Biography: general Books
Atlantic Books Mortality
Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Book of The YearA Mail on Sunday Book of The YearAn Independent Book of The YearA The Times Book of The YearDuring the US book tour for his memoir, Hitch-22, Christopher Hitchens collapsed in his New York hotel room to excoriating pain in his chest and thorax. As he would later write in the first of a series of deeply moving Vanity Fair pieces, he was being deported 'from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady.' Over the next year he underwent the brutal gamut of modern cancer treatment, enduring catastrophic levels of suffering and eventually losing the ability to speak. Mortality is the most meditative collection of writing Hitchens has ever produced; at once an unsparingly honest account of the ravages of his disease, an examination of cancer etiquette, and the coda to a lifetime of fierce debate and peerless prose. In this eloquent confrontation with mortality, Hitchens returns a human face to a disease that has become a contemporary cipher of suffering.Trade ReviewCharacteristic of his elegant wit: philosophical, literary, ironic, sardonic, reflective and resentful * The Times *His unworldly fluency never deserted him, his commitment was passionate, and he never deserted his trade. He was the consummate writer, the brilliant friend. In Walter Pater's famous phrase, he burned 'with this hard gem-like flame.' Right to the end. -- Ian McEwanHitchens's voice remains civilised, searching and ready to vanquish all his enemies -- Colm TóbínA trenchant, learned, iconoclastic and splendidly witty commentator on public life and, as here, on his own private triumphs and travails... unremittingly elegant, a master of graceful prose -- John Banville
£8.09
Little, Brown Book Group Mom and Me and Mom
Book Synopsis'In the first decade of the twentieth century, it was not a good time to be born black, or woman, in America.' So begins this stunning portrait of Vivian Baxter Johnson: the first black woman officer in the Merchant Marines, purveyor of a gambling business and rooming house, and mother to Maya Angelou, beloved and bestselling author I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.'A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMAAnyone who's read the classic, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, knows Maya Angelou was raised by her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. In Mom & Me & Mom, Angelou details what brought her mother to send her away and unearths the well of emotions Angelou experienced long afterward as a result. While Angelou's six autobiographies tell of her out in the world, influencing and learning from statesmen and cultural icons, Mom & Me & Mom shares the intimate, emotional story about her own family.'She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds' OPRAH WINFREY 'She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate' TONI MORRISONTrade ReviewExtraordinary . . . a jaw-dropper of a memoir -- Viv Groskop * Red *A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal womanThe poems and stories she wrote . . . were gifts of wisdom and wit, courage and graceShe moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds -- Oprah WinfreyShe was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate -- Toni Morrison
£8.99
Simon & Schuster Wise Guy
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£15.19
Marian Press Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska
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£13.46
Simon & Schuster Off with My Head: The Definitive Basic B*tch
Book SynopsisNamed one of Us Weekly’s Best Celebrity Memoirs of 2022 The New York Times bestselling author of the “refreshing” (The Cut) Next Level Basic and fan-favorite alumna of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules returns with the definitive Basic Bitch handbook for surviving your rock-bottom moments.The year 2020 was going to be the best year of Stassi’s life. Besides getting engaged and feeling like she was on top of the world career-wise, she bought her first house and was planning her dream Italian wedding. The future showed so much freaking promise—until it all went to hell. Stassi may not be perfect—she may have made some (major) mistakes—but she does feel like she has some insight (and plenty of hilarious tales) about getting knocked up, called out, and learning from what went wrong. Through stories, confessions, illustrations, and plenty of self-reflection and self-deprecation, this new book goes behind the scenes and addresses the experience of getting cancelled, getting that positive pregnancy test, and saying “I do” in the backyard instead of Italy. Stassi won’t hold back about her transformation from proud basic bitch to... proud basic bitch who has a deeper appreciation for what’s really important in life: love, relationships, mutual respect, and, okay fine, an Aperol spritz and some showtunes when you need them most. Stassi hopes her story will help others see the light at the end of the tunnel in their own lives and make them laugh along the way. She writes about the importance of having a good cry (at work, in the shower, in your closet), ways to navigate social media responsibly (sometimes that means logging the eff off when crowds are chanting, “OFF WITH HER HEAD”), how to practice self-care when wine is not an option, and how not to become a Bridezilla—plus she’ll offer tips on marrying your f*ckboy, embracing pregnancy sweats (both cashmere sweats and night sweats), and styling baby OOTDs. So roll up your bedazzled sleeves…or the sleeves of the tattered robe you’ve been wearing nonstop because you’re at rock bottom; grab a cocktail; and let your favorite (more evolved) basic bitch take you on a wild ride inside the bumpiest year of her life.
£10.44
Rowman & Littlefield The Long Way
Book SynopsisThe Long Way is Bernard Moitessier''s own incredible story of his participation in the first Golden Globe Race, a solo, non-stop circumnavigation rounding the three great Capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and the Horn. For seven months, the veteran seafarer battled storms, doldrums, gear-failures, knock-downs, as well as overwhelming fatigue and loneliness. Then, nearing the finish, Moitessier pulled out of the race and sailed on for another three months before ending his 37,455-mile journey in Tahiti. Not once had he touched land.Trade ReviewMoitessier is better known as one of the greatest ocean voyagers and was a legend in his time. Last month we reviewed the last book he wrote Tamata and the Alliance. This book is about his Round the World Race for singlehanded yachts. For Moitessier, the race finished in mid-Pacific after he had passed the three Capes and crossed his outward track, leading, and with the hardest sections behind him, he decided to forfeit the race and continue into the Pacific again, to anchor finally among friends in Tahiti. His actions were never explained by the news media; they could not have been, for the voyage had always been seen by Moitessier as something other than a sponsored, publicized, competitive event. It was on the ocean, alone with his boat, that Moitessier began to regard this as a voyage that could not end for him with the reward of those whose values were not his. * Sailing Inland & Offshore *One of the world's most famous ocean sailors, Moitessier had sailed for more than a year from Plymouth, England to the Indian Ocean when he inexplicably abandoned the lead in the 1968-1969 Round-the-World single-handed race. He sailed to Tahiti, dropped anchor and dropped out. Until the publication of this book, only Moitessier and a few friends knew why. Most of the book is a diary of that voyage with philosophical side trips into modern civilization. There is also a 60-page appendix that can stand alone as a small reference volume of details such as route planning, sail repair, the problems of sail and line chafe, rigging and hull construction, self-steering, freak waves and weather, plus much more. Altogether a strange, fascinating, and informative book. * Boat U.S. *Table of ContentsPart One Chapter 1: Full Sail Chapter 2: Clear Light Chapter 3: Sunday at Trinidad Chapter 4: Muchos Pocos Hacen Un Muncho Chapter 5: Played and Lost…Played and Won Part Two Chapter 6: Good Hope Chapter 7: A Saw-tooth Wake Chapter 8: The Days and the Nights Chapter 9: The Long Way Chapter 10: The Rule of the Game Chapter 11: Christmas and the Rat Chapter 12: The Time of the Very Beginnings Part Three Chapter 13: My Elder Brother Chapter 14: Joshua against Joshua Chapter 15: One Night… Chapter 16: One Day…and a Night Part Four Chapter 17: True Dreams—and False Chapter 18: Time to Choose Chapter 19: The Turning Point Chapter 20: Listen, Joshua… Chapter 21: Time to Choose—Part II Chapter 22: The Second Turning Point Appendix Glossary
£12.34
ECCO PR Tao TE Ching Personal
Book SynopsisIn a widely praised translation, Stephen Mitchell provides an accessible understanding of a classic guide for living, now in an attractive, pocket-size trim designed to fit in a purse, briefcase, backpack, or pocket. "The English, as 'fluid as meling ice, ' is a joy to read throughout".--New Republic.
