Premium: Allen Ambor’s reminder that autobiographies are a bad idea. Resentments, too.

Spur's founder Allen Ambor (above) has celebrated his 80th year with an autobiography titled, predictably, A Taste For Life. It does little to dissuade me that writing one's own life story is an unnecessary indulgence. Such legacies are credible only when penned by independent outsiders. With the emphasis on independent.

That's because by their nature autobiographies are one-offs, often the single opportunity to publicly credit family, friends and acquaintances. That sanitises such projects, and makes them boring to outsiders. Also detracting from the true purpose of recording a well-lived life – the sharing of experiences others can learn from.

There is, however, a segment in Ambor's book which makes it different. Chapter 15 is dedicated to settling his score with Spur's long-time CEO Pierre van Tonder, who committed suicide six months ago. Ambor hinted at his intentions during my interview with him just over a year ago. What emerged, though, was brutal.

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