Autobiography: science, technology and medicine Books

Book SynopsisNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURED DIRECTED BY AND STARRING CHIWETEL EJIOFOR AVAILABLE ON NETFLIXWhen William Kamkwamba was just 14 years old, his family told him that he must leave school and come home to work on the farm they could no longer afford his fees. This is his story of how he found a way to make a difference, how he bought light to his family and village, and hope to his nation.Malawi is a country battling AIDS, drought and famine, and in 2002, a season of floods, followed by the most severe famine in fifty years, brought it to its knees. Like the majority of the population, William''s family were farmers. They were totally reliant on the maize crop. By the end of 2001, after many lean and difficult years, there was no more crop. They were running out of food had nothing to sell and had months until they would be able to harvest their crop again.Forced to leave school at 14 years old, with no hope of raising the funds to go again, William resorted to borrowing books from the sTrade Review‘THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND is the inspiring story of a young man in Africa who used the only resources available to him to build a windmill and elevate the lives and spirits of those in his community. William Kamkwamba's achievements with wind energy should serve as a model of what one person, with an inspired idea, can do to tackle the crisis we face. His book tells a moving and exciting story.’Al Gore, former Vice President and Nobel Laureate ‘A moving, touching, important story. One more reminder of…how powerful the human spirit can be.’Seth Godin, author ‘One of the best books I have ever read.’Mark Frauenfelder, boingboing.net “William is one of the bright young stars of the future and serves as an inspiration for other young people who want to know what they can do to help.” Bishop Desmond Tutu

Read more less

Book SynopsisA beautifully written and compelling memoir of a largely unexplored area of medicine: transplant surgery.Leading transplant surgeon Dr Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, moving organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he examines more than one hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this fascinating history with the stories of his own patients.Gripping and evocative, How Death Becomes Life takes us inside the operating room and presents the stark dilemmas that transplant surgeons must face daily: How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich's riveting book is a poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.Trade ReviewPart memoir and part historical account of the extraordinary pioneers who believed that people could berepaired and revived as the sum of their working parts... Moving * Financial Times *An outstanding memoir by a transplant surgeon who combines an autobiography and operating room dramatics with an equally engrossing history of his profession... this [medical memoir] ranks near the top [of the genre], in a class that includes arguably the best, Henry Marsh's Do No Harm * Kirkus Reviews *Monumental and enthralling. * New York Journal of Books *Fascinating... Compelling stories about an area of medicine shrouded in mystery. * Stephen Westaby *A beautifully written insight into an extraordinary area of medicine and a fascinating career. Heartbreaking and life-affirming in equal measure, it has all the makings of a classic. * Dr Max Pemberton, columnist and author of Trust Me, I'm a (Junior) Doctor *Table of Contents1: A Perfect Organ 2: Puzzle People 3: The Simple Beauty of the Kidney 4: Skin Harvest 5: Kidney Beans: Making Kidney Transplant a Reality 6: Open Heart: The Invention of Cardiopulmonary Bypass 7: Hearts on Fire: Making Heart Transplant a Reality 8: Sympathy for the Pancreas: Curing Diabetes 9: Prometheus Revisited: Liver Transplants and Thomas Starzl 10: Jason: The Secret Is to Live in the Present 11: Lisa and Herb: Should We Do Liver Transplants for Alcoholics? 12: Nate: The Selection Meeting, or Who Gets an Organ and Why? 13: Michaela: We Are All the Same on the Inside 14: As They Lay Dying 15: Healthy Donors: Do No Harm 16: Complications 17: Xenotransplantation: From One Species to Another 18: So, You Want to Be a Transplant Surgeon?

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe heart-wrenchingly honest new book about life and death from forensic pathologist and bestselling author of UNNATURAL CAUSES, Dr Richard ShepherdA TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR''Deeply insightful. Unflinching'' THE TIMES''A finely-crafted detective story'' DAILY TELEGRAPH''Enlightening, strangely uplifting'' DAILY MAIL''Fascinating'' DAILY EXPRESS_________Dr Richard Shepherd, a medical detective and Britain''s top forensic pathologist, shares twenty-four of his most intriguing, enlightening and never-before-told cases.These autopsies, spanning the seven ages of human existence, uncover the secrets not only of how a person died, but also of how they lived.From old to young, murder to misadventure, and illness to accidental death, each body has something to reveal - about its owner''s life story, how we age, justice, society, the certainty oTrade ReviewThis sequel is more ruminative, more meditative . . . Full of sharp observations about what life and death do to the human body * The Times, A BOOK OF THE YEAR *Enlightening, strangely uplifting . . . Shepherd's final chapter on death itself is a meditation of great beauty and light which puts all the darkness of the previous pages into perspective * Daily Mail *Each chapter is like a finely crafted detective story in which he expands on the causes of death as revealed by the post mortem, or the hidden reasons that precipitated it. Some are ordinary, others extraordinary. Shepherd writes beautifully, and despite its subject, the book is very funny in parts * Daily Telegraph *Deeply insightful . . . Shepherd is unflinching in his self-dissection * The Times *Fascinating * Daily Express *Fascinating. He has the ability to examine himself and other people with the same forensic eye that he applies to corpses - one of the reasons why his books feel so life-enhancing * Daily Telegraph *Grippingly elegiac yet wonderfully life-affirming, full of pithy observations about the inexorability of death and the marvels of existence -- Felicia Yap, author of Future Perfect * Daily Express *Praise for Dr Richard Shepherd * - *One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down * The Times *Heart-wrenchingly honestGripping, grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twice * Evening Standard *A deeply mesmerising memoir of forensic pathology. Human and fascinatingAn absolutely brilliant book. I really recommend it, I don't often say that but it's fascinatingPuts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel * The Guardian *Fascinating, insightful, candid, compassionate * Observer *Heart-wrenchingly honest * Mail Online *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Skeleton Cupboard is Professor Tanya Byron's account of her years of training to be a clinical psychologist. As a trainee, she found herself in some of the toughest placements in her career. Through the eyes of her naive and inexperienced, Tanya shares remarkable stories inspired by the people she had the privilege to treat. Gripping and poignant, this book reveals the frightening and challenging induction faced by all mental health staff and highlights their incredible commitment to their patients.Teeming with daring humour and heart-rending stories, The Skeleton Cupboard is a testament to the extraordinary strength of ordinary people pitted against life's challenges.Trade ReviewMoving and thought-provoking * Sunday Times *A compelling book that will challenge and comfort all who have strived to make the journey from chaos to clarity * Psychologies *Quite simply, I love this book for its candour, wisdom and courage. Mistakes are our greatest lessons and other people, wherever we find them, our greatest teachers. As Tanya Byron describes so eloquently, life is about connection. There is nothing else. -- Sally BramptonFascinating composite case studies of some of the vulnerable patients [Tanya Byron] encountered at a stage when she 'was often just one chapter ahead of them' * Metro *Like the best of psychological cases studies, such as Freud's, these read like compelling, crafted fiction ... powerful, vivid and moving * Sydney Morning Herald *This book is a moving and extremely engaging account of Dr Byron's early days, training as a clinical psychologist. As well as offering profound insights into the human condition it moves with the pace of a thriller. Dr Byron is a great story teller and she has an extraordinary story to tell * Dr Michael Mosley *Honest and insightful ... This thoroughly compelling book does much to combat the stigma that is still, sadly, attached to mental illness * The Lady *Soul searching and straight talking * Jewish Chronicle *

