One Helluva Ride cover art

One Helluva Ride

The explosive memoir from the Academy Award-winning actor and Hollywood legend

 Preview
This Season's Biggest Deal

£0.99/mo for 3 months + £10 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at £5.99/month after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
More purchase options

One Helluva Ride

By: Michael Douglas
Narrated by: Michael Douglas
Get this deal

Auto-renews at £5.99/mo. after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 28 December, 2026.

Buy Now for £18.89

Buy Now for £18.89

This Season's Biggest Deal | £0.99/mo for 3 months + £10 Audible bonus

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly
Summary
 'The actor's candid new memoir is packed with revelations ... unlike so many celebrity memoirs of its type, Douglas's book ... is candid and packed with gossip.' Telegraph

'Explosive ... incredibly candid' Daily Mail

'Extraordinarily candid' Independent

'Juicy ... chatty, but straight-talking ... the anecdotes are rollicking. This is a man who can write sentences like: "In January 1977, I attended Jimmy Carter's inauguration with Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty."' The Times

'One Helluva Ride is a blockbuster - intimate and uncensored, worthy of a bucket of popcorn with extra butter.' The New York Times

'Absolutely incredible ... raw, honest, funny and hugely entertaining... Full of juicy behind-the-scenes details and moving personal insights, it's a rich must-read.' Wrap

A boy lost in the shadow of his father's legacy.

A gifted artist dismissed as just a "TV actor."

A first-time film producer who stunned the world by winning an Oscar at 31.

A maverick who changed Hollywood and became a global movie star.

Hollywood icon Michael Douglas tells the unfiltered story of his life for the first time.

"I spent a significant portion of my career playing some version of the modern, flawed, American male. You'll see from these pages that it wasn't exactly a stretch for me."

Beginning with his fractured childhood and a complex relationship with his superstar father, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas finally gives the full and uncensored account of a remarkable life. One Helluva Ride reveals incredible behind-the-scenes stories featuring a Who's Who of Hollywood, many of them never revealed before and some outrageously funny, with an unflinching honesty about his sometimes bad-boy life.

Initially dismissed as just the handsome son of a legendary movie star, at age thirty-one he shook up Hollywood when he won his first Oscar for producing the five-time Academy Award-winning classic film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Told he would never be anything more than a "TV actor," he quit the hit series The Streets of San Francisco to become an international movie star, with a list of classic films that have grossed billions of dollars, winning a second Oscar for his riveting performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.

"I can't think about my life without thinking of my movies," Douglas says, and he recounts his career through twelve of his most iconic films, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The China Syndrome, Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, War of the Roses, Basic Instinct, Falling Down, The American President, Traffic and Behind the Candelabra. These movies not only captured the cultural zeitgeist but often defined it.

Yet as Douglas's fame grew, so did his personal struggles. He recounts the full, unfiltered story of his turbulent first mar­riage; infidelity and affairs with some of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood; his own serious struggle with alcohol, drugs and rehab; the heartbreaking fight to save his son from an addiction that sent him to prison; and his against-all-odds battle with stage IV cancer.

He saw Catherine Zeta Jones on a movie screen and instantly fell for her. Their incredible love story transformed his life and proved all the tabloids wrong, enduring after twenty-five years of marriage.

Father, son, husband, actor, producer, brother and friend. This is the real, raw, deeply honest and vulnerable Michael Douglas you don't know―until now.©2026 Michael Douglas (P)2026 Hachette Book Group USA Entertainment & Celebrities Funny Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Celebrity War Entertainment
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Could be the best book I listened to this year. Such emotions listening to the author himself. You could just imagine Michael Douglas speak from his heart as he narrated this. The ups and downs of his life and everything else in between.

Absolutely Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A thoroughly enjoyable listen. Michael Douglas has recorded his life story with honesty, passion and interest.

Such a fascinating life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Michael Douglas is the GOAT! What a life and what a contribution to the movie industry.

Loved, Loved - what a helluva guy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A real highs and lows story, and I so enjoyed learning about how some of my favourite films were made and the stories behind them. Even though Mr MD came from a famous movie family background and gained enormous fame and wealth himself, I still found his story both grounding and inspiring...ive been stressed to hell over the recent months and this book has been my escape!

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As Michael Douglas lifts the curtain on a life in Hollywood and all that that entails, we are given an unbelievable insight into not only his life but the movie making business. I have loved his movies ever since I first saw Romancing the Stone. Actually before that I would have watched reruns of The Streets of San Francisco as a kid. I read Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as an impressionable teenager but never got around to seeing the film for a few more years as the book scared me so much. This book is like having a consise version of Film History 101 with equally raw insights into family life, friendship and filmmaking. Whether it's Gordon Gekko, Jack Colton or D-Fens you are entertained and intrigued by, the behind the scenes tales get even more interesting. Douglas's ability to recall a conversation or a feeling is remarkable, not a slight on his age but admiration of his intellect. One helluva read!

One helluva read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews