Biography Books

Book SynopsisThe #1 New York Times Bestseller ‘Walter Isaacson is not an art historian, he’s simply a lover of Leonardo, who manages to communicate the sheer joy of this remarkable man’Books of the Year - The Times He was history’s most creative genius. What secrets can he teach us? Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy. He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and technology. With a passionTrade Review‘In Isaacson, Leonardo gets the biographer he deserves – an author capable of comprehending his often frenetic, frequently weird quest to understand. This is not just a joyful book; it’s also a joy to behold…Isaacson deserves immense praise for this very human portrait of a genius’ * The Times *'A lavish, loving biography of the great Renaissance polymath…this sumptuous, elegantly written and diligently produced offering that perfectly catches the contradictions of the man…[a] splendid work that provides an illuminating guide to the output of one of the last millenium’s greatest minds’ * Observer *‘Walter Isaacson keeps the mortal man to the fore. For all his supernatural gifts as an artist and natural scientist. Leonardo was resolutely human (illegitimate, vegan, in need of patrons) rather than the near deity of legend. Isaacson is an assured guide to Leonardo’s fallibility – so many projects started, so few completed – as well as his extraordinary curiosity and his even more remarkable painterly skills that were sharpened by intense observation' * Sunday Times *'To read this magnificent biography of Leonardo da Vinci is to take a tour through the life and works of one of the most extraordinary human beings of all time in the company of the most engaging, informed, and insightful guide imaginable. Walter Isaacson is at once a true scholar and a spellbinding writer. And what a wealth of lessons there are to be learned in these pages' -- David McCullough'A powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life...a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it' * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.

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Book SynopsisWhat do you do when you wake up in your mid-forties and realize you've been living a lie your whole life? Do you tell? Or do you keep it to yourself?Laura James found out that she was autistic as an adult, after she had forged a career for herself, married twice and raised four children. This book tracks the year of Laura's life after she receives a definitive diagnosis from her doctor, as she learns that 'different' doesn't need to mean 'less' and how there is a place for all of us, and it's never too late to find it.Laura draws on her professional and personal experiences and reflects on her life in the light of her diagnosis, which for her explains some of her differences; why, as a child, she felt happier spinning in circles than standing still and why she has always found it difficult to work in places with a lot of ambient noise.Although this is a personal story, the book has a wider focus too, exploring reasons for the lower rate of diagnosed autism in women and a wide range of topics including eating disorders and autism, marriage and motherhood.Odd Girl Out gives a timely account from a woman negotiating the autistic spectrum, from a poignant and personal perspective.Trade ReviewThere are so many myths about what it means to be autistic and Laura tells her story beautifully and truthfully. You will live every moment with her, feel her pain and want to right the wrongs. Some books make a big difference, this is one of them. It should be read by everyone -- Natasha Harding, the SunA moving, lucid account of feeling different and ‘other’, Odd Girl Out is an invaluable insight that allows you to see the world through autistic eyes -- Get the GlossAn important, touching and incredibly honest book with a wry sense of humour, which challenges the preconceived ideas people have about autistic life -- Rachael Lucas, author of Sealed With a Kiss and The State of GraceLaura James has dug deep into her 'differentness' and emerged with a book of breathtaking honesty, humour and insight. Odd Girl Out is a brilliant antidote to all the cliches and misinformation surrounding autism -- Stephen Sackur, journalist and presenter of BBC HARDtalk

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Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in this 'riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult' (Los Angeles Times).

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Book SynopsisThis selection of thoughts on religion, ethics, politics, women, suicide, books, and much more is taken from Schopenhauer's last work, Parerga and Paralipo-mena, published in 1851.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsEssays and Aphorisms - Arthur Schopenhauer Selected and Translated with an Introduction by R. J. HollingdaleIntroductionEssaysOn the Suffering of the WorldOn the Vanity of ExistenceOn the Antithesis of Thing in Itself and AppearanceOn Affirmation and Denial of the Will to LiveOn the Indestructibility of our Essential Being by DeathOn SuicideOn WomenOn Thinking for YourselfOn Religion: A DialogueAphorismsOn Philosophy and the IntellectOn EthicsOn Law and PoliticsOn AestheticsOn PsychologyOn ReligionOn Books and WritingOn Various SubjectsList of Correspondences

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Book SynopsisSheryl Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer at Facebook. Prior to Facebook, Sandberg was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She previously served as Chief of Staff for the United States Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton.Trade ReviewA landmark manifesto * New York Times *Lively, entertaining, urgent, and yes, even courageous … Lean In is both a radical read and incredibly accessible … While it’s obvious that women have much to gain from reading Sandberg’s book, so do men – perhaps even more so * Guardian *A brave book to write … direct, funny and critical * The Economist *The business manual of the year * The Times *Any woman should welcome Lean In as a guide to cracking the glass ceiling * Independent *

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Book SynopsisTiny Moons is a collection of essays about food and belonging. Nina Mingya Powles journeys between Wellington, Kota Kinabalu and Shanghai, tracing the constants in her life: eating and cooking, and the dishes that have come to define her. Through childhood snacks, family feasts, Shanghai street food and student dinners, she attempts to find a way back towards her Chinese-Malaysian heritage.

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Book SynopsisA deliciously witty and inspiring memoir byOne Tree Hillstar Bethany Joy Lenz about her decade in a cult and her quest to break free.

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Book SynopsisSue Tilley (born 1957), also known as Big Sue, is an artist and artist's mode, most notably for Lucian Freud. She was Leigh Bowery's closest friend in London.

