Biography

Potter, writer, teacher, editor, curator and gay rights activist, Emmanuel Cooper was a unique figure in the cultural landscape of this country for almost half a century. When he died in 2012 he left behind not only an extraordinary body of work, but also an archive that illuminated both his own life and career and that of the many other makers, artists and activists who had been his friends, colleagues or the subject of his writing. This book is based almost exclusively on that archive. Using his unpublished memoirs, diaries, and correspondence, Making Emmanuel Cooper illuminates the journey of an intelligent, if unconfident, working class boy growing up in a small north Derbyshire mining village whose life was transformed, firstly at school, by the magic of clay, and then in adult life by the liberation politics of the late 1960s. The book includes a fascinating account of Emmanuel's career as a potter as well as his thoughts on a range of issues from the art versus craft debate through to gay marriage and monogamy, as well his passion for folk art, insights into his work at the Royal College of Art and his editorship of the internationally acclaimed Ceramic Review magazine. Making Emmanuel Cooper also charts his involvement in the gay liberation movement, his journalism for the Morning Star and his part in the creation of the hugely influential Gay Left collective. He was the art critic for the original Gay News and his groundbreaking books on aspects of queer art and culture - including the pioneering The Sexual Perspective - examined issues around sexuality and the visual arts that pre-date the Tate Gallery's recent Queer Art in Britain show by some thirty years. Richly illustrated, Making Emmanuel Cooper is both a personal and a social history that celebrates the life and times of an important artist and remarkable man.

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Brave Enough Not to Quit is the extraordinary and moving story of Millie Farrow, a footballer who has battled major injuries and mental-health problems in pursuit of her career. Millie dreamt of being a footballer from a young age and signed her first professional contract at 19. She has played for top clubs in England and America, but the road to realising her girlhood dream has not been a smooth one. Four major injuries in her teens and early 20s threatened to derail her career, alongside her battles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety. But Millie was brave enough not to quit. She remains determined to succeed and wants to use her experiences to help others overcome their own setbacks. In Brave Enough Not to Quit, Millie speaks from the heart about her mental-health issues and injuries, while her friends, England stars Fran Kirby and Emile Heskey, share their experiences in highly personal interviews with Millie. This is an inspirational story of fighting back from rock bottom and finding strength in adversity.

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After her adoptive mother’s death, Lori Jakiela, at the age of forty, begins to seek the identity of her birth parents. In the midst of this loss, Jakiela also finds herself with a need to uncover her family’s medical history to gather answers for her daughter’s newly revealed medical ailments. This memoir brings together these parallel searches while chronicling intergenerational questions of family. Through her work, Jakiela examines both the lives we are born with and the lives we create for ourselves. Desires for emotional resolution comingle with concerns of medical inheritance and loss in this honest, humorous, and heartbreaking memoir.

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A definitive look at the life of legendary filmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky and his many wild creative ventures throughout his 90 years on earth.A journey through Jodo’s personal life, his life in the theater, his rebirth as a 70s cinematic cult figure and and, of course, tales of his work on Dune, his unfinished cinematic masterpiece. No biography would be complete without an in-depth look into his life the world of comics, his collaborations with Mœbius, his passion for poetry, Tarot, Esoterism, spirituality, Mythical Cabarets, and the overall Jodo philosophy.

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Born in Winnipeg to Icelandic immigrants in 1890, Laura Goodman Salverson embarked on a life marked by contradiction and cultural exchange. Her 1939 memoir braids the strands of her parents’ intellectual life in Iceland with a hardscrabble existence on the Prairies at the turn of the century, all against a backdrop of European settlement in post-Riel Manitoba and in colourful, self-assured prose. Leaving behind economic hardship, a difficult climate, and the threat of volcanoes, Lars Gudman was in search of stability for his family, but he was also ensnared by wanderlust. Travelling onward to Minnesota, the Dakotas, Selkirk, Duluth, and the Mississippi Valley, Salverson and her parents returned time and again to the Icelandic enclave in Winnipeg, a community struggling to adjust to life in Canada. In Confessions of an Immigrant’s Daughter Salverson makes real the political and cultural history of the twentieth-century North American west, even as she draws the reader into the inner life of a young girl growing up “hopelessly Icelandic” and finding refuge from discrimination and ostracism in the world of books. With a new introduction by Carl Watts situating the memoir and its prolific author in the literary canon, and reproducing Salverson’s original preface for the first time, Confessions of an Immigrant’s Daughter remains both a Canadian classic and an important social history of the experiences of women and immigrants at the turn of the twentieth century.

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THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*************************************'Witty, dark, devastating' Caitlin Moran'Unflinching, unputdownable' Guardian'Brutally honest, funny, emotionally raw' Matt Haig'I love it' Jon Ronson*************************************So, this is me. Lily Allen.I am a mother, and I was a wife. I'm also a singer and a songwriter. I have loved and been let down. I've been stalked and assaulted. I am a success and a failure. I've been broken and full of hope. I am all these things and more.I'm telling my truth because when women share their stories, loudly and clearly and honestly, things begin to change - for the better.So, this is my story. These are my thoughts exactly.**Includes an exclusive new chapter**

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‘I adored this book. It’s so Geena and so inspiring and such a wonderful read’ Emma Thompson A Times Film and Theatre Book of the Year 2022 From two-time Academy Award winner and screen icon Geena Davis, Dying of Politeness is the candid, surprising tale of her journey from her epically polite childhood to the roles that put her in the spotlight and gave her the strength to become a powerhouse in Hollywood. At three years old, Geena announced she was going to be in movies. Now, with a slew of iconic roles and awards under her belt, she has surpassed her childhood dream, but her journey has been one of fits and starts, with a pothole or two along the way. In this hilarious memoir, Geena regales us with tales of a career playing everything from an amnesiac assassin to the parent of a rodent in Stuart Little; a soap star in her underwear to a housewife turned road warrior in Thelma & Louise; a baseball phenomenon in A League of Their Own to the first female President of the United States in Commander in Chief, and more. She is frank about her eccentric childhood; her many relationships, including her spontaneous Las Vegas wedding to Jeff Goldblum; her archery exploits which led her to the Olympic trials; and how she became a tireless advocate for women and girls, founding her own institute which engages film and TV creators to better represent women and actors from diverse backgrounds. Dying of Politeness is a touching account of one woman’s journey to fight for herself, and ultimately fighting for women all around the globe.

