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It's Not What You Think [Paperback]

Chris Evans
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

29 April 2010 0007327234 978-0007327232 Reprint

The story of how one council estate lad made good, really very good, and survived – just about – to tell the tale…

Chris Evans’s extraordinary career has seen him become one of the country’s most successful broadcasters and producers. From The Big Breakfast to Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday, Chris changed the TV landscape during the ‘90s; and on Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio, BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast show and as owner of Virgin Radio he ushered in the age of the celebrity DJ.

But this is only part of the Chris Evans story. In this witty and energetically written autobiography, Chris describes the experiences that shaped the boy and created the man who would go on to carve out such a dazzlingly brilliant career. Born on a dreary council estate in Warrington and determined to escape, Chris started out as the best newspaper boy on the block, armed with no more than a little silver Binatone radio that he would take to the newsagents each day and through which he would develop a life-long and passionate love affair with the music and voices that emerged.

From paperboy to media mogul, It’s Not What You Think isn’t what you think - it’s the real story beyond the glare of the media spotlight from one of this country’s brightest and boldest personalities.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (29 April 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007327234
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007327232
  • Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 12.7 x 20.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 7,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘An eye-opening read’, OK Magazine

‘It is as an autobiographer that Chris Evans finally seems to have grown up’, The Observer

‘Full to the brim with fantastic anecdotes’, Heat

‘A critic confounding mea culpa of a memoir’, The Guardian

‘The guy can spin a yarn as long as long as the M1 and as colourful as his hair’, Now Magazine

About the Author

Chris Evans began his broadcasting careeer at Manchester Piccadilly radio, going on to become a household name in TV and radio. With his production company Ginger, he launched and presented the hugely successful Channel 4 shows The Big Breakfast, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush and TFI Friday. In 1995 Chris joined Radio 1 hosting the flagship breakfast show, attracting 7.5m listeners. After his controversial departure he then joined Virgin Radio’s breakfast show, eventually acquiring the station from Richard Branson for £87m. He went on to sell the Ginger Media Group (including Virgin Radio) in 2000 for £225m. In 2005 Chris joined Radio 2, declaring it his spiritual home, his show picking up four prestigious Sony Awards in as many years. He is now presenter of The Breakfast Show.


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Honest & Compelling 23 Sep 2010
Format:Paperback
This is a very compelling read as Chris Evans gives a very honest insight into the story behind his rise to fame. Some great childhood anecdotes (I could empathise with the schooldays, being of a similar age) and it was very interesting to hear how Chris was fascinated by the allure of the radio and set about learning his craft (with an unexpected early mentor). In the end power did go to his head and frivolous ideas, such as not turning up for work at Radio 1 after a Xmas party, really did backfire. It is a rise and fall tale but Chris is now back up there and I look forward to the next instalment.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Book is great but NO PHOTOS ON KINDLE VERSION 6 Oct 2010
Format:Kindle Edition
I consider photos to be an essential part of a biography (or autobiography in this case). I was disappointed to find that they were not present in the Kindle version. I have obtained a refund from Amazon and have orderd the traditional book instead.

5 stars for the book, 5 for Amazon's customer services but 0 stars for Harper Collins who somehow think it's OK to issue a sub-standard product.

I came across a section where Chris was talking about his brother and he wrote something along the lines of "And here is a picture of him" and there was no picture. What??? Cheated. May seem petty to some but having recently purchased a Kindle (not cheap) I did not expect to find such shoddy work when the Kindle is perfectly able to display the photos.