£13.59
Vallentine Mitchell With a Yellow Star and a Red Cross A Doctor in
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£20.71
Random House USA Inc Crying in H Mart: A Memoir
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£11.88
Siles Press,U.S. Bobby Fischer and His World
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£27.89
New World Library We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a
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£14.39
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Entering the Circle
Book SynopsisOlga Kharitidi''s debut book is a remarkable account of her spiritual adventure in snowbound Siberia. Joining an ailing friend on a spontaneous trip to the Atai Mountains, Dr. Kharitidi is taken into apprenticeship by a native Shaman who guides her through bizarre, magical, and often terrifying experiences that open her eyes to a wellspring of deeper learning. On the road to Belovedia, a fabled civilization of highly evolved beings, she encounters revolutionary mystical teachings while discovering ancient secrets of magic and healing. At once a modern odyssey and a timeless dreamscape, Entering the Circle is an inspiring story of personal growth and an insightful work about the limitless potential of human spirit.
£13.29
Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc) Under the Tuscan Sun 20thAnniversary Edition
Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword “This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it’s so delicious, read it first yourself.”—USA Today For more Frances Mayes, including a tour of her now iconic Cortona home, Bramasole, watch PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special! More than twenty years ago, Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys—whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savoring one of the book’s dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes’s signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun revisits the book’s most popular characters.
£15.30
Alma Books Ltd Angela Merkel: The Chancellor and Her World
Book SynopsisWith the Eurozone engulfed in an unprecedented crisis, one political figure looms largest of all, Angela Merkel, the leader of its most powerful economy. While foreign affairs have become the central issues of her chancellorship in this crucial election year, the entire world is anxiously looking to Germany to play its part in Europe's rescue. This authorized biography sheds light on the person behind the politician - from her youthful days of hitchhiking in Tbilisi to being the guest of honour at a White House state dinner - and examines how a girl from East Germany rose to the highest echelons of European power. As well as explaining how Angela Merkel's world view was shaped and influenced by her background and ideology, Stefan Kornelius's lively account discusses her personal relations with international counterparts such as David Cameron, Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin, as well as her attitude towards the countries and cultures over which they rule.Trade Review[Stefan Kornelius] gives a compelling description of how Merkel operates... and is particularly good on the thinking behind her step-by-step response to the euro crisis. * TLS * A biography about foreign policy and Merkel's political decision-making process... Kornelius, whose career as a journalist tailgated hers since 1989, proves an illuminating guide. * The Guardian * Kornelius helps to bring Merkel to life. * The Times * In his authorized biography, Stefan Kornelius... helps explain how a taciturn physicist from east Germany became such a towering figure in European politics and one of the world's most influential women. * The Financial Times * [It] helps the reader get a better sense of the issues and themes which have characterized Merkel's chancellorship. * International Affairs Journal * A good insight into Merkel's background: how her East German upbringing influences her every move and belief; the priority she places on freedom and her determination to succeed in creating a more unified Europe. * Liberator Magazine UK * In this fascinating authorised biography, Stefan Kornelius reveals the person behind the politician, discussing many intriguing details about her personal and professional life. He skilfully examines Merkel's background and her ideological beliefs in order to explain the nature of her power and her influential role in the European Economic Community. * The Good Book Guide *Table of ContentsCONTENTS Merkelmania The Chancellor's New Power 3 Another World A Sheltered Life in the GDR 13 In Search of New Frontiers Breaking into Politics 45 Questions of Belief What Makes Merkel Tick? 61 Necessary Evils The Chancellor and Her Coalitions 85 Pacific Dreams Yearning for the USA 105 On the Defensive Angela Merkel and War 137 The Light of Zion The Fascination of Israel 157 Russia and Putin: Parallel Lives A Much Loved Country, a Difficult President 181 Business or Conviction A Conflict of Systems with China 189 The Great Crisis Angela Merkel's Battle for Europe 199 The British Problem Keep Them in 257 The Prospects for Merkel? The Post-Political Chancellor 269
£9.99
Back Bay Books How Far the Light Reaches
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£16.50
Herb Lester Associates Ltd The Raymond Chandler Map Of Los Angeles
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£6.83
David Zwirner Anni Albers: Notebook 1970–1980
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£25.60
Random House USA Inc Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mount
Book SynopsisWhen Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist
£25.50
Ebury Publishing You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame
Book SynopsisTarana Burke and Dr. Brené Brown bring together a dynamic group of Black writers, organisers, artists, academics and cultural figures to discuss the topics the two have dedicated their lives to understanding and teaching: vulnerability and shame resilience.Contributions by Kiese Laymon, Imani Perry, Laverne Cox, Jason Reynolds, Austin Channing Brown, and more.It started as a text between two friends.Tarana Burke, founder of the 'me too.' Movement, texted researcher and writer Brené Brown to see if she was free to jump on a call. Brené assumed that Tarana wanted to talk about wallpaper. They had been trading home decorating inspiration boards in their last text conversation so Brené started scrolling to find her latest Pinterest pictures when the phone rang.But it was immediately clear to Brené that the conversation wasn't going to be about wallpaper. Tarana's hello was serious and she hesitated for a bit before saying, "Brené, you know your work affected me so deeply, but as a Black woman, I've sometimes had to feel like I have to contort myself to fit into some of your words. The core of it rings so true for me, but the application has been harder."Brené replied, "I'm so glad we're talking about this. It makes sense to me. Especially in terms of vulnerability. How do you take the armour off in a country where you're not physically or emotionally safe?"Long pause."That's why I'm calling," said Tarana. "What do you think about working together on a book about the Black experience with vulnerability and shame resilience?"There was no hesitation.Burke and Brown are the perfect pair to usher in this stark, potent collection of essays on Black shame and healing. Along with the anthology contributors, they create a space to recognise and process the trauma of white supremacy, a space to be vulnerable and affirm the fullness of Black love and Black life.
