Autobiography: adventurers and explorers Books
Boydell and Brewer A Romantic Symphony
Book SynopsisHoward Hanson's previously unpublished autobiography is now compiled and edited from manuscript sources, providing valuable insight into the life and work of this important American musician and educator.Howard Hanson was an American composer, conductor, and educator. Following his retirement as director of the Eastman School of Music, he worked intermittently for about a half-dozen years on an autobiography before abandoning the project. A Romantic Symphony: The Autobiography of Howard Hanson has been compiled and edited from various manuscript sources and now published as a valuable source of information concerning a man of wide influence in the music world of his time.Although an important composer, it is perhaps as an educator and advocate for American music that he should be most remembered. His early efforts to establish criteria for the Bachelor of Music curriculum and later for the development of a professional doctorate in music were among his most notable achievements. Of equal importance, however, was his support for the work of fellow American composers through his annual American Composers' Concerts and Festivals of American Music, which gave these composers opportunities to hear live performances of their works, often for the first time. Equally significant were Hanson's many recordings of American music that were issued on the RCA Victor, Columbia, and Mercury labels over a period of more than three decades. Hanson's autobiography is an important addition to our knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of this important figure in American music.
£17.99
Cornerstone My Dark Places
Book SynopsisAmerica''s greatest crime writer investigates his mother''s murder. On 21 June 1958, Geneva Hilliker Ellroy left her home in California. She was found strangled the next day. Her ten year-old son James had been with her estranged husband all weekend and was informed of her death on his return. Her murderer was never found, but her death had an enduring effect on her son - he spent his teens and early adult years as a wino, petty burglar and derelict. Only later, through his obsession with crime fiction, triggered by his mother''s murder, did Ellroy begin to delve into his past. Shortly after the publication of his groundbreaking novel WHITE JAZZ, he determined to return to Los Angeles and, with the help of veteran detective Bill Stoner, attempt to solve the 38-year-old killing. The result is one of the few classics of crime non-fiction and autobiography to appear in the last few decades; a hypnotic trip to America''s underbelly and one man''s tortured soul.Trade ReviewThe outstanding American crime writer of his generation * Independent *A gripping and quite awesome form of literature * Express *Stunning...extraordinary * Observer *A tour de force of confessional writing * TLS *Ellroy proves that he is more than just a crime writer, he is one of the best and most important writers in America today * VOX *
£9.49
Vertebrate Publishing Ltd Deep Play: Climbing the world's most dangerous
Book SynopsisWINNER: Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature 1997Paul Pritchard's Deep Play is a unique, stylish and timeless commentary reflecting the pressures and rewards of climbing some of the world's hardest and most challenging rock climbs.Pritchard started climbing in Lancashire before moving to join the vibrant Llanberis scene of the mid-1980s, at a time when the adventurous development of the Dinorwig slate quarries was in full swing. Many of the new slate routes were notable for their fierce technical difficulty and sparse protection, and Pritchard took a full part in this arcane sub-culture of climbing and at the same time deployed his skills on the Anglesey sea cliffs to produce a clutch of equally demanding wall climbs.Born with an adventurous soul, it was not long before Pritchard and his friends were planning exotic trips. In 1987, paired with Johnny Dawes, Pritchard made an epoch-making visit to Scotland's Sron Ulladale to free its famous aid route, The Scoop. Pritchard and Dawes, with no previous high altitude experience, then attempted the Catalan Pillar of Bhagirathi III in the Garhwal Himalaya in India, a precocious first expedition prematurely curtailed when Pritchard was hit by stonefall at the foot of the face. In 1992, Pritchard and Noel Craine teamed up with the alpinists Sean Smith and Simon Yates to climb a big wall route on the East Face of the Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia. Pritchard followed this with an equally fine first ascent of the West Face of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island.Other trips – to Yosemite, Pakistan and Nepal as well as returns to Patagonia – resulted in a clutch of notable repeats, first ascents and some failures. The failure list also included two life-threatening falls (one on Gogarth, the other on Creag Meaghaidh), which prompted the author into thought-provoking personal re-assessments, in advance of his later near-terminal accident on The Totem Pole in Tasmania.A penetrating view of the adventures and preoccupations of a contemporary player, Deep Play stands alone as a unique first-hand account of what many consider to be the last great era in British climbing.Trade Review"It is a remarkable book. It is a love letter to the mountain, an obituary for lost friends, a Joycean study of a community. Most of all, in its roughshod description of thrills and achievement, adventure and comradeship ... it's an explanation of a way of life." (Sabine Durrant, The Guardian.) "Not since The Hard Years has the social background of a leading protagonist been so effectively drawn. Touching on themes of economic deprivation, failing education standards and the brutish myopia that affected Britain, but especially England, in the 1980s, Pritchard illustrates how climbing was, at least then, a rare way to escape from monochrome to glorious Technicolor." (Ed Douglas, Climber Magazine.) "It is bold, experimental, innovative in its narrative and descriptive material in a way which is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the prize." (Peter Gillman, Boardman Tasker Prize Chair of Judges.)Table of ContentsContents AcknowledgementsForeword by John Middendorf Preface to the 2012 Edition Introduction – Playing the System CrackFire-Starter Rubble Merchants, Slateheads and Others Lost in the Broccoli Garden A Piece of Driftwood On the Big Stone Bhagirathi Diary Outside the AsylumCentral Tower of Paine: El Regalo de Mwono Paine North Tower: El Caballo de Diablo Just Passing Through The Doctor and the Witch A Game One Climber Played AdriftHyperborea A Survivor’s Affair Making Castles in the Sand Deep PlayersOn the Shark’s Fin with Philip Lloyd Accidental Hero – Silvo Karo A Lesson in Healing from Andy Parkin Author’s Glossary Notes about the Essays
£12.34
Whittles Publishing co Cunard House
Book SynopsisRecords the life of a mariner in the Merchant Navy in its heyday and explores all aspects of working for a premier shipping company. Features the demise of British-owned companies such as the Cunard Line, P&O Line, Ellerman Line and Furness-Withy
£18.04
Duckworth Books Children of the Volcano
Book SynopsisA beautiful, humorous memoir of a single mother's move to a Sicilian island to give her daughters a childhood to remember.
