Autobiography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisWhen shots rang out in Dallas on November 22, 1963, U.S. Secret Service Agent Rufus W. Youngblood immediately lunged over the seat of the vice president's car and bravely used his body to shield Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Faced with the unknown, Youngblood maintained this protective position as they sped toward Parkland Hospital. Throughout that fateful day, he vigilantly remained by LBJ’s side to ensure his safety. This candid memoir includes Youngblood's first-hand account of the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath, as well as highlights from his twenty-year career in the Secret Service during which he protected Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. Readers will enjoy Youngblood s behind-the-scenes look at some of the most pivotal events in U.S. history, humorous anecdotes, and descriptions of the complexities, risks, and constant tensions involved in protecting America's chief executive. A unique and comprehensive collection of more than one hundred photographs has been added to illustrate this agent's amazing story

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Book SynopsisMorgan Tsvangirai's dramatic political battle with Zimbabwe's dictatorial monolith Robert Mugabe stands as one of the most intriguing and important world events of recent times--this is his autobiography From village life as the son of a humble carpenter to struggling for power with Mugabe as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, this is Morgan Tsvangirai's amazing story. Once an avid supporter of Mugabe's party Zanu-PF, Tsvangirai grew to detest their violence and oppression, leading him to found the Movement for Democratic Change. Tsvangirai deployed basic but effective tools of national resistance with clear vision and exceptional courage, despite multiple arrests and severe beatings. His successful formation of a coalition government kept alive Zimbabwe's hopes of peace and democracy, establishing Tsvangirai as a luminary in a continent all too often known for bloody leadership.Trade Review"I obviously have extraordinary admiration for the courage and the tenacity that the Prime Minister has shown in navigating through some very difficult political times in Zimbabwe. . . . I'm grateful to him for his leadership, for his courage, and I'm looking forward to being a partner with him in the years to come." --President Barack Obama, June 2009

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Book SynopsisScholastique Mukasonga''s Cockroaches is the story of growing up a Tutsi in Hutu-dominated Rwanda - the story of a happy child, a loving family, all wiped out in the genocide of 1994. A vivid, bittersweet depiction of family life and bond in a time of immense hardship, it is also a story of incredible endurance, and of the duty to remember loss and those lost while somehow carrying on. Sweet, funny, wrenching, and deeply moving, Cockroaches is a window onto an unforgettable world of love, grief, and horror.

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Book SynopsisThe Yellow House meets Hidden in Plain View in this multigenerational memoir that celebrates African American quilting, family, and honoring the past.At age four, Phyllis Biffle Elmore was plucked off her front porch in Detroit and dropped on her grandmother Lula Horn?s doorstep in rural Alabama. Phyllis felt utterly abandoned until Grandma Lula showed her both all-encompassing love and her intricate ?Quilts of Souls.? Phyllis listened intently as Lula told epic stories of folks who had passed on as she turned their clothing into breathtaking quilts for their families.Grandma Lula?s generosity of spirit, strong will, and creative soul animate every page and through the quilts, she paints portraits of extraordinary Black women born before and after the Civil War. They are enslaved people, laundresses, storytellers, healers, and quilters whose stories have gone untold until now.Beautifully written and brilliantly told, Phyllis weaves back and forth through time, piecing together true tales of racism, sexism, and colorism, but also strength and pride, creating a multigenerational patchwork honoring her family and ancestors.From the lush visuals to the powerful history, Quilt of Souls is oral tradition written and preserved for posterity.?Like the women of Gee?s Bend, Alabama, who create masterpieces from cast-off fabrics, Phyllis Biffle Elmore in Quilt of Souls: A Memoir uses snippets of history and fragments of memories to craft a narrative that is a powerful and poignant read.??Jessica B. Harris, New York Times best-selling author of High on the Hog"A fascinating read that unravels how storytellers are born and made, with the goal or retelling family history, culture, loves, losses, victories, and the tragedies of memoerable people, from cradle to grave."?Omar Tyree, best-selling author and NAACP Image Award winner

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Book SynopsisQueen of Spies captures both the paranoia and the on-the-ground realities of intelligence work from the Second World War to the Cold War, and the life of Britainâs celebrated female spy.Trade Review'Queen of Spies fills a big gap... a richly entertaining biography' Richard Norton Taylor, Guardian'Writing a biography of Daphne Park was never going to be easy and Paddy Hayes has done a very good job' Daily Telegraph'A remarkable biography of a remarkable woman - providing real insight into MI6 of the Cold War' Gordon Corera, author MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret Service'Daphne Park was truly the empress of British espionage. This book is a major contribution to understanding her fascinating career in MI6. Remarkably well-researched, it is required reading for anyone interested in the world of secret service' Professor Richard J Aldrich, author of GCQH: The Uncensored Story of Britain's Most Secret Intelligence Agency'A thoroughly researched and enlightening account' Times Literary Supplement'A wonderful new book that would make a great gift for anyone' Irish Daily Mail'This book was entertaining and thrilling, yet also informative and thought-provoking. It has explored many aspects of history and displays Hayes' passion for the intelligence service. It has a wide appeal to anyone who enjoys history or simply a good story' Bookbag'The only biography on Baroness Park and it fills a big gap. Hayes has produced an interesting and informative work' CIA Review of Books'Hayes is open about his own speculations, given the still-classified nature of much of this material, but he successfully conveys the inspiring nature of Park's personal story and achievements, offering an informative account of the Cold War and the workings of the super secret SIS' Publishers Weekly'A fascinating and long-overdue biography' Washington Post'The fascinating story of the evolution of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) from World War II to the Cold War through the eyes of Daphne Park, one of its outstanding and most unusual operatives. He provides the reader with one of the most intimate narratives yet of how the modern SIS actually went about its business whether in Moscow, Hanoi, or the Congo' Sunday Leader'An interesting and informative work' The Intelligencer'Hayes's accomplished biography circumvents the scanty evidence by offering a broader portrait of the Secret Service itself, a badly compromised men's club in which the forthright Park still managed to succeed' Sunday Telegraph'Only the second-ever biography published about a Cold War career officer in MI6' The Big Issue'Dame Daphne's story leaves us wondering about reality as seen through the eyes of a spy; and about how far spy work affected that reality' Spectator'Hayes deftly manages to chart her extraordinary life... that read like passages from a thriller' Country Life'This is an excellent biography of a remarkable woman... Intelligence researcher Hayes opens the door on the fascinating life of one of England's greatest spies, Daphne Park... As exciting as any good spy thriller but it's all true' Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisPeace Work is volume seven of Spike Milligan''s outrageous, hilarious, legendary War Memoirs.''I had not informed my parents of my return, I wanted it to be a lovely surprise; it was, for me, they were away ...''The seventh and last volume of Spike Milligan''s memoirs sees our hero returning from war and Italy ... but to what? Aside from shooting large, inaccurate guns at Germans, all he has done for five long years is blow a trumpet, tell rude jokes and write and perform sketches for the entertainment of bored and murderous soldiers - who on earth is going to pay a civilian to do more of that? From the giddy heights of Hackney Empire to a Zurich Freak Show and beyond, Spike makes his way through the backwaters of showbiz, first as band musician then as one-man wild-act and eventually in the company of a group of like-minded comedians called Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine and Peter Sellers. They decide to call themselves The Goons...''DesTrade ReviewThe most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read * Sunday Express *Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics ... throwaway lines and marvelous anecdotes * Daily Mail *Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar * Sunday Times *Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense * Guardian *Milligan is the Great God to all of us -- John CleeseThe Godfather of Alternative Comedy -- Eddie IzzardThat absolutely glorious way of looking at things differently. A great man -- Stephen FryManifestly a genius, a comic surrealist genius and had no equal -- Terry WoganA totally original comedy writer -- Michael Palin

