The Elephant to Hollywood: The Autobiography, By Michael Caine

It's all in the sea salt...not a lot of people know that

Born in 1933, Maurice Micklewhite survived the Blitz and served in Korea before setting out to emulate his idol Humphrey Bogart (whose film The Caine Mutiny inspired Maurice's now legendary stage name).

Years spent treading the boards followed, before a role in the 1964 film, Zulu, propelled Michael Caine to superstardom.

For the most part, this memoir is pleasantly enjoyable, as Elephant and Castle's finest delivers tales of the Hollywood high life with a gentle wit. But as we reach the later years, the anecdotes dry up and things take a turn for the banal; by the end, he's resorted to giving us his recipe for baked potatoes.

What's it all about, Alfie? Plenty of olive oil and sea salt, apparently.