Memoirs Books
Golden Duck (UK) Ltd Maid Matelot: The Adventures of a Wren Stoker in
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£11.39
Human Givens Publishing Ltd Listening to Idries Shah: How Understanding Can
Book SynopsisThis memoir describes the various childhood experiences that informed the quest for meaning and the travels and adventures that came after asking his art tutor a question that ultimately led to a long association with the work of Idries Shah.
£14.24
Route Publishing Song for My Father
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£8.99
St David's Press Darren Campbell: Track Record
Book SynopsisOlympic gold medallist Darren Campbell is one of Britain's most successful and popular athletes, yet the real story behind his success has not been made public, until now. Track Record, his long-awaited autobiography, reveals how a boy from painfully humble beginnings in Moss Side, Manchester, and who suffered bullying at school, was inspired by Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics to harness his athletic ability and break out of a cycle of misbehaviour and petty crime to enjoy huge success in sport, business and as a broadcaster. Despite his early promise as a young sprinter Darren explains how, totally disillusioned with the use of performance-enhancing drugs in athletics, he turned to football where he played at a semi-professional level for Cwmbran Town, Weymouth FC and was offered a contract at Plymouth Argyle. His realisation, however, that he could either continue to be a decent lower league footballer, or return to the track and become a world class sprinter, saw him link-up with coach Linford Christie and achieve great success, winning a host of gold, silver and bronze medals at major championships, including silver in the 200m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and gold in the 4 x 100m at the 2004 Athens Olympics Spurred into finally telling his story after suffering a life-threatening condition in 2018, Track Record is the heart-warming and inspirational life-story of a talented, principled and determined man who overcame economic poverty and racial prejudice to triumph on the athletic tracks of the world.Trade Review‘Darren has provided more than just a highly readable account of his life and athletics career, he also gives a fascinating insight into him as a person, and has shared with us all how the many events in his celebrated life were shaped by a background that has created resilience and integrity, both on the track and off it.’ Denise Lewis OBE; ‘I first met Darren when he was 14 years old and he had the ability to charm everyone he met and make them believe that he would be good at whatever he set his mind to. Over the years, I realised that there was a deep thinker behind that smile and the only person who could stop him achieving his goals was himself. At a time when Ron Roddan and I coached Darren, we were working with a hugely talented group of athletes who pushed, supported and motivated each other into achieving their goals and some of my proudest moments in athletics have been helping Darren achieve his dreams. He is family and always will be.’ Linford Christie OBE; ‘Olympic gold and silver medals are but part of the story. Few of us can relate to the elation generated by the unforgettable sprint relay glory of Athens in 2004, just as the murder of a friend brings a darkness too scary for most of us to comprehend. Some have been tempted to describe a dropped baton in a relay race as a tragedy. Darren Campbell knows better.’ Mike Costello, BBC Radio 5LiveTable of ContentsPreface by Mike Costello Foreword by Denise Lewis Acknowledgements Prologue: Running in the Wrong Direction 1. Moss Side 2. Sale Racecourse 3. Newport 4. Wilderness 5. Atlanta 6. Budapest 7. Sydney 8. Manchester 9. Athens 10. Retirement 11. Coach Epilogue: The Toughest Race of My Life Record of Achievement
£13.99
Eye Books The Ambassador's Wife's Tale
Book SynopsisWho really looks after British interests abroad? Behind the pomp of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, another powerful force is busily but discreetly propping up the image of UK plc. For 28 years, Julia was a diplomatic spouse, juggling a growing family while supporting the demands of her husband’s role. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, she reveals the realities of life as an ambassador’s wife, from food shortages to terrorist incidents to rubbing shoulders with the Queen, Mrs Thatcher and George Best – and rubbing knees with Mikhail Gorbachev. Light-hearted in style, The Ambassador’s Wife Tale has a serious core message: that the diplomatic wife stands centre-stage as the drama of world affairs unfolds.Trade Review`Suspenseful and gripping...the last days of the Libya posting are as breathless as scenes in the Oscar-winning film Argo’ Daily Mail, `Julia Miles describes with accuracy as well as with fine humour the varied, challenging and daunting tasks that wives of diplomats have to manage, often under very difficult circumstances’ Express Tribune
£12.34
Persephone Books Ltd The World That Was Ours
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£16.00
Persephone Books Ltd Into the Whirlwind
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£16.00
Waterside Press The Lost Boyz: A Dark Side of Graffiti
For those who equate graffiti tagging with the cosy quirkiness of Banksy or the colourful artistry of wasteground murals - this book will be a real eye-opener. 'The Lost Boyz documents Justin's road to change and redemption. This is the story of almost feral youth, spraying their mark on the urban chaos of pre-millenium London. A story of what it's like to grow up as a confused and mentally unstable child of mixed race in a predominantly white area. A story of mental torture, racism and extreme violence. The Lost Boyz takes the reader through the dirty back streets and dark alleys of south London where vicious gangs of graffiti taggers fought an all-out turf war that left many victims and casualties in its wake. The Lost Boyz squandered their youth in a nihilistic rush towards oblivion. And some did not survive the journey. Justin Rollins was one of the lucky ones...He spent years in prison before managing to wrest back some control over his life. Now in his mid 20s Justin is a changed man, hardly recognisable (both physically and mentally) to the youth I first met. He now has a young daughter of his own and is reconciled with the family he once felt so distant from. He no longer drinks or takes drugs, and nor does he see himself as separate from the rest of society. In writing this book, which was a long and painful journey for him, Justin hopes to lay his ghosts of the past to rest. And if it serves as a warning to even one kid who may be starting out on the same road, then it is a job well done': Noel 'Razor' Smith, crime writer (from the Foreword) .