Read more less

Book SynopsisNow a major BAFTA nominated BBC comedy-drama starring BAFTA and Emmy award-winning actor Ben Whishaw. The multi-million copy bestseller now with an exclusive preface by the author.Welcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you.Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn't – about life on and off the hospital ward.‘Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - Stephen FrySunday Times Number One Bestseller for over a year and winner of a record FOUR National Book Awards: Book of the Year, Non-Fiction Book of the Year, New Writer of the Year and Zoe Ball Book Club Book of the Year.The BBC series was Winner of Best Longform Drama at the The Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards and Best Drama at the Broadcast Awards. Critics' Choice Awards nominee for 'Best Limited Series' and 'Best Actor'.Trade ReviewI’d prescribe this book to anyone and everyone. It's laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreakingly sad and gives you the lowdown on what it’s like to be holding it together while serving on the front line of our beloved but beleaguered NHS. It’s wonderful -- Jonathan RossSo clinically funny and politically important for supporters of the NHS that it should be given out on prescription * Guardian *Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable. -- Stephen FryFinally a true picture of the harrowing, hilarious and ultimately chaotic life of the junior doctor in all its gory glory, dark comedy and unavoidable sadness. A blisteringly funny account shot through with harrowing detail, many pertinent truths and the humanity we all hope doctors conceal behind their unflappable exteriors -- Jo BrandAs hilarious as it is heartbreaking – and it IS heartbreaking (also hilarious) -- Charlie BrookerBlisteringly funny, politically enraging and often heartbreaking . . . hilarious . . . brimming not just with humour but with humanity . . . This should be a wake-up call to all who value the NHS -- Hannah Beckerman * Sunday Express *A funny, excoriatingly revealing, beautiful book -- Dawn FrenchHorrifyingly hilarious and hilariously horrifying -- Danny WallaceA ferociously funny book -- Mark WatsonSuperb -- Pam AyresAs a hypochondriac I was worried about reading Adam Kay’s book. Luckily it’s incredibly funny – so funny, in fact, that it gave me a hernia from laughing -- Joe LycettBy turns witty, gruesome, alarming, and touching. Always illuminating and searingly honest -- Jonathan DimblebyBrilliant -- Mark HaddonTable of ContentsIntroduction - i: Introduction Chapter - 1: House Officer Chapter - 2: Senior House Officer Post 1 Chapter - 3: Senior House Officer Post 2 Chapter - 4: Senior House Officer Post 3 Chapter - 5: Registrar Post 1 Chapter - 6: Registrar Post 2 Chapter - 7: Registrar Post 3 Chapter - 8: Registrar Post 4 Chapter - 9: Senior Registrar Chapter - 10: Aftermath Section - ii: An Open Letter to the Secretary of State for Health Acknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe number one Sunday Times bestseller, Adam Kay's festive hospital diaries, Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas, is the perfect stocking filler from the author of multi-million-copy bestseller This is Going to Hurt – now a major BBC TV series. Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat . . . but 1.4 million NHS staff are heading off to work. In this perfect present for anyone who has ever set foot in a hospital, Adam Kay delves back into his diaries for a hilarious, horrifying and sometimes heartbreaking peek behind the blue curtain at Christmastime.This is a love letter to all those who spend their festive season on the front line, removing babies and baubles from the various places they get stuck, at the most wonderful time of the year.‘The perfect surgical stocking-filler’ – The TimesTrade ReviewSunday Times humour book of the year * Sunday Times *The perfect surgical stocking filler. Jokes galore. This little book will no doubt cheer up the many readers who find it under their tree * The Times *Very, very funny -- Graham NortonBeyond hilarious . . . A small-but-perfectly formed follow-up to This is Going to Hurt, this Christmas-themed delight continues to capture the dark humour and dedicated work of NHS professionals everywhere * Stylist *A funny, poignant snapshot of humanity * Radio Times *Will have you crying with laughter * Good Housekeeping *Contains Kay’s unique alchemy of medical insight and cynical wit * Daily Mirror *Hilarious and heartbreaking * Irish Times *The funniest book of 2019 * The Mail *Kay's fans will be delighted to discover that it is entirely as revolting, funny and moving as the first * i-news *Matchless stories . . . funny, disgusting and moving * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE TRUE CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AND SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER ''One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down'' The Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR __________ Meet the forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd. He solves the mysteries of unexplained or sudden death. He has performed over 23,000 autopsies, including some of the most high-profile cases of recent times; the Hungerford Massacre, the Princess Diana inquiry, and 9/11. He has faced serial killers, natural disaster, ''perfect murders'' and freak accidents. His evidence has put killers behind bars, freed the innocent, and turned open-and-shut cases on their heads. Yet all this has come at a huge personal cost. Unnatural Causes tells the story of not only the cases and bodies that have haunted him the most, but also how to live aTrade ReviewUnnatural Causes gives a sense of the toll that dealing with so many dead bodies takes. It's a very human book that looks at the cases he has been involved with, from the Hungerford massacre to the murder of Stephen Lawrence * The Times (Books of the Year, 2018) *An unputdownable record of an extraordinary life * 100 sizzling summer books, Daily Mail *One of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down * The Times *Fabulous . . . The UK's top pathologist investigating high-profile deaths such as that of Diana, Princess of Wales * The Sunday Post *Puts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel * Guardian *Insightful, candid and compassionate * Observer *Fascinating, gruesome yet engrossing * Richard and Judy, Daily Express *Heart-wrenchingly honest * Professor Sue Black, author of All That Remains *Darkly fascinating * Daily Mirror *A deeply mesmerising memoir of forensic pathology. Human and fascinating * Nigella Lawson *Partly an autobiography, but also a love letter to pathology. It's dignified and graceful and painfully honest about the human and emotional cost of so much time with the dead. Insightful, moving and mesmerising * Marylebone Journal *This book holds within its pages the story of a life told with honesty, and this is partly why it is such a pleasure to read. A fascinating autobiography. Unputdownable. * Live Ribble Valley *A unique insight into a remarkable profession * The Times *His experiences, from morgue to court, are sometimes gruesome, always gripping * Sunday Mirror *The true crime book of the year; a thoughtful, revealing, chilling and bizarre record of an extraordinary life and profession * Visit Norwich *He recounts experiences in a gripping memoir that melds the personal and professional * The People *Must Read * Daily Mail *A brilliantly written and compelling account of a medical detective who has worked on many appalling crimes and human tragedies * Woman's Weekly *Must read * Daily Mail *Medical science books are rarely as gripping as Unnatural Causes. It's grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twice. * Evening Standard *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020How did we end up in a world where humans coexist with technologies we can no longer fully control or understand?George Dyson plots an unexpected course through the past 300 years to reveal the hidden connections that underpin our digital age, ending with a premonition of what lies ahead. From an eighteenth-century Russian voyage across the North Pacific, to the mirror signals that heralded the age of digital telecommunications and the invention of the vacuum tube, Analogia interweaves historical adventure with scientific insight in a deeply personal story that frames the pursuit - and cost - of the digital revolution in a captivating new light.Trade ReviewThis book pierces through the fog of everyday life. Read and you will become aware of history you need to know, and of how the last few centuries of the human story sit within a much larger, epochal frame. An extra treat is insight into the remarkable Dyson family -- Jaron Lanier * Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now *The most delightfully peculiar book I've ever read. It's grand and intimate, personal and cosmic, and about digital computing and archaic hunter gatherers. Every paragraph is a surprise -- Kevin Kelly * Wired *An odyssey of discovery ... part autobiography, part science manual, part history book -- Izabella Kaminska * Financial Times *Few writers could string together a coherent and compelling tale out of elements as varied as the Bering-Chirikov expedition to Siberia in 1741, the construction of a US heliograph intelligence network, tree houses, kayak designs and the future of artificial intelligence. Dyson is one in this quirky personal history of technology. -- John Tothill * Financial Times *Brilliant ... idiosyncratic ... to read him is to be led on the strangest of adventures, on paths untread, up and down trees, and through rivers of time -- Jason Kehe * WIRED *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''ENCHANTING'' MAIL ON SUNDAY They care for their elderly, play with their kids, and always put family first. Can we all learn something from the wisdom of wolves? In this unforgettable book, wolf expert and naturalist Elli Radinger draws on her 25 years of first-hand experience among the wolves of Yellowstone National Park to tell us their remarkable stories. __________ Wolves are more human than we ever knew . . . In fact, they can teach us how to be better humans. They play, love, care for others, show compassion, die of broken hearts, pine for home, work in teams, are endlessly patient and leaders know when to defer to followers. In The Wisdom of Wolves naturalist Elli Radinger takes us on a journey into the heart of the wolf pack, revealing what they can teach us about family, cooperation, survival, leadership, commitment and how to enjoy what life gives us. No other book will bring you closer to discovering the truth about wolves - and ourselves. ''This book is the result of her two decades of close observation; part impassioned memoir, part natural history study, and part photo gallery. Her access to her subjects is extraordinary'' SUNDAY TIMES''Elli''s bestselling book suggests that in a high-tech age, when so many of us have become alienated from nature, wolves have much to teach us about the art of living well'' DAILY MAIL''Through The Wisdom of Wolves, we get to feel that little bit closer to the pack and discover what we may have in common'' BBC WILDLIFETrade ReviewEnchanting * Mail on Sunday *This book is the result of her two decades of close observation; part impassioned memoir, part natural history study, and part photo gallery. Her access to her subjects is extraordinary. * The Sunday Times *Elli's bestselling book suggests that in a high-tech age, when so many of us have become alienated from nature, wolves have much to teach us about the art of living well * Daily Mail *Elli leads us into the world of the wolves that inhabit Yellowstone National Park . . . we learn about the various family dynamics, squabbles and difficulties encountered. Through The Wisdom of Wolves, we get to feel that little bit closer to the pack and discover what we may have in common * BBC Wildlife *Perfection! * Staffordshire Living *