£13.49
Random House USA Inc Tracers in the Dark
Book SynopsisFrom the award-winning author of Sandworm comesthe propulsive story of a new breed of investigators who have cracked the Bitcoin blockchain, exposing once-anonymous realms of money, drugs, and violence.?I love the book… It reads like a thriller… These stories are amazing.? (Michael Lewis)Over the last decade, a single innovation has massively fueled digital black markets: cryptocurrency. Crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely?whether in drug dealing, money laundering, or human trafficking?than their analog counterparts could have ever dreamed of. By transacting not in dollars or pounds but in currencies with anonymous ledgers, overseen by no government, beholden to no bankers, these black marketeers have sought to rob law enforcement of their chief method of cracking down on illicit finance: following the money.But what if the centerpiece of this dark economy held a secret, fatal flaw? What if their currency wasn?t so cryptic after all? An investigator using the right mixture of technical wizardry, financial forensics, and old-fashioned persistence could uncover an entire world of wrongdoing.Tracers in the Dark is a story of crime and pursuit unlike any other. With unprecedented access to the major players in federal law enforcement and private industry, veteran cybersecurity reporter Andy Greenberg tells an astonishing saga of criminal empires built and destroyed. He introduces an IRS agent with a defiant streak, a Bitcoin-tracing Danish entrepreneur, and a colorful ensemble of hardboiled agents and prosecutors as they delve deep into the crypto-underworld. The result is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of dirty cops, drug bazaars, trafficking rings, and the biggest takedown of an online narcotics market in the history of the Internet.Utterly of our time, Tracers in the Dark is a cat-and-mouse story and a tale of a technological one-upmanship. Filled with canny maneuvering and shocking twists, it answers a provocative question: How would some of the world?s most brazen criminals behave if they were sure they could never get caught?
£16.15
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
Book SynopsisNew York Times bestseller Now with a new Epilogue, containing letters of response from Palestinian readers.A profound and original book, the work of a gifted thinker.--Daphne Merkin, The Wall Street JournalAttempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli commentator and award-winning author of Like Dreamers directly addresses his Palestinian neighbors in this taut and provocative book, empathizing with Palestinian suffering and longing for reconciliation as he explores how the conflict looks through Israeli eyes. And now, in a brand-new Epilogue, Palestinian readers have been given a chance to respond through their own powerful letters.I call you neighbor because I don’t know your name, or anything personal about you. Given our circumstances, neighbor might be too casual a word to describe our relations
£14.24
Paul Dry Books Lost Bread
Book SynopsisBruck''s "spare prose captures the raw terror and bitter sorrow of the camps. She also finds lyrical beauty and unexpected joy in moments of calm. Reading her work is like breaking bread with her, seeking light amid the shadows cast by history."?Wall Street JournalDrawing on the remarkable events of her own life, renowned author and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck tells the story of Ditke, a young Jewish girl living in Hungary during World War II.In 1944, twelve-year-old Ditke, her parents, and her siblings areforced out of their home by the Nazis and sent to a series of concentration camps, includingAuschwitz and Dachau. Miraculously surviving the war with one of her sisters,but losing her parents and a brother, Ditke begins a tortuous journey?firstback to Hungary, where she knows she doesn?t belong, and then to Israel. There,she holds various jobs before she leaves with a dance troupe, touring Turkey,Switzerland, and Italy. In Italy she finds a home, at last, and a small measureof peace; there, too, she falls in love and marries.Writingas herself, Edith Bruck closes Lost Bread by addressing a letter to God expressing her rejection of hatred, her love for life, and her hopenever to lose her memory or ability to continue speaking for those who perishedin the Nazi concentration camps. After the book?s publication in Italy, PopeFrancis visited Bruck and thanked her for bearing witness to the atrocities ofthe Holocaust.
£17.99
Goose Lane Editions Peace by Chocolate: The Hadhad Family’s
Book SynopsisFinalist, Dartmouth Book Award for Non-Fiction, and Taste Canada Awards (Culinary Narratives)Nominated for 3 Gourmand AwardsAn Atlantic BestsellerA Hill Times Top 100 SelectionFebruary 2016. Antigonish, Nova Scotia.Tareq Hadhad was worried about his father: Isam did not know what to do with his life. Before the war began in Syria, Isam had run a chocolate company for over twenty years. But that life was gone now. The factory was destroyed, and he and his family had spent three years in limbo as refugees before coming to Canada. So, in an unfamiliar kitchen in a small town, Isam began to make chocolate again.This remarkable book tells the extraordinary story of the Hadhad family — Isam, his wife Shahnaz, and their sons and daughters — and the founding of the chocolatier, Peace by Chocolate. From the devastation of the Syrian civil war, through their life as refugees in Lebanon, to their arrival in a small town in Atlantic Canada, Peace by Chocolate is the story of one family. It is also the story of the people of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and so many towns across Canada, who welcomed strangers and helped them face the challenges of settling in an unfamiliar land.Trade Review"Jon Tattrie expertly weaves the extraordinary story of the Hadhad family’s journey from Syria to Canada with a portrayal of the Antigonish community that came together to support them. Peace by Chocolate is a timely tale of triumph, a story about the gift of community and the power of determination, and one family’s passion for chocolate. We need more heartwarming stories like this, especially today." -- Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Art of Leaving"An important, compassionate book, which everyone should read. It will change how you think about Syrian refugees. Peace by Chocolate will open your heart and mind and move you to reach out to people in need. This is a book about never losing hope." -- Tima Kurdi, author of The Boy on the Beach
£16.19
John Murray Press Osmans Dream