£10.44
Duke University Press The Inheritance
Book SynopsisThe Inheritance is anthropologist Elizabeth A. Povinelli's graphic memoir in which she explores her family's history and the events, traumas, and social structures that define our individual and collective pasts and futures.Trade Review“With the understanding of a scholar and the storytelling instincts of a novelist, Elizabeth A. Povinelli has brought a rare degree of scope and insight to the graphic memoir form. Relatively few illustrated works are so complex and insightful, so intricately concerned with families, nationalities, and politics. An extraordinary book.” -- Michael Cunningham, author of * The Hours *“A melancholy yet often darkly funny reflection on the intersections of biography, geography, kinship, and history, The Inheritance is a genuinely original work that made an impact on this reader and will leave a lasting mark on the field.” -- Naisargi N. Dave, author of * Queer Activism in India: A Story in the Anthropology of Ethics *"An inspired use of the graphic format to weave a narrative with a power beyond words alone." (Starred Review) * Kirkus Reviews *"This book is memoir, art, and anthropology, as it cleverly addresses the interplay between individual lives and collective experiences, thus inviting a more open and associative mode of interpretation than most academic monographs.… This text handles complex and contested social themes through sparing text and provocative imagery and as such is a unique contribution to the conversation on the legacies of European immigration to the United States." -- Caroline DeVane * Europe Now *"This is a fascinating study of family persona and their changing relationships, but it is not just an engaging family history. The book is also an analysis of the historical context, 'the patterns of violence, dislocation, racism and structural inequality' (p. xi) that shape US society." -- Louise Lamphere * Journal of Anthropological Research *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Preface xi Act I 1 Act II Papa The Vorburgers Gramma Act III Reading List
£20.69
St Martin's Press Exit Interview
Book Synopsis
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers If You Were There Missing People and the Marks
Book SynopsisOne of the non-fiction books of the year.' Andrew O' Hagan A powerful, evocative and deeply personal journey into the world of missing peopleWhen Francisco Garcia was just seven years old, his father, Christobal, left his family. Unemployed, addicted to drink and drugs, and adrift in life, Christobal decided he would rather disappear altogether than carry on dealing with the problems in front of him. So that's what he did, leaving his young wife and child in the dead of night. He has been missing ever since.Twenty years on, Francisco is ready to take up the search for answers. Why did this happen and how could it be possible? Where might his father have gone? And is there any reason to hope for a happy reunion? During his journey, which takes him all across Britain and back to his father's homeland of Spain, Francisco tells the stories of those he meets along the way: the police investigators; the charity employees and volunteers; the once missing and those perilously at risk around usTrade Review‘It had me rapt. A compassionate and dogged work of journalism and memoir that will stay with me.’ Maeve Higgins, author of Maeve in America ‘I was blown away by this book’s gentle wisdom and incredible research. You will love this amazing book.’ Megan Nolan, author of Acts of Desperation ‘A pilgrimage through the many heartlands of missing, told with the empathy of someone knows all too well the eternal loss of missing. One of those books you can’t put down, gripped by the need to get to the end of the story, as is Garcia himself. A read-it-in-an-afternoon book with a surprising ending that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.’ Jo Youle, CEO of Missing People 'This book is a fascinating insight into the complex layers of what it is to be missing and the deep reverberations felt by the families waiting for news. The author shines light on the myriad of issues that result in someone disappearing, with the compassion and empathy of someone with true lived experience.' Kirsty Hillman, Lost Contact supervisor at Missing People ‘This is a beautiful exploration of unresolved grief, and the power and tenacity of those the missing leave behind.’ New Statesman ‘The experience of reading If You Were There is like standing on a beach witnessing the tide pull in and out around you, the landscape forever oscillating between a close, intimate environment and a wide expanse, peopled, on this occasion, with swathes of the missing…’ Guardian, Book of the Day
£999.99
Ebury Publishing A House in the High Hills Dreams and Disasters of
Book Synopsis''I was warned by all those who knew me that to take on a project like this was madness.''At the peak of her fast-paced career, presenter and interviewer Selina Scott bought a house in the Tramuntana hills of Mallorca. It was a dilapidated old farmhouse without even mains electricity or water, but she had fallen in love with the beauty and peace of the surroundings, and the promise of an escape from her high-pressured job and unwelcome tabloid attention.Selina begins to settle into Mediterranean life and spends time renovating the house. However, she soon realises that making the old house her home is going to be more difficult than she thought. From the unwelcome wildlife that insists on sharing her house, to dubious building work, locals both friendly and hostile, and a forest fire that threatens the whole valley, Selina''s new life is full of unexpected challenges. In this funny, elegantly written account of her Spanish years Selina tells us about tTrade ReviewShe records with a loving and observant eye * Telegraph *Charming * Sunday Express *A terrific read, beautifully written * Richard Madeley *
£14.24
Ebury Publishing Banged Up Abroad Hellhole