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

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling, much-loved classic account of an English couple escaping to enjoy the fruits of French rural summer living - an irresistible feast of humour and heart.Peter Mayle and his wife did what most of us only imagine doing when they made their long-cherished dream of a life abroad a reality: throwing caution to the wind, they bought a glorious two hundred year-old farmhouse in the Lubéron Valley and began a new life.In a year that begins with a marathon lunch and continues with a host of gastronomic delights, they also survive the unexpected and often hilarious curiosities of rural life. From mastering the local accent and enduring invasion by bumbling builders, to discovering the finer points of boules and goat-racing, all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life are conjured up in this enchanting portrait.''One of the most successful travel books of all time... Mayle created a new travel genre'' Guardian''Delightful'' Washington Post''Engaging, funny and richly appreciative'' New York Times Book Review''Stylish, witty, delightfully readable'' Sunday Times''I really loved this book'' Julia Child

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Book SynopsisA timely book for today's world, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations explores how to endure hardship, how to cope with change and how to find something positive out of adversity.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is translated by A. S. L. Farquharson and features an introduction by John Sellars.The Meditations are a set of personal reflections by Marcus Aurelius. He writes about the vicissitudes of his own life and explores how to live wisely and virtuously in an unpredictable world. He was a follower of the Stoic tradition of philosophy, and one of its finest advocates, both in the clarity of his writing and in the uprightness of his life. The aphorisms show how for him, as perhaps for us all, the answer to life lies in keeping a calm and rational mind, and in refusing to be cast down or alarmed by things over which we have no control.Trade ReviewHis meditations can indeed still offer all of us, historians included, worthwhile advice -- Tom Holland * Guardian *For many thinkers of the 19th century – from Darwin to Nietzsche – Marcus was an intellectual hero -- Mary Beard * London Review of Books *

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Book Synopsis'A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on power, justice, healing, and devotion from a singular voice I now trust with my whole heart'GLENNON DOYLE, author of Untamed**Roxane Gay's Book Club March 2023 Pick**When Lamya is fourteen, she decides to disappear. It seems easier to ease herself out of sight than to grapple with the difficulty of taking shape in a world that doesn't fit. She is a queer teenager growing up in a Muslim household, a South Asian in a Middle Eastern country. But during her Quran class, she reads a passage about Maryam, and suddenly everything shifts: if Maryam was never touched by any man, could Maryam be... like Lamya?Written with deep intelligence and a fierce humour, Hijab Butch Blues follows Lamya as she travels to the United States, as she comes out, and as she navigates the complexities of the immigration system - and the queer dating scene. At each step, she turns to her faith to make sense of her life, weaving stories from the Quran together with her own experiences: Musa leading his people to freedom; Allah, who is neither male nor female; and Nuh, who built an ark, just as Lamya is finally able to become the architect of her own story.Raw and unflinching, Hijab Butch Blues heralds the arrival of a truly original voice, asking powerful questions about gender and sexuality, relationships, identity and faith, and what it means to build a life of one's own.Trade ReviewAs funny as it is original. -- New York TimesA masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on power, justice, healing, and devotion from a singular voice I now trust with my whole heart, Lamya H.'s gorgeously written and life-affirming debut Hijab Butch Blues traces the intertwining of faith and doubt, and invites us all to a deeper, more loving way to live -- Glennon Doyle, author of UNTAMEDWith a supple skill, Hijab Butch Blues treats gender and devotion with a thrilling sense of multiplicity and expansiveness. This is a book attentive to the fullness of being human. Among the meshes of power and orthodoxy, Lamya H. moves with curiosity, humour and vulnerability, divining new sources of hope and of life. -- Seán Hewitt, author of ALL DOWN DARKNESS WIDEA singular memoir about identity, queerness, racism and resistance which engages with the Islamic faith in open, nuanced and quietly radical ways. I love Lamya's intimate, intelligent and honest voice -- Arifa Akbar, author of CONSUMEDA gracefully-wrought memoir about the importance of community, faith and family in a world that is so often unwilling to accept and celebrate each of us in our beautiful complexity -- Eleanor Bally * Skinny *Exploring the strength and stories of the Quran that inform her own experience and celebrating how we move forwards to accept different viewpoints and ideas while telling the tale of her life, this is a brilliant read to savour -- Francesca Brown * Stylist *A moving reconciliation of identity and faith -- Katie Goh * i-D Magazine *Lamya H has accomplished in words all the tenderness, defiance, and nuance that their story demands. To be invited into the richness of their interior world - the beauty of childhood skepticism, the complexity of Muslim storytelling, and the glory of life in a queer body - is no minor gift. Hijab Butch Blues is for anyone coming home to themselves in a world content to disorient us. Lamya H will show us the way -- Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here FleshHIjab Butch Blues is a revelation, an emotional journey of faith, family, community and sexuality. With precision, compassion, and deeply observed storytelling, Lamya H - a new, distinctive voice - navigates the fault lines of life and love in a queer Muslim body -- Linda Villarosa, author of UNDER THE SKINA richly textured and deeply moving testament to the power of faith - not only in the divine, but in the human spirit. In spare yet poetic prose, the author gifts us with stories from her quest to find belonging as a queer hijabi immigrant in America. Leaping effortlessly from the personal to the political, Hijab Butch Blues is one of those rare texts that seamlessly weaves trenchant social analysis with gorgeous storytelling skill. This book is sure to become a queer classic -- Kai Cheng Thom, author of FIERCE FEMMES AND NOTORIOUS LIARSDespite contending with secrets and silence and shame, Lamya H has been brave enough and bold enough to live her own dynamic life: Muslim, queer, politically radical, devoted to her faith. Using memoir, theological discussions of Quranic surahs, and critical reflection on American culture and society, Lamya has fashioned in this book what I never thought possible: she describes a world in which I could live -- Kazim Ali, author of FASTING FOR RAMADAN

