember correctly that he got his eyelashes tinted to give himself more presence on the screen? I think that happened. He had bucket-loads of charisma did Michael Caine, especially in the '64 to '74 period. I liked his tales about his life before he was famous eg when he was flatmates with the younger and more successful Terence Stamp and one day after Zulu came out they were having dinner at a restaurant and producer Harry Saltzman was at a nearby table and offered Caine a 5 picture deal in the restaurant off the back of his work in Zulu. I bumped into Terence Stamp a few years ago in a fish and chips shop and re-countered that story to him and he said it did happen that way but it was not after Zulu but after Ipcress File that Saltzman offered the deal. I didn't have the balls or the heart to argue with Mr Stamp, but surely it was after Zulu, either way that was an historic moment.

[Irina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anecdotes galore, brushes with the interesting and famous, a life fueled by a driving ambition to keep on escaping poverty, to keep collecting material evidence that he had "succeeded." Caine was reared by responsible but dirt-poor parents in South London, along with a younger brother.

He spins some very unpleasant yarns about his time in Korea (while in the Army), the Philippines, jungles and deserts (while on early film locations), persevering for a decade before the film that made him famous, Alfie. No other actors wanted the role because the film contained an explicit abortion scene, more controversial in the late 1960s than it would be presently.

The constant sexual behavior and drinking bouts make, eventually, sordid and monotonous reading. Now and then he attempts to convince the reader that he's a sensitive and socially conscious human being, by means of some self=serving anecdote, but of course we expect that from anyone who is not an out-and-out monster. I still found myself, in the end, asking "Doesn't this chap ever grow up?"

Not recommended unless you're really hungry for cheap laughs and lots of vulgar language and attitudes.

[Rupert Grech · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent autobiography that seems to give a credible account of a fascinating life and also some insight into Caine's personality. Of course, he is a Hollywood celebrity and has a vested interest in talking himself up into something larger than life and sometimes there are sections that seem exaggerated or trivialised or sanitised or even just made up, but it is done in a very entertaining style of writing that is informal and familiar. Like all of us, the author exhibits self-contradiction and inconsistency, especially when professing an abhorrence of economic inequality while at the same time truely revelling in and admiring luxury and also in his friendship/reverence for Royalty, along with professing a respect for women while playing the womaniser. Overall, he comes across as an interesting character who has had a fascinating life and a very down to earth guy with whom anyone would love to have a beer with, and that's the sign of a good autobiography in my books.

[S D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written before Michael Caine stared in a Muppet Christmas Carol, would love to see how filming that went.

I hate it when he tries his hand at purple prose, but love it when he’s short and to the point.

(on Jaws 4)
"I have never seen the film but by all accounts it was terrible. However I have seen the house that it built, and it was terrific."

"The most important thing that happened while I was shooting the picture in Nassau in the Caribbean (another good reason for doing it-the family had a great holiday) was that much to my surprise I won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for the film Hannah and Her sisters. The award was picked up for me by Sigourney Weaver, which meant that I never got to make my speech, which I had prepared for my first three nomination when I was there in the flesh."

[Phil Mader · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is more than one aspect to this book.

There’s the inspirational one of Caine’s perseverance and determination in the face of poverty, and suffering and rejection.
Connected to the above is his condemnation of the English class system, and the superiority complexes of many in the middle and upper classes (in his early days, IMO, part of the deeply destructive nature of the British Empire mentality).

The other aspect are his latter days of success in which, having experienced deprivation, he wallows in luxury accompanied by hobnobbing with the rich and powerful, sometimes offering up “shopping lists” of it, along with dizzying name dropping. This aspect sometimes leaves a bad taste akin to the pornographic.

It begins with an appetite for page turning and develops, with exceptions, into what feels like a walk through molasses.

[Robin Zebley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. I like memoirs from non-celebs that describe a place or way of life experienced, and this is all that and could have stood on its own just describing a life in the poor side of town during a horrible period in history to grow up in, in a place where class definitely matters.

But add to that his life with his fellow celeb friends who were struggling to make it at the same time, interesting tidbits about the films, and all in his voice put this over the top.

You really feel you're sitting around a table after a great dinner with friends telling and listening to great stories, and he's one of them. I especially enjoyed the stories about The Man Who Would Be King, one of my favorites.

I also learned a bit about the tricks of the trade that were interesting.

[Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of biographies, but I needed a book to read and this one was in the house so I picked it up.
It's a surprisingly good one. It's a long book, and like a lot of bios it's great in the beginning until the subject becomes famous, then drops to monotony of "one day I did this, the next I did this...", but while it does, it picks up again later in the book. There is of course a lot of name dropping but not too heavy.
Interestingly enough, you find yourself liking this man a lot through the book and not always. It's refreshing because he comes across as a normal human being. He refuses to kiss and tell and if you're looking for that, find another book. His perspectives on the different places he's been or lived are interesting.
It's not momentous, but it is (off and on) a good book to read. Assuming you know who he is of course.