Biography Books
HarperCollins Publishers SOME SUNNY DAY
Book SynopsisThe remarkable autobiography of the last great wartime icon.Born Vera Welch on 20 March, 1917 in the East End of London, Dame Vera Lynn's career was set from an early age - along with her father, who also did a turn', she sang in Working Men's Clubs from just seven years old. She had a successful radio career with Joe Loss and Charlie Kunz in the 1920s and 30s, but it was with World War II that she became the iconic figure that captured the imagination of the national public.Her spirit and verve, along with her ability to connect with the men fighting for their country and those left behind praying for their loved ones, made her the Forces' sweetheart'. Performing the songs that she will always be associated with, such as We'll Meet Again' and Yours', Vera toured Egypt, India and Burma to entertain the troops and bring them a sense of back home'.Her career after the war flourished, with hits in the US and the UK, but Vera was never able to leave behind her wartime role and was deeply a
£7.19
Whittles Publishing Bones
Book SynopsisThe remarkable story of a boy raised in the Scottish Highlands who travelled the world, survived epic naval battles, advanced natural and medical science and fulfilled his wildest dreams of adventure and discovery
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers Knights Cross
Book SynopsisErwin Rommel was the outstanding Axis field commander of the Second World War, respected, even admired, by his opponents. Here it seemed to the Allies, was a supremely professional soldier: chivalrous, decent, largely untainted by the crimes of the Nazi regime, carrying out his duty with often dazzling success.David Fraser's definitive study brings to Rommel's career not only the insights of an acclaimed biographer, but also those of a distinguished soldier. He shows how inspiringly spontaneous and superficially haphazard Rommel's style of leadership could be; how his hallmarks of boldness of manoeuvre, ferocity in attack and tenacity in pursuit, which characterised his great campaign in North Africa, were evident from his earliest battles in the First World War. Knight's Cross is first and foremost hte biography of a soldier, but Rommel reached a position in which he almost inevitably became embroiled in politics, including his alleged involvement in the plot to kill Hitler, which conTrade Review‘Many books have been written about Rommel. None has been more thoroughly researched or examines his personality and character in more detail than this one… Fraser gets under the skin of this man as well as any biographer ever can.’The Economist
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers GOOD AS HER WORD Selected Journalism
Book SynopsisA sparkling collection of journalism from the critically acclaimed author of BAD BLOOD and MOMENTS OF TRUTH.Trade ReviewPraise for GOOD AS HER WORD: 'A tremendous and bracing read that almost brings Sage back to life … Dazzling, erudite pieces.' Observer 'A brilliant collection … When reading her reviews, you get a wonderful feeling of collusion, of attending the best kind of party which mixes great warmth with sophistication.' Time Out 'Smart …. At her epigrammatic best' Daily Telegraph Praise for MOMENTS OF TRUTH ‘Packed with razor-sharp observations and exhilerating humour.’ Sunday Times ‘Thank goodness for Lorna Sage’s brilliant ‘Moments of Truth’. Going into a book with her is like going into a gloomy church, say, in some some foreign city: her eyes adjust to the light so fast she can see the frescoes, and describe them to you in vivd detail, while you are still blinking like a mole.’ Financial Times This is writerly criticism – down to earth, incisive, peppered with memorable phrases – and it makes exhilarating reading.’ Irish Times ‘An apt memorial to a brilliant and stimulating mind.’ Literary Review
£11.39
Transworld A Training School for Elephants
Book SynopsisSophy Roberts is an award-winning British journalist, and a regular contributor to FT Weekend. Her critically acclaimed first book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year in 2020, and went on to be published in eight more languages. Her second book, A Training School for Elephants, is another unusual quest, threading lost history with modern reportage in India, Iraq, DRC, Tanzania and Belgium. Following an 1879 journey that four elephants from Pune made to Africa's Great Lakes, it is a reckoning with colonial ambitions gone berserk.
£18.70
Penguin Books Ltd Love in Exile
Book Synopsis
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers Mallowans Memoirs
Book SynopsisAgatha Christie's widower's recollections of his archaeological triumphs and life with Agatha.In these informal, often witty and always interesting memoirs, Sir Max Mallowan tells the story of his life, from his boyhood at Lancing where he was a contemporary of Evelyn Waugh, to the days when he was elected a Fellow of All Souls and succeeded another eminent archaeologist, his friend Sir Mortimer Wheeler, as a Trustee of the British Museum.The author was initiated into field archaeology at Ur by Leonard Woolley in 1925, and it was Woolley who first introduced him to a visiting novelist, Agatha Christie. After further excavations, Sir Max began working independently in Assyria, to which he returned each year until the outbreak of war. In 1939 he joined the Royal Air Force and was involved in several eccentric exploits before volunteering to go the Middle East where he filled various outlandish posts with skill and aplomb.Throughout the pre-war years, the author was accompanied on all his
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Call of the Wild
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and . . . he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire, and to plunge into the forest.'Half St. Bernard, half sheepdog, Buck is stolen away from his comfortable life as a pet in California and sold to dog traders. He soon finds himself aboard a ship, on its way to Northern Canada. Surrounded by cruelty, Buck's natural instincts and behaviour begin to emerge as he works as a mail carrying sled dog, scavenging for food, protecting himself against other dogs and sleeping out in the cold snow.Sold to a group of American gold hunters who are inexperienced living in the wilderness, the dogs are treated badly and as misfortune besets them, Buck is saved by John Thornton. Indebted to his new master, Buck remains by Thornton's side, saving him from drowning and protecting him with fierce loyalty throughout their time together. However, Buck can not deny the strong lure o
£5.02
HarperCollins Publishers Becoming an Olympic Gymnast
Book SynopsisWhat's it like to be one of Britain's greatest gymnasts? In this fascinating autobiography, Beth Tweddle takes us through the biggest moments of her life, from winning gold at the World Championships, to being honoured with an MBE at just 25 years old. Follow her story as she prepares for her most important task yet - the Olympics!