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'A delight . . . a glorious, witty and life-affirming ragbag of autobiography, cultural commentary and hard-won wisdom.' ANDREW TAYLOR, author of The Shadows of London'Perceptive, wise and illuminating . . . an unmissable farewell.' Barry Forshaw, FINANCIAL TIMES'The most hilarious, life-affirming book you’ll read this year.' SAGA magazine'Wit and wisdom that make every page turn . . . what a fine talent the world has lost.' STARBURSTThis is the memoir Christopher Fowler always wanted to write about 'writing'.It's the story of how a young bookworm growing up in a house where there was nothing to read but knitting pamphlets and motorcycle manuals became a writer - a 'word monkey' - and pursued a sort of career in popular fiction. And it's a book full of brilliant insights into the pleasures and pitfalls of his profession, dos and don'ts for would-be writers, and astute observations on favourite (and not-so-favourite) novelists.But woven into this hugely entertaining and inspiring reflection on a literary life is an altogether darker thread. In Spring 2020, just as the world went into lockdown, Chris was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And yet there is nothing of the misery memoir about Word Monkey. Past and present intermingle as, in prose as light as air, he relates with wry humour and remarkable honesty what he knows will be the final chapter in his story.Deeply moving, insightful and surprisingly funny, this is Christopher Fowler's life-affirming account of coming to terms with his own mortality.'A remarkable book by a remarkable writer: amazingly entertaining and informative and also, for obvious reasons, one of the most moving.' SIMON MASON, author of the DI Wilkins Mysteries'Wonderful . . . there is no bitterness here, but a hearty celebration of how art defines a life, with dark humour on the right occasions and the deliberate aim to leave a positive message . . . his enthusiasm is infectious and sobering when you are aware that he was dying as he wrote these pages.' Maxim Jacubowski, CRIME TIME

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‘The definitive biography’ Roy StrongThe remarkable story of Bess of Hardwick, her ascent through Elizabethan society and the houses she built that shaped British architectural history.Born in 1521, Bess of Hardwick, businesswoman, money-lender and property tycoon, lived an astonishing eighty-seven years. Through canny choices, four husbands and a will of steel she rose from country squire’s daughter to Dowager Countess, establishing herself as one of the richest and most powerful women in England, second only to Queen Elizabeth.Bess forged her way not merely by judicious marriage, but by shrewd exploitation of whatever assets each marriage brought. Wealth took concrete form in her passion for building and she oversaw every stage of the construction of her four houses including Hardwick New Hall, her sole surviving building, which stands as a celebration of one woman’s triumphant progress through Elizabethan England.‘A dynamic portrait of Bess's life...’ BBC History Magazine

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The British comedian of Nigerian heritage and co-executive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break into Hollywood in this lively and humorous memoir. According to family superstition, Gina Yashere was born to fulfil the dreams of her grandmother Patience. The powerful first wife of a wealthy businessman, Patience was poisoned by her jealous sister-wives and marked with a spot on her neck. From birth, Gina carried a similar birthmark – a sign that she was her grandmother’s chosen heir, and would fulfil Patience’s dreams. Gina would learn to speak perfect English, live unfettered by men or children, work a man’s job, and travel the world with a free spirit. Is she the reincarnation of her grandmother? Maybe. Gina isn’t ruling anything out. In Cack-Handed, she recalls her intergenerational journey to success foretold by her grandmother and fulfilled thousands of miles from home. This hilarious memoir tells the story of how from growing up as a child of Nigerian immigrants in working class London, running from skinheads, and her overprotective mum, Gina went on to become the first female engineer with the UK branch of Otis, the largest elevator company in the world, where she went through a baptism of fire from her racist and sexist co-workers. Not believing her life was difficult enough, she later left engineering to become a stand up comic, appearing on numerous television shows and becoming one of the top comedians in the UK, before giving it all up to move to the US, a dream she’d had since she was six years old, watching American kids on television, riding cool bicycles, and solving crimes. A collection of eccentric, addictive, and uproarious stories that combine family, race, gender, class, and country, Cack-Handed reveals how Gina’s unconventional upbringing became the foundation of her successful career as an international comedian.

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'A magnificent achievement.' Peter Carey, author of Oscar and Lucinda The story of a fifty-year relationship between a Vietnam veteran and a remote Aboriginal tribe: a miniature epic of human adaptation, suffering and resilience.The Passion of Private White describes the meeting of two worlds: the world of the fiercely driven biologist and anthropologist Neville White, and the world of the hunter-gatherer clans of remote northern Australia he studied and lived with. As White tried to understand the world as it was understood on the other side of the vast cultural divide, he was also trying to transcend the mental scars he suffered on the battlefields of Vietnam. The clans had their own injuries to deal with, as they tried to adapt to modernity, live down their losses and yet hold onto their ancient lands, customs, laws and language. Over five decades, White mapped in astonishing detail the culture and history of the Yolgnu clans at Donydji in north-east Arnhem Land. But eventually presence meant involvement, and White became advocate more than anthropologist in the clan’s struggle to survive when everything – from the ambitions of mining companies and a zombie bureaucracy, to feuds, sorcery and magic, despair and dysfunction – conspired to destroy them. And the fifty-year endeavour served another purpose for White and the members of his old platoon he took there. Working to help the community at Donydji became a kind of antidote for the psychic wounds of Vietnam. While for the clans, from the old warriors to the children, their fanatical benefactor offered a few rays of meaning and hope. There was no cure in this meeting of two worlds, both suffering their own form of PTSD, but they helped each other survive. This is a miniature epic of human adaptation, suffering and resilience, an astonishing window into both our recent and our deep history, the coloniser and colonised – indeed into the human condition itself.

