Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* - MILLIONS OF COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDEGloriously bonkers - Guardian, Best Autobiographies and Memoirs of 2020A rollicking, contemplative trip - Financial TimesFrom the Academy Award-winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.I''ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life''s challenges - how to get relative with the inevitable - you can enjoy a state of success I call ''catching greenlights.''So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.Hopefully, it''s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot''s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.It''s a love letter. To life.It''s also a guide to catching more greenlights-and to realising that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.Good luck.*March 2020Trade ReviewUnflinchingly honest and remarkably candid, Matthew McConaughey's book invites us to grapple with the lessons of his life as he did - and to see that the point was never to win, but to understand. * Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck *McConaughey is a talented actor and a fine writer, but a total genius at living. He attacks life with an exhilarating ferocity. This is a wildly unexpected and delightful book you can't just read, you have to experience. * Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October *It shouldn't surprise you that this book is good, but it will surprise you just how good it is. Wise and entertaining, this is an inspiring memoir and how-to from one of the great outlaw philosophers and artists of our time. * Ryan Holiday, author of The Daily Stoic *A Renaissance man on the big screen, McConaughey shows he is the same on the page. Mystical and spiritual but mostly just wonderful, Greenlights is an inspired memoir that celebrates the idea that it's the journey rather than the destination that will fulfill us. * Michael Connelly, author of Fair Warning *Written with great intensity and rare candor, Greenlights is a whirlwind of wisdom that's as singular and fervent as its author. Read the book, experience the behind-the-scenes adventures, then pursue your own greenlights full throttle. * Shaka Smart, head coach, men’s basketball, The University of Texas at Austin *Greenlights is many different books at once: an entertaining autobiography, a delightful adventure story, a very funny comedy, a wise self-help guide, an inspiring argument for love and family, and a candid tale of spiritual and personal discovery. I cannot recommend it highly enough. * John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, co-author of Conscious Leadership *A brilliant memoir that lays bare everything * The Times *A rollicking, contemplative trip * Financial Times *Greenlights is not a memoir, though it tells true stories from his life in chronological order. Nor is it 'an advice book'. It is 'an approach book', bringing together McConaughey's insights from 35 years of writing journals, and more of collecting bumper stickers. * Guardian *Mixing philosophy, 'teachable moments', self-help and Kerouac-inspired memoir, [Greenlights] takes in his remarkable career, finding love and stardom. * Sunday Independent *The Hollywood Star interprets himself. There is derring-do, dope, mayhem and mishaps. * The Times - The Perfect Audiobooks for Lockdown *Enjoyably quirky * Hello! *Gloriously bonkers * Guardian - Best Autobiographies and Memoirs of 2020 *a wild ride through his memories * Evening Standard *His not-quite-memoir offers a smörgåsbord of life lessons, anecdotes . . . It would be hard to finish the book and not warm to its author. * The Observer *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE 2017 PEN ACKERLEY PRIZEWINNER OF THE 2016 WAINWRIGHT PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 ONDAATJE PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 WELLCOME PRIZEAt the age of thirty, Amy Liptrot finds herself washed up back home on Orkney. Standing unstable on the island, she tries to come to terms with the addiction that has swallowed the last decade of her life. As she spends her mornings swimming in the bracingly cold sea, her days tracking Orkney's wildlife, and her nights searching the sky for the Merry Dancers, Amy discovers how the wild can restore life and renew hope.Trade ReviewA lyrical, brave memoir. It's Liptrot's aptitude for marrying her inner-space with wild outer-spaces that makes her such a compelling writer . . . I enjoyed this book enormously -- WILL SELF * * Guardian * *The sheer sensuality of Liptrot's prose and her steely resolve immediately put her right up there with the best of the best. Liptrot is an Orcadian warrior with the breeze in her blood and poetry in her fingers, and The Outrun may even be a future classic. Wherever she journeys next, you will want to go with her * * New Statesman * *An exhilarating memoir . . . Anyone who has ever been unhappy or unwise will find much that resonates in this powerful, beautiful writing -- CATHY RENTZENBRINK * * Stylist * *An uncompromising account of addiction and recovery played out against the blasted fields of Orkney. Liptrot's writing is strong and sure. The Outrun is a bright addition to the exploding genre of writing about place and our place in the natural world * * Observer * *Remarkable . . . a meditative interior journey which Liptrot elevates to an art * * Spectator * *An unflinching examination of trauma, addiction and the restorative power of the natural world . . . It is a wild, wind-lashed book, and you come away from reading with the taste of salt spray on your lips -- Evie Wyld * * New York Times * *Brilliant . . . one of the most scabrously honest, sassy and moving books about addiction and recovery that I have read * * Scotsman * *An astonishingly beautiful book. Amy makes most nature writing seem flat and pedestrian. Her account of her addiction and recovery is electric, sexy, immediate and raw, leaving the reader reeling in her wake . . . This is a luminous, life-affirming book, and I have no doubt that I'll be pressing it into people's hands for years to come -- OLIVIA LAINGThere is a great deal of frank, flinch-making writing in this book, but it is always balanced by a sublimity and graciousness that is rare. This is a bold-hearted and brave-minded book. It is both terribly sad and awfully affecting. I look forward to its presence on some prize lists * * Scotland on Sunday * *Clean, clear and impressive . . . a sensuous book, full of summer nights and winter water. Liptrot swims, walks, lives alone on uninhabited islands and observes. And from that comes a portrait of the natural world she is absorbed into * * Herald * *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR FILM, STARRING STEVE CARELL AND BAFTA AND GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATED TIMOTHEE CHALAMET ‘What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong?’ Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets.With haunting candour, David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3am phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the attempts at rehab. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and tTrade Review'Both takes on this story are riveting, brilliantly written, thoughtful, searingly honest and equally essential. They should be mandatory reading for every teenager and every parent of one.' * Daily Mail *'My generation experimented with drugs and, now that we are parents, we're caught off guard: we never contemplated having to face what David Sheff has faced. He writes with candour, courage and grace of his family's harrowing – and sadly not atypical – story. Beautiful Boy is an important book. It is moving, timely and startlingly beautiful.' -- Sir Richard Branson, chairman, Virgin Group'Those of us who love an addict – or are addicts ourselves – will find Beautiful Boy a revelation. David Sheff knows all too well what must be endured with faith, and his extraordinary book describes it better than anything else I've read. While painfully candid, Beautiful Boy is equally optimistic and powerful.' -- Martin Sheen, actor'An honest, hopeful book, coming at a propitious moment in the meth epidemic.' * Publishers Weekly *'An excellent book that all parents can relate to whatever their children's situation.' * Library Journal *'Moving, painfully honest, very revealing, it tells a story which just never gets told and which is extraordinarily important.' -- Rosie Boycott'A brilliant, harrowing, heartbreaking, fascinating story, full of beautiful moments and hard-won wisdom. This book will save a lot of lives and heal a lot of hearts.' -- Anne Lamott'Beautiful Boy is so beautifully written that it will come as a welcome balm to millions of parents and loved ones who thought they were making this journey alone.' -- Armistead Maupin

