Memoirs Books

Book Synopsis*The Sunday Times bestseller*''Wise and witty... The evolution of Higashida''s insights is at times almost unbearably moving'' Financial Times''The invitation to step inside Higashida''s mind is irresistible'' Evening StandardNaoki Higashida met international success with The Reason I Jump, a revelatory account of life as a thirteen-year-old with non-verbal autism. Now he offers an equally illuminating insight into autism from his perspective as a young adult. In concise, engaging pieces, he shares his thoughts and feelings on a broad menu of topics ranging from school experiences to family relationships, the exhilaration of travel to the difficulties of speech. Aware of how mystifying his behaviour can appear to others, Higashida describes the effect on him of such commonplace things as a sudden change of plan, or the mental steps he has to take simply to register that it''s raining. Throughout, his aiTrade ReviewEssential reading for parents and teachers who work with individuals with autism who remain non-verbal * Temple Grandin *There is much to be learned from it about this mysterious condition that Higashida regards as both a blessing and a curse. The book's single most important function is to drum into the sometimes thick heads of us neurotypical readers that people with autism experience a genuine and usually insuperable disconnection between what they want to say or do and what their brain allows them . . . Higashida's writing opens my mind to all sorts of possibilities for interpreting the behaviour of both my sons . . . a defining characteristic of autism is held to be lack of empathy, yet Higashida shows a delicate regard for the difficulties his condition creates and is adept at explaining his experiences in language that makes sense to neurotypicals . . . we should look with gratitude through the porthole he has cleared on to a submerged world. -- Charlotte Moore * Observer *Wise and witty, it offers a second insider's insight into the mysteries of non-verbal autism . . . The evolution of Higashida's insights is at times almost unbearably moving . . . Ultimately, though, his self-awareness is uplifting, reminding us to take joy in life's simple pleasures . . . sage and subtle . . . [a work] of illuminating beauty. -- Emma Claire Sweeney * Financial Times *Once again, the invitation to step inside Higashida's mind is irresistible . . . Higashida challenges the common belief that people with severe autism are exclusively literal-minded. Time and again he uses metaphor to help readers understand his world . . . if any author can help us get a grip, it's Higashida. -- William Moore * Evening Standard *Higashida's books belong in the small but intense canon of "locked-in" memoirs, such as Awakenings or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly . . . Higashida reveals himself to be far more conflicted than before. The titles show how much the years have changed him. The Reason I Jump had joy shimmering through it. Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight - the title is taken from a Japanese proverb - is about persistence. -- Helen Rumbelow * The Times *Readers are invited to observe the world from Higashida's perspective - and what a startling perspective that is . . . Higashida is wise beyond his years and constantly expressing his gratitude towards his family, above all his resilient mother. His pronouncements often ring with Yoda-like depth. He sounds like a village elder and it is impossible not to listen . . . challenges, even ones as seemingly insurmountable as those presented by severe disability, are negotiable. Hope - Higashida's favourite word - prevails. -- Leaf Arbuthnot * Sunday Times *The Reason I Jump was a game-changer, not only for those with a special interest in autism, but for anyone interested in the sheer diversity of human brains. In short essays using crystalline prose, Higashida made a gentle but devastating case that autism had been entirely misunderstood: it was not a cognitive disability at all, but a communicative and sensory one . . . This follow-up may not have the same surprise value, but it does something just as inspiring: it shows us how, with a little luck, plenty of support and a huge amount of determination, a "neuro-atypical" person can forge a happy and fulfilled path into adulthood . . . Higashida's observations across a whole range of topics are moving and thought-provoking - all the more so for coming from the perspective of a social outsider. -- Alice O'Keefe * Guardian *The book rightly challenges the methods and attitudes that prevail in supporting people with autism. It is rich in metaphor . . . Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight should be read by many beyond the circle of parents seeking to understand their child. It places Mr Higashida among the first rank of gifted writers, not just writers with autism. * Economist *Higashida's words are surely a vital message for all those who love and care for autistic family members or friends . . . his writing is poetic, with an inspirational tone that reveals wisdom beyond his years and an acceptance of diversity that we should all aspire to . . . Higashida holds up a mirror to conventional assumptions about autism, including those of health professionals, and challenges us to do better . . . The extraordinary impact that he is making on families across the world continues. -- Anna Remington * The Lancet *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Easternmost Sky is part memoir, part elegy and part warning. It was written on the Suffolk coast, in a place known for its farmland, nature reserves and the fastest coastal erosion in Europe. By exploring how climate change and social change are already affecting this agriculturally important part of the world, it is possible to imagine a very different landscape, to glimpse the future and to understand how these changes will affect us all.Trade ReviewEngaging... Blaxland is an acute observer, steeped in the ways of the countryside, its communities, and its traditions. * Country & Town House *Thought provoking. * BBC Radio Suffolk *The author writes beautifully about her life in this small extremity. * Country Life *A joy to read.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf only my Cantonese parents weren't so allergic to the word love'?A bittersweet memoir of love, culture and saying the unsayable with food.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAmy Griffin is the founder of the investment firm G9 Ventures. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Bumble, Spanx, and Gagosian, in addition to the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Women's Board of the Boys Club of New York. She lives in New York City with her husband, John, and their four children.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPart autobiography, part travelogue, and wholly a tribute to the unspoilt beauty of southern Spain, Gerald Brenan''s South from Granada includes an introduction by Chris Stewart, author of the bestselling Driving Over Lemons, in Penguin Modern Classics.Between 1920 and 1934, Gerald Brenan lived in the remote Spanish village of Yegen and South of Granada depicts his time there, vividly evoking the essence of his rural surroundings and the Spanish way of life before the Civil War. Here he portrays the landscapes, festivals and folk-lore of the Sierra Nevada, the rivalries, romances and courtship rituals, village customs, superstitions and characters. Fascinating details emerge, from cheap brothels to archaeological remains, along with visits from Brenan''s friends from the Bloomsbury group - Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf among them. Knowledgeable, elegant and sympathetic, this is a rich account of Spain''s vanished past.Gerald Brenan (1894-1987) was an English writer who spent much of his life in Spain. He is best known for The Spanish Labyrinth, a work of history on the background to the Spanish Civil War and for South From Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village. He was awarded a CBE in 1982, and was much honoured in SpainIf you enjoyed South from Granada, you might like Orwell''s Homage to Catalonia, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.''The best of Brenan''s books: he has a true and proper knowledge of the culture he describes'' Cyril Connolly, Sunday Times''A brilliant interpreter of Spain to the rest of the world'' The Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe third and final book in the bestselling CALL THE MIDWIFE series, the basis of the major BBC TV series.This final book in Jennifer Worth''s memories of her time as a midwife in London''s East end brings her story full circle. As always there are heartbreaking stories such as the family devastated by tuberculosis and a ship''s woman who ''serviced'' the entire crew, as well as plenty of humour and warmth, such as the tale of two women who shared the same husband! Other stories cover backstreet abortions, the changing life of the docklands, infanticide, as well as the lives of the inhabitants of Nonnatus House. We discover what happens with the gauche debutant Chummy and her equally gauche policeman; will Sister Monica Joan continue her life of crime? Will Sister Evangelina ever crack a smile? And what of Jennifer herself? The book not only details the final years of the tenements but also of Jennifer''s journey as she moves on from the close community of nunTrade Review'A sad farewell but a memorable and satisfying send-off' DAILY EXPRESS 'One would struggle to find a better descrption of a long-gone era and its heartening, forgotten values' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn exquisitely-written, generous, funny, thoughtful book about the everyday joys of being alive. I love it.' Dolly AldertonJ. B. Priestley is one of our literary icons of the 20th Century and it is time that we all became re-acquainted with his genius.' Dame Judi DenchMy apology, my little bit of penitence, for having grumbled so much, for having darkened the breakfast table, almost ruined the lunch, nearly silence the dinner party, for all the fretting and chafing, grousing and croaking, for the old glum look and the thrust-out lower lip. So my long-suffering kinsfolk, my patient friends, may a glimmer of that delight which has so often possessed me, but perhaps too frequently in secret, now reach you from these pages.'There are times when there doesn't seem much to smile about. And for those times, there is this book. J. B Priestley's 1949 classic teaches us that joy may be found in even the simplest things, and that we all have the capacity to appreciate them.Delight comprises a serTrade Review‘J. B. Priestley was one of the great authors of the twentieth century and a prose writer of great skill and charm. His essays were in the grand tradition of Hazlitt and Lamb, Chesterton and Belloc. I am delighted to hear that Delight is back in print – these wonderful essays are among his finest.’ Paul Johnson, The Spectator ‘I had this book pressed into my hands by someone during an unsteady time and it helped pick the lint off my jacket, straighten my lapels and push me out into the world again. It helped me appreciate my own pockets of pleasure.’ Hannah Jane Parkinson, The Guardian 'A vastly talented and exceptionally versatile and wise writer.' Iris Murdoch 'Priestley was volcanic, fertile … and never dull.' Anthony Burgess ‘A marvellous writer.’ David Hockney ‘We all know his plays, now is the time to be re-introduced to his novels.’ Timothy West ‘He belongs in a great English realist tradition that includes Bennett and Galsworthy.’ Michael Billington ‘An important book that has a literary importance and social value that far exceeds the time it was written.’ Dame Beryl Bainbridge ‘Written in the elegant, simple language which was an essential part of Priestley’s brilliance. It is, in consequence, a masterpiece.’ Roy Hattersley

