Biography Books

Biography Books

19280 products


  • To the Limit

    Bloomsbury Publishing PLC To the Limit

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis''A fascinating and multilayered exploration of what it means to endure''Alex Hutchinson, author of EndureThe author of Out of Thin Air, winner of the Margaret Mead Award 2022, journeys through different cultures to find out the meaning of endurance.So many of us are embracing endurance sports whether it is running an ultra-marathon, taking on long-distance cycling events or even climbing Mount Everest. But what is it that makes us voluntarily do exhausting things? When we lace up our running shoes or jump on our bike, are we embracing freedom, or are we simply reproducing ideas about productivity and competition from the world of work? And what kinds of broader social and spiritual significance does endurance have indifferent parts of the world?To the Limit sets out to rediscover the joy of moving together as a group whether it's running the length of the Lake District in a day, or navigating the descents of the Sindh

    2 in stock

    £17.09

  • The Jesuit Disruptor

    House of Anansi Press Ltd ,Canada The Jesuit Disruptor

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA fresh look at a complex pope with a simple agenda: radically reforming the Catholic Church. Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the consummate disruptor, disrupting archaic modes of church governance, disrupting our collective spiritual complacency in the face of new challenges to our human flourishing while at the same time remaining deeply faithful to the organic traditions of the church. He is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, but beyond that he is a universal leader with commanding moral presence, able to connect with laypeople and with non-Christian faiths. Pope Francis is also a credible moral voice on issues of immigration, economic inequity, the devastating consequences of political populism, and the accelerating threats to the environment, in spite of the fact that he faces deep infrastructure and governance scandals in his organization. In his determination to reform the Vatican and ensure the Catholic faith evolves in a way that is relevant to the 21st century, Francis is

    1 in stock

    £15.19

  • The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey

    Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Tragic Life of Lady Jane Grey

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisLady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen is considered to be one of the most tragic characters in English history. In July 1553 when King Edward VI died at the age of just 15 years old, the Tudor dynasty fell into chaos. The king had no legitimate male heirs and was determined his half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth would not inherit his throne, despite his father Henry VIII stating in his will that they should. We are led to believe that on Edward''s instructions his cousin Lady Jane Grey was to be proclaimed queen. But who was she? Was she the innocent young girl that our history books tell us she was, or a religious fanatic with the aim of keeping Mary off the throne and England Protestant? Or was she nothing but a pawn to men in the game of power and politics, abused by her parents to marry against her will all for a crown she did not want? This book looks into her life from her early years in relative seclusion at the family home at Bradgate through to her tragic end on the scaffold at the

    2 in stock

    £18.00

  • Love Offers No Safety: Nigeria's Queer Men Speak

    Cassava Republic Press Love Offers No Safety: Nigeria's Queer Men Speak

    Book SynopsisLove Offers No Safety: Nigeria’s Queer Men Speak is a raw and powerful collection of 25 first-person narratives that explore the diverse experience of queer Nigerian men. These stirring stories cut across age, class, religion, ethnicity, family and relationships, offering a glimpse into what it means to survive as a queer man in Nigeria. From Tunji, who takes us back to the thriving networking community before social media, to Chukwori, who struggles to reconcile his need to serve God with his sexuality, and Abdulkarim, who frustratingly wonders if he’ll ever stop working twice as hard to be accepted, these stories are full of contradictions, anger, resiliency, profound insight, and radical hope. With heightened levels of oppression, violence, and discrimination faced by LGBTQ Nigerians due to the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Law, these voices remind us of what the queer community in Nigeria has always been fighting for - the freedom to be themselves, love themselves, and love each other, despite being viewed as unworthy. Love Offers No Safety is a heart-breaking yet hopeful reminder that love knows no boundaries and offers no safety, but it is worth fighting for.Table of ContentsTable Of Contents Introduction The Past Was More Accepting Than The Future I Was Never Alone With My Mother’s Love My Sexuality Is Part Of Me, But It Does Not Define Me Do Not Rely Too Much On Labels, For Too Often They Are Fables Navigating Loneliness The Many Faces Of Love Offers No Safety A Divine Life In Darkness, A Liberated Life In Light Between A Rock And A Hard Place As Long As I Love Myself, I Will Be Fine When I Am No Longer Afraid, I Will Stop Being Perfect My Future Is Not With A Woman My Sexuality Does Not Affects My Faith Every Man Is Born Gay Waiting On The Sideline For The Life I Desire Despite Pitfalls, I Have Triumphed In My Sexuality I Am Queer. This Is Who I Am My Activism Is To Protect Vulnerable People Swinging Both Ways With A Solid Marriage I Will Continue To Survive Within This Environment It Is Not What I Do, It Is Who I Am Steppingstones To Happiness I Was Forced To Come Out If Your Son Asks For Bread, Will You Give Him A Stone? The Tide Will Determine How Well The Pendulum Will Swing

    £15.29

  • CLARISSA

    Hodder & Stoughton CLARISSA

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisClarissa Eden, Countess of Avon, wife of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, once famously said: ''For the past few weeks I have really felt as if the Suez Canal was flowing through my drawing-room.''With her impressive intellect and acerbic wit, she was a highly influential muse to many leading figures over several decades.At Oxford in the 1940s she fascinated dons and undergraduates alike. She went on to work in the film world for Alexander Korda and for George Weidenfeld at Contact Magazine. She was a close friend of Cecil Beaton, James Pope-Hennessy, Lucian Freud, Isaiah Berlin, and Lord Goodman. She fascinated Greta Garbo.After an early Bohemian life, she became a politically active wife to Eden when he was Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, particularly during the Suez Crisis in 1956.Her death at 101 in 2021 has opened the way for this enthralling and revealing biography by the widely admired biographer Hugo Vickers. He knew her well for over 40

    2 in stock

    £24.00

  • Milton Friedman

    St Martin's Press Milton Friedman

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn Economist Best Book of 2023 One of The New York Times' 33 Nonfiction Books to Read This Fall Named a most anticipated fall book by the Chicago Tribune and Bloomberg Finalist for the 2024 Hayek Book PrizeWherever you sit on the political spectrum, there's a lot to learn from this book. More than a biography of one controversial person, it's an intellectual history of twentieth-century economic thought. Greg Rosalesky, NPR's Planet Money The first full biography of America's most renowned economist.Milton Friedman was, alongside John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the twentieth century. His work was instrumental in the turn toward free markets that defined the 1980s, and his full-throated defenses of capitalism and freedom resonated with audiences around the world. It's no wonder the last decades of the twentieth century have been called the Age of Friedmanor that analysts h

    3 in stock

    £17.09

  • Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint

    John Murray Press Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE AND EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR'A majestic, sparkling account of one of the most important rulers in history . . . this is modern history writing at its finest' Peter Frankopan'Superb and gripping. Epic historical biography that brings the emperor to life . . . filled with new ideas and revelations' Simon Sebag Montefiore'Effortlessly erudite, lucidly written, with a sharp eye for the telling detail, Sarris has written the great biography of the greatest of the Byzantine emperors' Rory StewartIn this groundbreaking new biography of Justinian, Peter Sarris gives us an intimate insight into both the Emperor and his times. We meet a man who from the humblest beginnings, rose to become ruler of much of the known world achieving an almost god-like status. An emperor who infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual and religious significance. A gifted administrator obsessed with detail. A middle aged lover who fell for a dancing girl and changed the law so he could marry her, ruling with Empress Theodora by his side for over twenty years. A brilliant military strategist who was never on the frontline. The challenges he faced - climate change, battles over culture and identity, the first recorded global pandemic -and many of the solutions he found to address them still resonate with us today. And his legacy remains all around us, in the massive building programme of which the most beautiful manifestation is surely Hagia Sophia; in our legal systems through the codification of the Corpus juris civilis; and in our culture and history by making a fundamental contribution to both the formation of Christendom and the emergence of Islam. In this tour de force Peter Sarris shows us that in all his complexity and contradictions Justinian was, in many ways, a very modern Emperor.Trade ReviewMagnificent. A vivid and authoritative biography of one of Rome's most fascinating rulers, Justinian is also a vibrant portrait of an entire world - a resurgent Roman Empire suddenly devastated by tragedy -- Kyle Harper, author of THE FATE OF ROMEJustinian's long life mirrored that of ancient Rome itself: both rose from lowly origins to supreme power, survived revolt and conquered rivals, crafted laws and erected mighty monuments, only to be worn down by insurgents, invaders, and plagues. In a stunning tour de force, Sarris brings one of history's most momentous dramas back to life -- Walter Scheidel, author of THE GREAT LEVELEREffortlessly erudite, lucidly written, with a sharp eye for the telling detail, Sarris has written the great biography of the greatest of the Byzantine emperors -- Rory StewartSpectacularly good: a wonderfully colourful biography of the man who remade the Roman Empire.Peter Sarris plunges us deep into a world of imperial conflict, religious paranoia, pandemics and climate change, while never losing sight of the extraordinary character at its heart.Based on decades of scholarship, this is the definitive history of the emperor and his times, and a thrilling testament to the glories of Byzantium -- Dominic Sandbrook, author of WHO DARES WINSA majestic, sparkling account of one of the most important rulers in history. Meticulously researched, beautifully written, filled with insights, this is modern history writing at its finest -- Peter Frankopan, author of THE SILK ROADSJustinian looms so large in the landscape of the ancient Mediterranean that it is almost impossible to take his measure. Yet Peter Sarris has done so convincingly, offering a lucid and persuasive account of a ruler as invested in the mechanics of government as in waging wars of conquest. A remarkable achievement -- Kate Cooper, Professor of History at Royal Holloway and author of QUEENS OF A FALLEN WORLDSuperb and gripping. Epic historical biography that brings the emperor to life with analysis and empathy and a work of scholarship filled with new ideas and revelations -- Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of THE WORLD: A FAMILY HISTORY OF HUMANITYThe author's passion for the subject and his respect for Justinian is clear throughout, keeping the reader engaged until the very end -- British ArchaeologyA thoroughly absorbing book, notable not only for its mastery of the sources, but its generosity to other scholars working in this flourishing field. It offers a vivid insight into Justinian's world and the mind of this impatient and notorious man -- The TimesI've been looking forward to Peter Sarris's Justinian for a while, and I was not disapoointed. Justinian is perhaps the greatest of the emperors of Rome and New Rome . . . Sarris does his subject proud in a book that wears the author's learning lightly -- BBC History Magazine, Books of the YearA marvel of scholarship, told with great flair, Peter Sarris's magnificent biography brings alive their dazzling, doomed world, an age of plagues, riots, cults and climate change -- Sunday Times, History Books of the YearAn expert, readable and thought-provoking biography . . . This book is essential reading for anyone curious about later antiquity and will give profit and pleasure to those with broader interests -- The CriticAn engrossing account of an extraordinary man . . . the story of a remarkable period, which is still too little known -- Evening Standard, Books of the YearAn expert, readable, and thought-provoking biography of Justinian ... essential reading for anyone curious about later antiquity. -- George Woudhuysen * The Critic *

