Memoirs Books
LEGARE STREET PR Lew Wallace an Autobiography
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£999.99
LEGARE STREET PR History of Peter the Great
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£28.45
LEGARE STREET PR Memoirs of Mrs. Fitzherbert
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£15.95
LEGARE STREET PR A Memoir of LieutenantGeneral Sir Garnet J. Wolseley
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£17.95
LEGARE STREET PR The Book of the Court
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£29.40
LEGARE STREET PR The Life of Sir Edward Coke
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£26.55
LEGARE STREET PR A Memoir of MajorGeneral Sir R. R. Gillespie
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£25.60
LEGARE STREET PR Les Confessions
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£30.35
LEGARE STREET PR Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story
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£31.30
LEGARE STREET PR Lew Wallace an Autobiography
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£999.99
LEGARE STREET PR The Autobiography and Correspondence of Mary Granville Mrs. Delany
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£32.25
LEGARE STREET PR Patrick Henry Life Correspondence and Speeches Volume 2
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£999.99
LEGARE STREET PR The Life of Sir Edward Coke
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£19.95
LEGARE STREET PR The Book of the Court
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£21.80
LEGARE STREET PR Memoir of the Rev. Jesse Lee
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£26.55
LEGARE STREET PR Memoirs of Prince Metternich
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£37.00
LEGARE STREET PR Les Confessions
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£22.75
LEGARE STREET PR A Memoir of MajorGeneral Sir R. R. Gillespie
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£17.95
LEGARE STREET PR A Brief Memoir of Francis Fry F.S.a. of Bristol
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£22.75
LEGARE STREET PR Memoirs of Mademoiselle De Montpensier
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£26.55
LEGARE STREET PR Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story
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£23.70
Scribe Publications The Walls Came Tumbling Down: A journey of
Book SynopsisIn this gripping memoir, originally published in 1957, the Dutch author, codename ‘Zip’, recounts her extraordinary journey. A young fighter for the resistance during World War II, Zip is captured and held prisoner as part of the ‘Night and Fog’ unit, political prisoners who wait out the war in a crowded, secret cell. During their long days and nights, each creates a secret embroidery telling the story of their war, including when they are moved from place to place, writing each other’s names in morse code out of contraband black thread. Upon liberation, Zip must find her way back to Holland with her three companions, scant belongings, and any food they can ‘liberate’ or are given by the goodwill of soldiers or villagers along the way. In cinematic, sweeping prose, Zip reveals all the details of the time, including the camaraderie of fellow political prisoners upon release: the Dutch prisoners of war who have kept their uniforms intact; the French p.o.w.s in threadbare yet debonair getups; the French women resistance fighters who break out in song (‘La Marseillaise’) to reunite a hungry mob; not to mention the Russian liberators, and the American soldiers. The world they enter has turned upside down. The jovial spirit and giddiness they share at being free is uplifting and unforgettable. An adroit, page-turning and heroic tale of humanity – after the darkness, there is so much light. The Walls Came Tumbling Down is a true World War II classic.Trade Review‘You feel the life seeping back into these wasted, emaciated, exhausted friends like spring itself … You marvel at the capillary action that one caring human being can create in another with simple kindness, but in the end, pure luck, like a blessing, rains down from the heavens.’ -- Susan Salter Reynolds * Los Angeles Times *‘Gripping and beautiful, Roosenburg’s memoir is a tale of bravery that will make you care deeply about its protagonists, even make you weep at their ordeal and homecoming. It is one of the unjustly neglected gems of Second World War literature.’ -- James Mustich, author of 1,000 Books To Read Before You Die‘Here is a book full of utterly unselfconscious heroism.’ * The Washington Post *‘I wept — tears of pride — while reading Henriette Roosenburg’s The Walls Came Tumbling Down. Pride? Yes, pride that human beings can rise to such heights.’ -- Noel Perrin * Los Angeles Times *‘Scribe has done readers a great service by reprinting the unjustly forgotten The Walls Came Tumbling Down by Henriette Roosenburg, nicknamed ‘Zip’ for the frequency with which she once secretly criss-crossed Nazi-held borders, narrates the incredible events that follow her liberation from a German prison by the Soviet military with casual simplicity and a touch of humour … [A] moving, often funny book, despite the circumstances, told by a brave and truly remarkable woman who deserves to be remembered.’ -- Hank Stephenson * Shelf Awareness *‘[A] gripping memoir.’ * Australian Jewish News *‘[R]eading Henriette Roosenburg’s gripping memoir of her postwar journey home to Holland from the Waldheim camp in Germany, I feel … awe at the human courage and indefatigable quest for home that pervades the book … The tone of this memoir is upbeat, and surprisingly amusing. The joy of freedom and her delight in being able to take independent action after their long captivity pervades each chapter … Highly recommended.’ -- Lisa Hill * ANZ LitLovers *
£12.34
Hodder & Stoughton Never Stop Dreaming: My Euro 96 Story -
Book SynopsisStuart Pearce became the face of England's bid to win the 1996 European Championships when his maniacal explosion of joy and relief at scoring a penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out against Spain captured the mood of a nation.England did not win the tournament, but, against a backdrop of the Three Lions song that played from every pub, every bar, every car radio and every open window in that summer, it cemented the renaissance of the game in this country. Alongside his friendships with Paul Gascoigne and Gareth Southgate - including the time the trio were invited on stage by the Sex Pistols - the book details the semi-final against Germany, more heartbreak in the penalty shootout when Southgate missed England's sixth penalty and what the tournament meant to Pearce and to Southgate and to the rest of the country.It is a first-hand account of the summer when football came home for England fans, and when the country lost itself in the joy of a home tournament.
