Product Description

Why is catalogue shopping responsible for Jonathan Ross's inimitable sense of style? Why might wearing cape and mask be a fast track to heaven? Why does Jonathan wince every time he sees a Hoover? And why did he fall in love with a deep-sea diver? Why? Because this is Jonathan Ross. And nothing is out of bounds when it comes to talking about life as he knows it. From sex and pugs to rock 'n' roll and genital warts, Jonathan holds forth as only he can. This sharply observed, laugh-out-loud, outrageous page-turner will leave you asking just one question ...Why didn't he write it sooner?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57772 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-23
• Released on: 2008-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
'Laugh-out-loud funny.' --Joan Bakewell, Guardian

'Snap it up, pwonto.' --London Lite

Review
'Hilarious anecdotes aplenty.'

`It's impossible to deny he's the most entertaining interviewer.'

Review
`Irreverent and witty...hilarious...He explores everything - from diets to sweetshops and sex to pets, with his customary lasciviousness and self-deprecatory humour.'

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
Somewhere in the preamble to this book Jonathan Ross refers to having recorded his thoughts on tape for transcription by his editors. This makes sense because the whole book reads like a series of disconnected whimsical rambles of the kind he frequently indulges in on his Radio 2 show. Whereas these come across as warm and spontaneous on the radio, in print they just seem lazy and poorly edited (and there are no records to break it up and provide a change in pace).

There is no story here to speak of, no real insights, no names named... just a lot of anecdotes largely concerning what it is like to be famous and rich with a few children and lots of pets - with a few anecdotes about what it was like to grow up a geeky kid in a large, working class household - running for buses and being shy with girls - thrown in for good measure. A few of them are funny, and I laughed out loud once or twice, but those few moments don't justify the padding around them.

I bought this book because for some reason I have some warmth and affection for Jonathan Ross. It has achieved the remarkable feat of making him LESS likeable, to me anyway - he comes across as a man whose extraordinary good fortune, and actual fortune, have disconnected him from the real world.

Apart from anything else such a lazy and self-indulgent ramble is a bit of an insult to the readers, an attempt to grab a bit more money in the runup to christmas by a man who has little need of it. Perhaps JR is a bit too used to being able to rely on spontaneous charm to substitute for actual effort. It might work in a spontaneous medium like radio or TV but not in a book.

A unique perspective
What can be said about Jonathon Ross that he doesnt say himself ? The man is unashamedly brash and opinionated but more importantly genuinely funny.Wossy takes us back to his early childhood,his love of buses and comics and his unfulfilled aspirations of becoming an astronaut or a mad scientist.He tells us of his first forays into the world of child labour and his liberation by the punk rocker movement.

Undoubtedly his favourite subject is sex and his candid and outrageous stories will have you in stitches.He briefly touches on his very sucessful chat show but modesty shines through and he resists the urge to pontificate.I really enjoyed his chapter on "the war on nits"and his account of dieting fads is hilarious.All said and done this is an excellent book only serving to concrete my view that not only is this guy a top entertainer but he is also a damn fine writer.Read it!!

A very good read.
I bought this book before the recent drama surrounding the Russell Brand radio show. It is a compelling account of a career full of ups and downs by a man who divides opinions which his acerbic whimsy.