    2 in stock

    £24.00

  • Great and Horrible News

    HarperCollins Publishers Great and Horrible News

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisGrimly fascinating engrossing' Daily Mail NINE HISTORIC CRIMES. ONE FAMILIAR OBSESSION.In early modern England, murder truly was most foul. Trials were gossipy events packed to the rafters with noisome spectators. Executions were public proceedings which promised not only gore, but desperate confessions and the grandest, most righteous human drama. Bookshops saw grisly stories of crime and death sell like hot cakes.This history unfolds the true stories of murder, criminal investigation, early forensic techniques, high court trials and so much more.In thrilling narrative, we follow a fugitive killer through the streets of London, citizen detectives clamouring to help officials close the net. We untangle the mystery of a suspected staged suicide through the newly emerging science of forensic pathology. We see a mother trying to clear her dead daughter's name while other women faced the accusations sometimes true and sometimes not of murdering their own children.These stories are piece

    10 in stock

    £10.44

  • Keira  Me

    Orion Publishing Co Keira Me

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisLet national treasure Professor Noel Fitzpatrick - the Supervet - break your heart and put it back together again in this beautiful new book.''With you by my side, just doing my best was the best thing to do.''Keira is an extraordinary dog. She held the key to Noel''s heart from the moment he first met her.That''s because Keira doesn''t judge. When Noel struggles, Keira is there to remind him he need only do his best. When he sees only darkness, Keira is ready to lift him back into the light.Keira & Me is the real-life story of Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick, his companion Keira and their life together. It captures the incredible bond of unconditional love between us and our canine friends. Inspiring and healing in equal measure, this beautifully illustrated and deeply heartfelt story of Noel and Keira''s journey together teaches us all how to embrace the ups with the downs, the joy and the sorrow, the darkness and the light,

    1 in stock

    £15.19

  • Spaceships Over Glasgow

    Orion Publishing Co Spaceships Over Glasgow

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisBorn the son of Scotland''s last telescope-maker, Stuart Braithwaite was perhaps always destined for a life of psychedelic adventuring on the furthest frontiers of noise in MOGWAI, one of the best loved and most ground-breaking post-rock bands of the past three decades.Modestly delinquent at school, Stuart developed an early appetite for ''alternative'' music in what might arguably be described as its halcyon days, the late ''80s. Discovering bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Jesus and Mary Chain, and attending seminal gigs (often incongruously incognito as a young girl with long hair to compensate for his babyface features) by The Cure and Nirvana, Stuart compensated for his indifference to school work with a dedication to rock and roll . . . and of course the fledgling hedonism that comes with it.Spaceships Over Glasgow is a love song to live rock and roll; to the passionate abandon we''ve all felt in the crowd (and some of us, if lucky enough, from the stage) at a truly incendiary gig. It is also the story of a life lived on the edge; of the high-times and hazardous pit-stops of international touring with a band of misfits and miscreants.

    2 in stock

    £10.44

  • Jane Austens Wardrobe

    Yale University Press Jane Austens Wardrobe

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisHilary Davidson delves into the clothing of one of the world’s great authors, providing unique and intimate insight into her everyday life and material worldTrade Review“[A] charming book, which examines what Austen actually wore on the evidence of voluminous letters exchanged with her sister Cassandra whenever they were separated. . . . A delightful companion.”—Maev Kennedy, Art Newspaper “This lavishly illustrated book offers readers a unique peek into the clothes worn by celebrated Regency author Jane Austen.”—History Revealed “Davidson’s engaging and illuminating study portrays a household in which appearances are important but budgets tight. . . . Nothing I have read has brought Austen so close.”—Rosemary Goring, The Herald “It’s by [an] evocation of the everyday real world that Jane Austen’s Wardrobe triumphs (that and its magnificent production values—the design is appropriately sumptuous). We turn these pages watching one of the world’s greatest novelists manage her appearance and sort out what she’ll wear day by day and what she’ll pay for it. . . . It’s captivating, particularly with [Davidson’s] historical insight as a guide.”—Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Review “Rakewell is looking forward to the publication of Jane Austen’s Wardrobe by Hilary Davidson (Yale University Press).”—Rakewell column, Apollo Magazine “As gripping as a corset, this superb book is a must-read for Austen lovers and scholars.”—Philippa Stockley, The Oldie “A visual feast, as well as offering insight into Austen’s fabled attention to the minutiae of her own social class. It also sends a message to the modern [over] consumer.”—Jacqueline Riding, Country Life “[Davidson’s] book provides significantly more detail than is generally known about any individual wardrobe. . . . It provides as close to a comprehensive look at her wardrobe as is possible.”—Cassidy Percoco, History Today "go forth and read" —YouTuber and author Bernadette Banner “An intriguing and wholly original approach to Jane Austen. . . . A most delightful book and a must for every Austen reader.”—Claire Tomalin, author of Jane Austen: A Life “The definitive compendium of Jane Austen’s clothes, recreated from fragments, by an acknowledged mistress of the field. Open the book, the author invites, as you might a chest of drawers, to find anything but a dowdy spinster.”—Amanda Vickery, author of Behind Closed Doors “This gorgeously illustrated volume from the world’s leading expert on the fashion of the Regency era lifts the skirts on Jane Austen’s wardrobe.”—Paula Byrne, author of The Real Jane Austen “Hugely enjoyable, charmingly illustrated and beautifully produced, a book to linger over and which, moreover, sheds light on just how seriously Jane Austen took fashion.”—Claire Wilcox, author of Patch Work

    15 in stock

    £23.75

  • The Secret Diary of Queen Camilla

    Little, Brown Book Group The Secret Diary of Queen Camilla

    4 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe Secret Diary of Queen Camilla - a hilarious royal parody.

    4 in stock

    £17.09

  • Concorde

    Penguin Books Ltd Concorde

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe definitive account of the rise and fall of the iconic Concorde plane from British Airways'' former Chief Concorde Pilot''A remarkable story'' DAILY EXPRESS''A stonking good read'' FLYER_________What''s it like to fly faster than a bullet?Could you really glimpse the edge of space?Why will we never see Concorde''s like again?Mike Bannister was British Airways'' Chief Concorde Pilot. One of the few in that legendary aircraft''s quarter-century of flight to fully understand both the plane''s intricate engineering and what it took to fly her at supersonic speeds.In this definitive account of the rise and fall of the world''s greatest aircraft, Bannister explores its origins, development, service, highs, lows and, finally, the terrible crash which ended its flying life.Part celebration, part history, part detective story and part courtroom drama, it''s almost as riveting as flying in ConcordTrade ReviewExcellent, revealing. Well-related at both the personal and the technical levels * Aeroplane *

    5 in stock

    £11.69

  • Switchcraft: How Agile Thinking Can Help You

    Hodder & Stoughton Switchcraft: How Agile Thinking Can Help You

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis'Tells you how to duck and dive when the unexpected surprises are incoming fast and hard.' RUBY WAX'Fascinating...packed full of practical advice on how to help you survive and thrive in an uncertain world.' MICHAEL MOSLEYDiscover how expanding and improving your mental agility can transform your life, bolster your resilience, and foster success.There is no one-size-fits-all solution to achieving your goals. But those who navigate life and its challenges most successfully all have something in common: they know how, and when, to switch between different approaches. In other words, they have mental agility.Professor Elaine Fox, a world-leading psychologist and performance coach has witnessed this time and again. In Switchcraft, she draws on 25 years of scientific research and coaching experience to develop a step-by-step guide to nurturing the skills you need to come out on top in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.'This book provides straightforward valuable tools and processes for people who have their own hurdles to overcome.' Sally Gunnell OBEOlympic Gold Medalist'Full of important insights...She shows how adopting a few key skills can transform your life in profound ways.' Mark WilliamsProfessor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford

    2 in stock

    £10.44

  • Truss at 10

    Atlantic Books Truss at 10

    7 in stock

    Book SynopsisSir Anthony Seldon is an educator, historian, writer and commentator. A former headmaster and vice chancellor, he is author or editor of over fifty books on contemporary history, politics and education, including Johnson at 10, The Impossible Office?, May at 10, Cameron at 10, Brown at 10, Blair Unbound and The Path of Peace. He's been co-founder of Action for Happiness and the Institute of Contemporary British History, and is founder of the Museum of the Prime Minister.