£10.90
Renard Press Ltd A Letter to a Young Poet
Book SynopsisSo long as you and you and you, venerable and ancient representatives of Sappho, Shakespeare and Shelley, are aged precisely twenty-three and propose to spend the next fifty years of your lives in writing poetry, I refuse to think that the art is dead.'Penned in response to a letter about her novel The Waves from a young poet, John Lehmann, A Letter to a Young Poet answers a request for Woolf to set down her views on modern poetry. Written with observational humour and empathy, the letter leaves the reader laughing in recognition of the errors depicted, with the words And for heaven's sake, publish nothing before you are thirty' ringing in their ears.
£6.50
HarperCollins Publishers Mandela
Book SynopsisWidely considered to be the most important biography of Nelson Mandela, Antony Sampson's remarkable book has been updated with an afterword by acclaimed South African journalist, John Battersby.Long after his presidency of South Africa, Nelson Mandela remained an inspirational figure to millions both in his homeland and far beyond. He has been, without doubt, one of the most important figures in global history. His death, on 5 December 2013 at the age of 95, resonated around the world.Mandela's opposition to apartheid and his 27 year incarceration at the hands of South Africa's all-white regime are familiar to most. In this utterly compelling book, eminent biographer Anthony Sampson draws on a fifty year-long relationship to reveal the man who rocked a continent and changed its future.With unprecedented access to the former South African president the letters he wrote in prison, his unpublished jail autobiography, extensive conversations, and interviews with hundreds of colleagues, Trade Review‘A magisterial, detailed and invaluable account of one of this century’s greatest figures … it is hard to believe that a better biography will ever be written.’ Justin Cartwright, Sunday Telegraph ‘Warmly to be welcomed, not least because it is more substantial and revealing than Mandela’s bestselling autobiography…a great leap forward in our understanding of a man who is both enigmatic and private…Anthony Sampson has carried out his difficult commission with skill and sensitivity’ Independent ‘This will be the last word on Mandela for years to come…it will be hard to improve upon this crowning conclusion to Sampson’s long career as a loving and expert chronicler of South Africa’ Evening Standard ‘Measured, detailed without a moment of tedium, incisive in its perceptions and at times, profoundly moving’ Observer
£17.09
Cambridge University Press An Improbable Psychiatrist
Book SynopsisA leading psychiatrist narrates her personal journey from patient to psychiatrist and how she has coped with severe mental illness. Covering her experience on a psychiatric ward, ECT, and psychiatry training, this book aims to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness and will appeal to mental health professionals, and general readers.
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Downing Street Years
Book SynopsisThis first volume of Margaret Thatcher''s memoirs, which encompasses the entirety of her career as Prime Minister.Margaret Thatcher was the towering figure of late-twentieth-century British politics. This is the story of her remarkable life in her own words.This first volume of her memoirs is a riveting first-hand portrait of the events and personalities of her eleven years in power. She recalls the triumphs and the critical moments of her premiership the Falklands War, the miners'' strike, the Brighton bomb, the Westland Affair and her unprecedented three election victories. Her judgements of the men and women she encountered, whether world statesmen or Cabinet colleagues, are astonishingly frank. She is lavish with her praise; devastating with her criticism. The book reaches a gripping climax with an hour-by-hour description from inside 10 Downing Street of her dramatic final days in office.Margaret Thatcher''s compelling account stands as a powerful testament to her influential legTrade Review‘A book which should be read by everyone with any interest in contemporary history of political affairs’ Norman Tebbit, Daily Mail ‘Some things in this life are priceless. So are Margaret Thatcher’s guts. They have left their mark on the world. So will “The Downing Street Years”’ Daily Express
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers King Edward VIII
Book SynopsisThe authorised life story of the king who gave up his throne for love, by one of our most distinguished biographers.In this masterly authorized biography, Philip Ziegler reveals the complex personality of Edward VIII, the only British monarch to have voluntarily renounced the throne.With unique access to the Royal Archives, Ziegler overturns many myths about Edward and tells his side of the story from his glamorous existence as Prince of Wales to his long decline in semi-exile in France. At the heart of the book is an unflinchingly honest examination of Edward's all-consuming passion for Wallis Simpson, which led to his dramatic abdication.Elegant and devastating, this is the most convincing portrait of Edward ever published.Trade Review‘Philip Ziegler is a master of biographical narrative …Seldom has such exhaustive research been made so compellingly readable’ Michael Holroyd ‘Ziegler has told Edward’s story with consummate skill’ Sarah Bradford, Sunday Times ‘Beautifully written and constructed’ Michael Bloch, Sunday Telegraph ‘Ziegler writes with urbanity and generosity but is unflinching in his judgements … an exemplary biography’ Richard Davenport-Hines, Times Literary Supplement ‘A splendid book of impeccable scholarship, admirably written, moving, ironical and at times very amusing …’ Robert Blake, Country Life ‘A book of such compelling interest and frankness that it is difficult to put down … a very fine book’ New York Times Book Review ‘I found Ziegler’s book riveting’ Paul Barker, Listener ‘He writes brilliantly’ Christopher Hudson, Evening Standard
£17.09
HarperCollins Publishers Pete Townshend Who I Am
