Biography Books

Book Synopsis“I spent six decades learning how never to reveal my weakness to anyone - now it’s time for change.” When he was just two and a half, Barrington Sowden's mother left him and his older sister in the care of his grandparents in Jamaica, joining the Windrush exodus from the island to seek work in the UK. With his father having departed years earlier, Barrington was left with no memory of his parents, and his childhood was marked by a series of unusual events, including the unexpected death of his beloved grandfather in circumstances which to this day appear suspicious. At the tender age of ten years old, Barrington joined his parents in Manchester, and was rapidly plunged into a life surrounded by violence, drugs and racism, forcing Barrington to constantly fight to forge his own path. Chronicling his life from his early years to the present day, One Journey, Many Lives tells the story of an ordinary man trying to build resilience amidst extraordinary circumstances.

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Book SynopsisThe classic eye-witness account of Nazi Germany, by Hitler's Armaments Minister and right-hand man.'Inside the Third Reich is not only the most significant personal German account to come out of the war but the most revealing document on the Hitler phenomenon yet written. It takes the reader inside Nazi Germany on four different levels: Hitler's inner circle, National Socialism as a whole, the area of wartime production and the inner struggle of Albert Speer. The author does not try to make excuses, even by implication, and is unrelenting toward himself and his associates ... Speer's full-length portrait of Hitler has unnerving reality. The Führer emerges as neither an incompetent nor a carpet-gnawing madman but as an evil genius of warped conceits endowed with an ineffable personal magic' New York Times

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Book SynopsisThe Road from Kharkiv: A Journey of Pain in Pursuit of Love, God and Sense is a story of the author’s spiritual development as she dealt with a life-threatening situation of extreme adversity. At first hand, Katheryna Fedorova and her family faced the terrifying experience of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Based in Kharkiv, the family decided to leave their home and flee westwards to find safety from the bombing and the fighting. Katheryna and her family commenced their long trip, beginning an uncertain, stressful and challenging odyssey. Taking up offers, often from well-meaning strangers and unknown organisations, received from her extensive network of contacts on social media, the family found refuge in various places in Ukraine, Romania and Austria. Throughout the trip, Katheryna’s faith kept her going and helped her look after her family while still assisting other people along the way. Through it all, Katheryna’s spiritual views and beliefs evolved as her interactions with others presented the opportunities for life lessons to be learned. The Road from Kharkiv: A Journey of Pain in Pursuit of Love, God and Sense will appeal to those interested in spiritual and personal development; how to deal with adversity; the philosophy of life; and those keen to read a first-hand experience of the Ukraine-Russian war.

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Book SynopsisAs seen on Channel 5's Springtime on the Farm and Cannon Hall: A Yorkshire Farm.In their own words, this is the very personal story of the ups and downs of the Nicholson family at Cannon Hall farm spanning almost 70 years.

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Book SynopsisUltrarunner Jen Scotney has achieved podium finishes in some of the UK's toughest races and now has her sights firmly set on the Pennine Way record. Running Through the Dark is much more than a running book, it is a story about resilience, about never giving up, and about battling through the night and always believing that there will be a new dawn.

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Book SynopsisAnd So I Run is a story about running. Engaging and relatable, Jamie Doward uses running as an escape, as a way to evade life's most painful realities. With the marathon at its heart, And So I Run speaks to all runners, offering a raw, witty and human exploration of how we cope, heal and keep on just putting one foot in front of the other.

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Book SynopsisTHE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING ACCOUNT OF A NEUROSURGEON''S OWN NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE.Internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander always considered himself a man of science. His unwavering belief in evidence-based medicine fuelled a career in the top medical institutions of the world. But all this was set to change. One morning in 2008 he fell into a coma after suffering a rare form of bacterial meningitis. Scans of his brain revealed massive damage. Death was deemed the most likely outcome. As his family prepared themselves for the worst, something miraculous happened. Dr Alexander''s brain went from near total inactivity to awakening. He made a full recovery but he was never the same. He woke certain of the infinite reach of the soul, he was certain of a life beyond death. In this astonishing book, Dr Alexander shares his experience, pieced together from the notes he made as soon as he was able to write again. Unlike oTrade ReviewDr Eben Alexander's near-death experience is the most astounding I have heard in more than four decades of studying this phenomenon. In my opinion, Dr Alexander is living proof of an afterlife. * Dr Raymond Moody, bestselling author of Life After Life *Dr Alexander's neuroscience career taught him that near-death experiences are brain-based illusions, and yet his personal experience left him dumbstruck. His honest struggle to make sense of this unforgettable journey is a gripping story, unique in the literature of spiritual experiences that may well change how we understand our role in the universe. * Dr Bruce Greyson, Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia School of Medicine; co-editor of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences *An interesting account of how a man's spiritual beliefs were fundamentally changed by an unforeseen and nearly fatal event * Glasgow Herald *I don't know whether Heaven exists, but I do believe that Eben's account is real and that he witnessed a part of the Universe that most of us haven't seen * Anthony Peake, author of Is There Life After Death?: The Extraordinary Science of What Happens When We Die and Making Sense of Near Death Experiences *A man of science coming out for life after death has extra resonance, rather like Richard Dawkins saying 'God bless.' Based on his own life experience after falling into a coma, it's a fascinating read whatever your own opinions * Belfast Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION''Vivid and empowering'' GILLIAN ANDERSON''A stunning book' BERNARDINE EVARISTODazzling' TARA WESTOVERA story about hope, imagination and resilience'GUARDIANAn award-winning, inspiring memoir of family, education and resilience.Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where luxury hotels line pristine white sand beaches, Safiya Sinclair grew up guarding herself against an ever-present threat. Her father, a volatile reggae musician and strict believer in a militant sect of Rastafari, railed against Babylon, the corrupting influence of the immoral Western world just beyond their gate. To protect the purity of the women in their family he forbade almost everything.Her mother did what she could to bring joy to her children with books and poetry. But as Safiya's imagination reached beyond its restrictive borders, her burgeoning independence brought with it ever greater clashes with her father. Soon she realised that if she was to live at all, she

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Book SynopsisThe incredible true survival story of one man's record-breaking fourteen months lost at sea.On 17th November, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga left the coast of Mexico for a two-day fishing trip. A vicious storm killed his engine and the current dragged his boat out to sea. The storm picked up and carried him West, deeper into the heart of the Pacific Ocean. Alvarenga would not touch solid ground again for fourteen months. When he was washed ashore on January 30th, 2014, he had drifted over 9,000 miles.Three dozen cruise ships and container vessels passed nearby. Not one stopped for the stranded fisherman. He considered suicide on multiple occasions – including offering himself up to a pack of circling sharks. But Alvarenga developed a method of survival that kept his body and mind intact long enough for the Pacific Ocean to spit him up onto a remote palm-studded island. Crawling ashore, he was saved by a local couple living in their own private castaway paradise.Based on dozens of hours of interviews with Alvarenga and his colleagues, search and rescue officials, the medical team that saved his life and the remote islanders who nursed him back to normality, 438 Days by Jonathan Franklin is an epic tale of survival and one man's incredible story of beating the ultimate odds.

