Autobiography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisParatrooper Lance-Corporal Vincent Bramley's account of his experiences in the frontline of modern warfare is a testament that could stand for any soldier who has to cope with fatigue, fear, aggression, carnage and death. It is a story filled with compassion and brutality in almost equal measure. Most of all, it is a story of confusion - confusion in the heat of battle and confusion in the hearts and souls of ordinary men.Trade Review'The most candid and shocking account of modern ground warfare ever written.' - The Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisVienna, 1938: Trudi Miller, young, beautiful and chic, designs hats for the smartest women in the city. She is falling in love with Walter, a charming and charismatic businessman. But their idyll is about to end. Trudi and Walter are Jewish, and as Hitler's tanks roll into Austria, they know they have to flee. Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler is an incredible true story that moves from Vienna to Prague to blitzed London, as Trudi desperately seeks a safe place for her and Walter amid the horror engulfing Europe.

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Book SynopsisAsadollah Alam, an urbane aristocrat from the oldest of Iran's great families, was the Sha's most trusted friend and confidant. As Prime Minister in 1962, Alam orchestrated the defeat of Ayatollah Khomeini's first serious challenge to the Pahlavi regime. Subsequently, he was made Minister of Court, a position of unique power and influence, which he retained until ill-health forced him to retire in 1977, the year before his death. Alam's diaries cover a nine-year period with remarkable frankness, recording his almost daily meetings and conversations with the Shah.Trade Review"Asadollah Alam's diaries are the stuff of true history - hastily written, post-midnight accounts of a chief courtier's days. - Independent on Sunday"

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Book Synopsis`THE BIG SHOW IS AS CLOSE AS YOU’LL EVER GET TO FIGHTING YOUR LIFE FROM THE COCKPIT OF A SPITFIRE OR TYPHOON. PERHAPS MOST VISCERALLY EXCITING BOOK EVER WRITTEN BY A FIGHTER PILOT’ Rowland White, Author of Vulcan 607 Pierre Clostermann DFC was one of the outstanding Allied aces of the Second World War. A Frenchman who flew with the RAF, he survived over 420 operational sorties, shooting down scores of enemy aircraft, while friends and comrades lost their lives in the deadly skies above Europe. The Big Show, his extraordinary account of the war has been described as the greatest pilot’s memoir of WWII. `

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Book SynopsisFrom stationmaster’s daughter to wife of one of Jamaica’s most charismatic prime ministers, Beverley Manley’s life has been an odyssey. As a young girl, starved of her mother’s love because she was darker than her siblings and forced to do housework while her sisters relaxed, Beverley was a modern-day Cinderella. Her adolescent years were painful, having to carry the burden of her self-loathing, the feeling of inferiority within her own family and the constant echo of her mother’s voice telling her she was good for nothing. However, Beverley defied her mother’s prophecy, and triumphed over her `ordinary’ beginnings first as a model in Jamaica and later becoming a household name on radio, television and the local stage. It was her path at the then Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) that would lead her directly to Michael Manley and ultimately to Jamaica House. Marriage to Michael also led to her political awakening; not content to being the docile wife, Beverley assumed an activist role in the governing People’s National Party (PNP), becoming embroiled in the ideological politics of the 1970s that would eventually lead to her estrangement from Michael and the painful self-assessment that came with his affairs and her own. The resulting termination of their marriage forced on her a self-imposed exile in the US where she took refuge from the ire of the Jamaican elite for daring to walk out on one of their own. But Beverley was to redeem herself and earn new respect as a broadcaster, commentator and incisive interviewer on the immensely popular and innovative Breakfast Club radio show. Now older and much wiser, Beverley tells it like it is in this intriguing and revealing memoir. It is a rags to riches story – almost; a story of triumph and loss; of rising again and finally of redemption.

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Book SynopsisA unique collection of the public and private words and thoughts of one of American''s greatest presidents. In addition to being one of the most admired and successful politicians in history, Abraham Lincoln was also a gifted writer whose speeches, eulogies, and addresses are both quoted often and easily recognizable all around the world. Arranged chronologically into topics such as family and friends, the law, politics and the presidency, story-telling, religion, and morality, Lincoln''s Notebooks includes his famous letters to Ulysses S. Grant, Horace Greeley, and Henry Pierce, as well as personal letters to Mary Todd Lincoln and his note to Mrs. Bixby, the mother who lost five sons during the Civil War. Also included are full texts of the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, both of Lincoln''s inaugural addresses, and his famous A House Divided speech. Additionally, rarely seen writings like poetry he composed as teenager give insig