Book SynopsisHe is one of the greatest musical talents Britain has ever produced. But even as the principle songwriter and lead guitarist for The Who, it would be unjust to define Pete Townshend's life simply through his achievements with bandmates Daltrey, Moon and Entwistle.Noting that he has sold over 100 million records over a fifty-year period goes some way to quantifying his accomplishments, but numbers only scratch the surface of his contribution to popular culture.An avid student of his profession, during his career he has been credited with the creation of the concept album, worked as a literary editor, developed scripts for television and the stage, and written songs that have defined a generation. The thinking man's rock star with a dedication to his craft unlike any other in the business, he continues to inspire new generations of performers and writers with a continuing commitment to his art.Now, in one of the most eagerly awaited autobiographies of recent times, this icon tells about Trade Review‘More honest than any fan would have hoped. Maybe nobody knows what it’s like to be the bad man, to be the sad man, behind blue eyes—but Who I Am is as close as we are likely to get.’ Rolling Stone ‘Astonishingly frank, detailed and heartfelt.’ The Sun ‘Whatever the subject, he writes passionately and eloquently.’ The Times
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers The Porcelain Thief
Book SynopsisIn 1938, with the Japanese army approaching from Nanking, Huan Hsu’s great-great grandfather, Liu, and his five granddaughters, were forced to flee their hometown on the banks of the Yangtze River. But before they left a hole was dug as deep as a man, and as wide as a bedroom, in which was stowed the family heirlooms.Trade Review‘A cinematic account of what might have happened in Xingang almost 80 years ago’ Financial Times ‘Hsu’s account is filled with humour … an engrossing way into contemporary China’ Alexander Monroe, Literary Review ‘Fascinating’ Monocle ‘Huan Hsu takes us on an intriguing journey into his family's and China's tumultuous past. The Porcelain Thief provides a great, intimate view into how modern China really works.’ Frank Langfitt, NPR Correspondent, Shanghai ‘Part memoir, part journey, and part archaeological expedition, The Porcelain Thief is as suspenseful as any Indiana Jones adventure.’ Michael Meyer, author of The Last Days of Old Beijing and In Manchuria ‘Huan Hsu blends a fascinating search for his own family’s roots with an illuminating portrait of modern China. The Porcelain Thief is a wonderful read.’ Rob Gifford, author of China Road ‘[Hsu’s] persistence in the face of numerous obstacles is beyond admirable… He offers plenty of intriguing information about Chinese history and culture, from wild Shanghai traffic to family dynamics. Some first-rate detective work.’ Kirkus Reviews
£14.44
Penguin Random House India Power Within
Book SynopsisWestern thought on leadership is trait-oriented; it emphasizes the importance of being a leader'. Indian leadership offers a contrast?it focuses on the exercise of leadership'. Power Within introspects on this practice as it captures the civilizational wisdom of Bharat through the lived experience of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The book delves into the fifty years of his public life and explores how he discovered his purpose, the seeds of which were sown in his formative years. Poignant anecdotes from his colleagues shed light on how his relentless hard work and communicative approach propelled him to the prime ministerial post. They also underscore his constant quest for self-discovery in the service of others.
£20.24
HarperCollins Publishers A MIDNIGHT CLEAR
Book SynopsisA reissue of this classic World War II novel.Trade Review‘ Remarkable’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘There are surprisingly few ‘classic’ novels of World War II, A Midnight Clear joins the best.’ VILLAGE VOICE ‘Sad and witty, even profound.; SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE ‘It has mythic quality.’ CHICAGO TRIBUNE ‘Belonging to a class entirely of its own’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd The Mountains of My Life
Book SynopsisCollects Walter Bonatti's classic writings detailing his exploits on numerous expeditions to different mountains of the world, as well as the real story behind the controversy over the events on K2 that changed his life.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd George Orwell A Life in Letters
Book SynopsisWith such varied correspondents as T. S. Eliot, Stephen Spender and Anthony Powell, for nearly forty years George Orwell wrote and received the letters that are now collected together in A Life in Letters, edited with an introduction by Peter Davison in Penguin Modern Classics.Personal as well as political, Orwell''s letters offer a fascinating window into the mind of a phenomenal man. We are privy to snatched glimpses of his family life: his son Richard''s developing teeth, the death of his wife Eileen, and his own illness. Candid portraits of Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, his opinions on bayonets, and on the chaining of German prisoners display his magnificent talent as a political writer, and letters to friends and his publisher provide a unique insight into the development and publication of some of the most important novels in the English language. A Life in Letters features previously unpublished material, including letters which shed new light on a love that would haunt him for his whole life, as well as revealing the inspiration for some of his most famous characters. Presented for the first time in a dedicated volume, this selection of Orwell''s letters is an indispensible companion to his diaries.''Arguably the most influential writer thrown up by the West in the twentieth century ... the real Orwell - whoever he is - continues to take shape''The TimesTrade ReviewArouses your warmest sympathy * Daily Mail *A Life in Letters contains nearly everything a reader new to Orwell needs to know about him -- DJ Taylor * New Statesman *'Mr Davison's new edition of the letters is compelling...unlike a conventional biography, the character of the subject comes through undiluted.' * Sunday Telegraph *'This is the authentic Orwell voice: wonderfully clear and fresh and forthright' * Mail on Sunday *'the best single-volume selection we could hope for' * Sunday Times *'Orwell: A Life in Letters should take its place beside the five major biographies ... as an indepsensible resource for understanding George Orwell and his times.' * John Rodden *