Read more less

Book SynopsisJames Herriot grew up in Glasgow and qualified as a veterinary surgeon at Glasgow Veterinary College. Shortly afterwards he took up a position as an assistant in a North Yorkshire practice where he remained, with the exception of his wartime service in the RAF, until his death in 1995. He wrote many books about Yorkshire country life, including some for children, but he is best known for his memoirs, beginning with If Only They Could Talk. The books were televised in the enormously popular series All Creatures Great and Small.Trade ReviewBulls with sunstroke, pigs on the run and a cake-eating Peke with a betting habit . . . I grew up reading James Herriot’s book and I’m delighted that thirty years on they are still every bit as charming, heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny as they were then -- Kate HumbleHerriot’s enchanting tales of life in the Dales are deservedly classics. Full of extraordinary characters, animal and human, the books never fail to delight -- Amanda Owen, bestselling author of The Yorkshire ShepherdessThe attraction of Herriot’s ever popular memoirs of a country vet . . . is their alternating highs and lows, humour and pathos, and gripping anecdotes about delivering lambs, grumpy farmers, hypochondriac pet-owners, stroppy cows and blunt Yorkshire characters. * Daily Mail *

Read more less

Book SynopsisGerald Durrell was one of Britain's best loved authors and pioneering naturalists. His books, such as the bestselling My Family and Other Animals continues to entertain generations of children and adults alike. His early family life forms the basis for the ITV drama, The Durrells. The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is an international conservation charity with headquarters in Jersey, UK.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Delightfully insightful and intensely readable [...] There is an energy and drama to Rory's writing which nonetheless leaves space for us, the reader, to make up our minds'' Stephen FryThe inside story of how tech became personal and pernicious, from the BBC''s technology correspondent.We live at a time when billions have access to unbelievably powerful technology. The most extraordinary tool that has been invented in the last century, the smartphone, is forcing radical changes in the way we live and work - and unlike previous technologies it is in the hands of just about everyone. Coupled with the rise of social media, this has ushered in a new era of deeply personal technology, where individuals now have the ability to work, create and communicate on their own terms, rather than wait for permission from giant corporations or governments. At least that is the optimistic view.This book takes readers on an entertaining ride through this turbulent era, as Trade ReviewA refreshingly skeptical outsider’s view of Silicon Valley and its titans. * Wall Street Journal *This delightfully insightful and intensely readable history combines the personal with the objective. From Jobs to Musk, from Facebook to fake news, from Snapchat to bitcoin by way of Raspberries, Blackberries and Apples there is an energy and drama to Rory’s writing which nonetheless leaves space for us, the reader, to make up our minds. -- Stephen FryCellan-Jones weaves together the broad story of the smartphone era with the personal element. By showing how technology has touched – and altered – him for good and bad he shows how it has affected us all. -- Jimmy Wales, founder of WikipediaWho better to tell us this story than the arch technology storyteller himself? From the first smartphone to test and trace, Rory has seen it all and interviewed everyone. Putting it all together makes for a fascinating and beautifully written story of our times -- Wendy Hall, Regius Professor of Computer Science, University of SouthamptonMr Cellan-Jones…takes a refreshingly sceptical outsider’s view of Silicon Valley and its titans…The book shines when Mr Cellan-Jones combines these journalistic war stories with personal reflections. * Wall Street Journal *Table of ContentsPrologue PART I: REVOLUTIONARY TIMES 1 'We're Going to Make Some History Here Today' 2 The Smartphone Revolution 3 Facepack: The Rise of Social Media 4 Raspberry Pi: Can Britain Build a Computer? 5 The End of the Human Race 6 Elon Musk and the Triumph of Tech PART II: THINGS FALL APART 7 The Woes of the Web 8 Always On 9 Spinners, Hacks and Hype 10 Crypto Craziness PART III: TECH IN A GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS 11 The Pandemic Arrives 12 The App That Could Tame COVID 13 Fake News, 5G and the Virus Epilogue Acknowledgements Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisDavid Mearns has discovered some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. From the mighty battlecruiser HMS Hood to the crumbling wooden skeletons of Vasco da Gama's 16th century fleet, David has searched for and found dozens of sunken vessels in every ocean of the world.The Shipwreck Hunter is an account of David's most intriguing and fascinating finds. It details both the meticulous research and the mid-ocean stamina and courage required to find a wreck miles beneath the sea, as well as the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies.Combining the derring-do of Indiana Jones with the precision of a surgeon, in The Shipwreck Hunter David Mearns opens a porthole into the shadowy depths of the ocean.Trade ReviewThe underwater worlds of past and present collide in the depths of the ocean in this gripping and suspenseful narrative by David Mearns, a true expert on mysteries of the deep sea. * Clive Cussler *For [Mearns], setting world records and recovering centuries-old treasures is just another day at the office-or ocean, rather. * National Geographic *In 1915 Ernest Shackleton's ship SY Endurance sank into the icy depths of the Weddell Sea, never to be seen again. Her loss marked the start of what is arguably the greatest rescue in history and the ship remains a potent symbol of courage and survival. David Mearns has long wanted to pay tribute to Shackleton by finding his ship. Given David's amazing track record and outstanding abilities, I am quite sure that one day I will be able to see images of my grandfather's Endurance, no longer lost. * Alexandra Shackleton *Fascinating * Nautilus Telegraph *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the No.1 bestselling author of Do No Harm, an entrancing and uplifting meditation on the gift of life.‘A book to treasure and reread’ Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human BeingAs a retired brain surgeon, Henry Marsh thought he understood illness, but even he was unprepared for the impact of his diagnosis of advanced cancer.In And Finally, he navigates the bewildering transition from doctor to patient. As the days pass, his mind turns to his career, to the people and places he has known, and to creative projects still to be completed.Yet he is also more entranced than ever by the mysteries of science and nature, by his love for his family, and – most of all – by what it is to be alive.* A Daily Telegraph, The Times and Financial Times Book of the Year *‘Magnificent’ Rachel Clarke‘Vividly wry and honest’ The Times‘I admire this book enormously’ Philip Pullman‘Enthralling’ GuardianTrade ReviewHenry Marsh may have retired from medicine but let's hope he keeps producing books as good as this one, which enthral as well as teach. * Observer *[And Finally] is unexpectedly fun, and the author is pretty much irresistibly likeable... diagnoses and remissions are described with wonderful candour... [and Marsh's] discussion of end-of-life care and assisted dying is the best essay I have read on the subject. * Guardian *[Marsh is] deeply reflective, the result is a bit like sitting in the pub with the smartest person you know. * Spectator *Beautifully written... A thoughtful journey into his experience as a doctor-turned-patient, enlivened with a wonderful black humour and a gimlet eye for comforting nonsense... One couldn't wish for a better guide. -- Steven Poole * Daily Telegraph, 5 stars *His dignified introspection is a joy. -- Clare Chambers, author of SMALL PLEASURES

Read more less

Book Synopsis'ASTONISHING AND ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING' - LYNDA LA PLANTE'Engrossing, emotionally honest and forensically fascinating' - Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural CausesEVERY BODY LEAVES A MARKIn Traces, Professor Patricia Wiltshire will take you on a journey through the fascinating edgeland where nature and crime are intertwined. She'll take you searching for bodies of loved ones - through woodlands and plantations, along hedgerows and field-edges, from ditches to living rooms - solving time since death and how remains were disposed of. She will show you how pollen from a jacket led to a confession and how two pairs of trainers, a car and a garden fork led to the location of a murdered girl. She will give you glimpses of her own history: her loves, her losses, and the narrow little valley in Wales where she first woke up to the wonders of the natural world.From flowers, fungi, tree trunks to walking boots, carpets and corpses' hair, Traces is a fascinating and unique book on life, death, and one's indelible link with nature.Trade ReviewAstonishing ... absolutely fascinating. * Lynda La Plante *One of those extraordinary books that will appeal to almost everyone. * The Washington Post *There is so much excellent crime, crime scene and laboratory detail in this engrossing book, but also warmth and emotion, which combined with Pat's immense forensic academic work, meant that I found Traces very difficult indeed to put down. It's truly forensically fascinating (even for someone in the field!) while also being emotionally honest and challenging at times. Pat is really to be congratulated for an excellent and engrossing book. * Dr Richard Shepherd, author of Unnatural Causes *Traces is proof that real-life can be more startling than fiction. The insights into the natural world are every bit as absorbing as the behind-the-scenes details of forensic investigation, while Patricia Wiltshire's own story is as remarkable as any of the cases she's worked on. Poignant, frank and utterly fascinating. * Simon Beckett *This is a fascinating combination of a moving and human personal story with a real insight into the value of a lesser known area of forensic science. In telling her story Pat makes little of her remarkable academic achievements and her contribution to the Criminal Justice System. An inspiring and interesting read. * Dr Ann Priston, OBE, FCSFS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIt was a low-level panic at first, but very quickly there were big changes taking place. Day by day, wards were being cleared to make way for Covid-positive patients. Things were getting worse by the day. For the first time in my nursing career, I felt scared.As a palliative care nurse, it is Kelly Critcher's job to look death in the eye - to save a patient while the fight can still be won, and confront life's end with grace and kindness when it can't. In early 2020, everything changed for nurses on the NHS front line. Working on Covid wards and the High Dependency Unit, Kelly spent the height of the coronavirus crisis at Northwick Park hospital - perhaps the UK hospital most deeply ravaged by the illness.She, and many others like her, battled tirelessly in a critical care unit pushed to breaking point, delivering the bad news and fighting the good fight, day-in, day-out, throughout the gravest test our health service has faced since its inception.Kelly's story weaves together her raw, emotional diaries from the COVID frontline with a broader reflection on the truths about a life spent caught between battling for her patients' lives and helping them face down death with courage and compassion. Bringing together the enormity of the last twelve months - and the scars it will leave - this is a book for our times.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Major BBC Series Starring Ben Whishaw. The multi-million copy bestseller and Book of the Year at The National Book Awards.‘Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - Stephen FryWelcome to the life of a junior doctor: 97-hour weeks, life and death decisions, a constant tsunami of bodily fluids, and the hospital parking meter earns more than you.Scribbled in secret after endless days, sleepless nights and missed weekends, Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn't – about life on and off the hospital ward.Sunday Times Number One Bestseller for over eight months and winner of a record FOUR National Book Awards: Book of the Year, Non-Fiction Book of the Year, New Writer of the Year and Zoe Ball Book Club Book of the Year.This edition includes extra diary entries and an afterword by the author.Trade ReviewI’d prescribe this book to anyone and everyone. It's laugh-out-loud funny, heartbreakingly sad and gives you the lowdown on what it’s like to be holding it together while serving on the front line of our beloved but beleaguered NHS. It’s wonderful -- Jonathan RossPainfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable. -- Stephen FrySo clinically funny and politically important for supporters of the NHS that it should be given out on prescription * Guardian *Finally a true picture of the harrowing, hilarious and ultimately chaotic life of the junior doctor in all its gory glory, dark comedy and unavoidable sadness. A blisteringly funny account shot through with harrowing detail, many pertinent truths and the humanity we all hope doctors conceal behind their unflappable exteriors -- Jo BrandAs hilarious as it is heartbreaking – and it IS heartbreaking (also hilarious) -- Charlie BrookerBlisteringly funny, politically enraging and often heartbreaking . . . hilarious . . . brimming not just with humour but with humanity . . . This should be a wake-up call to all who value the NHS -- Hannah Beckerman * Sunday Express *A funny, excoriatingly revealing, beautiful book -- Dawn FrenchHorrifyingly hilarious and hilariously horrifying -- Danny WallaceA ferociously funny book -- Mark WatsonSuperb -- Pam AyresAs a hypochondriac I was worried about reading Adam Kay’s book. Luckily it’s incredibly funny – so funny, in fact, that it gave me a hernia from laughing -- Joe LycettBy turns witty, gruesome, alarming, and touching. Always illuminating and searingly honest -- Jonathan DimblebyBrilliant -- Mark HaddonTable of ContentsIntroduction - i: Introduction Chapter - 1: House Officer Chapter - 2: Senior House Officer Post 1 Chapter - 3: Senior House Officer Post 2 Chapter - 4: Senior House Officer Post 3 Chapter - 5: Registrar Post 1 Chapter - 6: Registrar Post 2 Chapter - 7: Registrar Post 3 Chapter - 8: Registrar Post 4 Chapter - 9: Senior Registrar Chapter - 10: Aftermath Section - ii: An Open Letter to the Secretary of State for Health Acknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements

Read more less

Book SynopsisA powerful and intensely moving memoir by an NHS surgeon who volunteered in war zones, operating under the most extreme circumstances.‘Brave, compassionate and inspiring – it left me in floods of tears’ – Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to HurtFor more than twenty-five years, David Nott has taken unpaid leave from his job as a general and vascular surgeon with the NHS to volunteer in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out life-saving operations and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital. The conflicts he has worked in form a chronology of twenty-first-century combat: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Gaza and Syria. But he has also volunteered in areas blighted by natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal. Driven both by compassion and passion, the desire to help others and the thrill of extreme personal danger, he is now widely acknowledged to be the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world. But as time went on, David Nott began to realize that flying into a catastrophe – whether war or natural disaster – was not enough. Doctors on the ground needed to learn how to treat the appalling injuries that war inflicts upon its victims. Since 2015, the foundation he set up with his wife, Elly, has disseminated the knowledge he has gained, training other doctors in the art of saving lives threatened by bombs and bullets.War Doctor is his extraordinary story.'One of the most brutally vivid evocations of modern warfare that you will read . . . superb, unforgettable, simply written and painfully clear' – Sunday TimesTrade ReviewDavid Nott is brave, compassionate and inspiring - War Doctor is all of those things and more: a wonderful book that has left me in floods of tears. He needs a knighthood and his book needs to be in every house. -- Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to HurtIncredible non-fiction filled with so much humanity. You will never forget these stories. -- Joanna Cannon, bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and Three Things About ElsieSo powerful and honest. Extraordinary. -- Elizabeth Buchan, author of The New Mrs Clifton and I Can't Begin to Tell YouOne of the most brutally vivid evocations of modern warfare that you will read . . . superb, unforgettable, simply written and painfully clear . . . You are constantly amazed that men such as Nott can witness the extraordinary cruelties of the human race, so many and so foul, yet keep going. Be warned: this is a powerful but often traumatic read. * Sunday Times *A triumph: a love letter to surgery, and to helping others in extremis. Reading it is much like being taken apart and put together again in a fascinating way. It reveals a fascinating man whose life is a lesson in what good you can do with privilege . . . I spent the entire time wishing that David Nott would become our prime minister . . . This book is neither tidy, nor easy, yet it is so important. War Doctor is a reminder that we are all in this together, and that ordinary people can do extraordinary things -- Christie Watson * Daily Telegraph *Riveting . . . Nott is no ordinary doctor, as this dramatic telling of his extraordinary life makes clear -- Ian Birrell * The Times *As a surgeon myself, I can only look on what he has achieved with complete awe, overwhelmed by his heroism and compassion as much as by the world’s cruelty -- Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm * New Statesman *His stories of courage and compassion in the face of seemingly certain death are breathtaking . . . If a film about his life isn't already in development, someone's missing a trick -- Fiona Sturges * The Guardian *A devastating account of two decades volunteering his services to some of the world's most dangerous places -- Helen Brown * Daily Mail *A stand out memoir by a vascular surgeon in the NHS who volunteered for more than twenty years in war zones. * Daily Record *Extraordinary * Independent *Not only a vivid, stirring and shocking account of the two months each year that the London-based consultant NHS surgeon has spent saving lives in warzones and disasters . . . It's also a love story. It's the tale of a man driven to seek out extreme situations and trying to repair the horrible damage that men inflict on other men, women and children. -- Nick Curtis * Radio Times *An unflinching, powerful and deeply compassionate story about pockets of humanity found in the midst of terrible atrocities. -- Hannah Beckerman * Sunday Express *This is a book of extraordinary honesty . . . enlightening, sobering, compelling. It is a marvellous read, and education in itself -- Pat Ashworth * Church Times *Nott remains an important witness to the haunting human price of that modern triad: geopolitical instability, poor governance and ever more powerful weaponry * Nature *An unflinching, unrelenting memoir . . . [David] has saved thousands of people across the world, but he is not one to make a big deal of it. There was no ego to find with a man who has been dubbed in the press as “surgery’s Indiana Jones”. -- Chris Pyke * South Wales Evening Post *Table of ContentsSection - i: Preface Chapter - 1: The Bomb Factory Chapter - 2: Two Epiphanies Chapter - 3: Welcome to Sarajevo Chapter - 4: Damage Control Chapter - 5: Under African Skies Chapter - 6: Flying In Chapter - 7: Trauma School Chapter - 8: Return to Syria Chapter - 9: Sniper City Chapter - 10: Lifeline Chapter - 11: The Razor's Edge Chapter - 12: Physician, Heal Thyself Chapter - 13: Escape from Aleppo Section - ii: Afterword by Eleanor Nott Acknowledgements - iii: Acknowledgements

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Human Kind is a compelling account of some of the hardest cases in one doctor's career.Everyone gets to be a patient sooner or later. Almost everyone has some experience of being misunderstood by doctors; encounters with difficult doctors; of relationships burdened with mutual bafflement, hostility and pain. Every doctor is haunted by memories of difficult relationships with patients, of the decisions made, and the outcomes that followed. People whom, despite all of their patience, persistence, the best communication, diagnostic and reasoning skills, they haven't helped. People for whose unique suffering it seems medicine has nothing to offer. Dr. Peter Dorward explores the many ethical dilemmas that GPs must face every day, to explain why it is that despite vast resources, time, skill and dedication, medicine is so often destined to fail. His recollections include his worst failures and biggest challenges, ranging from the everyday, the tragic, the grotesque, the vilTrade ReviewMoving, compassionate and beautifully written – this book illuminates general practice the way Henry Marsh has illuminated neurosurgery. Dorward's stories from his practice are subtle, eloquent and told with great integrity. He doesn’t shy away from confronting some of the most difficult challenges in medicine. But he carries the reader through with verve, imagination and great humanity. I loved it. -- Gavin Francis * author of Adventures in Human Being *Peter Dorward has created a moving and thought-provoking insight into complexities of contemporary general practice * Dr. Jed Mercurio, writer/producer of Line of Duty, Cardiac Arrest and Bodies *...funny, edgy, moving, it ambushes you with sudden kindnesses and flashes of human resilience and goodness. -- former BBC researcher and reporter * Allan Little *wise and illuminating… a compelling and beautifully written account of learning to be a doctor * Sunday Express *This wise and illuminating collection of case histories examines the many ethical dilemmas that doctors face every single day * Sunday Express *Dr Dorward describes, with sensitivity and acute insight, the ethical and emotional dilemmas doctors face every day. * The Daily Mail *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs a practising mortician, Caitlin Doughty has long been fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies. In From Here to Eternity she sets out in search of cultures unburdened by such fears. With curiosity and morbid humour, Doughty introduces us to inspiring death-care innovators, participates in powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in the West and explores new spaces for mourning - including a futuristic glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan, a candlelit Mexican cemetery, and America''s only open-air pyre. In doing so she expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with ''dignity'' and reveals unexpected possibilities for our own death rituals.Trade ReviewEach chapter covers a culture with a highly distinctive and apparently ghastly approach to their dearly departed . . . Think Bill Bryson doing an underworld special. This humane book gently provokes you to wonder: what exactly is your ideal funeral? * THE TIMES *Caitlin Doughty, joyful member of the death-positive movement, describes what happens to our mortal remains with relish . . . Jaunty, boisterous and unsentimental, Doughty believes that we in the West have made death and its aftermath into a corporate, perfunctory affair, in which the meaning of an ending is denied. Her mission is to 'reclaim public understanding of dying' and to bring individuality and joy back into our dealings with the dead -- Nicci Gerard * OBSERVER *Compelling . . . Doughty's writing will give you the giggles as well as send a chill down your spine * GUARDIAN *From Here To Eternity is fascinating, thought-provoking and - who would have guessed? - sometimes funny. Put it on your bucket list -- Neil Armstrong * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Doughty's lively (and charmingly illustrated) cascade of anecdotes about how various cultures handle death spells out how contemporary Western fastidiousness about dead bodies is by no means universally shared. We are introduced to a variety of startling practices . . . and pervading the book is Doughty's ferocious critique of the industrialisation of death and burial that is standard in the United States and spreading rapidly elsewhere. Doughty invites us to look at and contemplate alternatives . . . we have choices beyond the conventional; we can think about how we want our dead bodies to be treated as part of a natural physical cycle -- Rowan Williams * NEW STATESMAN *Doughty is fun, with an eye for the bizarre and the absurd. She hits the road in quest of cultures untroubled by the western taboos surrounding mortality -- Robert McCrum * SPECTATOR *Doughty is a relentlessly curious and chipper tour guide to the underworld . . . a likable, witty companion. It is a difficult high-wire act: to make death interesting and funny enough that we'll drop our fears and read, without losing sight of the gravity of the topic. I couldn't help thinking that her dispatches from the dark side were doing us all a kindness * NEW YORK TIMES *From Here to Eternity is Doughty's tour of the death ways of other peoples, from Bolivia to Barcelona . . . [she] chronicles each of these practices with tenderheartedness, a technician's fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief * THE NEW YORKER *Doughty finds the humanity in other cultures' relationship with death that seems to be lacking in ours * VICE *From Indonesia to Mexico and all points in between, Doughty talks to a wide array of professionals, handling the topic with curiosity, frankness and no small amount of humour -- Doug Johnstone * THE BIG ISSUE *Both sensitive and light, and thoroughly researched, written by an author who genuinely wanted to learn from, not fetishise, other customs * GUARDIAN *Really fascinating -- Alice Waters * NEW YORK TIMES *In her jocular but reverential tone . . . Doughty doesn't offer a simple morbid travelogue; instead, she digs into diverse death experiences with deep veneration and examines ties to socioeconomic, status, female identity and religion * BOOKLIST *A study in cultures, places and profound moments - and with a necessary slice of morbid humour too * WANDERLUST *Moving and inspiring * BELFAST TELEGRAPH *Written with great humour and respect, this book will undoubtedly educate, entertain, and leave you dying to learn more * GEOGRAPHICAL *Far from morbid, but moving * WOMAN'S WAY *[Doughty's] fascinating tour of rituals contains liturgies that readers will surely observe as rare, macabre, unbelievable, ancient, and precious - sometimes simultaneously * KIRKUS *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn account from the frontline of fertility treatment, giving a unique insight into not only the medical and scientific advances involved but the human cost and rewards behind this life-changing technology.Simon Fishel worked with Robert Edwards during his pioneering early IVF research and was part of the team in the world’s first IVF clinic, with all the trials and tribulations that involved at the time, including a writ for murder! As the science developed over the decades so did his career, as he sought to do more for patients and taught the new technologies to doctors all over the world. He came up against regulatory and establishment barriers, including fighting a 3-year legal case in the High Court of Justice and a death threat from a doctor if he refused to work with him. The clinic he founded has grown into the largest IVF group in the UK, developing exciting new procedures, and he has helped establish clinics throughout the world, even being invited to introduce IVF to China.Trade Review"I've enjoyed many medical memoirs, and have read quite a few about the miracle of birth-but these were midwife memoirs. This one starts way before actual births and tells of the growth of IVF treatment. It was a fascinating read. Simon Fishel originally worked with Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, pioneers in IVF treatment. He later set up an IVF unit in a hospital in Nottingham. You hear of so many couples having IVF treatment now-relatives, friends; so it was interesting to go back to its infancy. There were amazing advances made-whilst at the same time they suffered much opposition to what they were doing. This book is not just about miracle babies, there would be many hurdles and surprising events I didn't envisage too. The book contains photos and news clippings." Julie Haigh"A remarkable and open account of the early years of IVF." Mrs A * Amazon.co.uk *Table of ContentsList of Figures Foreword Special Note 1. Nobody Said It Would Be Easy 2. Bourn Hall: The World’s First IVF Clinic 1980–1985 3. Beginnings 1953–1980 4. Nottingham to Rome and Back 1985–1991 5. The Nurture Years 1991–1997 6. Bankruptcy Looms 1997–2001 7. CARE: The Battle for Miracles Continues 1997–Present 8. The DNA of IVF 9. The Legacy of IVF About the Author . Acknowledgements

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe remarkable story of George Daniels, the master craftsman who was born into poverty but raised himself to become the greatest watchmaker of the twentieth century.George Daniels (1926-2011) stands alone in modern times as the inventor of the revolutionary co-axial escapement, the first substantial advance in portable mechanical timekeeping over the lever escapement, which has dominated ever since its invention in 1759. Daniels''s love of mechanics embraced not only the minute, however - he was also a passionate collector and driver of historic motorcars.This revised and expanded edition of his autobiography also contains a new section that illustrates and discusses over thirty of the pocket and wrist-watches Daniels himself made over the years.Witness here the triumph of intelligence, ingenuity, matchless skill and singularity of purpose over the most unpromising of beginnings.Trade ReviewIt is a fascinating read about a truly fascinating man, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in horology, or even the tale of rags to riches through hard work and dedication. * Great British Watch Company *This is incredibly interesting to read through, and there are a great multitude of photographs in the book of various timepieces and diagrams of horological components. [...] I found George Daniels’ autobiography to be a truly engaging read and a wonderful insight into the mind of one of the greatest watchmakers of all time, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in horology. * Watch Affinity *Table of ContentsIntroduction Publisher’s Note Foreword 1. All in Good Time 2. Introduction to Watches 3. A Change of Careers 4. Watches Versus Bentleys 5. Introduction to Breguet 6. The First Daniels Watch 7. Developing the Co-axial Escapement 8. Not Too Technical 9. Alfa and Omega 10. Wheels Postscript Working with George Afterword Complete Watch and Clock Production

Read more less

Book SynopsisNnedi Okorafor was never supposed to be paralyzed. A college track star and budding entomologist, Nnedi’s lifelong battle with scoliosis was just a bump in her plan - something a simple surgery would easily correct. But when Nnedi wakes from the surgery to find she can’t move her legs, her entire sense of who she is begins to waver. Confined to a hospital bed for months, unusual things begin to happen. Psychedelic bugs crawl her hospital walls; strange dreams visit her nightly. She begins to feel as if she’s turning into a cyborg. Unsure if she’ll ever walk again, Nnedi begins to put these experiences into writing, conjuring up strange, fantastical stories. What Nnedi discovers during her confinement would prove to be the key to her life as a successful science fiction writer: In science fiction, when something breaks, something greater often emerges from the cracks. While she may be bedridden, instead of stopping

Read more less

Book SynopsisCompelling and essential . . . will appeal to everyone who enjoyed Adam Kay's This Is Going to Hurt' Philippa PerryIn this powerful and deeply personal memoir, award-winning GP Dr Laura Marshall-Andrews introduces us to the patients who have shaped her radical approach to medicine.Over the course of a decade spent on the frontline of the NHS, Dr Laura witnessed lives being adversely affected by one-size-fits-all treatments. Determined to create change, she began to envisage a new way to care that prioritised the lived experience of her patients.Created with the help of doctors, artists and complementary health practitioners, Dr Laura's pioneering holistic approach was revelatory. From those whose lives were changed by ineffective' drugs, to those for whom alternative therapies, kindness and trust proved transformative, her patients began to flourish.What Seems To Be The Problem? is a heartfelt story of hope, and an urgent call for change in our NHS at a time when it is most in need.Trade Review‘Compelling and essential . . . will appeal to everyone who enjoyed Adam Kay’s This Is Going to Hurt’ Philippa Perry ‘Vital . . . the radical GP changing lives.’ The Observer ‘A wonderful and very important book which movingly describes how a GP both cared for and learned from her patients, and, as a result, opened up a new way for us to think about health and care.’ Lord Nigel Crisp, former NHS Chief Executive ‘This is the story of one brave GP’s fight with an often-soulless medical bureaucracy, to create the kind of doctor’s surgery that most of us wouldn’t dare dream of, and to champion a standard of care all our patients deserve. Adventure story, memoir, political call-to-arms, and heartfelt love letter to those she has spent her whole career looking after, WSTBTP is the most important book written by a doctor I’ve read in years.’ Gabriel Weston, surgeon and author of Direct Red: A Surgeon's Story ‘Offers fascinating insight into the day-to-day dramas of being a GP, as well as the incredible diversity of their patients’ Dr Amanda Brown, bestselling author of The Prison Doctor

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor fans of David Sedaris, Tina Fey and Caitlin Moran comes Furiously Happy from Jenny Lawson, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Let's Pretend This Never Happened.In Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson regaled readers with uproarious stories of her bizarre childhood. In Furiously Happy she explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.As Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy.' It's a philosophy that has - quite literally - saved her life.Jenny's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own we

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Sunday Times BestsellerHave you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building, or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this captivating fusion of science, history and personal memoir, writer David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind, and how they drive millions of us towards obsessions and compulsions.'One of the best and most readable studies of a mental illness to have emerged in recent years . . . an honest and open and, yes, maybe life-changing work' - Matt Haig, Observer Told with fierce clarity, humour and urgent lyricism, this extraordinary book is both the haunting story of a personal nightmare, and a fascinating doorway into the darkest corners of our minds.David has suffered from obsessive compulsive disoder (OCD) for twenty years, and The Man Who Couldn't Stop is his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiTrade ReviewClear-sighted and eminently accessible ... a fundamentally important book that will bring a breath of fresh understanding to sufferers - as well as mental-health professionals, and family and friends of anyone who exhibits symptoms of OCD. I urge anyone to buy it. It will make you think again * Sunday Times *A fascinating study of the living nightmare that is obsessive compulsive disorder ... one of the best and most readable studies of a mental illness to have emerged in recent years ... an honest and open and, yes, maybe life-changing work -- Matt Haig * Observer *Combines a scientific account of OCD from ancient times to the most recent research with passages of tenderly written memoir * Telegraph *The Man Who Couldn't Stop is quite simply book of the year, on living with OCD: just buy it now -- Adam RutherfordSuperb... A brave and helpful contribution to deepening our understanding of the intricate complexities of mental ill-health * The Times *Adam recounts his journey with humour and detachment * Literary Review *[An] engaging, exhaustively researched neuro memoir, a blend of brain science and personal history * Evening Standard *This blew me away. Stunning -- Ian Sample * Guardian *An insider's tour of the OCD brain, providing insight into the cultural and scientific evolution of how we view and treat a disorder that affects up to 3% of people worldwide * Nature *A captivating first-person account of how a blizzard of unwanted thoughts can become a personal nightmare. At times shocking, at times tragic, at times unbelievably funny, it is a wonderful read * Focus *A lucid, humane ­- only intermittently autobiographical - science book ... offers a clear history through riveting case studies and the work of key figures * Metro *David Adam, a successful writer, is also a sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder ... He covers the history of OCD, the treatments that have been tried without success, and his experience of cognitive behavioural therapy, CBT, which was greatly helpful. A well-written, thorough account * Independent *Well-researched, witty, honest and irreverent, Adam's account proves as irresistible as his subject * Kirkus Reviews *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe inspirational autobiography of Britain’s beloved astronaut Tim Peake, the #1 bestselling author of Hello, is this Planet Earth? and Ask an AstronautAs heard on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs__________________'What surprised me was how entirely serene I felt. I was weightless, no forces exerting themselves on my body. To my left was the Space Station. Below me, gradually going into shadow, was the Earth. And over my right shoulder was the universe.'In fascinating and personal detail, and drawing on exclusive diaries and audio recordings from his mission, astronaut Tim Peake takes readers closer than ever before to experience what life in space is really like: the sights, the smells, the fear, the sacrifice, the exhilaration and the deep and abiding wonder of the view.Warm, inspiring and often funny, Tim also charts his surprising road to becoming an astronaut, from a shy and unassuming boy from Chichester who had a passion for flight, to a young British Army officer, Apache helicopter pilot, flight instructor and test pilot who served around the world. Tim's extensive eighteen-year career in the Army included the command of a platoon of soldiers in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, deployment in Bosnia, and operations in Afghanistan.Full of life lessons for readers of all ages, Limitless is the story of how ordinary can become extraordinary.__________________'For someone who has literally been out of this world Tim's an incredibly down to earth guy and I think you'll be amazed at some of the things he has done ... it's so inspiring to know that even going into space didn't change him as much as being a parent did.' JOE WICKS'Tim is one of our nation's good guys - and his story is a testament to his courage, kindness and a never-give-up spirit.' BEAR GRYLLS'Full of courage, camaraderie and daring escapades, this reads like a Boys' Own adventure' MIRROR'A fantastic book' PIERS MORGAN'Fasten your seatbelt for an exhilarating read ... His accounts of blasting into orbit at 25 times the speed of sound and floating, weightless, around the space station are enthralling.' EXPRESSBestseller in the UK, Sunday Times, October 2020Trade ReviewHis accounts of blasting into orbit at 25 times the speed of sound and floating, weightless, around the space station are enthralling. Fasten your seatbelt for an exhilarating read. * Daily Express *It's awesome! -- Jason FoxFor someone who has literally been out of this world Tim's an incredibly down to earth guy and I think you'll be amazed at some of the things he has done ... it's so inspiring to know that even going into space didn't change him as much as being a parent did. -- Joe WicksTim is one of our nation's good guys - and his story is a testament to his courage, kindness and a never give up spirit. -- Bear GryllsWarm, entertaining and sprinkled with a touch of stardust, this book is definitely a must-read for anybody who's dreamed of the stars. To infinity and beyond! -- Roaring Bookworm (blog)

Read more less

Book SynopsisLife and death in a modern hospital, from Seamus O'Mahony, the award-winning author of The Way We Die Now and Can Medicine Be Cured? Seamus O'Mahony charts the realities of work in the 'ministry of bodies', that huge complex where people come to be cured and to die. From unexpected deaths to moral quandaries and bureaucratic disasters, O'Mahony documents life in the halls and wards that all of us will visit at some point in our lives with his characteristic wit and dry and unsentimental intelligence. Absurd general emails, vain and self-promoting specialists, the relentless parade of self-destructive drinkers and drug users, the comical expectations of baffled patients: this is not a conventional medical memoir, but the collective biography of one of our great modern institutions – the general hospital – through the eyes of a brilliant writer, who happens to be a doctor.Trade ReviewSharp and pithy observations... An insight into the realities of healthcare that no journalist could hope to capture' -- Danielle Barron, Irish TimesNo one writes as clearly and intelligently about modern medicine as Seamus O'Mahony -- Emily Hourican, Sunday IndependentWonderfully funny and curmudgeonly, The Ministry of Bodies is a descent into the very bowels of modern medicine, as brilliant and candid as Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward -- Kevin ToolisDoctors tend to be seen as saints and heroes, but that's a picture few of them recognise. Seamus O'Mahony, a medical Dostoevsky, gives a much more interesting and much funnier portrayal of a doctor's life -- Richard Smith, former editor of the British Medical JournalThe Ministry of Bodies has much of what we expect from O'Mahony – it's blunt, witty, erudite, curmudgeonly -- Melanie Reid, The TimesThere's plenty of interesting strangeness * iNews *Funny, sad, infuriating, heartening and depressing, all in almost equal measure, although the overarching theme is one of deep regret for what has been lost... There are many parts of The Ministry of Bodies that had me laughing out loud... O'Mahony has a very keen eye for the absurd. But much of it made me wince too... The moral conviction of the book is unwavering' * Irish Sunday Independent *

Read more less

Book SynopsisDavid Nutt regularly hit the headlines as the UK's forthright Drugs Czar (Chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs), not least when fired by the Home Secretary in 2009 for his 'inconvenient' views. In Nutt Uncut he explains how he survived ill-judged political and media vilification to establish the respected charity Drug Science, with the aim of telling the truth about drugs. The book describes his life, distinguished career and scientific achievements, including his research into the human brain and the effects that both lawful and criminally illegal substances (including psychedelics) have on the brain and behaviour. It also catalogues with expert precision the risks of harm to drug users and others of a range of well-known drugs. Surveying the state of medical knowledge around various currently prohibited substances - from hard drugs to LSD, cannabis, ecstasy, magic mushrooms and poppers - Professor Nutt ranks their potential harms and benefits (e.g. in treating anxiety, depression or pain) leading him to challenge the distorted logic of a blanket ban on anything psychoactive except alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. Nutt Uncut contains far, far more about the usually hidden world of drugs, their use, abuse and role as a political bargaining counter - making it of interest not just to the many experts and others who already support the author's campaign for a frank, evidence-based approach to drugs but also anyone who wishes to learn about what he describes in Chapter 11 as 'policy madness.'Trade Review‘Nutt’s book achieves his goals, to “put into the public domain, in non-specialist terms, the truth about psychiatric disorders and their treatments” and to counter “extreme and unfounded claims” about drugs. It is also an absorbing read for clinicians who want to brush up on their psychopharmacology and to appreciate better the convoluted paths of government health policy decision-making.’– BJPsych Bulletin.Table of ContentsForeword by Ilana B Crome. Becoming Conscious: Politics and the Science of Breathing; Shocking Times: Bombs and Life Threats; Revealing Anxiety Through Reframing Benzodiazepines; Struggles with Serotonin; Alcohol - A Drug or Not a Drug?; Ecstasy or Not?; Conflicts Over Cannabis; The Scale of Harms; The Sacking; The Rise of Drug Science; And It Gets Worse! More Policy Madness with the Psychoactive Substances Act; Resurrecting Psychedelic Research with Magic Mushrooms; Psilocybin and Depression; A General Theory of Psychedelic Actions - Imaging LSD and DMT; Moving MDMA back into the Clinic; Coda: Further Reflections and Timeline. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisShining a light on the eccentricities of junior doctors in the NHS, Quacks is filled with stories that will make you laugh and gasp in equal measure.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTony Fadell started his 30+ year Silicon Valley career at General Magic, the most influential startup nobody has ever heard of. Then he went on to make the iPod and iPhone, start Nest and create the Nest Learning Thermostat. Throughout his career Tony has authored more than 300 patents. He now leads the Build Collective where he invests in and mentors the next generation of startups that are changing the world.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSurgeons cut, but physicians... what do physicians actually do? And is it true that other doctors really call them 'the magicians'? John Quin worked for thirty-three years as a physician for the NHS in both Scotland and England, specialising in endocrinology. He was told the subject was easy because 'hormones - well, they just go up and down'. This, it turned out, was something of an over-simplification. Days on the wards were uproariously funny one minute, infinitely tragic the next. From tackling fraudulent medical students to trying and failing to induce hypoglycaemia in Glaswegian alcoholics (all in the name of research), Dr Quin, Medicine Man is packed with vividly told tales of the joy and reward of getting the diagnosis right, the disaster of getting it wrong. Chasing Chekhov's two rabbits of medicine and writing, meanwhile, Quin sought solace in literature, art and music, applying the lessons of Bulgakov's country doctor to 1980s Glasgow, where none of the patients seemed to have a full complement of fingers, and to 21st-century Brighton, dealing with the consequences of a decade of austerity measures. Darkly amusing and with a keen eye for the absurd, this sharply observed memoir is not only an acute insight into the farcical frustrations and tensions of working in a chronically underfunded system but also a timely reminder of the humanity of the NHS staff who care for us.Trade Review"Refreshing and eloquent" - Libby Purves, The Times “Quin’s acute powers of observation vividly convey the hinterland of the modern general hospital. Quite sweary, this is a medical memoir for the Trainspotting generation.” - The Tablet

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen Walt Larimore, MD, moved his young family to Kissimmee, Florida, to start a small-town medical practice in 1985, he had no idea he was embarking on an enterprise that would change his life in ways both large and small. Dr. Larimore shared some of these heartwarming and heartbreaking tales in The Best Medicine. Now he offers up more charming stories of his time as a family physician in a rural, small-yet-growing town in The Best Gift.Ideal for anyone wrestling with the inevitable and difficult storms of life, as well as fans of Dr. Larimore''s popular Bryson City series, The Best Gift is a tender and insightful collection of stories chronicling one young doctor''s spiritual growth as a physician, husband, father, and community member. Filled with characters colorful and crusty, warmhearted and hotheaded, witty and winsome, these captivating stories glow with drama, heartbreak, warmth, love, and humor. You''ll laugh. You''ll cry. You''ll learn some of

Read more less

Book SynopsisONE OF THE NEW YORKER''S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 SO FARCHOSEN BY FINANCIAL TIMES'' READERS'' FOR BEST BOOKS OF 2023A NEW YORK TIMES BOOKS EDITOR'' S CHOICEHas the makings of a classic. -The TLSChilling and vital. . . sensitive and thought-provoking. - The TimesExhumation can divide brothers and restore fathers, open old wounds and open the possibility of regeneration-of building something new with the pile of broken mirrors that is loss and mourning.In this haunting and poetic account, anthropologist Alexa Hagerty joins forensic teams and families of the missing as they search for the hundreds of thousands victims of genocidal violence unleashed by authoritarian governments in Latin America.In Guatemala and Argentina, she learns to see the dead body with a forensic eye. She examines bones for evidence of torture and cause of death - hands bound by rope, cuts from machetes