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Book SynopsisThe true story of Pearl Harbor as you’ve never read it before—action-packed, informative, and told through the eyes of those on all sides of the violence who experienced the terror of the unprecedented attack firsthand. A single day changed the course of history: December 7, 1941. Nobody in America knew Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor was coming. Nobody was prepared for the aftermath.   Filled with firsthand accounts and photographs, this unflinching, action-packed narrative puts readers on the ground in Pearl Harbor through the stories of real stories of a diverse cast of characters. From the attackers to the attacked, daring rescues to tragic losses, unlikely survival to quick-thinking responses, learn the stories of the men, women, and children who experienced that fateful day and its aftereffects.   Perfect for fans of Steven Sheinkin and Deobrah Heiligman, award-winning author Marc Favreau sheds new, compelling light onto a history we think we know, what it means to be American, and the enduring lessons from an event we never saw coming.* “A jaw-dropping account of Pearl Harbor … artfully conceived and grippingly told.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review

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Book SynopsisA moving and unique exchange of letters between a Jewish soldier and his wife at home

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Book SynopsisAir-route development in Africa was a result of Sir Alan Cobham''s 1929 flight through and round Africa in a flying-boat. Lady Cobham accompanied her husband throughout the journey. This work features Sir Alan Cobham''s account of his journey. First published in 1930, it is illustrated with over 50 photographs from the trip, from the family archive.

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Book SynopsisDuring the 1930s the popular press were carrying stories of a death ray that could disable aircraft, and it became such a popular notion that an investigation was carried out by a government scientist, Robert Watson-Watt. His discovery was that it was not that electro-magnetic waves could interfere with aircraft, but that aircraft could interfere with radio transmissions. The strategic importance of this was appreciated and a secret establishment was set up to develop a means of using radio transmissions to detect the approach of enemy aircraft the birth of radar. As World War II broke out Ian Goult joined this elite group of scientists aged only sixteen as a lab assistant, working on GEE, a navigational aid allowing accurate location of targets. Its success allowed Bomber command to effectively navigate as far as the Ruhr.In Secret Location, Goult describes taking part in work on radar and microwave techniques that gave Britain supremacy in the air, and greatly improved submarine detection during the Battle of the Atlantic, saving thousands of tons of materiel and many lives. Told in an engaging style, this book offers a unique insight in those men whose achievements during the war have been underappreciated, but whose efforts were a key factor in the Allied victory. Postwar, Ian Goult was closely involved in the development of ground proximity warning systems and and the very first ATOL.

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Book SynopsisFrom 17 trunks in a Lakeland attic comes this eyewitness account of a soldier's life at a pivotal moment in the history of the British Empire. Allan Marriot Hutchins, handsome, quick-witted and adventurous, was one of thousands of young men from the shires who, in 1900, volunteered to fight determined, well-armed Boers in a war that foreshadowed the later carnage of the twentieth century, fought with maxim guns, heavy artillery and bitter reprisals against guerrillas and civilians. Allan served as a yeomanry trooper in South Africa and later as a commissioned officer in India where he distinguished himself in the Abor campaign to secure the little-explored frontier between Assam and China. His letters home and the letters he received from home and which still survive, his diaries and thoughts paint a picture of both the man and the wheels of history turning. He cannot write' said his schoolmaster but Allan can write and his writing brings to life the hardships and adventures of campaig

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Book SynopsisAn utterly compelling and much needed reminder of what war is really all about.

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Book SynopsisCarol Thatcher has one of the most famous surnames in the world.The daughter of former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, Carol is a national treasure with a unique story to tell. Her remarkable mixture of bravery, honesty and humour won her a place in the nation''s hearts on ITV''s I''m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here...! when millions of viewers voted her the second ''Queen of the Jungle''.In this candid memoir, she tells us about what it was like to grow up as the ''Milk Snatcher''s'' daughter, sister of the infamous Mark, living a life she describes as a ''swim-on part in the goldfish bowl''.Her tales of behind-the-scenes at Number 10, her extraordinary travels, and dinners with world leaders, are both rivetingly funny and refreshingly revealing.

