Loitering with Intent

Caveat emptor: this is only the first volume of the Irish actor's memoirs, covering roughly the opening 20 years of his life. Once you accept the fact that there will be no stories about the making of Lawrence of Arabia or O'Toole's many other wonderful films, you can revel in his colorful writing: e.g., "It was smashing to be back among the throng of gamesters, gee-gees, jockeys, bookies." Among the aforementioned "throng" was the author's roguish father, Captain Pat. The other major figure in these pages is Adolf Hitler; Peter was 7 when World War II broke out, and he's obviously still obsessed with the imprint the German dictator left on the world. Entertaining stuff, but recommended only for larger collections.