£16.50
Merlin Unwin Books Promises to Keep: A British Vet in Africa
Book SynopsisVet Hugh Cran's daily life is non-stop as he copes with rabied dogs, entire herds of sick cattle, a surgery fire, near-death on a fishing trip and he even finds time to fall in love and start a family. Hugh's witty observations and professional approach makes this a lively and engaging read about what it is to be a vet at the sharp end in Kenya.
£15.29
Halsgrove A Peewit in Wartime: A Child's War in Somerset
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£12.34
Book Castle Publishing Threads or Thresholds
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£9.49
Book Castle Publishing The Oasis and the Butterfly
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£8.54
Lodestar Books Sailing with the Admiral: A conversation with the
Book SynopsisMartin O’Scannall loves the old, the eccentric, the offbeat — the quirky if you like; the wandering off into byways, the exploration of half-forgotten snippets of history. And Galicia, his home for the past decade or more, is ideal territory for indulging that taste. Galicia is a time warp: rain-swept, isolated, savage and gentle by turns, as far a cry from the blazing Costas as it is possible to imagine. This book is a conversation with the past, conducted in a very old, engineless gaff cutter, armed with the Admiralty Pilot, a gallant crew, and a sense of the ridiculous. We encounter, but in unexpected ways, the likes of Drake, Nelson, the ill-fated HMS Serpent, Celtic myth and legend, and the reminiscences of those who have gone before, all interspersed with the business of managing an old yacht in the old way: Walker log, paper charts and all. Beginning, as he says it has to be, with the dreaded storm at sea.
£11.40
Loose Chippings Books The Girl with the Widow's Peak: The Memoirs
Book SynopsisBorn in November 1916 to the Marquess and Marchioness of Granby, Lady Ursula was a sprightly and charming lady whose memoirs of her uniquely glamorous life make riveting reading. Describing herself as having been an observant child, she records life at Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire, as maintained on a feudal scale until September 1939. Her vivid accounts include the numerous servants and their roles from liveried footmen to the pig man. She also describes her close relationship with her father who succeeded as 9th Duke of Rutland in 1925, and whom she helped as a girl in his sensitive restoration of another Manners family seat, the mediaeval Haddon Hall, Derbyshire. We hear of her coming-out Ball at Belvoir Castle in 1934 at the age of seventeen and her role in the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937. Dressed by Norman Hartnell, she was one of the Six Maids of Honour who bore the Queen's train in Westminster Abbey. In 1938 she accompanied the new King and Queen on their triumphant first state visit to Paris and Versailles. By contrast, her war work was soon to include being in charge of hundreds of women at a munitions factory in Springfield, Grantham. Her activities here were described in letters which her celebrated aunt, Lady Diana Cooper, wife of Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, sent to their son, John Julius, while a schoolboy. They are quoted here by his kind permission. Lady Ursula recalls her close friendships with men as varied as Rex Whistler, the Maharajah of Jaipur and Paul Getty. The story told is unforgettable, and though it has touches of Brideshead and Downton Abbey, it is utterly novel for, unlike them, it is actually real.Trade Review"her enthralling memoir" Mail On Sunday | "fans of Debo and the restoration of Chatsworth are sure to enjoy this section of the book" The Mitford Society | "This is the Real Thing, an evocative account of English upper-class life throughout the 20th century."
£11.88
Little Toller Books Love, Madness, Fishing: A Memoir
Book SynopsisSoon after Dexter Petley began writing down his observations of people on the borders of rural Kent and Sussex during the 1960s and 1970s, he realised that his stories were acquiring a broader significance. Between the riverbank where he taught himself to fish and the secondary modern where gardening and smallholding were on the curriculum, he witnessed the lives of a demobbed generation who were still adjusting to post-war Britain, surviving hand-to-mouth, eking out a living mending cars, recycling scrap metal or hop-picking. This fractured landscape, carried like an heirloom since boyhood, has allowed Petley to untangle the fragments of his own life, from the loss of his first love to the nomadic existence he has been living ever since, in London, Africa and France. Here is an unsentimental memoir of exceptional quality. Reminiscent of Laurie Lee and H.E. Bates, each story is peopled by vivid, earthy characters who gravitate around the lakes and ponds and rivers that have flowed through Dexter Petley's life.