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'A gripping and beautiful book about the power of love in the face of unimaginable loss'Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild'Extraordinary . . . both heartbreaking and life-affirming . . . you will find your heart magically expanded'Mail on Sunday'Unimaginably poetic . . . I learned a lot reading this book and have passed it on to others'Jessie Cave, Red Magazine'Greene's account of his loss is remarkably uplifting. It's hard-won proof that love can survive our worst fears and our darkest, most desperate emotions'Daily Mail'This minutely observed memoir will surely be helpful to people whose world changes in an instant . . . a hopeful book in many ways'The Times'Wonderful writing, brave, unbearably sad'Adam KayTwo-year-old Greta Greene is sitting chatting with her grandmother on a park bench in New York when a brick crumbles from a windowsill overhead and strikes her unconscious. As she is rushed to hospital in the hours before her death Once More We Stars leads us into the unimaginable.Her father Jayson and mother Stacy begin a painful journey that is as much about hope and healing as it is grief and loss. Even in the midst of his ordeal, Jayson recognises that there will be a life for him beyond it - if he can only continue moving forward, from one moment to the next, he will survive what seems un-survivable. With raw honesty, deep emotion, and exquisite tenderness, he captures the fragility of life and the absoluteness of death, and most important of all, the unconquerable power of love. This is an unforgettable memoir of courage and transformation - and a book that will change the way you look at the world.

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'A fast-moving, entertaining and finely written story' Simon Schama'Masterly ... a remarkable portrait of a brilliant complex and tragic genius' William Dalrymple, Los Angeles TimesGeorge Nathaniel Curzon's controversial life in public service stretched from the high noon of the British Empire to the traumatized years following the First World War. As Viceroy of India under Queen Victoria and Foreign Secretary under George V, the obsessive Lord Curzon left his unmistakable mark on the era. David Gilmour's lucid and elegant biography is a brilliant assessment of Curzon's character and achievements, offering a rich and dramatic account of the infamous vendettas, the turbulent friendships, and the passionate, reckless love affairs that complicated and enriched his life.'A magnificent work ... entirely convincing in its evocation of Curzon's extraordinary character ... It is, in short, the definitive life' David Cannadine, Observer'Exemplary biography ... meticulously researched and elegantly written' C.A.Bayly, The Times Literary Supplement'A superb new biography ... a tragic story, brilliantly told' Andrew Roberts, Literary Review'An absorbing, witty and intelligent biography ... David Gilmour's mix of erudition, hard analysis and quizzical amusement will give this volume a unique place on the ever more crowded shelves of political biography' Ben Pimlott, Independent on Sunday

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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFormer Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper reveals the shocking details of his tumultuous tenure while serving in the Trump administration.A graduate of West Point, Mark Esper has always lived by the principles of Duty, Honor, and Country. For eighteen months while he served as secretary of defense under President Donald Trump, those ideals were put to the test.From June of 2019 until his firing by President Trump after the November 2020 election, Secretary Mark T. Esper led the Department of Defense through an unprecedented time in history. Esper takes readers behind the scenes during dramatic moments in the Trump administration involving several foreign nations and as he worked to shore up the United States’ shaky relationships with its allies—all while facing a global pandemic that threatened America’s military readiness, a nationwide unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd, and a White House determined to politicize the armed forces.Unvarnished and extraordinary in its candor, A Sacred Oath is a memoir critical to understanding the Trump administration during this tumultuous period in American history.

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Although his hilariously entertaining stories have touched the hearts of generations of children, there was much more to beloved author Roald Dahl than met the eye. His fascinating life began in Norway in 1916, and he became a highly rebellious teenager who delighted in defying authority before joining the RAF as a fighter pilot. But after his plane crashed in the African desert he was left with agonising injuries and unable to fly. He was dispatched to New York where, as a dashing young air attache, he enraptured societies greatest beauties and became friends with President Roosevelt. Roald soon found himself entangled with a highly complex network of British undercover operations. Eventually he grew tired of the secrecy of spying and retreated to the English countryside. He married twice and had five children, but his life was also affected by serious illness, tragedy and loss. He wrote a number of stories for adults, many of which were televised as the hugely popular Tales of the Unexpected, but it was as a children's author that he found greatest fame and satisfaction, saying I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers Books shouldn't be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful. From 1945 until his death in 1990, he lived in Buckinghamshire, where he wrote his most celebrated children's books including _Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and _Fantastic Mr Fox. _

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This Man Saved Britain' ran a headline in the News Chronicle on 18 February 1941, in a reference to the role of Sydney Camm, designer of the Hawker Hurricane, during the Battle of Britain. Similarly, the Minister of Economic Warfare, Lord Selborne, advised Winston Churchill that to Camm England owed a great deal'. Twenty-five years later, following his death in 1966, obituaries in the Sunday Express and Sunday Times, among other tributes, referred to Hurricane Designer' or Hurricane Maker', implying that this machine represented the pinnacle of Camm's professional achievement. Sir Thomas Sopwith, the respected aircraft designer and Hawker aircraft company founder, believed that Camm deserved much wider recognition, being undoubtedly the greatest designer of fighter aircraft the world has ever known.' Born in 1893, the eldest of twelve children, Camm was raised in a small, terraced house. Despite lacking the advantages of a financially-secure upbringing and formal technical education after leaving school at 14, Camm would go on to become one of the most important people in the story of Britain's aviation history. Sydney Camm's work on the Hurricane was far from the only pinnacle in his remarkable career in aircraft design and engineering - a career that stretched from the biplanes of the 1920s to the jet fighters of the Cold War. Indeed, over fifty years after his death, the revolutionary Hawker Siddeley Harrier in which Camm played such a prominent figure, following a stellar performance in the Falkland Island crisis', still remains in service with the American armed forces. It is perhaps unsurprising therefore, as the author reveals in this detailed biography, that Camm would be knighted in his own country, receive formal honours in France and the United States, and be inducted into the International Hall of Fame in San Diego.

