Born in 1912, Brian spent a luxurious childhood in a Queen Anne house in Hertfordshire. When he was just ten years old the family suffered the tragic death of his father and were forced to sell the family home. A few years later Brian was sent to Eton, which he always said were the happiest days of his life – and where he demonstrated an early flair for cricket. After leaving school he longed to join the theatre, but instead travelled to Hamburg and then Brazil to learn the family trade – the coffee business. His travels were cut short after eighteen months when he became gravely ill and he returned home.
War broke out and Brian joined the 2nd Battallion Grenadier Guards serving in Normandy after D-Day, where he earned the Military Cross for ‘untiring determination and cheerfulness under fire’. Six weeks after being demobbed he joined the BBC. He only planned to work there a few months; he ended up staying for 48 years, where his career ranged from performing in music halls, presenting children’s television shows and, of course, presenting and commentating on television and radio, which quickly made him a household name. Told with candour and affection, THE LIFE OF BRIAN reveals the private side of a man who became a public institution.
War broke out and Brian joined the 2nd Battallion Grenadier Guards serving in Normandy after D-Day, where he earned the Military Cross for ‘untiring determination and cheerfulness under fire’. Six weeks after being demobbed he joined the BBC. He only planned to work there a few months; he ended up staying for 48 years, where his career ranged from performing in music halls, presenting children’s television shows and, of course, presenting and commentating on television and radio, which quickly made him a household name. Told with candour and affection, THE LIFE OF BRIAN reveals the private side of a man who became a public institution.
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Reviews
A beautifully balanced book. It certainly does tell the whole story
In the commentary box at the end of every Test match the commentators vote on the Brian Johnston champagne moment - something extraordinary, memorable, even absurd. It is a fitting monument, as is this respectful, loving book
Johnston maganes to steer that fine line of being the guardian of his father's memory without being sentimental...I found it immensely moving to read of the darker moments which touched the life of the man who has so often lifted me out of my own doldrums with his easy good humour
JOHNNERS is a richly entertaining tribute to one of the pioneers and characters of radio and televsion broadcasting and will appeal to cricket lovers and non cricket lovers alike