Biography Books

Book SynopsisWhen we hear the word ‘reef’ we most often think of tropical coral reefs and, indeed, those are the most diverse habitats with thousands of different species living on them. But reefs can also be found off the coast of Canada, Brazil and even further north. Off Canada’s coast there are both the Atlantic deep-water coral habitat and the Pacific rocky reef habitat. Reefs is a pictorial celebration of the hugely varied marine life on coral, rock and sand reefs all around the world. From the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, Australia, to Mabul Island off Borneo, from east African coral reefs stretching from the Red Sea down to Madagascar to the Amazon Reef off Brazil, from the Mesoamerican Reef off Belize to Vancouver Island, the book explores how life on each reef is interdependent. The book also includes examples of how coral bleaching has killed off reefs. Arranged geographically by reef and illustrated with more than 200 colour photographs, each entry is completed with a caption explaining the magnificent natural world on display. From the gender-swapping clownfish to single-cell zooxanthellae, from coral polyps to purple starfish to harlequin shrimp and octopuses, the book is a feast of marine life.Table of ContentsContents to include: Introduction AFRICA African coral reefs – Red Sea to Madagascar THE AMERICAS Amazon Reef – Off Brazil and French Guiana. The Amazon Reef (also referred to as the Amazonian Reef) is an extensive coral and sponge reef system. It is one of the largest reef systems in the world known to exist, with scientists estimating its length to be over 600 miles (970 km) long Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, Mexico – part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Belize Barrier Reef – part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Bullenbaai, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean Tofino, Vancouver Island, Canada – Purple Starfish and green anemone PACIFIC Great Barrier Reef – Queensland, Australia – School of Sweet Lips, Lionfish Cape Tribulation, Daintree region, Queensland, Australia Lansdowne Bank, Coral Sea – between Australia and New Caledonia Apo Reef – Philippines. The world’s second-largest contiguous coral reef system. Tubbataha Reef – Philippines North Sulawesi, Indonesia – Pseudanthias Bunaken Marine National Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia – Blue Seastar Mabul Island, Borneo, Malaysia – maroon clownfish and bubbletip anemone, jellyfish, sea slug Bohey Dulang Island, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia Miri-Sibuti Coral Reef National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia – including Soft Coral, western clownfish Minami-Tori-shima – Japan’s most easterly island French Frigate Shoals – Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

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Book SynopsisVera Holme, known as Jack, left a career as a jobbing actress to become Emmeline Pankhurst''s chauffeur and mechanic. Evelina Haverfield was a classic beauty, the daughter of a Scottish baron and fourteen years older than Jack. They met in 1908, fell in love, lived together, and became public faces of the suffragette movement, enduring prison and doing everything they could for the cause.The First World War paused the suffragettes'' campaign and Jack and Eve enrolled in the Scottish Women''s Hospital Service and soon found themselves in Serbia. Eve set up and ran hospitals for allied soldiers in appalling conditions, while Jack became an ambulance driver, travelling along dirt tracks under bombardment to collect the wounded from the front lines.Together, they carved radical new paths, demonstrating that women could do anything men could do, whether driving ambulances, running military hospitals, becoming prisoners of war or bearing arms. They refused to compromise in

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Book SynopsisQueen Elizabeth I’s reign is amongst the most exciting and fascinating of any period of English history. She was a glamourous queen who ruled a vibrant nation full of legendary figures: Robert Dudley, Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh, the Earl of Essex were all international celebrities of their day. Great events unfolded, with triumphs such as the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and tragedies, including the long-term imprisonment and execution of Mary Queen of Scots. With love affairs, wily politicians, sinister plots and intrigues at the royal court, Elizabeth’s reign was a long-running drama; it is appropriate that William Shakespeare was writing at the time, and characters and events of his plays often mirrored Elizabethan life. But it was Queen Elizabeth who was the star of the story, holding centre stage over a glittering royal court. In this seminal Pitkin text by G.W.O. Woodward, revised and updated by Gill Knappett for 2019, read how Gloriana reigned in dazzling majesty over an exciting new age of exploration, discovery, artistic brilliance, architectural achievement, foreign conquest and prosperity. This beautifully illustrated biography is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II.

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Book SynopsisOluwale Now explores the contemporary issues that David Oluwale’s story touches upon through over 40 selections of poetry and prose (including prize-winning submissions from Hannah Stone; Gill Tennant, Gayathiri Kamalakanthan) as well as over 20 featured artworks and photography. Central to this book are the themes of memory, belonging, otherness and optimism. Building upon Remembering Oluwale: An Anthology (edited by SJ Bradley, Valley Press, 2016), this anthology moves through historical and contemporary pain towards hope; there is an upward thrust through Oluwale Now which refuses to deny or sugar-coat the horrors of systematic racism and brutality but allows us a glimpse of a better future. "A powerful, varied, lyrical tribute that mobilises our memory and engages the imagination" Gary YoungeTrade Review"A powerful, varied, lyrical tribute that mobilises our memory and engages the imagination." Gary Younge

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Book SynopsisKathleen Ferrier has a reputation as the greatest lyric contralto of the twentiety century. Her story, from her humble beginnings as a telephone operator in Blackburn to the height of international fame as one of the world's leading concert artists and her untimely death at the age of forty-one, is told told with compelling insight and perception, using a variety of sources, from photographs, diaries, and private letters to the memoirs and recollections of those who knew her best. Despite having no formal musical training, Kathleen worked with all the celebrated conductors of the time, and is remembered for her performances of music by Brahms, Schubert and Mahler, as well as a handful of operatic roles. Enlarging considerably on many alternative biographies, this excellent account captures the warmth, humour and charm of a figure whose astonishing life and career proved to be, sadly, all too brief.