    7 in stock

    £18.70

  • Churchill A Life

    Cornerstone Churchill A Life

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisBy far the most lucid, comprehensive and authoritative account of Churchill that has been offered in a single volume' Daily TelegraphDrawing on decades of unprecedented access to Winston Churchill's family and estate, this classic bestseller remains the definitive biography of Britain's greatest prime minister. At once intimate and vastly ambitious, it transforms our understanding of who Churchill was and what he accomplished. A masterpiece of scholarship . . . Explores the strategic labyrinths of two world wars with an enviable clarity.' GuardianGilbert is, above all, a marshaller of material on a gigantic scale . . . The nakedness of the narrative proclaims its honesty, its unpretentiousness and its erudition.' The TimesOne of the greatest histories of our time.' Margaret ThatcherGenuinely riveting . . . Genius, courage, generosity, humour and imagination shine through.' Financial TimesA stupendous book. He has told the truth.' A. J. P. TaylorThe greatest adventure story of the cen

    3 in stock

    £16.14

  • Madame Fourcade’s Secret War: the daring young

    Scribe Publications Madame Fourcade’s Secret War: the daring young

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisA MAIL ON SUNDAY AND WASHINGTON POST BOOK OF THE YEAR. The little-known true story of the woman who headed the largest spy network in Vichy France during World War II. In 1941, a thirty-one-year-old Frenchwoman, a young mother born to privilege and known for her beauty and glamour, became the leader of Alliance, a vast Resistance organisation — the only woman to hold such a role. Brave, independent, and a lifelong rebel against her country’s conservative, patriarchal society, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was temperamentally made for the job. No other French spy network lasted as long or supplied as much crucial intelligence as Alliance — and as a result, the Gestapo pursued its members relentlessly, capturing, torturing, and executing hundreds of its three thousand agents, including Fourcade’s own lover and many of her key spies. Fourcade herself lived on the run and was captured twice by the Nazis. Both times she managed to escape. Though so many of her agents died defending their country, Fourcade survived the occupation to become active in post-war French politics. Now, in a dramatic account of the war that split France in two and forced its people to live side by side with their hated German occupiers, Lynne Olson tells the fascinating story of a woman who stood up for her nation, her fellow citizens, and herself.Trade Review‘In this deeply researched book, American journalist Lynne Olson tells the story of this extraordinary and overlooked heroine … a splendid biography.’ -- Kathryn Hughes * The Mail on Sunday *‘Fast-paced and impressively researched … Olson writes with verve and a historian’s authority … With this gripping tale, Lynne Olson pays [Marie-Madeleine Fourcade] what history has so far denied her. France, slow to confront the stain of Vichy, would do well to finally honor a fighter most of us want in our foxhole.’ * The New York Times Book Review *‘If Lynne Olson had set out to write a novel, she could not have come up with a more fascinating character than Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the glamorous young woman who led the largest French spy network in World War II. This is a case where fact is far more riveting than fiction. Olson chronicles Fourcade’s extraordinary story with her customary eye for every revealing detail and every breathtakingly dangerous twist.’ -- Andrew Nagorski, author of Hitlerland, The Nazi Hunters, and The Year Germany Lost the War‘Within the pages of this thrilling narrative, Fourcade’s spirit shines through … Madame Fourcade’s Secret War stands out from a crowded field.’ * All About History *‘Brilliantly researched and stylishly written.’ * Military History Monthly *‘This is a stirring story of heroism, charisma, and determination.’ * History Revealed *‘A brilliant, cinematic biography of resistance leader Marie-Madeleine Fourcade ... Olson’s weaving of Fourcade’s diary artfully and liberally into her own writing and her heart-stopping descriptions of Paris, escapes, and internecine warring create a narrative that’s as dramatic as a novel or a film. Olson honours Fourcade’s fight for freedom and her ‘refusal to be silenced’ with a gripping narrative that will thrill WWII history buffs.’ STARRED REVIEW * Publishers Weekly *‘A hell of a yarn … Why the heck have we never heard of [Marie-Madeleine] Fourcade? The only woman to lead a major French resistance network. A woman who in later life was elected to the European Parliament. And who, upon her death in 1989 at the age of seventy-nine, became the first woman to be granted a funeral at Les Invalides, the complex in central Paris where Napoleon Bonaparte and other French military heroes are buried. Olson posits a few possible reasons for Fourcade’s relegation to the footnotes of history. The inescapable one, though, circles back to where we began: her gender.’ * The Washington Post *‘In Madame Fourcade’s Secret War, Lynne Olson tells one of the great stories of the French Resistance, a story of one woman’s courage amid great danger, a story of heroism, defiance, and, ultimately, victory.’ -- Alan Furst, author of A Hero in France‘In Madame Fourcade’s Secret War, Lynne Olson is at the top of her game, giving us the renowned beauty and elite French socialite, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, who surprised everyone — including herself, perhaps — by becoming one of the most consequential players in the high-stakes spy game in Nazi-occupied France. Fourcade’s nerve, resolve, and extraordinary inner resources shine and inspire here. A fascinating portrait of uncommon audacity.’ -- Paula McLain, author of Love and Ruin and The Paris Wife‘In the real-life character of Madame Fourcade, Lynne Olson has found a heroine who seems to come tailor-made for the movie screen — she is beautiful, rich, effortlessly elegant, and an absolutely indomitable spy for the ages. Olson’s clear, unadorned writing style and her meticulous marshaling of facts will keep you on the edge of your seat as Fourcade endures psychological and physical hardship in service of her singular goal — to keep France free of fascism. For all of us who have wondered what we would do in a time of crisis, Olson holds up Madame Fourcade and her relentless fight for the French Resistance as a model of how to fight back when faced with unthinkable evil. Fascinating and timely.’ -- Elizabeth Letts, author of The Perfect Horse‘Incredibly absorbing and long-overdue ... This masterfully told true story reads like fiction and will appeal to readers who devour WWII thrillers à la Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale (2015).’ -- Margaret Flanagan * Booklist *‘Lynne Olson has added yet another brilliant chapter to her vital historical project: documenting the extraordinary efforts of individuals, such as spymaster Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, who helped liberate 20th-century Europe from Nazi occupation. Much like Madame Fourcade herself, Olson goes to great lengths to unearth truth and preserve dignity for those who lived and died during Hitler’s reign of terror — and for that, both the author and her daring subject deserve high praise.’ * Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright *‘Madame Fourcade’s war should never have been a secret, and it takes a historical sleuth like Lynne Olson to bring it, at last, into glorious light. I read this extraordinary book with wonder and admiration, seeing a movie on every page that was both true to life and somehow bigger than life. The canvas is vast, the characters vibrant, the history we thought we knew suddenly as fresh as tomorrow.’ -- Jay Cocks, screenwriter of The Age of Innocence, Gangs of New York, and Silence‘As well researched and engrossing as her previous books, showcasing her adroit ability to weave personal narratives, political intrigue, and wartime developments to tell a riveting story, Olson’s latest is highly recommended to readers interested in World War II, the history of espionage, women’s history, and European history.’ STARRED REVIEW * Library Journal *‘Lynne Olson is a gifted author and her books about the Allies in World War II are carefully researched and compulsively readable … Thankfully, a new generation of writers is expanding our knowledge of individuals whose roles in World War II deserve more attention.’ * The Christian Science Monitor *‘A comprehensive, often exciting narrative ... [Olson’s] solid descriptive passages help re-create the tension and anxiety Fourcade and her friends felt as they risked everything to save France ... The author brings into the spotlight a woman whose courage and endurance helped shape history yet whose full story had not yet been told. “For several decades following the war,” writes the author, “histories of the French resistance, which were written almost exclusively by men, largely ignored the contributions of women.” Olson rectifies that omission. An engaging, informative addition to World War II history.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Marie-Madeleine Fourcade has largely slipped from popular memory, but during World War II she led the largest spy network in Vichy France ... Olson’s very readable account charts Fourcade’s progress from socialite to leader of a vast resistance movement, and reflects on the irreparable divisions caused by the war.’ -- Jeff Popple * Canberra Weekly *‘This is very well written, it creates almost a fast-paced novel as her exploits get more and more strained … A splendid book indeed, which heartily proves that women are more than capable of maintaining a strong position in a male-dominated world and making it work extremely well at the same time.’ -- Reg Seward * NB Magazine *‘Olson has written a lively and compelling account of a woman who deserves to be remembered and honoured.’ * Military Book History *Praise for Citizens of London: ‘An excellent and revealing chronicle.’ * Booklist *Praise for Last Hope Island: ‘[A] pointed volume … [Olson] tells a great story and has a fine eye for character.’ * The Boston Globe *Praise for Last Hope Island: ‘Exhilarating and epic.’ * The Mail on Sunday *

    3 in stock

    £10.44

  • Sonic Life

    Faber & Faber Sonic Life

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA Sunday Times, Times, Irish Times and Mojo Book of the YearRough Trade #1 Book of the YearResident Music #1 Book of the Year''Were you there? Well this is as close as it gets! Thurston Moore's compelling and spirited account of the streets, the songs, the clothes, the clubs and the contenders! A sensitive and authentic testimony to Moore's life lived through art and music. Beats with the heart of a true artist and mutineer.'' Viv Albertine''Downtown scientists rejoice! For Thurston Moore has unearthed the missing links, the sacred texts, the forgotten stories, and the secret maps of the lost golden age. This is historyscuffed, slightly bent, plenty noisy, and indispensable.'' Colson WhiteheadA music-obsessed retrospective, beginning with his childhood epiphany of rock 'n' roll in the early 1960s into an infatuation with the subversive world of 1970s punk and no wave blasting forth from New York Cit

    1 in stock

    £17.00

  • One Man's Legacy: Tom Patey

    Scottish Mountaineering Club One Man's Legacy: Tom Patey

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisOne Man's Legacy chronicles the brief but brilliant life of Dr Tom Patey: bard, musician, and one of Scotland's foremost climbers and mountaineers. His story is one of pioneering ascents and boundless enthusiasm, and his spontaneity, carefree approach and ability to burn the candle at both ends remain legendary, several decades after his untimely death. Meticulously researched over several years, this definitive biography covers every aspect of Patey's life in rich detail. Youthful endeavours with the Scouts and early forays on the Aberdeen sea cliffs were the foundation for Patey's university years, where he established - often solo - many classic summer and winter lines in the Cairngorms, cementing his reputation as a tough, fearless mountaineer with exceptional endurance. A stalwart of 1950s bothy culture, his natural gifts as a musician and raconteur garnered him friends far and wide, and enabled him to transcend social and cultural boundaries with ease. Later, as a Royal Marine and then a highly respected GP, he maintained an insatiable appetite for exploring new terrain both in his native Scotland and further afield, in the Alps, Norway and the Karakoram. By drawing on Patey's essays and verses, published collectively in the celebrated One Man's Mountains, the narrative is imbued with dry wit and gentle satire, and brought to life by unseen images from renowned photographer John Cleare and the Patey family archive. Supported by a foreword from Mick Fowler and first-hand insights from some of the leading climbers of the last century, including Sir Chris Bonington, Joe Brown and Paul Nunn, One Man's Legacy celebrates a complex, larger-than-life character who rightly deserves his place in mountaineering history.

    10 in stock

    £27.00

  • Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch

    John Blake Publishing Ltd Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisCOMMEMORATE THE HISTORIC CORONATION OF THE NEW KING 'To Charles, being monarch has nothing to do with power - he believes his role is to lead. It is up to others whether they choose to follow.'When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, it sent shockwaves around the world. The longest reigning and oldest monarch, at ninety-six years of age, she had just publicly celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022. The Queen's death meant the passing of the Crown to her son, HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, her controversial, earnest, and outspoken heir, who had long lived in the shadow of her mystique.King Charles III's own life has been marred by scandal and myth, but who is the real man behind the Crown? In this revelatory book, renowned royal correspondent and author Robert Jobson examines the life of our new King, and his passions, purpose, and motivations. On the eve of his landmark coronation, Our King considers the life of the man and the monarch, reflecting on how his values and beliefs will shape him as he takes on this monumental role.