Read more less

Book Synopsis'This second volume of memoirs is as fascinating as the first....full of wit, joy, vivid vignettes and useful insights...she has another bestseller on her hands' India Knight, Sunday Times'It's great to have another memoir from Lady Glenconner . . . as open-minded and entertaining as she clearly is' Lynn Barber, Sunday Telegraph'A jolly anecdote for every day of the year and excellent advice' Hilary Rose, The Times'As glorious and highly readable as its predecessor - as well as being packed full of new stories' ipaper'Full of eye-popping detail' Sophia Money-Coutts, Daily TelegraphBracing honesty, rare insight and hilarious revelations from internationally bestselling author of LADY IN WAITING as she shares everything she's learned from her extraordinary and unexpected life.Anne Glenconner's glittering life hasn't always been golden. As she revealed in her astonishing bestselling memoir Lady in Waiting, it has been one of stark contrasts - from growing up in the splendour of Holkham Hall to living in a tent in the jungle of Mustique, from travelling the world with Princess Margaret to coping with her wildly unpredictable husband Lord Glenconner. Tragically, she has also survived the loss of two of her sons and nursed a third son back from a coma.Now in her ninetieth year, and at her happiest, Anne brings her bracing honesty, characteristic wit and courage to reflect on and reveal more about her long and unexpected life, her extremely volatile marriage, and what it's taught her.As a wife, she became a master in the art of keeping the peace, knowing when to pick her battles, when she needed help - and when to take a lover. As a hostess, she acquired great practical skills in throwing marvellous parties and looking after magnificent homes, and, as a lady in waiting, became well versed in diplomacy and etiquette. It was as a mother she learnt the toughest lessons of all, and through them the value of friendship, family, and laughter to get her through the worst moments in life, as well as celebrate the best of them.Anne Glenconner's Whatever Next? is the richly entertaining proof that staying open to every new adventure and being ready for whatever happens sets an inspiring example for us all.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Clever, kind, funny and wise, this book is an uplifting and useful addition to your self help library.' Daisy Buchanan, How to Be a Grown-UpWe're all talking about mental health a lot more now than we were ten years ago, which is great . . . isn't it?Kate Lucey has been officially' depressed (as in, diagnosed) for six years. In that time she's been subjected to reams of well-meaning but ultimately bad advice that misunderstands what it means to live with a mental illness.In this funny, honest, no-nonsense guide to mental health, Kate draws on the expertise of psychologists and therapists, explains how she's learnt to best manage her mental state and disproves the many myths that surround treating depression. Covering the effects of exercise, medication, friendship groups, work, alcohol and more, this book will validate your feelings and certainly won't tell you to Get a Grip, Love.Trade Review'Clever, kind, funny and wise, this book is an uplifting and useful addition to your self help library. Kate's voice is such a big, positive part of the evolving mental health conversation. This book made me feel like I could actually survive 2020. It's brilliant.' Daisy Buchanan, How to Be a Grown-Up ‘In her wittily titled no-nonsense guide to mental health, [Kate] writes about her experiences of depression with insight, honesty and even humour.’ Independent ‘A quirky, candid memoir … This will have huge appeal to anyone who feels they’re at rock bottom; it will also enlighten their friends.’ Evening Standard ‘A raw, honest, necessarily uncomfortable and funny insight into depression.’ Jo Usmar, This Book Will Make You Happy

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe most enjoyable, glamorous and gripping of all 19th-century autobiographies - a tumultuous account of France hit by wave after wave of revolutionsMemoirs from Beyond the Tomb is the greatest and most influential of all French autobiographies - an extraordinary, highly entertaining account of a uniquely adventurous and frenzied life. Chateaubriand gives a superb narrative of the major events of his life - which spanned the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Era and the uneasy period that led up to the Revolution of 1830.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe extraordinary tale of Oskar Schindler, the Aryan who saved hundreds of Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland, is now legendary, but as Tom Keneally reveals in this absorbing memoir, luck and the dogged persistence of one of ''Schindler''s Jews'' were vital in bringing it to the world''s attention through his Booker Prize-winning novel, SCHINDLER''S ARK and the subsequent film, SCHINDLER''S LIST.Entertaining, inspiring and filled with anecdotes about the many people involved, from the survivors Keneally interviewed to Steven Spielberg and Liam Neeson, Searching for Schindler gives a revealing insight into a writer''s mind and the creation of a modern classic. It also traces what happened in the decades after the war to Schindler, his wife, and the people they rescued - including Leopold Pfefferberg, who made it his mission to repay his priceless debt to Schindler. Above all, it sheds renewed light on a fascinatingly flawed man, and an instance of exceptional humanity amid the Trade ReviewHad I read SEARCHING FOR SCHINDLER before making the film, I may have made it an hour longer. I owe you so much. The world owes you more. * Steven Spielberg *Keneally is incapable of writing a dull book. This memoir, listed as his 38th publication, is no exception * Andrew Riemer, Sydney Morning Herald *a fascinating absorbing book, replete with anecdote and a quality of writing that continues to mark Keneally out as one of our finest living authors * Herald *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A fascinating story of courage, doubt and defiance across three generations'' SARAH WATERS''A fierce and beautiful book'' EDMUND DE WAAL''Heartfelt and upfront... A grieving daughter rediscovers her mother''s political past'' BLAKE MORRISON, Guardian''A compelling reconstruction of her mother''s life as a young anti-nuclear activist defying her suburban parents'' CATHERINE TAYLOR, Financial Times''Eloquent, piercing, gloriously humane'' PHILIPPE SANDSAfter the sudden death of her mother at age 75, Natasha Walter was thrown into a time of bewilderment and sadness. It was only when she began to search back through Ruth''s history, that she began to understand how her life led to death by her own hand. She learns that Ruth had been brought up to be a conventional young woman, but chose to take huge risks and even break the law for her beliefs in the nuclear disarmament movement of the 19Trade ReviewWalter's wise, thoughtful memoir is both deeply affecting and unexpectedly inspiring. A fascinating story of courage, doubt and defiance across three generations, it's the perfect read for daunting times. * Sarah Waters *An eloquent, piercing, gloriously humane memoir on the wonders of life in the most difficult of moments. It touched me very much. * Philippe Sands *An important and beautiful memoir about how a daughter's feelings for the loss of her beloved mother changes and evolves through grief... dark, painful but also illuminating and healing * Julia Samuel *Deeply passionate and humane... [a] compelling reconstruction of her mother's life as a young anti-nuclear activist defying her suburban parents... Walter writes powerfully in the book's conclusion about the current challenges facing refugees to the UK -- Catherine Taylor * Financial Times *Heartfelt and upfront... A grieving daughter rediscovers her mother's political past -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *Truly fascinating... A powerful reminder that our actions really do matter -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times *This is a potent book... Walter spreads it out before us with great tenderness, exquisite writing, clear eyes and an open heart -- Louisa Young * Perspective *A book about sadness and memory and the attempts people make to come to terms with overwhelming pain... provides an interesting contrast between the feminist issues that ran through her mother's life and those that have determined her own -- Caroline Moorehead * Times Literary Supplement *In this succinct and deeply serious memoir, Natasha relives the days and weeks after her mother's death... the book demonstrates fascinatingly is how children react against their parents -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Daily Mail *An examination, both glancing and gripping, of [her mother's] life... Walter's familiarity with the displaced and fearful makes her a gentle chronicler of the lives of her grandparents -- Claudia Fitzherbert * Literary Review *Walter writes brilliantly about how little a child knows about their parents, and uncovers Ruth's life as the daughter of Jews who fled persecution, and became a Sixties' activist. This is unflinchingly honest: the best book I have read this year * The Tablet *In the course of deeply pondering her mother's legacy, Walter does indeed find meaning, though it's bitter and hard won... The light may well be fading, she concedes; the challenge is to make your stand all the same * Spectator *