£15.29
Penguin Books Ltd Where the Stress Falls
Book SynopsisWhere the Stress Falls is divided into three sections: the first, ''Reading'', includes ardent pieces on writers from Sontag''s own private canon - Machado de Assis, Barthes, W. G. Sebald, Borges, Tsvetaeva and Elizabeth Hardwick. In the second, ''Seeing'', she shares her passions for film, dance, photography, painting, opera and theatre. And in the final section, ''There and Here'', Sontag explores her own commitments to the work (and activism) of conscience and to the vocation of the writer.Trade Review'[The essays] invariably also leave one with the urgent desire to read the book or see the painting, play, dance she describes. Her passion evokes that urgency...' Bookforum
£13.30
Penguin Books Ltd The North Pole
Book SynopsisExtraordinary' ANNE APPLEBAUMThrilling . . . a record of an infatuation' TELEGRAPH The book of a lifetime' ELIF SHAFAKThe North Pole proves to be the perfect subject for him' MICHAEL PALIN''Heart-catching . . . fabulous'' OBSERVER A beautiful book' ALAIN DE BOTTONThe epic adventure story of humanity's obsession with the North Pole, from Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge who travelled there in 1990Throughout recorded human time, few places on Earth have inspired as much fascination as the North Pole. This is an otherworldly place where the sun rises and stays aloft for six whole months before setting, plunging the expanse of ice and water into darkness for half a year.Foot-stepping alongside Erling Kagge, who ventured to the North Pole in the spring of 1990, we hear the story of the North Pole as never told before. From Herodotus who first wondered what the northernmost point of our planet might be like, to the intrepid early cartographers who mapped the world, and the legendary expeditions led by Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary the first polar explorer global celebrities who were in the grip of a dangerous obsession to get to the North Pole first. What emerges is a new history of the world, spanning thousands of years, as seen from the silver-shining vacantness' of the North Pole.Blending memories from Kagge's own 1990 trip with this epic history, The North Pole is an adventure story, a book about enacting hidden human dreams, about difficult fathers and their difficult sons, and a psychological record of what it means to keep putting one foot in front of the other in the face of adversity. It is for anyone who's gazed out at the horizon and wondered what happens if you just keep walking.''As an explorer Erling Kagge is world class; as a writer he is equally gifted' RANULPH FIENNES
£18.70
HarperCollins Publishers Storms Edge
Book Synopsis'A surprising page-turner, full of humour and startling details' THE TIMES 'If I read a better history this year, I will be lucky' TOM HOLLAND 'An astonishing tour de force' SPECTATOR Longlisted for the 2024 Highland Book Prize From Peter Marshall, winner of the 2018 Wolfson Prize, Storm's Edge is a new history of the Orkney Islands that delves deep into island politics, folk beliefs and community memory on the geographical edge of Britain. Peter Marshall was born in Orkney. His ancestors were farmers and farm labourers on the northern island of Sanday where, in 1624, one of them was murdered by a witch. In an expansive and enthralling historical account, Marshall looks afresh at a small group of islands that has been treated as a mere footnote, remote and peripheral, and in doing so invites us to think differently about key events of British history. With Orkney as our point of departure, Marshall traverses three dramatic centuries of religious, political and economic upheaval: a time when what we think of as modern Scotland, and then modern Britain, was being forged and tested. Storm's Edge is a magisterial history, a fascinating cultural study and a mighty attestation to the importance of placing the periphery at the centre. Britain is a nation composed of many different islands, but too often we focus on just one. This book offers a radical alternative, encouraging us to reorient the map and travel with Peter Marshall through landscapes of forgotten history.
£11.69
Headline Publishing Group The Jane Austen Treasury Her Life Her Times Her
Book SynopsisFeatures a collection of facts and insights into the life and times of the great novelist and the attitudes and customs that shaped both her and her work. This title looks at the facts of author's life and times, as well as stories about her novels, including: the marriage proposal that Austen accepted, only to change her mind, and more.
£9.49
Welbeck Publishing Group Whickers World Take 2
Book Synopsis
£5.99
St. Martin's Publishing Group Freedom
Book SynopsisThe long-awaited memoir by one of the most important political leaders of our timeFor 16 years, Angela Merkel bore the governmental responsibility for Germany, leading the country through numerous crises and shaping German and international politics and society with her actions and attitude. But Angela Merkel was not born a Chancellor. In her memoirs, co-written with her long-standing political advisor Beate Baumann, she looks back on her life in two German states 35 years in the GDR (German Democratic Republic), 35 years in reunified Germany. More personally than ever before, she talks about her childhood, youth, and her studies in the GDR, and the dramatic year of 1989, when the Wall fell and her political life began. She shares insights into her meetings and conversations with the world''s most powerful leaders and elucidates, with clear and precise examples, significant national, European, and international turning points and how decisions were made that shape ou
£30.00
Edinburgh University Press The Collected Works of Kenneth White Volume 3
Book SynopsisExplores the life of one of Scotland's most important poet-thinkers as told by himself.
