The late Andy Warhol was an American artist whose work was central to the Pop Art movement. He started his career as a commercial illustrator, but became famous worldwide for his work as a painter and avant-garde filmmaker – his 1963 work ‘Eight Elvises’ canvas sold for $100 million.

This diary is a personal account of his life, starting at November 24, 1976 right up until February 17, 1987. Every morning for the last ten years of his life he recounted his adventures, thoughts and feelings from the previous day to one of his closest friends, who, in 1989, edited and published this 1000+ page book. Tedious in places (his account of visiting his eye doctor and his insistence on telling us how much he paid for almost everything), Warhol is not shy to name drop, the pages scattered with references to his famous friends; from Jane Fonda and Bianca Jagger to Donald Trump and President Carter (as well as loads of others I’ve never heard of), not all of them complimentary.

Author Pat Hackett was one of Warhol’s closest confidantes, meeting him for the first time in 1968. As an undergraduate she was determined to inject some glamour into her life and approached Warhol at the Factory for a typing job. From there, she worked with him on the book ‘The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)’ and his memoirs of the sixties ‘Popism’.

Sadly, on Sunday 22 February 1987, Warhol died aged 59 following a routine gall bladder operation and so the diary ends. It’s a hefty book but don’t let this put you off. If you can persevere (and I almost gave up!), you’re a fan of Warhol and are familiar with his life already, it’s a truly fascinating, if time-consuming, read.