Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisThe No. 1 international bestseller, with a foreword by His Holiness Pope Francis, who made headlines in 2021 when he kissed Lidia's Auschwitz identification tattoo.The unforgettable, moving true story of the little girl who survived Auschwitz's 'Angel of Death', Dr Mengele. Lidia was just three years old when she arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau with her mother, a member of the partisan resistance from Belarus. The bewildered little girl was picked out by Dr Josef Mengele for his sadistic experiments and sent to the infamous children’s block, where every day was a fight for survival. In eighteen months of hell she came close to death more than once.Her mother, who risked her life to visit Lidia, gave her strength. But when the camp was liberated, her mother was gone, presumed dead. Lidia, by now deeply traumatised, was adopted by a Polish woman. But then, in 1962, she discovered that her birth parents were still alive in the USSR, and Lidia was faced with an agonising choice . . .Lidia’s extraordinary story has touched hearts around the world, and she has made it her mission to bear witness to the Holocaust so that the truth may never be forgotten. This is a powerful and ultimately hopeful account by a remarkable woman who refuses to hate those who hurt her. She says, ‘Hate only brings more hate. Love, on the other hand, has the power to redeem.’'Unforgettable' - Daily MailPreviously published as The Little Girl Who Could Not Cry.Trade ReviewUnforgettable * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisIf we seal off the past, how will we ever know the truth? In 1942, in Nazi-occupied Poland, a Jewish child was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto in a backpack. That child was Karen Kirsten’s mother, but she knew nothing about this extraordinary event until one day a letter arrived from a stranger. After Karen eventually discovered the grandparents she loved dearly were in fact not her biological grandparents, she travelled the globe to uncover her family’s past and to find the answers to baffling questions: why did her adoptive grandmother treat Karen’s mother so unkindly? Why did she hide the truth that she was her mother’s aunt? And why, if she appeared to dislike Karen’s mother, did she risk her life to save her and bring her to Australia? Irena’s Gift weaves together a mystery, history and memoir to tell the story of a family torn apart by war. From the glittering concert halls of interbellum Warsaw to the vermin-infested prison where a Jewish woman negotiates with an SS officer to save her sister’s child, Irena’s Gift is about the lies we tell to survive and what happens when those lies unravel. It is about the extraordinary resilience of three generations of women, and the sacrifices made for love. Trade Review'Deeply moving and beautifully written, Irena's Gift is a powerful unravelling of mysteries and memory. The journey of reconstruction and reconnection brilliantly evokes a lost era full of pain and love, as well as laying out the intricacies of intergenerational trauma. In addition to its value as Holocaust history, Irena's Gift deserves to become a classic of the memoir genre.' * Lucy Adlington, author of 'The Dressmakers of Auschwitz - the True Story of the Women who Sewed to Survive' *'Karen Kirsten’s debut is a harrowing family drama that spans the globe — from Jewish ghettos patrolled by Nazis to Melbourne suburbs of poodles, kookaburras, and refugees. Kirsten goes on a quest to piece together her family’s secrets and finds much more than a tale of survival from history’s nightmare. She tells a story of disillusionment and faith. She reminds us that sometimes heroes can be repulsive, and sometimes lies keep families together. Irena's Gift is beautifully written, deeply researched and deeply felt.' * Kevin Birmingham, NYT Bestselling author of 'The Sinner and the Saint' and 'The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses' *'With extremism and fascism again threatening democracies, 'Irena's Gift' is a must-read for our times. Stunningly researched, it explores themes of identity, secrets, grief and forgiveness. The author addresses the importance of naming our history and wrestles with the complexity of human nature - why a Nazi officer saved her mother.' * Michelle Bowdler, author of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020: 'Is Rape A Crime?' *'A family story as unique as a fingerprint. Enchanting.' * Thomas Keneally, author of Booker Prize-winning 'Schindler’s List' *'As Karen Kirsten sets out to solve the mystery of her mother’s past she takes us on a very personal journey of discovery. Skilfully, she unearths a thrilling story of war and survival against all odds. A keen researcher and sleuth, Karen uncovers a truth both astonishing and heartbreaking. Irena’s Gift is a beautiful, insightful, heartfelt and nuanced book. Masterfully crafted, it is both history and a memoir, but also so much more. Essential reading for anyone interested in WWII, trauma or family histories, this is one of the best second generation holocaust books ever published. I loved it and couldn’t put it down.' * Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped. Winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, US National Jewish Book Award for Best Memoir. *'An epic story and an epic search for the truth that is beautifully written and meticulously weaved together, in a page-turning read I couldn’t put down. Karen Kirsten has captured her remarkable odyssey to place the final pieces of her family jigsaw in place, with moving and at times gut-wrenching detail. Alicja’s poignant words, "you think someone will want to know all of this?" will ring in your ears with every twist and turn that Kirsten’s journey takes to find the truth of who her family really are and how they were saved. Compulsive enough to read in a single-sitting, this is ultimately a story of love, healing, hope and humanity that will tug at your heartstrings. Irena’s Gift offers a prescient reminder, as Alicja says, that "we should never forget what happened".' * Sue Smethurst, author of The Freedom Circus *'An extraordinary story of how secrets and lies can tear a family apart.' * Maya Lee, author of The Nazis Knew My Name *‘Since I first learned about my Opa escaping the Nazis in occupied Holland, I have been taken with the heroic stories of everyday people during WWII. With author and refugee advocate Karen Kirsten, I find a kindred spirit. In Irena’s Gift, Kirsten brings to life the true and remarkable story of her family, including her mother and her grandmother, who like my Opa, sabotaged munitions at an armaments factory. This is a story of extraordinary women, survival and sacrifice. A must read.’ * Tara Moss, human rights and disability advocate, and author of The War Widow and The Ghosts of Paris *

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Book Synopsis'Fascinating' - Robert Macfarlane, author of The Old Ways'Truly a thing of wonder' - Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places'Lyrical [and] thoughtful' - Cal Flyn, author of Islands of AbandonmentVisiting Iceland as an anthropologist and film-maker in 2008, Sarah Thomas is spellbound by its otherworldly landscape. An immediate love for this country and for Bjarni, a man she meets there, turns a week-long stay into a transformative half-decade, one which radically alters Sarah's understanding of herself and of the living world.She embarks on a relationship not only with Bjarni, but with the light, the language, and the old wooden house they make their home. She finds a place where the light of the midwinter full moon reflected by snow can be brighter than daylight, where the earth can tremor at any time, and where the word for echo - bergmál - translates as 'the language of the mountain'. In the midst of crisis both personal and planetary, as her marriage falls apart, Sarah finds inspiration in the artistry of a raven's nest: a home which persists through breaking and reweaving - over and over.Written in beautifully vivid prose The Raven's Nest is a profoundly moving meditation on place, identity and how we might live in an era of environmental disruption.Trade ReviewA deeply thoughtful, vivid, enquiring, genre-traversing book, closely attentive to the people and the landscapes with which it dwells. It asks hard questions - and offers no easy answers - about what it means to belong to a place, and to live well upon a part of the earth. Sarah's writing - crisp in its details, patient in its rhythms - draws its readers northwards and inwards upon a fascinating journey. * Robert Macfarlane *Sarah Thomas' lyrical, thoughtful prose takes us on a journey, both physical and emotional, to the far north. * Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment *An insightful, intuitive introduction to Icelandic culture, folklore, mysticism, language and nature. * Times Literary Supplement *A quiet, generous and beautifully written meditation on what it means to try to belong to a singular culture on the 'edge' of Europe. * Literary Review *Thomas' writing is the stuff of dreams - not in any whimsical way - rather, in the way of bones and stones; light and dark; hopes and fears. She leads the reader through various portals - from a place of unknowing - to one of hope. This book maps the self, the world and the spaces in between with such tender care. Truly a thing of wonder. * Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places *A metamorphic book bursting with ideas and insights about belonging, acceptance, and supernatural joy. A chronicle of Iceland's ever-strange, prismic beauty and the myriad ways it works on the heart. * Dan Richards, author of Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth *The Raven's Nest asks what it means to belong to a place from which we do not originate. Anthropological and tender in detail. * Abi Andrews, author The Word for Woman is Wilderness *The Raven's Nest is a candid yet beautiful memoir, an homage both to Iceland and a rapidly changing way of life, and a meditation on the constantly shifting nature of human identity. Thomas's evocative prose leaves striking images which glow in the memory long after the reading has ended. * Katharine Norbury, author of The Fish Ladder *Sarah Thomas evokes characters and the culture, a sense of time and the landscape in beautiful prose which makes my brain do cartwheels. * Nancy Campbell, author of The Library of Ice *The Raven's Nest is about a meeting of worlds. Sarah arrives in Iceland with a 'guest's clear eyes', as Icelanders say. A sincere and perceptive book that explores love, adventure and the search for connections in a big world. * Andri Snær Magnason, author of On Time and Water *A delicate cartography of emotional landscapes as well as place, The Raven's Nest is also a journey into to the heart of our planetary crisis. Beautiful, moving and fascinating. * Nick Hunt, author of Outlandish *Table of Contents1: Breaking Up 2: Landing 3: Shift 4: Tónleikar - Concert 5: Fjallafang - Embrace of the Mountains 6: Mataræði - Diet 7: Gíslholt 8: Seal Wife 9: Að smala og að slátra - Gathering and Slaughtering 10: Gos - Eruption/Gas/Fizzy Drink 11: Flytja - To Move 12: Krummi - Raven 13: Bogguhús 14: The Frozen Bell 15: A Floating House 16: Trúlofun - Engagement 17: Selur - Seal 18: Þakið - Roof 19: A Walk in My Valley 20: Göng - Passage/Corridor/Tunnel 21: Að snúa - To Turn; Snúið - Complicated 22: Innflytjandi - Importer/Immigrant 23: The Strangest Silence 24: Svartfuglsegg - 'Black-bird's-egg' 25: Hvalurinn - The Whale 26: Seljavallalaug - 'Shieling-plains-pool' 27: Herring Adventure 28: To Hell and Back 29: The Raven's Nest 30: Sjóndeildarhringur - Horizon