    2 in stock

    £18.70

  • In Memory of Memory

    Fitzcarraldo Editions In Memory of Memory

    15 in stock

    Book SynopsisWith the death of her aunt, Maria Stepanova is left to sift through an apartment full of faded photographs, old postcards, letters, diaries, and heaps of souvenirs: a withered repository of a century of life in Russia. Carefully reassembled with calm, steady hands, these shards tell the story of how a seemingly ordinary Jewish family somehow managed to survive the myriad persecutions and repressions of the last century. Dipping into various forms – essay, fiction, memoir, travelogue and historical documents – Stepanova’s In Memory of Memory assembles a vast panorama of ideas and personalities and offers an entirely new and bold exploration of cultural and personal memory.Trade Review‘Stepanova’s tour de force blends memoir, literary criticism, essay and fiction. Although this is a personal and intimate work using photographs, postcards and diaries, it succeeds in mining a universal theme in contemporary Russian cultural life: how does a family – or a country – process the events of the past 100 years?’ — Viv Groskop, Guardian‘A brilliant evocation of the last years of the Soviet Union, extending deep into the past. In a work that crosses the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction, Russian poet and journalist Stepanova recounts the lives of her ancestors, rural Russian Jews who, on moving to Moscow, could never quite go home again…. Apart from delivering a mine of family and national history, Stepanova exercises a well-honed sense of the apposite literary allusion (“The chimneys in the view from the window resembled flowerpots, Kafka said something similar about them”). Stretching from the days before Lenin took power to the “Doctor’s Plot” and the collapse of the USSR and beyond, Stepanova’s book is lyrical and philosophical throughout…. A remarkable work of the imagination – and, yes, memory.’ — Kirkus, starred review‘This remarkable account of the author’s Russian-Jewish family expands into a reflection on the role of art and ethics in informing memory.… Stepanova is both sensitive and rigorous.’ — New Yorker‘A luminous, rigorous, and mesmerizing interrogation of the relationship between personal history, family history, and capital-H History. I couldn’t put it down; it felt sort of like watching a hypnotic YouTube unboxing-video of the gift-and-burden that is the twentieth century. In Memory of Memory has that trick of feeling both completely original and already classic, and I confidently expect this translation to bring Maria Stepanova a rabid fan base on the order of the one she already enjoys in Russia.’ — Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot‘There is simply no book in contemporary Russian literature like In Memory of Memory. A microcosm all its own, it is an inimitable journey through a family history which, as the reader quickly realizes, becomes a much larger quest than yet another captivating family narrative. Why? Because it asks us if history can be examined at all, yes, but does so with incredible lyricism and fearlessness. Because Stepanova teaches us to find beauty where no one else sees it. Because Stepanova teaches us to show tenderness towards the tiny, awkward, missed details of our beautiful private lives. Because she shows us that in the end our hidden strangeness is what makes us human. This, I think, is what makes her a truly major European writer. I am especially grateful to Sasha Dugdale for her precise and flawless translation which makes this book such a joy to read in English. This is a voice to live with.’ — Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic‘Dazzling erudition and deep empathy come together in Maria Stepanova’s profound engagement with the power and potential of memory, the mother of all muses. An exploration of the vast field between reminiscence and remembrance, In Memory of Memory is a poetic appraisal of the ways the stories of others are the fabric of our history.’ — Esther Kinsky, author of Grove‘Extraordinary – a work of haunting power, grace and originality’ — Philippe Sands, author of East West Street‘The poet Maria Stepanova’s In Memory of Memory, beautifully translated by Sasha Dugdale, is a deeply intelligent quest for the significance of minutiae that survive while grand narratives of history sweep over them. It makes for powerful and magical reading, reminiscent of Nabokov’s Speak Memory. Time and again the sheer richness of the task sustains us and drives us on. This is a wholly marvellous book that extends our knowledge of all that is valued and lost.’ — George Szirtes, author of The Photographer at Sixteen

    15 in stock

    £10.44

  • Fighting to Speak: Rugby, Rage & Redemption

    St David's Press Fighting to Speak: Rugby, Rage & Redemption

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisA talented yet ferocious player, and one of the acknowledged 'bad-boys' of rugby, Mark Jones' on-field brutality was a direct consequence of the off-field torment he suffered with a debilitating stammer. In Fighting to Speak, his revealing and uplifting autobiography, Jones explains how his frustration with his stutter led to a self-loathing and the internalising of an explosive hate that only playing rugby could release - with his unfortunate opponents often on the receiving end of his rage. Sent off six times and banned for over 33 weeks for violent conduct during his career, the dual-code Wales international and Great Britain RL forward was desperately unhappy and detested the thuggish reputation he'd created. After one exceptionally ugly incident, when he broke another player's eye socket, Jones realised that in order to defeat his demons and control his bad behaviour he needed help to conquer his stammer. Mark Jones fought and won the hardest battle of his life with a steely determination and has now found the inner peace and dignity he'd longed for as a young man. He has decided to tell his story in order to seek redemption for his violent past on the rugby field, and to help others overcome their stammers.Trade Review'We were all aware about Mark's stammer but it didn't make any difference to me. He is a top bloke and a great rugby player, and to me that's perfection.' Rowland Phillips;'People who didn't know Mark thought he was just an aggressive thug - but to those who know him, he is a kind-hearted, gentle and compassionate man.' Byron Hayward;'I have nothing but the highest respect for Mark. His stammer did not make life easy for him and challenged his mental health, but his immense strength of character saw him beat his demons and win his battles.' Jim MillsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface by Glyn Llewellyn Foreword by Kingsley Jones 1. Personality Crisis (x3) 2. Stand Up! (Banged Up!) 3. I'm an Upstart(er) 4. Teenage Kick(ing)s 5. (Playing With) The Rude Boys 6. Neat(h)! Neat(h)! Neat(h)! 7. Rockaway (Miami) Beach 8. Anarchy in the U(Know who) 9. Psycho (Thriller 10. 'A' Bomb in (Twickers) 11. Working for (the Let-Down) 12. Looking After Number(8) 13. Highway to (Hull) 14. Smash It Up! (Bash It Up!) 15. (Hitting Rucks) and Alcohol 16. (Pooler) UEber Alles 17. Holidays in the (Qatar) Sun Epilogue Career Statistics

    1 in stock

    £13.99

  • Alice

    Hodder & Stoughton Alice

    7 in stock

    Book Synopsis''In 1953, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Alice was dressed from head to foot in a long gray dress and a gray cloak, and a nun''s veil. Amidst all the jewels, and velvet and coronets, and the fine uniforms, she exuded an unworldly simplicity. Seated with the royal family, she was a part of them, yet somehow distanced from them. Inasmuch as she is remembered at all today, it is as this shadowy figure in gray nun''s clothes...''Princess Alice, mother of Prince Phillip, was something of a mystery figure even within her own family. She was born deaf, at Windsor Castle, in the presence of her grandmother, Queen Victoria, and brought up in England, Darmstadt, and Malta.In 1903 she married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and from then on her life was overshadowed by wars, revolutions, and enforced periods of exile. By the time she was thirty-five, virtually every point of stability was overthrown. Though the British royal family remained in th

    7 in stock

    £15.29

  • The Heart is the Strongest Muscle

    Little, Brown Book Group The Heart is the Strongest Muscle

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe legendary seven-time CrossFit Games champion and Olympic athlete shares lessons from her inspiring story of leveling up her performance, embracing failure, and fiercely taking on impossible goals.Tia Toomey, the world''s fittest woman, has won the CrossFit Games an incredible seven times and is undeniably a true warrior. She has also trained for the Winter Olympics in bobsledding, competed in the Summer Olympics in weightlifting and was a Commonwealth Games gold medalist. She is, in short, one of the most accomplished and dominant athletes in human history. But for Tia physical fitness is only a small part of overall strength. More important is building mental toughness. In THE HEART IS THE STRONGEST MUSCLE, Tia shows how she reached elite levels by focusing on her why. By always having a clear picture of her purpose - what drives her heart - she can push through the toughest challenges. From the early days of her fitness journey to the peak performance that has put her atop the podium in the CrossFit Games, Tia reveals the secrets, struggles, and successes that have made her a killer competitor. Nothing comes easy, but in THE HEART IS THE STRONGEST MUSCLE, Tia will show you how to build your own unstoppable mindset. Whether you are already a serious athlete or someone looking to conquer a new challenge, you''ll be able to use her methods to keep winning.Trade ReviewTia Toomey is one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports. You don't become that without a bulletproof mindset. Champions are built in the mind first, and Tia understands exactly how to do that -- Andy Frisella, entrepreneur, creator of 75 Hard and Real AF podcastTia Toomey knows that being a fierce competitor is about more than just the body. Her wisdom in this book will help keep your mind sharp and heart full -- Michael Easter, author of THE COMFORT CRISIS and SCARCITY BRAINI have been honored to closely follow the journey and success of Tia Toomey as a high-level CrossFit athlete. But more impressive has been following her development and journey as a person. This book gives a wonderful glimpse into all aspects of her amazing journey -- Dave Castro, director and programmer of the CrossFit GamesLearning to have grit and mental toughness is something all of us need to constantly be working on. Having the opportunity to train with Tia showed me her persistence and resilience to keep fighting and pushing back, even when she was being challenged mentally and physically. The fire she has to never quit is extremely rare. This is a must-read for every person who wants to learn from one of the best at being mentally prepared! -- Josh Bridges, US Navy Seal, multiple CrossFit Games athleteThrough nothing but hard work Tia has shown what the human body is capable of time and time again. Inspiring millions to pick themselves up and keep moving forward is what this book is all about. It puts fire in my belly reading what I already knew ... Tia is the definition of hard work pays off -- Eddie Hall, World’s Strongest Man 2017

