Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and Stuart Woods for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Stuart Woods is one of my favorite authors, and his Stone Barrington novels have been a must read of mine for years so I was very excited to get a glimpse into the author's life with his new autobiography. Sailing, and a nonfiction book about it that he wrote years ago takes the main stage in much of this book, there is some background stories about his family and life that I found interesting. He has lived all over the world and speaks about his life before writing became his main occupation. It is not often that we get a glimpse into the authors real world and it was nice to step out of the fiction and meet the man behind the pen.

An Extravagant Life
by Stuart Woods
Pub Date: June 7, 2022
G.P. Putnam
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series tells the story of his own life from childhood to the present and chronicles the journey that made him the writer he is today.

Over the last forty years, Stuart Woods has written more than ninety novels of suspense and intrigue, beginning with the award-winning Chiefs. This book will be fascinating for fans of Stuart Woods. I have read very few of his 90 novels, but they go out at a fast clip at our library. For me, the life story was a bit drawn out. I would recommend this to one of his fans.
4 stars

An Extravagant Life
An Autobiography Incorporating Blue Water, Green Skipper
by Stuart Woods
Pub Date 07 Jun 2022
PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons
Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)


I am reviewing a copy of An Extravagant Life: An Autobiography Incorporating Blue Water, Green Skipper through Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley:




Stuart Woods has written more than ninety novels of suspense and intrigue, over the past forty years. Starting with his the award-winning Chiefs. Featuring iconic crime-fighting and jet-setting leads, the plots are masterfully conceived and wonderfully escapist.




What readers aren’t often aware of is Woods's very own life was filled with similar stories of adventure. Born in Georgia, Woods worked in advertising in New York, served in the US Air Force, and had a short stint as an advance man. When he was thirty seven he found himself in a transatlantic sailing race, and pursued writing as a full-time career shortly thereafter. Along the way, Woods has lived all over the world, from New York to London, Santa Fe to Ireland. Incorporating his iconic sailing memoir Blue Water, Green Skipper, this is the story of a life well-lived, and a special inside look into the beloved author’s many exploits.



I found An Extravagant life an intriguing and fascinating read worthy of five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I first read books by this author 25 years ago with some favorites of Chiefs, La Dead and Santa Fe Rules and i was so excited to experience his life through his own words. Quickly I discovered that this probably was not going to be my cup of tea as soon as I started reading it. True to his style of witty words and descriptions of details I became very uninterested as there was way to much detail of his early life and family that I started skimming pages.
It's not that its a bad book, its just not what I hoped it to be about this fantastic writer. If you are a Stuart Woods fan and want to delve into his life than this book is for you.

While I enjoy reading fiction by Mr. Woods, sadly, I didn't enjoy this look at Mr. Woods young life and his family.
It was just too drawn out for me. While his family is certainly interesting, I felt it was a bit bloated and I started skipping my way through it.
Perhaps a fan of Mr. Woods would cherish this look at his life and events that made him, but for me, this was a snog.
I'll happily handsell it, however, to any Stuart Woods fan