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Book SynopsisThe extraordinary untold story of Pippa Latour, who parachuted into occupied France in 1944 as an undercover agent and sent secret messages back to Britain.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE DOUGLAS STEWART PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE WALKLEY BOOK AWARD 'I understand and sympathise with the feeling you might have that you already know the Jeffrey Epstein story. But I am not here to tell you a story about Jeffrey Epstein, or even Ghislaine Maxwell. I am here to tell you the stories of ten women, many of whom have never spoken at length before, about the real impact of sexual trauma on their lives' In November 2021, Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of five counts of sex-trafficking of minors and is now serving twenty years in prison for the role she played in Jeffrey Epstein's abuse of four girls. Journalist Lucia Osborne-Crowley was one of the only reporters allowed into the courtroom every day. In her meticulous account of this incendiary trial, Osborne-Crowley paints a blistering critique of a criminal justice system ill-equipped to deliver justice for abuse survivors, no matter the outcome. Written as a gripping true crime drama, The Lasting Harm critically questions our age-old appetite for crime and punishment, reframes trauma and offers a new blueprint for meaningful reparative justice.

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Book SynopsisOne of the first woman authors, Julian of Norwich produced in Revelations of Divine Love a remarkable work of revelatory insight, that stands alongside The Cloud of Unknowing and Piers Plowman as a classic of Medieval religious literature. This Penguin Classics edition is translated from Middle English by Elizabeth Spearing, with an introduction and notes by A.C. Spearing.After fervently praying for a greater understanding of Christ''s passion, Julian of Norwich, a fourteenth-century anchorite and mystic, experienced a series of divine revelations. Through these ''showings'', Christ''s sufferings were revealed to her with extraordinary intensity, but she also received assurance of God''s unwavering love for man and his infinite capacity for forgiveness. Written in a vigorous English vernacular, the Revelations are one of the most original works of medieval mysticism and have had a lasting influence on Christian thought.This edition of the Table of ContentsRevelations of Divine Love IntroductionFurther ReadingTranslator's NoteRevelations of Divine LoveShort TextLong TextNotesAppendix I: List of ShowingsAppendix II: Original Texts of the RevelationsAppendix III: Margery Kempe's Meeting with Julian

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Book SynopsisA Hay Festival and The Poole VOTE 100 BOOKS for Women SelectionOne of the most famous accounts of living under the Nazi regime of World War II comes from the diary of a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl, Anne Frank. Today, The Diary of a Young Girl has sold over 25 million copies world-wide; this is the definitive edition released to mark the 70th anniversary of the day the diary begins. ''12 June 1942: I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support''The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most celebrated and enduring books of the last century. Tens of millions have read it since it was first published in 1947 and it remains a deeply admired testament to the indestructible nature of the human spirit.This definitive edition restores thirty per cent if the original manuscript, which was deleted from the original edition. It reveals Anne as a teenage girl who fretted about and tried to cope with her own emerging sexuality and who also veered between being a carefree child and an aware adult.Anne Frank and her family fled the horrors of Nazi occupation by hiding in the back of a warehouse in Amsterdam for two years with another family and a German dentist. Aged thirteen when she went into the secret annexe, Anne kept a diary. She movingly revealed how the eight people living under these extraordinary conditions coped with hunger, the daily threat of discovery and death and being cut off from the outside world, as well as petty misunderstandings and the unbearable strain of living like prisoners.The Diary of a Young Girl is a timeless true story to be rediscovered by each new generation. For young readers and adults it continues to bring to life Anne''s extraordinary courage and struggle throughout her ordeal. This is the definitive edition of the diary of Anne Frank.Anne Frank was born on the 12 June 1929. She died while imprisoned at Bergen-Belsen, three months short of her sixteenth birthday. This seventieth anniversary, definitive edition of The Diary of a Young Girl is poignant, heartbreaking and a book that everyone should read.Trade ReviewA modern classic . . . Anne's diary tells a story that is true, memorable, important and strongly personalized . . . compelling reading * The Times *Rings down the decades as the most moving testament to the persecution of innocence * Daily Mail *One of the greatest books of the century * Guardian *A modern classic * The Times *Witty, funny and tragic * Sunday Times *A monument to the human spirit * Mail on Sunday *One of the greatest books of the century * Guardian *A modern classic * The Times *Rings down the decades as the most moving testament to the persecution of innocence * Daily Mail *Witty, funny and tragic * Sunday Times *A monument to the human spirit * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisFrom challenging expectations as a bright and restless child of the Windrush generation to making history as the first elected Black female MP in the UK, Diane Abbott has seen it all.A Woman Like Me takes readers through Diane's incredible journey, painting a vivid picture of growing up in 1960s North London with her working-class Jamaican parents, before entering the hallowed halls of Cambridge University to study history. Ever since the day she first walked through the House of Commons as the first Black woman MP, she has been a fearless and vocal champion for the causes that have made Britain what it is today, whether it's increasing access to education for Black children and speaking out against the Iraq war or advocating tirelessly for refugees and immigrants.A unique figure in British public life, Diane has often had nothing but the courage of her convictions to carry her through incredibly hostile environments, from torrential abuse in the mainstream media and on social media, to being shunned by the political establishment, including by her own party. Written with frankness and wry humour, A Woman Like Me is an inspirational account that celebrates how one woman succeeded against massive odds and built an extraordinary legacy.