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Book SynopsisWelcome to the favela, welcome to the rainforest, welcome to the real Brazil. This is the Brazil where a factory worker is loyal to his company for decades, only to find out that they knew the product he was making would eventually poison him. This is the Brazil where the mothers of the favela expect their sons to die as victims of the drug trade while still in their teens. This is the Brazil where the women initiated into the old Amazonian tradition of 'baby-pulling' deliver babies in their own time, far away from the drugs and scalpels of the modern hospital. In the company of award-winning journalist Eliane Brum, we meet the individuals struggling to stay afloat in a society riven by inequality and violence, and witness the resilience of spirit and commitment to life that makes Brazil one of the most complicated, most exhilarating places on earth.

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Book Synopsis'It is said that failed politicians make the best diarists. In which case I am in with a chance.' Chris Mullin Chris Mullin has been a Labour MP for twenty years, and despite his refusal to toe the party line - on issues like 90 days detention, for example - he has held several prominent posts. To the apoplexy of the whips, he was for a time the only person appointed to government who voted against the Iraq War. He also chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee, giving him direct access to the court of Tony Blair. Irreverent, wry and candid, Mullin's keen sense of the ridiculous allows him to give a far clearer insight into the workings of Government than other, more overtly successful politicians. He offers humorous and incisive takes on all aspects of political life: from the build-up to Iraq, to the scandalous sums of tax-payers' money spent on ministerial cars he didn't want to use. His critically acclaimed diary will entertain and amuse far beyond the political classes.Trade ReviewThe sharpest and most revealing political diaries since Alan Clark's. -- Simon Hoggart * Guardian *Chris Mullin's diaries deserve to become the central text for understanding the Blair years -- Peter Riddell * The Times *At the moment my favourite Labour MP is Chris Mullin, partly because I enormously enjoyed A View From The Foothills -- William Hague * Independent *

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Book SynopsisEarly one autumn afternoon in pursuit of an elusive book on her shelves, Susan Hill encountered dozens of others that she had never read, or forgotten she owned, or wanted to read for a second time. The discovery inspired her to embark on a year-long voyage through her books, forsaking new purchases in order to get to know her own collection again. A book which is left on a shelf for a decade is a dead thing, but it is also a chrysalis, packed with the potential to burst into new life. Wandering through her house that day, Hill's eyes were opened to how much of that life was stored in her home, neglected for years. Howards End is on the Landing charts the journey of one of the nation's most accomplished authors as she revisits the conversations, libraries and bookshelves of the past that have informed a lifetime of reading and writing.Trade ReviewA totally beguiling, utterly persuasive, argument for reimmersing yourself in literature's past... it reminds you of the overlooked treasures we miss in the chase for novelty. Hill's work is part memoir, part outpouring of affection for these she has loved and, en route, she provides us with a reading list the equal of any degree course -- Michael Gove * The Times *An impressionistic autobiography... offers fascinating sketches of literary and artistic figures she has known... an eloquent advocate [for] the virtues of wide-ranging, deeply felt and considered reading... to be cherished -- Michael Arditti * Daily Telegraph *Evoked with precision and grace... She is nicely opinionated throughout... She is whimsical and intimate, scattering rhetorical questions and colloquial half-sentences... beguiling -- Victoria Glendinning * Spectator *[A] vividly experienced journey... viewing books and their authors with a learned, gossipy warmth. She understands that the best books make great companions, and this one is no exception * Metro *The blend of book chat and personal memoir, though apparently serendipitous, is associative and intimate -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *A light-hearted memoir using books as anchors on which to fasten life experiences. Funny, educational and occasionally surprising * Catholic Herald *What a delightful book this is - and so old-fashioned in approach almost to be trendy... a timeless creation, a vademecum which will give endless pleasure not only to Hill's many admirers but also to anyone who values books... An engaging and buoyant book * Herald *Hill's style is vivid and measured and the book is both a passionate reminder of the importance of reading and a revealing glimpse of a writer's life -- Jessica Holland * Observer *Delightful... an idiosyncratic commingling of fiction, non-fiction and poetry...Hill has a voracious and varied appetite and her taste, with a few exceptions, is impeccable -- Leo Robson * New Statesman *A patchwork of literary musing, quotation and anecdote, the memoir's texture is wholesome and cosy; an indulgent quilt in which to nestle before the blazing hearth of literary tradition drawn by its author -- Caroline Howitt * Times Literary Supplement *Strikes a chord with my own eclectic dithering through a literary Monument Valley, and one of the charms of this volume is how Hill's opinions, always honest and courteously proffered, set up resonances with one's own reading... an enjoyable meander, a genial pillow book of light wit and broad reading (including an astonishing amount of re-reading) whose tone remains on the pleasantly whimsical side of erudition -- James Urquhart * Independent *Delightful... Charming... Her legion of fans will love it -- Ian Pindar * Guardian *The narrative unreels in what Dr Johnson would call 'loose sallies of the mind'... A distinguished woman of letters -- John Sutherland * Literary Review *Fans of Hill's work will be delighted by this leisurely ramble through the author's mind and reading pleasures. Hill writes eloquently about her literary influences and preferences, as well as her thoughts about the process of writing * Mslexia *Pure pleasure... Her voice on the page is younger than the date of birth on her passport, so one reads with disbelief her memories of writers she has known during her long writing life... I simply want to emulate Susan Hill's year... To take books from my shelves, to sit, to read. To feast on the books of my life * Country Living *One of the charms of this volume is how Hill's opinions, always refreshingly honest and courteously proffered, set up resonances with one's own reading. Howards End... is an enjoyable meander, a genial pillow book of light wit and broad reading whose tone remains on the pleasantly whimsical side of erudition -- James Urquhart * Financial Times *Vivid and measured and the book is a passionate reminder of the importance of reading and a revealing glimpse of a writer's life * Observer *