    1 in stock

    £17.00

  • Homegrown

    Simon & Schuster Homegrown

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe definitive account of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the enduring legacy of Timothy McVeigh, leading to the January 6 insurrection—from acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin.Timothy McVeigh wanted to start a movement. Speaking to his lawyers days after the Oklahoma City bombing, the Gulf War veteran expressed no regrets: killing 168 people was his patriotic duty. He cited the Declaration of Independence from memory: “Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.” He had obsessively followed the siege of Waco and seethed at the imposition of President Bill Clinton’s assault weapons ban. A self-proclaimed white separatist, he abhorred immigration and wanted women to return to traditional roles. As he watched the industrial decline of his native Buffalo, McVeigh longed for when America was great. New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Toobin

    3 in stock

    £10.44

  • Elevate and Dominate

    Simon & Schuster Elevate and Dominate

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisInstant New York Times Bestseller Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders is one of the greatest motivators and inspirational leaders of all time—on the field, in business, with family, and in his community. Now, he delivers the ultimate playbook of inspiring personal stories, winning strategies, and the motivation required to help us “elevate and dominate” in all aspects of our lives. A natural-born leader, Deion Sanders demands and expects the best from himself and from those around him, never settling for anything less. Whether it’s dealing with intense pressure, using the competition to his advantage, or navigating personal challenges—both physical and emotional—Sanders has conquered it all by applying the hard-earned principles he’s learned throughout his life and career. The twenty-one inspirational ways to win here are based on the motivational stories and experiences of Sander

    1 in stock

    £17.00

  • Hard Work Pays Off: Transform Your Body and Mind

    Cornerstone Hard Work Pays Off: Transform Your Body and Mind

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis*The Sunday Times Bestseller*Train with the Fittest Man on Earth - 5-time CrossFit Champion Mat Fraser.No matter your level of fitness, no matter if you've never attempted CrossFit before, this book is your total training manual.No one can say they're a better all-around athlete than Mat Fraser. Weightlifting, gymnastics, kettlebells, running, swimming, rowing, Strongman: he's relentlessly trained them all, so you don't have to.In this ground-breaking book, Fraser reveals the secrets of his success to help you transform your own body and mind. Structured into sections on strength, endurance, speed, coordination, mental and recovery, Mat shares workouts, illustrations, techniques, recipes and advice. From push-ups to sprints, rope climbs to deadlifts, high-knee drills to swimming intervals, the book showcases CrossFit's uniquely wide-ranging and infinitely scalable approach to exercise. There is tailored advice for beginners, intermediates and advanced athletes.So take this book to the gym. Write your personal records in the margins. Circle the illustrations of techniques you need to master. And most of all, do the workouts. Because Mat Fraser can promise you this: hard work pays off.Trade Review"The LeBron James of CrossFit." * TMZ Sports *"Mat Fraser isn't just the first and only 5-time 'Fittest Man on Earth' . . . he has cemented his status in many people's minds as the greatest CrossFit athlete in history." * Rogue Fitness *Mat's approach to training and life is truly inspiring -- Adrienne Herbert, author of Power Hourif you're wondering what made this guy the greatest of all time, read this book -- Craig Richey

    2 in stock

    £10.44

  • Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was

    Pan Macmillan Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisJan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was is the first biography of Jan Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the Tour de France.'Magnificent' – Matt Dickinson, The Times'A superlative biography as well as social and sporting history' – ObserverIn 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals at the Tour de France and becoming Germany’s first ever winner. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich would dominate the future of cycling. But he never quite managed it.This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.Acclaimed journalist Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price are you willing to pay for immortality?Trade ReviewOne of the best cycling books there ever was. So well written and such deep research -- Edward Pickering, editor of Rouleur and author of The Ronde: inside the World's Toughest Bike RaceA beautifully written, vivid portrait -- Scotsman, on Eddy Merckx: The CannibalWell written and well researched -- Cycling World, on Eddy Merckx: The CannibalA fascinating illustration of a richly gifted but deeply flawed character * MSN Ireland *Magnificent -- Matt Dickinson, The TimesA superlative biography as well as social and sporting history * Observer *One of the best books about cycling * Irish Times *'Masterpiece' is arguably an over-used word, but if ever a book was deserving of such a description, this is probably it * Washing Machine Post *A well-researched biography . . . painting a consistent picture of this all-too-human character from Rostock * Cycling Plus *Richly researched and sympathetically written . . . extensive, thoughtful * TLS *This biography peels back the layers of not just a legendary cylist, but an interesting character -- Joe Laverick, Cycling WeeklyTerrific . . . comprehensive -- Best of 2022, Cycling Plus

    1 in stock

    £12.34

  • The Audacity: Why Being Too Much Is Exactly

    Bonnier Books Ltd The Audacity: Why Being Too Much Is Exactly

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER from the star of Netflix's The Duchess, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Your Face or Mine and host of All That Glitters'A fearless origin story' Caitlin Moran'Brilliant!' Aisling Bea'Outrageously brilliant! I'm buying this for all my friends' Laura Whitmore'Witty as hell' Tom AllenWildly readable... tremendous' The Times*****Hi, I'm TV's Katherine Ryan. I'm known to live my life embracing the reality that you just can't please everyone, so you might as well put yourself out there and have a laugh. As my mother always said, 'Katherine, if we all liked the same thing, we'd all be married to your father.' Being audacious led me to becoming the calm, contented woman I am today - who doesn't care what strangers think of her and can always take a joke.I'm often asked how I developed my lurid level of courage and assurance and for tips on how others can match. This is my blueprint for just that, a collection of my most relatable advice.How To Attract Toxic Men AND Keep Them Interested!How To Have A BabyHow To Impress Famous Celebritiesand so much more...No matter what I do, there will always be something about me that reads as simply, outrageously audacious. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • The Little Book of Paris Style: The fashion story

    Headline Publishing Group The Little Book of Paris Style: The fashion story

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe epicentre of classic chic and the home of haute couture, Paris is the capital of elegance.From the iconic luxury of Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent to the effortless sophistication of the typical Parisienne, the city's look is replicated the world over.Little Book of Paris Style is the beautifully illustrated guide to the enduring looks, designers and icons that embody the city of light.

    10 in stock

    £11.69

  • A Three Dog Problem: The Queen investigates a

    Zaffre A Three Dog Problem: The Queen investigates a

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisThe delightfully clever mystery in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves a murder at Buckingham Palace - perfect for fans of The Crown and The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.'A witty whodunit starring our very own HM The Queen as an amateur sleuth' - GOOD HOUSEKEEPINGQueen Elizabeth II is having a royal nightmare.A referendum divides the nation, a tumultuous election grips the United States - and the body of a staff member is found dead beside Buckingham Palace swimming pool.Is it a tragic accident, as the police think? Or is something more sinister going on?As Her Majesty looks for answers, her trusted assistant, Rozie, is on the trail of a treasured painting that once hung outside the Queen's bedroom.But when Rozie receives a threatening anonymous letter, Elizabeth knows dark forces are at work - and far too close to home. After all, though the staff and public may not realise it, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen's eye to see connections where no one else can . . .Agatha Christie meets The Crown in A THREE DOG PROBLEM, the much-anticipated second book in the 'Her Majesty The Queen Investigates' mystery series by SJ Bennett - for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin.______________________PRAISE FOR THE 'HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES' SERIES:'A pitch-perfect murder mystery' - Ruth Ware 'A witty whodunnit' - Good Housekeeping'Written with wit and brio' - Daily Express'Miss Marple with a crown' - Daily Mirror'Absolute perfection!' - Isabelle Broom'Delightfully charming' - Adele Parks'Pure confection' - New York Times'Warm & witty' - Woman&Home'A delightful read' - BBC Radio 2'I loved it' - Joanne Harris 'A total joy' - Nina Stibbe'Charming' - Guardian'What a hoot!' - Saga

    3 in stock

    £9.49

  • Being Gary Fisher: And the Bicycle Revolution

    Bluetrain Publishing Limited Being Gary Fisher: And the Bicycle Revolution

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisMeet Gary Fisher. The maverick kid bike racer who cycled straight into the Acid Test scene and lit up the Grateful Dead gigs, the relentless tinkerer who transformed an industry and sold mountain biking to the world and the visionary who's still working flat-out every day to prove that bikes are the answer to a healthier, happier future for everyone. A collaboration with cycling writer Guy Kesteven, Being Gary Fisher and the Bicycle Revolution is an autobiography of sorts. It's also a mind-blowing trip of ingenious innovation, dogged determination and boundless energy. Get caught up in Gary's crazy tales and his lifelong mission to invite everyone to the greatest dance on earth.

    2 in stock

    £32.40

  • Somebody's Daughter: The International Bestseller

    Bonnier Books Ltd Somebody's Daughter: The International Bestseller

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis"Beautifully written, searingly honest, and deeply affecting ... when the book ended, I only wanted more" - Roxane Gay"Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody's Daughter will be a book of the year" - Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed"Truly a classic in the making" - John Green, author of The Fault in Our StarsAn Oprah bookThroughout her adolescence, Ashley Ford doesn't know how to deal with the worries that keep her up at night. If only she could turn to her father for his advice and support. But he's in prison, and she doesn't know what he did to end up there. After being raped by her ex-boyfriend, Ashley desperately searches for her sense of self. Then, her grandmother reveals the truth about her father's incarceration... and Ashley's world is turned upside down.Ashley embarks on a powerful journey to find the connections between who she is and what she was born into, discovering that, however much we might try to untether ourselves from a painful past, the ties that bind families together are the strongest ones of all."Sure to be one of the best memoirs of 2021" - Kirkus Reviews"A heart-wrenching coming-of age story" - Time"Her coming-of-age story gets at how to both acknowledge and break away from what we're born into" - Cosmopolitan"A beautiful, delicate memoir... a journey toward true and powerful selfhood" - ElleTrade Review'Somebody's Daughter is the heart-wrenching yet equally witty and wondrous story of how Ford came through the fire and emerged triumphant, as her own unapologetic, Black-girl self.' - The New York Times'Somebody's Daughter stands out as one of the BEST memoirs of 2021.' - BookRiot'Perhaps the greatest contribution Ford makes is to offer her story ? written in the most lively and lucid prose ? in its most raw and unabridged form...By telling her truth so honestly and authentically, Ford invites us to tell ours, too.' - The Washington Post'Ford's vulnerability on the page is an extraordinary feat, as she masterfully traces how the yearning girl she once was became the empowered woman she is today.' - Esquire'Ford executes her task with both unstinting honesty and rare tenderness toward the deeply flawed, but steadfast, circle of adults who raised her. The resulting portraits, of her mother and grandmother, in particular, are remarkably vivid and humane, haunting the reader long after one has closed the book's pages...' - LA Review of Books'Gorgeous, profoundly moving, and historically important ? by a terrific writer.' - Min Jin Lee, author of the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award Finalist Pachinko'Armed with the insight and lessons from her youth, the author emerged as a bright young college student who learned to love herself for who she was and who she has yet to become.' - The New York Journal Review of Books'With a lucidity that is almost a superpower, [Ford] transports us into her singular experience of growing up poor and Black and female in Fort Wayne, Ind.' - People magazine, Book of the Week'A radiant coming-of-age memoir.' - Oprah Daily'Layering in the complexities of her relationship with her mother, her changing body and a boyfriend who grows abusive, Ford offers a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story' - Time