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Book SynopsisIncluded in The Times and Daily Telegraph Book of the Year round-ups''Friends and Enemies is an extraordinary read showing unflinching candour from a truly remarkable woman'' Elton John ''Blistering . . . shockingly candid . . . stiletto-sharp memoir of the year'' Daily Mail''Magnetic and magnificent . . . Amiel is superb, furious and, best of all, funny. Say what you like about her - and many have - but the Black Lady can write'' The TimesBarbara Amiel''s long-awaited memoir is shockingly honest, richly detailed and pulls few punches. An instinctive feminist and now a foe of feminism''s political correctness, her own memoirs cover a formidable array of experiences - political, sexual, marital and material. Born in London during the Blitz, the only consistent strain in her early life was a fierce belief in her identity as a Jew even as the Jewish community disowned her and an unquestioned Trade ReviewFriends and Enemies is an extraordinary read showing unflinching candour from a truly remarkable woman * Elton John *Magnetic and magnificent . . . Amiel is superb, furious and, best of all, funny. Say what you like about her - and many have - but the Black Lady can write -- Quentin Letts * The Times *Blistering . . . shockingly candid . . . stiletto-sharp memoir of the year * Daily Mail *Extraordinary -- Camilla Long * Sunday Times *Utterly gripping . . . [Amiel] has raised the bar stratospherically for the celebrity memoir -- Carol Midgley * The Times *Frighteningly, hilariously, gob-smackingly honest book . . . whatever you do, read this brilliant book -- Anna van Praagh * Evening Standard *I could go on reading about her life for ever . . . frank and funny -- Jan Moir * Daily Mail *A fabulous tale of sex and high society . . . 608 gloriously indiscreet pages of elegant vitriol -- Hilary Rose * The Times *A scorching memoir exposing the cut-throat world of the one per cent -- Chantal Clarendon * Daily Telegraph *Amiel is capable of taking one's breath away with her searing frankness, and, from the evidence so far presented, her book is grisly and gripping in almost equal measure . . . an absorbing historical document . . . a salacious read -- Simon Kelner * i news *Full of passion and fury . . . What a woman -- Sarah Sands * Mail on Sunday *An observant and unforgiving account of a life that "has always been a precarious mix of gutter and ballroom, of intense work and absolutely unhealthy play". Packed with enough memorable characters, household moves, dinner parties, and jewelry shopping excursions to fill at least three typical memoirs. A celebrity memoir with an uncompromising kick * Kirkus Reviews *Extraordinary . . . jaw-dropping candour . . . a terrific writer * Jewish Chronicle *Neither holds a candle to Barbara Amiel's sizzling sexpot-and-shopping extravaganza . . . entirely riveting -- Judith Woods * Mail on Sunday *Fabulously furious, frequently jaw-dropping book . . . This raging, splendid, defiant, crazy tigress of a book said it all -- Allison Pearson * Sunday Telegraph *I don't think I've enjoyed a book as much as Barbara Amiel's autobiography in years . . . Pure, wicked joy -- Anna van Praagh * Evening Standard *A beautifully written memoir that I could not put down . . . her memoir sets a new standard as an unreserved, self-deprecating narrative . . . Deploying her uncommon talent as a wordsmith, she has written a memoir that is a testament to her fearlessness in facing and admitting her own demons as well as in exposing the foibles, cruelty and failings of others -- Diane Francis * Financial Post *This is undoubtedly the autobiography of the decade. Barbara Amiel's searing - and sometimes brutal - honesty, both about herself and others, leaves the reader staggered. The fact that she has for decades been the most sexually attractive female public intellectual on either side of the Atlantic, and certainly knew it, got her into extraordinary scrapes which she describes with a political incorrectness that is as refreshing as it will be highly controversial. How one person could have lived so many starkly different lives - bikini model, gangster's moll, first female editor, TV provocateur, multi-married sexual adventuress, proud Zionist, poet's muse, Cold War warrior, titled society hostess, assiduous prison visitor, and more - is truly extraordinary. There is not a hint of self-pity despite endless opportunities for it - including a rape, an abortion, depression, and three divorces - but instead we get many abandoned, laugh-out-loud scenes and witticisms that will live with the reader for a long time. No-one expected a discreet memoir from Barbara Amiel, but few could possibly have imagined that it would be quite this powerfully, dangerously, profoundly self-revelatory * Andrew Roberts *Fabulously gutsy and revealing memoir (Daily Mail memoir of the year) -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Daily Mail *An operatic reckoning -- Sarah Sands * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisThe international bestseller.From the Sunday Times bestselling author Beezy Marsh, comes a moving true story of two women fighting to survive scandal, poverty and war.When Annie marries Harry after years of heartache in a London slum she believes she's found her happy ever after. But the horrors of the Blitz soon threaten everything they hold dear. The terrible sights Harry witnesses as an air raid warden bring back traumatic memories of his time during the First World War. Suddenly Annie finds herself struggling to cope not only with life in wartime and two little children, but also with a husband who seems like a stranger.Kitty has always been protective of her little brother Harry. Hiding the scandal about their father from the world was the only way to survive as they were growing up in Newcastle. But when she discovers Harry too has a shocking secret, she is torn. Meanwhile Annie wonders why Harry refuses to discuss his life before their marriage and why she has never met his sister. Will the truth ever come to light?From the bombed-out terraces of London to the docks of Newcastle, Her Father's Daughter is Beezy Marsh's moving and poignant true story about the unbreakable bonds of family, and the power of love to heal the worst wounds.