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 SynopsisTHE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERTHE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERHer life. Her learnings. Her toolkit to live boldly.How do we build enduring and honest relationships?What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt?What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much? In her bestselling follow-up to the worldwide phenomenon Becoming, Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and insightful reflections to help us consider the important questions that many of us wrestle with.Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she explores how we find inner strength; create and deepen relationships with others; and better protect and strengthen ourselves. In doing so, she shares the tools, habits and principles that she has developed to successfully adapt to change, like starting kind, going high, and assembling a kitchen table of trusted friends

Read more less

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ABIA 2024SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN AUSTRALIA''The zigzagging life of an adventurer'' THE TIMES''An astonishing, wonderful memoir of an extraordinary life'' HENRY MARSH, author of Do No Harm''Exciting and complex, full of insight and humour'' SPECTATOREnthralling, miraculous, clear as the brilliant constellations of the night sky' SYDNEY MORNING HERALDAn unforgettable memoir from the author of the sensational international bestseller Tracks: the story of a mother and daughter, of love, loss and the pursuit of freedom________________________________________In 1977, twenty-seven-year-old Robyn Davidson set off with a dog and four camels to cross 1,700 miles of Australian desert to the sea. A life of almost constant travelling followed. From the deserts of Australia, to Sydney's underworld; fro

Read more less

Book SynopsisA transformative and big-hearted memoir about life at sea, for fans of The Shepherd's Life and The Salt Path.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn May 1997, the world watched as Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the world, was defeated for the first time by the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. It was a watershed moment in the history of technology: machine intelligence had arrived at the point where it could best human intellect. It wasn't a coincidence that Kasparov became the symbol of man's fight against the machines. Chess has long been the fulcrum in development of machine intelligence; the hoax automaton 'The Turk' in the 18th century and Alan Turing's first chess program in 1952 were two early examples of the quest for machines to think like humans -- a talent we measured by their ability to beat their creators at chess. As the pre-eminent chessmaster of the 80s and 90s, it was Kasparov's blessing and his curse to play against each generation's strongest computer champions, contributing to their development and advancing the field. Like all passionate competitors, Kasparov has taken his defeat and learned from Trade ReviewExcellent... No scientist or tech entrepreneur could make the positive case for the digital revolution with the passionate conviction that Kasparov brings. Not many tragic heroes live to tell the tale. This one did * THE TIMES *A gripping account of an intellectual battle like no other.. For fans, it will be like reading Nelson's postmatch analysis of Trafalgar . . . Deep Thinking is both a lesson in not panicking prematurely and a warning about knowing who your real opponent is * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Fascinating . . . an impressively researched history of AI and the field's ongoing obsession with chess . . . with enough detail to satisfy chess enthusiasts, while providing a thrilling narrative for the casual reader. Deep Thinking delivers a rare balance of analysis and narrative, weaving commentary about technological progress with an inside look at one of the most important chess matches ever played -- DEMIS HASSABIS * NATURE *The raw emotion of that encounter in New York bursts out of the pages of Kasparov's gripping story. What is striking, and reassuring, is that far from raging against the machine, Kasparov marvels at the capabilities of computers and is excited by the possibilities for future collaboration.This reads at times like a fast-paced psychological thriller. Chess fans will be engrossed by Kasparov's tale but the book deserves a far broader readership -- John Thornhill * FINANCIAL TIMES *An absorbing, page-turning thriller that weaves a personal account of intellectual combat with the wider picture of what it's like to come up against a powerful corporation that is determined to do whatever it takes to crush opposition. Not just a tale of human vs machine, this is also a story about one man vs The Man. * OBSERVER *As Kasparov recounts in arresting detail what it felt like to compete cognitively with a machine, he extrapolates his experience into an optimistic perspective on how computerized intelligence can enhance rather than overwhelm human brainpower, and instead of eliminating jobs and opportunities, can actually generate them. * BOOKLIST *Garry Kasparov's perspectives on artificial intelligence are borne of personal experience - and despite that, are optimistic, wise and compelling. It's one thing for the giants of Silicon Valley to tell us our future is bright; it is another thing to hear it from the man who squared off with the world's most powerful computer, with the whole world watching, and his very identity at stake. -- CHARLES DUHIGG, author of 'Smarter Faster Better'Intelligent, absorbing...thoughtful reading for anyone interested in human and machine cognition and a must for chess fans * KIRKUS (starred review) *DEEP THINKING is an absorbing, often brilliant book which no chess-lover should miss -- Edward Winter * CHESSHISTORY.COM *The great Garry Kasparov takes on the key economic issue of our time: how we can thrive as humans in a world of thinking machines. This important and optimistic book explains what we as humans are uniquely qualified to do. Instead or wringing our hands about robots, we should all read this book and embrace the future. -- WALTER ISAACSON, author of 'The Innovators'From the man at the epi-center of one of the ten defining moments of the 20th century, a fascinating and insightful overview of how computers came to surpass humans at chess, and what it means for mankind. Deeply researched and clearly exposited, it is also a revealing portrait of what it is like to be a real-life John Henry pitted against the steam hammer. -- KEN ROGOFF, author of 'This Time is Different'A highly human exploration of artificial intelligence, its exciting possibilities and inherent limits. -- MAX LEVCHIN, cofounder of PayPal and CEO of AffirmA book dripping with evangelical zeal * Sunday Business Post *At a time when fears about computer intelligence have become "existential", Kasparov has revisited the experience in a timely, thoughtful memoir. Part page-turning thriller, part meditation on the idea of thinking machines, Deep Thinking is both gripping and measured * Book of the Week, THE WEEK *This book is prompted by the accident of history that meant Garry Kasparov was the finest chess player in the world at the point at which computers exceeded the ability of humans. It is about chess and programming - but also about the wider implications of artificial intelligence * THE TIMES, Science Books of the Year *An entertainingly pugnacious mix of memoir and more general arguments about how we should learn to live with our thinking machines * DAILY TELEGRAPH, Science Books of the Year *