£999.99
Murdoch Books Girl, Transcending: Becoming the woman I was born
Book SynopsisAJ Clementine always knew she was a girl. The problem was, she'd been born in a magical shell that looked, on the outside, like a perfect little boy. In her teens, this conflict between her outer and inner selves exploded, igniting years of anxiety and panic attacks. Now fast becoming one of the world's most visible transgender spokespeople, AJ's journey to accept and live as her true self has captivated hundreds of thousands of people on TikTok, Youtube and Instagram, where she has shared her gender transition, what it was like to grow up Wasian in a blended family, and her transformation into a model, influencer and trans advocate. In Girl, Transcending, AJ weaves her experiences, advice, reflections and snippets of inspiration into a powerful tool to help us understand and celebrate what makes each of us unique, not only those in the LGBTQI+ community but anyone finding their way in the world. Honest, positive and empowering, AJ shines a light on her path to self-love and acceptance - the hardest bits, the parts we rarely see - in the hopes of a brighter, more inclusive future for all.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Once upon a time ...Chapter One: You are seenChapter Two: You are not your labelsChapter Three: Your people are out thereChapter Four: Life throws curveballsChapter Five: Accepting what isChapter Six: Dare to dream
£16.14
Picador Hiking with Nietzsche
Book SynopsisA stimulating book about combating despair and complacency with searching reflection. --Heller McAlpin, NPR.org Named a Best Book of 2018 by NPR. One of Lit Hub''s 15 Books You Should Read in September and one of Outside''s Best Books of FallA revelatory Alpine journey in the spirit of the great Romantic thinker Friedrich NietzscheHiking with Nietzsche: Becoming Who You Are is a tale of two philosophical journeysone made by John Kaag as an introspective young man of nineteen, the other seventeen years later, in radically different circumstances: he is now a husband and father, and his wife and small child are in tow. Kaag sets off for the Swiss peaks above Sils Maria where Nietzsche wrote his landmark work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both of Kaag's journeys are made in search of the wisdom at the core of Nietzsche's philosophy, yet they deliver him to radically different interpretations and, more crucially, revelat
£15.30
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Hurricanes
Book Synopsis*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**ANXXL BEST RAPPER-PENNED BIOGRAPHY*A gripping journey.PeopleThe highly anticipated memoir from hip-hop icon Rick Ross chronicles his coming of age amid Miami's crack epidemic, his star-studded controversies and his unstoppable rise to fame. Rick Ross is an indomitable presence in the music industry, but few people know his full story. Now, for the first time, Ross offers a vivid, dramatic and unexpectedly candid account of his early childhood, his tumultuous adolescence and his dramatic ascendancy in the world of hip-hop. Born William Leonard Roberts II, Ross grew up across the bridge, in a Miami at odds with the glitzy nightclubs and yachts of South Beach. In the aftermath of the 1980 race riots, he came of age at the height of the city's crack epidemic. All the while he honed his musical talent, overcoming setback after setback until a song called Hustlin' changed his life forever. From his first major label deal to the controversies, health scares,
£999.99
Orion Publishing Co The Stirrings
Book SynopsisNo life exists outside the times.This is a story about one young woman coming of age, and about the place and time that shaped her: the North of England in the 1970s and 80s.About the scorching summer of 1976 - the last Catherine Taylor would spend with both her parents in their home in Sheffield.About the Yorkshire Ripper, the serial killer whose haunting presence in Catherine''s childhood was matched only by the aching absence of her own father.About a country thrown into disarray by the nuclear threat and the Miners'' Strike, just as Catherine''s adolescent body was invaded by a debilitating illness.About 1989''s ''Second Summer of Love'', a time of sexual awakening for Catherine, and the unforeseen consequences that followed it.About a tragic accident, and how the insidious dangers facing women would became increasingly apparent as Catherine crossed into to adulthood.''Part poignant memoir of time and plaTrade ReviewCaptures the fear and euphoria of growing up with precision and wry, spiky flair -- Susie BoytPart poignant memoir of time and place. Part record of the violence, and indifference, against which most girls grow up. THE STIRRINGS is a pleasure and a shock -- Eimear McBrideFrom chlorine and Quavers to the Jesus and Mary Chain, an engaging personal and political 1980s awakening -- Richard BeardSo stylishly done, and one of the finest memoirs I've read in years -- Sunjeev SahotaWhat a superb, moving and disturbing memoir Catherine Taylor has written. Tracing delicate threads of connection between the political and the personal, evoking the atmosphere of the 80s and early 1990s with uncanny precision. It's haunting and unforgettable. -- Jonathan CoeThis marvellous book is a creature of itself. Memoir? Forget it. Here is prose operating at the level of a lethal instrument -- Kirsty Gunn * New Zealand Listener *The 'addictive, druggy aroma' of Vosene shampoo is just one of the many memories