Book Synopsis''There are 3,000 drugged-up psychopaths, armed to the teeth with blades, shooters and bombs. That''s the only way I can describe Yare. It''s a murderous viper''s nest of assassins, cut throats and killers.''When James Miles and his best friend Paul Loseby were caught smuggling ten kilos of cocaine out of Caracas, Venezuela, they couldn''t deny their guilt. Young and naive, the lads had thought the one-off drug mule job would be a passport to a better life. But in reality it was a ticket to hell ...They were sentenced to thirty years and flung into the world''s deadliest prison system, ending up in the notorious Yare. A place where drugs and weaponry are currency and the rules are: there are no rules.This is the gripping true-life story of how two men endured untold savagery in the most appalling conditions. It''s about what it''s like to witness murder and rape every day, fearing you''ll be next. How it feels to join a dangerous Latino gang and eat deTrade ReviewGripping and shocking read. * The Sun *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing An Italian Education
Book SynopsisHow does an Italian become Italian? In An Italian Education Tim Parks focuses on his own young children in the small village near Verona where he lives, building a fascinating picture of the contemporary Italian family at school, at home, at work and at play.Trade ReviewSpot-on - a very accurate, very entertaining and at the same time rather profound book * Daily Telegraph *Parks is more than just an effortless raconteur playing for laughs...he offers detailed cultural observation, witty yet eagle-eyed, of what makes Italians so Italian * The Times *Tim Parks is Italian enough to understand the country, foreign enough to see its peculiarities and talented enough to make them funny without resorting to cliché * Daily Express *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Things My Mother Never Told Me
Book SynopsisIn his masterpiece of family literature, And When Did you Last See Your Father?, Blake Morrison''s mother appears as an intriguing but mostly silent figure. This is her startling and touching story - and a son''s search to discover the truth about the remarkable Kerry girl who qualified as a doctor in Dublin in 1942, worked in British hospitals throughout the war, and then reinvented herself again to adapt to a quieter post-war family life. At the heart of the book there''s a passionate wartime love affair, seen through the frank, funny, furious letters his parents wrote during their courtship. It evokes a surprising picture of life and love in WWII. From the obstacles the lovers faced, to their moments of hilarity and joy Things My Mother Never Told Me is a revealing and poignant anatomy of family conflict, love, war, and finally marriage. Kim Morrison emerges quietly, magically from the shadows, a determined heroine for our times.Trade Review[Morrison's] prose has the diamond cut of a poet's eye, and his story is suffused with warmth and longing-he has brought [his mother] vividly to life in an outstanding work of family literature * Independent *Honest, funny and touching, this is a loving tribute from a son to his mother * Sunday Mirror *Morrison constructs the book beautifully, as always... Fine writing and expert editing...with Morrison's usual virtues of unsentimental observation and expert storytelling * Sunday Times *A marvellous example of what a zen-like act of sustained attention can do to honour and illuminate the ordinary... It has a universality * Evening Standard *A scintillating read... Not only a fine evocation of the period, but also a fascinating study of a marriage * GQ *
£14.39
Vintage Publishing Heat
Book SynopsisBill Buford, an enthusiastic, if rather chaotic, home cook, was asked by the New Yorker to write a profile of Mario Batali, a Falstaffian figure of voracious appetites who runs one of New York''s most successful three-star restaurants. Buford accepted the commission, on the condition Batali allow him to work in his kitchen, as his slave.He worked his way up to ''line cook'' and then left New York to learn from the very teachers who had taught his teacher: preparing game with Marco Pierre White, making pasta in a hillside trattoria, finally becoming apprentice to a Dante-spouting butcher in Chianti.Heat is a marvellous hybrid: a memoir of Buford''s kitchen adventures, the story of Batali''s amazing rise to culinary fame, a dazzling behind-the-scenes look at a famous restaurant, and an illuminating exploration of why food matters. It is a book to delight in, and to savour.Trade ReviewIt's a brilliant book, a high-brow kitchen soap opera * Daily Telegraph *I lingered over every sentence like a heavily truffled risotto -- Anthony BourdainI have never read a funnier or more authentic account of the making of a serious cook. Give Mr Buford three stars -- Peter MayleA dazzling and fun account of two magnificently mad years * Guardian *With an endlessly inquisitive mind writes with great humour ... I suspect it might become a kitchen classic. It deserves to -- Ray Connelly * Daily Mail *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing The Invisible Writing
Book SynopsisThe second volume of the remarkable autobiography of Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon.Taken together, Arthur Koestler's volumes of autobiography constitute an unrivalled study of a twentieth-century life.Trade ReviewA brilliant and deeply moving record of a whole generation as well as of an individual * Observer *The cumulative effect is overwhelming * New Republic *He is a journalist of ideas on a very high level - the kind we lack and need in this country - who functions midway between the realms of art and of society, but whose function is indispensable, if thought is to be part of culture * Saturday Review *Perhaps the most remarkable autobiography since the confessions of Rousseau -- V. S. Pritchett * New Statesman *
£13.49
Vintage Publishing Give Me Everything You Have