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Book SynopsisIf you were to only have one Slater cookbook in your life, this is it' OFM, Books of the YearHe is king among food writers' Nigella LawsonSlater's best book' Diana Henry, Sunday TelegraphA Cook's Book is the story of Nigel Slater's life in the kitchen.From the first jam tart Nigel made with his mum standing on a chair trying to reach the Aga, through to what he is cooking now, this is the ultimate Nigel Slater collection brimming with over 200 recipes.Hewrites about how his cooking has changed from discovering the best way to roast a chicken to the trick to smoky, smooth aubergine mash. He gives the tales behind the recipes and recalls the first time he ate a baguette in Paris, his love of jewel-bright Japanese pickled radishes and his initial slice of buttercream-topped chocolate cake. These are the favourite recipes Nigel Slater cooks at home every day; the heart and soul of his cooking. Chapters include: a slice of tart, a chicken in the pot, everyday greens, the solace of soup and Trade Review‘A Cook’s Book, all 500 pages and nearly one and a half kilos of it, enters the world as if from the kitchen of someone fresh to the world of food writing, a-brim with ideas, vital and enthusiastic . . . He is king among food writers . . . There is not a cook or a reader in the land who wouldn’t gratefully hug this new volume of his to their chest’ Nigella Lawson ‘A magnificent volume of comfort. After all these years, no one describes the simple sensuous pleasures of food better than Slater’ Bee Wilson ‘This is a book for life . . . This, and it’s high praise, is Slater’s best book’ Diana Henry, Sunday Telegraph ‘It’s so good. I think it’s his best one, and I say that because every single recipe is something you’d make tonight, for supper, with no fuss or stress . . . It’s super-homey and a friendly, comfortable book for people who don’t view recipes as projects. Divinely written, as per’ India Knight, Sunday Times ‘I've got five Nigel Slaters – and in all honesty I don't need a single new recipe in my life . . . But that's absolutely nothing to do with it. Cookery books are like new clothes – you imagine a whole life to go with them’ Alexandra Schulman, Daily Mail ‘It is beautiful’ Grace Dent ‘This beautiful book has all you’ll ever need’ Graham Norton, Virgin Radio ‘Every time Nigel Slater announces a new book, I quickly make a spot next to all his other books that sit on my bookshelf. His latest book, A Cook’s Book is like your favourite chocolate cake, sweetened with fond memories and layered with Nigel’s wisdom to make us all better cooks in the kitchen’ Nik Sharma ‘It’s gorgeous’ Felicity Spector ‘It’s beautifully designed, spilling over with tempting ideas’ Express Books of the Year ‘The beauty of his prose is matched to the warmth of his recipes’ Tom Parker-Bowles, Daily Mail

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Book SynopsisThe complex and fascinating life of Mark Twain, as told by a Pulitzer prizewinning biographerBorn in 1835, the man who would become America's first, and most influential, literary celebrity spent his childhood dreaming of piloting steamboats on the Mississippi. But when the Civil War interrupted his career on the river, the young Mark Twain went west and accepted a job at the local newspaper, writing dispatches that attracted attention for their brashness and humour. It wasn't long until the former steamboat pilot from Missouri was recognized across the country for his literary brilliance.In this rich and nuanced portrait of Twain, Ron Chernow brings his powers to bear on a man who shamelessly sought fame and fortune, and crafted his persona with meticulous care. After establishing himself as a journalist, satirist, and performer, and a family man, Twain went on to write The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He threw himself into the epicentre of American culture, emerging as the nation's most notable political pundit and the only white author of his generation to grapple so fully with the legacy of slavery. At the same time, his madcap business ventures eventually bankrupted him and led him and his family to nine years of exile between London, France, Germany and Italy. During this time, he lost his wife and two daughters the last stage of his life marked by heartache, political crusades, and eccentric behaviour that sometimes obscured darker forces at play.Drawing on Twain's bountiful archives, including thousands of letters and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, Chernow here captures the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original characters in literary history, reminding us why Twain's writing continues to be read, debated and quoted over a hundred years after his passing.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2024Raw and radical, strange and beguiling - a love letter to Britain''s breathtaking flatlands, from Orford Ness to Orkney, and a reckoning with the painful, hidden histories they contain''Expansive and arresting'' Financial Times''Sharp, subtle and very moving'' Robert MacfarlaneNoreen Masud has always loved flat landscapes - their stark beauty, their formidable calm, their refusal to cooperate with the human gaze. They reflect her inner world: the ''flat place'' she carries inside herself, emotional numbness and memory loss as symptoms of childhood trauma. But as much as Britain''s landscapes provide solace for suffering, they are also uneasy places for a Scottish-Pakistani woman, representing both an inheritance and a dispossession.Pursuing this paradox across the wide open plains that she loves, Noreen weaves her impressions of the natural world with the poetry, folklore and history of the land, and with recollections of her own early life, rendering a startlingly strange, vivid and intimate account of a post-traumatic, post-colonial landscape - a seemingly flat and motionless place which is nevertheless defiantly alive.''Beautifully written and elegantly constructed'' Kamila Shamsie''A Flat Place reminds us that there is hope in the smallest of gestures'' Sara AhmedSHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2024SHORTLISTED FOR THE ONDAATJE PRIZE 2024SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD 2024BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ACCORDING TO THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, NEW YORKER

