Not many people know that!: Michael Caine's almanac of amazing information

Not Many People Know That! #1

by Michael Caine

Book by Caine, Michael

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1986

About the author

Sir Michael Caine, CBE was born Maurice Joseph Micklewaite near Elephant and Castle in South London. His first major starring roles, beginning in the 1960s, include 'Zulu,' 'The Ipcress File,' and 'Alfie.' He is a major Hollywood film star and two-time Academy Award winner with a career spanning over sixty years.

Reviews

[Mike Futcher]

Not Many People Know That! is a charming collection of trivia; the gimmick being that this one was compiled by the legendary actor (and national treasure) Michael Caine. Written in 1984, it wasn't a cash-in (all the royalties went to a charity) and Caine has always been a likeable character. He writes a few short anecdotal and autobiographical segments in the book which are enjoyable, particularly his bit about meeting General Eisenhower whilst he was doing his National Service.

As the book is quite old, some of its facts are no doubt outdated (it was peculiar to read of Rudolf Hess spoken of in the present tense) and some others seem of dubious accuracy. In the odd one or two, the facts were so outlandish I thought that Caine might be pulling our collective leg. I don't even know where to start; there's dozens of Caine's assertions which I am just itching to Google to see if they're true.

In some ways, Not Many People Know That! isn't all that different from other trivia books (aside from its odd sprinkle of Michael Caine stardust). Some of the facts are trivia book staples - some true, others have probably been debunked. However, a lot of the facts are interesting and some really make you think, and you should finish this book remembering at least a dozen new facts to impress (or annoy) people at parties. Whilst trivia books are a dime a dozen these days, Caine's compilation doesn't deserve to be forgotten. It is amiable and enjoyable - a nice little gem. It's a shame that not many people know that.

[Celeste Bernaldez]

how to read a book i am just new here

[Degrassi]

This is an entertaining book which I read awhile ago, before Michael Caine became famous again as Alfred in the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. Anyway, it's fun to read although I think now with Google, one can easily challenge the veracity of some of the amazing information in this book. For instance, Michael shares us a nugget of information of Ivan the Terrible, with the Czar claiming he had “deflowered thousands of virgins and butchered a similar number of resulting offspring.” Now that's exhaustion, but is it really true?

[Michelle]

This book is filled with a series of factoids and anecdotal stories about Hollywood organised under different themes. Its a fun, fast read and I enjoyed it. The time period covered is from when films started to the 1980's (the book was written in 1988). The language is easy to read and humorous and I recommend this as a way to just have fun.

[Janet Bird]

I had the hardcover. A very interesting read. He seems a really nice bloke, affable.

[Misheal Abdullah]

quite entertaining, though sometimes useless information about anything and everything

[Douglas Wilson]

Okay.

[Lysergius]

Michael Caine's rather wry look at his life - or part of it anyway.

[Glenn Bruce]

I remember reading this a long time ago and thoroughly enjoying his tales. He's funny and doesn't take himself too seriously. As I recall, a good read!

[Ben Sweezy]

Michael Caine makes 1984 (the year of its publishing) seem very far away indeed.