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Obsessive was, still is, my natural state, and I never wondered why. I didn't mind, didn't know that other people could feel at peace. I always felt like a raw nerve, but then, I thought that everyone did. Writer and journalist Marianne Eloise was born obsessive. What that means changes day to day, depending on what her brain latches onto: fixations with certain topics, intrusive violent thoughts, looping phrases. Some obsessions have lasted a lifetime, while others will be intense but only last a week or two. Obsessive, Intrusive, Magical Thinking is the culmination of a life spend obsessing, offering a glimpse into Marianne's brain, but also an insight into the lives of others like her. From death to Medusa, to Disneyland to fire, to LA to her dog, the essays explore the intersection of neurodivergence, fixation and disorder, telling the story of one life underpinned and ultimately made whole by obsession. AUTHOR: Marianne Eloise is a writer and journalist. She covers topics like TV, film, digital culture, neurodiversity, wellness and alternative music, for outlets including The Cut, the New York Times, Courier, Vulture, i-D, Guardian and more.

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A TELEGRAPH BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 ‘A highly imaginative and thought-provoking way of exploring the personality of a man who, like him or loathe him, left an indelible mark on our age’ ADAM ZAMOYSKI Winston Churchill followed his own star. He yearned to be ‘great’, to gain historical immortality. And he did so through deeds and words: his actions as a soldier and politician, gilded by his writings as a journalist and historian. But Churchill’s path to greatness was also defined by the leaders he encountered along the way – friends and foes, at home and abroad. Men of power such as Hitler and Mussolini, Roosevelt and Stalin, David Lloyd George, Neville Chamberlain and Charles de Gaulle. And the haunting presence of the adored father who had seen nothing of merit in his troublesome son. In these men Churchill discerned greatness, or its absence, in ways that influenced his own career. This book includes some whom Churchill would not have deemed ‘great’, but who – in our own day – offer alternative mirrors of what that word might mean. Mahatma Gandhi, who infuriated Churchill by exploiting the power of powerlessness. Clement Attlee, whose heretical vision of ‘Great Britain’ was socialist and post-imperial. And his darling Clementine, channelling her ‘pinko’ sentiments to become Winston’s essential helpmate and most devoted critic. Mirrors of Greatness offers vivid new perspectives on Churchill’s life and work, showing how this unique man – with dazzling gifts and jagged flaws – learned from his ‘great contemporaries’ and what they saw in him.

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NOMINATED FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR, SPORTS BOOK AWARDSMichael Carrick was the heartbeat of Manchester United. For more than a decade he was the player that made them tick. In his book, he reveals how to win relentlessly while playing under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, invites us to experience the camaraderie and clashes inside the United dressing room, and lets us feels what it's like to walk out on the Old Trafford pitch alongside some of the biggest names in the game - from Ronaldo to Scholes to Giggs, Rooney and the rest.In his seventeen-year professional career, Michael has won twelve major trophies at United, winning the Premier League five times, as well as three League Cups, the FA Cup, the Europa League, the Club World Cup and the Champions League.In Between the Lines, Michael honestly reveals for the first time his battles with mental health, growing up in the north-east, his struggles with the national side, as well as the redemption he has found with his family and his team.*All of Michael Carrick's proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Michael Carrick Foundation, dedicated to providing financial support to community services that will give underprivileged children living in the North and North East better opportunities so that they feel safe, valued and inspired.*

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The Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio – Stendhal’s first published work – owes its inspiration to the audacious pragmatism of its author. After the collapse of the Napoleonic empire, Henri Beyle was jobless, soon destined to become a refugee and in desperate need of money. His most abiding passion in life was music, so why not write about it? Unfortunately, however, he knew next to nothing about it. So, calmly and without the slightest pang of conscience, he resolved to plunder the works of other writers – in particular those of the musicologist Giuseppe Carpani, who was annoyed and said so vociferously. The result of Stendhal’s unscrupulous plagiarism is one of the most fascinating literary enigmas of all time. How is it that what started as a blatant act of piracy evolved into a work of enduring value? Despite its unpropitious beginnings, this work represents the wrong-headedness of a genius – and the singular Louis-Alexandre-César Bombet who signed the Lives was already, in everything that mattered, the man who was to be Stendhal, one of the most prominent literary figures of the nineteenth century.

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Redemption: From Iron Bars to Ironman is the fascinating, frightening and inspirational autobiography of former career criminal, now world-record holder and endurance athlete John McAvoy. Born into a notorious London crime family, his uncle Micky was one of the key players in the legendary Brinks-Mat gold bullion caper. John bought his first gun at 16 and carved out a lucrative career in armed robbery. At one point he was one of Britain's most-wanted men. It took two spells in prison and the death of a friend on a botched heist to change his path. During his second stint in jail he discovered a miraculous natural talent while serving life in the Belmarsh high security unit - where fellow inmates included Abu Hamza, the hook-handed extremist cleric, and the 7/7 bombers. John broke three world rowing records while still an inmate and since his release has become one of the UK's leading Ironman competitors. Redemption is the ultimate story of sporting salvation.