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Book SynopsisWeaving together the narratives of non-conformist women from realife with those imagined, An Unsuitable Woman introduces you to the everyday heroines in the Indian society confronting patriarchy.This book includes seventeen inspirational and touching contributions in the form of prose and poetry, from writersike Anand Neelakantan, Madhavi Mahadevan, Sukla Singha, Humra Quraishi and Mitra Phukan, among others. It offers fascinating glimpses of everyday rebellion against patriarchy by a handful of womenfrom Amrita Sher-Gil, the rebel artist toeila Seth, the first female chief justice of a state High Court and to Social Activist Chandraprabha''s unassailable belief in her reforms; theegendary Nangeli who severed her breasts to assert her dissent against an unjust social order to Jahnavi Barua''s nameless protagonist who renders all social stigmas.Plunge into the world of these unsuitable'' women and partake of their undaunted spirit.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE 2018 In the 1950s and 1960s, Memphis, Tennessee, was the launch pad of musical pioneers such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Al Green and Isaac Hayes, and by 1968 was a city synonymous with soul music. It was a deeply segregated city, ill at ease with the modern world and yet to adjust to the era of civil rights and racial integration. Stax Records offered an escape from the turmoil of the real world for many soul and blues musicians, with much of the music created there becoming the soundtrack to the civil rights movements. The book opens with the death of the city’s most famous recording artist, Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash in the final days of 1967, and then follows the fortunes of Redding’s label, Stax/Volt Records, as its fortunes fall and rise again. But, as the tense year unfolds, the city dominates world headlines for the worst of reasons: the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.Trade Review'This book is for anyone who has an interest in music and American history, and as you read about the happenings in 1960s America, it is impossible not to see the parallels with present day USA. This gives added depth and meaning to the story Cosgrove tells, and lifts Memphis 68 far above the plethora of music titles out there on the bookshelves' * Scots Magazine *'There are few writers who so clearly and powerfully evince the relationship between popular culture and politics . . . This is a book that grabs you from the off. Cosgrove writes about the music with a passion and fire which is infectious' * Scots Whay Hae *'As ever, Cosgrove's lucid, entertaining prose is laden with detail, but never at the expense of the wider narrative. Hinging on that Memphis destination, he traces the savage dichotomy at the city’s heart: it was the site of multi-racial soul imprint Stax, but also the places where Martin Luther King was killed. A heartbreaking but essential read, and one that feels remarkably timely' * Clash Magazine *

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Book SynopsisIn the second volume of her memoirs, the prize-winning author Janice Galloway reveals how the child introduced in This is Not About Me evolved through her teenage years. When she started secondary school, Galloway was still sharing a bed with her mother and was more excited by Latin and school orchestra than by boys. But as she struggled with the physical and emotional changes of adolescence, almost everything she thought she knew began to change. Combining visceral descriptions of puberty, sex and school-room politics with the story of a family's secrets, Galloway casts her gaze on the morals and ambitions of one small town, in writing that is personal, defiant and eloquent.Trade ReviewAll Made Up is an excellent sequel; its verbal playfulness, folksiness and wry, hard-won humour are an antidote to the neurosis and cynicism that can often characterise autobiographical writing by the authors of fiction -- Victoria Beale * Independent on Sunday *Warm, vivid, true -- Erica Wagner * The Times *Galloway remains a brilliant writer, capturing mood and character, time and place, with seeming effortlessness -- Ian Rankin * Guardian *A fierce but forgiving tragi-comedy of manners, morality and memory recovered -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *Galloway is a mesmerising writer -- Catherine Deveney * Scotland on Sunday *Janice Galloway is as good as they come -- Jane Shilling * Daily Telegraph *Galloway conjures up the atmosphere [of Saltcoats] with a loving hatred ... Her style is vivid and fluent -- Adam Mars-Jones * Observer *A tour de force of artistic licence projecting the past through the lens of the artist's imagination ... The book is a testament to Galloway's talent ... The book is a wonderful curiosity shop of the mysteries of womanhood -- Tom Adair * Scotsman *Galloway's prose crackles as fiercely as her mother's brushed-nylon sheets... a writer able to conjure up the blistering emotional life of an ever-watchful child -- Emma Hagestadt * Radar *Superb -- Lesley McDowell * Sunday Herald *A brilliant writer, capturing mood and character, time and place, with seeming effortlessness -- Ian Rankin * Guardian *Janice Galloway is the queen of whatever she chooses to write . . . one of Scotland's best writers -- Damien Barr * Herald *

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Book SynopsisThe legendary Austro-Hungarian novelist and essayist, Joseph Roth, was born in Ukraine in 1894 and died tragically in Paris in 1939. These letters span the breadth of Roth's life, from the schoolboy to the veteran of 44, marked by war, poverty, alcoholism, the loss of his wife through madness, and two decades of prolific work. It is a deeply moving portrait of the life of the writer as an outsider, in exile from a world he no longer recognized as his own.

