<p><b>Albert Finney was a Salford-born, homework-hating bookie¿s son who broke the social barriers of British film. </b>He did his share of roistering, and yet outlived his contemporaries and dodged typecasting to become a five-time Oscar nominee and one of our most durable international stars. Bon vivant, perennial rebel, self-effacing character actor, charismatic charmer, mentor to a generation of working-class artists, a byword for professionalism, lover of horseflesh and female flesh ¿ Albert Finney is all these things and more. Gabriel Hershman¿s colourful and riveting account of Finney¿s life and work, drawing on interviews with many of his directors and co-stars, examines how one of Britain¿s greatest actors built a glittering career without sacrificing his integrity.</p>