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Book Synopsis*BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week* Benjamin Zephaniah, who has travelled the world for his art and his humanitarianism, now tells the one story that encompasses it all: the story of his life. In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere, and to popularise it by reaching people who didn’t read books. His poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant.  By the early 1990s, Benjamin had performed on every continent in the world (a feat which he achieved in only one year) and he hasn’t stopped performing and touring since. Nelson Mandela, after hearing Benjamin’s tribute to him while he was in prison, requested an introduction to the poet that grew into a lifelong relationship, inspiring BTrade Review'The Life and Rhymes has a performative quality reminiscent of Zephaniah’s poetry – honest, unshowy and ultimately unthreatening. It matches the man.' * The Guardian *'Vivid, frank and to the point, yet bristling with compassion, this is a rousing romp through a life less ordinary and a timely reminder of art’s redemptive force.' * Mojo magazine *‘Compelling and inspiring’ * Scottish Poetry Library *'His singular career has spanned poetry, music and activism, with detours into acting and academia. And he’s really lived a life less ordinary – from teenage jailbird to celebrity role model, embraced by the British Establishment, even if he hasn’t always reciprocated. His scepticism about the necessity of his memoir, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, is unfounded.' * The Scotsman *'His singular career has spanned poetry, music and activism, with detours into acting and academia. And he’s really lived a life less ordinary – from teenage jailbird to celebrity role model, embraced by the British Establishment, even if he hasn’t always reciprocated. His scepticism about the necessity of his memoir, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, is unfounded.' * The Scotsman *‘This is a beautifully penned and highly entertaining account of an intriguing life, opening us up not just to Zephaniah's story but to a wide range of topics arising out of it...tackled with down-to-earth honesty and insight, not to mention an element of gentle humour and self-effacement.’ * Morning Star *'The people’s laureate' * Birmingham Mail *‘A celebration of a truly extraordinary life story which remarks upon the power of poetry and the importance of pushing boundaries with the arts.’ * Shropshire Star *'Retaining a humility and humour that belie his extraordinary rise from street gang to cultural touchstone…Zephaniah is one of the rare voices that manages to remain determinedly outside the Establishment (he famously turned down an OBE) yet is embraced by it...a riveting read worthy of a Netflix drama.' * iNews *'Filled with extraordinary moments, taking in his first poetry performance in a church aged 10, his time in borstal and prison, and his stint in a gang when he feared for his life and slept with a gun under his pillow. He was framed by the police for murder, turned his life around to the extent that he developed a friendship with Nelson Mandela – and his words helped usher in freedom in South Africa. But the book is also a searing social history of Britain and a salutary reminder that when it comes to the fight for racial equality, there is no end bell.' * Big Issue North *'Zephaniah pulls no punches when it comes to talking about the racism that has shaped his life or the mischief he got up to in response to it.' * The Spectator *

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Book SynopsisRead the inspiring Sunday Times bestselling memoir from the first woman, and woman of colour, to serve as Vice President of the United States.'A life story that genuinely entrances' Los Angeles TimesThe daughter of immigrants and civil rights activists, Vice President Kamala Harris was raised in a California community that cared deeply about social justice. As she rose to prominence as a political leader, her experiences would become her guiding light as she grappled with an array of complex issues and learned to bring a voice to the voiceless.Now, in The Truths We Hold, Harris reckons with the big challenges we face together. Drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values as we confront the great work of our day.'Personal integrity shines through every page' ObserverTrade ReviewA fascinating insight into a remarkable career -- Clare Fulton * Scotsman, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.If there is one man to whom I do feel myself inferior, it is a coalminer.In the mid-1930s, George Orwell was given an assignment from his publisher to write a book about unemployment and social conditions in the economically depressed north of England. Revolutionary for its time, The Road to Wigan Pier documents Orwell's stint in towns likes Barnsley, Sheffield and Wigan in 1936, where he met and observed working-class people living in the bleak industrial heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire.Orwell graphically and emphatically describes the hardships of ordinary people living in cramped slum housing, working in dangerous mines and growing hungry through malnutrition and social injustice. It is an honest, gripping and humane study that also looks at socialism as a solution to the problems facing working-class northerners something many readers at the time were uncomfortable discussing.The Road

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Book SynopsisA chemist by training, the author became one of the witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In these haunting reflections inspired by the elements of the periodic table, he ranges from young love to political savagery; from the inert gas argon - and 'inert' relatives like the uncle who stayed in bed for twenty-two years - to life-giving carbon.

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Book SynopsisI knew dogs could make a difference to the children's lives. I knew it the moment I watched a little boy, exhausted by pain and sickness, stretch out his hand to touch my dog's paw, and thenhe smiled.'Lyndsey Uglow has endured and overcome mental health challenges and much personal pain, including her young son's battle with Leukaemia. Lyndsey knows only too well the emotional rollercoaster experienced by parents supporting their children through critical illness, but she also knows just how much the company of dogs can alleviate just some of their worry and pain.The healing bond with dogs that helped her, she now shares with others in the shape of a dynasty of exceptional Golden Retrievers, including the incredible Leo. Since 2012, Lyndsey has made it possible for therapy dogs to visit more than 10,000 children, many critically ill, bringing smiles of simple joy and a sense of normality to lives ruled by pain, sadness and uncertainty in paediatric intensive care, cancer wards and pal

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965, Richard Feynman was one of the world''s greatest theoretical physicists, but he was also a man who fell, often jumped, into adventure. An artist, safecracker, practical joker and storyteller, Feynman''s life was a series of combustible combinations made possible by his unique mixture of high intelligence, unquenchable curiosity and eternal scepticism. Over a period of years, Feynman''s conversations with his friend Ralph Leighton were first taped and then set down as they appear here, little changed from their spoken form, giving a wise, funny, passionate and totally honest self-portrait of one of the greatest men of our age.Trade ReviewThere are two types of genius. Ordinary geniuses do great things, but they leave you room to believe that you could do the same if only you worked hard enough. Then there are magicians, and you can have no idea how they do it. Feynman was a magicianA storyteller in the tradition of Mark Twain. He proves once again that it is possible to laugh out loud and scratch your head at the same time * New York Times Book Review *Quintessential Feynman - funny, brilliant, bawdy...enormously entertaining * New Yorker *Buzzes with energy, anecdote and life. It almost makes you want to become a physicist * Science Digest *