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Book SynopsisJames Maskalyk set out for the contested border town of Abyei, Sudan, in 2007. The newest Médicins Sans Frontières' doctor in the field, he arrived with only his training, full of desire to understand this most desperate part of the world. He returned home six months later profoundly affected by the experience. Six Months in Sudan is an illuminating and affecting account of saving lives in one of the most harrowing and dangerous places on Earth.Trade ReviewGripping and humane . . . brave and intelligent. -- Ned Denny * * Daily Mail * *Honest and fluently written . . . An absorbing insight into international medicine. * * Financial Times * *Carefully crafted, often poetic, always deliberate . . . a visceral account. -- Mary Crockett * * The Scotsman * *A moving, sometimes beautifully written, account of a young doctor's time in the Sudanese town of Abeyi . . . The book is very well written and consequently easy to read, despite the subject matter. Thejuxtaposition of the blog entries and the text works particularly well . . . The book serves as a timely reminder that saving people's lives is worth doing, even in a recession. We are also saving ourselves. -- Padraig Carmody * * Irish Times * *Six Months is Sudan is a wrenchingly heartbreaking account of distant agonies almost too pointed to grasp. Learning about Maskalyk's work there is stirring, but the real miracle is this book paints a picture so precisely and vividly that it becomes impossible to look away. This is Maskalyk's accomplishment, and his gift to the Sudanese and to us. The shame of our indifference retreats before his exhortation: 'learn, and understand,' and perhaps a more bearable future becomes possible for all of us. -- Kevin PattersonThis journey is beautifully told in sharp beats, and lyrical notes. It is the voyage of a young doctor out into a hard world, and deep within his own heart. -- Vincent LamMaskalyk's soft prose is beautiful and invites with the right intimate details. He offers a rare window on the inner life of an aid worker, on what it means to be a humanitarian around the hard edges of war, and on the certain drive to go on. Why? Because in his words, `hope not only meets despair in equal measure, it drowns it.' -- James OrbinskiVisceral and immediate . . . As medical literature this book excels; as an insight into that exhilarating, life changing step into chaos his account can hardly be bettered. -- Jonathan Kaplan * * British Medical Journal * *Through a narrative both personal and provocative, Maskalyk succeeds in animating the quotidien struggles of life in Sudan in ways news reports never will - 'for those who think life is too short, come to Abyei.' -- Peter Geoghegan * * Sunday Business Post * *Searingly unwrapped the truth about serving as a medecin sans frontiers. I quote from it almost every week, for its profound truthfulness. -- Sheena McDonald * * Sunday Herald * *Heartbreaking scenes are recounted with searing honesty and without a trace of self-satisfaction or self-congratulation . . . although the situation was depressingly sad, and at times he despaired, it was also a privilege for him to be involved, he says. It is a privilege for us to read about that involvement. * * Irish Times * *

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Book Synopsis‘She has, to my knowledge, an almost unblemished record in never having failed to spot a great new play…’ Philip Howard, from his Foreword Joyce McMillan has been writing about theatre in Scotland for more than three decades. As drama critic successively for The Guardian, Scotland on Sunday and The Scotsman, she has reviewed thousands of plays. During that time she has borne witness to an extraordinary cultural and political renaissance in Scotland, reflected in the newfound confidence of its playwrights, in the vibrancy of its theatre culture and in its recent outburst of new theatre companies. Compiled by McMillan and the theatre director, Philip Howard, Theatre in Scotland is a panoramic history of modern Scottish theatre, reported from the frontline. It traces the remarkable journey of Scottish theatre towards its new self-confidence: the road to 1990, when Glasgow was European Capital of Culture; followed by the explosive expansion of the 1990s; culminating in the emergence of the National Theatre of Scotland and its drive to bring theatre culture right into the heart of the nation. Gathered here are the leading Scottish playwrights, from John Byrne to Liz Lochhead, from David Greig to David Harrower, as well as the full breadth of English playwrights, from Shakespeare to Pinter. There are reflections on the great Scottish plays, classic – Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis, Men Should Weep – and modern – Black Watch, The James Plays. There are reports not only from the urban theatre centres of Edinburgh and Glasgow but from all over Scotland; and from the feast that is the Edinburgh Festival, to the nourishing A Play, A Pie and A Pint. A leading thinker and writer about Scotland, McMillan has an incomparable ability to detect the wider cultural resonances in Scottish theatre, and to reveal what it can tell us about Scotland as a whole. Her book serves as a portrait of a nation and a shared cultural life, where visions of ‘what we have been, what we are, and what we might become’ are played out in sharp focus on its stages. ‘When Scottish theatre works [its] magic over the coming years, I will be there, to try to catch the moment in print, and to tell it as it was. And believe me, on the good nights and the bad ones, the privilege will be mine: to be paid to go looking for joy, and occasionally to find it.’ Joyce McMillan 'Joyce has an unrivalled passion and hunger for theatre - to be surprised by it, challenged by it, moved by it. Her prose when describing something which has done just this is inspiring and affecting.' Vicky FeatherstoneTrade Review'A superb collection… it is McMillan's impassioned ability to contextualise the work which makes this book of interest to those who wish to read about theatre but also contemporary political history' * Drama Magazine *'A wonderful book… a work of historical, sociological and political as well as artistic relevance, and also one which is hugely enjoyable… what most shines through these pages is McMillan’s spirit: erudite, curious, generous and with a blood-pumping passion for democracy and the value of theatre' * Bella Caledonia *'A very valuable resource indeed… [an] important book, as well as an invaluable reference work and a jolly good read' * The Herald *'A stimulating and excellent work which covers the decades when McMillan had the joy – her word – to cover Scottish theatre in what is the most exhilarating and fruitful period in its history… a work on Scottish theatre’s past which is of value for today and tomorrow' * Scottish Review of Books *'Our most essential voice on the artform and its relationship to our social and political landscape… an expertly edited compilation' * The Skinny *'Fascinating... a detailed and eclectic picture of how Scottish theatre, and indeed, Scottish life has changed and developed over three decades' * The Stage *'A worthy and most enjoyable collection' * British Theatre Guide *'An extraordinary range… a thoroughly uplifting collection, reinforcing the reputation of a cultural gatekeeper but more importantly celebrating Scottish theatre... vital to anyone seeking to understand Scotland’s cultural life in the last 30 years' * AllEdinburghTheatre.com *

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Book SynopsisThis is the English translation of the extremely popular and award-winning Marathi book, now in its 25th edition.

