Over the Top and Back: The Autobiography

An Amazon Best Book of December 2015: Celebrity memoirs can be hit or miss, with the level of satisfaction often determined by the dishy details the celebrity is willing to spill. Readers of pop singer Tom Jones’ story might be initially disappointed that the hip-swiveling heartthrob, who was famous for having ladies’ panties thrown at him in concert, doesn’t kiss and tell… much. But this book shines when it pushes beyond Jones’ star status to reveal the real man behind the microphone. Raw stories about growing up near coal mines in Wales and suffering from tuberculosis, getting his girlfriend (soon wife) pregnant when he was sixteen, his slow rise through local clubs, and his breakout to fame and fortune drive the first half, while Jones’ search for how to stay relevant to himself and the music world after his commercial peak in the 1970s propels the second half. Whether or not you’re a Tom Jones fan, this memoir of a singer’s rise from working-class Wales to musical superstardom has more power and magnetism than the typical tell-all. —Adrian Liang