Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisYesterday Morning is a vivid recollection of Diana Athill's joyful beginnings. It is also a remarkable insight into a now vanished world; this is England in the 1920s, seen with a clear and unsentimental eye from the vantage point of the 21st century. Growing up in a Norfolk country house with servants, Athill's upbringing was rich and loving: filled with the pleasures of horse riding and the unfolding secrets of adults and sex. However, here, she probes these foundations, asking: does privilege equate to happiness?Trade ReviewA joy to read from start to finish * Sunday Independent *Athill's astringent prose has the remarkable quality of making one look forward to old age * Evening Standard *Yesterday Morning is a captivating book. It is as if she had set out with a butterfly net to catch everything about her early life in an upper-middle-class English family before it - or she - vanished: the beloved grand house in Norfolk, the servants, her unhappily married parents. -- Kate Kellaway * Guardian *Athill's honesty in describing her feelings as a young girl and old woman makes her memoir universal. * The Independent *Athill's writing is like a really good apple: crisp, juicy, at once sweet and tart. She describes youthful games and discoveries in a voice that manages to combine delighted immediacy and ironic distance....The book feels at times like a grab bag, a collection of all the odds and ends Athill traces to her early years * The New York Times Book Review *A compulsively readable memoir of a golden age * The Times *Athill has added importantly to those works of literature which illuminate the vagaries of human emotion. * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIn today's world of supplements, celebrity diets and social media, it's very easy to be hard on ourselves about the way we look. With all this pressure to strive for 'perfection' aesthetically, it is easy to forget how damaging this can be psychologically. Michelle Elman is a leading part of the body positivity movement that has been gathering momentum to liberate people from these unrealistic standards, recognise that all bodies are equally valuable and broaden the billboard definitions of beauty. Am I Ugly? is this inspiring woman's compelling and deeply personal memoir that describes her childhood experiences of life-threatening health problems, long stays in hospital and fifteen complex surgeries that left her scarred, both mentally and physically. The narrative follows Michelle's journey from illness to health, and from childhood to adulthood as she deals with her body-confidence issues to embrace both her scars and her body – and help others to do the same. This remarkable book grapples with the wider implications of Michelle's experiences and the complex interplay between beauty and illness. 'Michelle Elman is Bo-Po personified. She shows that we should never hide the things that make us who we are' Curvy Kate. 'A 21-year-old life coach in London has become an Instagram star and viral inspiration after sharing her bikini photos and an inspiring video' Fox News. 'Michelle's post has certainly made an impact on so many people who needed a pick-me-up, and we just hope that anyone else feeling insecure due to clothes sizes somehow find themselves scrolling onto her post, too' Metro.Trade ReviewElman is a body positivity veteran... Her realistic approach to loving yourself is refreshing, and her posts are an important reminder that loving yourself isn't automatic. It takes time and work – but the journey is worthwhile' * Allure *One of the few people who truly embody the message that they teach. Her expertise is undeniable, her writing has the ability to connect with every reader in a way that feels as if they're being supported and understood * @BodyPosiPanda *Honest, refreshing and full of optimism * Sunday Post *This remarkable book grapples with the wider implications of Michelle's experiences and the complex interplay between beauty and illness... I was so happy to have come across her story, because it made me feel like I wasn't alone, and wasn't unusual' * Almost Amazing Grace *A truly inspirational woman whose brave choices have created a path to self-acceptance for people everywhere * Belfast Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA compelling personal journey of discovery, illuminating the Iran that lies beyond the headlines. For Cyrus Massoudi, a young British-born Iranian, the country his parents were forced to flee thirty years ago was a place wholly unknown to him. Wanting to make sense of his roots and piece together the divided, divisive and deeply contradictory puzzle that is contemporary Iran, he embarked on a series of journeys that spanned hundreds of miles and thousands of years through the many ebbs and flows of Iranian history. Rich portrayals of Sufis and ageing aristocrats, smugglers and underground rock bands are all woven together with history, religion and mythology to form a unique portrait of contemporary Iranian society. The thread running through the heart of the narrative is Massoudi's poignant personal quest; his struggle echoing that of Iran itself, as it fights to forge a cohesive modern identity. Land of the Turquoise Mountains reveals a world beyond the propaganda-driven, media-fuelled image of fractious, flag-burning fundamentalism and provides a compelling glimpse both into the heart of a deeply misunderstood nation and what it is to seek out and discover one's heritage.Trade ReviewA fascinating insider-outsider view of a complex country we badly need to know more about. Writers like Cyrus Massoudi who illuminate our ignorance are vitally important. -- William DalrympleTable of ContentsPreface Land of the Turquoise Mountains Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis Sunday Times bestseller is a shocking and at times darkly funny account of life as a prison officer in one of the country's most notorious jails.'Authentic, tough, horrifying in some places and hilarious in others . . . the author’s honesty and decency shine through' – Jonathan Aitken______________Neil ‘Sam’ Samworth spent eleven years working as a prison officer in HMP Manchester, aka Strangeways. A tough Yorkshireman with a soft heart, Sam had to deal with it all – gangsters and gangbangers, terrorists and psychopaths, addicts and the mentally ill. Men who should not be locked up and men who should never be let out. He tackles cell fires and self-harmers, and goes head to head with some of the most dangerous men in the country. He describes being attacked by prisoners, and reveals the problems caused by radicalization and the drugs flooding our prisons.As staffing cuts saw Britain’s prison system descend into crisis, the stress of the job – the suicides, the inhumanity of the system, and one assault too many – left Sam suffering from PTSD. Strangeways by Neil Samworth is a raw, searingly honest memoir that is a testament to the men and women of the prison service and the incredibly difficult job we ask them to do.______________'A frequently shocking read' – Daily ExpressTrade ReviewNeil Samworth’s story is authentic, tough, horrifying in some places and hilarious in others. It captivates the reader because the author’s honesty and decency shine through as he tells it like it is on the daily roller coaster ride of prison life in Strangeways. An enthralling, exciting but disturbing book. -- Jonathan AitkenA fascinating insight into the workings of a prison and the effects that staffing cuts have had on those trying to maintain order . . . a frequently shocking read. * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisAs much about learning a language as it is about nature, this dignified and nuanced memoir of the author's stay on the remote Hokkaido island in the far north of Japan evokes what is cultured and cultivated, and yet also honours the wild; the untranslatable.