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Book SynopsisThe cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal, “highly readable” (Kirkus Reviews) journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life.From humble beginnings as a schoolgirl and a young violinist in Maywood, Illinois, Sheila Johnson rose to become one of the most accomplished businesswomen in America. A cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, she became an entrepreneur and philanthropist at the highest levels. But that success came at a painful personal cost. Sheila grew up in a middle-class family that encouraged her love of the arts and music. But her idyllic childhood ended at age sixteen when her beloved father announced that he was leaving for another woman, an act that shattered her mother and destroyed Sheila’s trust. She vowed she’d ne

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Book SynopsisIn late 1927, at the age of twenty-four, George Orwell relocated to a tiny flat on London's Portobello Road, and from there embarked on a series of exploratory tramping expeditions to the city's East End, then a place of great squalor and deprivation. Later he moved to Paris's bohemian Latin Quarter, where, in early 1929, during a bout of serious illness, he was the victim of a robbery that left him in a state of near destitution, forcing him to work punishing hours in a series of menial jobs, including as a restaurant dishwasher. These real-life experiences laid the foundations for what would be the young writer's first full-length work.Populated by a troupe of colourful characters, replete with penetrating observations and cast in the limpid prose that would become Orwell's hallmark, Down and Out in Paris and London published by Victor Gollancz in 1933 provides both an invaluable historical snapshot and an insight into the perennial social evils of inequality, poverty an

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR DOWN IN THE VALLEY: It is a fine thing to revisit this writer's landscape and hear his amiable voice in it again. * Times Literary Supplement *A beautiful illustration of how, in some way, we are all indelibly influenced by the landscape of our childhood. -- Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

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Book SynopsisThe Irish Times bestseller 'A gripping tale of savagery and courage' Noam Chomsky 'Fascinating and captivating' Irish Times 'A beautiful book... Full of pain and longing but also joy, adventure, and excitement' Janine di Giovanni 'A superb account of the life and work of the best reporter I have ever known' Patrick Cockburn When Lara Marlowe met Robert Fisk in 1983 in Damascus, he was already a famous war correspondent. She was a young American reporter who would become a renowned journalist in her own right. For the next twenty years, they were lovers, husband and wife and friends, occasionally angry and estranged from one another, but ultimately reconciled. They learned from each other and from the people in the ruined world they reported from: Lebanon, torn apart by a vicious civil war as well as Israeli and Syrian occupations; Iran, where they were the only journalists to interview the Middle East's chief hostage-taker and dispatcher of suicide bombers; the Islamist revolt that claimed up to 200,000 lives in Algeria; the disintegration of former Yugoslavia and two US-led wars on Iraq. This is at once a portrait of a remarkable man, the story of a Middle East broken by its own divisions and outside powers, and a moving account of a relationship in dark times.Trade ReviewPart biography, part autobiography, part love story and part a forceful condemnation of war, this is a fascinating and captivating book * Irish Times *This book is deeply honest and true, and reveals so much about Robert Fisk, his work and his engagement with the world. He and Lara Marlowe worked on the frontline of human experience, braided together by love and language and war. This is a portrait of a couple bound in a lovesong, which like all such songs confronts the vagaries of leaving, longing and loss -- Colum McCannThis is a superb account of the life and work of the best reporter I have ever known. Robert Fisk was unswerving in his defence of the weak and the powerless and in exposing the crimes of governments past and present. This book shows how he did it -- Patrick CockburnA beautiful book that chronicles the story of two people whose relationship and careers were shaped by the journalism of a different era. It is full of pain and longing but also joy, adventure, and excitement -- Janine di Giovanni, Foreign PolicyA gripping tale of savagery and courage, of history in the making, intertwined with rich personal reminiscences – and through it all, a captivating portrait of the life and work of Robert Fisk, a truly great journalist -- Noam ChomskyWorking alongside Robert Fisk was a joy – it was life on a roller-coaster, full of stories, insight, and boundless energy. His fierce independence was legendary: he looked for the raw truth, however uncomfortable -- Kate AdieA vivid memoir of life during wartime with a journalistic legend * Sunday Business Post *Saga of love, adventure, courage, and heartache * Irish Examiner *This is at once a portrait of a remarkable man, the story of a Middle East broken by its own divisions and outside powers, and a moving account of a relationship in dark times * Clare Champion *A genuinely 'unputdownable' and moving story, a fierce rebuke of violence and war, the arrogance and indifference of others. It is a great testament to the victims and survivors of conflict, and to the absolute necessity and importance of journalists such as Fisk and Marlowe -- David Peace

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Book SynopsisAnd here I am. Totally alone in a cell with a convicted sex offender who is free to do what he wants. There is no officer. No handcuffs. No radio. Only the man across the desk and me. He looks more petrified than I do.HMP Graymoor. One of the UK's most notorious prisons. Home to nearly 800 murderers, rapists and child molesters.Reporting for her first shift inside is Rebecca: twenty-two, newly graduated and about to sit down with some of the country's most dangerous criminals.In this gripping, hard-hitting memoir, forensic psychologist Dr Rebecca Myers revisits her time in the Hot Seat' with Graymoor's infamous inmates who might not be as different to us as we think.This is as close as we can get to knowing what really goes on inside the damaged minds behinds bars.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Brown­stein set out to record her mother’s sto­ry and the rich his­to­ry of Jew­ish immi­gra­tion and women’s lives that it encap­su­lat­ed. In the result­ing book, [she] cap­tures the com­plex­i­ty, courage, wit, and pains not only of her moth­er but also of an entire gen­er­a­tion of Jew­ish women. . . . [It] is a mosa­ic of the ways that mem­o­ry cre­ates real­i­ty, and how the retelling of sto­ries shapes inter­gen­er­a­tional iden­ti­ties, belong­ings, and challenges.” * Jewish Book Council *“This memoir is a delightful evocation of a richly expressive world with an altogether worthy protagonist at its center.” * Vivian Gornick *“From the moment I started American Born, I was captivated by the voices calling out to me from every page. Voices that made me laugh, broke my heart, and reminded me that every family’s story is fragile. Brownstein has written an enchantingly engaging and profoundly honest book about memories, exile, legacies, aging, grief, and our collective and endless need for joy. You must read American Born—especially if your family wasn’t.” * Gina Barreca, author of They Used to Call Me Snow White . . . But I Drifted *“American Born is a wonderfully warm and deeply engaging memoir. I loved reading about Grandma Rose, old New York, and a familiar Jewish experience.” * Julie Klam, author of The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters: A True Story of Family Fiction *“Sociable, energetic, and resilient—a young woman whose inclination was to ‘go where all the cars were going’—Brownstein’s mother was American born. But she was also an immigrant proud to be exactly who she was. Out of this paradox, Brownstein weaves a warm and perceptive account of personal courage in the making of an American family. I loved this book. And everyone with an immigrant in the family will love it too.” * Alice Kessler-Harris, author of A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman *“In this beautiful mother-daughter memoir, Brownstein’s keen intelligence about character is richly evident, as is her sense of how Yiddish worked in families, in songs, on the street—what people carried from the old country in their linguistic baggage. Each individual chapter blends in elements from the others, creating a full immersion in Grandma Rose’s world that is truly Proustian in its social intelligence.” * Alice Kaplan, author of French Lessons: A Memoir *“More than a memoir, American Born is also an extended personal essay, a search through archive and memory, pondering the historical reality of this life. Above all, it is a treasure—a valuable addition not only to American immigration history but to the history of twentieth-century European identity.” * Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day *Table of ContentsPreface One: Columbusns Medina Two: Characters and Character Three: Mielec Four: Shaping Narratives Five: Love Story Six: Piecework Afterword: 2021 Acknowledgments Notes