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'On the bookshelves, there was plenty of stuff on being gay, and much needed, joyous accounts of what it is to be trans, but nothing really that encapsulates what is it to be both - to exist in the hazy terrain between.'After his relationship with his girlfriend of 5 years ended, Harry realised he was a single adult for the first time - not only that, but a single, transmasculine and newly out gay man.Despite knowing it was the right decision, the reality of his new situation was terrifying. How could he be a gay man, when he was still learning what it was to be a man? Would the gay community embrace him or reject him? What would gay sex be like? And most importantly, would finding love again be possible?In this raw, intimate and unflinchingly honest book, we follow Harry as he navigates the sometimes fraught and contradictory worlds of contemporary gay culture as a trans gay man, from Grindr, dating and gay bars, to saunas, sex and ultimately, falling in love. Harry's brave and uplifting journey will show you there is joy in finding who you are.

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'One of the great love stories of history, in a league with Napoleon and Josephine, and Antony and Cleopatra ... Excellent, with dazzling mastery of detail and literary flair' EconomistIt was history's most successful political partnership - as sensual and fiery as it was creative and visionary. Catherine the Great was a woman of notorious passion and imperial ambition. Prince Potemkin - wildly flamboyant and sublimely talented - was the love of her life and her co-ruler.Together they seized Ukraine and Crimea, defining the Russian empire to this day. Their affair was so tumultuous that they negotiated an arrangement to share power, leaving Potemkin free to love his beautiful nieces, and Catherine her young male favourites. But these 'twin souls' never stopped loving each other.Drawing on their intimate letters and vast research, Simon Sebag Montefiore's enthralling, widely acclaimed biography restores these imperial partners to their rightful place as titans of their age.

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A sumptuous celebration of the life of His Majesty King Charles III, published to coincide with the festivities, traditions and pageantry of his Coronation in May 2023. On 8th September 2022, His Majesty King Charles III, formerly The Prince of Wales, ascended to the throne. As Britain, the Commonwealth and people across the world eagerly await the Coronation of the new monarch, this fascinating account tells the story of the boy born to be King. Follow his journey, from schoolboy and eligible young bachelor to his time in the armed forces, and from the birth of his sons, William and Harry, to his more recent role as grandfather. This captivating chronicle describes his accession to the throne – lived out in the public eye following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II – and recounts his interest in sport, his royal homes and his life with his wife Camilla, who will be crowned alongside him as Queen Consort. Alongside his dedication to his work as a senior member of the Royal Family, the book explores not only his official and ceremonial duties, both in the United Kingdom and overseas, but also the patronages and passions that he has long held so so dear. Giving a taste of the tradition and pageantry to be expected from the spectacular Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, this guide reflects on his previous role as Prince of Wales and looks towards the future in his role as King, giving an insight into the man behind the throne.

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Andersen comes a vivid and unsparing yet sympathetic portrait of one of the most complex and enigmatic figures of our time: Charles, who has taken his place on the throne after being the oldest and longest-serving heir in British history. Since the day Charles Philip Arthur George was born, he has been groomed to be King. After more than seventy years of waiting, he finally ascends the throne.The King examines the private life of this historically important and controversial figure, set against the grand, thousand-year sweep of the British monarchy. This richly detailed biography covers it all, from his military training to his marriage to Lady Diana, through their separation and her tragic death to his marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles. In the process, it provides a balanced but fully honest look into the life of the new monarch. This book will tell you what the King—a man who has remained something of an enigma, shrouded in speculation and intrigue—is really like.The King is the first biography of Charles since he has become monarch and serves as an authoritative chronicle of his life.

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'An ode to the ocean, and the generations of women drawn to the waves or left waiting on the shore' Guardian In Salt On Your Tongue, Charlotte Runcie explores what the sea means to us, and particularly what it has meant to women through the ages. In mesmerising prose, she explores how the sea has inspired, fascinated and terrified us, and how she herself fell in love with the deep blue.This book is a walk on the beach with Turner, with Shakespeare, with the Romantic Poets and shanty-singers. It's an ode to our oceans - to the sailors who brave their treacherous waters, to the women who lost their loved ones to the waves, to the creatures that dwell in their depths, to beachcombers, swimmers, seabirds and mermaids. Navigating through ancient Greek myths, poetry, shipwrecks and Scottish folktales, Salt On Your Tongue is about how the wild untameable waves can help us understand what it means to be human.

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The second volume of Clinton Heylin's magisterial biography takes us from Dylan's 1966 motorcycle accident to the present day. We meet a man who is determined to confound expectations; yet whatever he does only seems to confirm his iconic status to fans and critics alike.There are peaks and troughs. Long periods of writer's block are followed by sudden bursts of creativity that produce some of the best work of his career, including perhaps his most celebrated album, 1975's Blood On The Tracks. There is the unpredictable recording process, with Dylan often including on his albums the worst takes and leaving off the best songs altogether. On the Neverending Tour he reinvents his songbook on a nightly basis, at times without recognition. Then there are the albums and songs that reveal the genius of an artist whose lyrics draw on centuries of American culture but who refuses to be shackled to his own past.Today his voice is almost unrecognisable from his 1960s peak, and the man whose songs had been devoted to dissecting his romantic relationships has become focused on mortality, solitude and getting old. Yet his albums continue to top the charts, 2020's Rough And Rowdy Ways being his fourth No. 1 album of the twenty-first century.There is no other living artist whose creative output has remained constantly intriguing, often baffling, sometimes infuriating but always fascinating for over sixty years. Clinton Heylin's definitive, scrupulously researched and revelatory life, based on unprecedented access to the official Tulsa archive and other new sources, paints the fullest and brightest portrait yet of an iconic figure that has defined contemporary culture.