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Book Synopsis'A memoir to shine a light in the darkest of nights . . . a story of redemption' – journalist Tony Parsons.Michael Maisey was excited the day he was locked up in the notorious Feltham Young Offenders Institute. He was going to be a legend to all his mates. The sixteen year old was in for attempted murder. He was innocent of this particular crime but amongst the violent and dangerous young men on his wing he was about to learn exactly how far he’d go to survive.In Young Offender we see what turned a good kid into a wanted criminal. Abused by his uncle, bullied at school, at the age of twelve he found the safety he craved in the ranks of a local gang in West London. He graduated from shoplifting to armed robbery and for five years Michael was in and out of Feltham, on a downward spiral of crime and drug and alcohol addiction. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But the road to recovery would mean changing himself in the deepest possible ways. Could Michael finally learn what it meant to be a good man?Honest and inspiring, this is a powerful story of redemption. Today Michael is a successful businessman and a loving father who spends time helping others find their way.'Courageous and brutally honest' – Ollie Ollerton, ex-Special Forces soldier, author of Break Point.Trade ReviewCourageous and brutally honest -- Ollie Ollerton, author of Break PointYoung Offender is a memoir to shine a light in the darkest of nights, a harrowing, heart breaking autobiography that feels like it was written in tears and blood. Michael Maisey crawled from the wreckage of what feels like every bad break in the world – domestic violence, sexual abuse, drugs, alcohol, incarceration and cruelty that staggers the mind - emerging with a story of redemption, hope and love. -- Tony ParsonsI loved everything about this book . . . There is such hope here. If one young man can make these changes, and inspire others to create value with their own lives too, then maybe we all can. * Stella Duffy *

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Book Synopsis'People didn't talk about the team, they talked about the mob that came with them'Terrifyingly vicious, brilliantly organised, tremendously feared and highly fashionable, the InterCity Firm were the most notorious football hooligan gang the country had ever seen. Bestselling author Cass Pennant was one of the I.C.F.'s best-known figures and has used his unique position as a West Ham insider to bring together these first-hand accounts of the men who were at the eye of storm, both on and off the terraces. In this classic account of football hooliganism at its terrifying height, all the faces of the West Ham firm reveal their memories and thoughts about the violence, the battles, the campaigns, the run-ins with the authorities, and all that came with it. Congratulations, you are just about to meet the I.C.F...

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Book Synopsis'Utterly engaging.' - Sunday TimesFrom her first life-changing solo trip to Australia as a young graduate, Rosita Boland was enthralled by travel. In the last thirty years she has visited some of the most remote parts of the globe carrying little more than a battered rucksack and a diary.Documenting nine journeys from nine different moments in her life, Elsewhere reveals how exploring the world – and those we meet along the way – can dramatically shape the course of a person’s life. From death-defying bus journeys through Pakistan to witnessing the majestic icescapes of Antarctica to putting herself back together in Bali, Rosita experiences moments of profound joy and endures deep personal loss.In a series of jaw-dropping, illuminating and sometimes heart-breaking essays, Elsewhere is a book that celebrates the life well-travelled in all its messy and wondrous glory.Trade ReviewBeautiful. A rucksack of memory gems that left my heart sore and full of wanderlust. * Ruth Fitzmaurice, author of I Found My Tribe *Elsewhere is the perfect title for a travel book that is about more than just destinations. It’s about location and dislocation. And it is the sense of being away from the mundane world that makes the book special. * Michael Harding, author of Staring at Lakes *Beautifully authentic writing, full of humanity and gumption * Irish Independent *Utterly engaging * Sunday Times *Outstanding … this is without a doubt my book of the year. Exquisite, courageous, captivating * Sunday Independent *

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Book SynopsisHow to speak of the searing, unpindownable power that the past – ours, our family’s, our culture’s – wields in the present? In five long sections, Maria Tumarkin’s Axiomatic tells true and intimate stories of a community dealing with the extended aftermath of a suicide, a grandmother’s quest to kidnap her grandson to keep him safe, one community lawyer’s battle inside and against the justice system, the effects of multigenerational trauma, and the history of the author’s longest friendship. In writing that is inventive, bold, and generous, Axiomatic is a brilliantly inventive exploration of how the past shapes our culture.Trade ReviewNew Yorker Best Books of 2019 | New Statesman Books of the Year 2020‘Maria Tumarkin’s shape-shifting Axiomatic deploys all the resources of narrative, reportage and essay. It is a work of great power and beauty.’ — Pankaj Mishra, author of The Age of Anger‘[Axiomatic] is comprised of restless, gorgeous essays, each of which uses an aphorism – “time heals all wounds,” “you can’t enter the same river twice” – to reflect on Tumarkin’s preoccupations: trauma, the ongoingness of the past, and the unworkability of language. Tumarkin takes up subjects like youth suicide and the plight of homeless people in North Melbourne, but her approach is never maudlin.’ — Katy Waldman, New Yorker ‘The work of a virtuoso ... Like Maggie Nelson’s, Tumarkin’s is the kind of writing that makes much creative nonfiction seem clumsy and rudimentary, as if everyone else is writing way too many words about smaller, pettier ideas.’ — The Believer‘Tumarkin presents a remarkable tour de force ... These essays will linger in readers’ minds for years after.’ — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

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Book SynopsisNOW A MAJOR TV SERIES.''Terrific, fascinating, very funny'' Daily Mail''Hilarious'' Sun''Gripping'' Literary ReviewHow do we ensure that the guilty are convicted and the innocent walk free?Shortlisted for the Crime Writers Award Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction, true crime meets humour in Defending the Guilty, a hilariously funny and eye-opening exposé of the criminal justice system.Every day, criminal barrister Alex McBride stands up in court and attempts to save people from conviction, prison, even a lifetime behind bars. Sometimes it''s a hopeless case. Sometimes he has the chance to right a wrong. But mostly his clients are just plain guilty.In Defending the Guilty, McBride takes us behind the scenes of Britain''s criminal justice system. He introduces us to its extraordinary characters and arcane eccentricities, and tells astonishing stories of courtroom triumph and defeaTrade ReviewTerrific. McBride details his own cock-ups and disasters with the relish of the born humorous writer. Very funny * Daily Mail *Expert, authoritative, hilarious - an insider's fearless account of life at the criminal bar -- Craig Raine * TLS, Books of the Year *Gripping, engaging, compelling. The real life of criminal barristers is expertly caught -- Literary ReviewTerrific. McBride details his own cock-ups and disasters with the relish of the born humorous writer. Very funny * Daily Mail *Expert, authoritative, hilarious - an insider's fearless account of life at the criminal bar -- Craig Raine * TLS, Books of the Year *Gripping, engaging, compelling. The real life of criminal barristers is expertly caught * Literary Review *An excellent blend of anecdote and more serious discussion -- Tom Bingham, author of The Rule of LawShortlisted for the Crime Writers' Award for Non-Fiction 2010 -- CWA Judges

