My Paper Chase is an autobiography Of Harold Evans’ life in journalism. It is written in episodic form, chronological in order, by Harold Evans — not surprising since it’s an autobiography. Despite his apparent humble beginnings, Harold Evans rose to apparently the top of British journalism at 39, assuming the position of Editor of the Sunday Times. During his editorship, he managed to increase readership, maintain high standards for journalism, improve health-care for women, and improve the look and feel of the paper, all while avoiding editorial interference. At the height of his career he leaves his wife of many years for a younger woman who turns out to be Tina Brown. He spends more time describing his love for typeset and fonts than he does about the failure of his first marriage — something astounding considering the earlier setup — but, in fairness to Mr. Evans, this book is more about paper than it is about the vicissitudes of life.

He is obviously a good writer. But if you are looking for a biography that describes how a person achieves the pinnacle of success in a given field, Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up is a more honest, more compelling, and more interesting one. My Paper Chase seems a bit contrived, inevitable, and, at times, insincere. I’m happy for Mr. Evans, though.