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Book SynopsisIn this entertaining and surprisingly moving autobiography, Timmy shares his journey through TV stardom, cycling the Camino and his passion for art.Trade ReviewI am reading and LOVING and being both amused and moved by Timmy Mallett’s Utterly Brilliant! -- Gyles BrandrethA vivid, beautifully written and often moving book, skilfully dovetailing memoir, history, art and a cycling pilgrimage across Europe into a unique and uplifting whole. If you think you know who Timmy Mallett is, you’re in for a rewarding surprise! -- Professor Brian CoxA must read. This is a journey brimming with love and laughter that's also deeply moving. Timmy's glass isn't just half full, it's positively overflowing! -- Lorraine KellyImagine as an adult the joy of bumping into someone you watched weekly as a kid on Saturday morning TV. Someone who kicked off the weekend, entertaining me with joyous fun and silliness. Someone I would send pictures to; I even won competitions on their show. Timmy Mallett, I still have my WAC PAC and all its contents! You’re the kind of hero who has probably influenced me more than I realize. What a lovely man! -- Keith LemonThere are not many people who would put themselves through this much to achieve their dream. Timmy has always aimed for the summit and, most importantly, remembers to smile and take time to reflect along the way. -- Chris EvansI loved this book. It’s absolutely delightful. An adventure told in a uniquely Timmy way, full of humour and charm. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. -- Michaela Strachan, from the forewordThe world is a dark and confusing place to be right now, but there are still times that make a person glad to be in it. Timmy's journey throughout this book is one of them. -- The Secret FootballerA beautiful, life-affirming book. It shows Timmy in a new light and demonstrates his talents and astonishing versatility. Read it! I am sure you'll be as captivated as I was. -- Wendy CraigFunny, fascinating and insightful, just like Timmy himself. A must read for anyone who likes an adventure. -- Yvette FieldingHighly entertaining . . . Much of the joy of Mallett's memoir is his unselfconscious tone. * The Mail on Sunday *A riveting read, full of love and laughter. * S Magazine, the weekly magazine with the Sunday Express *Mallett’s book is a fun read – at once a history lesson, travelogue, love letter to cycling, autobiography and motivational manual, with some perhaps unintended but endearingly hilarious lines such as "tarmac is the same all over the world". * The Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''The narrative is compelling and deeply moving, blending the suspense of a wartime espionage thriller with the profound depth of spiritual discourse. Corrie''s account of her and her family''s efforts to hide Jews, their subsequent arrest by the Gestapo, and the harrowing experiences in concentration camps, including Ravensbrück, are recounted with honesty and emotional depth. The story is not just about the darkness of humanity during war but also about hope, forgiveness, and the indomitable strength of faith.'' Reader review є є є є є As the Nazis sweep across Europe, a quiet watchmaker''s family in Holland risk everything for the sake of others, and for the love of Christ. Despite the danger and threat of discovery, the ten Boom family courageously offer shelter to persecuted Jews during the Nazi occupation of Holland. When a trap brings about the family''s arrest, they are tested to the limit. Can God''s love shine through, even afteTrade ReviewThis book, will be a revelation, and bring a new heartening Christian message of great importance to new readers. * The Irish Catholic *This classic of inspirational faith in the toughest of circumstances deserves to reach a new audience. * Ministry Today *The Hiding Place is one of the most inspirational books that you can read, the true story of Corrie ten Boom a Dutch Christian who somehow survived the Second World War. This is a story about faith and the power that can give a person, the courage that it gives believers to forsake safety for the hope of saving others...This is a book that people should read that will give you hope in mankind and faith in Christ. * Various online *In this 70th year since the end of the Second World War this is a most timely reminder of the triumph of the human spirit in conditions that today's generation can barely imagine. * The Methodist Recorder *I was really pleased to have the opportunity to read this new edition. It's a gripping story, I couldn't put it down. * Families First *

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Book Synopsis''This book is just about my favourite book of all time ... I''m not entirely convinced I could like somebody who didn''t like this book ... it''s funny and moving and gives you an insight into this extraordinary moment as the war is about to begin ... it''s so vivid, and what''s more, it''s incredibly current'' Robert Rinder, BBC Radio 4''Wonderfully funny and very poignant'' Philip Toynbee''More than an extremely amusing autobiography ... she has evoked a whole generation. Her book is full of the music of time'' SUNDAY TIMES''Whenever I read the words Peer''s Daughter in a headline,'' Lady Redesdale once sadly remarked, ''I know it''s going to be something about one of you children.'' The Mitford family is one of the century''s most enigmatic, made notorious by Nancy''s novels, Diana''s marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley, Unity''s infatuation with Hitler, Debo''s marriage to a duke and Jessica''s passionate commitment to communism. Hons and Trade ReviewMore than an extremely amusing autobiography ... she has evoked a whole generation. Her book is full of the music of time * SUNDAY TIMES *[An] uproarious yet deadly portrait of family life and family politics ... It evokes the atmosphere of the 1930s with more feeling than almost any other book of the period -- Christopher Hitchens * THE ATLANTIC *Wonderfully funny and very poignant -- Philip ToynbeeStunning. Reads like an extravagantly mannered fiction, except that it is all fabulously true ... Miss Mitford is at once touching and wildly funny, and there is not one of highly coloured characters that is not violently alive and uncomfortably kicking -- Siriol Hugh-Jones * TATLER *This book is just about my favourite book of all time ... I'm not entirely convinced I could like somebody who didn't like this book ... it's funny and moving and gives you an insight into this extraordinary moment as the war is about to begin ... it's so vivid, and what's more, it's incredibly current -- Robert Rinder * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *Her awareness of where she's from and what she had is astonishing ... to maintain that kind of awareness is astonishing, and she is very funny, but she also writes very well ... she mixes the hugely political, the very sweeping things, with intensely personal moments -- Stella Duffy * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *What is really quite amazing about this book, which I have read many, many times, and love ... [is] she's not La Pasionaria, she's not some really left-wing heroine, but she is amazing to have got from where she started to where she ended up -- Harriett Gilbert * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the daring life story and astonishing adventures of Captain Eric ''Winkle'' Brown - Britain''s greatest-ever pilot ''Winkle Brown''s astonishing adventures make for fascinating reading'' SUNDAY TIMES''[A] thumping great biography by Britain''s leading aviation historian'' DAILY MAIL, ''BOOK OF THE WEEK''*MARITIME MEDIA AWARDS BEST BOOK NOMINEE*--Small in stature but immense in reputation and talent, there was more to Eric ''Winkle'' Brown than met the eye.From shooting down Luftwaffe bombers from the deck of a carrier in the Battle of the Atlantic and narrowly escaping death when his ship was torpedoed, to accumulating a never-to-be repeated litany of world records and firsts as a test pilot, his unparalleled flying career saw him take the controls of over four hundred different kinds of aircraft - more than any other pilot in history.A rival to Chuck Yeager and hero to Neil Armstrong, by the time of his appearance on Desert Island Discs'' 1000th episode Winkle had become a legend in his own lifetime, and by his death, a national treasure.But despite his enormous fame, there have always been mysteries at the heart of Winkle''s story.Now, drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle''s own personal archive, Paul Beaver uncovers the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain''s greatest pilot.A story Winkle insisted could only be told after his death . . .----------''Compelling, fascinating and frequently jaw-dropping. A brilliant and revelatory biography'' JAMES HOLLAND''Beaver recounts the story of a man he regarded as a mentor in unshowy but fascinating detail, and restores a British hero to his rightful place'' OBSERVER''An excellent biography'' PATRICK BISHOP, DAILY TELEGRAPH''The extraordinary story [of] a fearless pilot and decorated war hero. Epic'' THE HERALD''A thrilling new biography'' DAILY EXPRESS''A thumping great biography of the flying ace who made Top Gun look tame ... enthralling'' DAILY MAIL''Riveting ... one of those must-read books, compelling and full of incidents that leave you gasping with surprise ... an incredible story'' FLYER''An incredible life ... Brown took a secret to the grave that makes his story all the more remarkable'' THE SUN

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Book SynopsisFeaturing a foreword from Annie MacIn Welcome to the club, Manchester legend DJ Paulette shares the highs, lows and lessons of a thirty-year music career, with help from some famous friends.One of the Haçienda’s first female DJs, Paulette has scaled the heights of the music industry, playing to crowds of thousands all around the world, and descended to the lows of being unceremoniously benched by COVID-19, with no chance of furlough and little support from the government. Here she tells her story, offering a remarkable view of the music industry from a Black woman’s perspective. Behind the core values of peace, love, unity and respect, dance music is a world of exclusion, misogyny, racism and classism. But, as Paulette reveals, it is also a space bursting at the seams with powerful women.Part personal account, part call to arms, Welcome to the club exposes the exclusivity of the music industry while seeking to do justice to the often invisible women who keep the beat going.Trade Review‘Imagine the DJ is taking notes while everyone in the club is dancing. Welcome to the club is exactly that, notes of a DJ – the irrepressible sunlight of DJ Paulette. A fascinating insight into the music business by a northern Black woman.’Lemn Sissay, author of My Name Is Why'Icon. Trailblazer. Activist. Warrior. DJ Paulette has led the way for Black women and women everywhere in a global music industry riddled with racism and misogyny. She has blown apart the myths. This is a magnificent book. A manifesto for our times and a rallying call for the future.'Maxine Peake, actress and activist'Paulette continues to light the way for others, building in relevance and significance, wowing crowds, annihilating dancefloors. I would recommend Welcome to the club as an essential read for anyone and everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed it.'Craig Charles, actor, comedian, DJ, television and radio presenter ‘Paulette is someone I’ve always respected, admired and been inspired by. This book is beautifully written, incisive, dry, witty and real – true Mancunian honesty. What an adventure and a truly fascinating life.’Rowetta, member of the Happy Mondays'Paulette is a pioneer, a ground-breaker, a trailblazer and never afraid to hold a mirror up to the world to show that there is still so much more to do. A self-assured shimmy of a book that instantly transports you to the dancefloor and beyond. I love it!'Arielle Free, BBC Radio 1 presenter‘DJ Paulette's Welcome to the club is a testament to her ability to witness the dancefloor while blending memorable anecdotes that bring new life to the UK underground music scene. More than her fabulous landing in Paris, where she built a new world of listeners around her name and sound, it's the fact that Paulette turns notable moments in her thirty-year career into a close listening experience. There's a musical quality to this book that sounds like what Black women DJs have tried to tell the world – our unique experiences turn any party into a lively classroom. Paulette leaves curious students waiting for the next chapter so they can hear it like a song.’Lynnée Denise, DJ, writer and interdisciplinary artist‘When I first met Paulette, back in that pivotal space of early 1990s Manchester, I don’t think any of us really understood what we were getting out of nightlife beyond raw enjoyment. Now we've had a chance to re-evaluate those codes, to understand how much they meant in forming us as people. This book explains why nightlife matters, beamed in directly from a vanguard position behind the DJ booth. Paulette understands the philosophy of the nightclub because she was there when it was at its very best.’Paul Flynn, author of Good As You: 30 Years of Gay Britain ‘I arrived in 1990s Manchester, found a place to live and a job then got dragged up, went clubbing and there was DJ Paulette on the decks. She made being an outsider look hot, and I wanted in. Her energy and music were the soundtrack to my queer gender-bending dance floor years. Decades on I still want to be in her club. If music and clubbing played an important part in your life, then so will this book.’Kate O'Donnell, Artistic Director of Trans Creative'I now realise the weight of the obstacles and challenges Paulette overcame, her fortitude to compete in male-dominated arenas, the racism she undoubtedly encountered. Her mettle and contribution have clearly opened doors for the diversity and equality we strive for today.'Simon Dunmore, DJ and Founder of Defected Records & Glitterbox'With fierce resilience and passion, DJ Paulette’s travels through clubland reveal her personal triumphs over life’s adversities. A book filled with music and love, positivity and enthusiasm. 'Princess Julia, DJ, model and music writer‘Any list of the pioneers of the Manchester club scene, and the international scene it so heavily influenced, is not complete without the name of DJ Paulette. Ours is a city that celebrates those who challenge elites, break down barriers and open doors for others to walk through. Paulette has done all of those things and more and that is why we are so proud of her.’Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester‘A thrilling ride around the world through the lens of a Black female DJ. Covering the good, the bad and the ugly, DJ Paulette tells it like it is. There are few visible Black female role models in the music industry and DJ Paulette is a passionate advocate for racial, gender and LGBTQ+ equality, but most of all she’s a legendary DJ. If you want a fresh, original voice on electronic dance music, culture, politics and more, this is the book for you!’John Shortell, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, The Musicians’ Union‘A refreshingly honest and positive queer voice. DJ Paulette’s memoirs are everything that club culture needs at the moment: Written with warmth and passion, this book continues the trend of female professionals telling their stories – the good and the bad ones – so that we learn how clubs can once again become the places of Peace, Love, Unity and Respect.’Dr Beate Peter, The Lapsed Clubber Project'A true original of the UK club scene, Paulette has experienced the highs and lows of dance music culture, and this heartfelt and insightful book tells the story of what she saw and learned with her distinctive style, warmth and wicked wit.'Matthew Collin, author of Rave On and Altered State'DJ Paulette has written a story that needed to be told, and as only she could tell it. Rich with experience and careful research, Welcome to the club is a must-read for anyone interested in house music, DJing and the power of life narrative.'Audrey Golden, author of I Thought I Heard You Speak'Welcome to the club is joyful, funny and furious. DJ Paulette’s essential read doubles up as an alternative history of dance music, told from the middle of the dancefloor. It’s a sparkling and generous ride through international high times and low moments, documenting music industry racism, sexism and homophobia with fabulous clarity. This pioneering DJ and musical instigator has written a full-bodied celebration of the myriad ways music can save your life – and can also make your life. 'Emma Warren, author of Dance Your Way Home'This book made me dizzy in a good way! Paulette is a great story teller who brings her musical journey to life in a way which entertains and inspires, much like her DJ sets and radio shows.'Mr. Scruff, record producer and DJ'This is one of those books whose absence from the canon of musical history goes largely unnoticed until it is written.'Louis Cammell, The Skinny‘This book is a timely reminder that history or herstory is not written yet and never over. It gives a valuable and personal account of the development of DJing as a professional music career and its beginnings in the LGBTQ community in Manchester at the start of the 1990s. At moments it is a disturbing and hard read, but read it one must. This is a much needed and powerful account for anybody interested in the music business and the development of dance music internationally.’Sally Anne Gross, music industry practitioner and academic'Paulette’s rollicking memoir takes you through unmarked doors vibrating with bass to celebrate a life lived to the full in dance music.'Frank Broughton, DJ History -- .Table of ContentsForeword by Annie MacIntroduction: welcome to the club (Belleville or bust)1 Finders keepers: in the beginning2 London to Paris: Eurostar3 Bad behaviour: shit shags and crap hotels4 FAQs (female asked questions)5 How to kill a DJ6 Sane as it ever was7 Lifetime VIP: a manifestoIndex