triggered by Catherine Taylor's evocative and stirring memoir . . . The book neatly balances a personal story with an incisive social history of an era, told honestly through working-class eyes . . . An excellent memoir * Independent *A frank and challenging mixture of memory and anger and protest, with a strong sense of place and history. It evokes a Sheffield I knew well in the process of evolving into the city it is now - the very place names are resonant with nostalgia -- Margaret DrabbleSparklingly evocative . . . Taylor illustrates the deep connection between person and place in the construction of identity: here the lines between city and citizen are satisfyingly blurred * Financial Times *As well as a personal story, The Stirrings is also an atmospheric social document . . . delicately written and deeply affecting * Irish Times *A great and devastating memoir -- Laura CummingTaylor's memories are deliciously vibrant -- Pippa Bailey * New Statesman *Inspiring in its honesty, unforgettable in its blend of grit and vulnerability -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller *Catherine Taylor's memoir The Stirrings is a dark, wry tribute to the Steel City, and her encounters with many of its best-known inhabitants . . . Her findings are presented with both poetry and wit: The Stirrings is a vivid chronicle of a young woman's journey into adulthood, and an equally vivid portrait of a place and moment in time -- Holly Williams * Telegraph *A coming-of-age memoir which charts the author's experiences growing up in 1970s and 80s Sheffield, the evocation of time and place is so good you are almost surprised when you look up and see you are elsewhere * i news *Catherine Taylor's account of her youth is a lyrical study of how place shapes character ... Assured and perceptive . . . She brilliantly evokes the "tiny traumas" of childhood . . . Haunting . . . The reader may wish this memoir were longer * Observer *A powerful memoir, strong on period detail and notable both for the dramatic events in the background (including the Yorkshire Ripper murders and Orgreave) and for the author's story of her childhood and family -- Blake MorrisonThe Stirrings is an evocative and moving time-slip of a memoir. With ominous overtones, a defiant spirit, and a nostalgic slice of both the euphoria and dread that saturated the '70s and '80s, Taylor's coming of age tale gifts us the friend we all longed for growing up: one who is open, funny and better read -- Jade Angeles FittonCatherine Taylor's wonderful, evocative memoir is honest and unsentimental about the city of Sheffield she grew up in during the Seventies and Eighties but it's clear that, although she now lives in London, it still looms large in her life . . . [an] easily relatable, sympathetic and moving story. And while many of the landmarks of Catherine's Sheffield youth are now long gone the city's renewal in recent times seems to go hand in hand with her own personal journey * Choice *The violence men do, to the world in general but women's bodies in particular, is the angry backdrop to this fine memoir. That and the city of Sheffield itself . . . While the prose is lyrical, the book offers a way of thinking about the personal past that will speak to anyone who has grown up trying to assemble a self from the bits and pieces of family and political culture randomly assigned at birth. In other words, all of us. -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *A haunting piece of memoir and cultural history * Buzz Magazine *I suspect the book will be catnip to readers of a nostalgic bent . . . Taylor skilfully captures the mood of those years, a 'Northern Time' caught miraculously in aspic * Mail on Sunday *
£16.14
Pan Macmillan The Girl With Two Lives: A Shocking Childhood. A
Book SynopsisThe Girl With Two Lives is the fourth book from well loved foster carer and Sunday Times bestselling author Angela Hart, in which she tells the story of one of her toughest placements yet.Twelve year old Danielle has been excluded from a special school and her former foster family can no longer cope. She arrives as an emergency placement at the home of foster carer Angela, who soon suspects that there is more to the young girl's disruptive behaviour than meets the eye. Can Angela's specialist training unlock the horrors of Danielle's past and help her start a brave new life?Another true story from the experienced and bestselling foster carer – sharing the tale of one of the many children she has fostered over the years. A story of the difference that quiet care, a watchful eye and sympathetic ear can make to those children whose upbringing has been less fortunate than others.Trade ReviewPraise for Angela Hart: A true tear-jerking tale of love and compassion * Sunday Mirror *A no holds barred insight into the reality of looking after someone else's children. A remarkable story from a remarkable woman, it brought back a lot of memories for me -- Casey WatsonA moving story that testifies to the redemptive power of love. I hope Angela Hart inspires many others to foster -- Torey Hayden
£999.99
Ebury Publishing Misfits
Book SynopsisMichaela Coel is the creator of the hit TV shows Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You. She is a BAFTA, Royal Television Society, Broadcasting Press Guild and NAACP prize-winning actor, screenwriter and director. In 2020, she was included in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people and British Vogue's list of most influential women. Misfits is her first book.