Book SynopsisThe Ottoman chronicles recount that the first sultan, Osman, dreamt of the dynasty he would found - a tree, fully-formed, emerged from his navel, symbolising the vigour of his successors and the extent of their domains.This is the first book to tell the full story of the Ottoman dynasty that for six centuries held sway over territories stretching, at their greatest, from Hungary to the Persian Gulf, and from North Africa to the Caucasus.Understanding the realization of Osman''s vision is essential for anyone who seeks to understand the modern world.Trade Review'An absorbing, monumental story . . . a reliable, authoritative account . . . a balanced assessment of the Ottomans . . . a marvellous achievement, which deserves to provoke widespread debate' * Jerry Brotton, BBC History magazine *A Turkish delight * Metro (London) *'Splendidly written . . . Finkel's intimacy with the material makes this the most authoritative narrative history of the empire yet published . . . Detailed . . . Her narrative focuses on the dynamics of the imperial story . . . lively analysis' * Jason Goodwin, Literary Review *'History written with a dynamic, modern feel and penetrating gaze' * Good Book Guide *Instructive . . . A fine single-volume account of a long and at times complicated period . . . Finkel clearly loves her subject * The Tablet *'The freshness of Finkel's history [is] striking. The secret, apart from an irresistible narrative style, is a generous openness to every aspect of Ottoman life and culture . . . What has often come across as an impossibly exotic procession of Viziers, Beys and Pashas is here brought vividly home to the reader' * Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman *'Excellent' * The Times *
£15.29
Orion Publishing Co Giacometti: A Biography
Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of a fascinating and enigmatic figure'Succeeds in every way as one of the most readable, fascinating and informative documents, not just on an artist, but on art and artists in general' WASHINGTON TIMES'The most moving biography of a modern artist I've read' NEWSWEEKAlberto Giacometti is one of the best-known artists of the twentieth century. Born in a Swiss village, he moved to pre-war Paris and went on to play a leading role in the art world, alongside characters such as Picasso, Balthus, Samuel Beckett and Sartre.His passionate and strange life reflects the genius of his works - his gaunt and haunting sculptures and his unsettling paintings. As someone who was personally acquainted with Giacometti and his peers, and who has consolidated his personal knowledge with extensive research, James Lord is uniquely qualified to write Giacometti's biography.Trade ReviewSucceeds in every way as one of the most readable, fascinating and informative documents, not just on an artist, but on art and artists in general * WASHINGTON TIMES *Lord has written the most moving biography of a modern artist I've read * NEWSWEEK *
£14.24
Center for Global Development Relief Chief: A Manifesto for Saving Lives in
Book SynopsisRelief Chief is Mark Lowcock's behind-the-scenes account of his experience as the world's most senior humanitarian official—the UN Relief Chief. In his four years on the job, Lowcock coordinated the work of UN agencies, the Red Cross, and countless national and international humanitarian groups to save lives and protect the most vulnerable. Appointed in 2017, Lowcock was witness to the biggest explosion in humanitarian need in modern history. Wars, droughts, floods, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, and then the COVID-19 global pandemic put humanitarian agencies under unprecedented strain. Long-standing crises like those in Syria, Yemen, and the Sahel got worse. New ones arose, in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Venezuela, and elsewhere. Over his tenure, Lowcock raised record amounts of money to tackle these problems, but this was not enough to prevent humanitarian agencies from being overwhelmed by the emergencies they were asked to deal with, as Lowcock documents from a personal, inside perspective. Part memoir and part manifesto for reform, Relief Chief depicts the brutality, misery and inhumanity inflicted on innocent people in crises. Lowcock recounts what people he met in dozens of countries—especially women and children—shared with him about their plight and the help they needed. He warns that crises will continue to get worse without a renewed global effort to tackle their causes. But Relief Chief is also an uplifting story of lives saved and suffering reduced, and a detailed, practical agenda for solving crises faster and better in the future.
£19.90
Swift Press The Duchess Who Dared: The Life of Margaret,
Book SynopsisThe extraordinary story behind A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany?Margaret was debutante of the year, the beautiful fairy-tale heiress immortalised in Cole Porter''s ''You''re The Top'' - who ended up penniless and ostracised from her own family.Legal actions coloured her life - her divorce from the Duke of Argyll was one of the longest, costliest and most notorious in British legal history. Her diaries, and photographs of her with an anonymous naked man, were used in evidence.This sparkling biography draws on exclusive interviews with the late Duchess to lift the lid off her extraordinary story, and her scandalous lifestyle. The Duchess Who Dared is a fascinating chronicle of a complex, charming and surprisingly modern woman.
£9.49
Harvard University Press Letters Volume I Books 17
Book SynopsisThe letters of Pliny the Younger (ca. AD 61–ca. 112), a polished social document of his times, include descriptions of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and the earliest pagan accounts of Christians. The Panegyricus is an expanded, published version of Pliny’s oration of thanks to the emperor Trajan in AD 100.
£23.70
Princeton University Press The Quotable Feynman
Book Synopsis"Some people say, 'How can you live without knowing?' I do not know what they mean. I always live without knowing. That is easy. How you get to know is what I want to know."--Richard P. Feynman Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard P. Feynman (1918-88) was that rarest of creatures--a towering scientific genius who could make himself understood byTrade Review"Feynman's depth and zing leap from the page."--Nature "[Richard Feynman] combined scientific genius with regular-guy language... Now his daughter, Michelle Feynman--born three years after he received the Nobel in 1965--has edited a collection of quotes from his voluminous output of books, lectures, essays, articles and scientific papers."--Washington Post "So much has been said by and about the charismatic physicist Richard Feynman that it is no surprise to find that his witticisms fill a book nearly 400 pages long... A fun present for any Feynman fanboys and fangirls in your life."--Physics World "Deeply learned... Highly detailed and utterly convincing."--Tarek Masoud, Perspectives on Politics "[Feynman] was, after all, a Nobel Prize winning scientist, yet he wrote often with great lucidity and humor, much of which is on display in this collection."--Acadiana LifeStyleTable of ContentsA Brief Note on Sources ix Foreword, by Brian Cox xi Reflections on Richard Feynman, by Yo-Yo Ma xv Preface: My Quotable Father, by Michelle Feynman xvii Chronology xxiii Youth 3 Family 15 Autobiographical 23 Art, Music, and Poetry 51 Nature 57 Imagination 83 Humor 89 Love 103 Philosophy and Religion 109 Nature of Science 123 Curiosity and Discovery 165 How Physicists Think 185 The Quantum World 197 Science and Society 213 Mathematics 223 Technology 241 War 249 Challenger 261 Politics 271 Doubt and Uncertainty 281 Education and Teaching 293 Advice and Inspiration 317 Intelligence 327 The Nobel Prize 333 Worldview 345 The Future 355 Honoring Richard Feynman 363 Acknowledgments 383 Photo Credits 387 Sources 389 Index 397
£22.00
Random House USA Inc Memories Dreams Reflections
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£13.09
Yale University Press Mary Cassatt A Life
Book SynopsisOne of the few women Impressionists, Mary Cassatt was American born but lived and worked in France. A classically trained artist, she painted portraits of mothers and children. This book provides insight into her personal life and artistic endeavours.
