Reader's Choice

Moss Hart's autobiography, Act One (St Martin's Press, $13.95 in US), is a fascinating tale of the Golden Age of Broadway between the two world wars. Born into relative poverty in New York, he quickly realises his theatrical ambitions and takes up a post as office boy with a theatrical agent. In jest, he submits a play to his employer and quickly finds himself watching the dress rehearsal of his own play on Broadway at the age of 19. There follows a series of coincidences and cliches straight out of a Hollywood biopic culminating in the extraordinary success of Hart's first collaboration with George Kaufman, Once in a Lifetime. Hart expertly captures the optimism of the age and ambition of youth in this characteristically American story of poor boy makes good.