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Book SynopsisA self-deprecating and humorous account of life in the Coldstream Guards followed by a wry, witty collection of letters that provides unique insight into life as a POW during the Second World War.Trade ReviewFull of [Mortimer's] trademark gallows humour and laconic self-deprecation * Daily Mail *For Dear Lupin fans Vintage Roger provides an interesting prequel that gives fresh insight into the life of one of the twentieth century's most amusing letter writers and top Dads * The Critic *Charming * The Oldie *I am in love with Roger Mortimer and his book Vintage Roger. From his descriptions both of pre-war life in the Coldstream Guards, and of the war itself, he brings all the surrounding characters vividly to life. Nor does he ever grumble but manages to be hilariously funny about the most gruesome experiences - particularly in his letters home during five years in a German Prisoner of War camp. Most touching of all is the reciprocal love between him and his son Charlie (Lupin) who edited the book. You will laugh and cry reading Vintage Roger, but you will also relish every word * Jilly Cooper CBE *

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Book SynopsisThe eleventh memoir and latest title from the internationally bestselling author and foster carer Cathy Glass. This book tells the true story of Cathy's adopted daughter Lucy.Lucy was born to a single mother who had been abused and neglected for most of her own childhood. Right from the beginning Lucy's mother couldn't cope, but it wasn't until Lucy reached eight years old that she was finally taken into permanent foster care.By the time Lucy is brought to live with Cathy she is eleven years old and severely distressed after being moved from one foster home to another. Withdrawn, refusing to eat and three years behind in her schooling, it is thought that the damage Lucy has suffered is irreversible.But Cathy and her two children bond with Lucy quickly, and break through to Lucy in a way no-one else has been able to, finally showing her the loving home she never believed existed. Cathy and Lucy believe they were always destined to be mother and daughter it just took them a little whileTrade ReviewREVIEWS FOR DAMAGED: 'Cannot fail to move those who read it.'Adoption-net ‘Heartbreaking.'Mirror ‘A truly harrowing read that made me cry.’Sun 'A true tale of hope. ****.'OK! ‘Foster carers rarely get the praise they deserve, but Cathy Glass’s book should change all that.****’First magazine ‘A hugely touching and emotional true tale.’Star magazine

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Book SynopsisThe word mesmerising is frequently applied to memoirs, but seldom as deservedly as in the case of Girl With Dove' Financial TimesReading is a form of escape and an avid reader is an escape artist'Brilliantly original, funny and clever Honor Clark, Spectator, Book of the YearGrowing up in a dilapidated house by the sea where men were forbidden, Sally's childhood world was filled with mystery and intrigue. Hippies trailed through the kitchen looking for God their leader was Aunt Di, who ruled the house with charismatic force. When Sally's baby brother vanishes from his pram, she becomes suspicious of the activities going on around her. What happened to Baby David and the woman called Poor Sue? And where did all the people singing and wailing prayers in the front room suddenly go?Disappearing into a world of books and reading, Sally adopts the tried and tested methods of Miss Marple. Taking books for hints and clues, she turns herself into a reading detective. Her discovery of Jane Eyre Trade Review‘This is a very eccentric memoir … I liked it, because I was captivated by Sally Bayley's poetic light touch … Thanks to the guidance of three beloved fictional characters … who came alive in her imagination, young Sally negotiated her way through the jungle of her childhood’ The Times ‘The strangest and most striking memoir I have read in years … Her bold poetic prose carries the sinister cackle of Bertha Mason on a warm breeze through St Mary Mead, to be wafted away in comic disdain by Betsey Trotwood’ Helen Brown, Daily Telegraph ‘A testament to innocence, resilience and the protective power of the imagination …This is a story about the child’s need to make sense of chaos and the redemptive power of stories to bestow meaning … The word “mesmerising” is frequently applied to memoirs, but seldom as deservedly as in the case of Girl With Dove, a work suffused with psychological depth, literary inventiveness and subtle brilliance’ Financial Times ‘Bayley’s family are compelling, certainly, but it’s the formidable and moving lines of much-loved prose, sketched long ago in the classics, that provide much of Girl With Dove’s horsepower’ Irish Times ‘A brilliant evocation of the porousness for children between reality and fiction …The book is beautifully written … just let its poetic rhythms lap over you … it left me longing for more of Bayley's recollections from a place of relative tranquility’ Spectator ‘A moving, highly original memoir … It’s a remarkable testament to reading as a “strong torch, shining through the dark”’ The Bookseller ‘This extraordinary book … an astonishing tale, astonishingly written in clear, precise prose … Bayley is exceptionally good at bringing us into the child's world … there's a raw, visceral power to the writing, which turns the abstract physical on almost every page … the prose sings … This bold, arresting memoir is about the quest for a different kind of truth’ Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisWe often consider dogs to be our enduring sidekicks but the truth is domestic pigs have played a role in our lives for nearly as long.Pigs are highly social and smart. They like to play. They're inventive, crafty and belligerent and incredibly singleminded.Ultimately, we have far more in common with these creatures than we like to admit.Here is a charming ode to one of the most common, yet surprisingly intelligent, animals populating our landscapes. In this gentle and illuminating study, Matt Whyman embarks on a journey to uncover the heart and soul of an animal brimming with more energy, intelligence and playfulness than he could ever have imagined.In his bid to understand what makes a pig tick, having climbed a steep learning curve as a keeper himself, Whyman meets a veterinary professor and expert in pig emotion, as well as a spirited hill farmer whose world revolves around hogs and sows.Packed with fascinating research and delightful anecdotes, this entertaining and informative ceTrade Review'An engaging book about porcine brilliance' The Daily Express For Pig in the Middle/Oink: My Life with Mini-pigs: ‘Move over Marley, a pair of cute mini-pigs are about to take over the world.’ New York Post ‘This merry memoir of family growing pains and too many pets has so many laugh-out-loud sequences it's embarrassing to read in public… the most good-hearted, hilarious memoir in years.’ Shelf Awareness ‘What a fabulous, funny read! I enjoyed every page. Highly recommended for anyone with a pet, a partner, a family, a sense of humour…or even a minipig.’ Sophie Kinsella ‘Funny, frank and charming.’ Lisa Jewell ‘Definitely my favourite pigs since Babe… funny and completely charming.’ Jenny Colgan ‘Written with wry humour and accompanied by numerous photographs, ink is a moving salute to love, family and commitment.’ Richmond Times-Dispatch ‘Be careful where you read this book because it is laugh-out-loud funny… Whyman has a flair for self-deprecating asides and for making the "ordinary" sparkling. It's compelling, bristles with irony and is sure to delight animal lovers.’ Daily Telegraph (Sydney) ‘A darling book – very funny and definitely for animal lovers.’ ABC