£22.50
Harvard University Press The Clinical Diary of Sándor Ferenczi
Book SynopsisIn a sequence of short, condensed entries, Ferenczi’s diary records self-critical reflections on conventional psychoanalytic theory—as well as criticisms of his own experiments with technique—and his obstinate struggle to divest himself and psychoanalysis of professional hypocrisy.Trade ReviewCompelling… Ferenczi was an innovator, an experimenter, someone who was always trying new approaches to the treatment of mental illness, even when his unorthodox techniques placed him in opposition to his analyst and mentor, Sigmund Freud. -- Stuart Schneiderman * New York Times Book Review *Allows the public interested in such matters to assess, far better than before, the range of [Ferenczi’s] professional gifts and the depth of his psychological vulnerability… A welcome addition to the growing number of significant texts illuminating the history of psychoanalysis. -- Peter Gay * London Review of Books *The Diary is the work of a sane mind in full possession of its powers and gives us insight into the day-to-day thoughts of a practitioner whose status as a creative innovator is probably unsurpassed since Freud. It is a very moving book. One is continually amazed by the courage of the man. -- Peter Lomas * Times Literary Supplement *Freud criticised his one-time favourite son for advocating the ‘kissing technique’; Ferenczi believed that ‘only sympathy heals’. This is the 1932 record of his analyses. His work was faltering, doubting, and quite possibly, healing. -- David Flusfeder * The Week *Table of ContentsEditor's Note Acknowledgments Introduction by Judith Dupont Abbreviations The Clinical Diary of Sandor Ferenczi Draft Introduction by Michael Balint Notes for a Preface by Michael Balint Index
£27.86
John Murray Press The Last Lecture
Book SynopsisThe phenomenal international bestseller - with over 8 million copies sold.What legacy would you choose to leave behind for your children?When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give ''a last lecture'' lecture, he didn''t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. But the lecture he gave, ''Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams'', wasn''t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.A lot of professors give talks titled ''The Last Lecture''. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humour, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.Trade ReviewInspiring * The Guardian *Incredibly moving * Daily Record *
£10.44
Little, Brown & Company I Am Malala
Book Synopsis
£16.99
Rowman & Littlefield Titanic Survivor
Book SynopsisViolet Jessop's life is an inspiring story of survival. Born in 1887 in Argentina, the eldest child of Irish immigrants, at the age of 21 she became the breadwinner for her widowed mother and five siblings when she commenced a career as a stewardess and nurse on some of the most famous ocean going vessels of the day. Throughout her 40 year time at sea she survived an unbelievable series of events including the sinking of the TITANIC. “One awful moment of empty, misty blackness enveloped us in its loneliness, then an unforgettable, agonizing cry went up from 1500 despairing throats, a long wail and then silence and our tiny craft tossing about at the mercy of the ice field.” For most people one sinking would be enough. But four years later Violet, now a nurse with the British Red Cross, was on board the World War I hospital ship BRITANNIC when it struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Aegean. To her, this disaster was even more horrifying-- “Just as life seeming nothing but a whirling, choking ache, I rose to the light of day, my nose barely above the little lapping waves. I opened my eyes on an indescribable scene of slaughter, which made me shut them again to keep it out." By the end of her story we have a met a woman who could handle whatever life threw at her with determination and good humor. She knew that only by her own strength of character would she survive. But Titanic Survivor is much more. A unique autobiography for those who want to know how it really felt, a story that could be told only by a Titanic Survivor.Trade ReviewAside from the disasters, there is much in her memoirs to enjoy; from her tales of travel, to the ships themselves, and to the many characters she met in a fascinating lifetime at sea. * Sailing *Compelling...a fresh, indispensable chapter to the legend...invaluable. * Publishers Weekly *Table of ContentsNew Preface Preface Introduction Chapter 1: The Early Years Chapter 2: The Railway Interval Chapter 3: Buenos Aires Chapter 4: In the Mountains Chapter 5: Illness and Death Chapter 6: Repatriation Chapter 7: In Charge Chapter 8: Convent Days Chapter 9: Choosing a Career Chapter 10: To Sea at Last Chapter 11: Enter Ned Chapter 12: Insufferable Passengers Chapter 13: Troubled Voyage Chapter 14: The South American Run Chapter 15: The White Star Line Chapter 16: Cabin Drama Chapter 17: Olympic Chapter 18: (This chapter is missing) Chapter 19: Polemic and Lament Chapter 20: Titanic Chapter 21: Into the Lifeboat Chapter 22: Rescue Chapter 23: Australia and Ned Chapter 24: Shipboard Romance Chapter 25: A Nurse in the Great War Chapter 26: Britannic Chapter 27: Aftermath Chapter 28: Peace and Prohibition Chapter 29: Tim Goes Missing Chapter 30: World Cruise Chapter 31: At Sea Chapter 32: The Jinrikisha Man Chapter 33: The Baroness Chapter 34: Tom's Downfall Epilogue Appendix I Appendix II Bibliography Index
£13.29
Seven Stories Press,U.S. Camelia: Save Yourself by Telling the Truth - A
Book Synopsis
£12.40
Farrar, Straus and Giroux The Odd Woman and the City
Book SynopsisA finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, AutobiographyA contentious, deeply moving ode to friendship, love, and urban life in the spirit of Fierce AttachmentsA memoir of self-discovery and the dilemma of connection in our time, The Odd Woman and the City explores the rhythms, chance encounters, and ever-changing friendships of urban life that forge the sensibility of a fiercely independent woman who has lived out her conflicts, not her fantasies, in a city (New York) that has done the same. Running steadily through the book is Vivian Gornick''s exchange of more than twenty years with Leonard, a gay man who is sophisticated about his own unhappiness, whose friendship has shed more light on the mysterious nature of ordinary human relations than has any other intimacy she has known. The exchange between Gornick and Leonard acts as a Greek chorus to the main action of the narrator''s continual engagement on the street with grocers, derelicts, and doormen; people on the bus, cross-dressers on the corner, and acquaintances by the handful. In Leonard she sees herself reflected plain; out on the street she makes sense of what she sees. Written as a narrative collage that includes meditative pieces on the making of a modern feminist, the role of the flaneur in urban literature, and the evolution of friendship over the past two centuries, The Odd Woman and the City beautifully bookends Gornick''s acclaimed Fierce Attachments, in which we first encountered her rich relationship with the ultimate metropolis.
£14.40
Faber & Faber Memoir
Book SynopsisJohn McGahern''s astounding memoir of his childhood:''A glowing masterpiece.'' Hilary Mantel''The one Irish writer everyone should read.'' Colm TóibínAs wise and compelling a book as any of his elegiac and graceful novels.'' David Mitchell''I have admired, even loved, McGahern''s work since his first novel ... Memoir strips the skin off his fiction as he faces a desperate early life with great force and tenderness.'' Melvyn BraggThis is the story of John McGahern''s childhood, his mother''s death, his father''s anger and violence, and how, through his discovery of books, his dream of becoming a writer began. At the heart of Memoir is a son''s unembarrassed tribute to his mother. His memory of walks with her through the narrow lanes to the country schools where she taught and his happiness as she named for him the wild flowers on the bank remained conscious and unconscious presences for the rest of his life. A classic family story, told with exceptional restraint and tenderness, Memoir cannot fail to move all those who read it.''Magnificent ... Stand[s] supreme in the Irish canon.'' Irish Times''Profoundly beautiful.'' Daily Telegraph''Extraordinary, spellbinding, spiritual.'' Irish Independent''''In a tremendously distinguished career, he has never written more movingly, or with a sharper eye.'' Andrew Motion, GuardianTrade Review"'Ireland's greatest living novelist.' Observer"
£10.44
Penguin Random House South Africa I Have Life: Alison's Journey
Book SynopsisLike an apparition, conjured out of the darkness, a young man with light blond hair pushed his face into the car. I immediately spotted the knife. It was a long, thin weapon, almost like a letter opener, with a tapering blade. It felt cold and spiny as he pressed it to my neck. When he spoke his voice, which was quiet and controlled, sounded as though it emanated from a distant planet. But every word thudded into my skull. “Move over or I’ll kill you,” he whispered. And so began Alison’s nightmare journey with the two callous killers who were to rape her, stab her so many times doctors could not count the wounds, slit her throat and leave her for dead in a filthy clearing miles from the city of Port Elizabeth which was her home. But Alison defied death. And more than that, she denied her attackers the satisfaction of destroying her life. I Have Life is the triumphant story of a woman who refused to become a victim. The courage which allowed her to move beyond severe physical and emotional trauma and to turn a devastating experience into something life-affirming and strong, is an inspiration to people everywhere.