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Book SynopsisA FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER BOOKS OF 2024''Riveting, heart-wrenching and incredibly important . . . an inspirational story for girls and women everywhere'' MALALA YOUSAFZAI, Nobel Peace Prize laureateA story of survival, sisterhood and the fight for feminism in the age of the Taliban.August 2021: Kabul falls to the Taliban.Overnight, life for women across Afghanistan changes.The national women''s football team faces an imminent threat to their lives, just for playing sport. For Khalida Popal, the team''s first captain and co-founder, this is not an unprecedented event. Born in Afghanistan, as a child she fled Taliban rule with her family and grew up in a refugee camp in Pakistan. On her return to Afghanistan, football gave her and her teammates power, comradeship and freedom. But advocating for women''s rights in sport put Popal''s life increasingly at risk, forcing her t

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Book Synopsis‘One of my favourite living writers: intelligent, lucid and, most impressive of all, funny’ - Jonathan CoeIf we’re talking agoraphobia, we’re talking books. I slip between their covers, lose myself in the turn of one page, re-discover myself on the next. Reading is a game of hide-and-seek. Narrative and neurosis, uneasy bedfellows sleeping top to toe.On Agoraphobia is a fascinating, entertaining and sometimes painfully acute look at what it means to go through life with an anxiety disorder that evades easy definition.When Graham Caveney was in his early twenties he began to suffer from what was eventually diagnosed as agoraphobia. What followed were decades of managing his condition and learning to live within the narrow limits it imposed on his life: no motorways, no dual carriageways, no shopping centres, limited time outdoors.Graham’s quest to understand his illness brought him back to his first love: books. From Harper Lee’s Boo Radley, Ford Madox Ford, Emily Dickinson, and Shirley Jackson: the literary world is replete with examples of agoraphobics – once you go looking for them.‘Intellectually curious, emotionally bracing and immensely erudite’ - Blake Morrison, The Guardian‘Captivating’ Richard BeardTrade ReviewNever less than completely absorbing, simply because [Caveney] is such a nimble, exact writer, able to move swiftly but unjarringly between daft jokes and serious reflections. * Telegraph *Intellectually curious, emotionally bracing and immensely erudite. . .bright and funny, and full of telling quotes. . .it will hearten people who have agoraphobia, enlighten medics and teach outsiders all the lessons Caveney has learned -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *A strange and many-headed work that melds personal experience with cultural criticism....thoughtful, humane and unjustly enjoyable * Sunday Times *One of my favourite living writers: intelligent, lucid and, most impressive of all, funny – even when he’s writing about the most difficult subjects. -- Jonathan CoeCaptivating . . . but also a book unscared of open white space, which feels like an act of defiance. For a book about agoraphobia it covers a huge amount of ground. -- Richard BeardGraham Caveney approaches the subject of agoraphobia diaristically, legally, and philosophically; he drinks about it, reads about it, has therapy about it, and assembles the long and fascinating history of its writers. -- Sarah MangusoA witty and engaging cultural history, and a frank and insightful memoir: On Agrophobia is original, smart and hugely entertaining -- David Nicholls

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Book Synopsis'He effectively combines the genre of travel writing with investigative journalism, and brings to light little-known conflicts and events from around the world.' - Perceptive TravelIn Journeys to Impossible Places, best-selling author and presenter Simon Reeve reveals the inside story of his most astonishing adventures and experiences, around the planet and close to home.Journeys to Impossible Places continues the story Simon started in his phenomenal Sunday Times bestseller Step by Step, which traced the first decades of his life from depressed and unemployed teenager through to his early TV programmes.Now Simon takes us on the epic and thrilling adventures that followed, in beautiful, tricky and downright dangerous corners of the world, as he travelled through the Tropics, to remote paradise islands, jungles dripping with heat and life, and on nerve-wracking secret missions. Simon shares what his unique experiences and encounters have taught him, and the deeper lessons he draws from joy and raw grief in his personal life, from desperate struggles with his own fertility and head health, from wise friends, fatherhood, inspiring villagers, brave fighters, his beloved dogs, and a thoughtful Indian sadhu.Journeys to Impossible Places inspires and encourages all of us to battle fear and negativity, and embrace life, risk, opportunities and the glory of our world.Trade ReviewHe effectively combines the genre of travel writing with investigative journalism, and brings to light little-known conflicts and events from around the world * Perceptive Travel *"Not only is Simon good at manoeuvring in and out of precarious situations, but he is also deft at painting those moments on the page." * Scottish Field *

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BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK The moving, playful memoir of Hans Rosling - Swedish statistics mastermind, researcher extraordinaire and author of the global bestseller, Factfulness.This is a book that contains very few numbers. Instead, it is about meeting people who have opened my eyes.It was facts that helped him explain how the world works. But it was curiosity and commitment that made the late Hans Rosling, author of worldwide bestseller Factfulness, the most popular researcher of our time.How I Learned to Understand the World is Hans Rosling's own story of how a young scientist learned became a revolutionary thinker, and takes us from the swelter of an emergency clinic in Mozambique, to the World Economic Forum at Davos.In collaboration with Swedish journalist Fanny Härgestam, Hans Rosling wrote his memoir with the same joy of storytelling that made a whole world listen when he spoke.

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Book Synopsis''I never realised that there could be such suffering in the world, and that anyone could live through it'' - from Edith''s diary, 1st July 1945In 1940, while the Germans occupied Holland, fourteen-year-old Edith van Hessen was filling her diary with the intimate, carefree details of a typical teenager''s life. By 1942, as Edith was contemplating her first kiss, the Germans had begun to escalate their war against the Jewish population. Caught in the cross fire of the Holocaust, Edith began a bitter struggle to survive. This extraordinary memoir weaves together entries from Edith''s diaries with letters smuggled between family members during the occupation, and her own memories. Edith''s Story stands as a profoundly important addition to the literature of the Holocaust: a story of one girl''s grief, loss, courage, and belief in human goodness in the face of despair. Hidden in plain sight by another Dutch family, Edith bargained with, and finally faced, t

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER''A unique and thoughtful musical memoir'' Observer''Gritty coming-of-age story . . . plenty of anecdotes to keep us hooked, and his memories of Joy Division''s Ian Curtis are poignant'' Daily MirrorBefore he was responsible for some of the most iconic drumming in popular music, Stephen Morris grew up in 1960s and ''70s industrial Macclesfield, on a quiet road that led seemingly to nowhere. Far removed from the bright lights and manic energy of nearby Manchester, he felt stifled by suburbia and feared he might never escape. Then he joined Joy Division - while they were still known as Warsaw - a pioneer of the rousing post-punk sound that would revolutionise twentieth-century rock.Following two landmark albums and widespread critical acclaim, Joy Division were at the height of their powers and poised to break the US, when lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide.Part memoir,Trade ReviewA unique and thoughtful musical memoir * Observer *Gritty coming-of-age story . . . plenty of anecdotes to keep us hooked, and his memories of Joy Division's Ian Curtis are poignant * Daily Mirror *Record Play Pause tells a familiar story . . . but Morris brings a freshness to it * Glasgow Herald *Self-deprecating, unembittered and happy to occupy the role of technically-minded synergist, Morris is a frank and humorous narrator uninterested in grudges . . . Hugely mirthful in northern English ways, Stephen recalls his youth with frustration and fondness . . . Familiar ground and personalities are (inevitably) revisited, but the author's dry wit ensures a singular perspective and winning detail . . . Arguably the most human of the Joy Division memoirs, Record Play Pause shows that even after 40 years there are still new ways to engage with and illuminate this most analysed of groups * Mojo *

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Book SynopsisAn instant Sunday Times bestseller Join Sarah Beeny on her journey to live more simply and find her forever home...Throughout her life, Sarah Beeny has been obsessed with the idea of home. From her childhood growing up in a countryside cottage to renovating her very first flat in London to restoring a stately home in Yorkshire, she has never been afraid of the hard work needed to turn a house into a home. Now, in her most recent adventure, Sarah and her family have moved to a former dairy farm in Somerset to build the home of their dreams.In The Simple Life, Sarah tells the story of her life, sharing tales and experiences in everything including parenting, property, friendships, nature and the environment, all the way through to her recent cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through it all, Sarah tackles challenges and troubles with signature wit and wisdom, discovering life is never as ''simple'' as you''d like it to