£999.99
Little Toller Books Ridge and Furrow: Voices from the Winter Fields
Book SynopsisIn his haunting debut, Water and Sky, published in 2014, Neil Sentance explored the history of his family and the landscape which shaped them. Ridge and Furrow continues the project to chart in prose the voices of a seldom recorded people and place. From the long shadows of war and want, to facing the great changes to rural life in the twentieth century, to first forays into a world beyond the flatlands of Lincolnshire, the book delicately portrays the dreams of lone, and often lonely, figures in one family's history. Ridge and Furrow melds memoir and fiction, place and nature writing, told with characteristic lyricism and muddy realism.
£10.80
Brambleby Books Bringing Home the Cows: Growing up on a wild
Book SynopsisThis is the story of a boy's life, growing up on a farm in the 1960s. Nine-year old Bill, the author, moves with his family from the suburbs of London to a dairy farm in North Devon, an idyllic environment where he grows up for the next ten years. Pithy anecdotes talk about his daily chores of looking after the cows and helping with the harvest, often turning into disasters - or adventures. With his dog Lucy, he roams the countryside observing wildlife, his passion, encountering birds of prey and his beloved butterflies and moths. He also loves to keep and breed many pets, particularly guinea pigs and budgerigars, yet, having to attend three different schools does not leave happy memories, until he meets the local girls - his first loves.
£8.54
Chiselbury Publishing A Soldier's Wife
Book SynopsisMargaret Ford lived a long and inspirational life. From humble beginnings in a terraced house in Blackburn in the 1920s, she has witnessed 9 decades of change in contemporary Britain. She has travelled the world and been part of an era that is now gone: army life in Britainâs colonies, the end of a mighty empire, and the tensions of the Cold War.
£9.49
Haus Publishing My House in Damascus: An Inside View of the
Book SynopsisHow did Syria's revolution lose its way? Drawing on the author's firsthand knowledge of the country's complex religious and ethnic communities, this book illuminates the darker recesses of Syria's history, politics, and society. With the unique perspective of an Arabic-speaking British woman, Diana Darke became deeply embedded in all levels of Syrian society when she bought and restored a house in a mixed Sunni/Shi'a neighborhood of the walled Old City of Damascus. In September 2012, as fighting intensified and millions were forced to flee their homes, she offered her house as a sanctuary to friends. By following her experiences and struggles with the realities of life on the ground inside Syria, the reader will arrive at a clearer understanding of why the country remains locked in conflict and why most ordinary Syrians are caught between a repressive government and a splintering opposition.Trade Review'...written with the pace of a novel and the colour of the best travel writing... much more than a personal memoir: it is an eclectic but learned encyclopedia of Syrian history, of the Arabs and their language and traditions, of Islamic art and architecture, and more.' - Times Literary Supplement '...glows with...an understanding of and affection for the peoples of Syria.' - The Irish Times 'Darke's powerful, moving new book - elegantly contrasts a property dream with Syria's ongoing violent reality - Her sensitive, knowing story captures a rare view of Syria and the stakes of the conflict from an up-close observer deeply versed in its culture.' - New Republic
£12.28
Bitter Lemon Press Chernobyl Strawberries: A Memoir
Book SynopsisHow would you make sense of your life if you thought it might end tomorrow? In this captivating and best-selling memoir Vesna Goldsworthy tells the story of herself, her family and her early life in her lost country. There follows marriage, a move to England and a successful media and academic career, then a cancer diagnosis and its unresolved consequences. A profoundly moving, comic and original account by a stunning literary talent.Trade Review'Exceptional. If there has been a more honest, calm and profoundly moving memoir written in the last few years, then I've missed it.'--Times Literary Supplement 'Funny, painful, and brilliant - Fantastically well written - I hope that it will soon take its place among the Lolitas of Tehran and the Booksellers of Kabul' Tim Judah, Observer 'Exceptional. If there has been a more honest, calm and profoundly moving memoir written in the last few years, then I've missed it' Andrew Taylor, TLS 'Three qualities make Vesna Goldsworthy's memoir stand apart - her honesty, he skill as a writer and the fascinating circumstances of her life. Her ability to find unexpected, subtle connections in the pattern of her own life elevates this absorbing memoir into something extraordinary' Josh Lacey, Guardian 'Engrossing - the work of a fiercely honest and cultivated intelligence' Paul Bailey, Sunday Times
£8.54
Nomad Publishing The Fakhros of Bahrain: Merchants and Reformers
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£21.25
Peirene Press Ltd Marzahn, Mon Amour