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Book SynopsisWhen Jet McDonald cycled four thousand miles to India and back, he didn’t want to write a straightforward account. He wanted to go on an imaginative journey. The age of the travelogue is over: today we need to travel inwardly to see the world with fresh eyes. Mind is the Ride is that journey, a pedal-powered antidote to the petrol-driven philosophies of the past.The book takes the reader on a physical and intellectual adventure from West to East using the components of the bike as a metaphor for philosophy, which is woven into the cyclist's experience. Each chapter is based around a single component, and as Jet travels he adds new parts and new philosophies until the bike is 'built'; the ride to India is completed; and the relationship between mind, body and bicycle made apparent.Trade Review‘A truly unique reading experience’ Bike Radar, Best Cycling Books 2020

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Book SynopsisChatwin’s brilliantly unique record of his adventures in Patagonia and the fascinating people he meets along the way. Beautifully written and full of wonderful descriptions and intriguing tales, In Patagonia is an account of Bruce Chatwin's travels to a remote country in search of a strange beast and his encounters with the people whose fascinating stories delay him on the road.VINTAGE VOYAGES: A world of journeys, from the tallest mountains to the depths of the mindTrade ReviewElliptical and alive, this is a brilliant travel book * Observer *It is hard to pin down what makes In Patagonia so unique, but, in the end, it is Chatwin’s brilliant personality that makes it what it is… His form of travel was not about getting from A to B. It was about internal landscapes. * Sunday Times *The chameleon traveller…who wrote books in a genre of their own, and whose life was his own subtlest creation… a complex, flamboyantly gifted and rather tragic figure -- Colin Thubron * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisLong considered one of Simone de Beauvoir’s masterpieces, A Very Easy Death is a profoundly affecting, day-by-day recounting of her mother’s final days after she is hospitalized following a fall. Though a devout Catholic, her faith is subsumed by her terror of death, and as her body fails, she clings to life with fierce, primal desperation. In depicting her mother’s refusal to ‘go gentle’ while her autonomy and dignity are taken from her, Simone de Beauvoir ‘shows the power of compassion when it is allied with acute intelligence’ (Sunday Telegraph). Powerful, touching and sometimes shocking, this is an end-of-life account that no reader is likely to forget. Trade Review‘True and deeply moving.’ — Annie Ernaux, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize for Literature ‘The mother of 20th-century feminism.’ — Joanna Biggs, London Review of Books‘In every decade of my life since my 20s, I have been awed, confused, intrigued and inspired by Simone de Beauvoir’s attempt to live with meaning, pleasure and purpose.’ — Deborah Levy, author of Real Estate ‘It was Alice Walker, Hélène Cixous, Angela Davis, Virginia Woolf, George Eliot, and Simone Weil and de Beauvoir who mattered most to me.’ — Zadie Smith, author of NW ‘Navigating the complexities of end-of-life with deep compassion and dignity, this moving book is steeped in empathy and the searching, thoughtful interrogation we’ve come to expect from de Beauvoir.’ — Sinéad Gleeson, author of Constellations‘Nowhere is de Beauvoir’s rigorous honesty more visible than in this haunting account of the death of her mother... As she charts her last weeks and her abasement at the hands of doctors and illness, both hostility and unexpected love play themselves out on the page.’ — Lisa Appignanesi, author of Everyday Madness‘It would be hard to think that Simone de Beauvoir who flaunted so many strictures of life, would accept death.... And the intention of this memoir, which is in part a requiem and in part an exorcism, is its disturbing, defiant insistence on the fact that this can only be an utterly lonely experience.’ — Kirkus‘Beauvoir’s graciously written memoirs carry distinct appeal in recording the emotional and intellectual birth pangs of a fascinating woman.’ — Time ‘This book is written with restrained emotion and a literalness, a faithfulness to fact, that is very moving coming from a woman whom we have known as dedicated to abstractions. ... it illustrates the general tragedy of the human condition through a particularized instance. A book of near despair, yet dignified. — Library Journal

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Book SynopsisOnly when we're being honest with ourselves -rather than the public, or an interviewer - do we admit truths which we wouldnormally avoid talking about. Over 18 years we have asked thousands of celebritieswhat they would tell their younger selves. Featuring Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Rod Stewart and more...