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Book SynopsisThe photo of a woman standing proudly, face bare, hair blowing in the wind.Her crime: removing her veil, or hijab, which is compulsory for women in Iran.Masih''s self-portrait sparked ''My Stealthy Freedom'', a social media campaign that went viral. An enlightening, intimate invitation into a little-known world, this is the extraordinary memoir of a woman who overcame poverty, prison, and exile and encourages others to do the same.''A must-read for anyone who cares about women''s equality and autonomy'' SHERYL SANDBERG''Masih Alinejad is a flame-thrower for the rights of all women'' TINA BROWN''Passionate, riveting'' New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewShe's been sentenced to prison, fled her native Iran and is unable to see her family. All she wants is to give women the choice to wear the hijab or not... Courageous * Guardian *With mighty righteousness on her side and bravery in her heart, Masih Alinejad is a flame-thrower for the rights of all women who live under the thumb of repression and injustice * Tina Brown *The Wind in My Hair paints a vivid portrait of modern Iran and chronicles her journey from Iran to Britain and finally the United States * New York Times *Masih Alinejad is a fearless champion for women's rights. She built her career as a reporter uncovering powerful truths and writing passionately in support of human rights in a country where doing so meant risking one's freedom and safety. Her book is a must-read for anyone who cares about women's equality and autonomy-in Iran, the United States, and everywhere * Sheryl Sandberg *Told poignantly and with a blunt honesty that seems a characteristic of Alinejad's life and writing, here is a gripping tale that permits us to peek at the inner workings of the Iranian Revolution and consider the question of its health and longevity... a prescient exposé of the cruelty of paradigms, the constrictions of the Muslim woman liberation tale and the often maddening centrality of the veil within it * New York Times Book Review *Masih Alinejad's personal story is intriguing and inspiring. For her freedom is not just political but existential, which is why Masih's voice is so important to Iran's civil society and the Iranian people's struggles for freedom and democracy * Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran *Masih Alinejad's inspiring journey from an ordinary working-class village girl in Iran into a transnational activist-journalist is a testimony to not only her talents and passionate dedication to equal rights, but also to the aspiration and determination of many Iranian women whose stories are recounted by her. Masih's courageous journey is part of a growing women's rights movement that resonates with women everywhere * Nayereh Tohidi, Director, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at California State, Northridge *[Alinejad's] descriptions of life as a journalist and activist will captivate readers interested in Iran, international affairs, gender equality, and human rights * Booklist *'The road to expulsion is paved with scoops,' she writes. It's the content of those scoops, along with the graft and corruption underlying a regime that is still made up of politicians, that will be of interest to readers... Alinejad's account provides a timely glimpse behind the Iranian curtain * Kirkus *Gutsy Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad tells her life story in a chatty, confiding tone . . . Alinejad's experiences make for a compelling and eye-opening read * Christian Science Monitor *Women all over Iran risked imprisonment and even their lives and safety to post pictures. Alinejad's stories of her illustrious career as a groundbreaking journalist challenging the Islamic Republic make for a fascinating narrative * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisWhen George Mitchell described his time helping broker peace in Northern Ireland, he said, We had 700 bad days and then one good day, which changed the course of history.'One Good Day is the fascinating insider account of those negotiations from diplomat David Donoghue, who was then Irish head of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat in Belfast. It explores the complex, delicate and often frustrating series of talks that drew the Troubles to an end.April 2023 marks the 25-year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, hailed internationally as a near-miracle of collective collaboration, compromise and diplomacy. One Good Day offers an absorbing perspective on the drama of the negotiations from someone who was right at the centre of the action, alongside all the key players such as Martin McGuinness, Gerry Adams, John Hume, Bill Clinton, Bertie Ahern and Mo Mowlam.Incisive and compelling an insider's story of the negotiations which

