Growing Up in the 50's 60's and 70's - Rated 
As Griff Rhys Jones is just a year younger than me, I was looking forward to a read full of reminders of my own childhood. At first I was not disappointed with humorous tales of family life, I found myself laughing out loud!
Unfortunately I found it started to drag somewhat especially after he went to university. Being a contemporary I carried on to the end, otherwise I do not think I would have done.
My conclusion therefore is that unless you are going to be able to relate to any of his experiences, you will probably not find this worth reading.
Griff Rhys Jones is stuck between comedy and nostalgia and doesn't know which way to turn - Rated 
Griff Rhys Jones' autobiography of his early life (up until he left University) fell between two stools for me. On the one hand it is meant to be a comic tale of Jones' unique scrapes and bizarre experiences, and on the other it seems to want to be an 'everyman' nostalgic tale of what everybody's life was like growing up between the 1950s and 1970s. So what you get is neither really funny, nor a trip down memory lane. It's like Griff Rhys Jones is stuck halfway between "Not The Nine O'Clock News" and "Restoration" and doesn't know which way to turn.
You might find more to relate to in his autobiography if you are close to his age, particularly if you had a middle class upbringing and went to Cambridge- and especially if you have any yachting experience, as a lot of this book ends up being pre-amble to his previous book "To The Baltic With Bob".
The cameo-like appearances from other famous names of that Cambridge era are interesting (Douglas Adams, Clive Anderson, Jimmy Mulville, etc.) but mostly I'd say you can give it a miss.
An intelligent autobiography at last - Rated 
After reading the rather lukewarm reviews on here, I started reading this book with a degree of trepidation. As a female some twenty years younger than Mr Rhys Jones, growing up in a different area and with very little common ground, I fully expected to be at best bored by him, and at worst irritated. In the event I was absolutely enchanted by it - an atmospheric, intelligent evocation of a childhood and adolescence by a man with a sure touch and an understanding of how one recalls the past, and a moving evocation of the relationship between father and son. A beautiful, fascinating and absorbing book, and a joyous change from the vacuous nonsense inflicted on us by so many of his fellow celebs.
Semi-Detached but a definitely worth viewing! - Rated
Biogs are only thrilling if embroidered. I can barely remember last week, let alone my formative years and neither, it would seem, can Griff. This doesn't mean that his recollections are dull at all, because it is his reasoning and insight in connection with these recollections that really matters. So many reviewers here have said that it was a dull read and that they know nothing more of Griff after reading it than they did before. I beg to differ. This is a great and unpretentious work, in my humble opinion (I can still see everything and finished reading it a week ago), and a noble representation of a life far less ordinary than most.
A regrettable lack of exaggeration. - Rated
At the end of the book, Griff "admits" to exaggerating. The problem is that he does not.
I suppose that that could be respected as honesty. However, if he had indulged in a bit of exaggeration, he may have woven an engaging and humourous story about a life that (as others have said) is just not that interesting in itself. He does not tell us about being part of extraordinary events, or of growing up in unusual circumstances. Neither does he draw any conclusions from his life that could help us reflect on our own. In fact, Griff doesn't even seem particularly interested in his life himself, telling his story with a general (semi) detachment.
Individually, the experiences he relates are the sort of thing a mate might tell you in a pub. There, you might find them quite interesting, told by someone you know. Taken as a whole, though, the effect is of your drunk uncle cornering you at a party and insisting on telling you the story of his life, whether you want him to or not. There are a few amusing incidents, and he meets some interesting people, including Douglas Adams. I can't help thinking that Adams' version of some of the incidents recounted here would have been much more entertaining.
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