Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Maggie And Keith...

This Christmas I received two absolutely wonderful books, about two of the most interesting people -- Margaret Trudeau and Keith Richards.  It's interesting how their lives intersected.  Margaret Trudeau was married to the Prime Minister of Canada, and she threw it all away and ran off to be with ... the Rolling Stones.  Like Princess Diana, Margaret Trudeau became obsessed with her own celebrity, and was often seen dancing -- scantily clad -- at Studio 54 in New York City.  She also admits to having had an affair with U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, among others.  She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and this book is about that journey.  She has an interesting story to tell, and I can hardly wait to read it.

I have started reading "Life" by Keith Richards, and goodness, what a life.  He comes from a rather nice, conventional family in a suburb of London.  He was an only child but he had a very large extended family.  His favourite aunt was named Joanna.  He was a boy soprano in a boy's choir, and sang before the Queen in Westminster Abbey.  When he was a young boy, he and his friends found a dead body, a homeless man, and they were so scared they jumped onto their bicycles and rode off without reporting it.  As a child, Keith Richards suffered a hand injury that left one of his fingers slightly bent, and added to his unique sound as a guitar player.  He has been married to model Patti Hansen for 27 years, and has remained faithful to her for all these years.

Every person has an interesting story to tell -- or rather, several interesting stories, and I love to read about them.  I heard some interesting stories around the dinner table the other night.  I'll bet you have an interesting story to tell too...

7 comments:

Terra said...

These biographies sound interesting. I do read biographies occasionally sandwiched in between my other extensive reading. Nice to meet you here.

Russell said...

I agree with Terra. Sounds like two very interesting books.

Until I learned a little bit about him, I thought Keith Richards was one very, very BAD dude (as they say) with no redeeming qualities other than his music.

Of course after watching the 60 Minutes interview and seeing this book it is obvious I was quite wrong.

Just goes to show people are not always what they seem (though I still think they most often are!).

Katy said...

Happy belated birthday Jo!

It sounds like you have two fasinating lives to read about in the coming year. Truth is alwasy stranger than fiction as they say. I guess that is why, like you I love to read biographies.

DJan said...

I received "Unbroken" for Christmas and enjoyed it immensely, already read. A biography also, of Louis Zamperini. Amazing life story.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I have always liked both these people, probably for the apparent contradictions in their personalities as well as for their charisma. Enjoy your great reads!

the walking man said...

See if she mentions living on Victoria in Ottawa after her and Pierre split. That's where I met the former Mrs. Trudeau. She had a nice house up the street from my great aunt.

musingegret said...

Jo, here's a good interview with Keith Richards by Terry Gross on Fresh Air:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130722581