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Book SynopsisTHE GOOD AUDITION GUIDES: Helping you select and perform the audition piece that is best suited to your performing skills As an actor at any level – whether you are doing theatre studies at school, taking part in youth theatre, preparing for drama-school showcases, or attending professional acting workshops – you will often be required to prepare a duologue with a fellow performer. Your success is often based on locating and selecting a fresh, dynamic scene suited to your specific performing skills, as well as your interplay as a duo. Which is where this book comes in. This collection features twenty-five fantastic duologues for two men, almost all written since the year 2000 by some of our most exciting dramatic voices, offering a wide variety of character types and styles of writing. Playwrights featured include Mike Bartlett, Howard Brenton, Jez Butterworth, Alexi Kaye Campbell, Ella Hickson, Sam Holcroft, Anna Jordan, Rona Munro, Jack Thorne and Tom Wells, and the plays themselves were premiered at the very best theatres across the UK including the Manchester Royal Exchange, Watford Palace, the Almeida, Bush, Hampstead, Royal Court and Soho Theatres, and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Drawing on her experience as an actor, director and teacher at several leading drama schools, Trilby James equips each duologue with a thorough introduction including the vital information you need to place the piece in context (the who, what, when, where and why) and suggestions about how to perform the scene to its maximum effect (including the characters' objectives). The collection also features an introduction on the whole process of selecting and preparing a duologue, and how to present it to the greatest effect. The result is the most comprehensive and useful contemporary duologue book of its kind now available. 'Sound practical advice... a source of inspiration for teachers and students alike' Teaching Drama Magazine on The Good Audition Guides

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Book SynopsisCompelling and witty, Liane Holliday Willey's account of growing to adulthood as an undiagnosed 'Aspie' has been read by thousands of people on and off the autism spectrum since it was first published in 1999. Bringing her story up to date, including her diagnosis as an adult, and reflecting on the changes in attitude over 15 years, this expanded edition will continue to entertain (and inform) all those who would like to know a little more about how it feels to spend your life `pretending to be normal'.Trade ReviewSome of the best insights that helped came from reading books written by people on the spectrum. Liane Holliday Willey's insights will be especially helpful for many women on the spectrum. -- Temple Grandin, Author of The Autistic Brain and Thinking in PicturesLiane's original book Pretending to be Normal gave such important insights into how women with Asperger's syndrome used coping strategies in an attempt to fit into the neurotypical world. This updated version not only gives further insights but more importantly rather than "pretending to be normal" Liane points out that it is better to recognise that having Asperger's syndrome is acceptable and society should celebrate differentness. Finding the balance with appropriate support enables people with Asperger's syndrome to function in both the Aspie and neurotypical worlds. The appendices are brilliant in that Liane gives practical tips in supporting and managing Asperger's syndrome in all aspects of life. This book will be highly recommended by me to all those who have or do not have a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome. -- Dr Judith Gould, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of the NAS Lorna Wing Centre for AutismWith Pretending to be Normal, a collective sigh of relief was heaved, a burden was lifted and laid down. The puzzle that had perplexed us was given a name, Asperger's, and women on the spectrum found their voice, some of us for the first time. -- Rudy Simone, author of Aspergirls, 22 Things a Woman Must Know If She Loves a Man with Asperger’s Syndrome and 22 Things a Woman with Asperger’s Syndrome Wants Her Partner to KnowPretending to be Normal was one of the first books I read about women and Asperger syndrome. It was then and still is the book I always recommend to the female clients I see. Liane is a star, her determination, strength and courage are a shining light within the AS community. This second edition is full of new insights and information. A must read for anyone who wishes to understand more about the complex world of women and Asperger syndrome. -- Maxine Aston MSc, Consultant, Trainer and Author of several books on Asperger syndrome and relationshipsWilley's classic Pretending to Be Normal has been a most eloquent way to understand what it feels like to have Asperger's. As beautifully written as it is insightful, this expanded edition is even more powerful due to the addition of a multitude of helpful suggestions and resources. -- Martin L. Kutscher, MD, author of Kids in the Syndrome Mix of ADHD, LD, Autism Spectrum, Anxiety, Tourette’s and More: The One Stop Guide for Parents, Teachers and Other Professionals and ADHD: Living without BrakesTable of ContentsDedication. Foreword by Tony Attwood. Author's Note. Introduction. 1. Remembering When 2. The Gap Widens and Wondering Why 3. Losing My Way 4. A Slow Walk Home 5. Crossing the Bridge 6. Rocking My Babies 7. Settling In, But Never Down. 8. Pretending a Little Less. Appendices: I Explaining Who You Are to Those Who Care. II Survival Skills for AS College Students. III Employment Options and Responsibilities. IV Organizing Your Home Life. V Coping Strategies for Sensory Integration Dysfunction. VI Thoughts for Non-AS Support People. VII Support Groups and Other Helpful Resources. Glossary. References.

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Book SynopsisInge Bondi combines her recollections with Ernst Haas' letters, poems, photos, to narrate Haas's 40 year photography career. The book is in itself a letter from Bondi to Haas. "[S]heds new light on the life of renowned Magnum photographer, Ernst Haas, while at the same time showcasing his art... It also tells the story of one of photography's great innovators, who always trod his own path." - Black+White Photography Writer Inge Bondi sheds fresh light on the life of her close friend and colleague, the Austrian American photographer Ernst Haas (1921–86), whom she first met in New York’s Magnum offices in 1951. Bondi shares unique memories of this brilliant and very private man alongside reproductions of his letters, poems, photographs, and ephemera, revealing for the first time details of his harrowing war years and complex personal life. The book’s 13 chapters cover Haas’ Homecoming Prisoners of War (1947), which prompted Robert Capa to invite him to join Magnum Photos; pioneering color reportage for Life and Vogue, featuring his blurred portraits of bullfighting and saturated images of New York; and his work on film sets, including The Bible, which led to the publication of Haas’ groundbreaking and acclaimed 1971 photobook The Creation.

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Book SynopsisThis brand-new deluxe baby journal encourages parents to chronicle all the important milestones of baby’s first year. But the exquisite presentation and the cloth-covered slipcase means that this is much more than just a journal – it is also destined to become a precious family heirloom. Once completed My Baby Journal will be a treasured keepsake detailing the fondest memories of your child’s first year.

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Book SynopsisSoliloquy of a Small-town Uncivil Servant is an attempt at a memoir that begins with the realization that the narrator has forgotten much of his past. Hence, the acute need to retrieve it. What comes toight is an arduous journey into his pastthe circumstances of his birth, his growing up in a small cityike Gorakhpur and his rendezvous withife outside of that inhibited milieu as he joins the civil services and moves to other places. Fact and fantasy meld as he recreates his experiences with bureaucracy and bureaucratshis perception of them and theirs of him as an outsider''and recounts his many associations with men, women, his teachers and even strangers.