Read more less

Book Synopsis**Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024** A gripping account of survival and recovery from internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize-winner Salman RushdieA masterpiece Extraordinary' Daily TelegraphA story of hatred defeated by love' Guardian On the morning of 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie was sitting onstage in upstate New York, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black black clothes, black mask rushed down the aisle towards him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it's you. Here you are. What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey of healing and recovery. This an intimate meditation on life, loss, love, art and finding the strength to stand up again A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, DAILY TELEGRAPH, SPECTATOR, INDEPENDENT, EVENING STANDARD, NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER AND TIMEAn incandescent book about love and hard-won survival'The TimesSalman Rushdie is a genius A brave book by a brave man' Evening StandardGripping It reminds us of the things worth fighting for'New York Times No.1 Sunday Times bestseller, April 2024

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Immensely powerful and is an extraordinary testament to the human desire for survival' Daily MailA harrowing and inspiring true story of a young boy's abusive childhood, from internationally bestselling author Dave Pelzer. Brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother - Dave became a slave; he was no longer a boy, but an 'it'. His bed was an old army cot in the basement, his clothes were torn and unwashed, and when he was allowed the luxury of food it was scraps from the dog's bowl. The outside world knew nothing of the nightmare played out behind closed doors. But throughout Dave kept alive dreams of finding a family to love him. This book covers the early years of his life and is an affecting and inspirational book of the horrors of child abuse and the steadfast determination of one child to survive. It is the first book in the My Story trilogy.'Heartfelt... cannot fail to move you' HeatTrade ReviewThis heartfelt true story of one child's courage to survive cannot fail to move you - HEATHis tale will both break and warm your heart - DAILY MIRRORA remarkable true story... Truly touching, and emotionally shocking. A marvel - BESTWhat has made Dave Pelzer's story a bestseller is that it is also a story of redemption. It is a story where love, kindness, patience and endurance triumph - DAILY MAIL

Read more less

Book Synopsis**AS SEEN ON BBC2's BETWEEN THE COVERS**A Guardian Book of the YearMaggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation - Olivia LaingBluets winds its way through depression, divinity, alcohol, and desire, visiting along the way with famous blue figures, including Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, Yves Klein, Leonard Cohen and Andy Warhol. While its narrator sets out to construct a sort of 'pillow book' about her lifelong obsession with the colour blue, she ends up facing down both the painful end of an affair and the grievous injury of a dear friend. The combination produces a raw, cerebral work devoted to the inextricability of pleasure and pain, and to the question of what role, if any, aesthetic beauty can play in times of great heartache or grief.Much like Roland Barthes's A Lover's Discourse, Bluets has passed between lovers in the ecstasy of new love, and been pressed into the hands of the heartbroken. Visceral, learned, and acutely lucid, Bluets is a slim feat of literary innovation and grace, never before published in the UK.Trade ReviewTranscendent.... very inspiring. She’s an amazing writer. -- Lorde * Irish Times *Maggie Nelson... She's so much better than anything I've read for a long, long time. -- Karl Ove KnausgaardThe book that changed my life... it's just brilliant. -- Sophie Mackintosh * Guardian *I remember where I was when I read each of Maggie Nelson's books in the same way I remember a place where I heard important news. Her words come, as though from a great distance, and strike incredibly close. I did not actually read Bluets, I think - I just let it hit me. -- Anne EnrightMaggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation. -- Olivia Laing[Nelson's] candour, also evident in The Argonauts, gives Bluets a turbo-charged vitality, precision and authenticity that frees her to reflect on the way female desire is too often sidelined or ignored.... In her dark excavation of grief, she has collected messages of great wisdom and powerful beauty. -- Gavin Francis * Guardian *A gorgeous, eddying read. -- Claire-Louise BennettNelson… looks sideways at her heartbreak, allowing for moments of piercing clarity as feelings come into focus. There is wisdom and beauty in this short work. -- Fiona Wilson * The Times *A luminous meditation on the author’s love for a single colour that displaces itself onto the grief prompted by the end of a relationship and the serious injury of a friend. -- Jenny Hendrix * Times Literary Supplement *Arty, smart and gorgeous meditation on the color blue. * Time Out *Bluets is a slim but intense volume dedicated to the colour blue, and to feeling blue. Nelson takes a Wittgensteinian form and fills it with feeling. In 240 loosely linked fragments she moves between memoir and analysis, from spiritual inquiry to erotic obsession… Beautiful. -- Tom Graham * Financial Times *A real short-sharp punch in the heart. Truly sad and beautiful, it’s a raw meditation on falling passionately in love with a colour. * Big Issue *What could be more invented than a life story that reads like a novel? Bluets doesn’t invent that way: its inventions are wilder, wiser (and more true) than that… each proposition is breathtaking. * Brick *A syncopated arrangement of 240 prose poems collected across three years of slowly dwindling grief and heartbreak, it centres around the colour blue and how it helped to heal Nelson’s pain. -- Isobel Thompson * A-List *This discussion of the colour blue is a gorgeous read, almost religious in the way it defaults to the beautiful and the sublime. -- Anne Enright * Guardian *When I want a sprawling, consuming book about love and loss, I turn to Maggie Nelson’s Bluets. The compact hybrid book of literature, memoir, and poetry at only 99 pages in length lingers long after the cover is turned over. -- Sarah MacDonald * Vice *I can’t stop thinking about [Bluets]. -- Darci PhenixAlways beguiling, her writing is powerful, incisive and so singular that it defies categorization … raw, honest and urgent… [Nelson] always prompt me to see some aspect of life very differently. -- Alice Rawsthorn * Observer *Last year, while recovering from a break up with a long-term partner, I carried the book with me everywhere... The way that she renders her experiences and thoughts in such vivid, aching and raw detail served as a shelter for me, and a way to articulate feelings I didn't yet have the distance or strength to put words to. -- Zaina Arafat * Good Housekeeping *Bluets is an expansive, intensely poetic text about Nelson's life-long infatuation with the colour blue... in Nelson's most visceral moments of divulgence, we see a testament to love in all its inexpressibility. -- Martha French * Varsity *