Book SynopsisA true story of obsessive love turning to obsessive hate, Give Me Everything You Have chronicles the author's strange and harrowing ordeal at the hands of a former student, a self-styled verbal terrorist', who began trying, in her words, to ruin him'. Hate-mail much of it violently anti-Semitic online postings and public accusations of theft and sexual misconduct, have been her weapons of choice, and, as with more conventional terrorist weapons, have proved remarkably difficult to combat.James Lasdun's account, while terrifying, is told with compassion and humour, and brilliantly succeeds in turning a highly personal story into a profound meditation on subjects as varied as madness, race, Middle-Eastern politics, and the meaning of honour and reputation in the internet age.Trade ReviewWhat is...most riveting about this strange and unsettling book is not the grim fascination of Lasdun’s situation; it’s the moral intelligence and intensity with which he examines it. -- Mark O’Connell * Observer *Give Me Everything You Have is a reminder, as if any were needed, of how easily, since the arrival of the Internet, our peace can be troubled and our good name besmirched. -- J. M. CoetzeeJames Lasdun’s extraordinary tale of erotic obsession is so gripping...there is no greater narcotic than insanity combined with lust -- Camilla Long * Sunday Times *A riveting memoir... This must be the most informative, the most insightful, and the most beautifully written of any account from the victim’s perspective of what has come to be called "cyberbullying". -- Joyce Carol OatesAn extraordinarily odd and disturbing story… The poet in him is skilled at following tiny snags of thought into marvellous, rich mini-essays. -- Jenny Turner * Guardian *
£14.39
Penguin Books Ltd Autobiography Penguin Classics
Book SynopsisOne of the greatest prodigies of his era, John Stuart Mill (1806-73) was studying arithmetic and Greek by the age of three, as part of an astonishingly intense education at his father's hand. Intellectually brilliant, fearless and profound, he became a leading Victorian liberal thinker, whose works - including On Liberty, Utilitarianism, The Subjection of Women and this Autobiography - are among the crowning achievements of the age. Here he describes the pressures placed on him by his childhood, the mental breakdown he suffered as a young man, his struggle to understand a world of feelings and emotions far removed from his father's strict didacticism, and the later development of his own radical beliefs. A moving account of an extraordinary life, this great autobiography reveals a man of deep integrity, constantly searching for truth.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking worlTable of ContentsAutobiography IntroductionEditor's NoteI. Childhood, and Early EducationII. Moral Influences in Early Youth. My Father's Character and OpinionsIII. Last Stage of Education, and First of Self-EducationIV. Youthful Propagandism. The Westminster Review.V. A Crisis in My Mental History. One Stage OnwardVI. Commencement of the Most Valuable Friendship of My Life. My Father's Death. Writings and Other Proceedings up to 1840VII. General View of the Remainder of My LifeIndex of Personal Names
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Up and Down in the Dales
Book SynopsisEscape to the country with Gervase Phinn''s heartwarming tales of life as a school inspector in Yorkshire''Gervase Phinn''s memoirs have made him a hero in school staff-rooms'' Daily Telegraph______What''s your name? I asked the child.''Tequila,'' she replied. I''m named after a drink.''''Tequila Sunrise,'' I murmured.''No,'' pouted the child. ''Tequila Braithwaite.''Now in his fourth year as an Inspector for English in the Yorkshire Dales, Gervase Phinn still relishes visiting the schools - whether an inner-city comprehensive fraught with difficulties or a small Dales Primary school where the main danger is one of closure. With endless good humour, he copes with the little surprises that occur round every corner.Some things never change: Mrs Savage roars, Connie rants, and Gervase''s colleague in the office play verbal ping-pong. But all this can be put behind him each day when he retur
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Heart of the Dales
Book SynopsisAwkward teachers, pompous school governors and fearsome lollipop ladies occasionally make the author's hectic job as a school inspector more than difficult. But, for him, the main challenge remains the frankly spoken children. This title tells his story.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Scent of Dried Roses One family and the end
Book SynopsisTim Lott''s parents, Jack and Jean, met at the Empire Snooker Hall, Ealing, in 1951, in a world that to him now seems ''as strange as China''. In this extraordinarily moving exploration of his parents'' lives, his mother''s inexplicable suicide in her late fifties and his own bouts of depression, Tim Lott conjures up the pebble-dashed home of his childhood and the rapidly changing landscape of postwar suburban England. It is a story of grief, loss and dislocation, yet also of the power of memory and the bonds of family love.Trade Review'The Scent of Dried Roses touches a nerve no other English memoir has found; it does so in a way that seems not only affecting, but somehow important' - Sebastian Faulks 'This is a moving, insightful, important book. It works as a personal story, as an analysis of the unknowable horrors of suicide and as a history of a changing Britain' - William Hague 'In its slow and careful way, it unfolds a certain topography of melancholia, and the map Lott makes of his troubles mixes the intricate streets he has walked in all his life with some pretty intricate places in his own mind and heart. We are left with a resounding lament for small England ... The book's recreation of a suburban world, its flashing-back and forward in real time, its compilation of whispers and roars and half-remembered truths, its reliance on the intimacies of interior monologue, are bound to make some people think of fiction' - Andrew O'Hagan 'Brilliant. I don't remember reading any text which is so personal, so particular and near the bone and yet which is so utterly without self-regard' - Hilary Mantel 'Outstanding ! tracing his parents' marriage, Lott conveys, with a brilliant, almost Orwellian command of social and historical nuance, what England looked and felt like, decade by decade, from 1930 to 1989 ! it is a story told with courage, candour and astonishing command of detail' Blake Morrison
£13.49
Oxford University Press The Chronicles of John Cannon Excise Officer and