£85.50
Cambridge University Press Athens 403 BC
Book Synopsis
£38.00
HarperCollins Publishers The Grandmothers
Book SynopsisFour novellas by Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, that once again show her to be unequalled in her ability to capture the truth of the human condition.The title story, The Grandmothers', is an astonishing tour de force, a shockingly intimate portrait of an unconventional extended family and the lengths to which they will go to find happiness and love. Written with a keen cinematic eye, the story is a ruthless dissection of the veneer of middle-class morality and convention.Victoria and the Staveneys', takes us through 20 years of the life of a young underprivileged black girl in London. A chance meeting introduces her to the Staveneys a liberal white middle-class family and, seduced, she falls pregnant by one of the sons. As her daughter grows up, Victoria feels her parental control diminishing as the attractions of the Staveneys' world exert themselves. An honest and often uncomfortable look at race relations in London over the past few decades, Lessing reaffTrade Review'Lessing's prose is as vigorous in these stories as it has ever been. She has an extraordinary feel not only for landscape but also for the human creature within it.' The Times 'In these four tales Lessing shows her adaptability, and her capacity to unify the most far-flung territories of human experience. Like all great writers, she brings a multitudinous sensibility to bear on individual people, on single rooms, on particular moments – and she makes them live.' Daily Telegraph ‘Doris Lessing has changed the way we think about the world.’ Blake Morrison ‘Thank goodness for Doris Lessing. While the rest of us flounder about noisily in the muddy waters of life, she never fails to expose with startling clarity the essential folly of our dreams and good intentions.’ Kate Chisholm, Evening Standard ‘She’s up there in the pantheon with Balzac and George Eliot. We’re lucky she’s still writing.’ Lisa Appignanesi, Independent ‘She has an extraordinary feeling for the peculiar vulnerabilities of the young and the elderly. And her portraits of human relationships are of quite staggering beauty.’ Ruth Scurr, The Times
£10.44
Advantage Media Group Reflections of an Option Seller
Book SynopsisJames Cordier, a renowned figure in the commodity trading world, offers a captivating and honest account of his remarkable journey in Reflections of an Option Seller. From his humble beginnings in a small Wisconsin town to his rise as a prominent portfolio manager, Cordier''s story is one of resilience, determination, and the relentless pursuit of mastering the art of commodity trading.In this memoir, Cordier takes readers behind the scenes of his life and career, sharing invaluable insights and hard-won wisdom gained from nearly four decades of experience. He delves into the challenges and triumphs of building OptionSellers.com, one of the most innovative and respected firms in the industry, and candidly reveals the untold story of its downfall in 2018.Through his engaging storytelling and unique perspective, Cordier illuminates the complexities of commodity futures and options markets, providing a rare glimpse into the mind of a true market maverick. With a focus on adaptability and perseverance, he shares the valuable lessons learned from his experiences and how he is applying them to tackle the ever-changing landscape of today''s markets.Reflections of an Option Seller is a must-read for anyone seeking an inside look at the world of commodity trading, as well as those searching for inspiration to overcome obstacles and achieve success in their own endeavors.
£25.20
Pan Macmillan Never Mind
Book SynopsisEdward St Aubyn's superbly acclaimed Melrose novels are Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2006) and At Last. He is also the author of the novels A Clue to the Exit, On the Edge, Lost for Words and Dunbar.
£9.89
Penguin Books Ltd Fever Pitch. Nick Hornby
Book SynopsisThe Twentieth Anniversary Edition*WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR* Fever Pitch is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' IndependentFor many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself. But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life where the meaningful things - like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic - have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal.'Hornby has put his finger on truths that have been unspoken for generations' Irish TimesBrimming with wit and honesty, Fever Pitch, catches perfectly what it really means to be a football fan - and in doinTrade ReviewFunny, wise and true -- Roddy Doyle
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Essays
Book SynopsisEric Arthur Blair (1903-1950), better known by his pen-name, George Orwell, was born in India, where his father worked for the Civil Service. An author and journalist, Orwell was one of the most prominent and influential figures in twentieth-century literature. His unique political allegory Animal Farm was published in 1945, and it was this novel, together with the dystopia of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), which brought him world-wide fame. His novels and non-fiction include Burmese Days, Down and Out in Paris and London, The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia.Trade ReviewAnyone who wants to understand the twentieth century will still have to read Orwell -- Timothy Garton Ash, * New York Review of Books *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories
Book SynopsisThe ghost is the most enduring figure in supernatural fiction. He is absolutely indestructible. . . . He changes with the styles in fiction but he never goes out of fashion. He is the really permanent citizen of the earth, for mortals, at best, are but transients.—Dorothy Scarborough This new selection of ghost stories, by Michael Newton, brings together the best of the genre. From Elizabeth Gaskell''s The Old Nurse''s Story through to Edith Wharton''s Afterword, this collection covers all of the most terrifying tales of the genre. With a thoughtful introduction, and helpful notes, Newton places the stories contextually within the genre and elucidates the changing nature of the ghost story and how we interpret it.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Undressing Emmanuelle A memoir
Book SynopsisThe candid and heartbreakingly honest memoir of Sylvia Kristel, the cinema icon of the 1970s who played the lead role in the worldwide sensation erotic Emmanuelle films.Trade Review'Far from being seedy, this is an elegantly written book. The prose is simple, evocative and highly readable. I found myself wishing that our home-grown celebrities would write books full of ideas and feelings, not glossy magazine therapy-speak. A few of her highly stylised sentences tell far more about the whys and wherefores of exposure and fame than all the trash clogging the bestseller lists of late.' Belle de Jour, The Times 'This is a poignant, semi-intentionally hilarious autobiography. Her story is gripping.' Sunday Times 'A remarkable memoir. A series of impressionistic snapshots, delivered in austere, melancholic prose, it is quite unlike other show-biz memoirs and its candour is raw. Sylvia is a cult icon, she loosened our inhibitions. But the price was high.' Bridget Hourican The Gloss Magazine
£11.39
HarperCollins Publishers Slater N Kitchen Diaries II
Book SynopsisIncludes over 250 recipes, many from his BBC TV series Dish of the Day, Simple Suppers and Simple Cooking.From Nigel Slater, presenter of Dish of the Day and one of our best-loved food writers, a beautiful and inspiring companion volume to his bestselling Kitchen Diaries.For years now I have kept notebooks, with scribbled shopping lists and early drafts of recipes in them. These notes form the basis of this second volume of The Kitchen Diaries. More than a diary, this is a collection of small kitchen celebrations, be it a casual, beer-fuelled supper of warm flatbreads with pieces of grilled lamb scattered with toasted pine kernels and blood-red pomegranate seeds or a quiet moment contemplating a bowl of soup and a loaf of bread.'Trade Review'Nigel is a bloody genius' Jamie Oliver 'The greatest cookery writer of them all' Guardian ‘The best food writers combine beauty with practicality, and no one does it more elegantly than Nigel Slater’ Jane Shilling, Daily Mail – BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'The pick of the bunch…bubbling with ideas, suggestions, hints and personal opinions that genuinely help you to make your own mind up about how and what to cook' The Times 'He's a genius' Matthew Fort, Guardian ‘Slater remains the reigning champion, a writer incapable of uninspiring sentences' Daily Express ‘No one writes more temptingly about food' Independent
£27.00
Vintage Publishing Alive
Book SynopsisA profound and provocative journey through the human body from the award-winning writer, broadcaster and surgeon.''Exceptional, beautiful and absolutely absorbing'' CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN''A book of wonder'' SARAH MOSSWhat does it mean to live in a body? For Gabriel Weston, there was always something missing from the anatomy she was taught at medical school. Medicine teaches us how a body functions, but it doesn''t help us navigate the reality of living in one. As she became a surgeon, a mother, and ultimately a patient herself, Weston found herself grappling with the gap between scientific knowledge and unfathomable complexity of human experience.In this captivating exploration of the body, Weston dissolves the boundaries that usually divide surgeon and patient, pushing beyond the limit of what science has to tell us about who we are. Focusing on our individual organs, not just under the intense spotlight of the operating theatre, but in the central role they play in the stories of our lives, a fuller and more human picture of our bodies emerges: more fragile, frightening and miraculous than we could have imagined.Intimate, penetrating and original, Alive is an anatomy like no other, about our bodies and bonds, the richness and brevity of existence, and the thread of mortality that connect us all.
£14.24
HarperCollins Publishers Coleridge Darker Reflections
Book SynopsisTimely reissue of the second volume of Holmes's classic biographies of one of the greatest Romantic poets.Richard Holmes's biography of Coleridge transforms our view of the poet of Kubla Khan' forever. Holmes's Coleridge leaps out of these pages as the brilliant, animated and endlessly provoking poet of genius that he was.This second volume covers the last 30 years of Coleridge's career (1804-1834) during which he travelled restlessly through the Mediterranean, returned to his old haunts in the Lake District and the West Country, and finally settled in Highgate. It was a period of domestic and professional turmoil. His marriage broke up, his opium addiction increased, he quarrelled with Wordsworth, his own son Hartley Coleridge (a gifted poet himself) became an alcoholic. And after a desperate time of transition, Coleridge re-emerged on the literary scene as a new kind of philosophical and meditative author.Trade Review’One of the greatest biographies of the century. Pure joy to read, it is a shimmering portrait of the mature artist veering between brilliance and despair’ Financial Times ’This – and I can’t remember ever thinking this before so strongly – is a biography to grow old with’ Independent
£16.19
Quercus Publishing The Novel Life of Jane Austen
Book SynopsisA graphic memoir exploring the life of Jane Austen, written by renowned Austen expert Professor Janine Barchas and bestselling graphic novelist Isabel Greenberg.
