The definitive biography of Albert Finney, a Salford-born, homework-hating bookie's son who broke the social barriers of British film. Albert Finney was a Salford-born, homework-hating bookie's son who broke the social barriers of British film. He did his share of roistering, and yet outlived his contemporaries and dodged typecasting to become a five-time Oscar nominee and one of our most durable international stars. Bon vivant, perennial rebel, self-effacing character actor, charismatic charmer, mentor to a generation of working-class artists, a byword for professionalism, lover of horseflesh and female flesh ? Albert Finney is all these things and more. Gabriel Hershman's colourful and riveting account of Finney's life and work, drawing on interviews with many of his directors and co-stars, examines how one of Britain's greatest actors built a glittering career without sacrificing his integrity. AUTHOR: Gabriel Hershman is an international writer with a passion for human interest stories. His books aim to preserve the memory of those gifted, sometimes underrated performers who enthralled cinema and theatregoers with their passion. 16 b/w illustrations