This Boy's Life (Picador, £6.99 in UK), by Tobias Wolff, is a heartrending autobiography about a young boy's difficult childhood and his journey into adulthood. Jack Wolff (as he was then) had no proper family until his mother married a man named Dwight who also had three children of his own. Jack's relationship with Dwight proved to be a tumultuous one. He had many experiences which are both easy to relate to and entertaining. It shows insight into life in America in the pre-Vietnam era and also the special relationship a single mother has with her son.