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Book SynopsisThe life story of Isabel Allende one of the world''s favourite writers is as exotic, passionate and inspiring as one of her novels.Just three when her parents divorced, Isabel Allende was raised in her grandparents'' home in Chile. She left school at 16; and married Miguel Frías at 19. She then juggled her work as a journalist, editor, advice columnist and television interviewer with looking after her two children.But when her cousin the Chilean president Salvador Allende was assassinated in 1973 in Pinochet''s right-wing military coup, her life changed profoundly. It was too dangerous to stay in Chile; and she, her husband, and their two children fled to Venezuela. During her impoverished exile, she started writing The House of the Spirits'. Based on her memories of her family and the political upheaval in her native country, it became an international bestseller and everything changed againTrade Review‘Allende’s writing is so vivid we smell the countryside, hear the sounds, see the bright birds, the scorched earth, smell and even taste the soft fruit.’ The Times ‘Allende has a gift for conversational writing and a sharp sense of humour…I very much enjoyed this visit to the other Chile, that half-remembered country of her imagination.’ New Statesman ‘Allende is incapable of telling a bad story. She writes of her own experience with a kind of wild candour. Her heroically sustained narrative, her lovingly prepared plots and surprise inventions explode in an exaltation.’ Independent ‘Lucid, original and expounded with an unquestionable sense of humor…part essay and part autobiography…When Allende poses sweeping general truths, she leaves room for argument…But the book gets my undivided attention when it expounds on the relationship of the author to that country of hers, invented, imaginary, fictional, to the story of her family, which is itself invented memory, and to her vocation as a narrator…It will provoke curiosity. And that is where everything begins.’ LA Times

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Book SynopsisThe Smell of Summer Grass is the story of the years spent in finding and building a personal idyll, sometimes a dream, sometimes a nightmare, by writer Adam Nicolson and his wife, cook and gardener, Sarah Raven.Without knowing one end of a hay baler from the other, Adam Nicolson and Sarah Raven, fed up with London and with life, escaped with his family to a run-down farm in the Sussex Weald. Looking for Arcadia, they found a mixture of intense beauty and profound chaos. Over three years they struggled with dock leaves, spring flowers, bloody-minded sheep and neighbours before eventually arriving at some kind of equilibrium.Funny, poetic, ironic and wise, The Smell of Summer Grass' is based partly on the long out of print ''Perch Hill''. It traces the growing intimacy between man and his chosen place, his love affair with it and his frustrations with its intractable realities. As an attempt to live out the pastoral vision, it makes one heartfelt plea: we should never abandon our dreams.Trade Review'Candid, observant and often very funny' Daily Mail 'A delightful memoir – a reminder that the very best writing starts at home' Robert McCrum, Observer Praise for ‘The Mighty Dead’: ‘Thrilling and unsettling … [a] wonderfully expressive alloy of travelogue, scholarship and advocacy, which broods with heartfelt grace … Nicolson's books always shine with the Homeric virtues of eloquence, passion, generosity, audacity and candour … He does them proud’ Boyd Tonkin, Independent ‘A beautiful study: full of insight, generosity and unaffected passion. The writing is exhilarating’ Guardian ‘A thrillingly energised book … it transmits a whole worldview at once decipherable and dramatically strange … To read Homer is to be struck by what Nicolson calls ‘time-vertigo’ – and this book is one that holds your hand and encourages you to peer over the edge. To read it is to have a fat pair of Homeric jump-leads attached from Nicolson’s sparkling and crackling faculties to your own’ Spectator ‘As gripping as a thriller and as delicately constructed as a sonnet … an astonishing tour de force that reveals Homer to be at once as ancient as papyrus and as modern as MTV … Not only does he have an inward understanding of how Homer’s poetry works, his own prose also has the sharp glitter of a poet’s eye’ Telegraph

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Book SynopsisWhen I am disturbed, even angry, gardening has been a therapy. When I don''t want to talk I turn to Plot 29, or to a wilder piece of land by a northern sea. There, among seeds and trees, my breathing slows; my heart rate too. My anxieties slip away.'As a young boy in 1960s Plymouth, Allan Jenkins and his brother, Christopher, were rescued from their care home and fostered by an elderly couple. There, the brothers started to grow flowers in their riverside cottage. They found a new life with their new mum and dad.As Allan grew older, his foster parents were never quite able to provide the family he and his brother needed, but the solace he found in tending a small London allotment echoed the childhood moments when he grew nasturtiums from seed.Over the course of a year, Allan digs deeper into his past, seeking to learn more about his absent parents. Examining the truths and untruths that he'd been told, he discovers the secrets to why the two boys were in care. What emerges is a vivid pTrade Review‘Plot 29 is a superbly written testament to the power of earth to nourish and heal. The writing is taut and honed to a sinewy strength, but rich with evocation and delight … I loved it’ Monty Don ‘The sort of book you never forget reading: devastating, haunting and utterly beautiful’ India Knight ‘An absolutely original book. Absolutely brilliant. The best family memoir I’ve read in years’ Bill Buford ‘A thoughtful and beautifully realised meditation on families and all the love, loss, pain, healing and regeneration they can bring in their wake. A remarkable achievement’ William Dalrymple ‘Allan Jenkins blooms. His garden bears fruit. Enter the seasons with him and grow. I love this book’ Lemn Sissay ‘Brave, exquisitely written and utterly compelling’ Nigel Slater ‘A compelling read … Jenkins’ story raises many questions, not least that of whether it’s possible to transcend one’s past. After his own agony, is redemption possible? Read this brilliant book, and weep’ The Herald

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2017 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARDIn the vein of Bad Blood and Why be Happy when you can be Normal?: an enthralling, at times shocking, and deeply personal family memoir of growing up in, and breaking away from, a fundamentalist Christian cult.As heard on Jeremey VineAt university when I made new friends and confidantes, I couldn't explain how I'd become a teenage mother, or shoplifted books for years, or why I was afraid of the dark and had a compulsion to rescue people, without explaining about the Brethren or the God they made for us, and the Rapture they told us was coming. But then I couldn't really begin to talk about the Brethren without explaining about my father'As Rebecca Stott's father lay dying he begged her to help him write the memoir he had been struggling with for years. He wanted to tell the story of their family, who, for generations had all been members of a fundamentalist Christian sect. Yet, each time he reached a certain point, he became tangled in a thicketTrade Review'Beautiful, dizzying, terrifying, Stott's memoir maps the unnerving hinterland where faith becomes cruelty and devotion turns into disaster. A brave, frightening and strangely hopeful book' Olivia Laing, author of The Lonely City ‘A marvellous, strange, terrifying book’ Francis Spufford, author of Golden Hill ‘Truly magnificent: a big, beautiful, brutal, and tender masterpiece. A deeply affecting human story that also goes to the dark heart of who we are and how the world works’ Mark Mills, author of The Savage Garden ‘Stott is masterly as both a storyteller and a historian’ TLS ‘By rights Rebecca Stott's memoir ought to be a horror story. But while the historian in her is merciless in exposing cruelties and corruption, Rebecca the child also lights up the book, so passionate and imaginative that it helps explain how she survived, and – even more miraculous – found the compassion and understanding to do justice to the story of her father and the painful family life he created’ Sarah Dunant, author of The Birth of Venus ‘She’s a beautiful writer and there is a powerful almost luminous quality to the book’ Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love ‘This book is important; … there isn’t an uninteresting paragraph in this furious and compassionate book’ The Times ‘An intense accomplishment’ Sunday Times ‘In the Days of Rain is a double memoir: it describes both Rebecca’s own childhood and her father Roger’s life. It is not, though, in any way a misery memoir and that’s what makes it such an attractive and interesting book’ Spectator ‘Stott deploys her multiplicity of skills to good effect: as a historian, she delves into newspaper clippings, tape recordings, archive materials, a host of memoirs and books on doctrine, theology and the Exclusive Brethren. As a novelist, she makes the tale dramatic … As an essayist, Stott weaves ideas together with ease and economy’ Guardian

