Synopses & Reviews
Friends and colleagues for nearly fifty years, Richard Attenborough and Diana Hawkins team up to write a frank account of their unlikely partnership and his extraordinary life.
Their story begins in 1983 with a famously weeping Attenborough accepting two Oscars when his film Gandhi broke all previous records to win a total of eight Academy awards. Hawkins, 67, is Attenboroughs publicist, confidante, co-producer and long-term business partner.
Here, Attenborough reflects on the highs and lows of a long life, both in and out of the public gaze. Few know, for instance, that he once risked prison on a matter of conscience or that, as an air gunner cameraman, he took part in bombing raids over Germany during World War Two.
More poignantly, Attenborough finally breaks his silence about his long-running friendship with Princess Diana, and the tsunami tragedy which robbed him of his elder daughter and granddaughter in December 2004.
Synopsis
Richard Attenborough and Diana Hawkins have been friends and colleagues for nearly 50 years.They have now teamed up to write this frank and funny account of their unlikely partnership and his extraordinary life.
Together, laughing and squabbling, they have travelled the world, meeting people and making films. Among the eclectic cast of characters who appear in this two-handed memoir are Steve McQueen, Mother Teresa, Charlie Chaplin, Robert Mugabe, Edward G Robinson, Ronald Reagan, David Lean, Margaret Thatcher, John Mills, Steven Spielberg, Noel Coward, Indira Gandhi, Gordon Brown and Nelson Mandela.
Prompted by his adventures in the movie business, Attenborough reflects on the highs and lows of a long life, both in and out of the public gaze. He writes revealingly of his passion for football and politics, of his avuncular relationship with Princess Diana and finally about the tsunami tragedy which engulfed his family in December 2004.
About the Author
Richard Attenborough, at 82 is the celebrity peer, happily married since 1945. He has had a lifetime of ceaseless activity as a film-star, director, producer, company chairman and charitable organizer.
Diana Hawkins has written, as Diana Carter, three novels and a childrens book.