Book SynopsisJohn Cannon, known to some as ''the poor man''s Pepys'', was the self-taught son of a Somerset farmer. Though some episodes in Cannon''s life have been partially drawn upon in other studies, this edition is the first full scale study enabling Cannon and his world to be understood in their entirety.The manuscript he wrote over nearly 60 years offers a remarkably candid autobiography, crowded with people of all ranks in hundreds of different places, roles and occupations. His Chronicles also record virtually all aspects of change, at a social level seldom so continuously documented in any period, as they were experienced and observed in significant regions of the country, during a crucial span of British history. Part 1 includes Cannon''s unique personal account of Country Excise, in the Thames Valley, and back in Somerset. The extended Introduction places Cannon and his Chronicles in all their contexts. (Part 2 covers the period 1734-1743.)Trade ReviewThe "Chronicles" provide not just a remarkable insight into the material, mental and moral world of one individual, but also of the period in which he lived... an incredibly rich source, and the British Academy and the Oxford University Press are to be congratulated for making this superb edition of it available. Equally, John Money is to be thanked for his massively erudite, at appropriate points witty, and unfailingly sympathetic editorial work. * James Sharpe, Times Literary Supplement *
£76.00
Oxford University Press Catherine the Great Selected Letters
Book SynopsisCatherine the Great ruled Russian from 1762 until her death in 1796. Her letters provide an intimate history of the Russian state as well as a portrait of her character and qualities.Trade ReviewThese selected letters are an irresistible encapsulation of emergent Russia in the mid-to-late eighteenth century and involve the principal players in Europe during the Age of Reason. This volume, with its careful annotation by Kahn and Rubin-Detlev, is a valuable companion to Catherine the Great scholarship. * Patrick Hunt, Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies *With their wide range of correspondents and topics, these letters, which have been ably translated, will help further understanding of this most charismatic of Russian rulers, whose tastes and personality helped shape Enlightenment Europe. * Vera Proskurina (2019) Catherine the great: selected letters, Women's Writing *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text and Translation Select Bibliography A Chronology of the Life and Reign of Catherine the Great SELECTED LETTERS Explanatory Notes Gazetteer
£12.59
Oxford University Press John Barleycorn
Book SynopsisPublished in 1913, this harrowing, autobiographical ''A to Z'' of drinking shattered London''s reputation as a clean-living adventurer and massively successful author of such books as White Fang and The Call of the Wild. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade Reviewone of the most memorable of all boozing odysseys' Times Higher Education Supplement'It is an extraordinary work, boastful and denying by turns ... suspiciously protesting in its detestation of alcohol, but also wholeheartedly committed to the machismo of hard drinking.' Brian Morton, The Times
£8.54
The University of Chicago Press In the Open Diary of a Homeless Alcoholic
Book SynopsisTimothy Donohue's diary chronicles four years of homeless existence from February of 1990 to December of 1994. Frequenting public libraries and renting typewriters, Donohue begins writing a journal in an effort to control his addiction.
£76.00
University of Chicago Press The Last Consolation Vanished
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£15.20
TELLWELL TALENT Screens queen
Book Synopsis
£12.01
Pan Macmillan Conversations With Myself
Book SynopsisConversations With Myself is a moving collection of letters, diary entries and other writing that provides a rare chance to see the other side of Nelson Mandela's life, in his own voice: direct, clear, private. An international bestseller, Conversations With Myself is an intensely personal book that complements his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.In his foreword to Nelson Mandela's book, President Barack Obama writes: 'Conversations With Myself does the world an extraordinary service in giving us [a] picture of Mandela the man.'Conversations With Myself gives readers insight to the darkest hours of Nelson Mandela's twenty-seven years of imprisonment and his troubled dreams in his cell on Robben Island. It contains the draft of an unfinished sequel to Long Walk to Freedom, notes from Madiba's famous speeches, and even doodles made during meetings. There are photos from his life, journals written whil
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd The Plant Messiah
Book SynopsisCarlos Magdalena of Kew Gardens is not your average botanical horticulturist. He''s a man on a mission to save the world''s most endangered plants from destruction and thieves hunting for wealthy collectors. He is a plant messiah.From the planet''s tiniest waterlily - the Nymphaea thermarum - to Huarango trees with roots over 50 metres long, Carlos has a miraculous ability to bring breathtakingly beautiful plants back from the brink of extinction. He has travelled to the most remote and dangerous parts of the world - from the mountains of Peru to isolated Indian Ocean islands to the deepest Australian outback - in search of the rarest exotic species. Then, back in the Tropical Nursery at Kew, he uses pioneering, left-field techniques to help them grow.Now he''s here to spread the gospel. The Plant Messiah is the inspirational story of a man who has devoted - and risked - his life to save incredible species, all in the name of making this Earth a greener and haTrade ReviewThis full-throttle memoir is a window on the exploits that underpin the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . . . reveals the rare mix of zeal and patience needed to hunt vanishing plants * Nature *Impressive, gripping and important . . . Some 30,000 plants have recorded uses for humans. Most people, the messiah preaches, are blind to these everyday miracles. This book will teach them to see * Economist *For anyone who might have considered plants dull stuff, Mr. Magdalena delivers a thrilling and inspirational account of adventures in the botanical world. * Wall Street Journal *In a world whose ecology is changing so fast, only a special kind of obsessive would concern himself with saving endangered plant species. That's Magdalena... who recounts adventures that have taken him from the Amazon to the jungles of