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Book SynopsisA gripping memoir written by a 96-year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor about his escape from Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1930''s and his adventures with the French Resistance during World War IIIn 1937, as the Nazi Party tightened its grip on the city of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), Justus Rosenberg's parents made the wrenching decision to send their son to Paris, where he would have the hope of finishing high school and going on to university in safety. He was sixteen years old, and he would not see his family again for sixteen years more.Even after war broke out in 1939, life in France was peaceful for a timebut when the Nazis pushed toward Paris in the spring of 1940, Justus was forced to flee south to Toulouse. There, a chance meeting put Justus in contact with Varian Fry, the American journalist who ran a refugee network that aided several thousand Jews in escaping Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. With his German background, understanding of French cultural, and fluency in several laTrade Review‘A natural raconteur, with a pleasing conversational style. What shines through this engaging book is his evident desire to be helpful and responsible and his acute consciousness of how extraordinarily lucky he was’ Times ‘Gripping … Fearless … Recalls imprisonments, escapes from confinement, and successful missions against the Nazis … A welcome addition to the World War II memoir shelf.’ Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

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Book Synopsis''Truth and courage are what memoirs need and this one has them both in spades The unforgotten boy: that is what makes this a book a revelation''ADAM NICOLSONWonderful, absolutely beguiling I learnt a lot and really loved it'RICHARD HOLMESGloriously evocative' DAILY MAILWhat makes a scientist?Charming, funny and wise, in this memoir Richard Fortey shows how restless curiosity about the natural world led him to become a leading scientist and writer, with adventures and misadventures along the way.From a garden shed laboratory where he manufactured the greatest stink in the world to a tent high in the Arctic in pursuit of fossils, this is a story of obsession and love of nature, flavoured with the peculiarities and restrictions of post-war Britain. Fortey tells the story of following his father down riverbanks to fish for trout, and also of his father''s shocking death. He unfolds his early passions fungi, ammonite hunting and eyeing up bird''s eggs. He evokes with warmth and wit how Trade Review'Truth and courage are what memoirs need and this one has them both in spades … He never forgets that the small boy, watching his father’s effortless casting on the waters of the Itchen, somehow remains permanently present inside the great, famous and lauded scientist. The unforgotten boy: that is what makes this a book a revelation'Adam Nicolson, winner of the 2018 Wainwright Prize ‘A wonderful, absolutely beguiling glimpse into the formative life of a great scientist. I learnt a lot and really loved it’Richard Holmes ‘Wonderfully lyrical … funny and entertaining … I would also suggest that the real revelation is something other than the way these multiple childhood paths converge … [but rather] his ability to see and interpret the complexities of the living world, as if from a great height, and then to compress all the technical material into a scientifically accurate form that is also full of poetry and music … The most compelling insight of the book: the way in which its author has striven to fuse and harmonise, often against career typecasting, professional constraint and simple circumstances, to become the whole person he wished to be … Both the book and the life it recounts amount to a singular triumph’Mark Cocker, Guardian ‘A gloriously evocative account of the childhood that created the scientist’Daily Mail ‘[A] wonderful, wry memoir’BBC Wildlife ‘[Fortey’s] book’s punning title distils both its irresistible charm and a deep truth about science’Nature ‘Disarming and enjoyable …there is depth and beauty to his writing and its cadence is bewitching; I read A Curious Boy in a single day…and enjoyed it so much that I immediately went ahead and bought five of his previous books after finishing it’The Inquisitive Biologist

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Book SynopsisGripping' VogueEmpowering' CosmopolitanJoyful' Financial TimesEye-popping' Daily MailWhen her 22-year-marriage suddenly ended, 47-year-old mother of three Laura expected life as she knew it to be over. What she hadn't expected: An incredible one-night stand A new-found sexual appetite Ten men in eight months That there is plenty of fun to be had after 40From G-spots to bald spots, dirty talk to dating fiascos, Available is the unflinchingly honest, empowering, and humorous true story of one woman's love life after divorce. A real page-turner [] Unexpected, original, funny and sometimes deeply infuriating, Laura Friedman Williams has so much to say about what we expect of women's sexuality. I loved it' Viv Groskop author of How to Own the RoomTrade Review‘Gripping’ Vogue ‘Empowering and funny’ Cosmopolitan ‘Joyful’ Financial Times ‘An eye-popping adventure’ Daily Mail ‘This memoir is a real page-turner. What happens when you start dating after 22 years of marriage? Unexpected, original, funny and sometimes deeply infuriating, Laura Friedman Williams has so much to say about what we expect of women’s sexuality. Confronting without being sleazy and intelligent without being preachy. I loved it’ Viv Groskop author of, How to Own the Room ‘AVAILABLE offers far more than just a wild romp through the Wild West of the post-marital dating world – though a wild romp it certainly is. Curling up with this memoir is like settling in for a night with a hilarious girlfriend, listening to her best sexual anecdotes. AVAILABLE is also a serious exploration of womanhood. Laura reminds us of the importance of regaining all the parts of who we are as women, despite how easy it is to become consumed by the mammoth roles of Mother and Wife. We aren't here solely to serve our families as domestic martyrs. We deserve to reawaken the parts of ourselves that often become dormant once we enter maternal roles. We deserve to live life to the fullest, embracing each facet of our identities, even (especially!) the parts society teaches us to shove aside when we become mothers’ Caroline Mackenzie, author of One Year of Ugly

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Book SynopsisA TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2021Thrillingly and wrenchingly funny like EducatedandHillbilly Elegy'DAVID LIPSKYAfter reading The Good Hand you may reassess whether you have ever truly done a hard day's work in your life This lyrical and engrossing memoir is an extraordinary tale Undeniably powerful' SUNDAY TIMESThe must-read memoir of 2021.Michael Patrick Smith grew up in a ramshackle farmhouse where his father beat the walls and threw dinner plates. As a restless young man left unmoored by the crashing economy, Smith cut a path to North Dakota to rent a mattress on a flophouse floor. Sleeping boot to beard with the other rough-edged men looking to earn a cent drilling for oil, Smith wanted the work to burn him clean of his violent upbringing, his demons, his disjointed, doomed relationships. He did not expect, among these quick-fisted, foul-mouthed hands, to find a community.The Good Hand is a memoir of danger and exhaustion, of suffering, loneliness and grit, of masculinTrade Review‘After reading The Good Hand you may reassess whether you have ever truly done a hard day’s work in your life … This lyrical and engrossing memoir is an extraordinary tale … Smith writes movingly of his chaotic childhood … the tragedies slowly drip out … There have been predictable comparisons to other recent hardship autobiographies — JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy and Tara Westover’s Educated — but Smith’s story, blessedly, comes with more (crude) humour … Undeniably powerful’Sunday Times ‘Thrillingly and wrenchingly funny … like Educated and Hillbilly Elegy, The Good Hand is one of those brilliant close-ups that suddenly flips to become a wide shot of the American moment. An engrossing combination of participation, reportage, self-discovery, and witness’David Lipsky, author of Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself ‘Smith guides us through a long muddy year in North Dakota’s oil boom … It’s a surprisingly tender account of a man who is searching for salvation – from the sins of his family, from the drunken and drugged-up sins of a world broken by corporations – while trying desperately to find himself through work’Robert Sullivan, author of The Thoreau You Don’t Know ‘A sincere and colourful account of down-and-out men trying to make it and maybe grow up in the eternal dreary tailgate party and crushing dangerous toil of the fracking boom. As one of Smith’s mentors tells him, “now you know why gas is so expensive.”’William T. Vollmann, author of The Lucky Star ‘A thrill-read – There Will Be Blood made modern, and with added wit – The Good Hand is that rare literary treasure: all things, all at once. By mixing memoir with reportage and analysis, and telling his tale with rigor and joy, Smith gives us a hoot that also feels necessary’Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life

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Book SynopsisMuch bigger and more ambitious than a first-person rise and fall Great vignettes and classy analysis from the man who until a year ago sat at the top of the diplomatic tree There is nothing dusty or dry in his account of dealing with the twin forces of Boris and Donald, and how they've shaped politics and his life' Guardian@realDonaldTrump: The wacky ambassador that the UK foisted on the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy We will no longer deal with him'Kim Darroch was British Ambassador to the US as the age of Trump dawned and Brexit unfolded. One of the UK's most experienced and respected diplomats, to Darroch was given the task of explaining Trump to the British and Brexit to the Americans. Choosing to resign after his confidential cables criticising the Trump administration were leaked to the press, Darroch's unvarnished, behind-the-scenes account reveals for the first time the inside story of this tumultuous time and reflects more broadly on BTrade Review‘Rude about Theresa May, assertive on Brexit and refreshingly free of self pity … Darroch recounts the events which led to his resignation as UK ambassador in Washington in droll style … It is a highly readable and entertaining account of his diplomatic life and times … He is honest about the “factors” that made Brexit possible. … Rich in insight’Luke Harding, Guardian ‘A sharply written book, full of dry and wry observations … But this book is much bigger and more ambitious than a first-person “rise and fall”. What gives it its narrative force is that the two central characters in the book – Trump and Johnson – are also the emblems of the surge in populism, and the two history-shaping events in US/UK politics: the EU referendum on 23 June 2016, and the US general election a few months later in November … Filled with great vignettes and classy analysis from the man who until just over a year ago sat at the top of the diplomatic tree. And there is nothing dusty or dry in his account of dealing with the twin forces of Boris and Donald, and how they’ve shaped politics – and his life.’Jon Sopel, Guardian ‘Bleakly comic detail … [Darroch] was obliged to serve in a shark tank at feeding time’Max Hastings, Sunday Times ‘In his telling, he reveals a lot about the way Britain has changed over the past few decades, about how it works now, about a relationship with our closest ally that we like to call “special”, and about at least a slice of life in the United States … Anger still burns on the book’s pages … He delivers sharp insights about others; crisply critical about their decisions, while fair-minded and even kind about them as people. Readers will get the feeling that he prefers to pack a punch than make a splash. Now he has done both’Edward Lucas, The Times, Book of the Week