Read more less

Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Bread & Roses AwardAn Amazon Best Non-Fiction Book of The Year‘Essential reading‘ – The Guardian‘Sharp and witty with moments of startling candour‘ – The i‘Revealing and beautifully written‘ – David Harewood_____A thought-provoking and fearless exploration of how we can dismantle racism in the classroom and do better by all our students.???????Before Jeffrey Boakye was a black teacher, he was a black student. Which means he has spent a lifetime navigating places of learning that are white by default. Since training to teach, he has often been the only black teacher at school. At times seen as a role model, at others a source of curiosity, Boakye’s is a journey of exploration – from the outside looking in.In the groundbreaking I Heard What You Said, he recounts how it feels to be on the margins of the British education system. As a black, male teacher – an English teacher who has had to teach problematic texts – his very existence is a provocation to the status quo, giving him a unique perspective on the UK’s classrooms.Told through a series of eye-opening encounters based on the often challenging and sometimes outrageous things people have said to him or about him – from ‘Can you rap?‘ and ‘Have you been in prison?‘ to ‘Stephen who?‘ – Boakye reflects with passion and wit on what he has found out about the presumptions, silences and distortions that underpin the experience of black students and teachers._____‘Hugely important‘ – Baroness Lawrence‘Deeply compelling, intellectually rigorous and essential‘ – Nels Abbey‘Makes a powerful case‘ – Rt Hon Lady HaleTrade ReviewEssential reading . . . perhaps most of all for those Black children who may be currently going through school not realising why they are made to feel small, out of step and unworthy. For them in particular, it could be a ray of hope. * The Guardian *I Heard What You Said makes a powerful case: until we have rid our educational system of its dominant whiteness we cannot hope to give all our children the educational experience they need and deserve. -- Rt Hon Lady HaleRevealing and beautifully written. -- David HarewoodWritten with passion, fury, knowledge and, in spite of the painful subject, wit. Do you want to break down entrenched structural racism in schools? Then read this. -- Patrice Lawrence MBE, prize-winning author of OrangeboySharp and witty with moments of startling candour. * The i *Deeply compelling, intellectually rigorous and essential . . . The more people read this book, the better our education system will be understood. -- Nels Abbey, author of Think Like a White ManA riveting account . . . Rich with entertaining anecdotes. * The Bookseller *Personal and political, profound and playful, Boakye's sharp analysis of the classroom and the staffroom is essential reading. -- Darren Chetty, co-author of How to DisagreeThe book I’ve been waiting for and the book every teacher should read. Brave, brutally honest, funny and necessary. -- Ben Lindsay, author of We Need To Talk About RaceI couldn't put it down . . . a must read. -- Laura Henry-Allain MBEAn incredibly powerful, gripping book . . . It's simultaneously energising, uplifting and optimistic and eye-opening and challenging. -- Tom Sherrington (@teacherhead)I found myself being educated, delighted, saddened, informed, surprised, shocked, touched and enlightened in turn . . . A must-read book. -- Sue Cowley, author, presenter, teacherA signature blend of endearing wit and engaging prose. -- K. DeMi RyansTimely and thought provoking. -- Leninna Ofori (@healingoverhandbags)An impassioned, articulate, and irresistible call to arms. * SchoolsWeek *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Sublime' - Donal Ryan, author of Strange Flowers'Here is a writer who matters' - The Irish Times'A book about the raw, riotous, brutally beautiful act of being alive.' - Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places'Milk is a raw, unvarnished journey down the mothering rabbit hole' The Irish IndependentI have become the common myth. Mother. The sleepy hum of early memories. The smell of shampoo, of Olay, of lavender. The feeling of safety. The absence of fear.When poet Alice Kinsella becomes a mother, she finds herself utterly lost. As she searches for answers to the question of her new identity, she considers the mothers and writers who came before her. In her inimitable poetic style, Kinsella takes pregnancy and the first nine months of motherhood and forms from them a broken prism through which to view both a woman’s place in the world, and her child’s in the future we’re creating.‘A radiant, meditative, truly powerful and beautiful book’ Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea‘Spellbinding’ Rick O’SheaTrade ReviewA radiant, meditative, truly powerful and beautiful book. -- Joseph O'Connor, author of Star of the Sea'A compelling and moving account of [Kinsella's] initiation into, and life experiencing motherhood following the birth of her first child in her mid-20s . . . Sharp, brutal, unrelenting, vivid, capturing moments and emotions in the experience and psychology of motherhood, its demands, exhaustion, evocation of mortality, fears and sources of guilt as well as its joys . . . On the strength of this powerful, visceral, memorable, touching and, above all, beautifully rendered prose debut, there is little doubt Kinsella's compelling voice will be listened to: here is a writer who matters' -- Arnold Fanning * The Irish Times *This is a book for the ages. It truly is mesmeric, stunningly beautiful, open and intense, revelatory and generous. I love the short bursts, and the sublime way that Alice ranges through life, mental health, art, society, and all the vast complexities, the dangers, the 'pull and sway' of motherhood. I knew what an incredible writer Alice was before I started but this surpasses my highest expectations. -- Donal Ryan, author of Strange Flowers With its lyrical power, intimacy and political top-notes, Milk is already being compared to works by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Kerri ní Dochartaigh and Emilie Pine. * The Irish Independent *Wielding a panoply of shattered literary forms, Alice Kinsella expertly depicts the gradual disintegration of a woman into the motherbaby dyad. MILK is an important addition to the growing canon of work about the physical, political, and philosophical destabilization of motherhood. -- Sarah Manguso, author of Very Cold PeoplePresented in sharp fragments, this deft meditation pierces straight to the core of motherhood, in all its tenderness and strife. -- Aimée Walsh * RTÉ *I don’t think I’ve ever been more consumed by a book before. I devoured it. It took hold of me, curled right up in beside my bones. A book of women and water , babies and art - the herstory of Ireland - but mostly this is a book about the raw, riotous, brutally beautiful act of being alive. Kinsella manages something rare here; weaving her own story so exquisitely with that of both the human and non human world she is part of. Reading her words on mothering and creating - on care and hope- was an incredibly healing thing indeed. -- Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin PlacesSpellbinding -- Rick O'SheaMilk is mesmerizing, comforting, angering, delicate, tough, perceptive, funny and clever. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Every page. Every word. Every moment. Every mother, every son, every father, every daughter, every Irish person, every human needs to read this glorious book. -- Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, author of All The Money in The WorldMilk is beautifully written - by a poet, clearly, but with no indulgence or digression into ornament, only strangeness and a kind of stylistic purity, like a chime. -- Niamh Campbell, author of This HappyAlice Kinsella traverses the terrors of the mind, the responsibilities of love, and the dark concealments of history with a powerful skill. On motherhood, the body and social taboo, Milk is a bright, captivating reckoning. -- Seán Hewitt, author of All Down Darkness WideMilk is a lyrical meditation on the impossible beauty and impossible strangeness of motherhood. With immersive and exquisite prose, Kinsella leads us through the Mother World and, while her words often evoke the sublime, Kinsella does not recoil from examining its underbelly of misogyny – still present in spite of supposed progress. Riveting and vital. -- Sophie WhiteMore than motherhood, Kinsella's memoir is about the struggle to feel what she calls 'real' in the age of social media. Her journey is an important and absorbing one that speaks to us all, female or not. * TLS *Milk is a brilliantly original examination of motherhood, a book like no other on the subject. With a poet's eye and in gorgeous prose it brings us close up to the anxieties, frustrations, joys and world-expanding drama of bringing new life into an uncertain world. -- Mike McCormack, author of Solar Bones. . . time and structure are let loose in a genre defying book destined to become a cult classic. * Books Ireland *Her analogy of both the body and the planet as homes in crisis stings with accuracy. As an intimate, shocking, and cathartic picture of existence in the frame of motherhood, Milk is simply stunning. * NB magazine *Part epic prose poem, part fully referenced essay, Milk is ‘series of small epiphanies’ told in tight fragments that reflect the confinement of the mother-poet. * Mslexia *Powerful yet delicate * Limerick Leader *Almost lyrical at times, [Kinsella's] prose flits through a series of vignettes, offering glimpses into her physical health, state of mind and worries. * Financial Times *Deeply personal but with a universal resonance as a study of motherhood in a supposedly modernised Ireland. * Mayo Advertiser *Lyrical, thought-provoking, important addition to the genre. * Irish Examiner *

Read more less

Book SynopsisBased on the powerful true story of Auschwitz prisoner number 3444 Wilhelm Brasse, whose photographs helped to expose the atrocities of the Holocaust.'Horror in sharp focus... important, because the world must know.' John Lewis-Stempel, Daily Express__________When Germany invaded Wilhelm Brasse's native Poland in 1939, he was asked to swear allegiance to Hitler and join the Wehrmacht. He refused. He was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp as political prisoner number 3444. A trained portrait photographer, he was ordered by the SS to record the inner workings of the camp. He began by taking identification photographs of prisoners as they entered the camp, went on to capture the criminal medical experiments of Josef Mengele, and also recorded executions. Between 1940 and 1945, Brasse took around 50,000 photographs of the horror around him. He took them because he had no choice.Eventually, Brasse's conscience wouldn't allow him to hide behind his camera. First he risked his life by joining the camp's Resistance movement, faking documents for prisoners, trying to smuggle images to the outside world to reveal what was happening. Then, when Soviet troops finally advanced on the camp to liberate it, Brasse refused SS orders to destroy his photographs. 'Because the world must know,' he said.For readers of The Librarian of Auschwitz and The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz, this powerful true story of hope and courage lies at the very centre of Holocaust history.__________'A remarkable tale of survival against the odds... an enthralling book.' The Sydney Morning Herald'Brasse has left us with a powerful legacy in images. Because of them we can see the victims of the Holocaust as human and not statistics.' Fergal KeaneTrade ReviewThe authors have woven a remarkable tale of survival against all the odds... They have done their research and created an enthralling book that, while telling an almost incredible tale, shows profound respect to the victims of one of history's darkest episodes.—The Sydney Morning Herald