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Book Synopsis_____________________An intimate telling of the wild days of the 2011 Egyptian RevolutionAhdaf Soueif was born and brought up in Cairo. When the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 erupted on January 25th, she, along with thousands of others, called Tahrir Square home for eighteen days. She reported for the world''s media and did, like everyone else, whatever she could.Cairo tells the story of the Egyptian Revolution, of how on the 28th of January when The People took the Square and torched the headquarters of the hated ruling National Democratic Party, The (same) People formed a human chain to protect the Antiquities Museum and demanded an official handover to the military; it tells how, on Wednesday, February 2nd, as The People defended themselves against the invading thug militias and fought pitched battles at the entrance to the Square in the shadow of the Antiquities Museum, The (same) People at the centre of the square debated political structures and laughed at stanTrade ReviewCaptures the intoxicating romance of the weeks when anything seemed possible. Souief writes with verve and passion, offering the authentic voice of the liberal Egyptian who risked everything because she wanted her country to have freedom and democracy * Daily Telegraph *Should serve as a heartening reminder of what people are capable of achieving when united and courageous * The Economist *There's a passionate immediacy to Soueif's febrile descriptions of those halcyon first days of revolution ... Soueif is an excellent observer * Metro *Soueif is a political analyst and commentator of the best kind * London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisDown and Out in Paris and London was George Orwell’s first published book. It is at once a very personal account, and a vivid exposé of hard lives weighed down by poverty in France and England between the wars.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by writer Lara Feigel.Towards the end of the 1920s, whilst living in Paris, George Orwell’s few remaining funds are stolen and he quickly falls into a life of severe poverty. Living hand to mouth, he shares squalid lodgings with Russian-born Boris and finds tedious and back-breaking work washing up in the bowels of Paris restaurant kitchens. On his return to England, he lives as a tramp, finding occasional shelter in often dangerous doss houses.Trade ReviewThe thief who took the last of an ailing George Orwell’s money from his Paris room in 1929 did a big favour to political literature. -- Vanessa Thorpe * Observer *Little that Orwell has written, here and elsewhere, has lost the hum of relevancy, from the causes of poverty and its long-term effects – “it annihilates the future” – to its everyday toll of boredom. -- Laurence Mackin * Irish Times *Down and Out is an extraordinary and curious book: beautifully phrased, meticulous, honest and funny. George Orwell’s 1933 memoir, and a study of poverty, is a book both rooted in its era and able to transcend it. * Independent *Orwell’s is a plea for empathy for the laborer, the tramp, and the impoverished . . . [it] is a fascinating anthropological study of poverty, its empirical value tarnished by its richly entertaining prose, and overt imposition of Orwell’s political dispositions upon his observations. * Medium *Books like Down and Out show us that the line between deprivation and success can be a very thin one. The latter is often achieved through learning how to love the former . . . What makes [it] fantastic is his lucid prose. * LA Review of Books *Have a look at the book and catch the strange fascination of the telling. Vivid and lurid and unappetizing, are the pictures he gives of what goes on behind the scenes, human and otherwise. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisBy the age of ten, Monica McWilliams was dispensing payouts in her granny’s post office, book-keeping for her cattle-dealer father and leaving no one in any doubt that she could stand up for herself. She went on to break the mould in so many ways, as a woman, as an activist and as a politician. In this frank and fascinating memoir, she tells her extraordinary story for first time. Now Emeritus Professor of the Transnational Justice Institute, Monica also chairs the Governing Board of the international NGO Interpeace and has worked with and for women in conflict societies including in South America and the Middle East. She is author of a number of journal articles, essays and reports on family and sexual matters; domestic violence; and human rights in Northern Ireland. This is her first book. Anyone interested in Ireland, ending conflicts, making lasting peace, defending human rights, women in politics and feminism will love this book. Hillary Clinton As co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, Monica McWilliams undoubtedly played one of the most pivotal roles in the Northern Ireland peace process. This is a stunning read ... one of Ireland’s greatest women activists. Bertie Ahern An unmissable memoir of a soaring hope for justice and peace, and of shocking misogyny. Women are so often written out of the history they make; women like Monica McWilliams make their voices heard, with humour and grace. Lyse Doucet, BBC chief international correspondent

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Book SynopsisAt the beginning of the decade renowned historian Sheila Rowbotham was a rebellious sixteen-year-old at a Methodist boarding school in the north-east of England, reading Sartre and dreaming of Paris. By the end of the sixties she was a seasoned political activist, planning Britain's first-ever women's liberation conference, and beginning to find her voice as a writer.Her story of the intervening years moves from coffee bars in Leeds to the Sorbonne and Oxford University, where she arrives wearing frayed Levis and clutching a volume of Rimbaud. A participant in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, she was also a member of the editorial board of the notorious revolutionary newspaper Black Dwarf.While faithful to the exhilaration and enthusiasm of the sixties, Rowbotham is also wryly amusing about her younger self. When Jean-Luc Godard wanted to film her in the nude, she dithered between principle and vanity. Wearing the shortest of mini skirts she argued passionately for women's liberation.Promise of a Dream is a moving, witty and poignant recollection of a time when young women were breaking all the rules about sex, politics and their place in the world. Sheila Rowbotham was, and remains, one of their most effective and endearing voices.Trade ReviewA record of an era, winding one girl's coming-of-age story through the drama of political evolution ... She has captured that amazing sense of possibility that grew with each year, the confidence that not only was the promised dream within reach, it was also upon us. -- Mary Maher * Irish Times *This is a document historians dream of ... it captures the spirit of the 1960s-its fun and crazy idealism-in the life of one spirited young woman. -- Joan Bakewell * Sunday Times *Unerringly perceptive and funny ... if you want to know what the sixties were like, read this book. -- Julie ChristieThe book works best in conveying the excitement generated by ideas, not just straightforwardly political ones but those about art and the wider definition of liberation ... I wasn't there, but I'm happy that Rowbotham was, and that she remembers it with such clarity. * Literary Review *A rich, painful picture emerges of women searching for both words and spaces to articulate the insights of feminism. * The Women's Review of Books *The accounts of the successes, failures, joys and pains of young adulthood have the qualities to be found in the best creative writing. It is a book to be read for the quality of its writing and the honesty and humor of its presentation, as much as for the history it reveals. -- Dorothy Thompson * Times Higher Education SUpplement *An honest account of radical activism, love affairs, studies, travels, teaching, agitation and other stuff of the sixties. -- Anna Aslanyan * Tribune *

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Book SynopsisThe year was 1935: the twilight of the English aristocracy. It was a time of wealth and glamour; of lavish balls and evening gowns; of tiaras and a coronation. As personal maid to Lady Coventry, Hilda Newman had a unique insight into the leisured life of one of Britain's most noble families. In her fascinating memoir of life upstairs and down, Hilda takes us back to this period between the wars; a gilded era which would soon be dramatically changed by the Second World War. Transplanted from a tiny house with no bath or hot water to an eighteenth-century Neo-Palladian mansion, Hilda's life changed beyond recognition. But in a time when the very foundations of British society were being shaken to their core, the luxurious life of the country nobility couldn't last. The Second World War brought more turbulence with it, and Croome Court, where Hilda had lived and worked, became a haven for the Dutch Royal Family fleeing Nazi occupation, whilst also home to a top-secret RAF base. The lavish banquets and decadent parties had become a thing of the past. Hilda's story takes us back to a bygone era, showing us what life was really like in England's classic country manors of old - and uncovers the real lives of the people who occupied them, from wealthy lord to lowly servant.