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Book SynopsisThe story of how a group of precocious young artists shook up the British art establishment, told through their works, letters and diaries. An illustrated history of the linked lives and loves of a group of supremely talented artists of late Victorian Britain through their passionate writings. It features the painters, poets, critics and designers: Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones, Fanny Cornforth, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, William and Janey Morris, Christina, Dante Gabriel, and William Rossetti, John Ruskin, William Bell Scott and Lizzie Siddal. The artistic aspirations and achievements of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood are revealed alongside the interwoven dramas of their personal lives, in letters, diaries and reminiscences, while their genius is displayed in vivid paintings, drawings, designs and poems. The Pre-Raphaelites was a charmed circles of love, friendship and art. Within an ever-changing flow of affections, and intimacies as richly patterned as a tapestry, they worked together as companions, lovers and partners. They shared tragedy as well as happiness, critical hostility as well as success, even the griefs of infidelity and discord. These creative partnerships, which also created the firm William Morris and Co, revitalised Victorian art and design. The new edition publishes in time for the start of the Burne Jones Exhibition at Tate Britain, starting in October 18. It is a vital book in understanding the Pre-Raphaelite art, which remains as popular and moving as ever.

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Book Synopsis'In clear and utterly compelling English, this moving memoir tells the story of the agony, and the ecstasy, of one refugee - and of every refugee. A must read for anyone interested in the triumph of Afghanistan's spirit over its seemingly endless suffering'. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2007-2010 Flight From Afghanistan is a harrowing account of what drives a man to flee his home country in fear of his life, the trauma of refugee camps and the dangers he faces even when he reaches the sanctuary of the West. Afghans are the second largest refugee group in the world. When confronted by certain death at the point of a gun, Tella Omeri, an uneducated boy from a peasant family knew he had no alternative but to put his life in the hands of ruthless human traffickers, living on his wits and instincts. His 11-year flight, which began as a six-year- old child, is a story combining brutality with courage, hopelessness with resilience. The author asks for no pity, but in his short story he seeks to explain the motivation behind his decisions and paints a radically different picture of life in a troubled region, challenging world leaders and domestic warring factions to find a solution to the endless conflict. While thousands of refugees flee conflict and danger every day, Flight from Afghanistan shines a powerful light on what it actually means to undertake such a journey, and gives a voice to the often forgotten silent victims of the long running wars in the author's home country. * 'Afghan refugees represent one of the world's largest protracted refugee populations. Over the past four decades, many have been forced from their homes to never see them again. Some were able to return, for a while, but had their lives upended by a fresh eruption of conflict and violence - either to be displaced elsewhere in the country, or to become refugees yet again'. Amnesty International * 'Afghanistan is the world's least peaceful country'. Institute for Peace and Economics, June 2019 Tella Omeri now lives in the UK as a British Citizen with his wife and children.

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Book SynopsisDoodles oneadership is based on the metaphor of balconies ofeadership''. As aeader climbs upwards in his or her career, the perspective changes from the transactional to the corporate and, further on, to a societal view. Moving away from the cut and thrust of operational action, this book reflects on aeader''s journey through the changing perspectives that come with each stage. It demonstrates how aeader''s mind engages progressively with broader matters, rather than staying confined to only those of his company and its operations. The author argues that this widening engagement with society atarge is most satisfying for businesseaders, and emphasizes the role that businesseaders can play in matters concerning nation and society. It demonstrates the practical way businesseaders can contribute to the world, each based on his or her domain of expertise.

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Book SynopsisJack Ma overcame failures and rejections to create Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company. He learned English, embraced the Internet, and built a successful business. His story inspires perseverance and a focus beyond self-interest.

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Book SynopsisThis is a fascinating combination of biographical material about the great Scottish engineer Thomas Telford (1757-1834), and a modern travelogue that revisits the places in the Highlands and Islands where he worked over a period of 20 years. Scotland was provided with desperately-needed civil infrastructure - nearly 1000 miles of roads, 1200 bridges, many harbours, and the monumental Caledonian Canal. Telford's programme of work was one of the greatest sustained efforts by any individual in the years of Britain's industrial revolution. And yet it is little celebrated in Scotland, let alone the rest of Britain and the wider world. After working in England and Wales for nearly 20 years, Telford was called back to his native land to address huge problems in the Highlands and Islands. These included unemployment, depopulation, Highlanders dispirited by poverty and suppression following the two Jacobite uprisings, compounded by living in mountainous regions almost totally isolated from the rest of Scotland. Thomas Telford has been widely painted as a brilliant engineer totally devoted to his work, a somewhat one-dimensional character. However, the author shows him differently, as a man of the Scottish Enlightenment, a rounded character with a love of poetry and the natural world, a good companion and a generous friend. A Scotsman Returns reveals him as a person who, in spite of the humblest start in life, displayed great social skills in his dealings with Scots both haughty and humble during his 20-year commitment to the Highlands and Islands. The author retraces an extensive Highland Tour made by Telford and the Poet Laureate, Robert Southey, in 1819. The two men were drawn together by Telford's love of poetry and Southey's admiration of the engineer's remarkable work in the Highlands. Southey kept a journal of the tour, which remained unpublished for a century and is still not widely known. Comments on the places they visited, the sights they saw, their social interactions, and Southey's intelligent interest in Telford's roadmaking, bridgebuilding and, above all, the Caledonian Canal are featured. Telford's work in other areas of the Highlands and Islands is also covered, principally in Caithness, Sutherland, and the Hebridean Islands. There are further discussions of the social and political environment in which Telford operated, including the Highland Clearances. This travelogue, beautifully illustrated in full colour with over 100 photographs of Telford's surviving infrastructure, is complemented with modern views of the places where he worked. A Scotsman Returns is a wonderful collection of Telford's remarkable achievements and will encourage readers worldwide to explore the routes followed by Telford as he developed Highland infrastructure.