    2 in stock

    £9.49

  • On the Move: A Life

    Pan Macmillan On the Move: A Life

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisWhen Oliver Sacks was twelve years old, a perceptive schoolmaster wrote in his report: 'Sacks will go far, if he does not go too far'. It is now abundantly clear that Sacks has never stopped going . . .From its opening pages on his youthful obsession with motorcycles and speed, On the Move is infused with his restless energy. As he recounts his experiences as a young neurologist in the early 1960s, first in California and then in New York, where he discovered a long-forgotten illness in the back wards of a chronic hospital, as well as with a group of patients who would define his life, it becomes clear that Sacks's earnest desire for engagement has occasioned unexpected encounters and travels – sending him through bars and alleys, over oceans, and across continents.With unbridled honesty and humour, Sacks shows us that the same energy that drives his physical passions –bodybuilding, weightlifting, and swimming – also drives his cerebral passions. He writes about his love affairs, both romantic and intellectual, his guilt over leaving his family to come to America, his bond with his schizophrenic brother, and the writers and scientists – Thom Gunn, A. R. Luria, W. H. Auden, Gerald M. Edelman, Francis Crick – who influenced him.On the Move is the story of a brilliantly unconventional physician and writer – and of the man who has illuminated the many ways that the brain makes us human.Trade ReviewDeeply moving. . . a gift to his readers - of erudition, sympathy and an abiding understanding of the joys, trials and consolations of the human condition -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Sacks's empathy and intellectual curiosity, his delight in, as he calls it, "joining particulars with generalities" and, especially, "narratives with neuroscience" - have never been more evident than in his beautifully conceived new book. . .remarkably candid and deeply affecting * Boston Globe *Honest, lucid, passionate, humorous, humane and human (also slightly Martian). . .[a] marvelous memoir, which is as unconventional and singular as the man himself -- Colin McGinn * Wall Street Journal *Absorbing * Chicago Tribune *A fascinating account - a sort of extended case study, really - of Sacks' remarkably active, iconoclastic adulthood. . . .On the Move is filled with both wonder and wonderments * LA Times *Intensely, beautifully, incandescently alive * Newsday *On the Move is as much a dense journal of Sacks's own astonishing, incident-rich life as a meaty handbook on how to live * Globe and Mail *No matter what he writes about - whether struggling to understand what his patients are going through, or describing his love of swimming or photography - Sacks always seems open to learning more. He appears keenly interested in everything and everyone he encounters. He's a wonderful storyteller, a gift he says he inherited from his parents, both of whom were doctors. But as he proves again in his latest . . . book, it's his keen attentiveness as a listener and observer, and his insatiable curiosity, that makes his work so powerful * San Francisco Chronicle *On the Move is entertaining and illuminating and sometimes shocking, and it's given a deep tinge of poignancy by Sacks' public announcement in February that he has terminal cancer. If On the Move is his effort, at age 81 and in the face of death, to record a life well lived, he has succeeded beautifully * Tampa Bay Times *A compelling read. . .The memoir offers a glimpse into one of the greatest minds of our time, made all the more special by the knowledge that it's one of his last gifts to a devoted readership * Men’s Journal *[Sacks'] delving accounts of the invalids he treats have until now stood in stark contrast to his restraint about revealing himself deeply, even though autobiographical threads run through such books as A Leg to Stand On, Uncle Tungsten and Hallucinations. A doctor - concerned, engaging, humane, eccentric and unforthcoming - has occupied the foreground in his self-description. With On the Move, he has finally presented himself as he has presented others: as both fully vulnerable and an object of curiosity. -- Andrew Solomon * New York Times *His truly has been a life lived to the full - and beyond . . . it is the adventure of ideas he has undertaken that has bestowed on his life its remarkable originality -- Will Self * Guardian *[Sacks] could not have written a more breathtaking account of his too-full life. Who knew the most important medical writer of our time was also a complete and total badass? * Men's Fitness *Sacks' zest for life has been extraordinary. . .Coursing through On the Move is his constant sense of joy in the natural world, in scientific epiphanies, and people in all their oddity. . . one of the most singular and inspiring men of our time -- Peter Forbes * Independent *Sacks's accounts are startling in their frankness and express the release of a wise man who, never burdened by snobbery, has also shed that petty encumbrance, embarrassment. . . In February this year Sacks revealed that he has terminal cancer. He wrote in The New York Times that, though not without fear, his predominant feeling is gratitude. "I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return." This book is a remarkable record of those exchanges * London Evening Standard *In this genial and often humorously narrated life, [Sacks] is very much alive and full of passionate energy, as well as of and wry self-awareness . . . He is an astute observer of the life around him. Judging from early motorcycle diaries and writings included here, he could have had an alternative career on the road with Hunter S Thompson * Guardian *Like many of his readers, some months ago I responded with a sense of real personal sadness when reading Sacks' New York Times op-ed announcing his "bad luck" of now facing a terminal cancer. I felt as if a vital window on the world were being closed. On the Move is a glorious memoir that throws open that window and illuminates the world that we have seen through it. In this volume Sacks opens himself to recognition, much as he has opened the lives of others to being recognized in their fullness -- Michael Roth * The Atlantic *This moving book confirms that it is Sacks's expansive passions for learning and for experience that have made his such a vigorous, fascinating and influential life . . .This book is a delight and a fine prompt to return to his earlier work * New Statesman *A lively read and a fascinating insight into a man who changed the way the world sees things. . .revealingand heartbreaking * Courier Mail *What emerges from On the Move is a celebration not just of a life, but of life itself, in all its glorious variousness and possibility. . . [a] joyous whirlwind of a book -- James Bradley * Capital City Daily *A wonderful legacy to leave behind . . .It's an unmitigated pleasure to be in the company of this physician, teacher and storyteller * Big Issue Australia *An affecting read. . .Much will be lost when we can no longer eagerly await the next gift from this dearly loved,stray Santa * The Conversation *

    3 in stock

    £10.44

  • GIRL

    HarperCollins Publishers GIRL

    10 in stock

    Book SynopsisPowerful, intelligent and vital one of the year's must-reads' Hannah Nathanson, Features Director, ELLEFeaturing contributions from Candice Carty-Williams, Jessica Horn, Ebele Okobi, Funmi Fetto and Freddie Harrel.In the vein of Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist, but wholly its own, Girl is a provocative, heartbreaking and frequently hilarious collection of original essays on what it means to be black, a woman, a mother and a global citizen in today's ever-changing world.Black women have never been more visible or more publicly celebrated. But for every new milestone, every magazine cover, every box office record smashed, the reality of everyday life remains a complex, nuanced, contradiction-laden experience.Award-winning journalist and American in London Kenya Hunt threads razor sharp cultural observation through evocative and relatable stories, both illuminating our current cultural moment and transcending it.Trade Review‘Powerful, intelligent and vital – one of this year’s must reads’ Elle ‘Enlightening, relatable, warm and witty, Girl is a must-read for 2020’ Sunday Times Style ‘Valuable’ Guardian ‘If any book should enrich – and disrupt – your life, let it be this.’ Harper’s Bazaar UK ‘very honest and intelligent’ Dina Asher-Smith ‘Put it on your reading list, pronto’ Dazed ‘Exceptional … This book genuinely changed the way I see the world’ Red ‘Essential reading’ Psychologies ‘Brilliant … if there’s any book you should read this year, it’s this one.’ Refinery29 ‘Funny, heartbreaking, and needed now more than ever.’ Cosmopolitan ‘[A] smart, sharp look at what it means to be a black woman’ i News ‘Powerful’ Prima ‘Important’ Woman & Home ‘GIRL is written with a tenderness and urgency that will stay with you long after you have finished reading’ Press Association ‘Insightful’ ES Magazine ‘A fundamental read … This varied and at times introspective anthology is pithy, humorous and incredibly moving. We couldn’t recommend it enough.’ Magic Radio ‘Both moving and motivating; informative and transformative. I could not put it down. A truly beautiful book.’ Emma Gannon, bestselling author of Olive ‘Beautifully fluent and readable … A book not just to read but to witness.’ Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish) ‘Girl speaks to the Black woman of today.’ Bethann Hardison, fashion model and activist ‘Girl is a radical and magical diasporic curation of love for Black dialect, Black freedom, Black cool, Black culture, Black joy, and mostly–and specifically–Black women.’Damon Young, author What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker

    10 in stock

    £9.49

  • This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation and the

    Hodder & Stoughton This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation and the