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Book SynopsisThe Man He Used to Be is a moving, darkly comic and ultimately uplifting diary of a daughter caring for her father, while trying to not lose herself.Trade ReviewThis is a wonderful, brilliant book that also made me laugh. Robyn writes so honestly and normally. I fell in love with her mum and "mad" dad. VICTORIA DERBYSHIREI cannot praise this book too highly for its perceptiveness, its realism and its pace. Robyn is an eloquent and articulate writer who brings a very human story to life with a pace that is impressive. JOHN BOWIS OBE, Former MP, Health Minister and MEPA testament to love, finding strength through humour and the bonds that make us who we are. -- Francesca Brown * STYLIST ONLINE *A funny, sad and uplifting memoir that unravels Alzheimer's and the unexpected joy of caring for others. * EMERALD STREET *Very moving, highlighting the impact and the human responses of those trying to cope, as well as the tragedy for the person with dementia. My Mad Dad will help other carers realise they are not alone in how they feel and that their feelings are human. It makes for compelling reading. GORDON WILCOCK, Emeritus Professor of Geratology, University of OxfordA beautiful book that's full of truth. If you're caring for someone with Alzheimer's, this will hit a note. * WOMAN'S WAY *It also has its own beauty, and we couldn't recommend it more. * HELLO! *Darkly funny and never without hope. -- Sarra Manning * RED *[A] touching, humorous and self-deprecating book...Life will always throw shit at you: it's how you deal with it that counts. My Mad Dad is an essential manual for those of us trying to negotiate our own "Sabbatical of Shite". GREG WISE, actor and author of Not That Kind of Love

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Book SynopsisA “fascinating and very moving” (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The West Wing and The Social Network) chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most interesting countries in the world—Israel.Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But “this is not your Bubbie’s history book” (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her “passion, humor, and deep intimacy” (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.

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Book SynopsisThe author draws on Rockefeller''s own papers to provide a biography of the legendary oilman, capitalist, and philanthropist

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Book SynopsisLaurie Lee was born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 1914, and was educated at Slad village school and Stroud Central School. At the age on nineteen he walked to London and then travelled on foot through Spain, as described in his book As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. In 1950 he married Catherine Polge and they had one daughter. Cider With Rosie (1959) has sold over six million copies worldwide, and was followed by two other volumes of autobiography: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969) and A Moment of War (1991). Laurie Lee also published four collections of poems, The Sun My Monument (1944), The Bloom of Candles (1947), My Many-Coated Man (1955) and Packet Poems (1960) as well as The Voyage of Magellan (1948), a verse play for radio, A Rose for Winter (1955), which records his travels in Andalusia, The Firstborn (1964), I Can't Stay Long (1975), a collection of his writing, and Two Women (1983). Laurie Lee died in May 1997.Trade ReviewUtterly captivating * Four Shires *A classic of English literature * Good Book Guide *[Laurie Lee] froze a moment in time for us. You don’t forget the language and he is wonderful at detail -- Michael Morpurgo * Daily Express *Evocative memoir. * RTE Guide *So convincing and atmospheric… This magical book will captivate you with its richly painted images * Woman's Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFor many years an atheist, C. S. Lewis vividly describes the spiritual quest that convinced him of the truth and reality of Christianity, in his famous autobiography.In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. Thus Lewis describes memorably the crisis of his conversion.Surprised by Joy' reveals both that crisis and its momentous conclusion that would determine the shape of Lewis's entire life.Trade Review‘He is admirably equipped to write spiritual autobiography for the plain man, for his outstanding gift is clarity. You can take it at two levels, as straight autobiography, or as a kind of spiritual thriller, a detective’s probing of clue and motive that led up to his return to the Christianity he had lost in childhood.’ Isabel Quigley, Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisIn December 1977, David Holden, chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, arrived at Cairo Airport to report on the crucial peace talks between Egypt and Israel. A few hours later, he was dead: killed by a single bullet through the heart.

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Book Synopsis ‘Derry Girls meets David Sedaris’ Elske Rahill ‘The writing is full of energy and originality’ Irish Times Trade Review‘We cannot recommend that you read this memoir enough – short of stopping people in the street and pressing it into their hands, we really urge you just to order it online right now. Right this moment’ STYLIST ‘O’Neill has produced a literary equivalent of Derry Girls’ Charlie Connelly, The New European ‘A charming book, by turns caustic and funny, innocent and canny’ The Mail on Sunday ‘The writing is full of energy and originality. One can only imagine what good company O’Neill is in person . . . this book is genuine and funny with insights into Northern Ireland’s evolution through the 1980s and 1990s into something like peace’ Sinéad O’Shea, Irish Times ‘It was a joy to spend time in O’Neill’s world, and the irresistible sense of fun she sparked could have led me on to read many more stories about her family life . . . equal parts hilarious, moving and compelling’ Emer O'Hanlon, Irish Independent ‘Derry Girls meets David Sedaris – a sound dose of social history served with all the lightness and humour of an after-work cocktail’ Elske Rahill, author of An Unravelling ‘This is a brassy, ballsy, belter of a book – full of the real grit of what it means to come from Northern Ireland . . . From sexy toy petrol stations to mortifying period chats with yer swearing ma – from Gerry Adams on the telly to naming your goats in an attempt at bridging the political divide – from burning a placenta the weekend of the twelfth to portakabin penance with Tamagotchis: this book will turn your views on the Troubles upside down. O'Neill writes the North like no one else I have encountered; with wit, humour and pure affection’ Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places

