The Elephant to Hollywood

What's it all about, you ask? It's all about Alfie and so much more. First of all, let's talk about the narration. If you listen to books, you already know that the narrator makes or breaks the book. Michael Caine is a great narrator. His cockney accent is unique among book narrators that I have heard and I hope he will consider narrating more books. He is so relaxed in the narration and his reading is a warm and genuine voice to his own story. Now let's talk about the book. I think what I liked best about the book is that you get so many amazing stories of old and new Hollywood. I have to admit that celebrity anecdotes, like the ones Michael Caine wrote, are a guilty pleasure of mine. In a nutshell, this book is entertaining. Buy it, listen to it, and prepare to be transported from the elephant to Hollywood. Michael Caine is the man who should be king (of Hollywood).

It was a great pleasure having Michael Caine in the car with me, telling me the fascinating story of his life and cracking jokes. What a great giggle he has!

Not everybody deserves a second shot at memoir-writing--but Michael Caine does. He's a terrific storyteller, and this book offers vast amounts of new material compiled and lived since memoir #1 (

Unless you have room for an Elephant. And this book was a delight, despite the fact that with his trademark voice, the elephant was always in the room. Michael Caine, has written and reads a delightful low key second autobiography. A totally unexpected treat. It has made me even rent some of the movies he talks about making, on Netflix. A boy from the Elephant who did well....and the sufi saying aside about caution entertaining elephant keepers, this one is a keeper. No mean spirited, revenge tell tales here, just a lot of really wonderful stories (Many of them Hollywood) about a really interesting guy who was able to tell the Queen a joke (she asked and you feel you are with him at the table as he also shares the joke! ) charming and entertaining, and often bittersweet. I couldn't wait to walk the dog in the park even in the dead of Chicago winter listening! His love story with his second wife out of a movie. His second career...and third...

I enjoyed the book The Hollywood. There are a lot of great stories mentioning familiar and famous movie stars, Cary Grant among them. Michael Caine is as entertaining in the audio book as he is on film. I listened to this book during a run of insomnia and I could not only hear him smiling but visualize him there talking to me. You will not learn anything new or scandalous here. You will be entertained by a great actor telling great stories.

His story more or less from the beginning told by the man himself. It feels like he's chatting to you over tea or a drink. The story is mostly linear but jumps about here and there to address the topic at hand and wrap up a character while they are fresh in mind. Feels very conversational that way. The man lived a charmed life (after a very rough 30 year start) and seems to have a really nice outlook on the world.

He really never has a bad word to say about anyone. I'm sure in private he might, but he has the class to avoid that sort of thing so if you are looking for dirty laundry you won't find it here.

The Elephant of the title is the part of East London he came from. Didn't know it was called the Elephant and he never explains why.

A great peek inside his life -not just breaking into Hollywood but relationships, growing up, etc.. And I love when he would make himself laugh throughout.

Rob Lowe's autobiography - both were intriguing and entertaining and it makes it better when the author reads their own work.

Hearing him share his story is so much better than reading it.

Highly recommend this!

So, I really stepped out of my usual reading with this audiobook but I heard an interview with Michael Caine talking about this memoir and he's just such a joy to listen to that I thought I'd give it a shot. It was definitely worth the credit. Caine is such an engaging person. He doesn't get mean or ugly with any person and I'm sure with as long as he's been in Hollywood, he could tell some stories that would make people look bad. He's a class act and exactly how I imagine a real knight would be in his elder years. On top of that, Caine does a wonderful job narrating the story. It's like you're sitting in his living room, drinking tea and eating scones and he's telling you stories. I loved it.

It is great to hear Michael Caine telling his own story. He shares many stories about his now famous friends and talks about all my favorite Caine movies (The Man Who Would Be King, Death Trap, etc...). I love the story of how he met his wife and their ongoing love story. The anecdotes about being on location and the various parts he has played make me want to revisit each movie. And it doesn't hurt that Michael still has that sexy voice!

This is a book I highly recommend. The fact that Mr. Caine narrates is definitely a bonus-it is like you are sitting across the dinner table from him. He chuckles & you can hear him smiling at some of his stories. He is a man who never lost contact with his 'working class' roots in the UK & I enjoyed every word. It is touching as he tells how he fell in love with his wife Shakira after seeing her on TV selling coffee. I like to choose books that I'll like to listen to again & there is so much detail in this book, I'm sure I will revisit this book again, like an old friend. Btw, the title refers to the place he was born/grew up-Elephant & Castle, a section of London. I laughed out loud several times in the first 20 minutes of the book, but there are many serious parts as well. A real keeper.