Lucky Man: A Memoir
The same sharp intelligence and self-deprecating wit that made Michael  J. Fox a star in theFamily TiesTV series andBack to the Futuremake this a lot punchier than the usual up-from-illness celebrity memoir. Yes,  he begins with the first symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the incurable illness  that led to his retirement fromSpin City(and acting) in 2000. And yes,  he assures us he is a better, happier person now than he was before he was  diagnosed. In Fox's case, you actually might believe it, because he then  cheerfully exposes the insecurities and self-indulgences of his pre-Parkinson's  life in a manner that makes them not glamorous but wincingly ordinary and of  course very funny. ("As for the question, 'Does it bother you that maybe she  just wants to sleep with you because you're a celebrity?' My answer to that one  was, 'Ah...nope.'") With a working-class Canadian background, Fox has an  unusually detached perspective on the madness of mass-media fame; his  description of the tabloid feeding frenzy surrounding his 1988 wedding to Tracy  Pollan, for example, manages to be both acid and matter-of-fact. He is frank but  not maudlin about his drinking problem, and he refreshingly notes that getting  sober did not automatically solve all his other problems. This readable, witty  autobiography reminds you why it was generally a pleasure to watch Fox onscreen:  he's a nice guy with an edge, and you don't have to feel embarrassed about  liking him.--Wendy Smith--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.