Book SynopsisA RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME - WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2023 - A woman approaching the 'invisible years' of middle age abandons her failing writing career to retrain as a chiropodist in the suburb of Marzahn, once the GDR's largest prefabricated housing estate, on the outskirts of Berlin. From her intimate vantage point at the foot of the clinic chair, she keenly observes her clients and co-workers, delving into their personal histories with all their quirks and vulnerabilities. Each story stands alone as a beautifully crafted vignette, told with humour and poignancy; together they form a nuanced and tender portrait of a community. Part memoir, part collective history, Katja Oskamp's love letter to the inhabitants of Marzahn is a stunning reflection on life's progression and our ability to forge connections in the unlikeliest of places.Trade Review'Delightful!' KEN FOLLETT ' 'It's rare to come across a book of such captivating warmth and humour. There is something magical at play in Marzahn, Mon Amour. I loved every page of it.'' RONAN HESSION 'Katja Oskamp knows how to capture the essence of people beautifully. They really come to life in her portraits. A powerful book.' FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, PRESIDENT OF GERMANY; 'Marzahn, Mon Amour captures a piece of modern German history and brings it right down to the human level.' WORLD LITERATURE TODAY; 'There is great soul in this book: power, goodness and humility.' NEUES DEUTSCHLAND
£10.80
Prospect Books The Village in the Valley: Travels in Mexico and
Book SynopsisCorinna Sargood, who illustrated Patience Gray?s Honey from a Weed, spends several months each year in Mexico with her partner, Richard, a furniture maker. They live a simple life, renting a home in the Village in the Valley, south of Mexico City, a life she began in her fifties.When Corinna was fifty, she first travelled to Mexico, with Richard, her partner of a few months standing. She had a commission to illustrate a book by the novelist Angela Carter.?Angela Carter had asked me to make another series of lino cuts to illustrate the second Virago Book of Fairy Tales that she was editing. As I had calculated that it would take about 3 months to complete, it seemed a good opportunity to decamp to another country and to work there. Angela was a great friend of mine.?Corinna and Richard just took a few clothes hoping to establish their first home together. Most of the time they ended up with leaking roofs, dirt floors that became a sea of mud when they stepped out of bed, and the only shower a bucket of water en plein air, behind a make shift plastic sheet.The book is a love story, a memoir and a travel diary. In addition, the book contains Corinna?s escapades in Italy as a young woman.Corinna and Richard now live in Frome, Somerset, where they live a creative life, illustrating and making furniture, in their seventies.
£18.00
Medina Publishing Ltd From Epsom to Tralee: A Journey Round the
Book SynopsisIn 1955, Reginald Gill - milkman and part-time illegal bookie - took his 12-year-old son Roy to the Spring meeting at Epsom Downs Racecourse. It was a trip that started a life-long passion for racing. In the half-century since, Roy Gill has visited every racecourse in the UK and Ireland at least once. Many courses have been closed down, some have moved their location, but every racecourse he visited is vividly recalled in this very personal and highly readable account. By the time he reached Tralee in 1992, Roy Gill was 99 not out on individual racecourses, and continues to attend race meetings whenever he can. He has included the new courses at Great Leighs and Ffos Las, and returned to Wolverhampton and Limerick, which have moved from their original locations. Along with brief histories of every racecourse visited, the highs and lows of both Flat and National Hunt racing are revealed here by an acknowledged expert - and bona fide Turf Accountant. The book is beautifully illustrated with photographs (many of them previously unseen and unpublished), course diagrams and fascinating racing memorabilia.It includes the noteworthy occurrences and behind-the-scene stories of each venue, as well as personal anecdotes about the courses, the horses, the jockeys and trainers. Told with humour and passion, this entertaining and informative work is essential reading for all lovers of the Turf, and also a valuable spotlight on the sporting and social history of these sceptered isles.Table of ContentsEntries on every racecourse of the British Isles
£22.49
Empire Publications Ltd Diary of a Mother, Her Son and His Monster
Book SynopsisCaroline Burch experienced every parent''s worst nightmare when her son Elliot was diagnosed with cancer aged just six months old. To document her experiences she kept a diary detailing the ups and downs of her son''s treatment and the emotional anguish of their situation from diagnosis to remission. Almost ten years later, and with Elliot happily recovered from the condition that threatened his life, Caroline looks back at the traumatic months when there appeared to be no end in sight to the misery. Caroline''s story is proof positive that there is life after cancer and a tribute to the tireless work of the individuals who help parents and their children emerge from their nightmare. A donation will be made to Macmillan Cancer Support for every copy sold.
£8.95
Headpress Heavy Metal Headbang
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£10.79
CB Editions Simple Annals: A Memoir of Early Childhood
Book SynopsisMemories of growing up in an ordinary but loving family in Lancashire in the 1940s and early 50s, brought to the page with an almost pre-verbal immediacy.
£8.99
CB Editions Flickerbook: An Autobiography
Book SynopsisFlickerbook is the classic autobiography of the writer Leila Berg (1917-2012), who grew up in a Jewish immigrant neighbourhood in Salford, Greater Manchester. It recreates childhood pleasures and fears, relationships with family and lovers, and growing political engagement. It ends with the first air-raid siren in London September 1939.
£9.50
CB Editions The Other Jack
Book SynopsisA memoir about books, mostly - and bonfires, cliches, dystopias, failure, happiness, jokes, justice, privilege, publishing, rejection, self-loathing, shoplifting and umbrellas - by an author who has published poetry, fiction and non-fiction under his own name and pen names.