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE JANE GRIGSON TRUST AWARDAmazing, original, boundary breaking.' Diana HenryOne of the most gleeful cookbooks of 2023.' Stylist MagazineHis recipes have a dynamism that is genuine, personal and flavour-led dazzling and yet warmly inviting.' Nigella LawsonWith recipes for everything from Coconut Crab Crumpets to Kasundi Keema Lasagne Rolls, award-winning food writer Gurdeep Loyal celebrates the hybrid third-culture cooking of second-generation migrants around the world today.Born in Britain to Indian parents, Gurd felt constantly pulled by the clashing expectations of both cultures. But through his passion for food and cooking he was able to embrace the delicious contradictions of his plural British Indian identity.In Mother Tongue he explores his culinary upbringing that combined authentic' home-cooked Punjabi food, with inauthentic' curry-house Tikka Masalas, the Western foodie cannon, and a wanderlust for travel in pursuit of flavour. What results is a flavour amplified iTrade Review‘One of the most gleeful cookbooks of 2023… prepare to fall deeply in love with this book.’ Stylist Magazine ‘His recipes have a dynamism that is genuine, personal and flavour-led… dazzling and yet warmly inviting… There is so much more to the book than the recipes… It allows you — to draw on an analogy that both Loyal and I favour — new music in the kitchen.’ Nigella Lawson ‘Inventiveness, originality and pleasure run through every page… the recipes are consistently inviting, and more than occasionally wow-out-loud thrilling… book of the month.’ Delicious Magazine ‘Outstanding… a kitchen journey that spans cuisines… our new favourite cookbook.’ Observer Food Monthly ‘If food can be melt in the mouth, this is melt in the mind… unbelievably beautifully written.’ Saturday Kitchen ‘A beautiful cookbook… really beautiful.’ Table Manners Podcast ‘How thrilling and inspiring to be drawn into Gurdeep’s extraordinary diaspora and fantastic world of flavours!’ Claudia Roden ‘Every so often a rare cookbook comes along which brings something completely new and fascinating to the world of food. Mother Tongue does just that. A fiercely original, boundary shifting celebration of flavour and culture, that I will go back for years to come’ Anna Jones ‘This book really excites me. It looks at Indian food with fresh eyes and break moulds with its recipes, photography and style. Gurdeep is very talented – this book is just the start!’ Chetna Makan ‘A stunningly evocative cookbook with creative modern recipes that pay homage to the rich and diverse Punjabi and South Asian culinary traditions. I wanted to devour every page’ Yasmin Khan ‘A Willy Wonka-style wizard of flavour, his joy in food shines from every page – a genuinely thrilling book’ Felicity Cloake

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Book SynopsisA devastating true story of love, betrayal, and deceit.Chrissy: attractive, successful 40-year-old divorcee with three amazing children.Alexander Marc d'Ariken de Rothschild-Hatton: international financier, wealthy, charming and smooth-talking.It's not long before they fall madly in love. With the promise of marriage and a new baby on the way, Chrissy knows she has been given another chance at love.But then Alexander asks for a loan to help him get over a few cash-flow problems. And, before long, 500,000 of Chrissy's money has vanished along with Alexander.After months of detective work, Chrissy finally tracks him down. But the reality of Alexander's true identity is far darker than she ever could have imagined

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Book SynopsisA captivating, eloquent and nuanced book, We All Go into the Dark is an absolute must-read for true-crime fans across the board.Three women were brutally murdered between early 1968 and late 1969, each after a night dancing at Glasgow's infamous Barrowland Ballroom. Their murders were linked and ascribed to the spectre of the well-dressed, scripture-quoting killer who had apparently stalked the city's dancehalls. The figure was never caught or identified.But the intervening years spawned a legend that never quite lost its grip on the popular imagination of Glasgow. The killings provoked the country's largest ever manhunt, as well as countless suspects, books, documentaries, earnest speculation, pub theorising and bouts of urban mythmaking.In We All Go into the Dark, Francisco Garcia delves into how Bible John has morphed across generations, interrogates our collective obsession with solving' historic crimes and questions why some killings are forgotten with indecent haste and why otherTrade Review‘Both profound and hypnotic, this is a deep dive into the mysteriously compelling nature of all true true crime stories. I could not put it down. – Denise Mina ‘Fantastic…a book about our obsession with true crime, what it says about us and the dark corners in our heads.’ – David Whitehouse, author of About a Son We All Go Into the Dark is a highly original book – a work of true crime that is as interested in the myths surrounding the Bible John murders as it is in the person who committed them. With moral sensitivity, sophistication and scrupulous honesty, Francisco Garcia takes us deep into the realm of endless ambiguity which is the true subject of this fascinating book. – Mark O’Connell author of To Be a Machine We All Go Into The Dark is a tremendous feat of compassion, integrity and incisive consideration. Its sophisticated moral analysis and humanity mark it as something far beyond the usual confines of the true crime genre, most fascinatingly on the competing mythologies which emerge around crimes which grip the press and the culture. Garcia asks not only who we remember and why, but also who we forget and why, and in this subtle expansion of terms has created a powerful, original and beautifully written account of a haunting killer and the stories which surround him. – Megan Nolan author of Acts of Desperation

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Book SynopsisBestselling author Colm O'Regan is a worrier. A professional one. Caution is his watchword. Risk aversion is his love language. Now Colm is grappling with the biggest worry of all: the whole planet being on fire' thing and how exactly we can help.Don't worry, this isn't a book telling you how to live off the grid and make your own planet-friendly soap from woodlice (that's the sequel). Instead, Climate Worrier is about the journey, about trying (and often failing) to be part of the solution to the big issues, while not despairing at the endless hypocrisies that come from also being part of the problem. It's about trying to be become the greenest version of yourself; about joining the ranks of those who give a shit and do a bit.So if you've fretted about:- using your diesel car to get closer to nature,- eating your ethical food off a plastic plate,- existingand have a general feeling we're all doing too little, too late, Climate Worrier is the book for you.Trade Review‘O’Regan never gets it wrong’ – THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

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Book SynopsisWe had been there for over 12 hours. The man was still 30 feet up a tree, balancing on a branch directly over one of the main railway lines out of one of the busiest train stations in the country. He refused to talk to us, threatening to jump if we came too close. To him, we were the enemy. My job was to preserve his life. The most dangerous time in any negotiation is when you think you're winning.From kidnappings to terrorist incidents, violent armed stand-offs to talking someone back from the ledge: all these make up the day-to-day life of Nicky Perfect's job as a crisis and hostage negotiator.One of the first on the scene in situations that most would run from, Nicky is deployed to defuse the most volatile and fraught situations imaginable.After a decade on the frontlines, confronting the extremes of human behaviour, these are the stories and cases that have shaped a career spent on high alert, where life often hangs in the balance. It's about finding yourself and following your pasTrade Review“a brilliant insight into the life of one woman who risks everything to help others.” WOMAN’S WEEKLY “An insightful memoir” The Sun

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“If you read Michael Scott Moore’s book, first clear your schedule, because you won’t put it down until you’ve finished it. The Desert and The Sea is an astonishing and harrowing story, told with great humanity, by a writer who ventures where few will ever go.” — Susan Casey, author of Voices in the Ocean: A Journey Into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins “Highly addictive reading material….Michael Scott Moore delivers an amazing true-life thriller, one of the most suspenseful books written in recent years, that tracks across oceans and underworlds, culminating in a very rewarding, deeply profound end.” — Jeffrey Gettleman, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Love, Africa “His account of his nearly three years of captivity is a testament to the strength of one man’s indomitable spirit and Moore’s great gifts of observation, his humor, wits, and evident gifts as a storyteller. Thank heavens he lived to tell the story, which everyone should now read and cheer.” — Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me “Among the virtues of this account is that even when discussing sensational happenings, Moore never overdramatizes. This exceptional memoir will attract many readers.” — Library Journal (starred review) A harrowing and affecting account of two and a half years of captivity at the hands of Somali pirates. A deftly constructed and tautly told rejoinder to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, sympathetic but also sharp-edged. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) When a young man who is good and brave, keenly intelligent and observant, with a lively mind and a learned sense of human and historical complexity, is kidnapped by pirates and kept as a hostage for three years in Somalia’s harsh and violent bush, the result is The Desert and the Sea. However much you wish Michael Scott Moore had never had cause to write it, this book could not be more engrossing, harrowing, suspenseful, wrenchingly humane and illuminating. — Francisco Goldman “Not only the definitive book on Somali pirates, but a remarkable work of literature too.” — Ben Rawlence