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Book SynopsisTHE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - NOW INCLUDING BRAND NEW MATERIALTHIS IS GOING TO HURT was the bestselling non-fiction book of the century - a frank, funny and furious look at the brutal realities of life in the NHS.But it was only part of Adam Kay''s story. With his stethoscope now hung up, Adam shares more suture-splitting anecdotes from both on and off the wards. From the hilarious to the profoundly moving, from the first days of medical school to life after the NHS, UNDOCTORED is an astonishing portrait of an extraordinary life, from one of Britain''s finest - and funniest - storytellers.Trade ReviewBrilliant - even better than This is Going to Hurt * Jacqueline Wilson *Very funny, very moving - Adam Kay has done it again, the talented c***. PS sorry for swearing in this quote * Charlie Brooker *Adam Kay is at the top of his game here. Even his footnotes are funnier than most comedians' best gags. But there is darkness here, too, and he handles it so well I had to lay the book aside until my heart was ready for the rest. * Ian Rankin *Every bit as funny as the first one, every bit as powerful, surprising and unflinching * David Whitehouse *I don't think anyone has made me laugh so much about the human body as Adam Kay, while simultaneously bestowing the gift of impotent rage at the state of the NHS * Reverend Richard Coles *Spectacularly brilliant * Cathy Rentzenbrink *A gaspingly honest, hilarious and heartbreaking book from one of Britain's funniest writers * Grace Dent *The anecdotes are hilarious, the personal life fascinating, the insights into our health service compelling. * Daily Mail *Extraordinary... super-readable, funny and disturbing. * Observer *Equally frank and funny as its predecessor. * I-News *Hilarious... such is (Adam Kay's) craft and candour that you find yourself simultaneously guffawing and welling up. * Mail on Sunday *A funny, truthful and fascinating memoir. * Stylist *Richly comic. Kay's writing is a constant pleasure. * Daily Express *Piercingly funny... breathtakingly sad. * Tanya Gold, Daily Telegraph *Fantastic. Everything you could want in a book. * Liz Jones's Diary Podcast *The reason Adam Kay sells millions of books is not because he used to be a doctor, it's because he writes so well. Undoctored is another triumph; funny and moving and thoughtful. * Dr Phil Hammond *Thank you, Adam Kay [...] for your courage, candour, wit (and filth, of course) in your brilliant new memoir. Undoctored really is fantastic. * Rachel Clarke, author of Dear Life *Extraordinary... combining laugh-out-loud material with serious questions. - The Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisI am glad I am alive to witness these things; giving words to this life of sensations is a relief. Smell the flowers while you can.Close to the Knives is the artist, writer and activist David Wojnarowicz's extraordinary memoir. Filthy, beautiful, and sharp to the point of piercing, it is both an exploration of the world seen through the eyes of an artist, and a moving portrait of a generation living, grieving, and dying through the AIDS crisis. It is a triumphant hymn of resistance, and a dizzying celebration of the joys of seeing and living in the world.Trade ReviewDavid Wojnarowicz has caught the age-old voice of the road, the voice of the traveller, the outcast, the thief, the whore . . . Pick up this book and listen -- William S. BurroughsMy book of a lifetime, my book for these dark times, an antidote to stupidity, cruelty and oppression of all kinds -- Olivia Laing * * Guardian * *Wojnarowicz's writing fairly smokes with acrid ironies. It's passionate and personal * * New York Magazine * *David Wojnarowicz is brilliantly attuned to American talk and responsive to the moods and innovations of society's truants. He also has the best conscience of any writer I know. This fierce, erotic, haunting, truthful book should be given to every teenager immediately -- Dennis CooperEveryone should read Close to the Knives to understand the overall political agenda behind suffering . . . This isn't just David's story, it's our story -- Karen FinleyDavid Wojnarowicz: still fighting prejudice 24 years after his death . . . Nothing I have ever read matches the fury and grief of this writing -- Olivia Laing * * Guardian * *

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Book SynopsisThe first book by one of the most successful, respected and legendary football managers of all time, Arsene WengerTrade ReviewA well-paced and well-thought-out account of one of football's most iconic and influential figures, and entirely befitting of its remarkable author * Sports Gazette *A predictably brilliant insight into the mind of a man who has long treated football as a matter of, as he puts it, "life and death". His wit, empathy and unwavering principles have been common knowledge for decades, but never has his all-consuming dedication and obsession been on clearer display * Esquire *Opaqueness has never been this refreshing. It's honestly nice that this book has just been about the game and the human connections he made along the way. The moments that made Wenger, the good times and the achievements. In a world of sensationalism, public spats and calling out old foes, we can all learn something from that * FourFourTwo *As with his approach to on-field matters, this book puts in an impressive performance -- Damien O'Meara * RTE *A surprisingly honest self-portrait of an obsessive, driven man, who decided that the game really could be beautiful, and was prepared to sacrifice himself to that belief * TLS *

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Book SynopsisA TOP 12 BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK IN THE TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMESTHE BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB PICK FOR NOVEMBER 2024''This book is magic. It''s all I ever needed'' LENA DUNHAMEve Babitz died on December 17, 2021. Found in the wrack, ruin and filth of her apartment, a stack of boxes packed by her mother decades before. The boxes were pristine, the seals of duct tape unbroken. Inside, a lost world, centred on a two-story rental in a down-at-heel section of Hollywood in the sixties and seventies. 7406 Franklin Avenue was the making of one great American writer: Joan Didion, a mystery behind her dark glasses and cool expression, an enigma inside her storied marriage to John Gregory Dunne. Franklin Avenue was also the breaking and then the remaking - and thus the true making - of another great American writer: Eve Babitz, goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky, nude of Marcel Duchamp, consort of Jim Morrison (among many, many others), a woman who burned so hot she finally almost burned herself alive. Didion and Babitz formed a complicated alliance, a friendship that went bad, amity turning to enmity. With deftness and skill, journalist Lili Anolik uses Babitz, Babitz''s brilliance of observation, Babitz''s incisive intelligence and, most of all, Babitz''s diary-like letters - letters found in those sealed boxes, letters so intimate you don''t read them so much as breathe them - as the key to unlocking Didion.

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Book SynopsisMolly Jong-Fast is an author, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, a political analyst for MSNBC News and host of the Fast Politics podcast. She lives in Manhattan. How to Lose Your Mother is her fifth book.

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT #1 New York Times BESTSELLERThe title "Bullfrog" is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the longest on active duty. Admiral McRaven was honoured to receive this honour in 2011 when he took charge of the United States Special Operations Command. When McRaven retired in 2014, he had 37 years as a Navy SEAL under his belt, leading men and women at every level of the special operations community. In the ensuing four years, he served as Chancellor to the entire University of Texas System, with its 230,000 students and 100,000 faculty and health care workers.During those four decades, Admiral McRaven dealt with every conceivable leadership challenge, from commanding combat operations-including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Phillips, and the raid for Osama bin Laden. THE WISDOM OF THE BULLFROG draws on these and countless other experiences from Admiral McRaven's incredible life, including crisis situations, management debates, organizational transitions, and ethical dilemmas, to provide readers with the most important leadership lessons he has learned over the course of his forty years of service. Each chapter provides a Make Your Bed-like parable, rich with insights like those featured in his bestselling memoir, Sea Stories, about the specific leadership traits required to be at the top of your game, including: * Who Dares, Wins* Run to the Sound of the Guns* No Plan Survives First Contact with the Enemy THE WISDOM OF THE BULLFROG is Admiral McRaven's clear-eyed treatise on the leadership qualities that separate the good from the truly great.

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