£8.54
Octopus Publishing Group The Girl from Lamaha Street: A Guyanese girl at a
Book Synopsis'An incredibly moving, truly inspiring story of the power of determination. An absolutely stunning read.' Katharine Birbalsingh'Fascinating and poignant... an astoundingly honest and intimate memoir.' Angela PetchPerhaps it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps it's true that you only know what you truly love when you no longer have it. But I wouldn't have known any of this if I hadn't left it all behind to discover where my home truly was...Growing up in British Guiana in the 1950s, Sharon Maas has everything a shy child with a vivid imagination could wish for. She spends her days studying bugs in the backyard, eating fresh mangos straight from the tree and tucked up on her granny's lap losing herself in books.But with her father campaigning for the country's independence and her mother away for work, there's a void in Sharon's heart, and she craves rules and structure. The books she devours give her a glimpse of life in a faraway country: England. And although none of the characters in these books look like her, her insatiable curiosity leads Sharon to beg to be sent to boarding school.Life at a conservative, Christian school is quite different from Sharon's liberal, atheist upbringing. Girls march silently and single file along corridors and earn badges for deportment. There are twice-daily hymns, grace before and after meals and mandatory bedside prayers. And, all the girls are posh and white, while Sharon is the only one with dark skin. Will she ever fulfil her dream of horseback riding over green hills and going on adventures like her literary heroes? And has she truly found what she was looking for in this chilly corner of the world, thousands of miles away from home?You will be swept off your feet by the unputdownable story of Sharon Maas's extraordinary childhood in British Guiana and England, a beautiful and inspiring coming-of-age tale of self-discovery, determination and chasing your dreams.Praise for The Girl from Lamaha Street:'Beautiful. Poignant. Phenomenal. This was a beautiful read and I learnt so much. I cried and I smiled and there was nothing more that I wanted from this book. Truly a gem.' Goodreads reviewer'To say this story was inspirational would be an understatement. I was utterly mesmerized... As a woman of color, I recognized myself and my experiences in the pages of this memoir... powerful, moving, and heartwarming... I devoured this book, and it is no doubt a five-star read.' Goodreads reviewer'Enlightening... powerful... Beautifully written... I found myself turning and turning, immersed in the story. A wonderful, evocative read.' Nicki's Book Blog'Engaging and intriguing... so good that I was completely enthralled from beginning to end.' NetGalley reviewer
£8.54
The Armchair Traveller at the Bookhaus Farewell to Salonica: City of the Crossroads
Book SynopsisIn this enchanting and moving memoir, Leon Sciaky describes his childhood before the FirstWorld War in a prosperous, loving Jewish family in the cosmopolitan city of Salonica (nowThessaloniki in Greece). Under the Ottoman Empire, the city's diverse communities - Jews,Muslim Turks, Orthodox Greeks and Bulgarians - met, traded and lived alongside each otherday-to-day in an atmosphere of tolerance.Farewell to Salonica offers a fascinating insight into a lost society in which an older tradition ofmutual respect was finally overcome by the pressures of nationalism and war, the after-effects ofwhich are felt in the region to this day.Trade Review'It is nostalgic, beautifully written and illuminating...' -The Sunday Times
£10.80
Waterside Press Your Honour Can I Tell You My Story?
Book SynopsisThe challenging story of a young person's progress through care, prison and social rejection to youth justice specialist. It charts failures to connect with and modify the author's chaotic early life moving from place to place, school to school, fragmented parenting and poor role models. Encircled by crime, drugs and baffling adults, Andi Brierley ended up first in a young offender institution then prison where he learned to think like a prisoner for his own survival, making everything harder for everybody on release. Until he determined to change and others saw his unenviable past could be put to good use. Shows how small things can make a difference. Contains many insights for professionals, students and others interested in young people in trouble. An addition to Waterside's acclaimed turn around stories, including Alan Weaver's So You Think You Know Me?, Ben Ashcroft's Fifty-one Moves and Justin Rollins' The Lost Boyz.Trade Review`Andi's compelling story shows why we should never give up on the capacity of people to change'-- Jim Hopkinson, Bradford Children's Services; As featured in the Yorkshire Post; 'Wow!! I didn’t put it down once I started reading!'-- Lynda Marginson CBE, Director - National Probation Service (NE).Table of ContentsForeword; Introduction; Who Am I?; Party Time; Shunted Back and Forth; Bilston; A Life of Crime; The Drugs Chain; Grafting; A Taste of Custody; Cyclops and Other Fine Friends; Harehills; Work and an Evening at Elland Road; Doncaster; Deerbolt; Clubbing the Night Away; Addiction; Here We Go Again!; Sportsperson; Release; Youth Justice Volunteer; Golden Opportunity; The Professionals; `Me, promotion?'; Back to My Youth Justice Roots; Postscript.
