Songs My Mother Taught Me an autobiography

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

 by Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

 with Robert Lindsey

Robert Lindsey (journalist)

Robert Lindsey is a journalist and author of several true crime books, including The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage , the story of Christopher John Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee, who were both convicted of selling information to the Soviets...

 as co-author in 1995.

Brando writes of his memories as a struggling actor and of his various relationships with other actors, producers and directors.

The book has been translated into several languages, including a Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 version translated by Niki Karimi

Niki Karimi

Niki Karimi , born 10 November 1971 in Tehran, is a multi-award–winning Iranian actress and movie director.- Biography :Niki Karimi was born and raised in Tehran. She participated in theatrical work while she was in elementary school. Her hobby of reading and watching movies from an early age...

in 1999.

The book is not so much a collection of described chronological events as it is a medium for Brando's thoughts and beliefs, all voiced through a diverse array of topics. Particularly later on in the book, he intersperses stories from both his youth and his older years. Brando doesn't delve into himself more than he needs to, rather the people who shaped his life; notably, little to no mention is made of his wives or children.

Specific mention is made of figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, John F. Kennedy, David Niven, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, John Huston, amongst many others. His actual coverage of his films tends to be succinct, characterised more by anecdotes than step-by-step descriptions of production.