Mauritius on a quest to preserve as much flora as he can. * New York Times Book Review *An engaging piece of work -- Charles Elliott * Literary Review *Eye-popping... The Plant Messiah reads like a detective novel. [This] is a thrillingly uplifting book. There is a beguiling energy to his prose that clearly he has in person * Daily Mail *Botany, on its face, doesn't sound particularly thrilling. This book will change your mind -- Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author of 'Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet' and 'Radio Free Vermont'An entertaining, planterly romp around the world and a glimpse inside one of the world's great botanical institutions from this Kew botanist -- Jane Owen * Financial Times *[I]t is fascinating to follow Magdalena as he travels from remote Australian billabongs full of rare water lilies to the dry forests of western Peru, where the last gnarled huarango trees grow in the shadow of the Andes. But the greater accomplishment of The Plant Messiah is the compelling case that Magdalena makes from caring about plants in general. * Los Angeles Times *Carlos Magdalena is Kew's codebreaker * Telegraph *He has the uncanny ability to bring plants back from the brink of extinction * People of London *Carlos is an inspiration to me. He's the perfect spokesperson for the plants of the world -- Jane Goodall, primatologist and UN Messenger of PeaceCarlos has been able to achieve things with plants that no one else can do -- Richard Barley, director of horticulture, Kew
£13.49
Yale University Press Life A Journey through Science and Politics
Book Synopsis
£16.99
Hachette Books Every Man A King
Book SynopsisHuey Long (1893-1935) was one of the most extraordinary American politicians, simultaneously cursed as a dictator and applauded as a benefactor of the masses. A product of the poor north Louisiana hills, he was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928, and proceeded to subjugate the powerful state political hierarchy after narrowly defeating an impeachment attempt. The only Southern popular leader who truly delivered on his promises, he increased the miles of paved roads and number of bridges in Louisiana tenfold and established free night schools and state hospitals, meeting the huge costs by taxing corporations and issuing bonds. Soon Long had become the absolute ruler of the state, in the process lifting Louisiana from near feudalism into the modern world almost overnight, and inspiring poor whites of the South to a vision of a better life. As Louisiana Senator and one of Roosevelt''s most vociferous critics, The Kingfish, as he called himself, gained a nationwide following, forcing RoTable of Contents* Early Community Life * Salesmans Life and Study of Law * Lawyer in Winnfield, Louisiana * Beginning the Life of Public Office and City Lawyer * Opposition to Parkers Special Interests Program * Head of the Public Service Commission * First Race for Governor, 1924 * The Toll Bridge Outrage * Campaign for Governor Does an About Face * The Impeachment Proceedings * League of Notions * The German Commander CallsThe Green Pajamas * Opposition Continues Its Fight * Campaign for the United States Senate * Extra Session of 1930 * Avoiding Bank Trouble * Extending The Ole War Skule * Extra Session of 1930 * Another Effort to Take the Governors Office * The Campaign of 1932 * Brother and a Family Against Brother * Cotton Reduction PlanPotlikker Episode * The Newspapers Reverse * Venture as an AuthorDegree of Doctor of Laws * Mississippi Elects a Governor * Whence Came the Name: Kingfish * Arranging to Leave Prison * Sworn in as a Senator * The Effort to Spread the Wealth Among the Masses * Beginning Agitation in the United States Senate to Shorten Hours and Limit Fortunes * F. R. B. C. (For Roosevelt Before Chicago) * Before and Behind the Scenes at the Chicago Convention * Every Man a King! * Disguised Opponents * The Maddened Fortune Holders and Their Infuriated Public Press * Incidental Publicity
£19.79
Alfred A. Knopf My Beloved World
Book SynopsisThe first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself. Here is the story of a precarious childhood, with an alcoholic father (who would die when she was nine) and a devoted but overburdened mother, and of the refuge a little girl took from the turmoil at home with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. But it was when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes that the precocious Sonia recognized she must ultimately depend on herself. She would learn to give herself the insulin shots she needed to survive and soon imagined a path to a different life. With only television characters for her professional role models, and lit
£27.00
Little Brown and Company Concrete Dreamland
Book SynopsisFrom an award-winning artist who was featured in Humans of New York comes a bold collection of vignettes about overcoming family trauma, addiction, poverty-and forging a creative life in the greatest city in the world. Born in Brooklyn in 1963, Patrick Dougher grew up in some of the most turbulent and culturally impactful periods of NYC''s history. Often neglected as a child by his parents-a father who struggled with alcohol addiction and an overworked mother who struggled to make ends meet-he learned to fend for himself. Now a renowned visual artist, musician, actor and writer, Dougher brings to the page his memories, struggles, personal revelations, and a life intimately tied to the realities of growing up Black and disenfranchised on the streets of one of the most remarkable cities in the world.Concrete Dreamland is tragic and triumphant, gritty and hard, poetic and outrageously funny. Told in Dougher''s brutally raw and courageously honest voice, these stories act as snapshots of a life lived in extremes: from gangsters to God, street style to sexuality, to recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism. He tells of his adventures as a pre-hip hop hard rock'' and an original Black punk rocker surviving during the dangerous days of the crack and AIDS epidemic in NYC, while also sharing tales of racism, homelessness, and his many brushes with fame and death.Audacious, unique, and moving, Concrete Dreamland is an unforgettable story of addiction, redemption, and life on the streets of a vanishing New York.