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis'This is the kind of book that make you different when you're done.' - Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter'From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to survive. I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy new each morning.'So writes Cole Arthur Riley in an unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Cole reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father and encounters of enfleshed, embodied spirituality. As she writes memorably of her own lived experiences of childhood and selfhood, Cole boldly explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith:How can spirituality not silence the body, but instead allow it to come alive?How do we honour, lament, and heal from the stories we inherit?How can we find peace in a world overtaken with dislocation, noise, and unrest? At once a compelling spiritual meditation and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh invites us to ponder the site of the soul by examining our capacity to rest, wonder, joy, rage, and repair - and finding that our humanity is not an enemy to faith but evidence of it.'Exquisite' - Ayo Tomenti, co-founder of Black Lives MatterTrade ReviewAt a time when establishing peace within one's own soul is so vitally important, this book is a balm - reminding me to exercise the spiritual muscle of awe, to notice the simple and to find beauty in the ordinary. -- Ben Lindsay, Author of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT RACEIn This Here Flesh, Cole Arthur Riley reaches deep beneath the surface of words unspoken, wounds unhealed, and secrets untempered to break them open in order for fresh light to break through. Her personal anecdotes alongside Biblical anchors are serene vehicles through which any reader will remember the preciousness of their body, humanity, and most of all, their dignity. -- Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of THIS WILL BE MY UNDOINGThis book is an invitation into the delicate weavings of family, inheritance, and pain, how they mark a bloodline, and connect a people. Riley writes with all the grace and gravity the spirit of humanity deserves. And somehow teaches us to think of ourselves as deserving of such grace, along the way. This is the kind of book that make you different when you're done. -- Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTERThis book is breathtaking. Full of profound revelation and beauty woven into poetry, unforgettable imagery and story, it will stay with me long after I've read it. I will keep returning to its pages, ready to hear in Cole Arthur Riley's reflections new ways to see myself, my family, my faith and my God. Who knew truth-telling could be so beautiful? -- Chine McDonald, author of GOD IS NOT A WHITE MANWelcome the rising of Cole Arthur Riley's astonishing voice. This is a gorgeous and muscular work. -- Krista Tippett, host of On BeingTimeless. This is a book I know I will return to again and again. Through this work, I am reminded I am seen. I am reminded I am free. -- Morgan Harper Nichols, artist and poetExquisite. . . Arthur Riley's writing is both transporting and hauntingly intimateas she narrates this important account of generational inheritance. The stories and meditations in this book are sure to stay with you forever. -- Ayo Tometi, co-founder of Black Lives MatterThrough a narrative of family and generation, Cole Arthur Riley speaks of a Blackness so beautiful it can't be contained and a liberation that is present and possible. This Here Flesh is an invitation to hold space, return home and rediscover joy. -- Amena Brown, poet, author, and host of HER with Amena Brown podcastBeautiful. Soul-stirring. . . we rediscover a sense of awe for the bodies that make us, the stories that ground us, and the delicate grace that enlivens our spirits. -- Kate Bowler, New York Times bestselling author of NO CURE FOR BEING HUMANThis Here Flesh is a gospel to what we remember. This book is rigorous, joyous, complex, honest and tells the story of how we get free. It is a story that would not let me go. -- Danté Stewart, author of SHOUTIN’ IN THE FIRE[A] wonderfully winsome, heartbreakingly honest, and ever-poetic work of spiritual biography and theological reflection. While some theologians will talk in the abstract about 'incarnation,' 'enfleshment,' or 'embodiment,' Arthur Riley's book is a lesson in concreteness, in Black theology, in seeing a body, being a body, being a person rooted in time, space, stories, and very particular flesh. * Library Journal (starred review) *A multi-layered, moving and often a poetic exploration of faith, lament, community and much more. * Keep the Faith *

    2 in stock

    £10.44

  • SAS Brothers in Arms: The Mavericks Who Made the

    Quercus Publishing SAS Brothers in Arms: The Mavericks Who Made the

    5 in stock

    Book Synopsis'Absolutely gripping from the word go' Alexis Conran, Times Radio'A convincing insight into the terror and adrenaline rush of war' Mail on SundayDamien Lewis's new bestseller tells the action-packed, riveting story of the band of mavericks and visionaries who made the SAS. Using hitherto untold stories and new archival sources, Damien Lewis follows one close-knit band of warriors from the SAS foundation through to the Italian landings - chronicling the extraordinary part they played as the tide of the Second World War truly turned in the Allies' favour.This is a narrative of wall-to-wall do-or-die action and daring, chronicling the exploits of some of the most highly-decorated soldiers of the twentieth-century.'A new book by historian Damien Lewis ... who has read through the letters, diaries and reports kept by the Mayne family and conducted interviews with its surviving members over the past ten years' Danielle Sheridan, Daily Telegraph'Read more about the characters as seen in SAS Rogue Heroes in Damien Lewis's book SAS Brothers In Arms' Ed Cullinane, SWNS'Damien Lewis, bestselling author, describes the extraordinary bravery of Paddy Mayne and, it seems strange to say, the humanity of Mayne ... Brilliant' Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 Live'The depth of research is astounding'Belfast TelegraphTrade ReviewAbsolutely gripping from the word go -- Alexis Conran, Times RadioA convincing insight into the terror and adrenaline rush of war * Mail on Sunday *A new book by historian Damien Lewis ... who has read through the letters, diaries and reports kept by the Mayne family and conducted interviews with its surviving members over the past ten years -- Danielle Sheridan * Daily Telegraph *Read more about the characters as seen in SAS Rogue Heroes in Damien Lewis's book SAS Brothers In Arms -- Ed Cullinane, SWNSDamien Lewis, bestselling author, describes the extraordinary bravery of Paddy Mayne and, it seems strange to say, the humanity of Mayne ... Brilliant

    5 in stock

    £10.44

  • Finding Freedom in the Lost Kitchen

    Quarto Publishing PLC Finding Freedom in the Lost Kitchen

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisFINDING FREEDOM IN THE LOST KITCHEN is Erin French’s rollercoaster memoir about her struggle to follow her dream and bring joy to people through food.

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories

    Rebellion Publishing Ltd. Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn enthralling collection of new and classic tales of the fearsome Djinn, from bestselling, award-winning and breakthrough international writers. Imagine a world filled with fierce, fiery beings, hiding in our shadows, in our dreams, under our skins. Eavesdropping and exploring; tormenting us, saving our souls. They are monsters, saviours, victims, childhood friends. And they are everywhere. On street corners, behind the wheel of a taxi, in the chorus, between the pages of books. Every language has a word for them. Every culture knows their traditions. Every religion, every history has them hiding in their dark places. There is no part of the world that does not know them. They are the Djinn. With stories from Neil Gaiman, Nnedi Okorafor, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherine Faris King, Claire North, E.J. Swift, Hermes (trans. Robin Moger), Jamal Mahjoub, James Smythe, J.Y. Yang, Kamila Shamsie, Kirsty Logan, K.J. Parker, Kuzhali Manickavel, Maria Dahvana Headley, Monica Byrne, Saad Hossain, Sami Shah, Sophia Al-Maria and Usman Malik.Trade Review"Exquisite and audacious, and highly recommended." -- The New York Times * The New York Times *"Entertaining, sexy and mischievous" -- Marina Warner -- Marina Warner"A treasure chest of literally wonderful and marvelous stories, with a kind of richness that fantasy only rarely achieves." -- Tim Powers -- Tim Powerrs"Opens quietly with an intense, thrumming poem from Egyptian poet Hermes, and then ignites like the creature it profiles... a rich and illuminating cultural experience." -- Washington Post * The Washington Post *"Gorgeous." -- Tor.com * Tor.com *"The sheer variation of interpretation is what makes this a superior collection, as well as, of course, the superior writing." -- BookRiot * BookRiot *"Vivid, enthralling and endlessly varied. A wonderful collection." -- Mike Carey -- Mike Carey"A sparkling array of talent and imagination" -- SFX * SFX Magazine *"A superb collection of superior stories by some of my favorite writers. This is the must-have anthology of the year." -- Lavie Tidhar -- Lavie Tidhar"Readers looking for stories set in a variety of locales (even outer space) and arrayed over various cultures and religions will find much to like." -- Publishers Weekly * Publishers Weekly *"Not only one of short stories, but of real narratives... will let readers enter a world that they have no idea about" -- New York Journal of Books * New York Journal of Books *"Lovely and complex" -- Strange Horizons * Strange Horizons *"A range of terrific stories in a variety of styles, all of them effective... Fall in love with djinn! Read this book." -- Geek Syndicate * Geek Syndicate *Table of Contents Introduction - Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin The Djinn Falls in Love – Hermes The Congregation – Kamila Shamsie How We Remember You – Kuzhali Manickavel Hurrem and the Djinn – Claire North Glass Lights – Neon Yang Authenticity – Monica Byrne Majnun – Helene Wecker Black Powder – Maria Dahvana Headley A Tale of Ash in Seven Birds – Amal El-Mohtar The Sand in the Glass is Right – James Smythe Reap – Sami Shah Queen of Sheba – Catherine Faris King The Jinn Hunter’s Apprentice – E.J. Swift Message in a Bottle – K.J. Parker Bring Your Own Spoon – Saad Z. Hossain Somewhere in America – Neil Gaiman Duende 2077 – Jamal Mahjoub The Righteous Guide of Arabsat – Sophia Al-Maria The Spite House – Kirsty Logan Emperors of Jinn – Usman T. Malik History – Nnedi Okorafor

    5 in stock

    £9.49

  • Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography

    John Murray Press Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisIn his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life.Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds.Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal.It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings... and writing.Windswept and Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.'I didn't know I was Windswept and Interesting until somebody told me. It was a friend who was startlingly exotic himself. He'd just come back from Kashmir and was all billowy shirt and Indian beads. I had long hair and a beard and was swishing around in electric blue flairs.He said: "Look at you - all windswept and interesting!"I just said: "Exactly!"After that, I simply had to maintain my reputation...'Trade ReviewBilly Connolly's long and vivid life makes for a joyous memoir * The Big Issue *There are a lot of laughs and love in the book, but a great grimness to it as well. * The I *This is everything a celebrity autobiography should be and more. * Scottish Mail on Sunday *

    3 in stock

    £10.44

  • My Life with Murderers

    Little, Brown Book Group My Life with Murderers

    2 in stock

    Book Synopsis BE THE FIRST TO READ DAVID WILSON''S NEW TRUE CRIME BOOK A PLOT TO KILL BY PRE-ORDERING NOW ''Hugely insightful and thought provoking . . . I read it from cover to cover in one go'' - Emilia Fox''With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes'' - Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of CriminologyProfessor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK''s youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them thTrade ReviewA riveting exploration of the psychology of those who have committed unthinkable crimes. It's also hugely insightful and thought provoking about our justice system, I read it from cover to cover in one go. David's professional experiences make an absolutely compelling read for anyone who is interested in the criminal mind and its motivationsWilson's fascinating career brought him into contact with Britain's most violent criminals. In this gripping book, he moves beyond the usual media sensationalism to discuss in detail his life among our prison system's most notorious murderers, serial killers, sex offenders and hitmen. With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes. And in the background of Wilson's pitch-perfect central narrative, lies an accompanying account of a strained criminal justice system and the gradual disintegration of the rehabilitative ideal. Page-turning stuff. I'm sure this book will prove to be a great hit

    2 in stock

    £11.39

  • The Little Book of London Style: The fashion

    Headline Publishing Group The Little Book of London Style: The fashion

    5 in stock

    Book SynopsisAn inspiration to countless designers and the stomping ground of fashion's in-crowd, London is the capital of subculture.From Mary Quant to Alexander McQueen, from punks to goths, and from Twiggy to Naomi Campbell, Little Book of London Style is the beautifully illustrated guide to the essential brands, trends and people that make up the style DNA of this unique city.Table of ContentsIntroduction • Birth of a style capital • Fashion designers • 1960s: The Swinging Sixties • 1970s/1980s: flower power to shoulder pads • 1990s: extravagant luxe • 2000s-present day: fashion for a new millennium • Style icons • Street style • Subcultures • Contemporary street style • Style destinations.