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The first volume of the remarkable autobiography of Arthur Koestler, author of Darkness at Noon.In 1931, Arthur Koestler joined the Communist Party, an event he felt to be second only in importance to his birth in shaping his destiny. Before that point, he lived a tumultuous and varied existence. He was a member of the duelling fraternity at the University of Vienna; a collective farm worker in Galilee; a tramp and street vendor in Haifa; the editor of a weekly paper in Cairo; the foreign correspondent of the biggest continental newspaper chain in Paris and the Middle East; a science editor in Berlin; and a member of the North Pole expedition of the Graf Zeppelin. Written with enormous zest, joie de vivre and frankness, Arrow in the Blue is a fascinating self-portrait of a remarkable young man at the heart of the events that shaped the twentieth century. The second volume of Arthur Koestler's autobiography is The Invisible Writing.

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For some, Rod Stewart embodies all of the conceit and narcissism that susceptible egos are prone to once they make it big in the music industry. Even if that were true, however, that wouldn’t change the fact that he is responsible for some of the greatest recordings ever made. A great number of those songs were recorded for the Mercury label between 1969 and 1975, spread across Stewart’s solo output as well as his side gig as front man for the band Faces. Even when the records were likable more often than they were classic, Stewart was still one of the greatest live attractions in the world, whether on his own or with the band.Rod Stewart: The Classic Years gives an precedented in-depth look at this crucial phase of Stewart’s career. Author Sean Egan brings together interviews with musicians Mick Waller, Pete Sears, and Ray Jackson, engineer Mike Bobak, manager Billy Gaff, Stewart’s then-girlfriend and muse Dee Harrington, his publicist Jonathan Rowlands, and many other key individuals in orbit around Stewart, including a brand-new interview with the man himself for a first-hand account of the Mercury years. Egan offers a striking portrait of big egos, plenty of decadence, and solid-gold rock ‘n’ roll amidst the long post-‘60s hangover.

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A richly illustrated book about the celebrated connoisseur, collector and philanthropist Sir Richard Wallace (1818-1890), published by the Wallace Collection to mark the bicentenary of his birth. Includes 490 illustrations and new information on Wallace’s origins and life.

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Some writers build worlds. Others birth entire universes. In the decades since its publication, Frank Herbert’s Dune has become arguably the best-selling and certainly the best-known science fiction novel ever written. So how did an ex-Navy newspaperman from Washington State come to write such a world-conquering novel? And how was he able to pack it with so many layers of myth and meaning? Herbert’s boundless imagination was sparked by a dizzying array of ideas, from classical history to cutting-edge science, from environmentalism to Zen philosophy, and from Arabic texts to Shakespeare’s tragedies. Beginning on Arrakis and going planet by planet, The Worlds of Dune offers a supremely deep dive into Herbert's universe – detailing along the way the many diverse strands that he wove into his epic creation to offer a visually rich accompaniment to this sci-fi legend.

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THE TIMES AND WATERSTONES BEST ART BOOK OF 2023 'Marvellous . . . intimate and insightful . . . reads like a novel by Samuel Beckett’ Paul Theroux A portrait of one of the twentieth century’s greatest sculptors from one of our most eminent art historians Today the work of Alberto Giacometti is world-famous and his sculptures sell for record-breaking prices. But from his early days as an unknown outsider to the end of a dramatic international career, Giacometti lived in the same hovel of a studio in Paris. It was Paris that made him, and he in turn immortalised the city through his art. Arriving in Paris from the Swiss Alps in 1922, Giacometti was shaped not only by his relationships with remarkable artists and writers – from Picasso, Breton and Dalí to Sartre, Beauvoir and Beckett – but by the everyday life, pre-war and post-war, of Paris itself. His distinctive figures emerged from the city’s unique atmosphere: the crumbling grey stone of its humbler streets and the café-terraces buzzing with radical ideas and racy gossip. In Giacometti in Paris, Michael Peppiatt, who spent thirty years documenting the Parisian art world and mixing with many of the people Giacometti knew, brilliantly charts the course of the artist’s life and work. From falling in and out with the Surrealists to years of artistic anguish, from devotion to his mother to intense friendships, tragic love affairs and a fraught marriage, this is an intimate portrait of an outstanding artist in exceptional times.

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Charles Frederick Algernon Portal was born in Hungerford, England, in 1893\. One of seven brothers, Portal developed a fierce competitive streak and a steely determination from an early age. Known by all who knew him as Peter', Portal enlisted in the Army at the outbreak of the First World War as a despatch rider, being mentioned in General French's very first despatch. Portal's abilities were quickly recognised, and he gained a commission in short order. It was in the air that Portal saw his future, and he subsequently transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, initially as an observer, before training as a pilot. In this latter role, Portal proved a courageous and instinctive leader, garnering the rare accolade of a DSO and Bar for his wartime service. His meteoric rise continued in the inter-war period, and when Hitler's forces invaded Poland, Portal had already ascended to the Air Force Board. He then took the RAF's top command post at Bomber Command during the battles of France and Britain, before replacing Cyril Newall as Chief of Air Staff, aged just 47, in October 1940. Charles Portal was, in General Eisenhower's words, Britain's greatest wartime leader, including Churchill'. Portal was a strategist, a diplomat and an outstanding leader of the RAF in the Second World War. He built productive and enduring relationships with the most powerful Allied leaders - some of which, including Churchill, Bomber Harris, and Hap Arnold, are explored here. Portal helped direct the UK's strategy from the darkest days of 1940 through to Allied victory in 1945\. He never lost his calm, even under the most extreme pressure, and approached the war with a cool logic that defied the chaos of the day. Despite his enormous achievements, and being showered with post-war accolades, Portal is little known today. His historical anonymity is a reflection of his disinterest in his own legacy. He neither kept wartime diaries, nor penned an egotistical autobiography to cash in on his post-war fame. He retired as he had served, with dignity and humility, traits that made him particularly influential with American allies. As Wing Commander Rich Milburn reveals in this long-overdue second biography, Charles Portal was a hero in every sense; a heroic battlefield leader in one global conflict, and one of the men most directly responsible for Allied victory in a second.