£18.95
Stellar Books Publishing Is Anything Alright?: My Titanics Story
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£9.49
Parthian Books The Blues are Back in Town: A Year and a Lifetime
Book SynopsisFor around twenty years, Nick Fisk believed that one day he would find a letter on his doormat from Cardiff City FC requesting his services on the football pitch. When he realised it was unlikely he was ever going to be offered the role of groundsman, he decided the next best thing would be to write about the club instead. A former member of the not especially notorious non-hooligan gang, The Sad Crew, Fisk has plenty of experience to draw from, in terms of going to football matches, and coming up with ridiculous chants that nobody ever joins in with. In The Blues Are Back in Town Nick charts the 2014/15 season, following the team and its fans, and trying to rediscover his passion for the recently relegated club, while at the same time, reflecting on the good old days. The blog he kept, The Fisk Report, gave an insight into not just what it's like to be a typical fan, but what supporting The Bluebirds is like through the eyes of a Fisk. It is a funny, enigmatic and personal book about the passion and belief of being a football fan.
£8.54
RedDoor Press My Life in 37 Therapies
Book SynopsisKay Hutchison had a successful career, a beautiful home, and a loving husband until the day she woke up and said `I'm leaving'. Why on earth did she walk away from it all and turn to a host of weird and wonderful treatment in search of answers to a question she couldn't even articulate? Part memoir, part guide, this is Kay's journey of self discovery as she faces up to her darkest moments via homeopathy, astrology, silent retreats and reiki, whilst also dabbling in past-life regression, sonic therapy, shamanic retreats and many more along the way. My Life in Thirty-Seven Therapies is the frank, funny, moving and ultimately uplifting story of one woman's pursuit of happiness and inner peace.
£9.49
Claret Press Food of Love
Book SynopsisOne of only four girls from the 160 children in her primary school to pass the eleven plus, Sylvia Vetta was the first in her family to enjoy higher education and got to enjoy that post-WWII wonder: upward mobility. While battling racism in Smethwick in the West Midlands during the most racist election in British history, changed her life. The slogan bandied by the supporters of the Conservative candidate was, ‘If you want a n***er for a neighbour, Vote Labour.’ By chance she met Indian-born Atam Vetta. Being less than 21 years of age, her boss could legally inform her parents of her young man and his racial background without Sylvia knowing of it. Sylvia and Atam married anyway and 55 years later, they’re still married. When Sylvia married Atam, mixed relationships were rare and viewed with hostility, not just in the UK. In 1966, they were illegal in South Africa and in most of the southern states of the USA (until Loving v Virginia). In India they are not illegal, but many upper-caste Indians do not approve of marriage outside of caste. Sylvia’s story embraces a revolutionary change in attitudes in the UK. Marriages and partnerships like hers are no longer rare and it is predicted that by 2075, the majority of the population will be of mixed ancestry. She was plunged into a challenging new reality. Through Atam, she learned about glass ceilings for ethnic minority Brits. Atam’s research in quantitative genetics confronted institutional and individual racism with the knowledge that discrimination had been justified by scientific racism. Atam set about helping to expose those lies. Nine months in the USA opened her eyes to the probability that she was more disadvantaged by being a woman than being married to a man of colour. Changing career from teaching to business, she entered into a world where women were mostly excluded. Sylvia set about changing that, creating a vibrant and successful business career. Peppered with facts and research, Sylvia’s life showcases the personal within the political, the successes and setbacks of forging a fairer, more tolerant and better Britain. Part of a unique demographic that challenges traditions, Sylvia’s life epitomises its clashes, its frustration, and its opportunities. Now on her third career as a writer, Sylvia explores what we have in common, while being honest about the challenges. The ultimate prize is an enhanced understanding that comes from ‘walking in someone else’s shoes’ and the creativity that comes from crossing cultures and allowing cream to rise. Food of Love is a poignant account of changes to our society from the mostly untold perspective of a white woman married to a man of colour. Recipes relishing the difference flow through the narrative. The recipes at the end of chapters reflect the diversity diet in our diet that rises with the diversity in the population. With food comes love and with love comes hope.Trade Review"A joy to read -- warm and familial, full of lovely sketches and archival photographs. It is a unique journey -- deftly articulated -- weaving the personal and the public, providing a socio-cultural landscape that is still relevant. There is much to learn from here -- digest, eat and imbibe these words with love." -- Sudeep Sen, author of EroText and editor of The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry"Vetta takes us on a lively and delicious journey through her varied and culturally rich life. Her open-mindedness and generosity shine through. And she completely understands how food and memory are inextricably linked. The recipes are great too." -- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, London Evening Standard"The Food of Love is a personal history while at the same time it is an honest portrayal of the post Second World War period. We are faced with our attitudes to class, education, gender, religion, race, politics and the expectations of people's position in society. It is a serious social comment as well as being amusing and entertaining. The way food is used to link the chapters is brilliant." -- Diana Bell, artist"Told with brio and verve, this is an astonishing life story that takes in working-class life in post-war Britain, and the transformation of society in the decades that followed. Encounters with India and China shape a life where enthusiasm for food, art and politics come