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Book SynopsisChristian Dior (1905-1957) rocketed to fame with his first collection in 1947 when the "New Look" took the world by storm. This charming and modest autobiography gives a fascinating and detailed insight into the workings of a great fashion house, while revealing the private man behind the high-profile establishment. It is also a unique portrait of classic Paris haute couture of the 1950s and offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes. Dior details his childhood in Granville, the family and friends closest to him, his most difficult years and sudden success, as well as his sources of inspiration and creative processes.Trade Review"This autobiography not only gives readers detailed insight into the workings of the fashion house, but also reveals the nature of the man behind it." -- Daniela Saunders, 20+ Must- Have Fashion Coffee Table Books, Country & Town House, 24th May 2022, "A fascinating insight into the iconic design house" -- Hello Magazine, "an excellent primary source...and invaluable addition to fashion history literature" -- Caroleen Molenaar, Journal of Dress History, Vol. 4, Issue. 3, Autumn 2020, "This intimate autobiography allows us to discover the man behind the creative genius acclaimed internationally." Eleanora Dal Bosco, 1 Granary, January 3rd 2022Table of ContentsPrologue: The Two Christian Diors Part One: The Birth of Maison Christian Dior One: The Reluctant Couturier Two: A House of One's Own Three: The New Look Four: An Innocent Abroad in the U.S.A Part Two: From the Idea to the Dress Five: The Idea Six: From the 'Toile' to the Dress Seven: The Birth of the Collection Eight: The Dress Rehearsal Nine: The Eve of the Battle Ten: The Showing of the Collection Eleven: The Romance of Clothes Part Three: Inside a Couture House Twelve: The Mannequins Thirteen: The Clients Fourteen: Domestic Expansion Fifteen: Paris to New York and Back Again Sixteen: Christian Dior-London Part Four: The Adventure of My Life Seventeen: My Early Years Eighteen: Friendships and Frustrations Nineteen: Portrait of Myself

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Book SynopsisGandhi's importance in the Western world, and his interaction with foreign visitors, have been well-documented. However, most of these accounts have focused on Britain and the United States. Today, as India's diaspora grows in numbers and influence, the inspiration of Gandhi in other parts of the world needs to be understood, This is particularly true of Australia. In Gandhi's Australia, Australia's Gandhi. Thomas Weber takes readers on a journey examining Gandhi's perceptions of Australia and the ways in which Australians came to understand him. Through meticulous research, Weber details Gandhi's portrayal in Australia from his days in South Africa to the freedom rides' of indigenous Australians in the 1960s.

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Book SynopsisA Life with Colour is the first complete survey of Gerard Wagner's biography and his artistic intentions, featuring dozens of illustrations and more than 120 colour plates. The life and work of Gerard Wagner (1906-1999) were closely aligned to the artistic-spiritual stream connected with the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. He first heard of the Goetheanum - and of its destruction by fire at New Year 1922/23 - whilst still a youth. In 1926, he made his first visit to Dornach, but his intended stay of a week turned into a lifelong sojourn of over 73 years. He found there an active, striving community with which he felt intimately connected. From the start, Gerard Wagner immersed himself in the various artistic impulses that Rudolf Steiner had instigated. This, together with an intensive study of anthroposophy, formed the basis upon which he forged his own approach to painting. The many years he spent in colour experimentation led him to discover objective principles within the language of colour and form that are an inspiration to many today. His paintings, first shown at the Goetheanum in the early 1940s, were exhibited internationally, most notably at the Menshikov Palace, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia, in 1997. '[Wagner's] whole being bowed before the mystery of colour in a loving, joyful yet serious way, full of devotion and dignity. His life and work itself became a living metaphor of the creative power of colour.' - Christian Hitsch 'Caroline Chanter has not only accomplished a great and seminal study that illuminates the life and work of Gerard Wagner, but has done a great service also to the Goetheanum and its School of Spiritual Science.' - Peter Selg '[Gerard Wagner was] a soul which on earth was devoted so selflessly and in such purity to the beings that are revealed... in forms and colours. He helped them to utterance and manifestation in this world of ours.' - Sergei O. Prokofieff

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Book SynopsisHastings: Wartime Memories and Photographs weaves the personal stories of 75 people who endured life in Hastings during the Home Front war years with more than 140 photographs, the majority of which have never been published before. It describes the dramatic and turbulent way in which a peaceful seaside resort quickly became a town in grave danger of enemy attack, whose residents had to adapt very rapidly in order to cope with the numerous problems that now faced them. The book delves into the lives of ordinary men, women and children, as well as the soldiers and evacuees who made Hastings their home at the time and so lived with the constant fear of invasion, and provides a detailed and colourful account of life on the front line. The personal stories and photographs are complemented by documentary evidence from various sources, including local newspapers, local and national government records and two very informative private diaries that were meticulously kept in Hastings during the Second World War by John Turner and Charles Chalk. The focus of this book is once again Hastings and St Leonards, but inevitably the surrounding towns and villages are also included.

