The Bootle Boy

`It vividly captures the rise and fall of the press over 60 years ... [no] acolyte's paean.' -Ian Burrell, i ``Hinton is likeable and self-deprecating as he conjures up the lost worlds of boyhood and early newspaper days. A must-read for anyone with even a fleeting interest in the media.' -Noreen Barr, Press Association `[A] great romp of a journalistic memoir.' -Stephen Robinson, The Sunday Times `A fascinating read.' -The Sunday Post Dundee `[Gives] an unprecedented insight into the media mogul [Murdoch's] ways.' -i `Hinton is likeable and self-deprecating as he conjures up the lost worlds of boyhood and early newspaper days. A must-read for anyone with even a fleeting interest in the media.' -Surrey Advertiser `Les Hinton's story is about the glory and the tragedy of the newspaper business. He knows all the secrets of this tale and few are more clear-eyed than him when they tell it.' -Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury `A delightful autobiography ... honest, revealing-and a beautifully written page turner ... No one has worked more closely and for longer with Rupert Murdoch than Les Hinton ... But he does not shy away from criticism of Murdoch's mistakes.' -William Shawcross, author of Justice and the Enemy `An epic story ... and a penetrating insight into the mind of Murdoch.' -The Daily Mail `A rollicking good tale of his extraordinary life ... an utterly charming autobiography' -William Shawcross, Standpoint `Overflowing with the names of the rich and famous, from Yoko Ono, Johnny Rotten and Graham Greene ( I smiled at him, he smiled back ) to Bill Clinton, Princess Diana and Gordon Brown ... pacey and engrossing and a lot better written than most of the hacks' memoirs I have struggled through over the years.' -Michael Leapman, British Journalism review `Brilliant ... a remarkable book.' -Mark Day, The Australian `An autobiography conveying an abundance of charm and refreshingly robust honesty.' -Australian Book Review `A terrific memoir by one of the all-time great newspapermen. Highly recommend if you want to know what it takes to be a journalist.' -Piers Morgan `It vividly captures the rise and fall of the press over 60 years ... [no] acolyte's paean.' -i `Hinton evokes delicious memories of the analog age of newspapers, describing the smells and sounds of chutes, linotypes, molten lead stereo casting machines and presses roaring amid mists of paper fluff.' -Weekend Australian `[A] great romp of a journalistic memoir.' -Stephen Robinson, The Sunday Times `Les Hinton's An Untidy Life, is an ode to journalism and the amazing, eyeopening, exciting and gratifying life it offers ... at the centre of it all remains the shining, enticing, come-hither core value of journalism - to tell tales, to record the way we live, to bring light where there is murk and to reflect our societies.' -Mark Day, The Australian `Les Hinton lifts the lid on his 52 years working with the media mogul Rupert Murdoch ... This `untidy life in news' yields a rich crop of anecdotes.' -Daniel Johnson, The Times `Les Hinton tells the story of his remarkable life in a remarkable book.' -The Weekend Australian `His narrative of growing up in Bootle, in Liverpool, and many other places around the world then moving into journalism is inspirational for any wanting to follow that path.' -Steve Howard, Manly Daily The yarns are delivered with a classic journalist's eye for the telling physical detail, an ear for the revealing quote and a knack for sequencing facts. -David Cohen, Sunday Star Times