£9.99
Grand Central Publishing Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing
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£22.40
Hampton Roads Publishing Co Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How My Bad-Boy
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£12.34
Penguin Putnam Inc How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest
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£19.55
Penguin Putnam Inc Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
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£25.60
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and
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£16.14
Graywolf Press In the Dream House: A Memoir
Book SynopsisA revolutionary memoir about domestic abuse by the award-winning author of Her Body and Other PartiesIn the Dream House is Carmen Maria Machado's engrossing and wildly innovative account of a relationship gone bad, and a bold dissection of the mechanisms and cultural representations of psychological abuse. Tracing the full arc of a harrowing relationship with a charismatic but volatile woman, Machado struggles to make sense of how what happened to her shaped the person she was becoming.And it's that struggle that gives the book its original structure: each chapter is driven by its own narrative tropethe haunted house, erotica, the bildungsromanthrough which Machado holds the events up to the light and examines them from different angles. She looks back at her religious adolescence, unpacks the stereotype of lesbian relationships as safe and utopian, and widens the view with essayistic explorations of the history and reality of abuse in queer relationships.Machado's dire narrative is leavened with her characteristic wit, playfulness, and openness to inquiry. She casts a critical eye over legal proceedings, fairy tales, Star Trek, and Disney villains, as well as iconic works of film and fiction. The result is a wrenching, riveting book that explodes our ideas about what a memoir can do and be.
£15.30
Regnery Publishing Inc Are We There Yet?: My Journey from a Messed Up to
Book SynopsisComedic and Inspirational memoir from the stand-up comic who coined the phrase “Happy Wife, Happy Life”. In his signature style of stand-up comedy bits, Jeff Allen shares the inspirational and at times laugh-out-loud story of how God rescued him from alcoholism and despair through the book of Ecclesiastes. At times, his story is tragic and even tear-jerking—but in the end, it demonstrates that God takes a customised approach to reaching each of His children. Known as “the King of Clean Comedy,” Allen’s memoir won’t disappoint.Trade Review“I was complaining about all my problems and addictions one day. My therapist looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘You should meet Jeff Allen.’ This book will give you a glimpse into the life of one of the best men I know, whether he’s crushing it at the comedy club or lipping out a birdie putt.” —JOHN CRIST, American and world-class comedian“Superb! Enjoyable! Illuminating! Doxological! ... This book will bless, encourage, comfort, and be an exhortation to any who read it.” —TOMMY NELSON, senior pastor of Denton Bible Church, Denton, Texas“Jeff’s story is a fascinating and poignant account of triumphing over obstacles that seem insurmountable. It serves as a testament that when one prioritizes God, blessings are sure to follow.” —JORDAN HARMON, president and cofounder of Angel Studios“This is Jeff’s story—it’s a great one, and it’s a story for all of us.... It’s funny yet profound; inspiring and uplifting but deeply thought-provoking. It gives hope and answers questions many of us didn’t know we needed to ask.” —DAVID BARTON, author and founder of WallBuilders“Jeff Allen is the best at what he does. His humor and his testimony combine to make Are We There Yet? both entertaining and powerful. I’m so pleased to recommend this book—you’ll enjoy it!” —MICHAEL W. SMITH, three-time Grammy Award winner and American Music Award recipient“This is a book for the cynical, the raging, and the disillusioned. Be persistent; there is hope!” —BILL AND GLORIA GAITHER, founders of Gaither Music Group“Jeff has a unique way of communicating the one thing God pretty much insists on: humility.” —GARY CHAPMAN, Grammy Award winner and TV and radio host
£19.00
Profile Books Ltd The Secret Life of John le Carré
Book SynopsisA Times Best Literature Book of the Year 2023 A Financial Times Book of the Year 2023 A Spectator Book of the Year 2023 A Daily Express Best Book of 2023 'A fascinating, revelatory appendix ... providing new insights into the inner workings of the man who created George Smiley' 'Best Books of the Year 2023', Financial Times 'Sisman can set the record straight' 'Books of the Year 2023', The Sunday Times 'Complex and consequential ... casts le Carré's life and writing in a fresh light ... a fascinating examination of the biographer's art' Washington Post 'Now that he is dead, we can know him better.' Secrecy came naturally to John le Carré, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over four decades. To keep these relationships secret, he made use of tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: code names and cover stories, cut outs, safe houses and dead letter boxes. Such affairs introduced both jeopardy and excitement into what was otherwise a quiet, ordered life. Le Carré seemed to require the stimulus they provided in order to write, though this meant deceiving those closest to him. It is no coincidence that betrayal became a recurrent theme in his work. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, revealed much about the elusive spy-turned-novelist; yet le Carré was adamant that some subjects should remain hidden, at least during his lifetime. The Secret Life of John le Carré is the story of what was left out, and offers reflections on the difficult relationship between biographer and subject. More than that, it adds a necessary coda to the life and work of this complex, driven, restless man. The Secret Life of John le Carré reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'Trade ReviewA completely fascinating and revelatory book, written with great sagacity, candour and judiciousness -- William Boyd, author * Any Human Heart *A fascinating, revelatory appendix ... Sisman's latest book exposes the great spy writer's duplicitous and deceitful relationships with the women in his life, providing new insights into the inner workings of the man who created George Smiley -- 'Best Books of the Year 2023' * Financial Times *Enjoyable ... moves beyond voyeurism to reveal the deep sadness behind the lies ... Sisman can set the record straight -- 'Books of the Year 2023' * The Times *[A] seamy, steamy supplement to the biography -- 'Books of the Year' * Daily Mail *[Sisman] is a delicate writer keen to acknowledge the ambiguity of the biographer's role * Guardian *Scrupulous as a biographer ... Sisman justifies his argument that this coda of his is a necessary one. It enables us to have a clearer view of the man ... It also allows us to understand his novels better ... Psychologically astute. -- James Owen. 'Book of the Week' * The Times *Complex and consequential ... casts le Carré's life and writing in a fresh light ... a fascinating examination of the biographer's art * Washington Post *Fascinating * New Statesman *Revealing ... shocking * Observer *Fascinating ... painfully honest and anguished -- Robert McCrum * Independent *Revelatory ... effectively rewrites the way [le Carré] will be perceived by posterity -- William Boyd, 'Books of the Year' * Daily Express *Enlightening * Wall Street Journal *Sisman is the biographers' biographer * Church Times *Intriguing ... admirably concise ... sub-themes, such as the practice and ethics of biography and the emotional toll of spying, run through [the book] -- 'Books of the Year 2023' * Spectator *Entertaining * Irish Independent *Thoughtful, self-aware and nuanced .. Sisman here is, as always, readable, honest, careful * Arts Desk *Given his history of spy novels, it should come as little surprise that the late Le Carré was a man adept at secrecy himself. And here his complicated private life is fully exposed for the first time * i News *A determined and at times forensic attempt to set the record straight ... deeply entertaining * Spectator World *Scintillating * Oldie *Remarkably unflinching ... Sisman uncovers a previously hidden and discomfiting dimension of le Carré ... future accounts will have to wrestle with the bombshells dropped here. * Publisher's Weekly *This is a book for le Carré fans, for anyone interested in the art of fiction, and for anyone interested in the art of biography. * Book Brunch *A one-of-a-kind revisiting of a wondrously productive life lived at the expense of two wives and many lovers ... Sisman demonstrates how betrayal was the leitmotif of both the novelist's life and his art and that however completely he depended on his wives, he depended on a new woman to serve as his inspiration for each book * Kirkus Reviews *Few writers have curated their image so effectively as John le Carré. In this page-turning follow-up to his 2015 biography, published when his subject was still kickingly alive, Adam Sisman completes the task of showing us who he was - a minor spy who became a major novelist, whose most important agents in the field were the women he needed to love and then betray. For le Carré, tradecraft was lovecraft. Much more than What Was Left Out, The Secret Life of John le Carré is not merely the conclusive homage to a compulsively fascinating character, but an insightful study into the biographical process itself. Even David Cornwell, the man who actually was John le Carré, would have saluted him -- Nicholas Shakespeare
£16.14
Two Dollar Radio They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us: Expanded
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£16.11
Simon & Schuster All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan
Book SynopsisNew York Times bestseller Named one of the best books of the year by the New York Public Library, the Financial Times, the New York Post, Book Riot, and the Sunday Times (London). An “exquisite” (The Washington Post) “hauntingly beautiful” (Associated Press) portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard.Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They’re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Caught up in his glamourous fledgling career at The New Yorker, Patrick Bringley never thought that he’d be one of them. Then his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he found himself needing to escape the mundane clamor of daily life. So he quit The New Yorker and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew. To his surprise and your delight, this temporary refuge becomes Bringley’s home away from home for a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome, strolls the labyrinths beneath the galleries, wears out nine pairs of company shoes, and marvels at the beautiful works in his care. Bringley enters the museum as a ghost, silent and almost invisible, but soon finds his voice and his tribe: the artworks and their creators and the lively subculture of museum guards—a gorgeous mosaic of artists, musicians, blue-collar stalwarts, immigrants, cutups, and dreamers. As his bonds with his colleagues and the art grow, he comes to understand how fortunate he is to be walled off in this little world, and how much it resembles the best aspects of the larger world to which he gradually, gratefully returns. In the tradition of classic workplace memoirs like Lab Girl and Working Stiff, All the Beauty in the World is an “empathic” (The New York Times Book Review), “moving” (NPR), “consoling, and beautiful” (The Guardian) portrait of a great museum, its hidden treasures, and the people who make it tick, by one of its most intimate observers.