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Book SynopsisA fun and uplifting memoir' CosmopolitanEleanor finds herself in her late 30s on a beach in India with three old ladies, trying to find herself' and discover her family history' like some sad middle-class crisis cliché. How did she get here?Truthfully, it could be for any one of the below reasons, if not all combined:Stepmum dying/Stepdad leaving family falling apart, subsequent psychotic break; both parents now on third marriageBreaking up with K after 12 years breaking up a whole life, a whole fucking universe for reasons that may have been misguided?New boyfriend moving in immediately, me insisting it's not a rebound!' even after everyone has stopped listening, then breaking up with meGoing into therapy after dating a threatening narcissist (the most pertinent point of which should be noted: I did not break up with him he ghosted me)How to address this situation? Take a trip to India with your octogenarian nan and two great aunts of course. The perfect, if somewhat unusual, distTrade Review‘A fun and uplifting memoir’ Cosmopolitan ‘Warm and funny and unpretentious and wise.’ Holly Bourne, author of Am I Normal Yet? ‘Laced with many laugh-out-loud moments’ The Sunday Post

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Book SynopsisTold with intimacy and ferocity and set in the passionate and crumbling Spanish Quarter of Naples, comes a poignant tale of first love of a place, of a person where languages and cultures collide while dreams soar and crash in spectacular ways.Don't forgive me, don't answer, don't be sad. Be happy, have babies, make mixed tapes, take pictures it's how I always love to think of you. And now and then, if you can and if you want to, remember me.'Several years after leaving Naples, Heddi receives an email from Pietro, her first love, admitting that he was wrong. Immediately, Heddi is transported back to her college days in that heartbreakingly beautiful city built on ruins and set against the cliffs of a sleeping volcano. Just the thought of the Spanish Quarter, the crumbling apartment she shared with friends and where she first met Pietro, still spark the pain of longing and a desire to belong. For Heddi's tribe of university friends, Naples was the first taste of freedom and an escapeTrade Review‘From the deteriorating and claustrophobic neighborhood of Elena Ferrante to the violent Gomorra of Roberto Saviano, Heddi Goodrich's is a third Naples – central, dense, vital – a story of love and of roots, of origins, set in the Spanish Quarter’ Corriere della sera ‘Written from the perspective of a young woman discovering love for the first time, the tale unravelled within the mystery and culture of Naples. Transported to the gritty streets of Naples, reading this novel felt both excruciating and exciting’ NB Magazine ‘Goodrich is perceptive on the potent early days of first love and the exhilaration of living in a foreign country – a sort of romance in itself … her depiction of the Spanish Quarter is deliciously vivid with its hollering fish sellers and shrieking neighbours, canopies of laundry and purring motorbikes, and glimpses of glittering sea from sun-drenched rooftops’ Discover Southern Europe

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Book SynopsisFor readers of Hideous Kinky, Dadland and Bad Blood; the astonishing, beguiling story of Sarah Aspinall's harum scarum childhood, and a love letter to a woman who defied convention to live a life less ordinary.My Mother attracted unusual people and events to her, and she made things happen.Sarah Aspinall grew up in the glittering wake of her irrepressible mother Audrey. Born into poverty in 1930s Liverpool, Audrey had always known that she was destined for better things and was determined to shape that destiny for herself. From the fading seaside glamour of Southport, to New York and Hollywood, to post-war London and the stately homes of the English aristocracy, Audrey stylishly kicked down every door she encountered, on a ceaseless quest for excitement and for love.Once Sarah was born, she became Audrey's companion on her adventures, travelling the world, scraping together an education for herself from the books found in hotels or given to her by strangers, and living on Audrey's chaTrade ReviewA great read – what a strange and amazing life! The tone was pitched just right, unflinchingly, but with so much love, and after reading it I felt that maybe I understood something more about the world of women' Louis Theroux ‘A delicious memoir with echoes of An Education by Lynn Barber and Esther Freud’s Hideous Kinky … a warm and consistently entertaining portrait of a hapless but loving mother. You’ll find yourself wishing you could have met her in person’ Daily Express ‘Wry and warm: I went from gripped to moved and tearful and I'd now like to read a hundred more books by this gifted, vivid storyteller’ Marian Keyes ‘Flies off the page like uncorked champagne, with characters written so winningly that I feel I am in the room with them. Magnetic, enchanting and true: it’s utterly irresistible’ Joanna Lumley 'It’s a story of how a mothers passes onto her daughter the greatest gift of all – a passion for life! Like everyone who reads it I wish I had met Audrey just once!' John Bishop ‘Never dull, regularly embarrassing, often poignant, and beautifully observed. A go-getting, polished jewel of a book’ Keggie Carew, author Dadland ‘Everyone has a mother but not everyone’s mother is like Audrey. I found myself completely immersed in the incredibly vivid world of this memoir and was sad to leave it behind’ Kate Atkinson ‘… Aspinall elevates her familial memories from the personal into something more: a kind of social history, taking in grey, postwar Britain, Technicolor America, the Swinging Sixties and seedy Seventies. A documentary-maker, she injects the book with a cinematic quality’ The Times ‘Just when you thought your family was offbeat, here comes Fabulous Audrey. A portrait of dauntless spirit, this is what happens when your skeletons stay out of the closet and take you dancing’ DBC Pierre, author of Breakfast with the Borgias

