The Elephant to Hollywood

Knighted actor Caine's charm and immense likability are in abundance in his second memoir—following What's It All About? (1992)—in which he ably justifies the need for another look at his colorful life. The book's best parts deal with his childhood in London and his struggles as a young actor. After discussing his success in the 1964 film Zulu, however, he skims too hurriedly over the bulk of his career, at least in this abridgment. Further, there are too many enumerations of which friends attended which parties, and Caine has never met a digression he didn't like, as with the slug problem in his garden. But his absolutely delightful narration more than makes up for this, at one point during his reading laughing aloud at himself. In addition to Caine's fans and those liking movie star memoirs, this title will appeal to anyone interested in mid-20th-century English social and cultural life.—Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. Lib.