    5 in stock

    £11.69

  • Getting Lost – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN

    Fitzcarraldo Editions Getting Lost – WINNER OF THE 2022 NOBEL PRIZE IN

    20 in stock

    Book SynopsisGetting Lost is the diary kept by Annie Ernaux during the year and a half she had a secret love affair with a younger, married man, an attaché to the Soviet embassy in Paris. Her novel, Simple Passion, was based on this affair, but here her writing is immediate and unfiltered. In these diaries it is 1989 and Annie is divorced with two grown sons, living in the suburbs of Paris and nearing fifty. Her lover escapes the city to see her there and Ernaux seems to survive only in expectation of these encounters. She cannot write, she trudges distractedly through her various other commitments in the world, she awaits his next call; she lives merely to feel desire and for the next rendezvous. When he is gone and the moment of desire has faded, she feels that she is a step closer to death. Lauded for her spare prose, Ernaux here removes all artifice, her writing pared down to its most naked and vulnerable. Translated brilliantly for the first time by Alison L. Strayer, Getting Lost is a haunting record of a woman in the grips of love, desire and despair.Trade Review‘Annie Ernaux is one of my favorite contemporary writers, original and true. Always after reading one of her books, I walk around in her world for months.’ — Sheila Heti, author of Motherhood‘I find her work extraordinary.’ — Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing‘Annie Ernaux writes memoir with such generosity and vulnerable power that I find it difficult to separate my own memories from hers long after I’ve finished reading.’ — Catherine Lacey, author of Pew‘Like Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary, Ernaux’s affair should be counted as one of the great liaisons of literature.... I suspect the book will become a kind of totem for lovers: a manual to help them find their centre when, like Ernaux, they are lost in love. All her books have the quality of saving frail human details from oblivion. Together they tell, in fragments, the story of a woman in the twentieth century who has lived fully, sought out pain and happiness equally and then committed her findings truthfully on paper. Her life is our inheritance.’ — Ankita Chakraborty, Guardian‘Ernaux has once more created a living document of existential terror and hope.’ — Catherine Taylor, Irish Times‘The almost primitive directness of her voice is bracing. It’s as if she’s carving each sentence onto the surface of a table with a knife.... Getting Lost is a feverish book. It’s about being impaled by desire, and about the things human beings want, as opposed to the things for which they settle... it’s one of those books about loneliness that, on every page, makes you feel less alone.’ — Dwight Garner, New York Times‘Ernaux is an unusual memoirist: she distrusts her memory… Ernaux does not so much reveal the past – she does not pretend to have any authoritative access to it – as unpack it.’ — Madeleine Schwartz, New Yorker‘Reading her is like getting to know a friend, the way they tell you about themselves over long conversations that sometimes take years, revealing things slowly, looping back to some parts of their life over and over.’ — Joanna Biggs, London Review of Books‘Ernaux has inherited de Beauvoir’s role of chronicler to a generation.’ — Margaret Drabble, New Statesman ‘Watching a skilled writer who was for years overlooked by the French literary establishment salvage an affair shrouded in such secrecy is to witness a literary feat.’ — Kaya Genç, Los Angeles Review of Books‘Across the ample particularities of over forty years and twenty-one books, almost all short, subject-driven memoirs, Ernaux has fundamentally destabilized and reinvented the genre in French literature.’ — Audrey Wollen, The Nation‘Ernaux’s writing, in Alison L. Strayer’s accomplished translation, is brazen and candid. Despite the cyclical, repetitive nature of events — the ecstasy of seeing her lover again, the dread of his leaving, the feelings of melancholy after he has departed, the agony of waiting and hoping for his call, repeated ad infinitum — the writing is urgent and gripping…She is a writer of rare calibre, a woman who writes with such honesty and, above all, humanity, as to render her work irresistible.’ — Rachel Farmer, Lunate‘From the very first lines, we feel ourselves, like her, caught up in the vertigo of waiting, obsessed by the telephone that never rings, time that passes too quickly and the meetings that become less frequent. Love, death and literature are constantly intertwined in this story that plunges us into the intimacy of a couple, without ever giving us the impression of being voyeurs.’ — Pascale Frey, ELLE‘With Getting Lost, Annie Ernaux goes for broke. The bed, the site of her pleasure, is to her what the gaming table is to the gambler, the bottle to the alcoholic, the syringe to the addict. The nexus of all danger. The goal is not, as she seems to believe and tries to make us believe, the necessity of passion: it is in reality only a pretext for her to risk her life.’ — Martine de Rabaudy, L'Express

    20 in stock

    £11.69

  • When Nothing Else Matters

    Simon & Schuster Ltd When Nothing Else Matters

    3 in stock

    Book SynopsisFor fans of Netflix's The Last Dance, this is the definitive account of Michael Jordan's spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. As one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, near superhuman abilities and a ferocious drive to dominate the game, he achieved every award and accolade conceivable before retiring from the Chicago Bulls and taking an executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan decided it was time to reclaim the court that was once his. Having closely followed Jordan's final two seasons, Michael Leahy draws a fascinating portrait of an intensely complex man hampered by injuries and assaulted by younger players eager to usurp his throne. In this enthralling book Jordan emerges as a

    3 in stock

    £10.44

  • A Rose For Her Grave & Other True Cases

    Simon & Schuster A Rose For Her Grave & Other True Cases

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisThis first installment in the New York Times bestselling Crime Files series is a chilling collection of shocking crimes and the ensuing struggles to bring the perpetrators to justice—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me. Soon to be a Lifetime original movie.The “country’s premier true crime author” (Library Journal) brings her clear-eyed, compassionate writing and investigative skills to this unputdownable anthology. Distinguished by the former Seattle police officer’s razor-sharp eye for detail and her penetrating analysis of the criminal mind, the featured case in this collection is the twisted story of Randy Roth—a man who married, and murdered, for profit. Following are compelling tales of bloody vengeance, estranged relationships that turn deadly, and fateful encounters. With her trademark “unwavering voice” (Publishers Weekly), Ann Rule exposes the darkness that lurks among us.

    1 in stock

    £9.49

  • Dark Stars

    Titan Books Ltd Dark Stars

    1 in stock

    Book SynopsisTwelve chilling and thrilling stories from the darkest stars of modern horror including Josh Malerman, Caroline Kepnes, Stephen Graham Jones, Ramsay Campbell and more... Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today's top horror talent edited by John F.D. Taff. Within these pages you'll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harbouring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You'll encounter terrible monsters-both human and supernatural-and be forever changed. These stories run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown-possibly unknowable-threats. ALL-NEW TERRIFYING TALES FROM: CHESYA BURKE RAMSEY CAMPBELL GEMMA FILES STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES ALMA KATSU CAROLINE KEPNES JOHN LANGAN LIVIA LLEWELLYN JOSH MALERMAN USMAN T. MALIK PRIYA SHARMA JOHN F.D. TAFF

    1 in stock

    £8.54

  • Ill Be Gone in the Dark

    Faber & Faber Ill Be Gone in the Dark

    20 in stock

    Book Synopsis** NOW A MAJOR DOCUMENTARY SERIES FROM HBO AND SKY **WINNER OF THE GOOD READS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018THE NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018The masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer the serial rapist turned murderer who terrorised California for over a decade from the late Michelle McNamara.I'll Be Gone in the Dark offers a unique snapshot of suburban West Coast America in the 1980s, and a chilling account of the wreckage left behind by a criminal mastermind. It is also a portrait of one woman's obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth, three decades later, in spite of the personal cost.Updated with material which takes in the extraordinary events that followed its initial publication, Michelle McNamara's first and last book is a contemporary classic humane, haunting and heroic.

    20 in stock

    £10.44

  • Oxford University Press John Stuart Mill A Very Short Introduction Very

    2 in stock

    Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is widely regarded as the leading liberal philosopher, economist, and political theorist of nineteenth century Britain. In his lifetime he was best known for his System of Logic (1843) and the Principles of Political Economy (1848). Today Mill is chiefly identified with On Liberty (1859), perhaps the definitive text of modern liberal statement of its subject, and probably the single most important work of modern political thought. Mill was also the first major male feminist thinker of the period (author of The Subjection of Women, 1869), and the first, as an MP, to introduce a bill for female enfranchisement before Parliament.This Very Short Introduction offers a brief survey of the life and key ideas of this most influential Victorian British writer. Moving chronologically, Gregory Claeys outlines the philosophical background out of which Mill developed, chiefly through the ideas of Jeremy Bentham and James Mill. He demonstrates how Mill''s personal life, especially his ''mental crisis'' of 1827, and his relationship with Harriet Taylor, were integral to his intellectual development. Throughout Claeys considers Mill''s key works set within the context of his lesser writings and correspondence, and discusses the more controversial aspects of his thought concerning religion, secularism, and birth control. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewBy placing Mill's philosophy in other perspectives, in the context of moments ranging from its genesis to its last writings, with new associations, Gregory Claeys offers the reader a brilliant reconstruction of this philosophy, allowing him to find all of it the power. The inevitable repetitions of themes throughout the book are ultimately instructive and even necessary for this brief introduction, contributing to the clarity of the text and the presentation of the subjects treated. * Beatriz Laporta, Archives de philosophie *Table of ContentsPreface 1: An uneventful life 2: Remaking radicalism 1835-45 3: Political economy and social philosophy 1845-1859 4: The values of On Liberty (1859) 5: Later writings 1861-79 6: Mill today Further Reading Index

    2 in stock

    £9.49

© 2026 Book Curl

    • American Express
    • Apple Pay
    • Diners Club
    • Discover
    • Google Pay
    • Maestro
    • Mastercard
    • PayPal
    • Shop Pay
    • Union Pay
    • Visa

    Login

    Forgot your password?

    Don't have an account yet?
    Create account