Read more less

Book SynopsisVirginia Roberts Giuffre (1983-2025) was an activist and advocate for sex trafficking survivors. She lived in Australia with her family.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRoxy Bourdillon, author of What a Girl Wants, is an award-winning writer and the editor-in-chief of DIVA, the world's leading magazine for LGBTQIA+ women and non-binary people. As a journalist she has interviewed everyone from A-listers Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Keira Knightley to the legendary Rebel Dykes.Roxy's writing has appeared in Cosmopolitan, The Guardian, Woman & Home, Attitude and more. Her groundbreaking work in media has earned her a place in both the Pride Power List and the Attitude 101: LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Changing The World.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERImpossible to read with dry eyes or an unaltered mindset' Sunday TimesIlluminating and beautiful' Cathy RentzenbrinkWhat if everything you thought you knew about death was wrong?How should we prepare for the facts of dying and saying our goodbyes?And what if understanding death improved your life?By turns touching and tragic, funny and wise, With the End in Mind brings together Kathryn Mannix ' s lifetime of medical experience to tell powerful stories of life and death.Trade Review‘It is incredibly moving, of course, but what it isn’t is miserable. Yes this is a book about death, but it is also a book about joy. There aren’t all that many books that change the way you see the world. This book really might. It will make you want to do a better job of loving and living. It will make you want to be kinder. And it will make you want to cherish every precious moment of your precious life.’Sunday Times ‘Extraordinary and profoundly moving. … Any reader will come away with the wish that they will be cared for at the end by someone with Mannix’s imaginative sympathy and matter-of-fact generosity of perception’Rowan Williams, New Statesman ‘Illuminating and beautiful … I shed a few tears but it’s not gut wrenching and Mannix weaves the light and dark strands of her experience with finesse. It’s essential reading for anyone who will encounter death, and that means all of us.’Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Times ‘I got to the end of Kathryn Mannix’s book with just one thought – I wish I’d been a palliative consultant … A reminder that talking about death is an Act of Love’Greg Wise ‘In the last few years, there has been a crowd of books by doctors, scientists and writers that have sought to show us different, kinder ways of ending: Atul Gawande, Oliver Sacks, Henry Marsh… the list is long. Now Kathryn Mannix joins this distinguished group. Mannix’s aim is to shed a soft, clear light on a subject too often avoided. Mild, tender and conciliatory, I would like her to be my compassionate, wise doctor when I lie dying.’Observer

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book Synopsis*Now a major international TV series starring Rachel Griffiths and Martin Henderson* A poignant and darkly comedic memoir from a mother who opened an ethical escort agency in small town New Zealand – the only country in the world where sex work is fully legalised – and dared to make a difference. I’m Antonia, a real-life madam. I’ve got a blended family of six kids; I spend my mornings packing lunchboxes and my evenings reading bedtime stories. And two days a week, I work as a pimp. Procurer, madam – whatever you want to call it. Personally, I think of myself as a union organiser. For vaginas. An ex-pat from San Francisco, Antonia Murphy is living on a farm in rural New Zealand with her husband and two kids, bored and isolated, when her husband leaves her. Suddenly, she has to figure out how to survive. Upon discovering the decriminalisation of sex work in New Zealand, Antonia’s mind

Read more less

Book Synopsis'From the first page to the last, I could not put down this book. I am a Girl from Africa is a story that can uplift and inspire every girl and boy from every part of the world. Beautifully told, and beautifully lived.' Angela Duckworth, author of GritA powerful memoir about a girl from Africa whose near-death experience sparked a dream that changed the world.  She squeezes my hand and smiles. “I am here to feed hungry children in the village, because as Africans we must uplift each other.”I don’t understand what it means to uplift others, but I nod.I know that I can finally stand up. I will search for food. I will live. When severe draught hit her village in Zimbabwe, Elizabeth, then eight, had no idea that this moment of utter devastation would come to define her life purpose. Unable to move from hunger, she encountered a United Nations aid worker who gTrade Review'Elizabeth Nyamayaro has written a wonderfully accessible and moving memoir that masterfully weaves her own story into the contemporary fight for global gender equity. Traveling with Nyamayaro - from Tblisi to Montevideo - is both inspiring and maddening, seeing all that has been accomplished and all that’s left to do. Somehow, through it all, she manages to maintain an unwavering optimism - and a belief in the power of NGOs, education, collaboration, and even (gasp) globalism - that buoys the soul and reminds us that there’s no progress without progressives, no light without the torch-bearers.' -- Dave Eggers'From the first page to the last, I could not put down this book. I Am a Girl from Africa is a story that can uplift and inspire every girl and boy from every part of the world. Beautifully told, and beautifully lived.' -- Angela Duckworth, author of Grit'More than a heartwarming and uplifting memoir, I Am a Girl from Africa is a story of millions of girls around the world – and a true testament of what is possible when girls are given an equal right to quality education. Through Elizabeth’s remarkable story, we are reminded that education remains a closest thing to a silver bullet when it comes to gender equality.' -- Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, UN Women'This book tells the story of how its title becomes a declaration, not just for the author’s tale of remarkable challenges and achievements, but also for a continent suffering from ills ranging from misogyny and masculinism to pessimism about its ability to heal its own wounds... [Nyamayaro] is ... adamantly committed to inspiration, and in that, the memoir is victorious.' * The New York Times Book Review *'Nyamayaro’s heartwarming and inspirational story is symbolic of the faith, community uplift, and interdependence a girl from anywhere needs to soar.' * Oprah Daily *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat Do You Care What Other People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character is a captivating collection of reminiscences from freewheeling scientific genius Richard P. Feynman. Richard Feynman - Nobel Laureate, teacher and iconic intellect - possessed an unquenchable thirst for an adventure and an unparalleled gift for telling the extraordinary stories of his life. In this collection of short pieces Feynman describes everything from his love of beauty to college pranks to how his father taught him to think. He takes us behind the scenes of the space shuttle Challenger investigation, where he dramatically revealed the cause of the disaster with a simple experiment. And he tells us of how he met his beloved first wife Arlene, and their brief time together before her death. Sometimes intensely moving, sometimes funny, these writings are infused with Feynman''s curiosity and passion for life. ''Feynman''s voice echoes raw an

Read more less

Book SynopsisA beautifully written and compelling memoir of a largely unexplored area of medicine: transplant surgery.Leading transplant surgeon Dr Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, moving organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he examines more than one hundred years of remarkable medical breakthroughs, connecting this fascinating history with the stories of his own patients.Gripping and evocative, How Death Becomes Life takes us inside the operating room and presents the stark dilemmas that transplant surgeons must face daily: How much risk should a healthy person be allowed to take to save someone she loves? Should a patient suffering from alcoholism receive a healthy liver? The human story behind the most exceptional medicine of our time, Mezrich's riveting book is a poignant reminder that a life lost can also offer the hope of a new beginning.Trade ReviewPart memoir and part historical account of the extraordinary pioneers who believed that people could berepaired and revived as the sum of their working parts... Moving * Financial Times *An outstanding memoir by a transplant surgeon who combines an autobiography and operating room dramatics with an equally engrossing history of his profession... this [medical memoir] ranks near the top [of the genre], in a class that includes arguably the best, Henry Marsh's Do No Harm * Kirkus Reviews *Monumental and enthralling. * New York Journal of Books *Fascinating... Compelling stories about an area of medicine shrouded in mystery. * Stephen Westaby *A beautifully written insight into an extraordinary area of medicine and a fascinating career. Heartbreaking and life-affirming in equal measure, it has all the makings of a classic. * Dr Max Pemberton, columnist and author of Trust Me, I'm a (Junior) Doctor *Table of Contents1: A Perfect Organ 2: Puzzle People 3: The Simple Beauty of the Kidney 4: Skin Harvest 5: Kidney Beans: Making Kidney Transplant a Reality 6: Open Heart: The Invention of Cardiopulmonary Bypass 7: Hearts on Fire: Making Heart Transplant a Reality 8: Sympathy for the Pancreas: Curing Diabetes 9: Prometheus Revisited: Liver Transplants and Thomas Starzl 10: Jason: The Secret Is to Live in the Present 11: Lisa and Herb: Should We Do Liver Transplants for Alcoholics? 12: Nate: The Selection Meeting, or Who Gets an Organ and Why? 13: Michaela: We Are All the Same on the Inside 14: As They Lay Dying 15: Healthy Donors: Do No Harm 16: Complications 17: Xenotransplantation: From One Species to Another 18: So, You Want to Be a Transplant Surgeon?