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Book SynopsisThe Independent Best Book for Walkers 2022 Where can a walk take you?Trade Review Praise for WHERE MY FEET FALL The Independent Best Book for Walker 2022 ‘If you think great travel writing is all about moving through places in another person’s shoes, then you need this collection of essays from 20 writers about the pleasure of putting one foot in front of another. From bustling walks through Karachi with Kamila Shamsie, to rain-soaked treks in Germany with Jessica J Lee, every entry comes with its own unique flavour and makes you realise that this most rudimentary form of transport can be one of the most evocative. Editor Duncan Minshull, who pulled the collection together, has written three books about walking, so he knows a thing or two about it’Helen Coffey, Independent ‘A new collection of essays both sprightly and ruminative.. exploring the delights – and the challenges – of the placing of one foot in front of the other. . . Where My Feet Fall features such appropriately sturdy literary names, among them Richard Ford, Kamila Shamsie and Patrick Gale . . . Reading about walking in Where My Feet Fall allows you to inhabit the walker's imagination fully – surely the ultimate in armchair travel’Hephzibah Anderson, Observer ‘This wonderful new anthology about walking and creative thinking’Inside A Mountain, Charlie Lee Potter ‘A beautiful book’Walk The Pod, Rachel Wheeley ‘Another great book by the writer and editor now established as the go-to authority on walking. His latest is a collection of twenty thoughtful essays… twenty strolls around the imaginations of some great writers’Chris Paling, author of After The Raid and A Very Nice Rejection Letter

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Book SynopsisMy name is Joel Mawhinney, though I go by the name Joel M. You might know me from TikTok as @joelmagician.I'm a 23-year-old from Northern Ireland, who enjoys reading, playing the piano and eating as many burrito bowls as I can, but the most important thing to know about me isMagic is my life.The world of a magician is an unusual one. Between the first and last pages of this little volume you will find stories, confessions and secrets that I hope will convince you that anything is possible.If you can keep a secret, I'll even share magic tricks you can perform yourself. Inside, you'll learn how to read minds, predict the future, make cards levitate and jewellery vanish. I'll teach you how to perform to an audience and amaze your family and friends. I'll also let you in on the magic of TikTok and reveal how I went viral and gainedmillions of followers.But, above all, I will show you that whatever happens in life, it'salways possible toMake Your Own Magic.

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Book SynopsisAn incredibly useful take on facing grief as a young person' CARIAD LLOYD''Brilliantly, brilliantly written Packed with clarity, curiosity and courage'' FELIX WHITEGrief does something particular when it hits you young. This book is a moving exploration of that transformative pain, from the founder of The Grief Network.Rachel Wilson's mother died when Rachel was in her twenties. It felt like the definitive end of childhood, a loss that rewired her perspective on life, death, relationships and who she was as a person.In this book, Rachel brings together other stories of bereavement with her own, encountering people who have lost parents, siblings, partners and friends at a young age. Losing Young draws on psychological research, interviews with titans like Julia Samuel and explorations of grief in history: what happens in a time of war or pandemic, when the many grieve or struggle to together? How do different cultures process the end of a life differently? How can the grief of losinTrade Review‘It’s well-researched and engagingly written, covering everything from sex after grief, how mourning is approached differently throughout the world and returning to work after loss. A must-read for anyone wanting to understand their own grief better, feel less alone – or even learn more about this important part of life more generally’INDEPENDENT ‘Thoughtfully and beautifully written, but most important of all, an incredibly useful take on facing grief as a young person’CARIAD LLOYD, author of YOU ARE NOT ALONE and host of GRIEFCAST 'A brilliantly, brilliantly written exploration of young grief. Endlessly absorbing, it is packed with clarity, curiosity and courage'FELIX WHITE, guitarist for THE MACCABEES and author of IT'S ALWAYS SUMMER SOMEWHERE ‘The truth is, it has turned on so many lights for me that I had to read slowly, carefully and with space to reflect. I've met familiar ideas I didn't know I carried, I've had assumptions challenged and anxieties assuaged. I feel I've attended a masterclass about supporting my bereaved friends, taught by a kind and patient expert speaking with love from the heart of her loss … What a profoundly helpful book’KATHRYN MANNIX, author of WITH THE END IN MIND AND LISTEN 'An important and insightful book about the loneliness of grief and the transformative power of community'GAVANNDRA HODGE, author of THE CONSEQUENCES OF LOVE ‘As an educationalist, I have seen far too many children lose parents and others dear to them. This book is full of wisdom and compassion and will help many far and wide’ANTHONY SELDON

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Book SynopsisA warmly funny, intensely moving and startlingly personal account of the lives of an urban parish priest and his parishioners. Father Alex Frost was not always a man of the cloth. He found his calling while running an Argos store in his native Burnley, moonlighting as a stand-up comedian and die-hard fan of The Clarets and Depeche Mode.But having achieved his profession, Fr Alex quickly recognised the 17,000 inhabitants of his new parish were in dire need of help. Burnley is typical of many towns across Britain: a place of run-down council estates, severe poverty litter, crime and drugs, but also a place where the sacred sits alongside the secular in an intimate and personal way. And so it was that he found himself running a food bank from a car park, helping the desperate amid his flock as the pandemic raged.Fr Alex?s down-to-earth style of ministry struck a chord with people of all faiths, cultures and class at a time when the divide between rich and poor is widening cataclysmically. But amid the tragedy, addiction, appalling loss, illness and neglect, there also lies hope, joy and moments of comedy. Our Daily Bread is as much the story of the rich cast of characters that cross the threshold of any church as it is our vicar?s. Through them it shows the continued relevance of the church for those in peril: the poor and the marginalised.This heartfelt and moving book seeks to give a voice to the voiceless, charting the tragedy and pain, humour and hope which are ever-present in his community. It is ultimately about modern poverty ? and how we all can, and should, espouse Christian virtues of love, kindness, tolerance.Trade Review‘A unique and rare insight into the work of an urban parish priest. Deeply moving, but amid the unfairness and injustice, there is also humour, love and togetherness.’ Alastair Campbell ‘A beautiful, touching, funny and – most of all – important book. It’s an insight into the real, often unseen Church and into the North of England as well. This wonderful book does them both proud.’ The Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie, author of A Field Guide to the English Clergy ‘Frost understands the importance of listening. And it is that gift of listening that makes this book so compelling. … It is also genuinely funny, because people facing cement-like hardship often use humour as an escape mechanism. … Our Daily Bread changed me, and will change other people. I’m so very glad that he wrote it.’ Church Times ‘Alex Frost is that rare thing: an Anglican clergyman with conviction, zest and the ability to listen to a range of opinions.’ Quentin Letts, The Times ‘Funny, thoughtful and, most importantly, humane: Alex Frost is a light in dark times.’ Ian Dunt, author of How to be a Liberal ‘What shines out is Fr Alex’s basic humanity, his love of people, his good sense and good humour. He’s a star.’ Edwina Currie 'Father Alex is a person of real integrity, joy and compassion. His vital work in bringing practical help and a voice to the neglected has been inspirational.' Reverend Matt Woodcock, author of Becoming Reverend and Radio 2 contributor ‘Fr Alex’s kindness and unconditional love for people in crisis helped inspire a nation. His story and those of the people he helped deserve to be told.’ Ed Thomas, BBC News ‘Father Alex is a one-off.’ Jeffrey Archer ‘Father Alex is funny, engaging, totally sincere and never afraid to ask. Everyone who reads this book will take something from it.’ Anthea Turner