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Book SynopsisA New York Times BestsellerPart memoir, part political manifesto, this call to arms by the Massachusetts senator draws on pivotal moments from her life to make the case for personal perseverance and progressive policy goals . . . Moving.The New York Times Book ReviewCommitted, fearless, and famously persistent, Elizabeth Warrenone of our nation's most visionary leadersis a beacon for everyone who believes that real change can improve the lives of all Americans.In Persist, Warren writes about six perspectives that have influenced her life and advocacy. She's a mother who learned from wrenching personal experience why child care is so essential. She's a teacher who has known since grade school the value of a good and affordable education. She's a planner who understands that every complex problem requires a comprehensive response. She's a fighter who discovered the hard way that nobody gives up power willingly. She'

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Book SynopsisA timely exploration of the twelve best qualities of the wartime generation - and how we can use these to improve our individual character and collective response in the face of crisis.Trade ReviewInspiring * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis'His book reads as an inspirational text (Emmanuel is an altruistic entrepreneur and activist who started his first charity as a teenager), and a rousing heartfelt testimony in which self-love trumps self-loathing ... his graceful book fulfils its humble ambition to act as "a guide to recognising the nightmare - and a blueprint for dreaming your way out of it."' OBSERVER'A moving and powerful memoir.' THE BRITISH BLACK LIST'Both personal and political, weaving tales of his own life with advice for other young people and a call for everyone to do their part in creating an equal society ... Emmanuel is a great communicator; he writes and speaks with confidence. It's easy to see how, from such a young age, he has been able to engage people on the issues he wants to tackle.' EVENING STANDARD________________I wanted to change the world, but the world I was born into changed me first.My name is Jeremiah Emmanuel. I'm twenty one years old. I'm an activist, an entrepreneur, a former deputy young mayor of Lambeth and member of the UK Youth Parliament.Raised in south London, I lived in an area where crime and poverty were everywhere and opportunities to escape were rare. Violence was accepted, prison was expected. That was the world I knew; the only one I thought was possible for people like me.Then I discovered another world, one with opportunities round every corner. As I grew my network, I realised that the system actively works against certain members of society, silently preventing people from succeeding. I made it my mission to change this, and to teach people like me about the secret rules of society that empower some to get ahead and keep others down. This is my story of how I made it, and how others can too.Memoir meets manifesto, Dreaming in a Nightmare is a powerful account of the challenges faced by a new generation and how readers can rally to create change.Trade ReviewHis book reads as an inspirational text (Emmanuel is an altruistic entrepreneur and activist who started his first charity as a teenager), and a rousing heartfelt testimony in which self-love trumps self-loathing ... his graceful book fulfils its humble ambition to act as "a guide to recognising the nightmare - and a blueprint for dreaming your way out of it." * Observer *A moving and powerful memoir. * The British Black List *Both personal and political, weaving tales of his own life with advice for other young people and a call for everyone to do their part in creating an equal society ... Emmanuel is a great communicator; he writes and speaks with confidence. It's easy to see how, from such a young age, he has been able to engage people on the issues he wants to tackle. * Evening Standard *A powerfully moving account of his humble, single-parent upbringing in south London; his dreams and the barriers he had to break through. * Voice *An emotionally searing and powerful account from the 21-year-old youth activist, a former deputy young mayor of Lambeth and entrepreneur who, at 17, was one of the youngest people to receive a British Empire Medal from the Queen. Deftly moving between the past and the present the book illuminates the polarising worlds Jeremiah inhabits ... A rallying cry for gen Z to overcome obstacles, Dreaming in a Nightmare is ultimately a book about hope and galvanising change. * i-D *

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Book Synopsis"The desire to leave behind me some recollections of my life, has been cherished by me, for many years past; but failing strength or increasing infirmities have prevented its accomplishment. At my suggestion and with what assistance I have been able to render, my son, Ross Charles Edward Stowe, has compiled from my letters and journals, this biography. It is this true story of my life, told for the most part, in my own words and has therefore all the force of an autobiography. It is perhaps much more accurate as to detail and impression than is possible with any autobiography, written later in life. If these pages, shall help those who read them to a firmer trust in God and a deeper sense of His fatherly goodness throughout the days of our earthly pilgrimage I can say with Valiant for Truth in the Pilgrim''s Progress! I am going to my Father''s and tho with great difficulty, I am got thither, get now, I do not repent me of all the troubles I have been at, to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it." - Harriet Beecher Stowe, Hartford, September 30, 1889

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Book SynopsisThis book, originally published in 1914, is a unique telling of the life of Cleopatra. The author, a well-learned historian of his time, offers a truer glimpse of the queen if we can rid ourselves of the influence of any one period and ignore that aspect of morality that has developed in us by contact with the age in which we live. Good and evil are relative qualities defined largely by public opinion, and it must always be remembered that certain things considered good and evil today may have the acceptance and denunciation of yesterday and tomorrow. The author does not presume to offer an apology for the much-maligned Queen, but he describes the events of her troubled life fairly. The actions of Cleopatra will, without any particular advocacy, assume a character that is no uglier than that of every other actor in the strange drama surrounding her life.

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Book SynopsisThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was originally published in 1791. It has been republished many times. This important document is as relevant today as when it was first published. It provides a first-hand account of one of the most remarkable men in American history.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Grattan was a young Irish Lieutenant who served in the famous Connaught Rangers [the 88th regiment] in some of the hottest engagements of the Peninsular War. Adventures with the Connaught Rangers 18091814 is a memoir of his service with the 1st Battalion of the 88th regiment. Vividly written and accompanied by maps, this is one of the most famous fighting memoirs of the Peninsula War.

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Book SynopsisTheodore Roosevelt was a fascinating man. This autobiography, written a hundred years ago, presents his life and career from his own perspective.Table of ContentsPreface; Boyhood and Youth; The Vigor of Life; Practical Politics; In Cowboy Land; Applied Idealism; The New York Police; The War of America the Unready; The New York Governorship; Outdoors and Indoors; The Presidency; Making an Old Party Progressive; The Natural Resources of the Nation; The Big Stick and the Square Deal; Social and Industrial Justice; The Monroe Doctrine and the Panama Canal; The Peace of Righteousness; Index.

