Ferdinand Mount is a witty writer who knows many people, so the book is littered with the all sorts of folks, many or all of whom you may know of. I knew of only a few, so for much of the book I didn't really know who he was talking about. In some cases it didn't matter, but in others it would have been a boon. Nevertheless, I was going along just fine until I got to more modern times. He talks way too much about Margaret Thatcher and the politics of her era -- politics and policies that he seems to have been in favor or, well of course, he worked for her devising policy. But what killed it for me was his remark about someone he knew who had gone off to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the "Reds." Francisco Franco overthrew a democratically elected government. Those who fought against him to restate that government came from different political positions. Some were communists, socialists, anarchists, and others were what we would now call liberals. They were all democrats who were fighting against a fascist leader. Franco never entered into World War II, but Hitler and Mussolini supported him in the Civil War. It was German bombers that bombed the town of Guernica. Franco was a fascist. So to simplify who the Spanish republicans were by calling them "Reds" is to be ignorant or at the far end of the right wing. This made me lose trust and interest in his political ramblings. ( )

The author has led an unconventional life. Although this autobiography is not in chronological order, it is coherent and always interesting. ( )