In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile
In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile book cover

In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile

Paperback – July 12, 2016

Price
$19.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
624
Publisher
Quercus Publishing
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1782067467
Dimensions
5 x 1.75 x 7.75 inches
Weight
14.7 ounces

Description

Absolutely jaw-dropping― Nicky Campbell, Radio Five Live An astonishing account . . . It is an incredible read― Carole Cadwalladr , Observer An extraordinary book, by turns deeply sinister and darkly comic― Craig Brown , Mail on Sunday To my mind, the best and hottest non-fiction property of the decade is Dan Davies's book on Jimmy Savile. He had amazing access for years and stuck with the story before anybody knew how interesting it was. His book will be a must-read and will hit British culture like a clusterbomb. I can't wait― Andrew O'Hagan Dan Davies is a journalist, author and editor with more than twenty years' experience as a senior staffer and freelance contributor on a wide variety of magazines, newspapers and websites. Twice shortlisted as BSME Magazine Writer of the Year, he has been Deputy Editor and Acting Editor of Esquire , Editor of Esquire Weekly , a Features Editor at the Mail on Sunda y, Deputy Editor of Jack magazine, and a feature writer for the Guardian Guide , Live Magazine , The Journal on MrPorter.com and many others.

Features & Highlights

  • Winner of the 2015 Gordon Burn Prize and the 2015 CWA Non-Fiction DaggerShortlisted for the Orwell Prize and the James Tait Black Prize'An astonishing account'
  • Observer
  • Dan Davies has spent more than a decade on a quest to find the real Jimmy Savile, and interviewed him extensively over a period of seven years before his death. In the course of his quest, he spent days and nights at a time quizzing Savile at his homes in Leeds and Scarborough, lunched with him at venues ranging from humble transport cafes to the Athenaeum club in London and, most memorably, joined him for a short cruise aboard the
  • QE2
  • . Dan thought his quest had come to an end in October 2011 when Savile's golden coffin was lowered into a grave dug at a 45-degree angle in a Scarborough cemetery. He was wrong. In the last two and a half years, Dan has been interviewing scores of people, many of them unobtainable while Jimmy was alive. What he has discovered was that his instincts were right all along and behind the mask lay a hideous truth. Jimmy Savile was not only complex, damaged and controlling, but cynical, calculating and predatory. He revelled in his status as a Pied Piper of youth and used his power to abuse the vulnerable and underage, all the while covering his tracks by moving into the innermost circles of the establishment.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(531)
★★★★
25%
(442)
★★★
15%
(265)
★★
7%
(124)
23%
(407)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Enjoyable, if at times unbelievable

This is a fast paced read that left me as a researcher wanting more. The story of Jimmy Savile is told with a passion that's infectious. The way Davies intertwines old and new narratives was enjoyable, if at times unbelievable.
Now for the bad. As a researcher I found much of what was put forth to be conjecture. Hearsay abounds from all sources. Many times I found myself wondering why, if as many people who claimed to know these things were happening actually did, how is it that nothing made it to print or the courts? I understand he was a revered individual but from the way Mr. Davies makes it sound, hundreds if not thousands of people knew about what was going on as it was happening. While I've no doubt that Savile was a pedophile, I find it very hard to believe he could have opporated at such a massive scale for so long. More so given how public his life was.
Having read the Dane Smith report in conjunction with this, the tale presented herein seems to me to be caused more by panic than reality. The glaring errors in the manuscript suggest a work that was rushed to capitalize on the furore created by the reports (and as such earn as much money as was possible,) rather than actual facts.
1 people found this helpful
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One of the most intriguing and harrowing books you'll ever read

All I have to say is "wow." I'm deeply amazed at how someone could display such moral depravity and such a generosity at the same time. Of course I'm talking about Jimmy Savile. Reading his full story left me feeling conflicted at times, and by the end I almost felt sympathy for his younger self, who may or may not have been abused. Dan Davies portrays Savile with such a detail that you feel like you're in the room with him. His extensive use of conversations with Savile woven into prose makes the story a harrowing page turner. Equally enchanting and horrific, it puts the Netflix documentary to shame. (My favorite part was his antics at the mortuary.)
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Book

I liked the way this was written, however, certainly not a nice subject
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Good book

A very interesting book on a disturbing subject.
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Three Stars

Interesting book