£21.10
Hodder & Stoughton At Her Majestys Pleasure
Book SynopsisThe third volume in Robert Douglas's remarkable life story picks up from the bestselling SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD and brings us up to the present day.Trade Review'You feel as if you are standing alongside him, scanning the prison wings for trouble' * Glasgow Herald *His straightforward prose makes the very ordinariness of a condemned man's final days and the speed at which the actual hanging takes place stick in the mind more effectively than any hand-wringing moralising would manage . . . It's a life as lived, honestly told, and worth a shelf full of self-serving political and celebrity false fronts * Scotsman *As emotional, funny and evocative as its predecessors, this will make you laugh, cry and buy copies for everyone youve ever known * Daily Record *'Warm, energetic...punchy' * The Sunday Times on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD *Night Song of the Last Tram was one of the most moving autobiographies ever penned by a Scottish writer...Somewhere to Lay my Head takes up where that left off...Once again demonstrating an outstanding gift for evoking the atmosphere and emotions of a time gone by, this wonderfully talented storyteller takes us on a journey that he started as a boy and ended as a man * Daily Record on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD *'It recreates stunningly clear memories of a Glasgow childhood...I laughed until the tears ran down my legs.' * Daily Mail on NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM *A natural-born writer...pins down all-too-human characters in a sentence or two - and a number of times he made me laugh out loud. He also recaptures the late 1950s and early 1960s, rekindling memories for those of us who were there or thereabouts and bringing them alive for those who weren't * The Scotsman on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD *A well-written slice of social history delivered directly by an eyewitness * Independent on Sunday on NIGHT SONG *'If Blake Morrison is the Radio 4 of family memoir, then Robert Douglas is definitely the Radio 2' * Sunday Herald on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD *A grace and assurance that turn everyday episodes into the stuff of romance. * Times Literary Supplement on NIGHT SONG *With the ending of NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM, Douglas left us longing to find out what happened to his 16-year-old self, so cruelly cast out into the world. Now, in SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD, Douglas continues his story, portraying a bright and clever boy who never got the opportunities he deserved, but was still determined to make his way in the world * Publishing News on SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD *Exquisite * The Sunday Times on NIGHT SONG *
£10.99
Little, Brown Book Group Trans Like Me
Book SynopsisAn agenda-setting, emotionally engaging book on transgender identity.Trade ReviewThis personal, powerful and yet humble human testimony makes a vital contribution to a debate that has too often contained more heat than light. I challenge anyone not to have both heart and mind a little more open after reading this book * Shami Chakrabarti *CN Lester breaks down the myths and misconceptions about trans people and politics with clarity and calm. An important, timely book * Juliet Jacques *Lester is a writer for our times - a moving, learned and essential voice at the razor edge of gender politics. Their work has been inspirational to me for many years. Lester writes with the compassionate authority of a person not just wise beyond their years, but beyond the age they were born into * Laurie Penny *A thoughtprovoking account that blends personal experience with wider historical and social insight * New Internationalist *CN Lester's Trans Like Me is a clear, compassionate and infinitely readable overview of the ways society does gender * Marylebone Journal *The subtleties of CN Lester's own account are incredibly moving and only serve to reinforce the message that so many amongst us struggle, and will continue to do so . . . Trans Like Me is a clarion call, but to us all * GCN *Frank, witty and educational * Stylist *One of the year's most important books on transgender identity * Gay Times *[A] timely collection of essays on the trans experience, bringing together anecdotes from CN Lester's own life, alongside an analysis of the media, and forgotten moments of LGBT history, always with an activist's eye for the marginalised or ignored. Lester's writing is refreshing and accessible * Diva *In this collection of essays, Lester, a British activist and singer-songwriter who identifies as nonbinary, draws from research and personal experience to question and debunk myths related to transgender identity. Lester finds precedent for the use of the pronoun "they" in literature as far back as Shakespeare, for instance, and argues that transgender people have been largely excluded from historical narratives and movements. The book also offers an insider's look at Lester's evolving understanding of gender in our society and personal struggles with self-identification * New York Times *
£10.44
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Past is Myself The Road Ahead Omnibus
Book SynopsisBrought together for the first time in one edition, both of Christabel Bielenberg''s bestselling memoirs give an incredibly moving, emotionally charged and compelling insight into life in Nazi Germany during The Third Reich and during the aftermath of World War Two. Offering a new perspective, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the wartime era.''This is one of the best WWII books I have ever read'' -- ***** Reader review''An excellent book and a must-read for anyone interested in this era'' -- ***** Reader review''Absorbing'' -- ***** Reader review''Intensely moving'' -- ***** Reader review''A wonderful book. I couldn''t put it down'' -- ***** Reader review***********************************************************************************************The Past is MyselfChristabel Bielenberg, a niece of newspaper magnate Lord Northcliffe, married a German lawyer in 193
£17.09
Transworld The Accidental Naturalist
Book SynopsisFor as long as he can remember, Ben Fogle has been surrounded by creatures great and small. As a young boy his best friends were Liberty and Lexington, the family dogs. Then there was Milly the puma-sized cat, Jaws the goldfish and three very charismatic' parrots, not to mention a whole host of weird and wonderful animals that came through the doors of his father's veterinary practice.Then came Inca, Ben's adorable black Labrador, who changed his life. Since first melting the nation's heart on Castaway, the duo have been inseparable. With Inca's help, Ben was soon charming worms and tickling trout on Countryfile, minding the big cats on Animal Park and fronting the BBC's coverage of Crufts.Ben's passion for wildlife has taken him all over the world, from the plains of Africa to the sea ice of Antarctica. He has played with penguins, been chased by bull elephant seals and tapirs, and helped operate on a cheetah. He has given mud packs to rh