Read more less

Book Synopsis'No other person who has flown in space has captured the experience so vividly' - New York Times Book Review In July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon. Fifty years later, it is still one of the greatest achievements in human history.In this remarkable memoir, Michael Collins conveys, in a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and humour of that adventure. He also traces his development from his first flight experiences in the air force, through his days as a test pilot, to his involvement in Project Gemini and his first spaceflight on Gemini 10. He presents an evocative picture of the famous Apollo 11 spacewalk, detailing the joys of flight and a new perspective on time, light, and movement from someone who has seen the fragile Earth from the other side of the moon.Updated with a new preface to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon-landing, Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins is the utterly absorbing and truly compelling classic account of what it was like to be a member of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.Trade ReviewCollins tells what his space journeys meant to him as a human being [and] discusses the role of man amid the multitudinous mechanical marvels . . . Profoundly affecting * The New Yorker *Michael Collins can write . . . No other person who has flown in space has captured the experience so vividly * The New York Times Book Review *A splendid and affirmative book . . . A magnificent piece of exposition alive with humour, candid in its anxiety, very sensitive in its appreciation of the men involved. -- Edward Weeks * The Atlantic Monthly *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author Dr Amanda Brown.Insights into the world of a Prison Doctor, this time taking us deeper into the walls of Bronzefield, the UK's biggest women's prison.From the drug addicts who call Amanda the mother I never had' to the women who've pushed back at domestic abuse, to women close to release in their 70s, who just want to stay in the place that they've always known, these are stories that are heartbreaking, harrowing and heart-warming. Amanda listens, prescribes, and does what she can. After all, she's their doctor.Trade Review‘both heart-rending and socially revealing’. The Bookseller ‘compassion and commitment shine through’ The Observer ‘Heart-breaking … Brown lays bare the health and social challenges facing these women with brutal honesty, shining particular light on mothers behind bars, as well as those trying to come off drugs.’ PRESS ASSOCIATION ‘her love for her job shines through this book, and so does her humility’ The Daily Telegraph ‘lays bare the health and social challenges facing these women with brutal honesty’ Press Journal ‘It gave me goosebumps and has changed my views’. Woman & Home Praise for the Prison Doctor: ‘Written with both humour and deep concern for the lives of her incarcerated patients. It’s a poignant, compassionate read, giving an insight into the complicated and damaged lives of some of the offenders … a thoroughly enlightening and engaging book.’ Mail on Sunday ‘A fascinating, sometimes funny, often gruelling account of working behind bars.’ Observer ‘Not only features startling anecdotes but also the more rewarding aspects of her job – the prisoners who sent her letters of thanks, the ones for whom there remains hope.’ i newspaper ‘eye-opening … harrowing … Though so many of the tales are unbearably sad, and some details quite difficult to read without flinching, frequent moments of hope and humanity mitigate what could otherwise be a bleak look at life on the lowest rung of society’s ladder.’ The Telegraph ‘All of the highs and lows of prison life, with heart-warming honesty and anecdotes to make your sides split and your jaw drop in equal measure … Amanda has filled her book full of funny tales that both she and the inmates have had a good giggle at.’ Sunday Express S Magazine

Read more less

Book Synopsis10 9 8 7 6That's about as far as you get, counting backwards, as you wait for surgery to begin and that's all most people know about what I do. But what happens between you conking out and waking up? And what does the anaesthetist have to do with it all? Do they just sit around playing sudoku while the rest of the team do all the hard work? And why are they so obsessed with what time you ate dinner?Join Colin Black on his journey from accidental medical student to HSE and NHS trainee and, finally, Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist at the largest children's hospital in Ireland, where any given day could end in laughter or tears and that's just the staff.Razor-sharp and forthright, Gas Man is a disarming and frequently hilarious account of life in one of the most fascinating and thrilling professions at medicine's frontline, where every day is a heady cocktail of severe pressure, poignancy, and profound social awkwardness.Trade Review‘An enlightening read in all sorts of ways’ – Irish Independent

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe moving memoir of a doctor who became a family caregiver and learned why care is so central to all our lives ''Beautiful and deeply moving. A truly extraordinary work that will change how we think about our lives and the society we live in'' Michael Puett, author of The Path When Dr Arthur Kleinman, an eminent Harvard psychiatrist and social anthropologist, began caring for his wife, Joan, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer''s disease, he found just how far the act of caregiving extended beyond the boundaries of medicine. In The Soul of Care, he delivers a deeply inspiring story about what it means to grapple with illness from both sides, as an experienced doctor and a loving husband.Caregiving is long, hard, unglamorous work - at moments joyous, more often tedious, sometimes agonizing, but always rich in meaning. Describing the practical, emotional and moral aspects of caring, Kleinman explores how we must ask uncomfTrade ReviewOne of the most humane doctors and profound thinkers, Arthur Kleinman has insightful, moving, and novel things to say about our capacity to give and get care. Powerful, intimate, poignant, and helpful -- Nicholas A. Christakis, author of BlueprintBeautiful and deeply moving. A truly extraordinary work that will change how we think about our lives and the society we live in -- Michael Puett, author of The PathA personal and professional memoir like no other: how the founder of the field of medical anthropology learned that caring meant listening, and how at the peak of his career, when personal tragedy struck, Kleinman learned the deepest meanings of care -- Ellen Winner, author of How Art WorksAt once a manifesto for decent health care and a brave exposing of an inner life, The Soul of Care gives language for what we all crave - effective, generous health care that nourishes those who give and those who receive until they recognize their oneness -- Rita CharonDeeply affecting. . . A testament to the human capacity to draw sustenance from the memories of love, even as those memories are disappearing in the person loved. It is an important book -- Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet MindHeartfelt, beautifully written, incredibly moving, and so instructive . . . This story will stay with me -- Abraham VergheseOne of the most moving books I've ever read. Unforgettable . . . Arthur Kleinman reminds us of what truly matters in work, life, and death -- Howard Gardner, author of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Bold, inspired and hopeful'' Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global''Lucid and captivating'' Max Tegmark, professor of physics at MIT and author of Life 3.0A captivating memoir that chronicles one woman''s mission to humanise technology and what she learns about humanity along the way.Now more than ever, we find ourselves unable to express our true feelings through technology. Whether it''s a misunderstood text, an oversimplified emoji or a Skype call that leaves us feeling lonely, when most of our communication is carried out through tech, the result is a virtual world that''s lacking our humanity - a society lacking in empathy.Rana el Kaliouby discovered this when she left Cairo, a newly-married, Muslim woman, to take up her place at Cambridge University to study computer science. Many thousands of miles from home, she began to develop systems to help her better connect with her family. She sTrade ReviewLucid and captivating * Max Tegmark, professor of physics at MIT and author of Life 3.0 *An honest and inspiring story that will encourage other women to share their experiences and own their power * Tory Burch, founder and executive chairman of Tory Burch LLC *Bold, inspired and hopeful * Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe No 1 Bestseller''Compelling ... colourful, thoughtful'' Sunday Independent''Tubridy''s compassionate, no-nonsense approach makes him a comforting guide through the landscape of neurological medicine'' Irish Times__________As a medical student Niall Tubridy fell in love with neurology. Figuring out how the brain and nervous system signal problems was a form of high stakes detective work and answers could be life-changing.Just One More Question is the story of Niall Tubridy''s career in neurology. He shares the stories of encounters that are, by turn, poignant, dramatic and funny, such as...- The chef who goes for his usual morning walk, and loses his memory for the next six hours- The painter who believes her left hand is her guardian angel- The eager young lover whose head ''explodes'' every time he orgasmsUsing simple and illuminatTrade ReviewCompelling ... colourful, thoughtful * Sunday Independent *[My brother] has written a book which has to be one of the most extraordinary books written in Irish medical history! I would say that, wouldn't I? But it is great. It's really good, really accessible, a super read. We're all very proud of him -- Ryan Tubridy[Tubridy] renders sometimes complex medical concepts understandable for the general reader ... good on the sometimes unbearable pressures on doctors * Irish Times *Fascinating -- Liz NugentIt's a most readable book. There's no jargon in it -- Seán O'Rourke * RTÉ *[Oliver] Sacks hoped that his neurological tales ... could bring us closer to where the psychic and the physical meet ... Tubridy's concerns are less rarefied. He wants us to understand the human toll that illness takes * Sunday Times *Niall's sense of wonder at the human brain is enormously clear even with almost three decades of work in the field under his belt * RTÉ Lifestyle *Very interesting and very entertaining -- Pat KennyFascinating ... The book teems with interesting characters * Sunday Business Post *Will make you think in a whole new way about the human brain * Ireland AM *A book that will fascinate you with the patients' tales but leave you at the end pondering the notion of what life really is * Journal.ie *Simple and illuminating * Irish News *Written in a very accessible way for non-medical people, like myself -- Dave Fanning * RTÉ *

Read more less