Read more less

Book SynopsisBlackwell's Non-Fiction Book of the Month'A formidable achievement' Rory Stewart'Thoughtful [and] heartfelt' Observer'Profound [and] compelling' Spectator'A noble endeavour' New StatesmanWithout a permanent home, a wife or a job, and with no clear sense of where his life was going, Anthony Seldon set out on a 35-day pilgrimage from the French-Swiss border to the English Channel.The route of his 1,000 kilometre journey was inspired by a young British soldier of the First World War, Alexander Douglas Gillespie, who dreamed of creating a 'Via Sacra' that the men, women and children of Europe could walk to honour the fallen. Tragically, Gillespie was killed in action, his vision forgotten for a hundred years, until a chance discovery in the archive of one of England's oldest schools galvanised Anthony into seeing the Via Sacra permanently established.Tracing the historic route of the Western Front, he traversed some of Europe's most beautiful and evocative scenery, from the Vosges, Argonne and Champagne to the haunting trenches of Arras, the Somme and Ypres. Along the way, he wrestled heat exhaustion, dog bites and blisters as well as a deeper search for inner peace and renewed purpose. Touching on grief, loss and the legacy of war, The Path of Peace is the extraordinary story of Anthony's epic walk, an unforgettable act of remembrance and a triumphant rediscovery of what matters most in life.***A WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2022 PICK***____________________________________________'The Western Front Way, an idea that waited 100 years for its moment, is the simplest and fittest memorial yet to the agony of the Great War. Anthony Seldon's account of how he walked it, and what it means to all of us, will be an inspiration to younger generations.' Sebastian Faulks'A deeply informed meditation on the First World War, an exploration of walking's healing power, a formidable physical achievement... and above all a moving enactment of a modern pilgrimage.' Rory Stewart'A journey of self-discovery and a pilgrimage of peace... A remarkable book by a remarkable man.' Michael Morpurgo'An incredible journey that will move and inspire.' Bear GryllsTrade ReviewA thoughtful, heartfelt journey on foot along the western front of the great war * Tim Adams, Observer *Profound [and] compelling... there are many layers to this book, many cultural references, insights, thoughts and intriguing speculation. * Spectator *A noble endeavour * New Statesman *There is much to admire in [The Path of Peace]... Seldon has a historian's eye for spotting and recounting good stories. * Observer *A haunting, intense, enjoyable and memorable book. * Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree *A deeply informed meditation on the First World War, an exploration of walking's healing power, a formidable physical achievement... and above all a moving enactment of a modern pilgrimage. * Rory Stewart *In this compelling and well-balanced book, Seldon reaches some valuable and poignant insights, both about the ways we commemorate and remember the War and about his own life. * Times Literary Supplement *A journey of self-discovery and a pilgrimage of peace... A remarkable book by a remarkable man. * Michael Morpurgo *The Western Front Way, an idea that waited 100 years for its moment, is the simplest and fittest memorial yet to the agony of the Great War. Anthony Seldon's account of how he walked it, and what it means to all of us, will be an inspiration to younger generations. * Sebastian Faulks *An incredible journey that will move and inspire. * Bear Grylls *Timely, poignant and passionate. Seldon skilfully weaves the personal with the historical * Katya Adler *A dazzling journey... The Path of Peace is a beautiful and generous gift. * Olivette Otele *A beautifully-written heartfelt book. * Cherie Lunghi *A timely, eloquent and convincing reminder that to forget the carnage of the past is to open the door to it happening again. If anyone needs persuading that a 1,000 kilometre Western Front Way would be both civilising and educational this is the book they should read * George Alagiah *A compelling mix of travelogue and history, nature-writing and reflection * Church Times *A mesmerising and deeply impressive book unlike any other on the First World War. * David Yelland *[A] great read. * The Great Outdoors *[I]n a book market packed with every type of First World War tome, this one truly deserves to be read. * Military History Matters *Table of Contents1: The Silent Witnesses 2: Kilometre Zero 3: Alsace 4: The Vosges 5: Lorraine 6: Verdun 7: Champagne-Argonne 8: The Aisne and Marne 9: Picardy 10: The Somme 11: Artois 12: Forgotten Flanders 13: Ypres Salient 14: To the Sea 15: Epilogue

Read more less

Book Synopsis[A] moving, beautifully written book about love and mental health and life' BOB ODENKIRKFiercely intelligent, humane and necessary' NATHAN FILER, author of THE SHOCK OF THE FALL''At its heart a story about love an astonishing new voice'' ALI MILLAR, author of THE LAST DAYSI'm scared the bad people will hear me talking to you.'I watch him take his notebook and a marker pen from his bag. As he zips the compartment back up I see the tip of our large, serrated kitchen knife, the one that went missing last night.Zach was nineteen when Tanya discovered him rerouting the wires of their landline, sure that the phone was bugged, that his friends were Mafia, that the helicopters swirling above were deployed by spies, that he couldn't trust anyone her included.That moment upturned and unmoored everything. It would strand them both in a profound and terrifying isolation the way that perhaps only a psychotic break or loving someone who is experiencing one can.Zig-Zag Boy is a journey along the Trade Review‘By turns an eloquent meditation on the power of nature and a terrifying expose … [an] intense, readable journey … fresh with keenly observed details … What Zig-Zag Boy does best is put you inside the dark recesses of living with a mentally ill adult child, an experience that is on the rise … hopefully it will inspire the most important quality of all among providers, police officers and the public: empathy’Beth Macy, New York Times ‘A moving portrait of a mother's love for her son. It is also a fiercely intelligent, humane and necessary contribution to mental health literature’Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall 'At its heart a story about love; the lengths a mother will go to in a bid to understand her child … Rendered in prose that rings clear and true, Zig-Zag Boy announces an astonishing new voice'Ali Millar, author of The Last Days ‘Takes us to the heart of loving and parenting a child in the most intensive and often heartbreaking way. Marked by wonderful storytelling, a wry sense of humour and a determination to tell the truth no matter what, you will get lost in this story. And be the better for it’Emily Rapp, author of The Still Point of the Turning World ‘Starts by chronicling a mother’s nightmare as her promising son falls into psychosis, but ends up being far more than the story of what happens when we fear for the life of someone we love. A searing indictment of the medical industrial complex across continents’Gina Frangello, author of Blow Your House Down ‘A wonder. I loved this book and loved the family at the heart of it … This is a beautiful book’Mark Lukach, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward ‘In unforgettable imagery and nuanced prose, Tanya Frank gives us an incredible journey’Susan Straight ‘A beautiful, vibrant, powerful memoir about both holding tight and letting go’Gayle Brandeis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Texas sugar cane fields, Ivy League halls to her homeland of South Korea and back again this memoir is a journey through identity crises, mental health struggles, and the quest for selfhood.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHe found a country broken by the Civil War, but the totems of indestructible Spain survive: the Christ in agony, the thrilling flamenco cry-the pride in poverty, the gypsy intensity in vivid whitewashed slums, the cult of the bullfight, the exultation in death, the humour of hopelessness-the paradoxes deep in the fiery bones of Spain.Trade ReviewHe has a nightingale inside him, a capacity for sensuous, lyrical precision * Guardian *One of the great writers of the last century whose work conjured up a world of earthly warmth and beauty * Independent *Out of a winter in Southern Spain, Mr Lee has spun a magnificent book, outstanding even in a field where the competition is oppressively brilliant' * New Statesman *