£17.09
Transworld Publishers Ltd Terrorist Hunter
Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe gripping true story of the undercover agent risking his life to fight terrorismTheir aim was to kill as many people as possible.His mission was to stop them.A terrorist plot to kill hundreds of innocent people.Trade ReviewAmerican Radical is a kinetic account of Elnoury's undercover career... about his life infiltrating Islamist terror cells, averting mass murder, bringing evil people to justice and so on. It is the first time an active FBI agent has published a book remotely like it. * The Times *The author reflects compellingly on the challenges of being a Muslim patriot, and he closes with a plea to resist wholesale bigotry: 'Banning Muslims from the United States throws gas on the myth that the United States is at war with Islam.' His tale of infiltration is exciting and clearly written... A worthwhile, unique addition to the shelf of post-9/11 memoirs concerning the fight against terrorism. * Kirkus Reviews *A multifaceted, action-packed account of real-life spycraft… Elnoury heightens the suspense in vividly described scenes… and provides insight into the worldview and intentions of al-Qaeda affiliates. There is never a dull moment in this intimate story of an American Muslim going to great lengths to serve and protect his country. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *
£999.99
Faber & Faber Untold Stories
Book SynopsisHere, at last, is the astonishing sequel to Alan Bennett''s classic Writing Home, updated for paperback. Untold Stories contains significant previously unpublished work, including a poignant memoir of his family and of growing up in Leeds, together with his much celebrated diary for the years 1996-2004, and numerous other exceptional essays, reviews and comic pieces. Bennett, as always, is both amusing and poignant, whether he''s discussing his modest childhood or his work with figures such as Maggie Smith, Thora Hird and John Gielgud. Since the success of Beyond the Fringe in the 1960s Alan Bennett has delighted audiences worldwide with his gentle humour and wry observations about life. His many works include Forty Years On, The Lady in the Van, Talking Heads, A Question of Attribution and The Madness of King George. The History Boys opened to great acclaim at the National in 2004, and is winner of the
£13.49
iUniverse Khanteya My Courageous Quest for Love and Freedom
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£14.12
iUniverse Sunrise Sunset A Memoir
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£14.84
iUniverse When Hell Froze Over The Memoir of a Korean War
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£17.59
iUniverse From Palestine to America A Memoir
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£13.00
iUniverse Dearest Folks Sister Leathernecks Letter Excerpts
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£14.25
Harvard University Press Autobiography and Selected Letters Volume I
Book SynopsisLibanius, one of the last great publicists and teachers of Greek paganism, has much to tell us about the tumultuous world of the fourth century AD. His works include Orations, the first of which is an autobiography, and Letters.
£23.70
Harvard University Press Autobiography and Selected Letters Volume II
Book SynopsisLibanius, one of the last great publicists and teachers of Greek paganism, has much to tell us about the tumultuous world of the fourth century AD. His works include Orations, the first of which is an autobiography, and Letters.
£23.70
Lift Bridge Publishing Shattered My Silence
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£20.89
Gill I Am Someone
Book SynopsisAisling Creegan's childhood was dominated by an abusive, alcoholic mother, who tortured her at every turn. From insults through beatings and being threatened with a butcher's knife, Aisling endured unthinkable suffering at the hands of the woman who should have loved her unconditionally. Yet in the midst of this trauma, Aisling was able to rely on the one person she knew she could trust herself.Possessed of an incredible imagination and remarkable resilience, Aisling found escape in the little things in life: lying in a field on a sunny day; drawing; Matchbox cars; and her teddy bear, Panda. Aisling's power to imagine an alternative world enabled her to hold on and make it to adolescence and the freedom she had longed for since childhood.But the scars of the past take time to heal, and when Aisling suffered a breakdown it took her on a surprising path to freedom and forgiveness. I Am Someone is an extraordinary memoir about female cruelty, and ultimat
£15.19
Gill Ranger 22 The No. 1 Bestseller
Book SynopsisThe path I have travelled, the things I have done and the people I have met in crisis situations have given me a window into those qualities that make us perform. My military training created a mindset, an outlook and skills that can be channelled into any situation.'From the hills of south Lebanon to the monsoon jungles of Southern Asia, Ray Goggins has operated in a life-and-death world. In the suffocating humidity of Liberia, the mountains ofAfghanistan and the snow-covered Balkans, Ray has seen the best and worst qualities in himself and others. From conflict zones to terrorist attacks and hostage rescues, Ray has learned the greatest life lessons: how to control fear, how to react calmly and positively, and how to create a strong baseline from which to take action.After a life spent on the front line with the Irish Defence Forces, Ray now trains others to foster a mindset to handle whatever madness life has in store. In this remarkable book, he tak
£11.39
Gill Raised by the Zoo
Book SynopsisPeople have been enchanted by elephants for centuries. For Gerry Creighton, this fascination began at an early age; his father was a keeper at Dublin Zoo and instilled in him a love and respect for animals. Gerry followed his father and joined the zoo at 15, where he would spend the next 36 years observing, studying and caring for elephants.Raised by the Zoo tells the story of Gerry's life in service to the many animals at Dublin Zoo a place that holds fond memories for every family across Ireland. Filled with a lively cast of the zoo's inhabitants including Lucy the Chimp and Upali the Elephant it captures a pivotal period in Dublin Zoo's history and underscores the importance of environmental conservation efforts around the world.
£18.69