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'Funny and refreshing' Independent'Forthright but funny feminism shines through' Grazia'Enlightening, inspiring, funny, shocking and brave, every woman should get a copy' StylistI want to have slow sex, work out what to do with a penis, and experience the fourteen different types of female orgasm.In her mid-thirties, Lucy-Anne Holmes still felt like a novice when it came to sex. But when she tried to find out what she could do about it, she realised everything she googled was geared to male pleasure rather than to women’s. Determined not to let this stop her, Lucy penned a list and set out to discover what her sex life was missing. She embarked on an adventure which would change her life. Lucy has written the book about sex she wanted to read. It will make you snort with laughter one minute and weep the next; it is frank, eye-opening and inspiring, and will speak to women everywhere.

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**OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD****THE TIMES MEMOIR OF THE YEAR 2019**'The best royal book by miles . . . funny, gossipy and riveting'JANE RIDLEY, SPECTATOR'If your jaw doesn't drop at least three times every chapter, you've not been paying proper attention'SUNDAY TIMES'A captivating account of a life lived with resilience and grace'DAILY MAIL'The stoical Lady G writes with infectious joy and optimism'DAILY EXPRESS'The gossip is stupendous but it's also tremendously touching. It's one of those books that makes you long for bed so you can read more!'JILLY COOPER'I can't recommend it highly enough'LORRAINE KELLY'Gentle, wise, unpretentious, but above all inspiring'THE TIMES'A candid, witty and stylish memoir'MIRANDA SEYMOUR, FINANCIAL TIMES'Stalwart and disarmingly honest . . . emotion resonates through this delightful memoir'THE WALL STREET JOURNAL'Discretion and honour emerge as the hallmarks of Glenconner's career as a royal servant, culminating in this book which manages to be both candid and kind'GUARDIAN'I couldn't put it down. Funny and touching - like looking through a keyhole at a lost world.'RUPERT EVERETT~The remarkable life of Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who was also a Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation. Anne Glenconner reveals the real events behind The Crown as well as her own life of drama, tragedy and courage, with the wonderful wit and extraordinary resilience which define her.Anne Glenconner has been close to the Royal Family since childhood. Eldest child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, she was, as a daughter, described as 'the greatest disappointment' by her family as she was unable to inherit. Her childhood home Holkham Hall is one of the grandest estates in England. Bordering Sandringham the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were frequent playmates. From Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation to Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret, Lady Glenconner is a unique witness to royal history, as well as an extraordinary survivor of a generation of aristocratic women trapped without inheritance and burdened with social expectations. She married the charismatic but highly volatile Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who became the owner of Mustique. Together they turned the island into a paradise for the rich and famous, including Mick Jagger and David Bowie, and it became a favourite retreat for Princess Margaret. But beneath the glitz and glamour there has also lurked tragedy. On Lord Glenconner's death in 2010 he left his fortune to a former employee. And of their five children, two grown-up sons died, while a third son had to be nursed back from a coma by Anne, after having suffered a near fatal accident. Anne Glenconner writes with extraordinary wit, generosity and courage and she exposes what life was like in her gilded cage, revealing the role of her great friendship with Princess Margaret, and the freedom she can now finally enjoy in later life.

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Most people know that The Beatles (1960-1970) were the most famous pop group of all time, who were at the heart of 1960s counterculture and whose songs transformed the music world. What, perhaps, they don't know is that they have spent more than 1300 weeks, or 25 years, on the Billboard chart; that the artwork for Sgt. Pepper cost 60 times that of a normal album at the time; that their first live U.S. television performance was watched by 34 per cent of the population; and that they were the first band to include all the song lyrics in their album artwork. Biographic: The Beatles presents an instant impression of their life, work and legacy, with an array of irresistible facts and figures converted into infographics to reveal the musicians behind the music.

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'An extraordinary portrait of a son navigating his way through grief and loss in real time. Funny, candid, and measured' GRAHAM NORTONHappily settled in a new relationship and with a dream house of his own, Tom Allen could finally call himself an adult. But when his beloved dad died suddenly, Tom's life was rocked by a fresh set of challenges, and he started to find comfort in his friends, his past and his newly dug vegetable patch.With his hallmark honesty and wit, Tom writes beautifully about those days, weeks and months following loss, and about how bewildering the practicalities of life can be in the wake of an upheaval - those moments, really, when everything can start to feel a bit too much . . .'Hilarious and poignant' JO BRAND'Heartfelt, vulnerable and touchingly sincere' GUARDIAN'Life-affirming' ATTITUDE

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'Steve Gallant's exceptional act of courage on London Bridge speaks of both heroism and redemption' - Jon Snow, former anchor of Channel 4 NewsThis is a story of physical bravery, moral courage, and the power of redemption from the man who led the charge in stopping the terrorist attack at Fishmongers' Hall in November 2019. From cell fires to violent feuds and gang battles on prison wings, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, what Steve witnessed at HMP Frankland made him change his life forever. After losing everything, he vowed to never use violence again. In November 2019, Steve's redemptive journey led him to a Learning Together event at Fishmongers' Hall, hosted by his mentor, Jack Merritt, and attended by Saskia Jones. It was here, on his first day out of prison on day release, that Steve was forced to break his vow as he bravely confronted and fought armed-terrorist Usman Khan on London Bridge. Armed just with a narwhal tusk, Steve wrestled and held Khan to the ground while he waited for the police to arrive.In October 2020 Steve was granted a royal prerogative of mercy in recognition of his actions at London Bridge. In August 2021 he was released from prison and in March 2023 he was awarded a Queen's Gallantry Medal, the final civilian gallantry awards approved by the late Queen.This is Steve Gallant's powerful and inspiring story of redemption told in full for the first time.

