Customer Reviews

4 reviews

• Andrew Wandsworth

  When it comes to reading an autobiography, I think it is an entirely different experience if you know the author personally. I was at Trinity College of Music with Graham Dalby and that was sufficient to ensure that I would read this well-crafted account of his amazingly eventful life, even though it is almost forty years since we last met. Despite nostalgia for our student years, and much that is familiar from that time, I was struck by the sharply drawn portraits of the range of brilliant eccentrics who were our teachers, and the equally brilliant musicians who were our fellow students and friends, Dalby has a keen eye for detail, and a disarming honesty that makes this a highly readable account of a life of many episodes, both before and since the time when we were at college. Dalby rejoices in being an inveterate name-dropper, and his life has been an almost unbroken chain of acquaintance with celebrities, usually, although not only occasioned by his music. While he rightly charts each personal triumph, he does not spare himself an account of his vulnerability, and the sadness, betrayal, and loss that necessarily touches any life - all is presented as part of the rich tapestry of a life passionately lived, and recounted with unfailing humour, and a good dose of self-mockery. You don’t have to know Graham Dalby to enjoy this book - I have already passed it on to a friend who had never heard of him and is already enjoying reading it. Surely that’s what you want in an autobiography, a sense that you know the person by reading their book. If that is what you are looking for, you won’t be disappointed here.
  

• Matt SR

  I found Graham Dalby’s book an absolute delight to read, from the first page to the last. Covering his remarkable life so far, from schooldays to the Hong Kong police, then Trinity College of Music to Buckingham Palace and practically everywhere and everyone in between, it’s a fascinating tale, recounted with wit and great charm, although not without moments of sadness and poignancy. One of the most interesting and entertaining books I’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended.

• Sharron Marie Whiting

  Really enjoyed hearing about Graham Dalby’s life. Entertaining read, beautifully written.

• N J Ashmore

  This book is an absolute delight and I would highly recommend it. Mr. Dalby has led a what can only be described as a ‘varied’ life and his autobiography provides a wonderful and entertaining insight into his various careers as a colonial police officer, a student of music, and a band leader. It is very easy to read and proved a real page turner for me. If you enjoy the book, please look at his music which I’m sure would delight too. He is a very talented musician and storyteller and is the sort of person who one would wish as a companion on a long rail journey. Thoroughly enjoyable.

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