Read more less

Book SynopsisSudhir Venkatesh the young sociologist who became famous in Freakonomics (Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?) describes his time living with the gangs on the Southside of Chicago and answers another question: what''s it like to live in hell?In the Robert Taylor Homes projects on Chicago''s South Side, Sudhir befriends J.T., a gang leader for the Black Kings. As he slowly gains J.T.''s trust, one day, in order to convince Sudhir of his own CEO-like qualities, J.T. makes him leader of the gang... Why does J.T. make his henchmen, the ''shorties'', stay in school? What is the difference between a ''regular'' hustler and a ''hype'' - and is Peanut telling him the truth about which she is? And, when the FBI finally starts cracking down on the Black Kings, is it time to get out - or is it too late?Trade Review'A rollicking read ! a vivid insight into gang culture' The Times 'Darkly entertaining ! an absorbing and self-effacing odyssey' The Guardian 'An absolutely incredible book ... equal parts comedy and tragedy ... I promise you will not be able to put it down' - Steven D. Levitt, co-author, Freakonomics

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, they sent virtually the entire Jewish population to Auschwitz. A Hungarian Jew and a medical doctor, Dr. Miklos Nyiszli was spared from death for a grimmer fate: to perform scientific research on his fellow inmates under the supervision of the infamous Angel of Death: Dr. Josef Mengele. Nyiszli was named Mengele''s personal research pathologist. Miraculously, he survived to give this terrifying and sobering account of the terror of Auschwitz. This new Penguin Modern Classics edition contains an introduction by Richard Evans.Trade ReviewThe best brief account of the Auschwitz experience available * The New York Review of Books *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA new, fully uncensored edition of the definitive insider''s account of the War on Terror''A former FBI agent''s memoir on the War on Terror is declassified after 9 years'' Time''One of the most valuable and detailed accounts of its subject to appear in the past decade'' EconomistThe ultimate insider''s account of the battle against terrorism, Ali Soufan''s revelatory account of his history-making decade as the FBI''s lead investigator into al-Qaeda shaped our understanding of counter-terror operations - and led to hard questions being asked of American and British leaders. When The Black Banners was first published in 2011, significant portions of the text were redacted. After a CIA review those restrictions have been lifted, and the result is this explosive new edition, The Black Banners (Declassified). Alongside a new foreword by Soufan, the declassified documents uncover shocking details on the use of torture on terror suspects, how these ''enhanced interrogation techniques'' failed to secure reliable intelligence, and in fact actively derailed the fight against al-Qaeda. By contrast we see Soufan at work using empathy and intelligent questioning - not force or violence - to extract some of the most important confessions in the war.Taking us from the interrogation rooms where Soufan would share food and films with the suspects so he could bond with them, to the hideouts of bin Laden, Ali Soufan reveals with intimate, first-hand knowledge the unbelievable truth about America''s security agencies, 9/11, and the global ''War on Terror''.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Coviello is our bard of ardor, of nuanced connection, of passionate critical engagement with objects of art and each other. There is God, or at least life, after Prince, for a little while, anyway, but it's up to us to seek vibrancy and feeling and new meaning in a world that seems too ready to close up shop. Coviello's essays are beautiful demonstrations of our task." -- Sam Lipsyte, author of "No One Left to Come Looking for You" and "The Ask"Table of ContentsIntroduction: Praisesongs and Descants Overture: Talk, Talk Part I: Sounds Is There God after Prince? The Last Psychedelic Band Karaoke for the People The Everyday Disaster What We Fight about When We Fight about Doctor Wu Part II: Ceremonies Love in the Ruins Circumstance Joy Rounds First Loving John The Impostor Part III: Kids Easy Our Noise Where I Want to Be Ghost Stories Rhapsody for the Crash Years Part IV: Sentences So-Called Normal People Say Chi City Our Man in the Fifteenth Hollow Killing Joke Part V: Ends My Thoughts Are Murder Mercy Hours In the Maze Anthony and Carmela Get Vaccinated Afterword: Exit Wounds Acknowledgments Notes Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis*With a foreword from Gerald Durrell* In 1947, returning to the UK with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell starts a boarding house in Bournemouth. But any hopes of respectability are dashed as the tenants reveal themselves to be a host of eccentrics: from a painter of nudes to a pair of glamorous young nurses whose late-night shifts combined with an ever-revolving roster of gentleman callers leading to a neighbourhood rumour that Margo is running a brothel. Margo''s own two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, prove to be every bit as mischievous as their famous Uncle Gerald - and he himself returns periodically with weird and wonderful animals, from marmosets to monkeys, that are quite unsuitable for life in a Bournemouth garden.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHarriet Gibsone began her career as a runner for MTV, before becoming a music journalist in the 00s, writing for publications such as Q, NME, Time Out and Nylon. She spent eight years as a Guardian staff writer and editor and now has a column for its weekend magazine. Is This OK? is her first book.Trade ReviewLaugh-out-loud-on-the-train funny . . . swings between silliness and profundity . . . This is a book to hold on to and one to share, a warning and a map created by a watchful girl, telling others what may lie ahead -- Maeve Higgins, GuardianThis book is a delight - very real and very entertaining. -- Bob MortimerPersistently funny, ill-advisedly honest and deadly accurate . . . My mind is blown -- Caitlin Moran, author of More Than a WomanA hugely enjoyable read . . . [a] delight of a memoir -- Otegha Uwagba, The TimesEye-wateringly honest and all-too-relatable . . . funny and wise * Observer *Very funny and deeply moving. -- Sara PascoeHilarious and brutal! I could not put it down -- Lou SandersBrutally honest but brilliantly funny and poignant too . . . Utterly relatable * Glamour *Hilarious and cringe-inducingly nostalgic . . . It’s a cliché to say “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry”, but with this book, you really will * New Statesman *A singular and truly funny voice -- Jamie DemitriouDeeply intense, and insane (in a great way). -- Robert Popper, creator of Friday Night DinnerWritten with humour and intelligence * Stylist *A raw and funny memoir exploring mental health, illness and motherhood against the backdrop of obsessive internet and social media activity. * Huffington Post *Gloriously unfiltered, hilariously unhinged and utterly unlike anything else you'll read this year. Harriet's incredibly moving memoir made me laugh out loud, cringe, reminisce and think deeply. What a wonderful introduction to a truly singular comedic voice; I remain in awe! -- Yomi AdegokeVery funny and moving * Evening Standard *Devastating and funny as f*ck. I can't remember when I was last so struck by a voice . . . Harriet Gibsone is a SPECTACULAR writer -- Terri WhiteJust read this from its giggly heights to its mortifying depths . . . I feel like I've been through something. Something really worth going through. -- Frank Cottrell-BoyceBrilliant. Incredibly funny, chillingly accurate, real sad. Harriet Gibsone is a spectacular writer -- Stevie Martin