£23.19
Simon & Schuster Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass
Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestselling debut book of poetry from Lana Del Rey, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass.“Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, and some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I’m proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic.” —Lana Del Rey Lana’s breathtaking first book solidifies her further as “the essential writer of her times” (The Atlantic). The collection features more than thirty poems, many exclusive to the book: Never to Heaven, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, LA Who Am I to Love You?, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, Paradise Is Very Fragile, Bare Feet on Linoleum, and many more. This beautiful hardcover edition showcases Lana’s typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator. Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is also brought to life in an unprecedented spoken word audiobook which features Lana Del Rey reading fourteen select poems from the book accompanied by music from Grammy Award-winning musician Jack Antonoff.
£22.40
Simon & Schuster What the Dead Know: Learning about Life as a New
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£23.19
Simon & Schuster An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an
Book SynopsisThis 10th anniversary edition of the beloved #1 New York Times bestseller includes a new introduction and afterword by the author. Chronicling the lifelong friendship between a busy sales executive and a disadvantaged young boy that began with one small gesture of kindness, this is a “ray of hope for a better future, as well as an assurance that love is a stronger force than injustice and inequality” (Sybrina Fulton, mother of Travyon Martin and coauthor of Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin).Stopping was never part of the plan... She was a successful ad sales rep in Manhattan. He was a homeless, eleven-year-old panhandler on the street. He asked for spare change; she kept walking. But then something stopped her in her tracks, and she went back. And she continued to go back, again and again. They met up nearly every week for years and built an unexpected, life-changing friendship that has today spanned almost three decades. Whatever made me notice him on that street corner so many years ago is clearly something that cannot be extinguished, no matter how relentless the forces aligned against it. Some may call it spirit. Some may call it heart. It drew me to him, as if we were bound by some invisible, unbreakable thread. And whatever it is, it binds us still. Now with new material that brings the life-changing story up to date for its tenth anniversary, An Invisible Thread is “a book capable of restoring our faith in each other and in the very idea that maybe everything is going to be okay after all” (Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of Pay It Forward).Trade Review"I thought I knew what An Invisible Thread was going to be. I thought it would be a simple and hopeful story about a woman who saved a boy. I was wrong. It's a complex and unswervingly honest story about a woman and a boy who saved each other. By its raw honesty and lack of excess sentimentality, it is even more inspirational. This is a book capable of restoring our faith in each other and in the very idea that maybe everything is going to be okay after all." -- Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of Pay It Forward and Jumpstart the World"An Invisible Thread—a remarkable story, told so beautifully and honestly—shows us what's possible when we are not afraid to connect with another human being and tap into our compassion. It is a story about the power each of us has to elevate someone else's life and how our own life is enriched in the process. This special book reminds us that damaging cycles can be broken and not to neglect the humanity of the strangers we brush up against every day." -- Chris Gardner, bestselling author of The Pursuit of Happyness and Start Where You Are"A straightforward tale of kindness and paying it forward in 1980s New York . . . For readers seeking an uplifting reminder that small gestures matter." * Kirkus Reviews *"According to an old Chinese proverb, there's an invisible thread that connects two people who are destined to meet and influence each other's lives. . . . As Schroff relates Maurice's story, she tells of her own father's alcoholism and abuse, and readers see how desperately these two need each other in this feel-good story about the far-reaching benefits of kindness." * Publishers Weekly *"An Invisible Thread is like The Blind Side, but instead of football, it’s food. These are two people who were brought together by one simple meal, and it literally changed the course of both of their lives. This is a must-read . . . you can read it in a day because it’s impossible to put down. If you read it and find it as moving as I did, pay it forward: buy a copy and give it to a friend.” -- Rachael Ray, host of The Rachael Ray Show“This book is a game-changer . . . each chapter touches your heart. An Invisible Thread is a gift to us all. America needs this book now more than ever.” -- “Coach” Ron Tunick, national radio show host, “The Business of Life”“An incredible story . . . I would encourage everyone to pick up this book.” -- Clayton Morris, host, Fox & Friends"If you have a beating heart—or if you fear you’re suffering a hardening of the emotional arteries—you really ought to commit to this book at the earliest possible opportunity . . . read this book. And pass it on. And encourage the next reader to do the same.” -- Jesse Kornbluth * Huffington Post *
£16.14
Hodder & Stoughton Looked After