Read more less

Book Synopsis*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* - November 2021A deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity from Emily Ratajkowski, the archetypal, multi-hyphenate celebrity of our time._______________'This is the book for every woman trying to place their body on the map of consumption vs control, and every woman who wants to better understand her impulses. It left me much changed' - Lena Dunham'I read these pages, breathless with recognition, and the thrill of reading a new voice telling it like it is' - Dani Shapiro'Emily Ratajkowski's first essay collection needs to be read by everyone [...] both page-turning and moving as hell' - Amy Schumer'A slow, complicated indictment of a profession and the people who propel it [...] it will deliver a more nuanced and introspective rendering of her interior than those who come to it with those surface interests might expect' - Vogue'Dazzling' - Observer'Ratajkowski brings nuanced insight to questions about empowerment versus commodification of women's bodies and sexuality. Blending cultural criticism and personal stories, My Body is smart and powerful' - Time Magazine'Raw, nuanced and beautifully written. A moving and enlightening experience to join a woman openly exploring such deep parts of her physical self via the written word. A truly impressive debut' - Emma Gannon'Excellent [...] Ratajkowski writes with curiosity, intellect and acute awareness' - Harper's Bazaar'Superb [...] it feels revolutionary' - Telegraph'I admire and envy her artistry' - Guardian_______________Emily Ratajkowski is an acclaimed model and actress, an engaged political progressive, a formidable entrepreneur, a global social media phenomenon, and now, a writer. Rocketing to world fame at age twenty-one, Ratajkowski sparked both praise and furor with the provocative display of her body as an unapologetic statement of feminist empowerment. The subsequent evolution in her thinking about our culture's commodification of women is the subject of this book.My Body is a profoundly personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power, of men's treatment of women and women's rationalizations for accepting that treatment. These essays chronicle moments from Ratajkowski's life while investigating the culture's fetishization of girls and female beauty, its obsession with and contempt for women's sexuality, the perverse dynamics of the fashion and film industries, and the grey area between consent and abuse.Nuanced, unflinching, and incisive, My Body marks the debut of a fierce writer brimming with courage and intelligence.Trade ReviewEmily has captured-with the acuity of an early Joan Didion investigating the culture of California-the complicated terrain of having a body people want to sell and having her own agenda she refuses to give up. Her prose is by turns honey smooth and vicious, uproarious and wounded. She knows the pain that lives in every woman and she isn't afraid to link arms and say she's been there, and that it hurts. This is the book for every woman trying to place their body on the map of consumption vs control, and every woman who wants to better understand her impulses. It left me much changed. * Lena Dunham *These powerful essays mark a blazing, unexpected literary debut. Emily Ratajkowski interrogates beauty, sex, power, objectification, fame, and betrayal-both by self and other-with lucidity and scorched-earth honesty. I read these pages, breathless with recognition, and the thrill of reading a new voice telling it like it is. * Dani Shapiro *Emily Ratajkowski's first essay collection needs to be read by everyone. She explores body politics - and the politics of her body - through a uniquely feminist lens in stories that are both page-turning and moving as hell * Amy Schumer *This irresistibly titled debut from supermodel turned writer Emily Ratajkowski fills in some of the story of just how Ratajkowski came to have one of the most famous faces in the world. But more than that, the book is invested in probing what it means to be in possession of such a face. My Body is a memoir, but it's also-like Sweetbitter or In the Land of Men-a slow, complicated indictment of a profession and the people who propel it. Ratajkowski doesn't so much direct blame at any one person or organization as paint a personal picture of what it was like for her to be young, naive, ambitious, and smart-and to feel reduced, far too often, to a collection of body parts. The book will be alluring to anyone who wants to know what it was like to dance in Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" (the cringey video that made Ratajkowski a household name) or what it was like to act alongside Ben Affleck in Gone Girl, but it will deliver a more nuanced and introspective rendering of her interior than those who come to it with those surface interests might expect. * Vogue *Raw, nuanced and beautifully written. A moving and enlightening experience to join a woman openly exploring such deep parts of her physical self via the written word. A truly impressive debut * Emma Gannon *Essential reading * Red magazine *My Body is an excellent - if we excuse the pun - body of work. Ratajkowski writes with curiosity, intellect and acute awareness... What may surprise readers is not so much the quality of the prose, which is excellent, but that it is not an easy, pop-feminism read. It's a searingly personal piece, which frequently asks more questions than it answers * Harper’s Bazaar *When her gaze is on herself it is superb. My Body is the end of Ratajkowski's disassociation. She doesn't answer the question: what is a woman for? How can she? It is a universal question. But at least she asks it, and it feels revolutionary * Telegraph *A quietly furious disquisition on flesh and capitalism * Evening Standard *Emrata's voice... carries huge weight * Independent *These well-written, thought-provoking essays are Emily's way of reasserting her control. They make for fascinating, if depressing, reading * Daily Mirror and Express *Ratajkowski... writes intimately... at time remarkably candid and raw * i News *A thought-provoking read body shaming and what empowerment really means * STELLA magazine *An honest and thoughtful first-hand take on the patriarchy and commodification of the fashion industry * The Skinny *Ratajkowski writes knowingly about the misogyny that is fundamental to the industry * New Statesman *Dazzling * Observer *Model and actress Emily Ratajkowski's compelling essay collection deep-dives feminism, sexuality and power * The Sun *The skill of this book is in the way that Ratajkowski manages to cast her experiences in the glitter-plated hills of Hollywood and LA as entirely relatable which, all things considered, is quite a feat * Litro *Ratajkowski offers a fresh perspective on an age-old problem * Financial Times *I admire and envy her artistry * Guardian *Ratajkowski's feelings of shame and embarrassment after being sexually assaulted are movingly portrayed * Sunday Times *Well worth reading * The Times *A talented writer * Press Association *Ratajkowski delves into society's obsession with image and celebrity * Vogue *My Body has become one of the defining titles of 2021 exploring the uncomfortable and ever-shifting space that commodifies and exploits women's bodies with no easy answers * Stylist *It's really interesting. Emily says things that a lot of us wouldn't say about Instagram - how she thinks about what she posts because of the likes that she gets and how that can mentally control you. It's very honest and very well-written. Sometimes when you see someone beautiful like Emily, you assume that you know her life [but you don't] * Laura Whitmore *A fascinating read * Sheerluxe *The essays in My Body are an effort to grapple with the themes of power and control in a society where the female body - or at least one that looks like hers - is a valuable commodity * The Sunday Times *My Body is both an acknowledgement and a lament that [Emily's] physique and beauty are at the heart of her fame and success * Metro *A brilliant, beautiful read * Poorna Bell *A raw, powerful and reassuring read * Cosmo *My Body is genuine, powerful, and often eerily relatable * The Critic *There's no winning, but perhaps that means there's no real losing either: Any art, any writing, any attempt to detangle ourselves from the cruel stagnation of body-shaming is progress. My Body doesn't cut as deep as I want, but it cuts all the same * Buzzfeed *If you read (and liked) her hugely popular essay for The Cut last year, then model Emily Ratajkowski's new book is sure to tickle your fancy too * Image *Many stories are heartbreaking * Yorkshire Post *Ratajkowski, now 30, writes intimately and her essays are lucid * i paper and The Scotsman *The essay provokes an interesting debate on image ownership in an age where we constantly post ourselves online; who owns a photo - the subject or the model? * Reaction *Ratajkowski takes a subject that has obsessed tabloid media for years * Sunday Independent *A compelling portrait of loneliness, loss and the spiritual cost of choosing to pick up the tools you were handed to play by someone else's rules * VICE *An accomplished debut * Image magazine *An eye-opening read * The Times *In her thoughtful essay collection, Ratajkowski discusses the power and vulnerability of beauty, her relationship with her mother, and her experience of sexual violence and having her image exploited by men * Daily Mail *These well-written essays are Emily's way of reasserting control and are thought-provoking reading * Express *A deeply honest investigation into what it means to be a woman * Image Magazine *

Read more less

'A hilarious must read.' -Jameela Jamil'I loved the chutzpah and the honesty.' - Graham Norton'Funny, frank and inspiring.' - Lenny Henry All her life, London longed to be a badass, an awesome bulletproof star nobody could mess with - someone who takes no shit - and in Living My Best Life, Hun, she lifts the lid on how she went from secretly writing Frasier fan fiction alone in her bedroom to taking Hollywood by storm.It hasn't been an easy journey; from birthday parties gone wrong and dealing with bullies every step of the way, to getting blocked by Foxtons (long story) and being mistaken for the cleaner at a comedy competition (true story), London leaves no stone unturned. It took London some time to find her voice and her people, but now that she has, she's mentally high-fiving her fourteen-year-old self every day.Frank, fearless and funny, Living My Best Life, Hun will inspire you to ditch the self-loathing, start the self-loving and engage with your inner winner.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'I hope that as you gaze upon my life in clothing, it will inspire you to develop, and celebrate, your own sense of style. I value my freedom to look like and be my own true self more than anything else, and I hope this book will also give you the confidence to look like and be the person you want to be. Whoever you are, be that! And enjoy your journey behind the seams' - DollyA beautifully illustrated celebration of Dolly Parton's iconic sense of style through entertaining personal stories and 450 full-color photographs, including exclusive images from her private costume archive.In Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, global superstar Dolly Parton shares, for the first time, the full story behind her lifelong passion for fashion, including how she developed her own, distinctly Dolly style, which has defied convention and endeared her to fans around the world.Featuring behind-the-scenes stories from Dolly Parton's life and career, and the largest reveal of her private costume archive, this gorgeously photographed book spotlights her most unforgettable looks from the 1960s to now. The sky-high heels, famous wigs, bold makeup, eye-catching stage clothes - she shares them all. Along the way, Parton discusses memorable outfits from her past, from the clothes her mother would sew out of feed sacks (including her "Coat of Many Colors") and the bold dresses and hairdos that shook up Nashville, to the bunny suit on the cover of Playboy, evening wear at Studio 54, costumes from her most famous film and TV roles, and the daring styles that continue to entertain and inspire today.Filled with candor, humor, and lots and lots of rhinestones, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones is a shining tribute to one of the most beloved musicians in history, a treasured keepsake for anyone who loves Dolly Parton, and an indispensable guide to forging your own path to beauty and confidence.Trade Review'A must-have treasury for diehard Dolly fans and armchair fashionistas.' * Kirkus Reviews *'Fashion lovers and country fans alike will be enchanted.' * Publishers Weekly *