Read more less

Book SynopsisHeidi Mavir is a late-identified, neurodivergent adult. She is a public speaker, advocate, author of Your Child Is Not Broken, podcaster, and parent to an autistic/ADHD teenager. A trained Mental Health First Aider and CPD Accredited Trauma-Informed Professional, Heidi uses her knowledge, learning, and experience to help other parents and carers to become powerful advocates for their neurodivergent kids. She has built an online community of over 6000 families, supported by parent professionals and SEN advocates, who want to improve opportunities for autistic learners. Heidi has been featured in The Sunday Times, The Guardian , and BBC National News. She founded EOTAS MATTERS to support families like hers whose children and young people need education outside a school setting.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a black and white reissue edition of Five Quarters, previously published as a full-colour cookbook in 2015. This edition contains no photography. WINNER of the André Simon Food Book Award in 2015. ''This is the most wonderful cookbook, especially - though not exclusively - if you like really reading cookbooks, possibly in bed. Rachel Roddy is a marvellous writer'' India Knight''Roddy is a gifted storyteller, and a masterful hand with simple ingredients'' Guardian Cook ''Of course I thought Rome was glorious, but I didn''t want to stay. A month, three at most, then I''d take a train back to Sicily to finish the clockwise journey I''d interrupted, before moving even further southwards . . .''Instead, captivated by the exhilarating life of Testaccio, the wedge-shaped quarter of Rome that centres round the old slaughterhouse and the bustling food market, Rachel decided to rent a flat and live there. Thus began an Italian adventure. Five Quarters charts a year in her small kitchen, shopping, cooking, eating and writing, capturing a uniquely domestic picture of life in this vibrant, charismatic city. Rachel shares over 100 simple and delicious recipes, offering you an authentic glimpse into daily Roman life. Combining her love of Italian food with a strong nostalgia for home and memories of growing up in England, this cookbook is a joy to read as well as to use in the kitchen.- Antipasti- Soup & Pasta- Meat & Fish- Vegetables- Dolci

Read more less

Book SynopsisNew in paperback - Love with No Tomorrow shares a spark of light by sharing true love stories of the Holocaust. This heart-wrenching book uses hundreds of hours of interviews with survivors and their children to present first-hand accounts of the relationships that blossomed in extermination camps, sparking hope in the darkest of times.Trade Review‘Love With No Tomorrow, through its compelling stories of love and affirmation in the darkest of contexts, relates important history about individual lives. It confirms that there is a strength and power in the human spirit that, even in the most inhuman of circumstances, can animate and ennoble. It is a testament to the exponential power of survival.’ -- DAVID G. MARWELL, PhD, Director Emeritus of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and author of Mengele: Unmasking the ‘Angel of Death’

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn enthralling combat memoir as told by a Special Operations pilot of the famed 160th Night Stalkers.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWINNER OF 2024 LAKELAND BOOK OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING''It raises the standard of nature writing. This is both radical manifesto and activism in book form'' Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean''Long before I knew I was sick, I knew I was breakable . . .''After years of unexplained health problems, Polly Atkin''s understanding of her body had become fluid and disjointed. When she was finally diagnosed with two chronic conditions in her thirties, she began to piece together her own history: the fractures and dislocations, the exhaustion and medical disregard.A searing blend of memoir, nature writing and pathography, Some of Us Just Fall traces a remarkable journey through illness. From misdiagnoses to wild swimming in the Lake District, Polly examines her genetic inheritance, her place in the natural world and her future in her body.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE WAINRIGHT PRIZE & SHORTLISTED FOR THE RICHARD JEFFERIES AWARD''A daring, delightful and galvanising call to save the world, one plant at a time'' Bookseller, Editor''s ChoiceTEN YEARS AGO, BEN JACOB TURNED OUTLAW TO SAVE OUR RAREST FLOWERS. THIS IS HIS STORY.Obsessed by orchids since childhood, Ben spent years travelling to far-flung jungles to see them in the wild. Then a chance encounter set him off on a journey of discovery into the wonderful, but often forgotten, world of Britain''s fifty-one native species. These include the Bee which looks (and smells) so much like one that even bees are fooled, the Ghost which exists without sunlight, and Autumn Lady''s Tresses which gave Darwin the proof he needed for his theory of evolution.But our orchids are in desperate trouble. Many species are facing extinction. Decimated by changes in land use and climate, inadequately protected by environmental and planning laws, their Trade ReviewA daring, delightful and galvanising call to save the world, one plant at a time * The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice *It's noble work in a time of great change. The Orchid Outlaw urges us to look closer and tread more carefully -- Alice Vincent * New Statesman *If this doesn't turn into one of the most talked about nature books of the year, I'll eat my hat. Brilliantly written, urgent and brave -- Lee Schofield, author of WILD FELLA vivid love letter to Britain's wild orchids . . . Ben Jacob breaks all the rules with enormous success -- FRANCIS PRYOR, Time Team and author of THE MAKING OF THE BRITISH LANDSCAPEThe Orchid Outlaw . . . offers captivating descriptions of pre-dawn forays on to private land where housing developments will soon obliterate colonies of precious orchids * Financial Times, Best new books on climate and the environment *The book is written with a skip and drama, and will leave you furious that these strange and delicate plants have been so neglected * Mail on Sunday *A brave, timely and inspiring example of how to exercise our moral obligation to care for the non-human beings we share the world with. The Orchid Outlaw is an empowering tonic to the environmental despair evoked by the lack of leadership from our lawmakers -- Leif Bersweden, author of Where the Wild Flowers Grow

