The autobiography of an acting chimpanzee is going head to head with a cold war love story and a novel about the assassination of a Pakistani dictator in this year's Guardian first book award.Me Cheeta: the Autobiography, is billed as the true story of Cheeta the Chimp, star of Hollywood blockbusters, told "in his own words". The book documents the life and times of a chimpanzee who has outlived all his co-stars from the 1939 film Tarzan to reach the ripe old age of 75. He withdrew from the limelight in 1964 after biting his Doctor Dolittle co-star Rex Harrison, and has retired to an old chimps' home in Palm Springs, California.The book is not published until October 1, but judges for the award, now in its 10th year, were so startled by the early version they were sent that they included it on the 10-strong longlist, revealed today. The judging panel demanded a signed, sworn statement from Me Cheeta's publishers, Fourth Estate, declaring that whoever wrote the book was indeed a first-time author.
The autobiography of an acting chimpanzee is going head to head with a cold war love story and a novel about the assassination of a Pakistani dictator in this year's Guardian first book award.
Me Cheeta: the Autobiography, is billed as the true story of Cheeta the Chimp, star of Hollywood blockbusters, told "in his own words". The book documents the life and times of a chimpanzee who has outlived all his co-stars from the 1939 film Tarzan to reach the ripe old age of 75. He withdrew from the limelight in 1964 after biting his Doctor Dolittle co-star Rex Harrison, and has retired to an old chimps' home in Palm Springs, California.
The book is not published until October 1, but judges for the award, now in its 10th year, were so startled by the early version they were sent that they included it on the 10-strong longlist, revealed today. The judging panel demanded a signed, sworn statement from Me Cheeta's publishers, Fourth Estate, declaring that whoever wrote the book was indeed a first-time author.