£999.99
Siglio Press What Is Now Known Was Once Only Imagined: An
Book SynopsisA biography by Nicole Rudick told in Saint Phalle's own words, assembled from rare and unseen materials Known best for her exuberant, often large-scale sculptural works that celebrate the abundance and complexity of female desire, imagination and creativity, Niki de Saint Phalle viewed making art as a ritual, a performance—a process connecting life to art. This unconventional, illuminated biography, told in the first person in Saint Phalle's voice and her own hand, dilates large and small moments in Saint Phalle's life which she sometimes reveals with great candor, at other times carefully unwinding her secrets. Nicole Rudick, in a kind of collaboration with the artist, has assembled a gorgeous and detailed mosaic of Saint Phalle's visual and textual works from a trove of paintings, drawings, sketches and writings, many previously unpublished or long unavailable, that trace her mistakes and successes, her passions and her radical sense of joy. Saint Phalle's invocation—her "bringing to life"—writes Rudick, "is an apt summation of the overlap of Saint Phalle’s life and art: both a bringing into existence and a bringing to bear. These are visions from the frontiers of consciousness." Born in France, Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) was raised in New York and began making art at age 23, pursuing a revelatory vision informed both by the monumental works of Antonin Gaudí and the Facteur Cheval, and by aspects of her own life. In addition to her Tirs (“shooting paintings”) and Nanas and her celebrated large-scale projects—including the Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre Pompidou, Golem in Jerusalem and the Tarot Garden in Tuscany—Saint Phalle produced writing and works on paper that delve into her own biography: childhood and her break with her family, marriage to Harry Mathews, motherhood, a long collaborative relationship with Jean Tinguely, numerous health crises and her late, productive years in Southern California. Saint Phalle has most recently been the subject of retrospectives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in 2015, and at MoMA P.S.1, in 2021. Nicole Rudick is a critic and an editor. Her writing on art, literature and comics has been published in the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, the New Yorker, Artforum and elsewhere. She was managing editor of the Paris Review for nearly a decade. She is the editor, most recently, of a new edition of Gary Panter’s legendary comic Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise (New York Review Comics, 2021).Trade ReviewTracking Saint Phalle’s creative, personal, and professional odyssey from childhood to old age, with an emphasis on persistent themes of feminism, abuse, and illness, the book is just as much a testament to the willful production of artistic subjectivity as it is to the manifold powers of art as an instrument of therapy, education, and activism. -- Jackson Davidow * Los Angeles Review of Books *As readers, we inhabit her consciousness—we grow and process with her...This is the greatest strength of What Is Now Known: It offers an intimate emotional portrait—an experiential biography, you might say—of Saint Phalle. -- Jillian Steinhauer * The Nation *What Is Now Known also clarifies editing as a creative act rather than a definitive one. Saint Phalle wrote nothing for this book, and yet this book is written by her. Embracing that contradiction, Rudick enables the artist to speak for herself, as herself, once again. -- Jennifer Krasinski * Bookforum *The book follows her international journey weathering the highs and lows of being an artist, woman, friend, daughter, lover, and mother. The person who emerges is open, driven, and often remarkably perceptive about who she is and why. -- Lauren Moya Ford * Hyperallergic *
£999.99
Thames & Hudson Ltd Agnes Martin
Book SynopsisWinner of the PEN Award for Biography 2016, this is the only biography of visionary artist Agnes Martin, one of the most original and influential painters of the postwar period.Trade Review'Thorough and illuminating' - Apollo (Shortlisted for Book of the Year)'Scholarly, thoroughly researched … an accessible and fascinating story' - Aesthetica'Doggedly researched and gracefully written… [Princenthal] shines in describing Martin’s earthy good humour and dedication to her art and in capturing the atmosphere in which the artist came of age … it will remain definitive for a good long while' - Wall Street JournalTable of ContentsIntroduction: Abstraction • 1. Northwest Passages • 2. Student/Teacher • 3. Reaching Harbor • 4. Lines of Thought • 5. As Shown • 6. Silence • 7. Departures • 8. Back to the World • 9. Contours Redrawn • Epilogue: Composure
£18.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Tough Mothers
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Jason Porath manages to be simultaneously irreverent and respectful in this delightfully illustrated collection of vignettes, which explore all the ways a woman can be tough. Tough Mothers is packed with inspirational, cautionary, and sometimes difficult stories of the power of mothers through the centuries and around the world.” — Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey, Hosts of Stuff You Missed In History Class “The stories of the forgotten women herein have nourished me in a way I’m having difficulty articulating, sating a hunger I didn’t know I had. I needed these women. In all their glorious imperfection, they have made me stronger. And now I am hungry for more.” — Kelly Sue DeConnick, author Of Bitch Planet, Pretty Deadly, and Captain Marvel “Porath draws these moms in all their variety, creating cartoony illustrations that are cinematic, upbeat, and inspiring.” — Booklist
£18.04
Buddhist Publication Society,Sri Lanka Maha Kaccana: Master of Doctrinal Exposition
Book SynopsisVenerable Maha Kaccana, though not always with the Buddha, was highly respected for his intellect, insight into Dhamma, and speaking skills. Other monks sought his help in understanding the Buddha's teachings due to his profound understanding and clarity in explanations.
£8.06
Pan Macmillan XS All Areas
Book SynopsisQuo are the most successful band in British history after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. From 1973 to the mid-80s they had a string of hits, including 'Down, Down', 'Rockin' All Over the World', 'Again and Again', 'What You're Proposing' - all classic rock anthems. When the band imploded, and the other members left, Rossi and Parfitt reinvented Quo for the 90s and kept going, touring constantly and winning new fans. The story of Status Quo is essentially the story of two people: Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. It is the story of two outwardly very different characters - Rossi, the moody insecure one, Parfitt, the smiling, permanantly at ease golden boy - who against the odds forged an unlikely yet enduring bond that would see them through the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of a forty-year career. Rossi and Parfitt admit that in the past they've hidden some of the truth about their lives, unable to admit how out of control things were even to themselves. Now they tell it all - the drug-taking, the marriage breakdowns, Parfitt's brush with death when he was forced to undergo by-pass surgery. From their early days as a sixties 'boy band' through the massive international success of the seventies to the present day, this is an explosive no-holds-barred autobiography from two of Britain's most enduring rock stars.
