Brief lives
James Fenton on the origins of English autobiography.
‘I do give a damn’
After years of writing superior spy thrillers, author David Cornwell, aka John Le Carré, has evolved into an impassioned political commentator. The film of his novel The Constant Gardener - which opens this year's London film festival - is a searing indictment of Britain's recent record in Africa. In a rare interview, he talks to Stuart Jeffries about his 'radical period'.
Go on, dish the dirt
Lance Price's bean-spilling in The Spin Doctor's Diary fails to satisfy Rafael Behr.
Man of constant sorrow
Bob Dylan's voice comes crackling off the page in the first volume of his memoirs, Chronicles, says Robert McCrum.
Ordinary lives writ large
Vikram Seth weaves a consideration of the ethics of biography into his exemplary memoir, Two Lives, says Frances Wilson.
Dramas and crises
Christopher Marlowe's uproarious life is a gift to a biographer and Park Honan doesn't disappoint in his account of the master playwright, says Stanley Wells.
Perfectly composed
Jane Glover and Nicholas Kenyon give the whole truth about Amadeus in Mozart's Women and The Pocket Guide to Mozart, says Anthony Holden.
The king of the kiss and tell
But Max Clifford's memoirs don't do much of either, says Richard Stott.
The Wolfgang pack
Simon Callow relishes Jane Glover's beautiful account of the women in the composer's life, Mozart's Women.
A History of Violence review – whisked at warp speed to Planet Cronenberg
It looks on paper like a regular father-son drama, or a standard-issue gangster film, but there’s a Twilight Zoney offness and weirdness
A brutal truth
Memoir, John McGahern's first non-fiction work, is also his finest yet, says Stephanie Merritt.
Girls, if you see this man, run a mile
The Game, Neil Strauss's tale of sexual conquests, moves quickly from sinister to downright pathetic, says Rafael Behr.
Whose baby are you?
In Nobody's Child Kate Adie has written a compelling book about foundlings like herself, says Don Boyd.
And still they sing
Aharon Appelfeld's The Story of a Life is a wartime memoir to savour, says Lisa Appignanesi.
The Bizarre years of Clarice Cliff
Fiona MacCarthy is intrigued by two biographies of Clarice Cliff, one of the greatest names in British pottery.