Read more less

Book SynopsisEvery reporter knows the first rule of journalism: never betray your source. But what if your source turns out to be unworthy of your silence? What if it's your source who betrays you?The Messenger tells the story of an unlikely friendship between two men looking to change the world - a repentant jihadist and an idealistic journalist. This troubling real-life thriller takes us from their first meeting in a spartan flat in the rough suburbs of Manchester, to a bombing in Pakistan, a dramatic arrest and Malik's reporting career on the brink of ruin.Ten years later, Malik returns to this extraordinary tale. He asks where we can place our trust - in reams of evidence, in a government we believe is on our side, in a terrorist who swears he's changed, in a friend who has no one else to turn to. Malik explores the uncomfortable questions about why he, as well as the wider media and the nation, surrendered to fear so easily. And he reveals how the age of terror laid the groundwork for an era of fake news and demagogues.This is investigative journalism and storytelling of the highest order.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'I planted a dog rose. Then I found a curious piece of driftwood and used this, and one of the necklaces of holey stones on the wall, to stake the rose. The garden had begun. I saw it as a therapy and a pharmacopoeia.' In 1986 artist and filmmaker, Derek Jarman, bought Prospect Cottage, a Victorian fisherman's hut on the desert sands of Dungeness. It was to be a home and refuge for Jarman throughout his HIV diagnosis, and it would provide the stage for one of his most enduring, if transitory projects - his garden. Conceived of as a 'pharmacopoeia' - an ever-evolving circle of stones, plants and flotsam sculptures all built and grown in spite of the bracing winds and arid shingle - it remains today a site of fascination and wonder.Pharmacopoeia brings together the best of Derek Jarman's writing on nature, gardening and Prospect Cottage. Told through journal entries, poems and fragments of prose, it paints a portrait of Jarman's personal and artistic reliance on the space Dungeness offered him, and shows the cycle of the years spent there in one moving collage.'[Derek] made of this wee house, his wooden tent pitched in the wilderness, an artwork - and out of its shingle skirts, an ingenious garden - now internationally recognised. But, first and foremost, the cottage was always a living thing, a practical toolbox for his work' Tilda Swinton, from her Foreword

Read more less

Book Synopsis*NOW UPDATED WITH EXTRA MATERIAL*The boy who fled Afghanistan and endured a terrifying journey in the hands of people smugglers is now a young man intent on changing the world. His story is a deeply harrowing and incredibly inspiring tale of our times.Gulwali Passarlay was sent away from Afghanistan at the age of twelve, after his father was killed in a gun battle with the US Army. He made a twelve-month odyssey across Europe, spending time in prisons, suffering hunger, making a terrifying journey across the Mediterranean in a tiny boat, and enduring a desolate month in the camp at Calais. Somehow he survived, and made it to Britain, where he was fostered, sent to school, and won a place at a top university. He was chosen to carry the Olympic torch in 2012. One boy's experience is the central story of our times. This powerful memoir celebrates the triumph of courage over adversity.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary man - achieving against all odds -- Jon Snow * Twitter *Riveting * The Bookseller *[A] powerful account of a year-long journey to Britain... As a call for Europe and Britain to do more for the world's refugees, the book is as powerful as that harrowing picture of the dead toddler on the beach. * The Times *This is a harrowing but necessary must-read about an exceptional young man. * Stylist *The Lightless Sky is a heart-rending read that illuminates the plight of unaccompanied minors forced to leave their homes and loved ones. [Passarlay's] fierce intelligence is apparent throughout... His powerful account is a testament to the courage of all those fleeing conflict in search of safety. * The Independent on Sunday *Beautifully written... It should be required reading in British schools. * The Big Issue *A Book of the Year * New Statesman *A story which moved me to tears more than once * Women Together *

Read more less

Book SynopsisBotanist and ecologist Ros Bennett has spent a lifetime helping people understand and identify plants, all the while nurturing her daughter Nell''s love for them too, helping Nell to discover the visual and tactile beauty of trees through leaves, bark patterns and key features.Combining their backgrounds and talents - through Ros''s extensive experience and Nell''s beautiful illustrations Tree-spotting shows you how to identify 52 British trees simply and confidently, while also burrowing down into the history and secrets of each species.Tree-spotting is a captivating insight into the wonderful world of trees, exploring how our relationship with trees can be extremely personal and bring us closer to the natural world.

Read more less

Book SynopsisStep beyond the magical movies and explore the wider world of Studio Ghibli.Hailed as perhaps the greatest animation studio in the world, Studio Ghibli''s influence extends far further than the cinema screen. Ghibliverse plots a course through the universe outside the films, the wonderful web of inspiration and influences that are ripe and waiting for Ghibli fans to enjoy.From manga and rare movies to forgotten television series and brand new theme parks, and from literary masterpieces and rival studios to soundtracks and secret short films, expert authors and hosts of the hit Ghibliotheque podcast Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham show that the magic doesn''t stop when the film credits roll.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A rewarding mix of markers, both personal as Heughan reflects on his life and geographical as he leads the reader along the West Highland Way' - The Scotsman'A deeply personal and warmly entertaining memoir that fans of Sam - and Scotland - will have a joyful time devouring' - Heat'From both his walk and his career, the common lesson is the power of persistence.' - The Times'A pleasure for fans of the author, whisky, and Scotland.' - Kirkus*INCLUDES A BONUS Q&A CHAPTER*'Waypoints is a memoir with a difference! I wanted to tell the stories and share the experiences that have shaped me, but to do that I needed to challenge myself and spend some time in my own company, away from the distractions of everyday life. And for me there's no better place to reflect than in the wild Scottish Highlands.'In this journey of self-discovery, Sam Heughan sets out along the West Highland Way to explore his heritage and reflect on the personal waypoints that define him. The result is a love letter to the wild Scottish landscape that means so much to Sam, and a charming, funny, wise and searching insight to the world through his eyes. The walk itself is the backdrop for this narrative, which tells the story of Sam's life while exploring his outlook, values and interests. Sam is a figure of fascinating contrasts, a Hollywood star with deep roots in rural Scotland, he's both outgoing and content in his own company. He has strong connections with his fans while recognising the fragility and value of anonymity, and in My Peak Challenge he has created a network that brings people together as they chase individual goals. In his new book, while charting a path through a stunning wilderness, Sam maps out the moments that shaped his views on dreams and ambition, family, friendships, love and life.Waypoints is a deeply personal journey that reveals as much to Sam about himself as it does to his readers.Trade ReviewA pleasure for fans of the author, whisky, and Scotland * Kirkus *A deeply personal and warmly entertaining memoir that fans of Sam - and Scotland - will have a joyful time devouring. * Heat *From both his walk and his career, the common lesson is the power of persistence. * The Times *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOnce you start reading, be prepared, because you won''t want to stop. -Oprah WinfreyOPRAH''S BOOK CLUB PICK New York Times?bestselling author Lara Love Hardin recounts her slide from soccer mom to opioid addict to jailhouse shot caller and her unlikely comeback as a highly successful ghostwriter in this harrowing, hilarious, no-holds-barred memoir. No one expects the police to knock on the door of the million-dollar two-story home of the perfect cul-de-sac housewife. But soccer mom Lara Love Hardin has been hiding a shady secret: she is funding her heroin addiction by stealing her neighbors'' credit cards. Lara is convicted of thirty-two felonies and becomes inmate S32179. She finds that jail is a class system with a power structure that is somewhere between an adolescent sleepover party and?Lord of the Flies. Furniture is made from tampon boxes, and Snickers bars are currency. But Lara quickly learns the rules and brings love and healing to he