together in a combination of profoundly serious issues and the laughter of liberation." -- Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China, University of Oxford"Vetta is a burning fuse on the score of an Oxfordshire cabaret. We can trace here the sweet unrelenting energy which has impacted the collective heart and mentality of its stakeholders and citizens. A Woman for All Seasons." -- Haldi Ravenna Sheahan, writer/editor"Food for Love is a testimony of zest for life, and compassionate anger at the many forms of injustice in post-war England. Sylvia Vetta's story takes us through her many lives, as she reinvents herself time and time again, rising from the ashes of prejudice, misogyny, racism and greed to renew herself. Whilst it is a story of England's hidden everyday evils, it is a story too of what can be achieved with a life steered by passion, integrity and courage." -- Dr Jane Spiro, Professor of Education and TESOL, Oxford Brookes University"A wonderful read with insight into how, having access to books at an early age, empowers social mobility. Sylvia's passion for creating access to books for the next generation is inspiring as she mobilises others to share her vision and is now fundraising to build a community library in western Kenya in partnership with the Nasio Trust." -- Nancy Mundenyo Hunt, Founder and CEO of the Nasio Trust, Winner of The UK NatWest Bank Most Inspirational Woman Award 2015"Touching, inspiring and approachable with a wide range of historical details, Sylvias memoir is a delight to read. She shares with us the human stories behind the transnational and multicultural formation of her family and shows how love persists in the face of great historical forces of socio-political change that can throw people into divisive vortexes. Not only is she courageous to write about the racist and misogynist abuses she and her family have encountered, the book also recounts her decades-long dedication to entrepreneurial and community work in Oxford that paints the city of dreamy spires in fresh colours. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in British life writing, cross-cultural journeys, and food!" -- Flair Donglai Shi, Associate Professor of World Literature, Shanghai Jiaotong University
£999.99
Claret Press Final Approach: My Father and Other Turbulence
Book SynopsisFinal Approach charts the turbulent flightpath between a jetsetting father and a planespotting son. The 1970s were the final gasp of the Golden Age of Flying. Mark Blackburn grew up amidst this fuel-guzzling splendour, with airports his playground of choice. He came to adulthood well-heeled and well-travelled. However, he had to contend with his multimillionaire father. Luxury cars. Private planes. Racing stables. Foreign Mistresses. Paranoia, bullying and power plays. At the centre was the inescapable pull of the father. Half memoir and half travelogue, wrapped in an ode to planespotting, this is one man’s journey to break free. It’s the trip of a lifetime. Take your seat and buckle up for take-off.Trade Review"Excellent - moving and engaging and really original - there is nothing like this." -- Lara Feigel, writer, reviewer and professor at Kings College London"Mark has a clear and clean, unfussy writing style - a very good idea for a book." -- Colin Grant, author of Negro with a Hat"Final Approach is a beautiful and tender work." -- Shaun Levin, A3 Press"A delightful blast from the past." -- Isabel Costello, The Literary Sofa
£999.99
Evro Publishing 50 Years with Ferraris: Photographer Neill
Book SynopsisThis book takes the reader behind the scenes at Maranello Concessionaires Ltd, Britain's famous Surrey-based importer of Ferraris founded by Colonel Ronnie Hoare. When Neill Bruce first photographed a Ferrari road car, a Dino 246 GT, in 1971, his work so impressed the powers-that-be at Maranello Concessionaires that they commissioned him to do all their promotional photography thereafter. Whether shooting production cars, factory scenes or motor show stands, he has been in Ferrari's orbit ever since. In this illustrated memoir of his 50 years with Ferraris, he presents some of his best pictures - the great majority in colour - and tells engaging stories about how they came about, including some of the mishaps along the way. All Ferrari enthusiasts will be captivated by this delightful book.
£36.00
Holland House Books This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin: A
Book SynopsisPart memoir, part biography, part book about creative writing and what really makes a novel, and also a brave book about failure, This Is Not A Book About Charles Darwin is unique and compelling.
£9.49
Holland House Books This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin: A
Book SynopsisEverybody knows about Charles Darwin, and many know about others in his family, from Erasmus Darwin and Tom Wedgwood, the first photographer, to composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and poet and radical John Cornford, the first Briton to be killed in the Spanish Civil War. But when Charles and Emma Darwin's great-great-granddaughter, another Emma Darwin, tried to root her new novel in that history, the conflict between her complex heritage, and her own identity as a writer, became a battle that nearly killed her. This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin takes the reader on a writer's journey through the Darwin-Wedgwood-Galton clan, as seen through the lens of Emma's struggle. Along the way, her wry, witty and honest memoir becomes a brave book about failure - and, above all, a book about writing and how stories are told. Richly illustrated with over 40 black and white images.Trade Review'A masterclass in how writers have to learn to fail and fail again before they have a hope of producing something like this book' Kathryn Hughes, The Mail on Sunday; 'Wise, witty, and informative' The Literary Review; 'Charming' The Spectator; 'Refreshingly frank, witty, eloquent memoir-cum-biography-cum-rumination.' Saga Magazine; `Here is the humility, naked courage and fiercely intelligent understanding of what writing a novel takes, and costs, no matter what happens to the finished product. The prize is the dangerous, painful, unwanted knowledge that Emma won at the end of the journey.' Jenn Ashworth, author of The Friday Gospels, Fell, etc, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Lancaster.