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Book SynopsisA riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times • NPR • The Guardian • Marie Claire In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden.A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective—the story of one man’s bet with history, the faith of a community organizer tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of “hope and change,” and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible.This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama’s conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.

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Book SynopsisDarkly funny, shockingly honest, Brothers in Arms is an unforgettable account of a soldier's tour of Afghanistan, the brutal reality of war – every scary, exciting moment – and the bonds of friendship that can never be destroyed.‘If you could choose which two limbs got blown off, what would you go for?’ Danny said. ‘Your arms or your legs?’In July 2009, Geraint (Gez) Jones was sitting in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan with the rest of The Firm – Danny, Jay, Toby and Jake, his four closest friends, all junior NCOs and combat-hardened infantrymen. Thanks to the mangled remains of a Jackal vehicle left tactlessly outside their tent, IEDs were never far from their mind. Within days they’d be on the ground in Musa Qala with the rest of 3 Platoon – a mixed bunch of men Gez would die for. As they fight furiously, are pushed to their limits, hemmed in by IEDs and hampered by the chain of command, Gez starts to wonder what is the point of it all. The bombs they uncover on patrol, on their stomachs brushing the sand away, are replaced the next day. Firefights are a momentary victory in a war they can see is unwinnable. Gez is a warrior – he wants more than this. But then death and injury start to take their toll on The Firm, leaving Gez with PTSD and a new battle just beginning.'Jones writes of his brothers and their Afghan experience, from its adrenalin-filled highs to the many lows, with passion and candour.' – Major Adam Jowett, bestselling author of No Way Out'A gritty, brutal book about men at war. Raw and real. Brilliant.' – Tom Marcus, author of Soldier SpyTrade ReviewA stunning account of war that gives a detailed look into the psyche of the twenty-first century British infantryman. Jones writes of his brothers and their Afghan experience, from its adrenalin-filled highs to the many lows, with passion and candour. The pace is unrelenting, whilst the epilogue stands as the sobering full stop for a generation of soldiers who campaigned in Iraq and Afghanistan. -- Major Adam Jowett, bestselling author of No Way OutA gritty, brutal book about men at war. Raw and real. Brilliant. -- Tom Marcus, bestselling author of Soldier Spy and Capture or KillAt times darkly funny, at times tragic, this is a powerful and honest book about the British soldier, about the reality of conflict and the struggles some face when they come home. -- Brian Wood MC, bestselling author of Double CrossedPowerful, raw and poignant, but also darkly funny in places. * The Times Magazine *

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Book Synopsis'The Capitol riot was our Chernobyl.'(Guardian interview, Jan 19th 2021)'An absolutely fascinating read.'Emily MaitlisJames Comey, former FBI Director and Sunday Times number one bestselling author of A Higher Loyalty, uses his long career in federal law enforcement to explore issues of justice and fairness in the US justice system.James Comey might best be known as the FBI director that Donald Trump fired in 2017, but he’s had a long, varied career in the law and justice system. He knows better than most just what a force for good the US justice system can be, and how far afield it has strayed during the Trump Presidency.In his much-anticipated follow-up to A Higher Loyalty, Comey uses anecdotes and lessons from his career to show how the federal justice system works. From prosecuting mobsters as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of New York in the 1980s to grappling with the legalities of anti-terrorism work as the Deputy Attorney General in the early 2000s to, of course, his tumultuous stint as FBI director beginning in 2013, Comey shows just how essential it is to pursue the primacy of truth for federal law enforcement.Saving Justice is gracefully written and honestly told, a clarion call for a return to fairness and equity in the law.Trade ReviewAn absolutely fascinating read for anyone who wants to understand the workings of the US Justice System and American Politics more broadly. -- Emily Maitlis'The Capitol riot was our Chernobyl...I was sickened to watch an attack on the literal and symbolic heart of our democracy, and, as a law enforcement person, I was angered. I am mystified and angry that Capitol Hill wasn’t defended. It’s a hill! If you wanted to defend it, you could defend it, and for some reason it was not defended. I think that’s a 9/11-size failure and we’re going to need a 9/11-type commission to understand it so that we don’t repeat it.' (Guardian interview, 19th Jan 2021)'The Republican party needs to be burned down or changed. Something is shifting and I’m hoping it’s the fault breaking apart, a break between the Trumpists and those people who want to try and build a responsible conservative party, because everybody should know that we need one. Who would want to be part of an organisation that at its core is built on lies and racism and know-nothingism? It’s just not a healthy political organisation.' (Guardian interview, 19th Jan 2021) 'I just think, on balance, the country is better served by impeaching him [Trump], convicting him in the Senate and letting local prosecutors in New York pursue him for the fraudster he was before he took office.' (Guardian interview, 19th Jan 2021) * The Guardian interview Jan 19th, 2021 *

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