Concise Biographical Dictionary, Chambers £14.99

From the Echo, first published Monday 20th Oct 2003.

You know how frustrating it is when you hear someone mention Mary Pickford, for example, and you know you know the name but can't think for the life of you who she was?

Or when someone says how young Julie Christie looks... then you realise none of you know her age.

This fat and fascinating tome with more than 10,000 entries covering everyone from the artist Domenico Beccafumi (d 1551) to the footballer David Robert Joseph Beckham (b 1975).

Oh, and just for the record... Pickford was a silent film heroine and Julie is 63.

Ed Perkins