Book Reviews - Yehudi Menuhin

The great violinist's autobiography is thorough and thoughtful, if somewhat lacking in flair. Menuhin recounts his career, as a musician, mentor and teacher, in plenty of detail; but don't come to this book expecting incisive self-revelation. Perhaps there is little to reveal: Menuhin's was a calm, kindly and stable nature that seems not to have known emotional extreme. Menuhin is reticent about his personal life - particularly the break-up of his marriage - but then, the decision to write an autobiography doesn't preclude an author's right to privacy. The book is well worth reading, but offers fuel to the argument that the nicest people aren't always the most interesting.