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Book SynopsisOne of golf's most popular and funny personalities reveals the ups and downs of a life playing the world's most infuriating sport.Even professional golfers hit bad shots. I guess that's why it holds people like you and I in its grip. Because no matter how bad a day you've had out there, you always come back, don't you? You always want to be better next time'.Professional golfer Andrew Beef' Johnston has played in the world's biggest tournaments, won big money events, sunk monster putts, and been serenaded by fans from Kazakhstan to St Andrews, booming out his familiar nickname: BEEEEEEEEF!'. On the downside, Beef has also duffed it, thinned it and shanked it like every single person who's ever played the game. Because no matter who you are, golf can make you look like an idiotFrom reflecting on his early years at his local pitch and putt to his stellar career playing against the best of the best on the greatest courses on the planet, Golf is Hard takes you inside the world of professio

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Book SynopsisIt is not often that an author and his editor strike up a relationship which survives forty years of epistolary exchanges and intellectual sparring. The strangely enduring and occasionally fractious friendship which developed between the famously outspoken historian Ramachandra Guha and his reticent editor Rukun Advani is the subject of this quite eccentric and thoroughly compelling literary memoir.It started in Delhi in the early 1980s, when Guha was an unpublished PhD scholar, and Advani a greenhorn editor with Oxford University Press. It blossomed through the 1990s, when Guha grew into a pioneering historian of the environment and of cricket, while also writing his pathbreaking biography of Verrier Elwin. Over these years Advani was Guha's most constant confidant, his most reliable reader. He encouraged him to craft and refine the literary style for which Guha became internationally known narrative histories which have made vast areas of scholarship popular and accessible.Four decades later, though he no longer publishes his books, Advani remains Guha's most trusted literary adviser. Yet they also disagree ferociously on politics, human nature, and the shape of their commitment to India. They usually make up because it just wouldn't do to allow such an odd relationship to die.Built around letters and emails between an outgoing and occasionally combative scholar and a reclusive editor prone to private outbursts of savage sarcasm, this book is never short of the kind of wit, humour, and drollery that has been strangled by contemporary political correctness.Trade Review PRAISE FOR REBELS AGAINST THE RAJ ‘A narrative of startling originality … his excitement at discovering a forgotten chapter of Indian history is contagious … As discussions of Britain’s colonial legacy become increasingly polarised, we are in ever more need of nuanced books like this one’Sam Dalrymple, Spectator ‘Fascinating and provocative … Guha organises his material expertly and presents it clearly and stylishly, illuminating an aspect of Raj history which is often forgotten or neglected but which is nonetheless crucial for an understanding both of present-day India and of Britons’ complex and ambivalent past relationship to this ‘jewel’ in their collective crown. This superb book does them justice, as well as adding a new dimension to the histories both of subject India and of imperial Britain – and being a thoroughly good read’Literary Review ‘Guha has done well to remind us of these forgotten stories, all the more as India, like much of the world, is becoming more xenophobic and intolerant, believing all the virtues lie in national frontiers’Irish Times ‘Illuminating and engaging … Guha’s wide-ranging research and lucid narration brings to life these men and women … Rebels Against the Raj, however, makes a larger, more important and incisive point. Guha calls the lives and work of these rebels a morality tale for the world we now inhabit – a world incandescent with xenophobia and jingoism, and full of contempt for thoughts and ideas that a culture can imbibe from outside its borders’New Statesman ‘Eminently readable and dazzling … Painstakingly researched, this is history writing at its best’The Tribune

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Book SynopsisThe #1 New York Times bestselling memoir of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, and the source for Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster movie which was nominated for six academy awards, including best picture.From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history.Trade Review"Chris Kyle tells his story with the same courage and grit he displayed in life and on the battlefield. American Sniper is a compelling read." -- CLINT EASTWOOD "An amazingly detailed account of fighting in Iraq--a humanizing, brave story that's extremely readable." -- PATRICIA CORNWELL, New York Times Book Review "In the elite community of warriors, one man has risen above our ranks and distinguished himself as unique. Chris Kyle is that man. A master sniper, Chris has done and seen things that will be talked about for generations to come." -- MARCUS LUTTRELL, author of Lone Survivor "Chris Kyle was incredible, the most celebrated war hero of our time, a true American hero in every sense of the word." -- D Magazine "The raw and unforgettable narrative of the making of our country's record-holding sniper, Chris Kyle's memoir is a powerful book, both in terms of combat action and human drama. Chief Kyle is a true American warrior down to the bone, the Carlos Hathcock of a new generation." -- CHARLES W. SASSER, Green Beret (US Army Ret.) and author of One Shot, One Kill "Reads like a first-person thriller narrated by a sniper. The bare-bones facts are stunning. ... A first-rate military memoir." -- BOOKLIST #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER -- No Source "American Sniper is the inside story of what it's like to be in war. A brave warrior and patriot, Chris Kyle writes frankly about the missions, personal challenges, and hard choices that are part of daily life of an elite SEAL Sniper. It's a classic!" -- RICHARD MARCINKO (USN, Ret.), First Commanding Officer of SEAL Team Six and #1 bestselling author of Rogue Warrior