Book Synopsis A MOVING, HONEST MEMOIR FROM BROADCASTER AND JOURNALIST ASHLEY JOHN-BAPTISTE ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE BRITISH CARE SYSTEM ''This is a book that everyone must read. No matter how you grew up it''s for you: it''ll make you rethink your own childhood and your relationships with everyone you know. It''s funny, moving and of course it''s often sad. But mainly it''s a beautiful and fascinating and enlightening portrait of the care system, a world that is barely understood by many of us. It is also a proper page turner: the twists and turns and set-backs of his childhood are as gripping as they are shocking. I genuinely couldn''t put it down.This story is more urgent and relevant now than ever.'' - Xand van Tulleken ''Ashley John-Baptiste joins a high class of writing by upstanding respectful and honourable citizens and professionals, professors and actors, lawyers, doctors, artists and authors, all who happen to have had a life in care. We h
£999.99
Wilfrid Laurier University Press Boom!: Manufacturing Memoir for the Popular
Book SynopsisSince the early 1990s, tens of thousands of memoirs by celebrities and unknown people have been published, sold, and read by millions of American readers. The memoir boom, as the explosion of memoirs on the market has come to be called, has been welcomed, vilified, and dismissed in the popular press. But is there really a boom in memoir production in the United States? If so, what is causing it? Are memoirs all written by narcissistic hacks for an unthinking public, or do they indicate a growing need to understand world events through personal experiences? This study seeks to answer these questions by examining memoir as an industrial product like other products, something that publishers and booksellers help to create. These popular texts become part of mass culture, where they are connected to public events. The genre of memoir, and even genre itself, ceases to be an empty classification category and becomes part of social action and consumer culture at the same time. From James Frey's controversial A Million Little Pieces to memoirs about bartending, Iran, the liberation of Dachau, computer hacking, and the impact of 9/11, this book argues that the memoir boom is more than a publishing trend. It is becoming the way American readers try to understand major events in terms of individual experiences. The memoir boom is one of the ways that citizenship as a category of belonging between private and public spheres is now articulated.Trade Review"This is a smart and original work, the product of significant scholarship and energetic legwork. Julie Rak has looked beyond the texts that make up the memoir boom to the circumstances of their production, marketing, selling, and consumption. All students of the genre will benefit from her clear account of complex changes in the publishing and marketing of books. Her analysis greatly advances our understanding of the rise of the memoir and its important role in our cultural life." -- G. Thomas Couser, professor emeritus, Hoftstra University, author of 'Memoir: An Introduction' (2011)"Here is the first backstory of the memoir boom in America: who reads it, writes it, publishes it, and sells it, and why it is such a necessary part of the way we live now." -- Gillian Whitlock, author of 'Soft Weapons: Autobiography in Transit' (2007)While Rak addresses the process of meaning-making and politics throughout all her chapters, the reader is left with a profoundly political message after reading the conclusion, entitled "Citizen Selves and the State of the Memoir Boom", in which Rak leaves us to ponder how we, as readers and citizens, are woven in the social and political fabric of community life. While it is easy to see memoir as entertainment or intrigue (and, thus, to characterize consumers of memoir as merely interested in the personal) Rak's argument emphasizes that the boom in memoir is also a boom in "personal stories of all types that continue to explore-and upset-the balance between public and private, personal and political." -- Lucia Lorenzi -- Canadian LiteratureRak brilliantly sheds light on a misunderstood genre and its aficionados in her recent book Boom! Manufacturing Memoir for the Popular Market .... A highly worthwhile read and a compelling analysis of memoir in the first decade of the 21st century. -- Rebecca G. Aguilar -- Book KvetchTable of ContentsTable of Contents for Boom! Manufacturing Memoir for the Popular Market , by Julie Rak Gratitude Introduction: Identifying the Memoir Industry Chapter 1: âMore Books!â: Publishing, Non-fiction, and the Memoir Boom Chapter 2: Bookstores, Genre, and Everyday Practices Chapter 3: Going Public: Selected Memoirs Produced by Random House and HarperCollins Chapter 4: Exceptionally Public: Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis I: The Story of a Childhood and James Frey's A Million Little Pieces Conclusion: Citizen Selves and the State of the Memoir Boom Notes References Index
£999.99
The Merlin Press Ltd Mapping My Way Home: Activism, Nostalgia, and the
Book SynopsisStephanie J. Urdang's memoir tracking the slow demise of apartheid that led to South Africa's first democratic elections.Stephanie Urdang was born in Cape Town, South Africa, into a white, Jewish family staunchly opposed to the apartheid regime. In 1967, at the age of twenty-three, no longer able to tolerate the grotesque iniquities and oppression of apartheid, she chose exile and emigrated to the United States. There she embraced feminism, met anti-apartheid and solidarity movement activists, and encountered a particularly American brand of racial injustice. Urdang also met African revolutionaries such as Amilcar Cabral, who would influence her return to Africa and her subsequent journalism. In 1974, she trekked through the liberation zones of Guinea-Bissau during its war of independence; in the 1980's, she returned repeatedly to Mozambique and saw how South Africa was fomenting a civil war aimed to destroy the newly independent country.Urdang's memoir maps out her quest for the meaning of home and for the lived reality of revolution with empathy, courage, and a keen eye for historical and geographic detail. This is a personal narrative, beautifully told, of a journey traveled by an indefatigable exile who, while yearning for home, continues to question where, as a citizen of both South Africa and the United States, she belongs. "My South Africa!" she writes, on her return in 1991, after the release of Nelson Mandela, "How could I have imagined for one instant that I could return to its beauty, and not its pain?"