Read more less

Book Synopsis''All the charm, wonder, eccentricity and vigour of country life is here in these pages, and told with such engaging directness, detail and colour . . . Bliss'' STEPHEN FRY''A capacious work that contains multitudes . . . a work to amble through, seasonally, relishing the vivid dashes of colour and the precision and delicacy of the descriptions'' THE SPECTATOR''My favourite read of the year . . . warm, funny and moving'' SUNDAY TIMES''A writer whose pages you turn and then turn back immediately to re-read, relish and get by heart'' SUSAN HILL, SUNDAY TELEGRAPHRonald Blythe lived at the end of an overgrown farm track deep in the rolling countryside of the Stour Valley, on the border between Suffolk and Essex. His home was Bottengoms Farm, a sturdy yeoman''s house once owned by the artist John Nash. From here, Blythe spent almost half a century observing the slow turn of the agricultural year, the Trade ReviewMy favourite read of the year . . . I do not know of another work that lets you so directly into another person's mind and memory . . . a warm, funny and moving nature memoir -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Blythe is a writer whose pages you turn and then turn back immediately to re-read, relish and get by heart particular phrases and images . . . We should be grateful to have him and his beautiful pages, and for the privilege of spending so many ordinary and yet rare and precious days in his company -- SUSAN HILL * Telegraph 5* review *A capacious book that contains multitudes . . . It is a work to amble through, seasonally, relishing the vivid dashes of colour and the precision and delicacy of the descriptions * The Spectator *The greatest living writer on the English countryside . . . Blythe's writing dances with self-deprecating wit, rebellious asides, sharp portraits of fellow writers and notes of worldliness -- Patrick Barkham * Guardian *Ronald Blythe's eye and voice bring the countryside alive like a Brueghel painting. All the charm, wonder, eccentricity and vigour of country life is here in these pages, and told with such engaging directness, detail and colour. To immerse yourself in this East Anglian year is be reminded of why we love and value the rhythms and realities of rural life. Bliss -- STEPHEN FRYA book of priceless wisdom . . . to read as the year unfolds. My Blythe has a great, often droll sense of humour . . . and writes with a spry, unforced elegance * Country Life *[His diary] is the best of his writing, its light as air and full of philosophy. . . a wonderful, original, pure tapestry. He could time travel within a single sentence, going from personal to local to global. Being with Ronnie Blythe in one of his books is like being on a magic carpet, the exhilaration of being alive, and of nature, and the world -- Ian Collins * Today Programme *Next to Nature is the perfect memorial, a latter-day Book of Hours . . . I'm resolved to return to this monthly for amusement, inspiration and comfort -- Christina Hardyment * The Times, Audiobook of the Week *A near-legendary chronicler of a particular patch of countryside and country life * Times Radio *The prose is fresher than most contemporary nature writing and, unlike many still-living nature writers, Blythe is concerned with people who live and work in the countryside -- Patrick Galbraith * The Times *Praise for Ronald BlytheEngland's greatest living country writer * Independent *Blythe's observations of nature are as unforced as breathing, and his descriptions are precise, celebratory and unexpected . . . [He] seduces even the irreligious reader into an appreciation of the meshing of the temporal and the timeless * Guardian *One of our best writers . . . Next to Nature is a hoard of observation, gossip and stories designed to take you through the year, with something rich and strange on every page -- Hilary Spurling * The Spectator, Books of the Year 2022 *[Ronald Blythe] is an English institution . . . he lives with a deep, authentic sense of wonder * TLS *Some of the most beautiful and precise prose in modern English . . . an expansive exploration of how land­scapes, humans, and words interact, touched with great humanity. . . He is our tribal storyteller, plugged into a common stream of inquisitive conversation that joins us as a species -- RICHARD MABEYOne of the great prose stylists on the twentieth century . . . a modern Hazlitt -- MARK COCKERThe finest rural historian of our times * Country Life *It would be difficult to find . . . a sensibility which is richer or better fed, more deeply watered and manured, more drenched in Englishness -- ADAM NICOLSON[His] minute observation of places, people and plants, his ear for scraps of dialogue and his feeling for poetry and painting make everything about those days immediate . . . [He has] a deep of love of the place ­- and of humanity -- MAGGI HAMBLINGThe best portrait of modern rural life in England, subtle and compassionate -- ROGER DEAKIN, on AkenfieldThe doyen of writers about the natural world in England -- MICHAEL McCARTHYReading this book is to be in the company of a supremely sensitive observer who has spent a lifetime seeing and scenting nature . . . His writing delights. His wry humour surprises. * Methodist Recorder *An exquisite piece of observation, connection-making and presentation. Blythe is a master craftsman with words . . . Next to Nature is not a book to be rushed, but savoured * Reform *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA raw and masterful memoir about becoming a woman and going mad - and doing both at once.

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe explosive, shocking and honest account from an MI5 officer, revealing never-before-seen detail into MI5''s operation ''I do it because it is all I know. I''m a hunter of people and I''m damn good at it.'' Recruited after the 7/7 attacks on London, Tom quickly found himself immersed in the tense world of watching, following and infiltrating networks of terrorists, spies and foreign agents. It was a job that took over his life and cost him dear, taking him to the limit of physical and mental endurance. Filled with extraordinary accounts of operations that saved countless lives, Soldier Spy is the only authentic account by an ex-MI5 officer of the round-the-clock battle to keep this country safe. ________ ''Very well written, gives a startling amount of operational detail, the biggest shock of all - MI5 agreed to its publication'' Sunday Times ''A blistering, visceral insight inTrade ReviewFor the very first time an MI5 undercover surveillance officer provides an unputdownable, eye-opening account of the on-going struggle to keep Britain's streets safe and terror free. * from the publisher's description *Gripping. One of the most successful MI5 undercover surveillance officers of his time * Sun *Very well written, gives a startling amount of operational detail, the biggest shock of all - MI5 agreed to its publication * Sunday Times *

Read more less

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

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Savage God, a unique memoir of growing old, and a lesson in not going gently into that good nightThe ponds of Hampstead Heath are small oases; fragments of wild nature nestled in the heart of north-west London. For the best part of his life Al Alvarez poet, critic, novelist, rock-climber and poker player has swum in them almost daily. An athlete in his youth, Alvarez chronicles what it is to grow old with humour and fierce honesty from his relentlessly nagging ankle which makes daily life a struggle, to infuriating bureaucratic battles with the council to keep his disabled person's Blue Badge, the devastating effects of a stroke, and the salvation he finds in the three Ss Swimming, Sex and Sleep.As Alvarez swims in the ponds he considers how it feels when you begin to miss that person you used to be to miss yourself. Swimming is his own private form of protest against the onslaught of time; proof to others, and himself, that Trade ReviewThe adrenalin still flows in lively extracts from 11 years of journals * The Times *A beautiful unfolding of a story, told in deceptively simple prose but with a great power to move * Sunday Times *A marvellous book. Even the title Pondlife is spot-on: unlaboured, light and right. But it has no business to be as invigorating and absorbing – its success is against the odds * Observer *Al Alvarez is a writer’s writer whose brilliant insight has illuminated everything from suicide to his love of poker ... A miniature classic of a man’s defiant assertion against ageing * Metro *

