*Highly* Reccomended Sixties Autobiographies
Scorll down for a list of highly recommended autobiography books about the 60s.
I have accepted that time travel isn’t a thing yet. I know that I’m a grunge-era baby. But does that stop me experiencing teenage life in the sixties?
Recently, when I came to the end of Patti Smith’s Just Kids, I felt like I’d been on a journey through the sixties and early seventies through Patti’s coffee-addicted eyes.
I had hung out at Max’s in New York, hoping to meet Andy Warhol and all his superstars. And I stood in the crowd of a Jim Morrison concert, not quite understanding what he was singing about but was mesmerised by him anyway.
Reading sixties autobiographies is one of my favourite things to do. Not only do you get access to first hand accounts of that era, but the lives they lead are some of the most impressive and inspiring.
These personal stories have helped shape my own fictional story of the sixties, and learn what it was like to be a young girl in a more male-dominated world.
So take a blanket, find a gorgeous view and read these books to transport yourself back to the sixties.
Patti Smith - Just Kids
The second I had closed this book for the final time, I was already online looking for more of her books. Patti Smith’s poetic writing beautifully describes the story of her friendship that stayed strong throughout the Sixties and Seventies, bound together with countless Necafes and second hand jewlery.
Andy Warhol - POPism
On the other side of Patti Smith’s adventure through cheap flats and hotels, is Andy Warhol’s world. Both stories were so close they could almost touch but never entwined. Andy’s world was one he created and wrapped in tin foil. He shared what it was like to be an artist in the Sixties and how his love for the avante garde almost took his life.
Barbara Hulanicki - From A To BIBA
Hulanicki takes us to the heart of Swinging Sixties London and walks you through her beloved boutique. It’s a place that you want to be seen in and wearing. Her description of the huge store in Kensington and the brand that she built has had me longing for a store that doesn’t exist anymore. Plus, her ambition and passion for BIBA is something that shines out of these pages in plummy colours.
Pattie Boyd - Wonderful Tonight
Pattie Boyd went from being the face of the sixties to being on the arm of one of the most famous men in the world – George Harrison. She excitedly tells us of the rise of her modelling career which flips into a love story. This book just makes me want to give her one big hug for being such a romantic at heart.
Hunter S Thompson - Hells Angels
Hunter’s story is unique in so many ways. He was one of the only writers that the angels allowed to ride with them. The trust he gained allowed him access to their lifestyle of beer cans, loose women and Americana dirt trails. Hunter writes in his witty yet nuerotic way which makes Hells Angels my absolute favourite Sixties story.
Keith Richards - Life
And finally, Life was the first sixties autobiography that I ever read. He shares his story of a young shy, bullied, English boy who transforms into the rock god that is Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. And it’s amazing how he remembers any of it. If you need more Keith in your life, I wrote a list of books every Keith fan needs to read here.
P.S. Have you got any recomendations for me? Tell me in the comments below xx
Previous post
10 retro things to do at home
Next post
Discover black culture In the sixties