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Book SynopsisFollowing from The Secret Diaries of Anne Lister: I Know My Own Heart, this second volume continues the story of one of the most remarkable women of her time - landowner, industrialist, traveller and lesbian.Trade ReviewThe Lister diaries are the Dead Sea Scrolls of lesbian history; they changed everything. By resurrecting them and editing them with such loving attention and intelligence, Helena Whitbread has earned the gratitude of a whole generationEngaging, revealing, at times simply astonishing: Anne Lister's diaries are an indispensable read for anyone interested in the history of gender, sexuality and the intimate lives of women[Anne Lister's] sense of self, and self-awareness, is what makes her modern to us. She was a woman exercising conscious choice. She controlled her cash and her body. At a time when women had to marry, or be looked after by a male relative, and when all their property on marriage passed to their husband, Anne Lister not only dodged the traps of being female, she set up a liaison with another woman that enhanced her own wealth and left both of them free to live as they wished . . . The diaries gave me courage

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Book SynopsisBeautiful.' Daily Mail''True, unflinching, powerful, lyrical'' Kate Mosse''Wonderful, inviting, wholesome.'' Observer''Beautiful and very honest.'' CAITLIN MORAN''It''s quite an achievement to shine a light of truth on the often idealised, always understated, role of the farmer''s wife.'' RAYNOR WINNThis honest and heartwarming memoir offers a portrait of the labour and glory of keeping a home and raising a family. Weaving past and present, Helen Rebanks shares her highs and lows, from the emotional journey to the birth of her first child, and the endless improvisation of each night's dinner, to the dog gobbling up her daughter's freshly-made birthday cake. These are days that have shaped her, and the ways she finds the quiet strength to keep going. In its own quiet way, [The Farmer's Wife] is a manifesto: every woman has the right to choose the life they want.' Mail on Sunday

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Book SynopsisFeaturing a faux leather binding with embossed type and illustration to match the distinctive series look, the updated Quotable Winston Churchill includes a new enlightening biography and excerpts from some of the famed orator's greatest speeches to complete this new deluxe edition.

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Book Synopsis''Magical and transporting . . . Wayward proves that Bunyan has lived the best possible life, on her own idiosyncratic terms''Maggie O''Farrell''A gorgeous account of outsiderness and survival: a map of how to live outside the boundaries and of striving for an authentic artistic life. A quietly defiant and moving work'' Sinéad Gleeson''An epic in miniature . . . I loved - and lived - every sentence'' Benjamin MyersIn 1968, Vashti Bunyan gave up everything and everybody she knew in London to take to the road with a horse, wagon, dog, guitar and her then partner. They made the long journey up to the Outer Hebrides in an odyssey of discovery and heartbreak, full of the joy of freedom and the trudge of everyday reality, sleeping in the woods, fighting freezing winters and homelessness. Along the way, Vashti wrote the songs that would lead to the recording of her 1970''s album Just Another Diamond Day, the lilting lyrics and guitar conveying innocent wonder at the world around her, whilst disguising a deeper turmoil under the surface. From an unconventional childhood in post-war London, to a fledgling career in mid-sixties pop - recording a single written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards - to the despair and failure to make any headway with her own songs, she rejected the music world altogether and left it all behind. After retreating to a musical wilderness for thirty years, the rediscovery of her recordings in 2000 brought Vashti a second chance to write, record and perform once more. One of the great hippie myths of the 1960s, Wayward, Just Another Life to Live, rewrites the narrative of a barefoot girl on the road to describe a life lived at full tilt from the first, revealing what it means to change course and her emotional struggle, learning to take back control of her own life.Trade ReviewThis is a magical and transporting memoir, relating how Bunyan ducked out of the London music scene, instead choosing to make her way - by foot and wagon - to the Outer Hebrides. Her mesmerising viewpoint and lyrical outlook on life will be familiar to anyone who, like me, loves her music, but Wayward proves that Bunyan has lived the best possible life, on her own idiosyncratic terms -- Maggie O'FarrellA gorgeous account of outsiderness and survival; a map of how to live outside the boundaries and of striving for an authentic artistic life. A quietly defiant and moving work -- Sinéad GleesonVashti Bunyan possesses one of the purest voices English music has ever produced, and now that unique otherness translates to literature. Wayward is an epic in miniature, a mythical tale with echoes of her ancestor John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, made all the more magical by the fact it actually happened. I loved - and lived - every sentence -- Benjamin MyersA quietly beautiful and gentle read, full of light and kindness. Underneath its easygoing exterior is a proud story about gut instinct and persistence, and I have much affection for what it showed me about choosing a pace of life, and how we might find our place in the world as we move through it -- Jennifer Lucy AllanThis simply beautiful memoir cast the same spell on me as Vashti Bunyan's music. Her account of a legendary road-trip taken at horse pace through a gone England is hedgerow rich in vivid detail. But this is no nostalgia piece: Bunyan is needle-sharp on the way so many men tried to cut her - and her songs - down to size: essential reading for women in the arts now. I read the last pages through tears, deeply moved by the wilder life she embarked on, step by step, song by song. If you loved Patti Smith's Just Kids then you need to read Wayward next. -- Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure for SleepBunyan weaves her captivating nomad's tale with a rambler's eye for detail and a dreamer's visionary ambition. Her perpetual search for utopia, and the experiences behind her songs of innocence, are romantic and revelatory -- Rob YoungDefiant and surprisingly unromantic, painting her cross-country journey in shades of muddy green, this is a fascinating and brave memoir -- Bob StanleyLike the music she makes, Vashti Bunyan's writing in this memoir of an unusual musical life is ethereal and dream-like, skipping from one thought to the next, lingering long enough to leave a clear impression but not to overburden the reader's experience . . . a story of finding meaning in the right location, with beautiful music as a backdrop * Record Collector *Extraordinary * Mojo *

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Book SynopsisA deeply moving and mind-expanding collection of personal essays in the first ever work of non-fiction from #1 internationally bestselling author John GreenThe Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his ground-breaking, critically acclaimed podcast, John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet - from the QWERTY keyboard and Halley's Comet to Penguins of Madagascar - on a five-star scale.Complex and rich with detail, the Anthropocene's reviews have been praised as 'observations that double as exercises in memoiristic empathy', with over 10 million lifetime downloads. John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this artfully curated collection about the shared human experience; it includes beloved essays along with six all-new pieces exclusive to the book.