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe most unexpectedly touching book you will read this year. Meet Ella is the tender and at times devastating account of how James Middleton's unbreakable bond with his dog, Ella, helped pull him out of his battle with depression.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'In the Spring of 1989, shortly after my twenty-seventh birthday, as I stood in the sleet at a bus stop in Colchester, it dawned on me that I had probably, all things considered, failed in my mission to become Sting. At least, for the time being.'Lost in Music is about growing up with pop music - about hearing it, buying it, loving it, and attempting to play it in public for money. A brilliant combination of the confessional and the unapologetic, this is a book for anyone who has ever treasured vinyl, or sung into a roll-on deodorant in front of the bedroom mirror and dreamed of playing Wembley.Praise for Lost in Music'Very, very funny . . . Giles Smith is a wonderful writer' Nick Hornby'A wonderfully funny pop-music memoir . . . You don't have to know who Nik Kershaw is to laugh out loud at the chapter about him' Sebastian Faulks, Spectator'One of the best books about music that you will ever read . . . It is impossible to read Lost in Music without laughing out loud' Daily Telegraph

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Silent Tsunami is a unique combination of memoir and medicine Rowan forensically examines the development of her mother's illness and explores dementia in a frank but illuminating, lyrical and moving way.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Remarkable' Robert Macfarlane'Gorgeous' Amy Liptrot'Urgent and nourishing' Jessica J. LeeNina Mingya Powles first learned to swim in Borneo - where her mother was born and her grandfather studied freshwater fish. There, the local swimming pool became her first body of water. Through her life there have been others that have meant different things, but have still been, in their own way, home: from the wild coastline of New Zealand to a pond in northwest London.In lyrical, powerful prose, Small Bodies of Water weaves together memories, dreams and nature writing. Exploring everything from migration, food, family, earthquakes and the ancient lunisolar calendar, Nina reflects on a girlhood spent growing up between two cultures, and what it means to belong.Trade ReviewA remarkable book . . . Its language trembles on the brink of poetry; these sentences have surety to their rhythms, subtlety to their weightings. Beautifully, dreamily, intricately, it explores movement, migration and memory. Identity, here, is experienced as liquid, as fluent. Small Bodies of Water was the winner of the inaugural Nan Shepherd Prize, and it's my belief that Shepherd would have loved this book - and would have wanted to walk and swim with Nina, talking of all that her book brings to the surface -- ROBERT MACFARLANENina Mingya Powles is a distinctive new voice: attentive and tender. Her experience of belonging to many places is one that so many of us can relate to. This book is a beautiful personal journey through plants and sea creatures, food and language . . . A gorgeous read -- AMY LIPTROTElegant, understated, urgent and nourishing, this is a book that gives shape to the many intimate waters that connect us, to languages loved, lost and longed for, to the lands that honour us by giving us a home. With poetic precision, Nina Mingya Powles shows us what nature writing can be, braiding place, food, family, migration and all their legacies. This is non-fiction at its most dynamic, its most transporting. I will keep this book close by and return to it often -- JESSICA J. LEESo cool and crystalline, but with deep currents of association shifting like tides beneath -- MELISSA HARRISONNature writing lovers will adore this collection of lyrical essays . . . Traversing Borneo to New Zealand to North London, it explores what bodies of water have meant to [Powles] while navigating girlhood and growing up * * Evening Standard, Best Non-Fiction Books of the Year * *Small Bodies of Water gave me such a longing for travel. It is so full of texture and taste and different kinds of light . . . Nina Mingya Powles takes very small moments and details and skilfully imbues them with poignancy and meaning. It feels like a renewed form of nature writing, in which nature is not necessarily to the fore but nonetheless ever-present; in which nature is a medium for remembering and discovering -- SARA BAUMEVividly connected to nature . . . Captivating . . . Evocative literary sketches of Powles' life are drawn thoughtfully together . . . Mesmerising . . . Tender, like a flower pressed between the pages of a book -- Alycia Pirmohamed * * Big Issue * *A tender and tactile meditation on the elements that hold us together and keep us apart, Small Bodies of Water is a luminous, flowing book. Nina Mingya Powles's mind shimmers -- SEÁN HEWITTA shimmering, poetic masterpiece * * Time Out * *A hauntingly beautiful work - as deep and varied as the bodies of water it explores - and just as affecting. Powles writes of the body, the self and the natural world in ways I've not experienced before; full of raw and glistening truth. This book is exquisite and perfectly formed and reflective and it leaves ripples on your insides like the sea. The writing is off the scale -- KERRI NÍ DOCHARTAIGH

Read more less

Book SynopsisYou''ve fought and you''ve run away. You''ve danced with other Black queer bodies until sunrise.Sometimes you wanted to be caught and sometimes you wanted to be held. With all that you''ve endured, you are nothing less than miraculous.From choirboy to drag act, grandson to mentor, poet to lover, Dean Atta has played many roles in his life. In this formally inventive, candid and courageous book, he explores what he has carried in his body: wins and losses, shame and pride, pain and joy. Dean also investigates how radical self-acceptance and a willingness to abide with discomfort open up the possibility of a life lived beyond definition: a person unlimited.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this heartfelt memoir, spanning the 1950s and '60s, Major Margaret Thomas ARRC rises through the ranks of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (the QAs), the nursing branch of the British Army, healing injured soldiers far from home as well as educating and recruiting sisters back in Britain.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''There''s no mistaking the writing of Sylvia Patterson'' Sunday Times''One of the finest writers in the world'' David QuantickHow does the big stuff in life truly change us?In late 2019, Sylvia Patterson was a celebrated pop journalist, merrily writing about the musical greats. But with a life-threatening diagnosis, global pandemic and collapse of her industry, life took a drastic turn. This misadventure would teach her many things. The power of friendship, the shock of mortality and what happens when love is tested. How a walk in the park, a spontaneous dance and a TV hero can save your life. And what really happens when your body, never mind your kitchen, falls apart. The follow-up to Costa-shortlisted I''m Not with the Band, this is Sylvia''s gallows-funny odyssey through the mid-life trials we all face, as she asks the big question: would it change her, or would she stay that same old girl?Trade ReviewThere's no mistaking the writing of Sylvia Patterson * Sunday Times *One of the finest writers in the world * David Quantick *One of my favourite music writers ever -- Jude RogersExhilarating * Daily Mail *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA courageous and intimate memoir of China framed in ten telling words: a Duckworth contemporary classic, beautifully repackaged for our 125th anniversaryTrade Review‘A brilliant memoir of China… Throughout this beautifully narrated, carefully analytical and at times personally courageous book, Yu shows the dark side of China’s economic “miracle” Guardian'Caustic and difficult to forget, China in Ten Words is a people’s eye view of a world in which the people have little place' The Times'Gripping… it astounds me that Yu Hua has not already joined Nobel Peace Prize-winner Liu Xiaobo and a growing number of other outspoken intellectuals behind bars' Jonathan Mirsky, Literary Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisALPENGLOW takes the reader through a journey of personal adventure, immersive art and breathtaking scenery, combining inspiration with detailed local knowledge. Climbing the 4000m peaks of the Alps is one of the great and enduring challenges in mountaineering. It is a project that requires endurance, courage, skill, and humility. Whether you are a lover of mountain landscapes, an aspiring alpinist, or already a veteran of many adventures, this book will provide a wealth of original and inspiring material to help with planning future excursions or simply immersing yourself in the beauty of the high mountains.Trade Review"The photographs are sumptuous, inspirational, unique... the result of an obsessional effort to be in the right place at the right time. The historical research meticulous, the drawings beautiful and the texts capture the essential character of each route. Find a copy, feast your imagination, be in-spired..."; Victor Saunders, author, mountaineer & IFMGA mountain guide; ; ; "Tibbetts has produced a book that I find deeply impressive and inspiring. Bringing together route descriptions, historic content and the story of Tibbetts's own journey... I find myself dreaming of climbing all these peaks..."; Kenton Cool, 13 times Everest summiteer, IFMGA mountain guide; ; ; "Alpenglow is a rare tome of climbing routes that have all been climbed by the author. Tibbetts's first-hand experience on each of the highest summits of the Alps adds depth and insight, but it is undoubtedly the dazzling alpine photography that sets this book apart from others."; Colin Haley, mountaineer