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Book Synopsis“This is the book that will help you finally put your self-doubt to rest and awaken you to your brilliance.” — Nakeia Homer, author of I Hope This HelpsEverywhere we look, we’re bombarded with millions of ways we can transform ourselves.Trade Review“This is the book that will help you finally put your self-doubt to rest and awaken you to your brilliance. One chapter at a time, Alison Faulkner lays out a foundation for you to get back up and tap back into your life with power, grace, and confidence.” — Nakeia Homer, author of I Hope This Helps “Alison shines through the pages of this beautiful and honest reflection, gently guiding you through the tangible tools for stepping into the fullness of who you are. A transcendent experience for us all.” — Arielle Estoria, poet, speaker, actor, and author of The Unfolding “I feel like Alison saw me having a good cry on the ground, sat with me, and coached me using tools that helped me pick myself up. I feel more in love with myself than ever after reading this, with no qualifiers.” — Natalie Madsen, actress and writer "Alison combines thought leadership, pop culture, anxiety, alliteration, and the complexity & beauty of being human into a book that will not only have you sobbing, but rejoicing in your own beautifully messy awesome." — Courtney Brown, Founder and CEO of Cents of Style “You’re Already Awesome is the book to hush your inner hater and live life wide awake. Alison delivers a total mental makeover.” — Richie Norton, entrepreneur and bestselling author of Anti-Time Management "Alison’s boldness and pure energy radiate in person and also through the wisdom she shares in this book. She is such a bright light, telling the truths of how we often dim our own lights and get in our own way. This will uplift and empower you to embrace your unique awesomeness." — Amy Tangerine, author of Making Memories and Craft a Life You Love “Alison is a creative genius and has an amazing ability to help others find their own internal brilliance. Through a combination of beauty, pain, and magic, this book takes its readers on a journey of self-discovery and helps them reach their own level of awesome!” — Alexis and Chanté, founders of Let’s Talk Sis

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Fascinating, funny, and wise, The Family Outing is an affirmation to all of us who know the pain and shame of hiding our truest self, and a stirring invitation into the courage, freedom, and joy of living our whole truth.” — Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed, founder of Together Rising "What’s fascinating about Hempel’s memoir, aside from its striking confidence, is the way a tabloid-ready curiosity about a family becomes, in this author’s hands, an ever-expanding exploration of the nature of storytelling, of memory, and of what it means to be human. This is the perfect kind of memoir. You might pick it up because you’re fascinated by what seems to be an anomaly, but what you find in its pages is something far more familiar: your own perpetual quest for liberation." — Garrard Conley, New York Times bestselling author of Boy Erased "The Family Outing is a rich and vital addition to queer literature and our understanding of intergenerational trauma. Hempel’s prose is sensitive, sharp, and revelatory. I fell in love with Jessi’s family and this memoir." — Alysia Abbott, author of Fairyland "What happens when a journalist turns an investigative eye on herself? If that journalist is Jessi Hempel, she writes The Family Outing, a brave, honest, ultimately loving and hopeful memoir that examines long-hidden family secrets and searing questions of identity. This important story of fracturing and healing is a lesson to all of us on being our true selves, in and out of our families." — Ann Hood, author of Fly Girl "Eloquent, intricately woven ... a deeply moving portrait of generational trauma and painstaking repair. This interrogation of familial fissures and bonds radiates with empathy and grace." — Publishers Weekly "As she explores how her family healed from the secrets it kept, Hempel also offers provocative glimpses into the complexities of what it truly means to forgive and love. A thoughtful, compelling, unique memoir." — Kirkus Reviews "Skillfully wrought ... Bringing each family member alive on the page and bringing her own story up to date, the author wisely concludes that the work of transformation is never done. And so, her story continues." — Booklist “A stunning memoir and contemporary exploration of the diversity of family dynamics and coming-out narratives.” — Library Journal (starred review) "A stunning memoir about finding your true self and living freely in the world." — Buzzfeed “Incredibly moving … a tremendous accomplishment." — Daily Hive "With rich detail and deep empathy, Hempel chronicles the highs and lows of [the family's] journey to healing, through marriages and divorces, personal growth and grief. Along the way, they began creating families of their own and grew stronger together." — NPR, "Books We Love"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A beautifully designed cocktail and lifestyle guide with hilarious stories from his life. Obsessed with cocktails and cocktail culture, the book is an ode to both great drinks and conversations with friends. . . . Paul has made an art and a science out of creating these elegant and festive environments and living his best life.” — Forbes The 45 Must-Read Books of Fall 2022. “The latest project from filmmaker Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Spy) isn't on the big screen, but instead on the printed page. This tribute to Feig's love of a good cocktail (or two, or...) shares not only 125 recipes for his favorite drinks (and those of his famous friends) but also tips for throwing the perfect cocktail party and stories from his own star-studded life. We'll drink to that.” — Town & Country “It’s shocking that one person could have so many humiliating experiences and even more shocking that he chose to remember them. Kick Me is like an unofficial prequel to Freaks and Geeks. If anything, Paul Feig’s real stories are actually more harrowing than what his fictional characters went through.” — Ira Glass, host of This American Life, on Kick Me “I love Paul Feig’s sense of humor—in a platonic way. This book is hilarious. I recommend it to people like me. And to people who don’t like me.” — Garry Shandling on Kick Me “Feig is best known as the creator of the hilarious and lamentably short-lived television show Freaks and Geeks, which was set in the 1980s and chronicled the lives of high-school outsiders. Both those who miss the show and those who’ve never heard of it will enjoy Feig’s comical collection of essays about his own youth. . . . Whether he’s triumphant or humiliated, Feig is a droll storyteller.” — Booklist on Kick Me “It is certain to release a rush of memories in all who have finally come to grips with the awkwardness of having grown up. Primarily for the humor section of public libraries, this work might also provide some insight for psychologists specializing in adolescence.” — Library Journal on Kick Me “It bodes well that the dedication to this book is laugh-out-loud funny, and indeed, Feig (Kick Me) does not disappoint in this comedic tale of his early sex life, or lack thereof . . . . The account of his journey to sexual manhood is witty and entertaining and one to which any former sex-addled adolescent (male or female) will relate.” — Publishers Weekly on Superstud

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“The Cecil has a macabre reputation… Price’s colorful disclosures as well as her descriptions of the vagaries of life in the hospitality industry’s seedier corners will likely intrigue readers… Many readers will be entertained.” — Booklist "True-crime and tabloid fans will devour this spicy tell-all." — Library Journal