Sort yourself out Harper Collins...
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Hodderz
Format:Hardcover
I have long suspected that Chris Evans is a sharper cookie than his public carefree personna appears to be. Detailed accounts of how he personally negotiated one-on-one with Richard Branson confirm this. There is no suspicion of a ghost writer; this has clearly been written by Chris himself.
Some of the Top 10 summaries that introduce each chapter are rather trivial, but many are very revealing and a few represent as good business advice as you'll read anywhere else.
All this is in addition to a refreshing, engaging, clear writing style, amusing and touching throughout.
I bought this hardback half price but it's well worth the full RRP - this one will stay on my bookshelf until I next re-read it.
Only thing I can't quite get is how he pulled so many attractive women!!? charm and money I guess, probably the former rather than the latter.
The title sums up the book beautifully.
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37 of 40 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent! 8 Oct 2009
Format:Hardcover
When you think Chris Evans you probably think one of these things; ginger, glasses, big breakfast, don't forget your toothbrush, boozing. But in this book, which he explains isn't done in chapters like usual but is arranged in `top tens', he talks about his life before fame and where he grew up, how he got into radio, his determination and things like that, and all about how he was a normal guy who just took risks and got lucky. It also says at the end that there is another book to come with loads more stuff about Chris, which after this book I am really looking forward to!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Hurrah for the working man! 3 Dec 2009
Format:Hardcover
This book is the first celebrity-written autobiography I have read as I usually avoid them. I like Chris Evans and enjoy both his TV and radio programmes, and thought I would try his written word. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; it is both humorous and serious, and inspirational to working class people everywhere. He is ambitious, hard-working, brave and modest. I liked Chris's style of writing, particularly his lists at the start of each chapter. I can't wait for the next, promised installment of Chris's autobiography.
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56 of 62 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly surprised! 7 Oct 2009
By Juniar
Format:Hardcover
Can I first say that before reading this I really thought I already knew who Chris Evans was - a bit of a loudmouth w*nker if I'm being completely honest. But my girlfriend is a fan, and she kept mentioning funny bits and laughing at it, and she persuaded me to give it a go too. And I must say I have been pleasantly suprised. Chris comes across totally differently to how you would think, hence why the title is perfect for the book. He actually sounds like a decent, humble guy in this book, the sort of bloke you can imagine having a beer and a chat about cars with. Nice one Chris!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars No picture images in Kindle version 18 Nov 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
This is a good book, I bought this and the second book but did not read them as I had my Kindle but when I saw they were reduced on Kindle I downloaded them both but there are no photos and other images in the Kindle version which is not great. I am lucky in as much as I have the original books so I can look at the photos but this is a bad show from a Kindle perspective. Having said that,this is not criticism of Chris Evans as these are good books.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected treat! 27 Jun 2011
Format:Paperback
This on the surface may appear to be yet another celebrity `cash-in' with the promise of a `warts and all' autobiography. The sceptic in me thought `Ah, he's back on the radio as a presenter on Radio 2 now its time for the inevitable autobiography.' Wrong! This is in fact an interesting and revealing insight into all things Chris Evans by the man himself.

I remember back in the 1990s Evan's being the presenter of such television shows as `The Big Breakfast', `Don't Forget Your Toothbrush' and `TFI Friday.' He also enjoyed a successful (attracting 7.5 million listeners) and controversial term hosting the breakfast show on Radio 1. His departure from Radio 1 with evidence of his private life overlapping his professional life and with the lines increasingly becoming blurred was well documented by the tabloids at the time. This book reveals a lot more than that and my trepidation was soon replaced with enthusiasm as I read on.

The early years of Evan's life see him enjoying a typical working class upbringing in a loving family home in Warrington. Tragically his father died when Evans was only thirteen, an event many attribute to his enthusiasm and `carpe diem' attitude and persona. This early brush with mortality seemed to act as a catalyst for the young Evans. Anyone that knows him in a professional or personal capacity, or has listened or watched him presenting will know that he has charisma and energy in abundance.

It was enjoyable learning of the pre - fame Evans, the lad who enjoys his first true love, works on a newspaper round and in a newsagents as well as in a plethora of other various jobs. His early passion for the radio led him to Manchester where he managed to meet an unlikely personal idol and start working behind the scenes for Piccadilly Radio.
... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Touched the heart
A real person inside the ginger hyperactive friend that I listen to every morning. There's lots in his life that relate closely to mine and so I empathised all the way through. Read more
Published 7 days ago by c
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Evans
Really easy fun read... The pages fly by as Chris recounts what was actually an exciting carefree time.... Makes me want to capture some of the "go for it" attitude myself. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Andy B
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
I bought this because I'd heard so many good reviews about it and I wasn't disappointed at all. I flew through it in a couple of days and found it really interesting, from the... Read more
Published 13 days ago by Miss L Hampson
5.0 out of 5 stars All you dream of and more...
What did I like about this book? It's probably easier to say what I didn't like about this book first...
1. It's too short...
2. That's it... Read more
Published 23 days ago by Ruth
5.0 out of 5 stars humourous and sweet!
What a nice bloke. I love his radio programme and this book is brilliant! Can't wait for the next one!
Published 1 month ago by Murrae Ross-Eskell
4.0 out of 5 stars good
I am enjoying this book of his. As yet I haven't finished reading it. I didn't realise that he could amusing with regard to writing
Published 2 months ago by Mrs Karen McKenzie
4.0 out of 5 stars Have i read before
Whilst I enjoyed the read, I did think that I had read this previously, then realised I had read the previous book.All very similar
Published 2 months ago by Cathy Bleathman
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!
Inspiring, if you want something out of life then chase it!! Dreams can come true as Chris Evans clearly demonstrates
Published 2 months ago by Carol Matthews
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant entertaining read
Loved this book. I always look at the 1 star reviews before the 5 star, and I usually get put off. After reading a couple of pages from the sample version I knew this was a book... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Welshmamma
4.0 out of 5 stars A good, entertaining read
Seen a different side to Chris Evans now - eye-opening, thought-provoking and funny - a good, entertaining read which I actually finished - not normally something I do, having the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Julie Brightwell
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