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A visceral, riveting, no-holds-barred military memoir told from the front line of the war against ISIS with a foreword by Andy McNab. In the summer of 2014 the world watched in horror as the black flag of ISIS swept all before it. Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq fell, ISIS proclaimed the caliphate and the horror mounted: from the mass murder, rape and enslavement of the Yazidis to the public beheading of journalists by British jihadis. For Macer Gifford it wasn't enough to ask why more wasn't being done, he knew he had to act. So, he left his job in the city, split from his girlfriend and a few weeks later found himself illegally crossing the border into Syria to join the Kurdish YPG in their fight against the savagery of ISIS.Macer Gifford became one of longest serving British International Volunteers and one of the only few to be promoted to be a Commander in the YPG. He fought alongside the Kurds (and their Syrian Allies) for three long tours of duty from the dawn of the caliphate all the way to its military defeat in the ruins of Raqqa in 2017, sniping at the final deadly wave of suicide bombers as they burst from the rubble. Along the way, he made - and lost - many friends. This is the only complete account of the war against the Caliphate by the Kurds and the remarkable and often eccentric band of international volunteers who fought alongside them.

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One of America’s great rock and roll pioneers, Richie Furay played alongside Neil Young and Stephen Stills in Buffalo Springfield, producing some of the signature sounds of American folk rock. He went on to form Poco, one of the bands that founded California country rock, and then Souther-Hillman-Furay. After declaring himself a Christian in 1974, Furay released four solo albums before taking up the ministry in 1983. He began recording again in 1997, and over the next twenty-five years he released two Christian and five secular albums.In this biography of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Richie Furay, Thomas Kitts provides an intimate look at Furay’s life and music. Kitts chronicles the musician’s upbringing, his musical career, and his Christianity, drawing on interviews with Furay and others close to him. In documenting Furay’s extraordinary talent as a songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, Kitts argues that although he never attained the level of stardom of many of his bandmates, Furay is a pivotal figure in American popular music.Fans of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and country-rock music will enjoy this quintessentially American story of a young man on a quest to fulfill his rock-and-roll dreams.

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Shinzo Abe entered politics burdened by high expectations: that he would change Japan. In 2007, seemingly overwhelmed, he resigned after only a year as prime minister. Yet, following five years of reinvention, he masterfully regained the premiership in 2012 and, until his resignation in 2020, dominated Japanese democracy as no leader had done before. Abe inspired fierce loyalty among his followers, cowing Japan’s left with his ambitious economic programme and support for the security and armed forces. He staked a leadership role for Japan in a region being rapidly transformed by the rise of China and India, while carefully preserving an ironclad relationship with Trump’s America. The Iconoclast tells the story of Abe’s meteoric rise and stunning fall, his remarkable comeback, and his unlikely emergence as a global statesman who laid the groundwork for Japan’s survival in a turbulent century.

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Geoffroy of Villehardouin, Marshal of Champagne by Theodore Evergates traces the remarkable life of Geoffroy of Villehardouin (c. 1148–c. 1217) from his earliest years in Champagne through his last years in Greece after the crusade. The fourth son of a knight, Geoffroy became marshal of Champagne, principal negotiator in organizing the Fourth Crusade, chief of staff of the expedition to and conquest of Constantinople, garrison commander of Constantinople and, in his late fifties, field commander defending the Latin settlement in the Byzantine empire against invading Bulgarian armies and revolting Greek cities. Known for his diplomatic skills and rectitude, he served as the chief military advisor to Count Thibaut III of Champagne and later to Emperor Henry of Constantinople. Geoffroy is remarkable as well for dictating the earliest war memoir in medieval Europe, which is also the earliest prose narrative in Old French. Addressed to a home audience in Champagne, he described what he did, what he saw, and what he heard during his eight years on crusade and especially during the fraught period after the conquest of Constantinople. His memoir, The Book of the Conquest of Constantinople, furnishes a commander's retrospective account of the main events and inner workings of the crusade—the innumerable meetings and speeches, the conduct (not always commendable) of the barons, and the persistent discontent within the army—as well as a celebration of his own deeds as a diplomat and a military commander.

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The Haynes 2024 Desk Diary comes in the size of a Haynes manual with week-to-view presentation on high-quality paper and featuring original Terry Davey line drawings. It’s the perfect gift for car enthusiasts! It also includes: Year planner for both 2024 and 2025 A brief history of Haynes UK distance chart Conversation factors Number plate registration area identification letters

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'Brilliant biography of an undersung late-blooming treasure . . . subtly profound as well as wickedly entertaining, this biography does its subject scintillating justice' MojoCruel to Be Kind is the definitive account of Nick Lowe's uncompromising life as a songwriter and entertainer, from his days at Stiff Records, to becoming the driving force behind Rockpile, to the 1979 smash hit 'Cruel To Be Kind'.Nick's original compositions have been recorded by the best in the business, from enfant terrible of the New-Wave, Elvis Costello, to 'The Godfather of Rhythm and Soul', Solomon Burke; from household names, including Engelbert Humperdink, Diana Ross, and Johnny Cash, to legendary vocalists such as Curtis Stigers, Tom Petty, and Rod Stewart.His reputation as one of the most influential musicians to emerge from that most formative period for pop and rock music is cast in stone. He will forever be the man they call the 'Jesus of Cool'.'Nick's poise as a singer, his maturity, and his use of tone is beautiful. I can't believe it's this guy I've been watching since I was a teenager' Elvis Costello, 2013'The master of subversive pop' Nick Kent, NME, 1977'Nick Lowe is such a f*cking good songwriter! Am I allowed to say that?' Curtis Stigers, 2016

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