Entertainment Memoir

Born and raised in Port Talbot—a small Welsh steelworks town—amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents, and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.

In this star-studded autobiography, Clive Davis shares a personal, candid look into his remarkable life and the last 50 years of popular music as only a true insider can. In the history of popular music, no one looms as large as Clive Davis. His career has spanned more than 40 years, and he has discovered, signed, or worked with a staggering array of artists: Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Dionne Warwick, Carlos Santana, The Grateful Dead, Alicia Keyes, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Aretha Franklin, to name a few.

In this luminous memoir, Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legend - and one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and two Emmys. Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto Rico, Moreno, at age five, embarked on a harrowing sea voyage with her mother and wound up in the harsh barrios of the Bronx, where she discovered dancing, singing, and acting as ways to escape a tumultuous childhood.

The time has come for Henry to spill the Horrid beans, once and for all, and tell the truth about everything with these moodily Magnificent Memoirs. This is a no-holds-barred collection of 11 Horrid Henry super stories performed by the show's full cast.

This is an engrossing and candid book, a beguiling exploration of what it means to be a producer, including purchasing rights, developing scripts, casting actors, managing directors, editing film, and winning awards. Filled with tales of legendary and beloved films, as well as some not-so-legendary and forgotten ones, A Life in Movies takes listeners behind the scenes and into the history of Hollywood.

Dancing in Blackness is a professional dancer's personal journey over four decades, across three continents and 23 countries, and through defining moments in the story of black dance in America. In this memoir, Halifu Osumare reflects on what blackness and dance have meant to her life and international career.

Quiara Alegría Hudes was the sharp-eyed girl on the stairs while her family danced their defiance in a tight North Philly kitchen. She was awed by her mother and aunts and cousins, but haunted by the unspoken, untold stories of the barrio — even as she tried to find her own voice in the sea of language around her, written and spoken, English and Spanish, bodies and books, Western art and sacred altars.

Want sex, drugs, and rock and roll? It’s all here. But what is so moving about Staci Layne Wilson’s unconventional coming-of-age story is that in spite of her rocky childhood, she describes her parents with deep affection, generosity, and pride. Hers is a story of triumph over a legacy of alcoholism, suicide, and Hollywood burnout, but more than that, it’s a tender, gripping tale of unconditional love (with a healthy dose of humor). Despite the downsides, her upbringing gave her the powerful determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

In part, an exercise in coming to terms with and making sense of life and mortality following the loss of a beloved father; in part, a reflection on an unlikely journey with her siblings through the music industry; in part, a meditation on family, on music and on creativity; and, in part, a shout-out for love and for hope. This is a very personal - at times very funny, at times deeply moving - book from an iconic figure in popular music.

This Is Not My Memoir tells the life story of André Gregory, iconic theatre director, writer, and actor. For the first time, Gregory shares memories from a life lived for art, including stories from the making of My Dinner with André. Taking on the dizzying, wondrous nature of a fever dream, This Is Not My Memoir includes fantastic and fantastical stories that take the listener from wartime Paris to golden-age Hollywood, from avant-garde theaters to monasteries in India.

Key Changes is a highly entertaining, frank and personal account of the highs and lows of show business, from post-war Twice Nightly Variety to the present day by renowned composer and performer, Denis King. Known as a brilliant anecdotalist, King himself reads his memoirs which are funny, poignant and eye-opening; he also illustrates them with his own piano-playing and personal sound archive.

Ein immerzu hungriger Junge, mit der Mutter aus dem bombardierten München in ein bitterarmes Nest in den Alpen geflohen. Ein Jugendlicher mit alles sprengender Abenteuerlust, der ganz allein lostrampt und im Südsudan schwer krank wird und sich nach Ägypten zurück durchschlägt. Ein Mann, der mitten im Dschungel ein 340 Tonnen schweres Dampfschiff über einen Berg wuchten lässt und dabei seinen tobsüchtigen Hauptdarsteller Klaus Kinski unter Kontrolle halten muss. Ein Mann, der seinem sterbenden Freund Bruce Chatwin seinen Film über Nomaden in kleinen Abschnitten vorführt.

President Emerita of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Karen Brooks Hopkins pens BAM... and Then It Hit Me, an inspiring memoir of her 36 years at the iconic cultural institution, America's oldest performing arts center. The book has a sharp focus on concepts such as leadership, innovation, urban revitalization (including the transformation of Brooklyn from Manhattan outpost to the coolest neighborhood on the planet), as highly successful cultural fundraising played critical roles in the colorful evolution of this world-class cultural juggernaut in the performing arts.

These recollections cover the time from the very early 1960s until after my last significant acting role. After that I pulled a disappearing act and became a regular bloke for the most part. The transition from child/youth actor through to adult is notoriously difficult, some have succeeded, some spectacularly so. Some have stumbled along and sadly, some have fallen. I chose to take a break, which I’m still on. I’ve been the subject of many 'where are they now?' articles and musings. Well, I’m here now, writing this.

Nicolas Nabokov, a Russian-born composer and cultural diplomat, befriended many of the 20th century’s greatest musicians and artists. With delightful anecdotes and personal reflections, his memoir is a truly unique historical document that enriches our understanding of the Cold War’s impact on culture.

Brad Kuhns is a former Las Vegas performer known for his acclaimed performances and musical talents. In addition to a successful Vegas career, Brad also had an exciting career in law enforcement with the LAPD, and later opened a private practice in marriage and family counseling. Brad, a Memoir, first chronicles Brad's incredible career in the entertainment world as he quickly shot to fame. Between performances, he was rubbing shoulders and becoming friends with the likes of America's biggest stars.

A deep, dark look at growing up in 90s suburbia, The Brink is eminently relatable to the ostracized youth of today, those who have been there, and those who enjoy gawking at car wrecks Jaime Andrews has been a comedic commentator (TruTV’s World’s Dumbest), an album cover-girl (My Chemical Romance), a columnist (Backstage, New Thinking), a commercial queen, a theater manager and, most recently, an award-winning filmmaker (Division). Way before that, though, she was the big mess you’ll find in this audiobook.

Timeless and surprisingly current, The Art of the Theatre, published after her death at age 78, is the final and most in-depth record of the great actress' views on acting and the theatre. Here "The Divine Sarah" shares advice on everything from speech, movement, role preparation, vocal warmups, and make-up tips to why she preferred to play Hamlet instead of Ophelia.

I’m Chris Jeub. It took years for me to build my reputation online as a businessman, educator and father of a large and loving family. I was even a featured “star” of a reality TV program. But it all collapsed overnight when national tabloids and global social media “exposed” me for being a fake, a fraud and a serial abuser. This is the story of the Jeub family. I’m just one man with one story.