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Philosophy of Modern Song is Bob Dylan’s first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One — and since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.   Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music. He writes over 60 essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyses what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose. They are mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny. And while they are ostensibly about music, they are really meditations and reflections on the human condition. Running throughout the book are nearly 150 carefully curated photos aTrade Review‘The acidity, acuity and cynicism in [Dylan’s] writing is to be expected (indeed, welcomed). It is the love, enthusiasm, whimsicality and lightly worn wisdom that delight too. That, and the sheer depth and breadth of his dogged scholarship and restless inquisitiveness’ * Sunday Times *‘Discursive, unpredictable, but always illuminating. Characteristically Dylan, in fact… It is not just the breadth of Dylan’s musical knowledge on display here, but the depth of his listening. He has an unerring ability to pinpoint what sets a song – or a singer, or a group – apart’ * Observer *‘Its lavishly and wittily illustrated 350 pages are an excuse for the great man to write with joyful zest, piercing profundity and flamboyant imagination about whatever crosses his mind, offering startlingly and frequently laugh-out-loud riffs on art and life… This book is lightning in a bottle’ * Daily Telegraph *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this striking exploration ofidentity and place, Dalia Al-Dujaili considerswhat it means to belong in your land. Tracing the rich heritage of both the oakand the date palm, Iraqi marshes and Loch Ness monsters, Al-Dujaili marriesArab and Islamic mythology with the English and Christian pastoral. She drawsfrom a rich array of sources to consider in a new light the communal lush, wild? and at times, dark ? places we share.A love song to Britain, Iraq and the body of earth we hold in common, Babylon,Albion is an urgent re-imagining of what it means to be native.

Read more less

Book SynopsisStep into the fascinating world of Bristol Zoo with Alan Toyne, a dedicated zookeeper and primate expert whose extraordinary story of hand-rearing two baby gorillas will warm your heartWhen Afia, a newborn Western Lowland Gorilla, is rejected by her mother Kera after a difficult birth, her human keepers must start the challenging - but rewarding - experience of hand-rearing her themselves. Teaching her the ropes of life in the Gorilla House at Bristol Zoo is tricky enough. But providing 24/7 care for a baby gorilla means Alan must hand-rear Afia in his own home too; an experience which forges a remarkable emotional bond between the two of them over the course of many sleepless nights.Soon a second baby gorilla, Hasani, is facing rejection from his mother, and Alan and his colleagues must embark on a daring mission to train Kera - now recovered but socially isolated - to become Hasani''s surrogate mother. Can she learn to protect and love Hasani as her own, in a way she couldn''t for Afia? Can she find her maternal instincts and claim a place within the troop at last?With a vibrant cast of characters - from the volatile Silverback Jock to the mysterious Sal and the stately Romi - Gorillas in Our Midst offers a unique glimpse into the intricate world of primate social dynamics, in all their complicated, human-like glory. More than just a behind-the-scenes look at zoo life, this thought-provoking and heart-warming memoir is a testament to the enduring bonds between humans and animals, and to the power of resilience and compassion.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor thirty summers Tove and her partner, the graphic artist, Tuulikki Pietilä, retreated to the tiny island of Klovharun, a rocky outcrop in the gulf of Finland, where they would live, paint and write, energised by the shifting seascapes and the island''s austere charms. Notes from an Island, offers both a memoir of, and homage to, this beloved island home. Tove''s spare prose, and Tuulikki''s subtle washes and aquatints, combine to form a work of meditative beauty.This edition includes the first UK publication of Tove''s acclaimed 1961 essay/prose poem, The Island.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter moving from Washington, D.C. to the Jersey Shore, a former speechwriter for President Obama starts surfing at the age of thirty-fivethe rough equivalent of beginning guitar lessons on your deathbedand must turn for help to the only other surfer he knows: a tattooed, truck-driving, Joe Rogan superfan who happens to be his brother-in-law.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Memoir of the year' - Vogue'A wondrous, sensuous memoir of salt-stung survival . . . clear-eyed and poetic prose' Sunday Times'A fascinating memoir' - Daily MailWhen Tamsin Calidas first arrives on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides, it feels like coming home. Disenchanted by London, she and her husband left the city and high-flying careers to move the 500 miles north, despite having absolutely no experience of crofting, or of island life. It was idyllic, for a while. But as the months wear on, the children she'd longed for fail to materialise, and her marriage breaks down, Tamsin finds herself in ever-increasing isolation.Injured, ill, without money or friend she is pared right back, stripped to becoming simply a raw element of the often harsh landscape. But with that immersion in her surroundings comes the possibility of rebirth and renewal. Tamsin begins the slow journey back from the brink. Startling, raw and extremely moving, I Am An Island is a story about the incredible ability of the natural world to provide when everything else has fallen away - a stunning book about solitude, friendship, resilience and self-discovery.Trade ReviewA wondrous, sensuous memoir of salt-stung survival… clear-eyed and poetic prose. Over and above everything else, I Am an Island is a hymn to the wild, full of fine observation of the natural world. A message that rings true for these testing times. * The Sunday Times *Calidas is a supple, sensuous writer - deeply empathetic... Her account is shot through with moments of intense brightness. * Guardian *This is a startling book, a vivid and terrifying reminder of how an island can seduce, madden - and ultimately sustain those brave enough to endure its confines. -- Madeleine Bunting, author of Love of CountryAn extraordinary book, a wild and redemptive account of reaching rock bottom and swimming back into the light. I’m awed by Tamsin's courage, her resilience and huge heart. Her island will stay with me for a very long time. -- Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City and To the RiverThe best book I have read in more than a decade. Each page is poetry. Tamsin's story is both heartbreaking and inspiring but ultimately about how the power of nature can heal. The perfect memoir for us all right now. Absolutely stunning. What an incredible woman. -- Susannah ConstantineThe memoir of the year...a lyrical paean to the wild beauty of the Hebrides. * Vogue *An island tale like no other. An unforgettably moving and compulsive read, steeped in anguish and beauty. A book that is unafraid to stare deep into the abyss, and still find a way forward. The story of a woman completely broken by life, and her fifteen-year struggle to find the inner strength to restore herself, through sheer determination, and by immersing herself in solitude. -- Neil Ansell, author of Deep Country and Deer IslandCompletely astonishing. Using language of shimmering beauty, Tamsin Calidas describes the unravelling of a relationship with such exquisitely small stitches that the eventual thread-baring of her physical and emotional safety, her sense of identity and purpose, blows in like a cold slap of Hebridean wind. A Hardyesque, stripped back connection to the landscape emerges. And yet only with the fragmentation of everything that matters is the fragility of life transcended and restored by the triumphant pull of a determination to survive. -- Juliet NicolsonGripping...Tough yet compulsive reading, carried by crisp, vivid prose. -- Amy Liptrot, author of The OutrunRaw, painful, storm-battered writing. Here's what it means to be truly isolated. * Raynor Winn *A meditative breath of fresh air. This book will fill your lungs, sting your eyes and catch in your throat. Soaring prose like birdsong over the harsh lands that compelled Tamsin Calidas to breathe deep. -- Ruth Fitzmaurice, author of I Found My TribeAn extraordinary book of limitless resilience, Calidas' leaping prose is a love song to the natural world. What she achieves with an open heart and a will of iron is nothing short of remarkable. -- Sarah Langford, author of In Your DefenceSo raw, so honest, so intense. I didn't want this book to end. -- Sigri Sandberg, author of An Ode to DarknessCombining intensely beautiful nature writing with the excavation of deep emotion, this brave, startling book examines what it really means to lose yourself in nature, and in doing so find a completely new version of yourself, too. A powerful, unsettling but ultimately redemptive account of one woman’s deep communion with the natural world. -- Clover Stroud, author of My Wild and Sleepless NightsCalidas is a supple, sensuous writer - deeply empathic... Her account is shot through with moments of intense brightness. * Guardian *Any preconceptions you may entertain about 'a Londoner, tiring of the city, moves to a Scottish Island' will be smashed in the first chapter of Tamsin Calidas' astonishing, raw and clear-eyed book. Tamsin charts how she comes to terms with loss, loneliness, hardship and prejudice through immersing herself fully in her island habitat. I am an Island is a powerful, affecting book; glittering and visceral, Tamsin's clear-voiced self-reliance becomes a storm-force of nature in itself. -- Nicola Chester, Nature Writer, RSPB Columnist and Guardian Country DiaristA beautiful book...I urge you to seek it out. -- Jane GarveyA beautifully written, emotionally intense memoir * Sunday Express *The island is a metaphor for anyone who has ever been alone... It is about what happens when everything you are used to falls away, which is something we are all experiencing at the moment. * Daily Mail *An utterly engrossing read. * Saga *

Read more less