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A brilliant, unflinching, lyrical memoir about illness and grief and the intensity of being there for people and the memories it brings up. It’s a heart-wrenching book but is also healing in its raw truth. I loved it.” — Matt Haig, author of New York Times Bestseller The Midnight Library “What a gorgeous work, from such an important mind. Every word of Steph’s writing is felt, in that shining place of hope we all somehow lose sight of. Few make words feel as revelatory and grounded in the gritty, natural truth of this life like she does.” — Tyler Knott Gregson, bestselling author of Chasers of Light “Everything All At Once won't break your mortal heart, it will remind you that you have one.” — Alicia Cook, bestselling author of Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately and Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back “She writes movingly about the agony of knowing her girls may be bound for a loss like the one that once derailed her… your heart goes out to her.” — —New York Times Book Review “A heart-wrenching, sincere memoir…” — Kirkus

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“At a time when the meaning of America is up for grabs, Cody Keenan's new book chronicles ten days that tested us and ultimately showed us at our best. It’s a captivating story about what’s worth fighting for, an antidote to cynicism that will make you believe again.” — President Barack Obama, via Twitter “Grace is a beautifully written, gripping tale of a monumental week in the life of America. As a political memoir, it is a masterpiece, rendering the White House’s characters—including President Barack Obama—in deeply human terms, with unforgettable behind-the-scenes accounts of how history was made. But in Grace, Cody Keenan does something even deeper by opening up the chilling rise of white supremacism, delving into the horrific costs of racial injustice in America, and showing how—with courage, decency, and a rich, expansive form of patriotism—our better angels can prevail.” — Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Problem from Hell and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations "Grace is an exuberant love letter to public service and a beautifully written record of how a President and his speechwriter faced down the darkest demons of American identity to offer a better, truer story of who we can be. At a time when cynicism and apathy endanger democracy, Cody Keenan lets us all experience how it felt to be in the room and reminds us of the things that are worth fighting for.” — Ben Rhodes, author of The World As It Is ““Cody Keenan's Grace, like the speeches he wrote with President Obama, is a compelling force. People of faith will know the ‘grace’ of which Cody and Obama speak; political and history buffs will appreciate the look inside these tragic, triumphant moments; and all Americans will be moved to tears of sorrow and joy through Cody’s retelling. Grace is what’s needed in our country right now, and Keenan's Grace is likewise a needed, essential read.” — Joshua DuBois, spiritual advisor to President Obama and author of The President’s Devotional “Cody Keenan has the heart of a novelist, the agile mind of an historian, and the acuity of someone who knows politics inside out. This remarkable book speaks in epic ways to the beauty and turmoil of the intimate moments that shape our lives. This is a hero’s journey, told with humility, insight and of course, grace.” — Colum McCann, National Book Award–winning author of Let the Great World Spin “At a time when cynicism permeates every ounce of our news and our politics, reading this hopeful, inspiring, gorgeous book is as refreshing as skinny dipping in a mountain lake. Grace is an invigorating reminder of the power each of us have to change the things for the better. Read this book! And then buy another one for your friend who thinks nothing matters and the world is doomed.” — Kal Penn, author of the national bestseller You Can’t Be Serious “An absorbing book debut with an insider’s view of the pressured, often ‘fucking terrifying’ workings within the White House…a moving portrait of a presidency and its top speechwriter.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A compelling memoir….[Keenan] offers a candid slice of life in a West Wing characterized by camaraderie, integrity, and hard work.” — Library Journal (starred review) “Uncommonly frank…a rarity in presidential histories these days: an argument for public service.” — Chicago Tribune “Powerful...a fascinating backstage pass…no matter your political persuasion, Grace is a generous, lively and worthwhile read." — BookPage “Students of politics will gain an insider’s perspective in presidential power and leadership in time of crisis.” — Booklist “Grace is a refreshing departure from the flood of scandalous ‘literary’ flotsam that typically washes up in the wake of the transfer of power. . . Like the president he served, Keenan tells his story with conviction, compassion—and amazing grace.” — Washington Monthly “[Grace is] less a standard Washington memoir with a scorecard of political wins and losses and more a reflection on the painful process of forging change. It’s a meditation on the craft of speech writing itself, and its place in a presidency that, more than most, was rooted in the power of rhetoric.” — CNN’s Meanwhile in America “There are plenty of romanticized depictions of the presidency on film, TV and written form. And then there is Cody Keenan’s new book, Grace. . . The heart of the book puts political realism to literature — a showcase about how the goal of a White House is often to fend off bad things, claw for incremental progress and, above all else, fight off cynicism.” — Politico “A much-needed literary remedy…a story that is gripping, nail-biting, and steeped in the best and worst of humanity.” — 48 Hills

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Book SynopsisCo-author Roy Collins has been a Sports columnist for over 16 years and is a personal friend of George Best. He was a chief sports writer on Today for ten years followed by the People Sport, and currently the Guardian and Sunday Telegraph.Trade ReviewBrilliantly raw * Sunday Times *His autobiography tells everything...this is a powerful, unexpectedly moving story * The Mirror *Fascinating-honest to the point of self-laceration-Best will always remain a breath-taking example of supreme talent and courage * Independent *Unquestionably the greatest -- Sir Alex FergusonWhere this book differs from the others - and there have been a few - is in Best's attempts to face his demons -- Michael Parkinson * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisMichael Simkins was born in 1957 and spent his childhood in a sweetshop in Brighton. In 1966 he saw his first cricket match on the TV, and from that moment he was hooked.When he hasn't been playing, watching or dreaming about cricket, Michael has spent his time acting. He has appeared in countless plays and musicals in the west end, most recently as Billy Flynn in Chicago, and also features regularly on TV and the silver screen, usually playing unsuspecting husbands, police sergeants or experts. He lives with his wife, the actress Julia Deakin, in north-west London, and still plays cricket to a worryingly low standard all over the Southern Counties.Trade ReviewOnce you've read this account of one man's love affair with cricket, you'll never want to read another ghosted autobiography by a Pietersen or a Vaughan again - incompetence and failure is far more fun -- Michael AthertonAn instant classic -- Stephen FryThe childhood recollections, suffused with warmth and spangled with pain and humour, are the book's unique selling point. Lovely stuff * Daily Telegraph *Simmo may be a shockingly average amateur cricketer, but when it comes to self- deprecating wit and telling a good anecdote, he's as sprightly as Garry Sobers in his prime ... anecdotes and quirky characters hurtle down at us like yorkers bowled by a fast bowler that I'm not quite knowledgeable enough to name ... an entertaining read indeed * Sunday Times *Michael writes about disaster, humiliation, rejection and ridicule - the hilarious truth -- Nicholas Hytner

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Book SynopsisAs a diarist I have chronicled the time through which I have lived in meticulous detail: but all that is history. What matters now is the future for those who will live through it.The past is the past but there may be lessons to be learned which could help the next generation to avoid mistakes their parents and grandparents made.Certainly at my age I have learned an enormous amount from the study of history - not so much from the political leaders of the time but from those who struggled for justice and explained the world in a way that shows the continuity of history and has inspired me to do my work.Normality for any individual is what the world is like on the day they are born. The normality of the young is wholly different from the normality of their grandparents.It is the disentangling of the real questions from the day to day business of politics that may make sense for those who take up the task as they will do.Every generation has to fTrade ReviewThere is a portrait here of a good man whose extraordinary enthusiasm for the world is both incredibly undiminished and endearing * The Times *A charming introduction to Benn's work * Socialist Review *Inspiring and tremendously moving * Good Book Guide *There is a passion in Benn's writing and speaking that far transcends the miserable aspirations of most contemporary politicians -- Paul Foot * The Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe incredible true story of a place where animals heal and children learn to hopeWhen I started The Gentle Barn, some viewed it as a hobby or an obsession, some as an act of selfless devotion. To all of those people, I want to say, You don't understand. I'm not saving the animals; they're saving me.'' Ellie Laks was just seven years old when she was abused by her childminder. Through the troubled years that followed, animals were her salvation. Through near bankruptcy and a devastating fire, Ellie''s dedication has not diminished. But it wasn''t until she opened up the Barn to at-risk children and children with special needs that she realised how her animals could teach lessons in forgiveness and healing to others. This is a truly inspirational memoir, full of heartbreaking stories of hope and healing.