£71.25
Monthly Review Press,U.S. Mapping My Way Home: Activism, Nostalgia, and the
Book SynopsisStephanie J. Urdang's memoir tracking the slow demise of apartheid that led to South Africa's first democratic elections.Stephanie Urdang was born in Cape Town, South Africa, into a white, Jewish family staunchly opposed to the apartheid regime. In 1967, at the age of twenty-three, no longer able to tolerate the grotesque iniquities and oppression of apartheid, she chose exile and emigrated to the United States. There she embraced feminism, met anti-apartheid and solidarity movement activists, and encountered a particularly American brand of racial injustice. Urdang also met African revolutionaries such as Amilcar Cabral, who would influence her return to Africa and her subsequent journalism. In 1974, she trekked through the liberation zones of Guinea-Bissau during its war of independence; in the 1980's, she returned repeatedly to Mozambique and saw how South Africa was fomenting a civil war aimed to destroy the newly independent country.Urdang's memoir maps out her quest for the meaning of home and for the lived reality of revolution with empathy, courage, and a keen eye for historical and geographic detail. This is a personal narrative, beautifully told, of a journey traveled by an indefatigable exile who, while yearning for home, continues to question where, as a citizen of both South Africa and the United States, she belongs. "My South Africa!" she writes, on her return in 1991, after the release of Nelson Mandela, "How could I have imagined for one instant that I could return to its beauty, and not its pain?"
£999.99
Monthly Review Press,U.S. Mythologies of State and Monopoly Power
Book Synopsis“Mythologies,” writes veteran human rights lawyer Michael Tigar, “are structures of words and images that portray people, institutions, and events in ways that mask an underlying reality.” For instance, the “Justice Department” appears, by its very nature and practice, to appropriate “justice” as the exclusive property of the federal government. In his brilliantly acerbic collection of essays, Tigar reveals, deconstructs, and eviscerates mythologies surrounding the U.S. criminal justice system, racism, free expression, workers’ rights, and international human rights. Lawyers confront mythologies in the context of their profession. But the struggle for human liberation makes mythology-busting the business of all of us. The rights we have learned to demand are not only trivialized in our current system of social relations; they are, in fact, antithetical to that system. With wit and eloquence, Michael Tigar draws on legal cases, philosophy, literature, and fifty-years’ experience as an attorney, activist, and teacher to bust the mythologies and to argue for real change. Praise for Michael Tigar’s legal career: “Tireless striving for justice stretches his arms towards perfection.” —William J. Brennan, Supreme Court Justice
£69.35
Monthly Review Press,U.S. The Punishment Monopoly: Tales of My Ancestors,
Book SynopsisExamines the roots of white supremacy and mass incarceration from the vantage point of history Why, asks Pem Davidson Buck, is punishment so central to the functioning of the United States, a country proclaiming "liberty and justice for all"? The Punishment Monopoly challenges our everyday understanding of American history, focusing on the constructions of race, class, and gender upon which the United States was built, and which still support racial capitalism and the carceral state. After all, Buck writes, "a state, to be a state, has to punish ... bottom line, that is what a state and the force it controls is for." Using stories of her European ancestors, who arrived in colonial Virginia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and following their descendants into the early nineteenth century, Buck shows how struggles over the right to punish, backed by the growing power of the state governed by a white elite, made possible the dispossession of Africans, Native Americans, and poor whites. Those struggles led to the creation of the low-wage working classes that capitalism requires, locked in by a metastasizing white supremacy that Buck's ancestors, with many others defined as white, helped establish and manipulate. Examining those foundational struggles illuminates some of the most contentious issues of the twenty-first century: the exploitation and detention of immigrants; mass incarceration as a central institution; Islamophobia; white privilege; judicial and extra-judicial killings of people of color and some poor whites. The Punishment Monopoly makes it clear that none of these injustices was accidental or inevitable; that shifting our state-sanctioned understandings of history is a step toward liberating us from its control of the present.
£999.99