£13.49
Tangerine Press A Cage Of Shadows
Book Synopsis
£10.80
Tangerine Press Never Mind, Comrade
Book Synopsis
£10.80
Merlin Unwin Books Racing the Wind: A Cumbrian Childhood
Book SynopsisBeautifully-written memoir of Patricia Nolan's childhood in early 1950s Cumbria, which captures the end of an era. With no running water or electricity at home, this is a tale of contented poverty in a close rural community. Her tale covers three years which begin with a tragedy and end in triumph.
£10.80
Notting Hill Editions How Shostakovich Changed My Mind
Book SynopsisThrough interviews conducted with surviving members of Soviet orchestras, through his reading of philosophers, psychoanalysts, and neurologists, Johnson paints a compelling picture of one man's music and its power to validate and sustain another man's life.Trade Review'How Shostakovich Changed My Mind' is one of the most powerful, honest, and profound revelations that exists on what it is that music means and does: it's just an essential document.' - Tom Service, Presenter, Music Matters; '... an intensely readable, highly personal analysis of the major works of a composer, who, Mr. Johnson decides, has recorded a collective experience for an all-inclusive listenership....All great music teeters the edge of madness. This troubled writer makes a convincing case that the music of Dmitri Shostakovich helped to save his mind. In life's crises, he suggests, each of us comes up against an internal siege of Leningrad, and music comes to your relief.' Norman Lebrecht, The Wall Street Journal; 'For Radio 3 presenter and journalist, Stephen Johnson, Shostakovich's music is nothing less than a matter of life and death. Johnson, a tireless and passionate advocate of the man and his works, explores how the fraught music of Shostakovich shepherded the Soviet Union through the dark times of Stalin and the Great Patriotic War - and also helped to pull Johnson, suffering from clinical depression, out of the suicidal depths of despair.' Classical Music Magazine;
£14.24
Notting Hill Editions Found and Lost
Book SynopsisIn this haunting memoir, Alison Gold gives a luminous account of key moments in her life that brought her to be the writer she is. They tell of her early activism; they tell of her descent into alcoholism; they tell of her recovery; they tell of her discovery of the power of writing to give a shape and meaning to a life. Found and Lost is both a tender memorial to the extraordinary people in her life, and a compelling tale of redemption. Starting with her childhood experience of running her primary school 'Lost and Found' depot, Gold develops, though a series of letters, a meditation on ageing, friendship, loss and the forces that link us to the dead. In the very act of writing, she begins to find a route out of depression and grief. Alison Leslie Gold is best known for her works that have kept alive stories from the time of the Holocaust, stories of courage and survival - most famously her Anne Frank Remembered, co-authored with Miep Gies (who risked her life to protect the Frank family). She has never chosen to write about her own life or what made her into a gatherer of other people's stories, until now, in Found and Lost. For she has chosen to go back to her childhood in order to chart the origin of her need to save objects, stories, people - including herself - who she has sensed to be on a road to perdition.Trade Review'Let us give recognition to Alison Gold. Without her and her talent, too, this poignant account, vibrating with humanity, would not have been written.' Ellie Wiesel on Anne Frank Remembered
£11.99
Malcolm Down Publishing Ltd Still Emily
Book SynopsisEmily Owen was a highly intelligent teenager who was also athletic and a skilled musician. Tragically, in her late teens she was diagnosed as suffering from Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2), Since then Emily has survived many complicated surgical procedures, been close to death, and seen the gradual erosion of all the abilities that defined her personality including the total loss of her hearing. Despite this she has a remarkable sense of humour and has coped with everything she has been through due to her strong Christian faith, her supportive family and indomitable personality. Now Emily has published her story in a moving book which describes the years of intracranial surgery that she underwent with the gradual loss of the facilities that defined her life, her hearing and her balance, and a gradual re-evaluation of her life plans.
£9.49
University College Dublin Press No Authority: Writings from the Laureate for
Book SynopsisIn three urgent pieces of non-fiction Anne Enright explores speech and silence in the lives of Irish women: the long silence surrounding the Mother and Baby home in Tuam which was broken by the voice of Catherine Corless, the silence of Irish literary critics in response to work by women, and the reclaimed voice of the Irish writer Maeve Brennan. The short story form is celebrated with two new pieces of writing, and a biographical piece looks at the role of Canadian fiction in her reading life.Table of ContentsIntroduction | No Authority Lecture 1 | Antigone in Galway Short Story | The Hotel Lecture 2 | Maeve Brennan: Going Mad in New York Short Story | Solstice Lecture 3 | Call yourself George: Gender Representation in the Irish Literary Landscape Oh Canada: Lecture delivered on the presentation of the UCD Ulysses Medal to Margaret Atwood Afterword | Ennis, Armagh, Howth and Ballymun: A Report from the Laureate 2015–18
£16.15
Fircone Books Ltd The Farm that Raised Me: Tales from a Breconshire
Book Synopsis
£9.50