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Book SynopsisAnnie Wood Besant (1847-1933) was a problematic and notorious figure in Victorian England, questioning and then breaking from the Anglican Church to become an atheist, women’s rights advocate, and Freethinker. As editor of her own journal, Our Corner, she responded to inquiries about her life experiences by serializing her life story, which was published in 1885. After providing a vivid account of her trial, along with Charles Bradlaugh, for the right to publish birth control literature, Besant recounts her heartbreaking trial for custody of her daughter. With a critical and historical introduction by Carol Hanbery MacKay, this Broadview Edition includes comparative passages from An Autobiography, written in 1893 after Besant’s conversion to Theosophy. Contemporary reviews, excerpts from publications about issues such as Socialism and trade unionism, and additional examples of Besant’s writing about secularism and labour reform are also included.Trade Review“This important edition brings Annie Besant’s first autobiographical work back into print. Written before her conversion to Theosophy, Autobiographical Sketches details Besant’s remarkable spiritual and political transformation from wife of a Christian clergyman to celebrated campaigner for Freethought, secularism, women’s rights, and birth control. Carol Hanbery MacKay’s splendid introduction and supplementary materials offer an illuminating context for students and scholars alike. Altogether, the volume is a major contribution to the literature of feminism, autobiography, religion, and radical politics.” — Elizabeth Miller, University of California Davis“‘Naughty Annie’ (as the press called her) has been ill served by biographers and critics. This meticulous edition of her fascinating first foray into autobiography—before her extraordinary but quintessentially Victorian passage from secularism and Socialism to Theosophy and India—not only allows her to speak again for herself as a woman and a public figure, but, through the rich array of reviews, speeches, essays, and extended passages from her later Autobiography, also allows us to understand her against the full backdrop of her life and the times she helped to change.” — Joss Marsh, University of IndianaTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction: Annie Besant’s First Foray into Self-WritingAnnie Besant: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextAutobiographical Sketches (1885)Appendix A: Publication of Autobiographical Sketches (1884-85) and Aftermath Reviews of Autobiographical Sketches Unsigned review, “Contemporary Literature: History and Biography,” The Westminster Review (July 1886) G.W. Foote, “The Latest Apostle of Socialism,” Progress: A Monthly Magazine of Advanced Thought; Annie Besant, Rejoinder”; and Foote, “Reply to Mrs. Besant’s Rejoinder” (1886) “Foreword” of W.T. Stead, “Mrs. Annie Besant,” The Review of Reviews (October 1891) From Annie Besant, Why I Don’t Believe in God (1887) From Annie Besant, Why I Became a Theosophist (1889) From Annie Besant, 1875 to 1891: A Fragment of Autobiography (1891) Appendix B: Publication of An Autobiography (1893) and Critical Response “Preface” to An Autobiography (1893) Selected parallel passages and entries from new sections Parallel passages (to Autobiographical Sketches) Entries from new sections in An Autobiography Reviews of An Autobiography Unsigned review, “Mrs. Besant’s Apologia,” The Westminster Budget (December 1893) “Calcar,” “Mrs. ‘Annie’ Besant’s Apology,” Vanity Fair (December 1893) Unsigned review, “Annie Besant,” Pall Mall Gazette (December 1893) Unsigned review, “Recent Biography,” The Athenaeum (February 1894) Review essay by W.E. Gladstone, Annie Besant’s reply, and letter from Gladstone to Digby Besant From Gladstone, “True and False Conceptions of the Atonement,” The Nineteenth Century (September 1894) From Annie Besant’s reply, The Nineteenth Century (June 1895) Letter from Gladstone to Digby Besant (October 1894) Appendix C: Contemporary Issues Charles Knowlton, “Philosophical Proem,” The Fruits of Philosophy: An Essay on the Population Question (1832; rev. ed. 1877) From The Married Women’s Property Acts (1870; 1882) and Amendment Acts (1874; 1893) An Act to amend the Law relating to the Property of Married Women (1870) An Act to amend the Married Women’s Property Act of 1870 (1874) An Act to consolidate and amend the Married Women’s Property Act (1882) An Act to amend the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 (1893) Socialism: For and Against, A Written Debate between Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant, Our Corner (1887) Charles Bradlaugh, “Socialism: Its Fallacies and Dangers” (March 1887) Annie Besant, “Socialism: Its Truths and Its Hopes” (April 1887) Sidney and Beatrice Webb, “Preface,” The History of Trade Unionism (1894) Appendix D: Concurrent Issues as Seen by Annie Besant Annie Besant, The Political Status of Women (1874) From The Secular Song and Hymn Book (1875) and from “Two Secular Burial Services” (1875) Annie Besant, “Preface,” The Secular Song and Hymn Book Lyrics attributed to Besant in The Secular Song andHymn Book Annie Besant, “Burial Service” Annie Besant, “Landlords,Tenant Farmers, and Laborers,” National Reformer (1877) From Annie Besant, The Law of Population (1877) and Theosophy and the Law of Population (1896) Annie Besant, “Chapter I: The Law of Population,” The Law of Population Annie Besant, from the final two paragraphs of Theosophy and the Law of Population Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOn Language, Memory, and Illness. As Tony Gorry recalls scenes from his earliest childhood and adolescence, he weaves his present reality with these images to unlock meaning hidden in the remembered moments. On their surface they may appear ordinary, but as this book reveals, they point the way to a life well lived. Gorry also remembers events at which he was never present: the evening his parents first met, his fathers World War II experiences. He explores these recollections -- not really memory at all -- and finds them as important to the way he understands his life as those he actually lived through. At the centre of the book Gorry writes about his decision to study Greek in his late sixties; he wanted to read Homer in the original. As he began to learn the ancient language, Gorry, one of the first Ph.D.s in Computer Science from MIT, also came to realise that he was going to have to slow down in order to learn well. With careful introspection about his past and courage in the face of his current cancer treatment, Gorry offers a compelling narrative about how to discover significance in ones life.

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Book SynopsisMy brother officers. Are they human? Thus reads the first journal entry of twenty-three-year-old John Verney, graduate of Eton and Oxford, lover of modern art and literature, who has, almost on a whim, joined a part-time cavalry regiment of the British Army in 1937. At the outbreak of World War II two years later, Verney arrives in the Middle East and there learns, almost in spite of himself, to be a soldier. In 1943, he becomes a parachutist and leads a drop into Sardinia to attack German airfields. His adventures there -- two weeks wandering through enemy territory, his capture, and his eventual escape -- are brilliantly told. Woven into the fabric of this narrative of a young man growing reluctantly to maturity and coming to terms with military life, are Verneys thoughts and feelings about his wife, Lucinda, and the child he has never seen, and his longing to return to them.