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Book SynopsisThe Amadeus Quartet, which was active from 1948 until 1987 when its viola player Peter Schidlof died, is probably the most famous and distinguished string quartet of the 20th century. It played to a wide variety of audiences on innumerable occasions in all the major countries of the world, and produced a galaxy of recordings, many of which are still available. The intensity of its music-making was breathtaking. Muriel Nissel, the author of Married to the Amadeus, is the wife of Siegmund Nissel, the second violinist. Her book tells the extraordinary and moving story of the Quartet, with its many triumphs and its periodic setbacks and traumas, from the inside for the forty years from its inception during the time after the Second World War up to the 1980s. She reveals how it moulded the lives of the four players and their wives and families in unexpected ways, and how they all became inextricably involved in this unique joint enterprise. The fashion in which work and family life interacted was crucial to the Quartet's survival.She returned to her professional life as a statistician when the children went to school and describes how difficult it was in the 1960s for a married woman with children to achieve equal status with men at work; and she tells of the problems she also had to face at home finding satisfactory ways of caring for her family. Remarkably, the four members of the Quartet remained unchanged throughout. They each of them had exceptional qualities. Norbert Brainin, the first violin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof, all refugees from Vienna, had first met in internment camps in Britain in 1940. Martin Lovett, the cellist, joined them not long after the war, at a moment when the musical climate was sympathetic to chamber music and the record industry was booming. They never looked back. Nobody who has read Muriel Nissel's absorbing book will ever be able to listen to a string quartet again without being aware of the immense commitment such a group demands of the players and of their families too, and of the longstanding emotional, aesthetic and organizational complexities it entails.Trade ReviewAndrew Green in Classical Music: '...a thoroughly absorbing, well-written account of the Amadeus Quartet story observed from the inside...[It] has the benefit of many penetrating insights - not simply into how wives and families are affected by the lifestyle adopted of necessity by the members of a top-notch ensemble, but into the true nature of that lifestyle itself...It is a book, in truth, about an octet, with all the characters utterly believable, aided by an excellent photographic record, plus an appendix containing not just a complete discography but a list of all the quartets who have benefited from the Amadeus' International Summer Course. Very revealing.' Patrick Carnegy in TLS: 'There are memorable sketches of musician colleagues - Cecil Aronowitz...Alfred Brendel...David Oistrakh... and of the Amadeus playing Britten's Third Quartet privately to the composer only months before his death. The legacy of the Amadeus lives on in their recordings and in the many fine ensembles they have coached. Looking back on the forty years of their pre-eminence in the classic string quartet repertory, it is amazing how much of their reputation was won by the sheer quality of their performances, unaided by the marketing and image-making that is par for the course today...the story of the invisible life of the Wolf Gang is never less than candidly and engagingly told.' Martin Boyd in the Strad: '...the eloquent and cerebral wife of second violinist Siegmund presents us with an engaging account of the Amadeus' rise to pre-eminence...she successfully conveys a sense of how important a stable family life was to her husband and the other members of the jet-setting Amadeus...This book is about the vicissitudes of personal and professional relationships. Muriel Nissel's close proximity to the Amadeus Quartet enables her to give a privileged insight into the workings and group dynamics of this remarkable and long-lasting ensemble.'Table of ContentsForty years playing quartets; early years; marrying the quartet; touring the world; our daughter is born; on tour with the quartet; what happens when you are ill? do you play on a strad? making records; we all go to the United Sates; festivals and summer schools; a change of life-style; I return to work; juggling jobs and family; getting away from it all; staying at the top; the last years of the quartet; teaching - an Amadeus legacy; a dedicated life. Appendices: engagements of the Amadeus Quartet in their Silver Jubilee Year, 197203; engagements of the Amadeus Quartet in their last season, 1986-7; earnings of the Amadeus Quartet in 1972-1986; discography of the Amadeus quartet; quartets attending the Amadeus International Summer Course.

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Book SynopsisIn 1765, Mirza Sheikh I'tesamuddin, a Bengali munchi employed by the East India Company, travelled on a mission to Britain to seek protection for the Mogul Emperor Shah Alam II. The mission was aborted by the greed and duplicity of Robert Clive, but it resulted in this remarkable account of the Mirza's travels in Britain and Europe.Written in Persian, 'Shigurf Nama-e-Vilayet' or 'Wonderful Tales about Europe' is an entertaining, unique and culturally valuable document. The Mirza was in no sense a colonial subject, and whilst he wrote frankly about what he felt accounted for India's decline and Europe's contemporary ascendance, he was a highly educated, culturally self-confident observer with a sharp and quizzical curiosity about the alien cultures he encountered. His accounts of visits to the theatre, the circus, freakshows, the 'mardrassah of Oxford', Scotland, of the racial alarms his presence sometimes provoked and of his impressions of British moral codes (including the 'filthy habits of the firinghees') make for fascinating reading.There is, too, embedded in the narrative, a touching and cautionary account of the Mirza's relationship with Captain Swinton, with whom he travelled from India and who was his regular companion in Britain. Swinton was evidently kindly and generous, but by the end of the Mirza's stay, the friendship has broken down, chiefly over Swinton's refusal to take the Mirza's Islamic faith and cultural identity seriously.Kaiser Haq's scholarly, modern translation is the first to appear in English since the original 'abridged and flawed translation' which appeared in 1827. The Wonders of Vilayet is an important document, a salutary addition to Western accounts of the 'Otherness' of India, orientalism in reverse.Kaiser Haq was born in what later became Bangladesh, for the creation of which he fought as an officer in the war of liberation. He is a poet and translator and is currently Professor of English at Dhaka University.

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Book SynopsisThe inside storty of the guns, drugs and organised crime that has brought terror to the streets of Nottingham.

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Book SynopsisWhat makes H-Pop so popular? Who are its stars and its audience? Who is pouring in the money, the effort and the resources to produce and broadcast it? What is its impact on the BJP and Prime Minister Modiâs popularity? And what kind of an India is it trying to create?

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Book SynopsisThis is the autobiography of Carlton Leach, a man to be reckoned with. He has earned himself respect throughout the deadly underworld he occupies. Make a friend of Carlton and you have an ally for life; cross him at your peril. For 20 years he has ranked among the toughest of Britain's brawn brigade. He was a key member of the dreaded Essex Boys gang which ran riot in the eighties and the nineties, sparking a savage drugs war which saw three of his pals wiped out in the 1995 Range Rover massacre. Even now, he knows that a bullet still has his name on it as a result of that simmering feud. Carlton was minder to boxer Nigel Benn throughout his glory years in the ring and tells of the blood, sweat and tears of their special relationship. He also tells how he saved four of his firm from being tortured to death and their wives and daughters raped in front of them after a #10 million heroin consignment went missing.

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