Read more less

Book Synopsis_______________WINNER OF THE INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTIONTHE TOP 2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKAN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR_______________Mudlark (/mAdla;k/) noun A person who scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbourLara Maiklem has scoured the banks of the Thames for over fifteen years, in pursuit of the objects that the river unearths: from Neolithic flints to Roman hair pins, medieval buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes to Victorian toys. These objects tell her about London and its lost ways of life.Moving from the river's tidal origins in the west of the city to the point where it meets the sea in the east, Mudlarking is a search for urban solitude and history on the River Thames, which Lara calls the longest archaeological site in England.As she has discovered, it is often the tiniest objects that tell the greatest storTrade ReviewThis is a quirky and delightful read, wonderfully evocative of London’s gloopy, ghost-haunted river * Daily Mail *A treasure. One of the best books I’ve read in years -- Tracy BormanReveals to us the fascinating and poignant micro-world of London's history -- Hallie RubenholdEnchanting. It made even a capsized cynic like me feel more sentimental about the Thames. In fact, I am quite tempted to join Maiklem on the riverbed looking for treasure * Sunday Times *Mudlarks are river scavengers, but Lara Maiklem is more like a time traveller. Her prose has none of the self-conscious sensibility that defines contemporary nature writing; her thoughtful sentences read as though she were talking to herself. There is a great deal to learn from these pages, not least the insight that finding lost things is the best way of losing yourself. It is, above all, her wisdom that makes Lara Maiklem such restful company * Guardian *Maiklem persists, in this weirdly engaging book, in seeking out a curious beauty. Maiklem’s description of the fog is worthy of Dickens or Joseph Conrad. Maiklem pungently evokes the broken bridges, slippery river stairs, causeways, jetties and boatyards. No one has looked at these odd corners since Sherlock Holmes * Sunday Telegraph *Maiklem’s storytelling shines. Her imagined histories for her special finds read like waterborne fairy stories, a hard kernel of truth clothed in mythical finery. Reading it, I felt like I was down on the foreshore myself, sifting through the pages for titbits * Daily Telegraph *A lovely, lyrical, gently meandering book, filled with fascinating diversions and detail * Literary Review *Maiklem's enthusiasm is infectious, and her reimagining of the lives of those who parted with these items is an illuminated joy * i *Whoever buys it is blessed. I love the fact that [Maiklem] makes herself the centre of this huge, timeless, endless story that reaches from the distant past and flows past all our consciousnesses out to a place far beyond the reach of the estuary. Lara is such a natural writer; every page just tingles with her imagination. It is a love letter to life itself -- Ian MortimerMaiklem has an infectious love of linking the present with the past. It is historic detail like this that makes Mudlarking much more than just a lengthy list of discarded bric-a-brac. Lara is a romantic, motivated primarily by the human stories behind the objects. Curiosity may kill the cat, but it is the making of many an author. And Lara has it in spades * Daily Mail *Maiklem augments the Thamesian tally, summoning old Londoners out of silty suspension from a discarded Victoria Cross or a pot-lid. There are other mudlarking books, but this one offers engaging insight into an amphibian ambience of strongly marked characters, semi-secret exploits and outlandish theories. Maiklem is not alone in resorting to the river for salvation as much as salvage * Spectator *A beautifully written memoir of one woman’s relationship with the sacred Thames and the ghosts of its past. Lara Maiklem’s book on mudlarking is as deep and as rich as the Thames and its treasures. Fascinating -- Stanley TucciA hybrid of personal memoir, London history and literary cabinet of curiosities * Telegraph *Maiklem’s knowledge and skill are evident and unarguable. [She] leaves the door open for the rest of us: with a bit of luck and patience you too, she suggests, could spot something interesting on the foreshore, ask around, take it to a museum and end up owning a little bit of history. What a thrill -- Caught by the River[An] enthralling and evocative history of London and its people -- Book of the Month * Bookseller *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Grimly funny and superbly written, with a twist on every page'' Hilary Mantel''Delightfully compulsive and unforgettably original'' Hadley Freeman''Wonderful, funny and wise'' Kate SummerscaleShortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize 2021A Sunday Times, TLS, Spectator and New Statesman Book of the Year Aunt Munca never told the truth about anything. Calling herself after the mouse in a Beatrix Potter story, she was already a figure of mystery during the childhood of her nephew Ferdinand Mount. Half a century later, a series of startling revelations sets him off on a tortuous quest to find out who this extraordinary millionairess really was. What he discovers is shocking and irretrievably sad, involving multiple deceptions, false identities and abandonments. The story leads us from the back streets of Sheffield at the end of the Victorian age to the highest echelons of English sTrade ReviewAunt Munca flees the streets of Sheffield for a suite at Claridges, getting younger by the year and leaving behind her a trail of brazen lies and shattered pieties. In his family memoir, Ferdinand Mount pursues her with wit and skill through a career in which crime pays, marriage is for a week, and children are lost like old gloves. Kiss Myself Goodbye is grimly funny and superbly written, with a twist on every page. -- Hilary Mantel, author of the Wolf Hall TrilogyDelightfully compulsive and unforgettably original. Mount unpeels the layers of this mysterious life with the tenacity of an experienced detective and the excitement of a fresh-eyed enthusiast. -- Hadley Freeman, author of House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish FamilyExtraordinary … shed[s] a brilliant light on the strangeness of people’s lives, the need for disguise and masquerade, the shame that drives people to act in the most peculiar ways, the ghosts that reside, unburied, within us. -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *Wonderful, funny and wise -- Kate Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr WhicherDelicious … As well as an ear for the cadences of a sentence, Mount has a remarkable ability to convey the feeling of place … Beneath the surface of this sparklingly wry book you sense all kinds of unexplored feelings of abandonment and loss. * The Oldie *Mount is one of our finest prose stylists and Kiss Myself Goodbye is a witty, moving and beautifully crafted account of one woman’s determination to live to the full. * Daily Telegraph *An extraordinary book * Tatler *Unique and immensely enjoyable. I only wish it were longer. * Spectator *Kiss Myself Goodbye is a work of beauty. The simple truthfulness of Ferdinand Mount’s storytelling is irresistible. * Literary Review *...A superbly written and jaw-dropping memoir. * Daily Telegraph *Veering giddily from grand guignol to poignant melancholy, this is an exquisitely wrought portrait of a wickedly fascinating woman. -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *...this book, which is partly a family history and partly a detective novel, with extraordinary revelations and an impressive cast of characters dotted through the narrative. -- Roland White * The Sunday Times (Culture) *Witty, moving and beautifully crafted, Kiss Myself Goodbye is a “masterclass” in bringing long-buried secrets to light. * The Week *[Mount ]… vividly captures bygone Britain. * Daily Record *It needs a writer of wit, imagination and empathy to carry me along from one layer of the tissue to the next. Mount is such a writer. * The Oldie *A wonderful memoir of the author’s aunt – deadpan, shrewd and very dryly funny. -- William Boyd, bestselling authorTable of Contents1 Angmering-on-Sea 2 Georgie 3 Buster 4 Charters 5 Brightside 6 Crawford Mansions 7 Eileen and Elizabeth 8 W. F. 9 Brightside Revisited 10 Seven Hills Postscripts Thanks Picture and Text Credits

Read more less