£10.44
Mountaineers Books Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change, and the Race for
Book Synopsis2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition Category Finalist in Mountain Literature 2019 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature Finalist "If you climbed during that era, you'll turn each page eagerly to find out what happens next (even though you know). If you didn't, you'll likely do the same.... In many ways, Hangdog Days reads as the great American climbing novel. Smoot accepts Todd [Skinner]'s call to join him, and brings us along." -Gripped Fast-paced history-cum-memoir about rock climbing in the wild-and-wooly '80s Highlights ground-breaking achievements from the era Hangdog Days vividly chronicles the era when rock climbing exploded in popularity, attracting a new generation of talented climbers eager to reach new heights via harder routes and faster ascents. This contentious, often entertaining period gave rise to sport climbing, climbing gyms, and competitive climbing--indelibly transforming the sport. Jeff Smoot was one of those brash young climbers, and here he traces the development of traditional climbing "rules," enforced first through peer pressure, then later through intimidation and sabotage. In the late '70s, several climbers began introducing new tactics including "hangdogging," hanging on gear to practice moves, that the old guard considered cheating. As more climbers broke ranks with traditional style, the new gymnastic approach pushed the limits of climbing from 5.12 to 5.13. When French climber Jean-Baptiste Tribout ascended To Bolt or Not to Be, 5.14a, at Smith Rock in 1986, he cracked a barrier many people had considered impenetrable. In his lively, fast-paced history enriched with insightful firsthand experience, Smoot focuses on the climbing achievements of three of the era's superstars: John Bachar, Todd Skinner, and Alan Watts, while not neglecting the likes of Ray Jardine, Lynn Hill, Mark Hudon, Tony Yaniro, and Peter Croft. He deftly brings to life the characters and events of this raucous, revolutionary time in rock climbing, exploring, as he says, "what happened and why it mattered, not only to me but to the people involved and those who have followed."Trade Review"Hangdog Days" by Washington-based climber Jeff Smoot details rock climbing's often hilarious growing pains of the 1970s and 1980s. The parallels between then and now struck me, even as our sport has changed tremendously. Now it's the same conflict, different issues; the same challenge, higher bar; the same stakes, different rules.--Chris Weidner "The Daily Camera" An engaging account of the changes that took place in American rock climbing in the '70s and '80s told with great verve, through the stories of some fascinating characters from died-in-the-wool bottom-up traditionalists to top-down rap-bolters.-- "2019 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature shortlist" As a direct result of the people and climbing Smoot describes, we have sport climbing, gyms, comps, bouldering as we know it, and so many other things that were once unthinkable and that now form the bedrock of all serious climbing efforts. As such, I highly recommend this sensitive and fascinating account to anyone interested in how we got here.--David Smart, Gripped founding editor "Ontario Climbing" If you climbed during that era, you'll turn each page eagerly to find out what happens next (even though you know). If you didn't, you'll likely do the same.... In many ways, Hangdog Days reads as the great American climbing novel. Smoot accepts Todd [Skinner]'s call to join him, and brings us along.--Tom Valis "Gripped" Impressively informative, exceptionally well written, thoroughly engaging in organization and presentation, Hangdog Days: Conflict, Change, and the Race for 5.14 is an extraordinary and unique sports history that is unreservedly recommended.--Micah Andrew "Midwest Book Review" In his book Hangdog Days, Jeff Smoot chronicles the controversial method of "hangdogging" a climbing route and the debate that raged during the 1980s in climbing circles about this method.... Part history and part memoir, Smoot's book uses his personal experiences as a climber and freelance rock-climbing magazine writer as the vehicle to narrate the sport's rocky transition from the purview of a few grizzled climbers to a phenomenon that attracted younger and more eager climbers wanting to climb harder routes once thought impossible to scale. Smoot's story incorporates the biggest names of the era--everyone from John Bachar to Todd Skinner to Lynn Hill. Each one adds to the debate about the ethics of hangdogging a route.--Eric Patterson "Foreword Reviews" It's awesome. Highly recommend it.--Chris Kalous "The Enormocast" Smoot does an incredible job of making the reader question their own climbing ethics and wonder what the future holds for our crags. If you're into reading on the history of specific climbs or nerding out about Yosemite/Joshua Tree/Smith Rock, this one's for you.-- "monopkt." Smoot effortlessly weaves his own experiences through a wildly colorful historical record filled with fistfights, sabotaged routes, and even death threats.... Hangdog Days is at its heart a tribute to Skinner and the groundbreaking (and yes, sometimes controversial) ways he helped redefine the sport itself.--Shawnte Salabert "Adventure Journal" Smoot tracks the evolution of climbing, from the early hard free climbs of Yosemite to indoor climbing gyms, and introduces readers to climbing luminaries like John Bachar, Alan Watts, Lynn Hill, and Hugh Herr (a double amputee), and he delves into his relationship with a charismatic free climber, Todd Skinner, to whom the book is dedicated...this crisply written memoir provides solid information on a crucial historical period in a sport of increasing popularity.--Brenda Barrera "Booklist" This rollicking book is a welcome trip back to the 1980s, the decade of greatest change--and conflict--in America, when resting on the rope and rap bolting were taboo.... With engaging writing and research, Smoot's book is a pleasure, even as it details the uglier incidents (bolt wars, Yosemite rope-shitting, Index crack-greasing!) in American climbing. Without the 1980s, our sport would not be where it is today, a lesson Hangdog Days artfully conveys.-- "Climbing" Hangdog Days recalls the colorful personalities and ethical struggles that spurred a revolution in rock climbing. This fun trip back in time will motivate you to climb harder.--Paul Piana, climber and writer Full of Homeric characters, epic struggles, heroes and heartbreaks, all played out on an international stage--fans of adventure narratives can't do much better than Hangdog Days.--John Long, writer and climber In Hangdog Days, Jeff Smoot offers an enlightening behind-the-scenes perspective on this fantastic era and its memorable characters. I was climbing in the areas he describes where and while these scenes were playing out. He captures them vividly.--Hans Florine, climber and writer Powerful, moving, compelling, outrageous, fascinating--Hangdog Days captures eighties climbing perfectly. If you're a climber and you can read, this book's for you.--Cam Burns, writer and editor Well-researched and fun with flashes of neon--Smoot's Hangdog Days captures all the wild color of climbing in the late '70s through the '80s.--Lynn Hill, climber
£999.99
Revela Press, LLC Anonymous Is a Woman
Book Synopsis
£18.89
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Inventor of the Future