£18.00
HarperCollins Publishers Live and Learn
Book SynopsisThis comprehensive edition brings together for the first time three seminal collections by legendary essayist and journalist Joan Didion: Slouching toward Bethlehem, White Album and Sentimental Journeys. Prefaced with a new introduction by Joan Didion.Live and Learn comprises three of the personal essay collections that established Joan Didion as a major figure in the modern canon arranged in chronological order so that readers can appreciate not only the qualities of the essays per se, but also their evolution over time. It also includes a new introduction by Joan Didion herself.The stylistic masterpiece Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968) has become a modern classic, capturing the mood of 1960s America and especially the center of its counterculture, California. The cornerstone essay, an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, sets the agenda for the rest of this book depicting and America where, in some way or another, things are falling apart and the center cannot Trade Review'In her portraits of people, Didion is not out to expose but to understand ... A rich display of some of the best prose written today in this country' The New York Times Book Review 'All of the essays manifest not only [Didion's] intelligence but an instinct for details that continue to emit pulsations in the reader's memory and a style that is spare, subtly musical in its phrasing and exact ... the result is a voice like no other in contemporary journalism' Robert Towers, New York Times Book Review 'Didion manges to make the sorry stuff of troubled times (bike movies, for instance) as interesting and suggestive as the monuments that win her dazzled admiration (Georgia O'Keeffe, the Hoover Dam, the mountains around Bogota) ... A timely and elegant collection' New Yorker 'Didion is an original journalistic talent who can strike at the heart, or the absurdity, of a matter in our contemporary wasteland with quick, graceful strokes' San Francisco Chronicle
£16.19
Penguin Books Ltd Smile Please
Book SynopsisA brilliant companion piece to Wide Sargasso Sea, this is Jean Rhys''s beautifully written, bitter-sweet autobiography, covering her chequered early years in Dominica, England and Paris.Jean Rhys wrote this autobiography in her old age, now the celebrated author of Wide Sargasso Sea but still haunted by memories of her troubled past: her precarious jobs on chorus lines and relationships with unsuitable men, her enduring sense of isolation and her decision at last to become a writer. From the early days on Dominica to the bleak time in England, living in bedsits on gin and little else, to Paris with her first husband, this is a lasting memorial to a unique artist.Includes an introduction by Diana Athill.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Paula
Book SynopsisIn December 1991, Allende's daughter Paula, aged 26, fell gravely ill and sank into a coma. This book started as a letter to Paula written during the hours spent at her bedside, and became a personal memoir and a testament to the ties that bind families a brave, enlightening, inspiring true story.This book was written during the interminable hours the novelist Isabel Allende spent in the corridors of a Madrid hospital, in her hotel room and beside her daughter Paula''s bed during the summer and autumn of 1992. Faced with the loss of her child, Isabel Allende turned to storytelling, to sustain her own spirit and to convey to her daughter the will to wake up, to survive. The story she tells is that of her own life, her family history and the tragedy of her nation, Chile, in the years leading up to Pinochet''s brutal military coup.Trade Review'Allende's best work to date…she has everything it takes: the ear, the eye, the mind, the heart, the all-encompassing humanity.' New York Times 'Allende's writing is so vivid we smell the countryside, hear the sounds, see the bright birds, smell and even taste the soft fruit. Moving through Paula's last days, we enter that world, and share it, gladly, sadly, gratefully, and ultimately changed by the very reading of it.' Julia Neuberger, The Times 'This is a tender, moving and vivid record of a mother's agony at the bedside of her daughter. “Paula” begins as a long letter as a way of giving her back the life that is ebbing away…the result is a mesmerizing story. In flawlessly rich prose Allende shares with us her most intimate feelings…an emotionally charged, spellbinding memoir.' Washington Post 'Allende brings the natural storytelling power so evident in her novels to this courageous testament. She shares her personal tragedy with a warmth and passion that make “Paula” exceptional.' Sunday Express
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Redcoat The British Soldier in the Age of Horse
Book SynopsisMagnificent history of the common British soldier from 1700 to 1900 by one of Britain's best-known and accomplished military writers and broadcasters. Red Coat is non-fiction Sharpe, filled with anecdote and humour as well as historical analysis.Redcoat is a wonderful book. It is not just a work of history but one of enthusiasm and unparalleled knowledge.'' BERNARD CORNWELLRedcoat is the story of the British soldier from c.1760 until c.1860 surely one of the most enduring and magnetic subjects of the British past. Solidly based on the letters and diaries of the men who served and the women who followed them, the book is rich in the history of the period. It charts Wolfe''s victory and death at Quebec, the American War of Independence, the Duke of York''s campaign in Flanders, Wellington''s Peninsular War, Waterloo,the retreat from Kabul, the Sikh wars in 1845-9, the Crimean war and the Indian Mutiny.The focus of Redcoat, however, is the individual recollection and experience of the oTrade Review'I have never met Richard Holmes, but I am deeply jealous of him for Redcoat opens with the re-enactment of a Napoleonic battle that I wish I had written myself… The redcoat and his family were never appreciated, but Richard Holmes has written them a marvellous memorial. Redcoat is a wonderful book, full of anecdote and good sense. Anyone who has enjoyed a Sharpe story will love it, anyone who likes history will want to own it and anyone who cherishes good writing will read it with pleasure.' BERNARD CORNWELL, Daily Mail
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Twopence to Cross the Mersey
Book SynopsisThe poignant account of a poverty-stricken childhood in Liverpool during the 1930s, and the brilliant first volume of autobiography. A bestseller ever since it was published in February 1993. One of the most harrowing but uplifting books you will ever read.Anyone who has enjoyed the Frank McCourt books is going to be equally moved by this magnificent testimony to a little girl's courage.When Helen Forrester's father went bankrupt in 1930 she and her six siblings were forced from comfortable middle-class life in southern England to utmost poverty in the Depression-ridden North. The running of the household, in slum surroundings and with little food, and the care of the younger children all fell on twelve-year-old Helen. She writes about her experiences without self-pity but rather with a rich sense of humour which makes her account of these grim days heartwarmingly funny as well as shockingly moving.Trade Review‘It was the biography that I would have written if my parents had not been given benefits, if they’d had to rely on parish hand outs … [I] want to press this book into your hands and go, “You must read this”.’ Caitlin Moran ‘Remarkable that from so bleak and unloving a background came a writer of such affectionate understanding and unsettling honesty’ Sunday Telegraph ‘What makes this writer’s self-told tale so memorable?… An absolute recall, a genius for the unforgettable detail, the rare chance of subject’The Good Book Guide 'Should be long and widely read as an extraordinary human story and social document' Observer