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Book SynopsisXiaolu Guo was born in China. She published six books before moving to Britain in 2002. Her books include: Village of Stone, shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize; A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, shortlisted for the Orange Prize; and I Am China. Her recent memoir, Once Upon a Time in the East, won the National Book Critics Circle Award, was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Rathbones Folio Prize 2018. It was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. Her most recent novel A Lover's Discourse was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2020. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a visiting professor at the Free University in Berlin.

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Book Synopsis'Johnny Cash ... Every man could relate to him, no man could be him, and only one man could get inside his head - Robert Hilburn' BONOPeople don't just listen to Johnny Cash: they believe in him. But no one has told the Man in Black's full story, until now.In Johnny Cash: The Life, Robert Hilburn conveys the unvarnished truth about a musical icon, whose colourful career stretched from his days at Sun Records with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis to his remarkable, brave and deeply moving 'Hurt' video, aged sixty-nine. As music critic for the Los Angeles Times, Hilburn knew Cash well throughout his life: he was the only music journalist at the legendary Folsom Prison concert in 1968, and he interviewed Cash and his wife June Carter for the final time just months before their deaths in 2003. Hilburn's rich reporting shows the remarkable highs and deep lows that followed and haunted Cash in equal measure. A man of great faith and humbling addiction, Cash aimed for more than another hit for the jukebox; he wanted his music to lift people's spirits.Drawing upon his personal experience with Cash and a trove of never-before-seen material from the singer's inner circle, Hilburn creates an utterly compelling, deeply human portrait of one of the most iconic figures in modern popular culture - not only a towering figure in country music, but also a seminal influence in rock, whose personal life was far more troubled, and whose musical and lyrical artistry much more profound, than even his most devoted fans ever realised.Trade ReviewJohnny Cash was a man both extraordinary and ordinary. Every man could relate to him, no man could be him, and only one man could get inside his head: Robert Hilburn -- BonoRobert Hilburn displays a deeply felt affinity with his subject, illuminating Johnny Cash as the moral compass of country music -- Patti SmithA great story requires great storytelling, and that's exactly what it receives here. Ultimately, Robert Hilburn's biography uncannily resembles its subject: massive and stolid, but with a dangerous glint in its eye -- Charles Shaar Murray * Literary Review *Johnny Cash and Robert Hilburn are two of the true blessings of my life. Both the best at what they do and each a gifted artist. It's a killer combination -- Kris Kristofferson[T]he most authoritative and revealing portrait to date of the most chronicled figure in country-music history ... [a] finely wrought biography -- Eddie Dean * Wall Street Journal Europe *Hilburn's biography has the sort of immense scope and tremendous insight that comes from years of interviewing such a truthful, troubling subject -- Rob Fitzpatrick * Sunday Times *A warts-and-all biography follows Johnny Cash, a rebel and outsider, from one drama to the next. It's a must-read -- Will Hodgkinson * The Times *Rock biographies can feel like they are ten-a-penny so it is a refreshing change to read a meaty no-holds barred, non-sycophantic record of legendary Man in Black Johnny Cash ... The wealth of detail on every page, in ever incident of Cash's life (1932-2002) is both impressive and a joy to read. Unlike so many biographies that are reported incidents jigsawed together, this is almost an eyewitness account with not always favourable opinions, perfecting its colour and gravitas -- Nicole Carmichael * Sunday Express *How do you write an interesting biography of such a beloved figure? First, hire Robert Hilburn. He is a prodigious researcher, but keeps a steady hand on the tiller, and never allows his research to swamp his narrative. He knows his music and music history, but unlike far too many music critics, he avoids the temptation to show off * The Economist *Hilburn has pulled off the rare feat of making the dispassionate truth more extraordinary than the myth -- Andy Fyfe * Mojo *With straightforward prose, and through years of meticulous research, Robert Hilburn unravels the sometimes dark and magical life of one of music's greatest legends. Oftentimes this is a chronicle of pain, whether Hilburn is detailing Cash's early loss of his beloved brother, or the anguish he talked to Rick Rubin about feeling upon the death of wife June, but Hilburn gives much insight into what drove Cash's work. This is a harrowing story of addiction, musical genius, and enduring faith that goes far deeper than any film biopic ever will. In the end, Hilburn has achieved what is most certainly the definitive Johnny Cash biography -- Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt CobainRobert Hilburn has written a magnificent biography * BBC Radio 4 Front Row *Hilburn displays a quite remarkable empathy with his subject and his writing style is highly readable and totally gripping. The book has just been published in the UK and is surely a must for any serious country music buff -- David Alan * Country Music People *A moving, respectful and sympathetic biography -- Alan Taylor * Sunday Herald *There is madness aplenty in this excellent life of the turbulent Johnny Cash -- Rod Liddle * Sunday Times *Superb -- Will Hodgkinson * The Times *

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Book Synopsis“Gato’s head snapped back… We could make out the shots of several 9mms, a couple of 38s and one or two 45s. I hurled myself through the doorway and into the room. I didn’t look back.”Caught in an Ecuador hotel room with 8kg of cocaine, Pieter Tritton was no mule or dupe. He had planned and organised everything. The consequence: a 12-year sentence inside one of the world’s deadliest prison systems, where gun fights, executions and riots are a part of everyday life. As a Brit banged up abroad, Pieter had to learn how to survive – and fast – because one wrong move would mean death.This is the insider account of what it’s like to live in a place worse than hell and come out a changed man on the other side.