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Book Synopsis''This is a miracle of a book'' George Lamming''Compelling. Stuart Hall''s story is the story of an age'' Owen Jones ''Sometimes I feel I was the last colonial''This is the story, in his own words, of the extraordinary life of Stuart Hall: writer, thinker and one of the leading intellectual lights of his age. Growing up in a middle-class family in 1930s Jamaica, then still a British colony, Hall found himself caught between two worlds: the stiflingly respectable middle class in Kingston, who, in their habits and ambitions, measured themselves against the white planter elite; and working-class and peasant Jamaica, neglected and grindingly poor, though rich in culture, music and history. But as colonial rule was challenged, things began to change in Jamaica and across the world.When, in 1951, a scholarship took him across the Atlantic to Oxford University, Hall encountered other Caribbean writers and thinkers, from Sam Selvon and George Lamming to V. S. Naipaul. He also forged friendships with the likes of Raymond Williams and E. P. Thompson, with whom he worked in the formidable political movement, the New Left, and developed his groundbreaking ideas on cultural theory. Familiar Stranger takes us to the heart of Hall''s struggle in post-war England: that of building a home and a life in a country where, rapidly, radically, the social landscape was transforming, and urgent new questions of race, class and identity were coming to light.Told with passion and wisdom, this is a story of how the forces of history shape who we are.Trade ReviewMuch more than a memoir, Familiar Stranger is a fascinating insight into how a life shapes a brilliant mind -- Andrea LevyThis is a miracle of a book -- George LammingCompelling. Stuart Hall's story is the story of an age. He was a pioneer in the struggle for racial, cultural, and political liberation. He has transformed the way we think -- Owen JonesVivid... a subtle and subversive memoir of the end of Empire -- Colin Grant * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisSHORLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2018 NEW STATESMAN AND EVENING STANDARD BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017''Brilliant ... a staggering story'' Robert Fox, Evening Standard, Books of the Year''Fascinating, vast and rich ... a dramatic family memoir'' GuardianUncovering his family''s remarkable and moving stories, Mark Mazower recounts the sacrifices and silences that marked a generation and their descendants. It was a family that fate drove into the siege of Stalingrad, the Vilna ghetto, occupied Paris, and even into the ranks of the Wehrmacht. His British father was the lucky one, the son of Russian Jewish emigrants who settled in London after escaping the civil war and revolution. Max, the grandfather, had started out as a socialist and manned the barricades against tsarist troops, but never spoke of it. His wife, Frouma, came from a family ravaged by the Great Terror yet somehow making their way in Soviet society. ITrade ReviewBrilliant ... a staggering story -- Robert Fox * Evening Standard, Book of the Year *Fascinating, vast and rich ... a dramatic family memoir * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''My life''s done a somersault,'' wrote acclaimed modernist writer Mário de Andrade. After years of dreaming about Amazonia, he finally embarked on a three-month odyssey up the great river and into the wild heart of his native Brazil with a group of avant-garde luminaries. All abandoned ship but a socialite, her two nieces, and, of course, the author himself. And so begins the humorous account of Andrade''s steamboat adventure into one of the most dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful corners of the world.Rife with shrewd observations and sparkling wit, his sarcastic, down-to-earth diary entries not only offer comedic and awe-inspiring details of life and the landscape but also trace his internal metamorphosis: his travels challenge what he thought he knew about the Amazon, and drastically alter his understanding of his motherland.Trade ReviewExtraordinary encounters with indigenous communities, some partially real and others completely falsified, yet always well and truly beyond belief . . . in the process of mythmaking . . . the country of Andrade’s imagination became more vivid, more alive -- David McAllister * Prospect *The Apprentice Tourist shows Andrade’s fascination with Amazonian cultures — and his utter boredom with the government officials and elites who welcomed the group of travelers along the way . . . it offers an important corrective in bringing canonical Brazilian works into English -- Lucas Iberico Lozada * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe remarkable true story of one man''s inspiring journey through his 3,000 mile walk across the country. Now including an exclusive bonus chapter . . . ''A great and inspirational read'' MATT HAIG, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive''Inspiring'' INDEPENDENT''An uplifting and inspirational journey through raw emotion'' RAYNOR WINN, bestselling author of The Salt PathAS SEEN ON BBC BREAKFAST______Jake Tyler had forgotten how to feel alive.With only a pair of boots and a backpack, he set off on a 3000-mile walk around Britain - along coastal paths, over mountains, through every national park.His journey became his road to recovery. On it he rediscovered the British landscape, the extraordinary kindness of strangers and most importantly, his place in the world.This is his inspiring story, away from the wild edge.______''Jake you have changed people''s lives . . . we are all fans!'' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio''An incredible journey, an inspirational memoir . . . beautiful'' Zoe Ball, BBC Radio 2''What makes Tyler''s book so compelling is his honesty, whether he''s conveying the horror of depression or admitting that his idiocy got him into another scrape'' Sunday Express''Inspiring . . . It''s something that will help many through these dark times'' Bryony Gordon''This book is a tonic. Until we can all get out and explore Britain''s beauty for ourselves again, this is the ideal substitute'' Mirror''So compelling in his honesty . . . very poignant'' Express''A tale told with courageous honesty. There''s much to learn here about how reconnecting with nature and trusting others can rekindle the joy of being alive'' BBC Countryfile ''A testament to the power of human connection, this is a physical and mental journey to inspire hope even in the darkest of times'' National GeographicTrade ReviewA great and inspirational read -- Matt HaigInspiring * Independent *An uplifting and inspirational journey through raw emotion -- Raynor WinnInspiring . . . It's something that will help many through these dark times -- Bryony GordonJake you have changed people's lives . . . we are all fans! -- Chris EvansWhat makes Tyler's book so compelling is his honesty, whether he's conveying the horror of depression or admitting that his idiocy got him into another scrape * Sunday Express *A testament to the power of human connection, this is a physical and mental journey to inspire hope even in the darkest of times * National Geographic *By simply telling his inspirational story, Jake has become a mental health warrior; I never tire of his wisdom, and cannot wait to read [his book]! -- Bryony GordonAn incredible journey, an inspirational memoir . . . beautiful -- Zoe Ball * BBC Radio 2 *So compelling in his honesty . . . very poignant * Express *A tale told with courageous honesty. There's much to learn here about how reconnecting with nature and trusting others can rekindle the joy of being alive * BBC Countryfile *This book is a tonic. Until we can all get out and explore Britain's beauty for ourselves again, this is the ideal substitute * Mirror *An unlikely challenge: to circumnavigate Britain on foot, carrying little more than a tent and a compass . . . brought [Jake Tyler] back from the brink. It was human kindness that kept him going * Daily Telegraph *An inspiring ode to nature and humanity * Woman & Home *Well worth a read -- Nick KnowlesRemarkable . . . An adventure memoir with a vulnerable heart, this is a winning book because it really humanises men's mental health struggles and acts as an inspirational guide to understanding yourself by reaching out into the world * The Book of Man *His story is an inspiration * Country Living *By simply telling his inspirational story, Jake has become a mental health warrior; I never tire of his wisdom, and cannot wait to read [his book]! * Bryony Gordon *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe wit and wisdom of a national hero * Daily Mirror *Full of the infectious energy that inspired the nation * Daily Mirror *A dose of wisdom from a British hero . . . A paean to the power of positive thinking * Daily Telegraph *Charmingly delivers his words of wisdom * i *Gives us a chance to spend a bit longer in his company, to enjoy his wry humour again and to understand how his apparently ordinary life equipped him for his final extraordinary year * Telegraph *So full of warmth and wisdom that it'll make your heart feel lighter by the end * Culturefly *Reads like a self-help book written by a kindly grandfather for his grandchildren: it urges you to dress properly, eat a good breakfast, be nice to others, and not to worry about the rest of it * Daily Telegraph *After the difficult and lonely time we've all shared, it's above all a reminder to keep looking for the joy, every single day * This England *A collection of anecdotes and wisdom from the inspirational war veteran * Sunday Times *Captain Sir Tom's memoir-cum-self-help manual is brimful of illuminating reminiscence and good humour. It brings home what a truly remarkable man he was * Daily Telegraph *This small book punches above its weight with words of wisdom from national treasure Sir Tom * Sunday Express *Inspirational * Choice Magazine *

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