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Book SynopsisOn July 28, 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne''s wife Sophia and daughters Una and Rose left their house in Western Massachusetts to visit relatives near Boston. Hawthorne and his five-year-old son Julian stayed behind. How father and son got along over the next three weeks is the subject of this tender and funny extract from Hawthorne''s notebooks.'At about six o''clock I looked over the edge of my bed and saw that Julian was awake, peeping sideways at me.' Each day starts early and is mostly given over to swimming and skipping stones, berry-picking and subduing armies of thistles. There are lots of questions ('It really does seem as if he has baited me with more questions, references, and observations, than mortal father ought to be expected to endure'), a visit to a Shaker community, domestic crises concerning a pet rabbit, and some poignant moments of loneliness ('I went to bed at about nine and longed for Phoebe'). And one evening Mr. Herman Melville comes by to enjoy a late-night discussion of eternity over cigars.With an introduction by Paul Auster that paints a beautifully observed, intimate picture of the Hawthornes at home, this little-known, true-life story by a great American writer emerges from obscurity to shine a delightful light upon family life—then and now.

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Book SynopsisPerfectly blending a vast historical scope with intensely individual viewpoints, this stirring collection of stories brings a man-on-the-ground perspective to a huge range of military history, with stories of a quarter-century of war from nearly every corner of the earth, including Europe; the Pacific; mainland Asia; a tense confrontation in Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis; POW camps in Germany, Japan, and California; and the San Joaquin Valley home front from the 1940s through the 1960s. These 72 highly individualized narratives of combat, military service, and the personal sacrifices of war -- penned by ordinary San Joaquin Valley residents and buttressed with more than 100 personal photographs -- bring commentaries from soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, nurses, ambulance drivers, and civilians. In simple, direct, and authentic language, with stories both horrific and touching, this volume perfectly illustrates the personal side of war.

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Book SynopsisThe George W Bush Presidency reshaped American politics through its policies and its use of executive power. This volume engages fundamental debates about the Bush (43) presidencys expansive interpretation of executive power, primarily in foreign and national-security policy, but also more generally for leadership and policy making. It examines presidential elections and party realignments in the early twenty-first century and their consequences for White House policy-making. It analyses how the Bush administration pursued initiatives in faith-based programs and homeland security, and established organizational structures that would endure well beyond his presidency. The volume also examines how the Bush (43) presidency established an enduring legacy in American politics through the Supreme Court and the Office of the First Lady. It concludes with an assessment of how these many areas of executive action and influence continue to direct presidential governance. By examining their evolution, this volume reveals choices and constraints in American politics today that derive from President Bushs leadership.

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Book SynopsisThis is a remarkable story, not just about the extraordinary achievements of a family, but about the power of the individual to spur innovation, even when the consenTrade ReviewWith a foreword by James Cameron.

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Book SynopsisOne of the world's leading anthropologists assesses the work of the founder of structural anthropologyAs a young man, Maurice Godelier was Claude Lévi-Strauss's assistant. Since then, Godelier has drawn on this experience to develop a profound and intimate grasp on the writings of his former teacher, one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Meticulously researched, Lévi-Strauss: A Critical Study of His Thought will prove indispensable to students of Lévi-Strauss and to structural anthropologists more generally. It is a compelling and comprehensive study destined to become the definitive work on the evolution of Lévi-Strauss's ideas, at the heart of which lies his analysis of kinship and myth.Trade Review“All would agree on the influence of the voluminous oeuvre of Lévi-Strauss within the history of the Human Sciences. To come to terms with it, we need a reliable guide, such as this. Students of kinship, myth, or mythical thinking may disagree with some of Godelier’s positions, but have here a splendid basis on which to build.” —Nick Allen, University of Oxford“Maurice Godelier, eminent French anthropologist, surveys and assesses, sympathetically and critically, the mass of writings on kinship and mythology of another eminent French anthropologist, Claude Lévi-Strauss. This deep engagement of the one with the other is, for readers, both a pleasure and a powerful tool.” —Thomas R. Trautmann, Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan “Cuts through the fog of commentary surrounding the legacy of this most enigmatic of scholars, to address Lévi-Strauss’s legacy in its own, properly anthropological terms. The book is a joy to read.” —Tim Ingold, University of Aberdeen

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Book SynopsisEarly in the morning of 4 March 2015, a fierce knock at the door heralded the start of a new chapter in Harvey Proctor's almost continuous relationship with the police and media, when officers from the Metropolitan Police raided his home in connection with Operation Midland, Scotland Yard's investigation into allegations of a historic Westminster paedophile ring.In Credible and True - words famously used by the police to describe the allegations of Proctor's traducer - the former Conservative MP talks frankly about his life in and out of Parliament, from the struggles and controversy surrounding his resignation in 1987 to the numerous homophobic attacks endured since - one of which, revealed here in horrific detail for the first time, was a very nearly successful attempt on his life.Finally, he speaks candidly about his most recent embroilment in Operation Midland, of being the victim of a 'homosexual witch-hunt' that has all but destroyed his reputation, adding to the topical debate about police lack of due process in the post-Savile world of 'guilty until proven innocent'.Trade Review"This is the first book to be written - the first full, personal account - by someone on the receiving end of a horrific and shameful police scandal. The argument is incredibly strong; the facts are astonishing; the story is compelling." - Matthew Parris; "I have read no more painful account of the value of the presumption of innocence, or of the cruelty that comes without it." - Lord Ken Macdonald QC; "Credible and True will be an important reference book when historians research the era in which the fundamental tenet of the British justice system - 'innocent until proven guilty' - was inverted by the police. It takes great courage to stand up to the misdirected weight of the state. Harvey Proctor had that courage." - Paul Gambaccini; "Harvey Proctor's memoir carries a deadly serious message about victimisation ... This book is extraordinary." - Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisIn 1991, Vladimir Yakunin, a Soviet diplomat and KGB officer, returned from his posting in New York to a country that no longer existed. The state that he had served for all his adult life had been dissolved, the values he knew abandoned. Millions of his compatriots suffered as their savings disappeared and their previously secure existences were threatened by an unholy combination of criminality, corruption and chaos. Others thrived amid the opportunities offered in the new polity, and a battle began over the direction the fledgling state should take. While something resembling stability was won in the early 2000s, today Russia's future remains unresolved; its governing class divided. The Treacherous Path is Yakunin's account of his own experiences on the front line of Russia's implosion and eventual resurgence, and of a career - as an intelligence officer, a government minister and for ten years the CEO of Russia's largest company - that has taken him from the furthest corners of this incomprehensibly vast and complex nation to the Kremlin's corridors. Tackling topics as diverse as terrorism, government intrigue and the reality of doing business in Russia, and offering unparalleled insights into the post-Soviet mindset, this is the first time that a figure with Yakunin's background has talked so openly and frankly about his country.Trade Review"Vladimir Yakunin, a former Putin insider and loyalist, has broken the Kremlin code of silence and gives an incomparable lowdown on life and politics at the top." Robert Service, Emeritus Professor of Russian History, St Antony's College, Oxford:

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Book SynopsisYou are not an executive who can make and enforce decisions. You are a legislator who votes on making laws. You are not a counsellor, a housing officer, benefits clerk, bank or trading standards officer, but you are often expected to provide a new home, sort out benefits, provide a loan or settle a dispute about a computer game bought for little Jimmy that doesn't work. You are, in fact, a 21stcentury Member of Parliament representing about 125,000 good folk from your constituency by taking your seat in probably the finest parliament in the world (despite what you may read or hear in the media). You are elected by a simple majority from roughly 50,000 people who mark their `X' by your name at a general election, hoping that you will be able to make a difference somehow. Then, when as a new MP, you walk through the Members Lobby filled with a vision of how you will leave your mark on this place and this nation, what you are almost certainly unaware of is that your constituents, your government, the press and the very institution of the Palace of Westminster have other plans for you. So it was for Nick de Bois in May 2010 when, with an unimpressive and insecure majority of 1,682, he began the journey of a life time, meeting head-on the bizarre, the inexplicable, the touching, the shocking, the vitally important and, thank god, lots of utter nonsense as well.

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Book SynopsisPatrick Wright’s memoir opens on a diplomatic crisis. A growing number of countries are threatening to boycott the Commonwealth Games in protest of the British government’s handling of South African apartheid. And the problems only get worse. Patrick Wright was one of the pre-eminent diplomats of his day, putting him at the forefront of some of the late twentieth century’s most important global events. His six years at the FCO found him dealing with the backlash from the Falklands War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, strained relations with the EU, the First Gulf War and, perhaps most challenging of all, the `fire and glares’ of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Lord Wright’s account is not only an essential documentation of a significant historical period, but witty and entertaining throughout. He revels in gossip, despairs at the mischievous press `painting lurid pictures of Britain versus the Rest’, recalls numerous amusing scenarios and is rather brutal in his assessment of various high- profile political figures.

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Book SynopsisAs a key player during the election campaign and transition, and Donald Trump's press secretary for the first seven months in the White House, Sean Spicer found himself on the front line between Trump and the press - regularly jousting with the media and having to explain the President's policy decisions and comments to America and the world. The Briefing taps into Spicer's first-hand experience in the front row of the Trump campaign and presidency, shedding new light on the most controversial moments, sharing stories of the personalities involved and, ultimately, setting the record straight.

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Book SynopsisDuring his campaign for President in 2016, Senator Bernie Sanders stated over and over again that the future of America was dependent upon its willingness to start a political revolution. Real change never occurs from the top down - it always happens from the bottom up. That's what he said when he ran for President, and that's what he believes now more than ever. At a time of massive and growing wealth inequality, with the US moving closer and closer to an oligarchic form of society, and in the shadow of the most reactionary Presidency in the history of the Republic, Sanders is calling for an unprecedented grassroots political movement to stand up to the greed of the billionaire class and the politicians they own. And the good news is, progress is being made. In this important new book, America's most popular political figure speaks about what he's been doing to oppose the Trump agenda and strengthen the progressive movement, how America can go forward as a nation and the impact that can have on the global stage. In an era that leaves many would-be liberal and progressive voters feeling frustrated about politics, Bernie Sanders shows what he stands for, not just what he stands against. In this book, he details the core values of the progressive movement and translates them into the actions that will truly uplift the nation and the world.

