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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: autobiography

autobiography stories: 17 news summaries

Interview

Obama's Half Bro Says Dad Beat Him, Mom

Autobiographical novel details abuse, doesn't mention president

(Newser) - For Mark Ndesandjo, Barack Obama is something of a monster. Not the president, but their father, Barack Obama Sr. Ndesandjo, full name Mark Odoth Obama Ndesandjo, has just released an autobiographical novel depicting the Obama patriarch as a brilliant-but-violent drunk who beat him and his Jewish-American mother, and while some... More »

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Barack Obama autobiography book Barack Obama Sr. Obama family book deal Mark Odoth Obama Ndesandjo

Kennedy Memoir: 
Chappaquiddick
'Inexcusable'  

Senator writes openly of his worst moments

(Newser) - Ted Kennedy tells of his anguish after Chappaquiddick in a memoir to be published this month, reports the New York Times, admitting that he "made terrible decisions" in the accident that killed his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. In True Compass, Kennedy deals unsparingly with the low points in... More »

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Ted Kennedy memoir autobiography Chappaquiddick Mary Jo Kopechne Robert F. Kennedy

 Biography Bares 
 Lord of the Flies
 
 Author's Demons 

Biographer sheds light on unseen memoirs

(Newser) - In an unpublished autobiography, the author of Lord of the Flies described his attempted rape of a 15-year-old when he was about 18, the Times of London reports. While walking with the girl, he “felt sure she wanted heavy sex, as this was visibly written on her pert, ripe... More »

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rape memoir novelist autobiography sexual assault William Golding

(Newser) - Not every 17-year-old gets on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and LeBron James admits in his upcoming book he had trouble with the instant fame, the Daily News reports. He and his high school teammates became "big-headed jerks," he writes in Shooting Stars. "We are to blame... More »

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basketball LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers autobiography

(Newser) - Wondering how Ashley Dupre is doing, one year after Eliot Spitzer’s downfall? She'll tell you herself, in lengthy detail, through her blog on Global Grind, the New York Daily News reports. Though she’s “made more mistakes than most people make in a lifetime,” the 23-year-old is... More »

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sex scandal Eliot Spitzer blog autobiography Ashley Dupre call girl

Miley Dishes
on Her Achy Breaky Heart

Her book says she
has a fast heart rate; condition not serious

(Newser) - Miley Cyrus has a heart condition, the New York Daily News reports. The starlet discusses her tachycardia—a fast heart rate—in her new autobiography Miles to Go, saying it “isn’t dangerous” and “won’t hurt me.” However, for the Hannah Montana star, "There is... More »

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handicapped heart celebrity autobiography Miley Cyrus


 Miley Was Bullied, 
 Lonely in High School 

Singer was bullied at school, 'friendless'

(Newser) - Miley Cyrus may have a fan club now, but in high school she had the “Anti-Miley Club,” she says in her autobiography, released yesterday. The actress-singer recalls being bullied at her Tennessee high school to the point that a grilled cheese sandwich “pretty much was my best... More »

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celebrity bullying autobiography book Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus

 Brit to Write Memoir for $14M 

Spears has kept some secrets to spill

(Newser) - Presumably, this will be a little more revealing than Crossroads: Britney Spears has signed a nearly $14 million deal to write an autobiography, the Daily Mirror reports. The 27-year-old star may drop some bombshells unofficial biographers never uncovered, a source says: “Some of the stories she’s got are... More »

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Britney Spears autobiography

 Palin Could Bag $7M Book Deal 

Governor-turned-icon is hot ticket for paparazzi

(Newser) - Sarah Palin may not have earned the title of vice president, but a rumored book deal could net her as much $7 million, the Times of London reports. “She’s poised to make a ton of money,” said a top PR agent. To compare: Bill Clinton took $10... More »

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paparazzi autobiography book Sarah Palin

 Tarzan's 
 Old Pal 
 Enjoys His 
 Retirement 

At  76, Tarzan co-star keeping busy with painting, TV

(Newser) - Cheeta the chimp is enjoying a fairly humdrum retirement after his glittering showbiz career, Entertainment Weekly reports. Cheeta, at 76 the world's oldest domesticated simian, was plucked from the jungles of Africa as a baby and starred in the '30s Tarzan movies. An "autobiography"—more of a Hollywood... More »

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Hollywood retirement chimpanzees autobiography primates animal

 MLK's Kids Fight Over Letters 

Judge orders Bernice to bring unpublished papers to court

(Newser) - Legal battles among Martin Luther King Jr's children drag on, this time over who gets mom and dad's unpublished correspondence. Yesterday, a judge ordered youngest daughter Bernice, the administrator of Coretta Scott King's estate, to bring to court letters and photos that sit at the heart of a disputed $1.... More »

BOOK REVIEW

 Waiter Serves It Up in Tell-All

Behind the scenes at a New York bistro

(Newser) - A waiter known for grumbling about his work online has now recounted his misadventures in a book, Waiter Rant. Steve Dublanica tells Bloomberg about its highlights: runaway rodents, crazed customers, and his background in the mental health field. "Dealing with rabidly insane psychopaths is perfect training for dealing with... More »

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food New York restaurant autobiography book reviews service industry

GLOSSIES

Madonna's Bro Dishes Dirt on Book Fallout

Says sis vowed vengeance, tried to
stop publication

(Newser) - Madonna and her brother Christopher Ciccone fell out over his recent tell-all memoir, and the situation nearly wound up in court, he tells Vanity Fair. She ranted at their father over photos he supplied for Life With My Sister Madonna, but "I am not knocking her off her pedestal,... More »

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memoir autobiography Madonna Guy Ritchie Christopher Ciccone

 Miley Cyrus
 to Outsource
 Autobiography 

Disney tween will hire ghostwriter for tell-all

(Newser) - Miley Cyrus has inked a multimillion-dollar deal with Disney Books to pen an autobiography of her short, sweet life, according to Ok! magazine. But don't think it'll read like some 15-year-old's homework assignment. The "hush-hush" tween queen is looking for a ghostwriter to put the young superstar's life... More »

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Disney ghostwrite autobiography Miley Cyrus nonfiction books

New Site Wants Your Wikipedia Rejected Bio

Biographicon invites the real average Joes to tell their tales

(Newser) - While Wikipedia may promote itself as an encyclopedia of, for, and by the people, anybody who's had his stint as autobiographer cut short by the infamous "notability" requirement knows the site to be otherwise. Or so hope the creators of startup Biographicon, a website that invites the nobodies of... More »

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Internet Wikipedia Facebook biography autobiography online encyclopedia Biographicon

Clapton Recounts Pain, Triumph

Addictions, death of son brought guitar legend to his knees

(Newser) - "Slowhand" takes up a pen in Clapton: The Autobiography. Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll—it’s all there in guitar legend Eric Clapton’s memoir. There’s also the death of a child and more than one journey to sobriety. Vanity Fair excerpts the poignant tale... More »

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music alcoholism Italy England drug abuse autobiography George Harrison Eric Clapton Pattie Boyd Live Aid Conor Clapton

Joan Rivers
Gets Ready for Her Close-Up

Comic puts on her game face for new theatrical piece

(Newser) - Having been relieved of red-carpet duty, Joan Rivers is busy workshopping an autobiographical comedy in San Francisco. It's the 74-year-old Barnard grad's third play, and she's planning to take it off-Broadway once she figures out "what's funny and poignant and what isn't." The LA Times pays a call... More »

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plastic surgery theater comedy Joan Rivers red carpet autobiography

17 Stories