- Paperback: 340 pages
- Publisher: Monticello; 2nd Revised edition (1 July 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0955695201
- ISBN-13: 978-0955695209
- Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 2.3 x 0.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 894,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Alternatively contemplative and raucous, I Could Be Anyone takes us into the writer's experiences of growing up in a rigidly academic town and his involvement with seminal radical artists of the decade including Pink Floyd's creator, Syd Barrett. Scurfield describes and accentuates the feelings of isolation and disenfranchisement caused by the rigid conformity of major institutions. Walking home in his neighbourhood as a child past houses owned by the crème of academic society, Scurfield recalls the "inaccessibility and unfriendliness" of these castles of the literati; behind closed doors there lay a complex cycle of "academic one-upmanship"; an exclusive club which glorified those who could and subtly ostracised those who could not. From someone who spends much of his life in the outside lane, we get taken behind the mask for an inside look at yoga, acting, dyslexia and education in the psychological sense.
From the Publisher
Alternatively contemplative and raucous, I Could Be Anyone takes us into the writer's experiences of growing up in a rigidly academic town and his involvement with seminal radical artists of the decade including Pink Floyd's creator, Syd Barrett. Scurfield describes and accentuates the feelings of isolation and disenfranchisement caused by the rigid conformity of major institutions. Walking home in his neighbourhood as a child past houses owned by the crème of academic society, he recalls the "inaccessibility and unfriendliness" of these castles of the literati; behind closed doors there lay a complex cycle of "academic one-upmanship"; an exclusive club which glorified those who could and subtly ostracised those who could not. From someone who spends much of his life in the outside lane, we get taken behind the mask for an inside look at yoga, acting, dyslexia and education in the psychological sense.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although I feature in the autobiography I COULD BE ANYONE, I found it to be an outstanding, absorbing and compelling read. As Matthew looks back thoughtfully over his most colourful life, we learn a great deal about growing up in a confusing world, the difficulties of living with dyslexia, teaching yoga and the acting profession. I really recommend this book. It comes from the heart of a big-hearted man.
Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Increasingly, Cambridge is being seen as a focal point for the origins of what would become culturally important in the `60s, musically, filmically, poetically and chemically. Whether the homeland of the decade's underground protagonists or a meeting ground for associated types, it stands out as having been a concentrated hub of foreward-thinking youth culture.
Although reasons for the socio-cultural shifts which were to take place there and in London are not easily summarised, reaction and rebellion came about in part against Cambridge's post-war academic stuffiness.
It was that atmosphere which suffocated Matthew Scurfield, whose dyslexia, like that of all other sufferers, was not recognised for a long time. Friends from a young age with a who's who of Beat Cambridge, Matthew was a member of a notable scene. Valuable for many reasons, I Could Be Anyone is perhaps most interesting for its inside view of figures who, in most accounts of the period, are just names, such as Matthew's half-brother Ponji, Dave Gale, Pip and Emo, to name only a few. Matthew's description of their beginnings alongside accomplices such as Syd Barrett makes for fascinating, new reading.
Matthew himself would go on to overcome his demons and enjoy great success as a film, TV and stage actor. Besides the `60s element, this book is of great relevance to those with an interest in the acting life, for those affected by dyslexia, and for those interested in yoga, a saving grace taught to Matthew by BKS Iyengar.
Many familiar names and places pass through I Could Be Anyone, from Pete Townshend to Tommy Cooper, the Anti-University to The Arts Lab. All are treated with intimate knowledge and with a thoughtful, humanist prose, which balances the facts of wider developments with a deeply personal, reflective approach.
This book has been well earnt by its author, and is a recommended read.
Although reasons for the socio-cultural shifts which were to take place there and in London are not easily summarised, reaction and rebellion came about in part against Cambridge's post-war academic stuffiness.
It was that atmosphere which suffocated Matthew Scurfield, whose dyslexia, like that of all other sufferers, was not recognised for a long time. Friends from a young age with a who's who of Beat Cambridge, Matthew was a member of a notable scene. Valuable for many reasons, I Could Be Anyone is perhaps most interesting for its inside view of figures who, in most accounts of the period, are just names, such as Matthew's half-brother Ponji, Dave Gale, Pip and Emo, to name only a few. Matthew's description of their beginnings alongside accomplices such as Syd Barrett makes for fascinating, new reading.
Matthew himself would go on to overcome his demons and enjoy great success as a film, TV and stage actor. Besides the `60s element, this book is of great relevance to those with an interest in the acting life, for those affected by dyslexia, and for those interested in yoga, a saving grace taught to Matthew by BKS Iyengar.
Many familiar names and places pass through I Could Be Anyone, from Pete Townshend to Tommy Cooper, the Anti-University to The Arts Lab. All are treated with intimate knowledge and with a thoughtful, humanist prose, which balances the facts of wider developments with a deeply personal, reflective approach.
This book has been well earnt by its author, and is a recommended read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I could hardly put the first edition down, so thanks for this second take Matt! I was spellbound. It's been fascinating reading further into your pathway to Yoga, and for the insight you've given into the cutting edge acting career you've established.
Strangely, I didn't really connect Alice with you at the time. She was my GP, so revisiting her again after so many years was a joy. She certainly was a tour de force and impacted quite strongly on my life then.
At the same time, I found it truly energising reliving our past with friends from the 60s in Cambridge and London. How familiar it all is.
For me, life's mystery is compellingly strung out in these two books.
Love and Best wishes Jenny Spires
Strangely, I didn't really connect Alice with you at the time. She was my GP, so revisiting her again after so many years was a joy. She certainly was a tour de force and impacted quite strongly on my life then.
At the same time, I found it truly energising reliving our past with friends from the 60s in Cambridge and London. How familiar it all is.
For me, life's mystery is compellingly strung out in these two books.
Love and Best wishes Jenny Spires
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A great social account of life in the 60's
In some ways as with many autobiographies, a book you can dip in and out of - but when you put it down to consider what you have just read, you'll return very quickly to read on. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Laurence Staig
A privileged insight
I found this a fascinating book on two counts: firstly, as a long-standing Syd Barrett fan, I was intrigued and privileged by the insider's view that Matthew Scurfield offered into... Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2010 by Adrian J. Whittaker
A unique book with moments of startling clarity.
This is a unique book, describing a life that it is ordinary enough to relate to, yet exciting enough to produce a jolly good read. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2008 by Sophia
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