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Book SynopsisOne day in the spring of 2013, a box appeared outside a fourth-floor apartment door in Brooklyn, New York. The recipient, who didn't know the sender, only knew she was supposed to bring this box to a friend, who would ferry it to another friend. This was Edward Snowden's box-printouts of documents proving that the US government had built a massive surveillance apparatus and used it to spy on its own people-and the friend on the end of this chain was filmmaker Laura Poitras.Thus the biggest national security leak of the digital era was launched via a remarkably analog network, the US Postal Service. This is just one of the odd, ironic details that emerges from the story of how Jessica Bruder and Dale Maharidge, two experienced journalists but security novices (and the friends who received and ferried the box) got drawn into the Snowden story as behind-the-scenes players. Their initially stumbling, increasingly paranoid, and sometimes comic efforts to help bring Snowden's leaks to light, and ultimately, to understand their significance, unfold in an engrossing narrative that includes emails and diary entries from Poitras. This is an illuminating essay on the status of transparency, privacy, and trust in the age of surveillance.Trade ReviewI've read virtually all of the books about the Snowden leaks, but this one stands apart.A beautifully written, gripping new book. -- Cory Doctorow * Boing Boing *A short, yet fluent and well-researched, work from a duo of US-based investigative journalists...despite the title, 'Snowden's Box' is essentially not about the box as such, but, as the authors themselves, acknowledge, about some of the most powerful analogue technology in the world: human relationships. -- Vitali Vitaliev * Engineering & Technology *The story of Edward Snowden's disclosure of NSA secrets to the press has been told and retold in books, films, and countless articles. Left unreported has been the quiet role of [Jessica Bruder and Dale Maharidge] who literally had Snowden material mailed to them in a cardboard box.[In Snowden's Box], the duo finally tells their story of beginners' encryption, convoluted codewords, and extreme paranoia. -- Sam Biddle * The Intercept *A gonzo story, told with a sense of humour...Bruder and Maharidge tell a good yarn and make a strong case against government surveillance. They argue that everybody should have something to hide. * Morning Star *The simplest human connections are sometimes vitally important for journalists to carry out their work beyond the gaze of the spying agencies. Bruder and Maharige's book is a timely reminder of this fact. * Counterfire *

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Book SynopsisThe definitive book in English about the 'Ndrangheta - the most powerful Mafia in the world.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisA GROUNDBREAKING EXPLORATION OF GENDER AND DESIRE FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING ESSAYIST AND CRITIC

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

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Book SynopsisFredrik Sjöberg's Swedish bestseller about summer, islands, freedom and boundaries.'The light, the warmth, the smells, the mist, the birdsong - the moths. Who can sleep? Who wants to?'Fredrik Sjöberg finds happiness in the little things. Millions of them, in fact. This beguiling bestseller is his unique meditation on collecting hoverflies. It is also about living on a remote Swedish island, blissful long summer nights, lost loves, unexpected treasures, art, nature, slowness, and how freedom can come from the things we least expect.'Full of charm, a book about how to find meaning in life' Melissa Harrison, The Times, Books of the Year'I often return to The Fly Trap, it remains close to my heart. The minute observations from nature that reveal sudden insights into one's life. Sometimes I almost think that he wrote it for me' Tomas Tranströmer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature'Charming, witty and original' Patrick Barkham, Guardian 'Nature writing that can laugh at itself, a real tonic' Gregory Day, Sydney Morning Herald'Delightful, at once informative and often humorously digressive . . . a humane man of wide-ranging curiosity, Sjöberg writes with infectious passion' Paul Binding IndependentFredrik Sjöberg collects hoverflies on the island Runmarö, in the archipelago east of Stockholm. He is also a literary critic, translator, cultural columnist and the author of several books including The Art of Flight and The Raisin King, which form a trilogy with The Fly Trap.Trade ReviewCharming, witty and original . . . a sly challenge to virtually every contemporary orthodoxy -- Patrick Barkham * Guardian *Its joy lies in Sjöberg's loose-limbed prose . . . at once whimsical and yet laden with erudition and a deep feeling for the natural world and our place in it * Financial Times *Delightful, at once informative and often humorously digressive . . . a humane man of wide-ranging curiosity, Sjöberg writes with infectious passion * Independent *Subtle, convincing . . . Sjöberg thrives in the indistinct boundary between science and literature * New Scientist *A quirky tapestry . . . an enjoyable if wayward tale * Ecologist *Entertaining . . .iconoclastic . . . the writing is whimsical, digressive and pleasingly devoid of anything too weighty or purposeful -- Richard Coniff * Wall Street Journal *

