"The thinly veiled autobiography of Charles Dickens himself. Having grown up with a stepfather, I liked reading about another child who had one as well. I loved the English nature of the story — the time and place it inhabits. Another story of a child making his way in the world. I sense a theme here. I like this better than “Oliver Twist” because the storytelling is more restrained, and more believable."

"“This surprising spoof autobiography is not only hilarious, but also tender and insightful. Cheeta recounts his days working with Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan’s chimpanzee sidekick, but it’s more than that. He also recalls his capture from the jungle and arrival in America. I can honestly say that I laughed, I cried, and I learned a lot. Why this baby has not seen a movie screen yet is a mystery. It’s another that I read and reread.”"

"An autobiography of Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon, a remarkable polymath who more people should know about. In an age of increasing specialization, he’s a rare generalist — applying what he learned as a scientist to other aspects of his life. Crossing disciplines, he was at the intersection of “information sciences.” He won the Nobel for his theory of “bounded rationality,” and is perhaps best known for his insightful quote “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”"

"Quincy Jones' autobiography Q is very good. Because he's a master at music, he's one of our greatest composers and its good for him to have a book and tell the good ole days when he was with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan and Ray Charles. The reason he got to work with so many people was because he was one of the few musicians around who could write out the arrangements. He was in everybody's session. He learned so much."