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Revealing...Fuller could come across as a selfless seer, almost a secular saint; in Nevala-Lee’s biography he is all too human...The strength of this carefully researched and fair-minded biography is that the reader comes away with a greater understanding of a deeply complicated individual who overcame obstacles—many of his own making—to achieve a kind of imperfect greatness.” — Witold Rybczynski, New York Times "Alec Nevala-Lee is a sure-footed guide to a dizzying life. He eschews mythmaking, laying out the way Fuller burnished his own legend by rewriting history and slighting the contributions of his collaborators. Clear-eyed about his subject’s faults, Mr Nevala-Lee nevertheless gives him his due as a dazzlingly original thinker...The portrait the author paints is compelling...[Fuller] comes alive in these pages as a visionary who rose above his imperfections to labour for the benefit of humankind." — The Economist “Brilliant...Alec Nevala-Lee’s writing is as serene and precise as one of Fuller’s geodesic domes...A genuinely groundbreaking book full of surprises.” — Esquire “Nevala-Lee is something of an expert in a very specific type: twentieth-century men, working on the fringes of stem careers, who channeled the technological optimism of the years between World War I and the 1970s into careers as media icons…A labor of love…Meticulous and clearly written.” — New Republic "It requires a Dymaxion biographer to take the full measure of Buckminster Fuller—the huckster-visionary who finally made good on (at least some of) his dizzying schemes and changed the world. In his effervescent Inventor of the Future, Alec Nevala-Lee proves himself Bucky’s match, debunking myths and ferreting out deeper truths at every twist and turn of this remarkable saga of an unlikely rise to global fame and influence. Nevala-Lee is the rare biographer of a 'great man' who successfully links private and public life, showing how Fuller’s incomparable genius was both innate and inspired by the synergy of meetings with a cast of brilliant characters, a Who’s Who of the twentieth century’s modernist intelligentsia. For Fuller, a better future was never beyond imagining, an optimism this fine biography makes contagious." — Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life "Buckminster Fuller was part design guru, part visionary futurist, part bold technocrat, part New England patrician and part insecure striver. Until now we have never had a book about him that portrays the full extent of his complex and contradictory character, and explains how he could be at once a quirky iconoclast and an inspiration to technological empires. Alec Nevala-Lee’s beautifully written Inventor of the Future is the perceptive, nuanced biography of Fuller that we have needed, and it is as engaging to read as Fuller's extraordinary geodesic domes are to look at." — Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry “Various friends and acolytes wrote books about Fuller in his lifetime, but until now there has never been a thoroughgoing biography…Carefully researched…Nevala-Lee compares Fuller to Steve Jobs, a design visionary, and Elon Musk—both ‘outsiders who disrupted established fields’—as well as Jeff Bezos.” — James Gleick, The New York Review of Books "Ever the optimist, ever the outsider, Fuller never tired of trying to pull humanity toward a better future. Alec Nevala-Lee’s authoritative biography...tells Fuller’s story in greater detail than ever." — Wall Street Journal "Alec Nevala-Lee’s new biography, Inventor of the Future, fact-checks Fuller’s legend and then corrects the record...He resists the hypnotic whirlpool surrounding Fuller...A bedazzling cobweb of who’s who in 20th-century America." — Pradeep Niroula, Los Angeles Review of Books “Novelist, biographer, and science-fiction writer Nevala-Lee draws on abundant archival material to fashion a thoroughly researched, comprehensive biography of architect, inventor, and “serial entrepreneur” R. Buckminster Fuller….A perceptive and cleareyed biography of a unique figure.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This probing biography of Buckminster Fuller distinguishes man from myth while giving the iconic designer and futurist due credit for influencing generations of big thinkers...Nevala-Lee diligently emphasizes Fuller’s contradictions...but he also persuasively demonstrates that, in the end, none of Fuller’s epic shortcomings would matter. Fuller’s most enduring creation was his own ethos, that of the free-thinking futurist whose design solutions would solve the planet’s problems. Such ideas would take deep root, especially in Silicon Valley, even if the math never quite worked out." — Booklist (starred review) "A clear-eyed portrait of the cult of (tech) personality that reads very 2022." — Chicago Tribune, "Books for Summer 2022" "Novelist Nevala-Lee (Astounding) offers a cogent assessment of futurist Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), “a man who had been revered by both the counterculture and the establishment” in this solid biography...a fascinating portrait of a larger-than-life figure." — Publishers Weekly "This new biography of the multi-hyphenate American icon and futurist promises to dig deep into both his professional and personal life and frames him as the father of startup culture, showing how his ideas infected Silicon Valley and still hold sway today—whether you live in a geodesic dome or not." — Lit Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2022, Part Two" “Nevala-Lee draws a revealing portrait of the Buckminster Fuller behind the legend. It encompasses both Fuller’s passions and his foibles. Placing Fuller where he belongs in the pantheon of America’s inventors, Inventor of the Future is the first complete portrait of both the man and the myth.” — John Markoff, author of Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand "This is a deceptively artful book of circuitous tensions and great circles (which the author uses as beautiful chapter titles and section headings) where, finally, all the loops and time-bends of Buckminster Fuller's improbable life come close to merging into one." — Paul Hendrickson, author of Plagued by Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright "Nevala-Lee brings back to life one of the most influential American minds of the twentieth century—revealing both the brilliance and the flaws that are contributing to the bold and radical technological reimagining of how we think and live." — David Edwards, author of Creating Things That Matter: The Art and Science of Innovations That Last "Revealing . . . Utterly fascinating . . . An important biography and entertaining read from start to finish." — Analog Science Fiction and Fact "This exhaustive biography of mastermind architect Buckminster Fuller sheds light on the origins of some of his most notable works. While the book looks back on interviews and unpublished documents from Fuller’s lifetime and career, Fuller himself will always be remembered for looking toward the future." — The Architect's Newspaper
£14.39
St. Martin's Griffin Black Bird
Book Synopsis The basis for the Apple TV+ show Black Bird. In with the Devil presents the true story of a young man destined for greatness on the football fielduntil a few wrong turns led him to a ten-year prison sentence. He was offered an impossible mission: Coax a confession out of a fellow inmate, a serial killer, and walk free. Jimmy Keene grew up outside of Chicago. Although he was the son of a policeman and rubbed shoulders with the city''s elite, he ended up on the wrong side of the law and was sentenced to ten years with no chance of parole. Just a few months into his sentence, Keene was approached by the prosecutor who put him behind bars. He had convicted a man named Larry Hall for abducting and killing a fifteen-year-old. Although Hall was suspected of killing nineteen other young women, there was a chance he could still be released on appeal. If Keene could get him to confess to two murders, there would be no doubt about Hall''s guilt. I
£17.09