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Book Synopsis‘I mean who cares about opinions, gossip, whatever, when bodies are so vulnerable, in search only of love and breath.’ Brilliant young writer Ellena Savage explores Portuguese police stations and Portland college campuses, suburban Melbourne libraries and wintry Berlin apartments. She circles back to scenes of crimes or near-crimes, to lovers or near-lovers, to turn over the stones, re-read the paperwork, check the deeds, approach from another angle altogether. These essays traverse cities and spaces, bodies and histories, moving through forms and modes to find a closer kind of truth. Blueberries is ripe with acid, promise, and sweetness.Trade Review‘In this electric collection of personal essays, Savage leads readers through a range of subjects … There is so much to admire in Savage’s literary style … Savage deftly shifts between stylistic devices, narrative voices, and time, and the result is breathtaking … The collection, for all its differences in tone, content, and structure, comes together beautifully.’ -- Roz Bellamy * The Guardian *‘Savage explores the sites of identity — trauma, gender, class, religion, the body — in clear rhythmic prose.’ -- Natasha Randall * TLS *‘Ellena Savage is savagely smart and talented.’ -- Rachel Kushner, author of The Mars Room‘Ellena Savage is a rare kind of true intellectual, a voice that rises above the cacophony with remarkable insight. In Blueberries she cuts fearless swathes through the ways that we write and think and live now and leaves us far better for it: the book is unsettling, life-affirming and essential.’ * Jean Hannah Edelstein, author of This Really Isn’t About You *‘Once I started reading Blueberries, I found it almost impossible to put down. It’s fascinating to watch Ellena Savage’s mind at work in this book — her essays unfurl, expand and dance in unexpected and satisfying ways. This is a masterful, fearless book in which strength and vulnerability collide.’ -- Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I’m Someone Else‘Blueberries feels like laying down on the train tracks and looking up at the sky — a reverie, shot through by a feeling of acceleration, of something vast coming at you. Ellena’s essays are heartstopping epics of self-inquiry and world-inquiry.’ -- Maria Tumarkin, author of Axiomatic‘Quite simply one of the best essay collections of the last twenty years.’ -- Chloe Walker * CultureFly *‘A breathtaking interrogation of the self in the world; the self within structures of power and oppression … Blueberries is exciting and distinctive.’ STARRED REVIEW * Books+Publishing *‘Reading Ellena Savage’s Blueberries engaged me completely. Savage’s sparkling writing is bold, witty, insightful, fearless, and funny. It emerges from an astute mind at odds with itself, with culture and society. Savage wrestles and plays with received ideas of all kinds, and with what has and hasn’t shaped her. Savage’s fierce essays and stories are true to a lived life, and fascinating and irresistible.’ -- Lynne Tillman, author of Men and Apparitions: A Novel‘Ellena Savage, in Blueberries, confronts the past convulsively, compulsively. In dialogic language and form, the author, facing memory’s traumas and perplexities, and also its delights, is constantly aware that it's all about the translation of experience from the private to the public realm. In extremis, which is where Savage shines especially, it's as if she saying to the "repressed": go ahead and return; make my day.’ -- David Lazar, Professor of Creative Writing, Columbia College Chicago‘Savage navigates delicate and difficult terrain with wit, ruthless scrutiny and painfully sharp analysis … If Yellow City is any indication, Blueberries will be one of the most exciting debuts of the new year.’ * Overland *‘The 15 essays contained here wear various guises, from experimental prose to poetry, memoir to polemic to cultural critique. … Savage’s idealism and eloquence are a much-needed counterbalance to our by-now-threadbare belief that all the hard questions of how to order our world have been answered, that everything unsettling such certainty is a glitch, to be soldered onto the technocratic motherboard and run through the circuits of the polity. Blueberries is an adamant and unruly book. It is also the most exciting work of creative nonfiction to be published in this country since Maria Tumarkin took up the pen.’ -- Geordie Williamson * The Australian *‘In fifteen works, Savage blends memoir, personal essay, stream of consciousness, journalism, and prose poetry to interrogate the messy and fragmented life of a writer, a woman, and a body … A masterclass in experimental nonfiction…Savage is fiercely intelligent and manages to inject dry humour into even the most serious topics, creating a delicate balance between dire existentialism and life-affirming joy. By questioning the very nature of memoir itself, Savage breathes new life into the non-fiction form and considers what it means to be alive in today’s uncertain world.’ -- Chloë Cooper * Kill Your Darlings *‘Savage plays with form like a poet, and excavates the roots of her experience with an impressive generosity and fierce intelligence that mirror her mentor, Maria Tumarkin … Fans of Tumarkin and Jia Tolentino should hunt this down … and luxuriate in a recent past where whiplash-inducing international travel was an option.’ -- Jo Case * InDaily *‘[F]or fans of the understated yet insightful prose of Rachel Cusk and Sally Rooney … Wrestling with the intricacies of memory, identity, class and trauma, [Blueberries] sees Savage contemplate her past with unflinching clarity … Take it to your next book club.’ * Elle Australia ‘Book of the Month’ *‘Ellena Savage has produced a collection that defies categorisation but is fervently experiential, candid, and original.’ * Readings Monthly *‘For fans of Maria Tumarkin, Kathy Acker, and Maggie Nelson, Blueberries marks Savage as an experimental writer and essayist to watch.’ * Adelaide Review *‘Blueberries asks piercing questions about power, desire, and violence. The essays explore what it means to be an artist, a body, a woman, a friend, a lover, a daughter — and how these roles intersect with systems of oppression. Each essay has its own form and process, but in each one Savage focuses her sharply analytic eye on the world she moves through — as well as on herself.’ -- Caitlin McGregor * Australian Book Review *‘A collection of finely judged personal essays … The writing is great, but Ellena Savage’s adeptness with form is what really makes this worth reading.’ -- John McGregor * The Week *‘The essays display a fiercely intelligent mind that blends the personal with polemic ... It is original, forthright, and will have you challenging your own views and assumptions.’ -- Melinda Woledge * Good Reading, starred review *‘That the self exists in narrative form lies at the centre of Blueberries, as Savage explores the sites of identity — trauma, gender, class, religion, the body — in clear, rhythmic prose … In the last few pages she expunges herself from the narrative, exposing the scaffolding of her project, and leaves us to ponder the untold: the self that is yet to be, “the she of what next: action”.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘Blueberries is a sometimes playful, sometimes fierce collection that is, in its own zigzagging way, a coming-of-age story. In every piece, Savage has a biting interrogation of the world and herself … Savage is an excellent critic and a droll one.’ -- Catie McLeod * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘Never before has memoir read quite like this … a collection that challenges, tests and demands engagement from the reader … a journey of experimentation that is fuelled by her strong, independent voice throughout. In form and in content, Blueberries is exquisite.’ * Judges’ Report from the 2021 Stella Prize *‘Savage is skilled at imparting language to universal feelings that are difficult to articulate.’ * BOMB Mag *Praise for Yellow City: ‘In Yellow City, Ellena Savage’s mind translates the memory of violence into astonishingly brilliant language. She perfectly articulates the creeping feeling that one’s life is irreversible in a way that, prior to reading, I felt language may be incapable of capturing. This made me sure that she was either a genius, or a witch, or my dream coupling of the two.’ -- Rita Bullwinkel, author of Belly UpPraise for Yellow City: ‘Delving into troubling territory, Savage brings a fierce intellect, sharp wit, and a handful of uncomfortable truths. To read her is to be simultaneously thrilled and uneasy. Savage is a writer not to miss.’ -- Jessie Cole, author of StayingPraise for Yellow City: ‘And it’s so funny! So snide and clever and irreverent.’ -- Eloise Grills, author of Big Beautiful Female Theory