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Book Synopsis'A multiple biography with overlapping chronology is a tricky feat and Buruma pulls it off magnificently.' Ben Macintyre, The TimesOn the face of it, the three characters here seem to have little in common - aside from the fact that each committed wartime acts that led some to see them as national heroes, and others as villains. All three were mythmakers, larger-than-life storytellers, for whom the truth was beside the point. Felix Kersten was a plump Finnish pleasure-seeker who became Heinrich Himmler's indispensable personal masseur - Himmler calling him his 'magic Buddha'. Kersten presented himself after the war as a resistance hero who convinced Himmler to save countless people from mass murder. Kawashima Yoshiko, a gender fluid Manchu princess, spied for the Japanese secret police in China, and was mythologized by the Japanese as a heroic combination of Mata Hari and Joan of Arc. Friedrich Weinreb was a Hasidic Jew in Holland who took large amounts of money from fellow Jews in an imaginary scheme to save them from deportation, while in fact betraying some of them to the German secret police. Sentenced after the war as a traitor and a con artist, he is still regarded by supporters as the 'Dutch Dreyfus'. All three figures have been vilified and mythologized, out of a never-ending need, Ian Buruma argues, to see history, and particularly war, and above all World War II, as a neat tale of angels and devils. In telling their often-self-invented stories, The Collaborators offers a fascinating reconstruction of what in fact we can know about these fantasists and what will always remain out of reach. It is also an examination of the power and credibility of history: truth is always a relative concept but perhaps especially so in times of political turmoil, not unlike our own.Trade ReviewA fascinating book, sometimes disturbing, sometimes entertaining, never dull. -- Noel Malcolm * Daily Telegraph *A multiple biography with overlapping chronology is a tricky feat and Buruma pulls it off magnificently, maintaining the distinct dramas, filleting fact from fiction with sympathy and balance, but maintaining the overarching psychological narrative. He never misses a mordant aside or a telling detail... Superb. -- Ben Macintyre * The Times *Fascinating... Buruma's powerful book is also a warning for our own times. -- Rana Mitter * Financial Times *Richly enjoyable, vital and astute -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Literary Review *Fascinating * Observer *Buruma's intriguing narrative reads like a spy thriller. * Sunday Independent *In his subtle, carefully constructed book, Ian Buruma weaves their stories into an unsettling tapestry. * Times Literary Supplement *The Collaborators is at once fascinating and frightening, an apposite tract for our increasingly mendacious, treacherous times. The accounts Ian Buruma gives of the lives and dark doings of three egregious collaborators starkly illustrate our depthless capacity for betrayal and subsequent self-justification; they are also fascinating life studies. It would be shocking to be entertained by such a book, but I was. -- John BanvilleWith impressive skill and meticulous research, Buruma has woven three very different wartime characters into a fascinating tale of alternative realities, riven by mythomania, perfidy and collusion. -- Caroline MooreheadCompulsively readable as always, Buruma has taken a riveting subject - collaboration - and delved deep into it, probing concepts of national identity, self-reinvention, loyalty and treason. -- Simon CallowThese unforgettable true stories from terrible days show ruthless survivors using all the tricks of stage farce - storytelling, double-crossing, cross-dressing - to avoid the firing squads or the gas chambers. The human comedy has never been so bleak - or so human. -- James HawesMythmakers, duplicitous self-aggrandizers and deluders star in these three wartime narratives of both East and West. Ian Buruma weaves their stories together with great skill and panache, all the while challenging "history" and our own time's elision of wish and truth. -- Lisa AppignanesiWe are slowly coming to an understanding that the Second World War is a more twisted tale than our black-and-white stories about heroes made us believe. The evil guys remain evil, but what about the good ones? Time allows us a more nuanced look, and The Collaborators does a formidable job at navigating the muddy waters of an epic battle that was a challenge to each person going through it - a challenge that truly makes for an interesting history. -- Norman OhlerAt a time when manifold forms of authoritarianism are on the rise, this book could not be more welcome and necessary. By masterfully exploring the complicity, guilt and ambivalence pervading three parallel lives in imperial Japan, Nazi Germany and occupied Holland, Buruma conjures up and richly evokes a thick web of history, allowing contemporary readers to understand how easy it is to condone systematic violence and untold suffering in the name of misguided ideals. -- Ariel DorfmanBuruma sifts through his subjects' complex, multinational backgrounds in fluid prose and brings a welcome measure of sympathy to their lives without minimizing the repercussions of their actions. It's a captivating portrait of what happens when survival turns into self-deception. * Publishers Weekly *Meticulously, relentlessly, Buruma dissects these collaborators' contradictory and self-serving accounts and cross-references with other sources to get closer to the truth. A powerful exploration of complicity, ambivalence, and the human capacity for deception and self-rationalization. * Library Journal *Table of Contents1: PARADISE LOST 2: IN ANOTHER COUNTRY 3: MIRACLES 4: A LOW, DISHONEST DECADE 5: CROSSING THE LINE 6: BEAUTIFUL STORIES 7: THE SHOOTING PARTY 8: THE ENDGAME 9: FINALE 10: AFTERMATH

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Book SynopsisIn this poignant memoir, Naina Yeltsina, the wife of the first president of Russia, recounts the compelling story of her life, from her earliest childhood memories and the time when she met and became engaged to Boris Yeltsin, her companion of over fifty years, to the birth of her daughters and her experiences as First Lady of Russia. Always shy of the limelight, and rarely giving interviews when her husband was in office, Naina Yeltsina provides the reader with a glimpse into her personal life, whilst offering at the same time a behind-the-scenes look at the epochal events that unfolded around her, including the first Russian presidential elections, the August 1991 coup and the fall of the USSR. Rich with intimate details and full of anecdotes, My Life with Boris is the chronicle of a life lived at the very heart of twentieth-century history.

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Book SynopsisLove her or hate her Edwina Currie falls comfortably into that category of celebrity you simply cannot ignore. The first edition of her diaries explosively revealed her affair with former Prime Minister John Major. This second volume, which begins in 1992 with her refusal to serve in Major's Cabinet, is no less revelatory about her colleagues, encounters with others in the public eye, and, of course, her extraordinary love life. It covers her life in Parliament up to the election of Blair's Labour government, but more importantly sees its subject's emergence as a mainstay in the public imagination, first as a bestselling author, then as a commentator, broadcaster, presenter and performer - most recently on the BBC's flagship entertainment show Strictly Come Dancing. Shot through with her trademark effervescence and sense of fun, Edwina Currie Diaries: Volume II documents one of the biggest characters in British public life at her saucy, scathing best. 'Frank and funny, you can't put her down' Time Out 'Few women can lay claim to the word "magnificent", but Currie is now surely one of them' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisPeter Hain has lived an extraordinary life. Formerly an 'outsider' he became an 'insider', one of the last Labour government's most effective ministers. He held an array of glittering posts in the British political establishment, from key roles in the Foreign Office and the Department of Trade and Industry, to the leadership of the Commons and the brokering of the 2007 devolution settlement in Northern Ireland. But his journey to become a British Cabinet Minister started on a different continent. Growing up in Pretoria, South Africa, life changed irrevocably when a close family friend was hanged by the apartheid government. Before that, the security police had taken his activist parents away in the middle of the night. The political values he holds today spring from the injustices he witnessed growing up and which drew him into politics in the first place. As the eldest child, Hain was left to look after his younger brother and two small sisters. Thus began his career as a militant antiapartheid protester. Far from the bloated memoirs of a former government insider, this is the story of a courageous, campaigning life that is intrinsically bound up with the destiny of South Africa.Trade Review'In terms of decency and principle, he was one of the best.' Martin Ivens, Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisBrian Mawhinney, now Baron Mawhinney of Peterborough, has led an extraordinary life by anyone's standards. Born into a conservative Christian family in Belfast his life and career were continuously informed by the values of the gospel. However, his path was to take him far beyond his simple Belfast background and the legal or medical career his parents envisaged for him, and to the heights of British politics as a Government minister, and then to the heart of football administration as Chairman of the Football League. Written with his ten grandchildren in mind (to help them "understand your grandpa a little better", Mawhinney's memoirs capture at once the history of recent British politics and football, and the essential decency of the author.Trade Review'[An]Engaging life story...Mawhinney is damning about a number of football powerbrokers.' Daily Mail '[W]ritten in an easy, conversational style. It is a good read' Church Times

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