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie
Book SynopsisA comprehensive and authorised biographical companion to the works of Agatha Christie covering books, films, TV and plays revised and updated edition.Agatha Christie was the author of over 100 plays, short story collections and novels which have been translated into 103 languages; she is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Many have tried to copy her but none has succeeded. Attempts to capture her personality on paper, to discover her motivations or the reasons for her popularity, have usually failed. Charles Osborne, a lifelong student of Agatha Christie, has approached this most private of persons above all through her books, and the result is a fascinating companion to her life and work.This professional life' of Agatha Christie provides authoritative information on each book's provenance, on the work itself and on its contemporary critical reception set against the background of the major events in the author's life. Illustrated with many rare photographs, this comprehensivTrade Review‘Charles Osborne deserves a medal – his own writing slips down a treat, and I was surprised to find (this book) a pleasure’– Sunday Telegraph ‘A delightful bedside companion’– The Tablet
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Black Beech and Honeydew
Book SynopsisThe new series of Ngaio Marsh editions concludes with a new edition of her autobiography.What sort of person was Ngaio Marsh, whose detective novels made her name known throughout the world? With all the insight and sense of style her readers have come to expect of her, her autobiography reveals the influences and environment that have shaped her personality.Widely acclaimed when first published in 1965, Black Beech and Honeydew is a sensitive account of Ngaio Marsh's childhood and adolescence in Christchurch and the establishment of her theatre and writing careers both there and in the UK. It captures all the joys, fears and hopes of a spirited young woman growing up and transmits an artist's gradual awareness of the special flavour of life in New Zealand and the individual character of its landscape.Fully revised and updated in 1981, this new edition is reissued 21 years later as a commemoration of Ngaio Marsh's life and work. It is a sanguine, poised, unpretentious, thoughtful and oTrade Review‘Still, quite simply, the greatest exponent of the classical English detective story.’Daily Telegraph
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd The Three Emperors
Book SynopsisDiscover the juicy, funny story of the three dysfunctional rulers of Germany, Russia and Great Britain at the turn of the last century, combined with a study of the larger forces around them.Three cousins. Three Emperors. And the road to ruin.As cousins, George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the last Tsar Nicholas II should have been friends - but they happened also to rule Europe''s three most powerful states. This potent combination together with their own destructive personalities - petty, insecure, bullying, absurdly obsessive (stamp collecting, uniforms) - led not only to their own dramatic fallouts and falls from grace, but also to the outbreak of the First World War.Miranda Carter''s riveting account of how three men who should have known better helped bring down an entire world is a gripping story of abdication, betrayal and murder.''Fascinating. A wonderfully fresh and beautifully choreographed work of history'' Mail on Sunday''Miranda Carter''s story is full of vivid quotations . . . a romp though the palaces of Europe in their last decades before Armageddon'' Sunday Times''Fascinating. Carter is a gifted storyteller and has written a very readable account'' Independent''That these three absurd men could ever have held the fate of Europe in their hands is a fact as hilarious as it is terrifying. I haven''t enjoyed a historical biography this much since Lytton Strachey''s Victoria'' Zadie SmithTrade ReviewFascinating. A wonderfully fresh and beautifully choreographed work of history -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *Carter draws masterful portraits of her subjects and tells the complicated story of Europe's failing international relations well...a highly readable and well-documented account * Spectator *Absorbing. Carter has a good eye for a quote and an ability to bring various personalities to life. A convincing and considerable achievement -- Sarah Bradford * Literary Review *Carter's account of how an already dysfunctional family turned toxic is fresh and enjoyable...timely and welcome * Guardian *Miranda Carter's story is full of vivid quotations...a romp though the palaces of Europe in their last decades before Armageddon * Sunday Times *Well-paced, a thoroughly polished, professional piece of work. A macabre family saga -- A. N. Wilson * Evening Standard *An entertaining study of power and personality portrays the strutting absurdity and grotesque glamour of the last emperors on the eve of catastrophe -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * Financial Times *Fascinating. Carter is a gifted storyteller and has written a very readable account * Independent *Carter's intelligent, entertainging and informative book folds dynastic and political narratives into a panoramic account of Europe's road to war * London Review of Books *That these three absurd men could ever have held the fate of Europe in their hands is a fact as hilarious as it is terrifying. I haven't enjoyed a historical biography this much since Lytton Strachey's Victoria -- Zadie SmithMiranda Carter writes with lusty humour, has a fresh clarifying intelligence, and a sharp eye for telling details. This is traditional narrative history with a 21st-century zing. A real corker of a book * History Today *A highly original way of looking at the years that led up to 1914 -- Antonia Fraser * Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year *Carter deftly interpolates history with psychobiography to provide a damning indictment of monarchy in all its forms -- Will Self * New Statesmen Books of the Year *A depiction of bloated power and outsize personalities in which Carter picks apart the strutting absurdity of the last emperors on the eve of catastrophe * Financial Times Books of the Year *Takes what should have been a daunting subject and through sheer wit and narrative élan turns it into engaging drama. Carter has a notable gift for characterisation -- Jonathan Coe * Guardian Books of the Year *
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Gerald Durrell Authorised Biography The
Book SynopsisThe authorised biography of the great naturalist and conservationist Gerald Durrell, who died aged seventy in January 1995 in Jersey, where he founded the zoo he'd dreamed of as a small boy and pioneered the captive breeding of animals for conservation.Gerald Durrell was a world-famous naturalist and popular author who wrote, in all, some thirty-seven immensely readable yarns, including the bestselling My Family and Other Animals'. His other books include Birds, Beasts and Relatives', The Bafut Beagles' and A Zoo in My Luggage'.Above all, he paved the way in print for the popular presentation of the natural world on television and presented twelve series himself the early ones, of his own expeditions. Sir David Attenborough has said: He was responsible for changing people's attitudes to zoology and changing their agenda. He showed them small animals could be as interesting as apes and elephantsHe was a pioneer with a marvellous sense of humour.'His brother was the famous writer Lawren
£17.09
