Anywhere But Here
Customer Rating: 
After reading Tom Baker's autobiography, I had to put it on my bookshelf to let it soak in for almost two weeks before writing a review worth sharing. The title was most appropriate. It's a rhetorical plea. Those people in his life who have tried answering this question only seemed to give answers that hurt deeply and left many scars. This obviously led him into acting. Not so much to be rich and famous as much as simply wanting to be someone else for at least a little while. He was, however, someone else for quite some time, that being the 4th actor to take on the role of the doctor in the long running BBC series Dr.Who from 1974-1981. Through this role he became the iconic hero of children whom as adults are now buying up Dr.Who dvd releases from this era like mad, feeling nostalgic for that 20 foot scarf, floppy fedora, and overall alien wit and charm. It's almost unfathomable to believe that this tall, imposing, eccentric character could possibly be rendered from a man who had been told since childhood that he was worth less than nothing. Although Tom Baker tells his life with harsh reality, his autobiography is beautifully written. As for the title question, he most likely still doesn't know, but I hope he now hurts a little less as he tries to figure it out.
The Fourth Doctor Who ...
Customer Rating: Synopsis :
Tom Baker's autobiography covers his childhood in the poor, spirited Irish community in Liverpool; his six years as a monk; his struggling times as an out-of-work actor; and onto appearences alongside Olivier at the National Theatre, work with Pasolino and his time as Doctor Who.
One of the great British television phenomena of the 60's and 70's, known to all who are now entering or firmly placed in mid-life, was the advent of Doctor Who. This original and most British of television series chronicled the travels and tribulations of the famous Doctor Who and his merry band of followers. Tom Baker, though not the first but probably the most unforgettable of the actors who took on this role, has published an autobiography that not only lets us explore the man made famous but also the man himself. Tom inhabited the world of television production agencies, the BBC with its cast of thousands, and the drinking haunts of Soho with the likes of Jeffery Bernard, Anthony Hopkins and actors for whom feast and famine were a daily way of life.
Tom, with his expressive face and kind eyes was born in Liverpool to a raucous and lively Irish family where love and a good respect for the teachings of the Catholic Church were able to prepare him for an interesting and fulfilling life. In fact, Tom's early experiences with the church involved a trial at a monastery for an unsuccessful preparation as a priest and an insight into the daily workings of these institutions. A slow starting but rapidly improving acting career was followed by time spent pulling pints and on London construction sites before the big break. Then came with the casting agent and the meeting that allowed for instant world-wide recognition for the famous Doctor Who that still exists today.
The style of the story is very much that of a black comedy with a marriage, children and a certain fixation with a lawnmower and the mowing of the grass around his own gravestone, making for an enjoyable read. He is now happily married and living in a rural utopia outside of London, millions of miles and light years away from the hectic and all- consuming career of both straight acting and in the television role that has made him famous in more that 70 countries
