great start - Rated 
What a lovely start to a book! The early years and the childhood detail is wonderful, it's really as if you were there and very moving - his rejection as a boy is heartfelt and suggests and awful lot about the man he became. In all the good times that follow - and the bad times - it's hard to get those early struggles out of your mind. loved it.
Some Good Points But Way Too Long - Rated 
Previous reviews suggest quite an astonishing divergence of opinion on this book--I'm neither wildly enthusiastic nor totally critical.
I agree with other reviewers that the first part is the best, with its perceptive account of the North-West in the years between the wars. And for me Mr Sykes comes over as a brave, decent and likeable man throughout the book. Not just that but old age clearly hasn't blunted his willingness to try new things. But parts 2 and 3 go into far too much detail about peripherally interesting matters and I soon found the endless name-dropping highly irritating. And, after a good start, the chronology becomes very difficult to follow after about 1950. Finally, I can only endorse others' comments re pitiful editing (Denis Norden's first name veers between Denis and Dennis!).
If you're an absolute aficianado, then do try the book. But I shan't be reading it again.
Sykes and a . . . disappointing book - Rated 
I've always been keen on Eric Sykes as a comedian and hadn't realised until reading the book how many other of my favourite comedy shows he had contributed to through his script-writing. But I'm afraid that overall this book has had the effect of making me feel that Eric is less likeable. For someone who, he continually informs the reader, makes his living from writing, the book is very poorly put together. There's little emotion - even when writing about the death of Hattie Jaques: someone who was "like a sister" to him.
And, for a professional writer, there are some atrocious spelling errors, and a complete lack of appreciation of style. He often uses similar (almost invariably hackneyed) phrases several times in the same paragraph.
I'm amazed at the lack of editing of the content of the book and the publishers (Harper) should admonish the editor forthwith. It should not have been published with so many sloppy mistakes.
The lack of chapters in the book is also annoying. Chapters are not just convenient breaks, but also help to bring strands of a narrative together.
Sykes has a habit of criticising (or should that be "putting the boot into") people who are dead, and thus not particularly well-placed to rebut his accusations. That doesn't stop him from doing it time after time. Moreover, Sykes' apparent lack of any insight into why Ian Smith's Rhodesia was so detested gave me a decidedly queasy feeling.
But the most disappointing thing about the book was the lack of humour. Yes, there were the odd one or two amusing anecdotes, but these were few and far between.
For me, the best part of the book concerned Sykes' war years, but even this chapter of his life brought mixed feelings. Sykes comes across as a skiver, a chancer and a ne'er do well, someone who lied his way into a stage career.
It's not often that I dispose of a book as soon as I've read it, but this one is winging its way to the charity shop - I wouldn't have the nerve to resell it.
A really enjoyable read - Rated
Reading this book is like reading a who's who of entertainment as Eric seems to know everybody who has ever performed on stage, screen or television, I won't say Showbiz as that is a word he hates, even though there are a lot of references to the famous from all over the world you never once think Eric is name dropping, quite the contrary, it seems as though he is a little embarrassed that all these people know him and want to know him. He had a difficult start in life as his mother died giving birth to him but he never seems to complain about it, he actually makes a positive of it and assumes that all the good things that happen to him and all the fortune he has had in his life is down to the guiding hand of his mother, even the survival of many illnesses and stays in hospital are attributed to his mother looking out for him. If only we could all be as content and happy with our lot as Eric is, a modest man who has deserved every bit of fortune that has come his way.
Insightful, But Needs a Good Edit - Rated
Given Sykes' massive contribution to early television and his lengthy writing career this book is a window on a world almost forgotten now. In that department and in terms logging his lengthy career it is hugely revealing. For all that, it could have used the services of a good editor. It's great on detail and short on issues, revealing very little of what motivates him. For example; he makes repeated references to depression and lost sleep but there's little insight into how his personality informs his work. It's also meticulous in listing restaurants, drinks ordered and other notable stars met whilst Sykes' wife of over 50 years takes up less words than his descriptions of golf games!
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