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Book SynopsisThis remarkable book tells the engrossing story of a small, highly organised criminal gang who ruled supreme in the South-West of the Netherlands in the 1990s, and were never caught. The gang members came from all over Europe, and all stratas of society. They each had specialist skills and spoke at least three languages. Their audacious targets, meticulous planning, and ruthless execution gave them legendary status. They never killed, but struck fear into their enemies. It was not until 2022 that a gang member approached the author and told his story for the first time. It is a fascinating account, and as he readily admits, they would not get away with it today.

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

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

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis'He's like an American Alan Bennett, in that his own fastidiousness becomes the joke, as per the taxi encounter, or his diary entry about waiting interminably in a coffee-bar queue' Guardian review of An Evening with David SedarisTrade ReviewSedaris is the premier observer of our world and its weirdnesses -- Adam Kay, author of This is Going to HurtStill keeps me company like a party guest who's been asked to spend the night...His essays about living in Paris are full of piss and vinegar and achingly funny * Armistead Maupin *He is, simply, very funny... refusing to find anything an unfit subject for humour * Sunday Times *A deadpan, darkly comical portrait of the American underbelly . . . Sedaris shares something of [Alan] Bennett's detached curiosity, and they both have a thirst for amusement -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *So often Sedaris's phrasing is beautiful in its piquancy and minimalism...His life is extraordinary in so many ways - the drug addiction, the eccentric family, the crazy jobs, the fame, the globetrotting - but one of the more unlikely achievements here is in making it all seem quite ordinary. Ultimately, his masterstroke is in acting as a bystander in his own story * Guardian *Audaciously combining memoir, essay, and what has to be fiction, this fourth collection of short pieces offers pleasures normally to be found only in the best novels and the rare standup act that is actually funny * The New Yorker *He makes me laugh so much. In an era when US satire is outpacing our own he's a sharp, humane and hilarious voice that never fails to make you smile - and sometimes weep. Apparently effortless humour is difficult, and precious. He's the real thing -- James Naughtie * Radio Times *The world's most eloquent malcontent, Sedaris has turned self-deprecation into a celebrated art form * Amazon.com editor review *Still keeps me company like a party guest who's been asked to spend the night...His essays about living in Paris are full of piss and vinegar and achingly funny. * Armistead Maupin *Audaciously combining memoir, essay, and what has to be fiction, this fourth collection of short pieces offers pleasures normally to be found only in the best novels and the rare standup act that is actually funny. * THE NEW YORKER *He is, simply, very funny... refusing to find anything an unfit subject for humour. * SUNDAY TIMES *A sophisticatedly funny take on modern life. Treat yourself to this book. * IRISH TIMES *

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Book SynopsisAn immediate sensation upon its publication in 1969, Papillon is a vivid memoir of brutal penal colonies, daring prison breaks and heroic adventure on shark-infested seas.Condemned for a murder he did not commit, Henri Charriere, nicknamed Papillon, was sent to the penal colony of French Guiana. Forty-two days after his arrival he made his first break for freedom, travelling a thousand gruelling miles in an open boat. He was recaptured and put into solitary confinement but his spirit remained untamed: over thirteen years he made nine incredible escapes, including from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.This edition of Papillon, one of the greatest adventure stories ever told, includes an exclusive new essay by Howard Marks.

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Book Synopsis''A great book for anyone who wants to vicariously travel like an old-fashioned adventurer and seeks to understand how far we have come in developing a protective attitude to wildlife'' New York Times''A marvellous book . . . unputdownable . . . utterly engaging'' Daily TelegraphIn 1954, a young television presenter named David Attenborough was offered the opportunity of a lifetime - to travel the world finding rare and elusive animals for London Zoo''s collection, and to film the expeditions for the BBC. Now ''the greatest living advocate of the global ecosystem'' this is the story of the voyages that started it all. Staying with local tribes while trekking in search of giant anteaters in Guyana, Komodo dragons in Indonesia and armadillos in Paraguay, he and the rest of the team battled with cannibal fish, aggressive tree porcupines and escape-artist wild pigs, as well as treacherous terrain and Trade ReviewA marvellous book ... unputdownable ... utterly engaging. * Telegraph *An elegant and gently funny writer. -- Damian Whitworth * The Times *This is a great book for anyone who wants to vicariously travel like an old-fashioned adventurer and seeks to understand how far we have come in developing a protective attitude to wildlife * New York Times *Utterly engaging . . . immensely colourful and dramatic -- Roger Lewis * Daily Mail *A beautiful new edition ... of our favourite naturalist's account of his travels for the BBC * Mail on Sunday *Full of Attenborough's trademark enthusiasm, wit and intelligence, it's a natural history fan's treat. * Sunday Express *His writing is as impressive and as enjoyable as his TV programmes and there can be no higher praise. * Daily Express *A great educator as well as a great naturalist. * Barack Obama *Sir David is a wizard of television, and, like Gandalf or Dumbledore, he has a near-magical gift for combining warmth and gravitas . . . the man who, for me, exemplifies the best in British broadcasting. * Louis Theroux *A charming period piece -- Damian Whitworth * Times *

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