This is Peter O'Toole's account of his early life, a childhood framed by "Captain Pat" O'Toole, itinerant bookmaker, and Constance Jane Eliot Ferguson. In all that he writes of the period, O'Toole reveals his deep understanding of the absurd, both comic and chilling, and how he touches on the tragic - most notably in his studies of Hitler and the effect the Fuhrer has had on his life. O'Toole's memories lead readers in leaps through time as we read of his early years and the war, National Service in the Navy, his short-lived career as a cub reporter and the almost accidental audition at RADA that launched his career. Peter O'Toole was born in 1932. After working on provincial newspapers, serving in the Navy, and attending RADA, he made his professional acting debut in 1955 at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. A Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, an honour awarded to him in 1989 by the Republic of France, Peter O'Toole lives in London.