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“At some point in every life, we are faced with a challenge that we think we can’t overcome. This book should be required reading for anyone wanting to understand how to trust in the light even at the darkest times. Drawing on her own grit, grace and gratitude - not to mention a deep and abiding faith - Nicole Avant has gifted us a roadmap out of the darkness of her own profound loss and into a life filled with meaning, purpose and service." — Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Think Like A Monk “Nicole Avant gives a raw and courageous look into how she found the light in her darkest moment. She reminds us that that grief is different for everyone, and we have the power to move through it in our own unique way.” — Cleo Wade, New York Times Bestselling author In Think You'll Be Happy: Living with Grit, Grace and Gratitude, Nicole Avant brilliantly weaves through her family's story and her mother's tragic death, some of the most important cultural themes at this moment in our history — faith, forgiveness, resilience, service and redemption — and she does it all with grace and with the gift of a born storyteller.” — Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global

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Book SynopsisRick Stein's passion for using good-quality local produce and his talent for creating delicious flavour combinations in his books and restaurants have won him a host of awards, accolades and fans. As well as presenting a number of television series, he has published many best-selling cookery books, including French Odyssey, Coast to Coast, Far Eastern Odyssey and Rick Stein's Spain.Rick is a firm supporter of sustainable fishing techniques and farming, which he strives to maintain in Padstow, Cornwall, where he runs an acclaimed restaurant and a seafood cookery school, as well as a delicatessen, patisserie and hotel. In 2003 Rick was awarded an OBE for services to West Country tourism. He divides his time between Padstow and Australia, which he regards as his second home. Rick and his wife Sarah are co-owners of Rick Stein at Bannisters, Mollymook, NSW.Trade ReviewStein’s brilliant memoir traces his halcyon days spent in Australia, culminating on his home turf, Cornwall. -- The Daily Telegraph * The Daily Telegraph *Dealing with his father's suicide by heading for the outback, catching a freighter from New Zealand to New York, running a nightclub: Stein has plenty to talk about before he gets to fish restaurants in Padstow and becoming a fixture of food TV. His fine autobiography never shies away from that defining tragedy and how it rippled through his life, even revealing his sudden need, last summer, to swim to the Cornish cliffs where his dad died. -- Allan Jenkins and Gareth Grundy * The Observer Food Monthly *

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Book SynopsisBorn in 1931, the illegitimate child of an abandoned mother, Thomas Bernhard was brought up by an eccentric grandmother and adored grandfather. Tormented as a young student in a right-wing, catholic Austria, Bernhard ran away from home aged fifteen. At eighteen he contracted pneumonia. Placed in a hospital ward for the old and terminally ill, he observed with unflinching acuity protracted suffering and death. From the age of 21, everything he wrote was shaped by the urgency of a dying man''s testament - his witness, the quintessence of his life and knowledge - and where this account of his life ends, his art begins.Trade ReviewA writer of great originality and fascination * New York Review of Books *Breathless, relentlessly compulsive... A remarkable literary contribution * New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisJosé Saramago is one of the most important international writers of the last hundred years. Born in Portugal in 1922, he was in his sixties when he came to prominence as a writer with the publication of Baltasar and Blimunda. A huge body of work followed, translated into more than forty languages, and in 1998 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Saramago died in June 2010.Trade ReviewThe voice of Small Memories is so immediate, genial and full of simple affection for the boy he was, that reading it feels very much like sharing a fireside with a talkative uncle * Guardian *A moving account of his childhood and adolescence...Small Memories will delight -- Raymond Carr * The Spectator *A real insight into the making of a great writer * Independent *It's impossible not to be charmed by this fluid, spontaneous-seeming memoir of boyhood from the late Portuguese Nobel Laureate, Jose Saramago [...] For all its delightful novelty, however, the childhood described here is also beguilingly universal: the superstitions and terrors, the mysteries and joys * Daily Mail *A powerful and nostalgic memoir * The Times *

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Book SynopsisIn It''s Only a Movie, the incomparable Mark Kermode takes us into the weird world of a life lived in widescreen. Join him as he gets lost in Russia on the trail of a low-budget horror flick, gasp as he''s shot at in Hollywood while interviewing Bavarian director Werner Herzog, cheer as he gets thrown out of the Cannes film festival for heckling in very bad French, and cringe as he''s handbagged by Helen Mirren at London''s glitzy BAFTA Awards. Written with sardonic wit and wry good humour, this compelling cinematic memoir is genuinely ''inspired by real events''.Trade ReviewFilm criticism is rarely as much fun as Kermode, whether on the radio or in this hugely entertaining book -- David Hughes * Empire *A droll account of Kermode's rise to becoming the most prominent, and extravagantly quiffed, movie pundit in Britain -- Stephen Dalton * The Times *Bubbles with gleeful obsession * Reader's Digest *Breezy, entertaining ... certainly made me laugh * Independent *In an industry where serious film criticism is increasingly marginalised, we're lucky to have him -- Ali Catterall * Word *

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Book SynopsisThe youngest of seven children, Timothy Knatchbull read Social and Political Science at Cambridge. After ten years as a filmmaker, mostly at BBC television, he studied at Harvard's Kennedy School before spending two years in Washington DC with the Discovery Channel. He now runs a London media business and is married with five children.Trade ReviewFrom a Clear Blue Sky is a minute by minute story of what happened that day, and what happened afterwards. It is a proper four-hanky bawler, and the exactitude of the story is what makes it so moving ... He provides a convincing account of the extent to which he has been able to accept, forgive and move on. His narrative power is such that the reader can't always share his equanimity. It is a book that is as saddening as it is sad - but much more angering than it is angry * Daily Mail *This is an extremely moving book. Beyond providing a phenomenally detailed evocation of his own family's trauma, Knatchbull has lots of wise things to say about how we survive horrors - of all kinds - in our lives. He writes with great tenderness and an admirable lack of sentimentality -- Zoe HellerAffecting and intimate * Daily Mail *Testament to a remarkable, benevolent soul ... With this public love letter he has found a way to say goodbye * The Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis''Like Shakespeare, Dickens was able to embrace a whole world'' John MortimerWhen Charles Dickens set out for America in 1842, he was the most famous man of his day to make the journey, and embarked on his travels with an intense curiosity. His frank descriptions cover everything from his comically wretched sea voyage to his sheer astonishment at Niagara Falls, while he also visited hospitals, prisons and law courts. But Dickens''s depiction of America as a land ruled by money, built on slavery, with a corrupt press and unsavoury manners, provoked a hostile reaction on both sides of the Atlantic. American Notes is an illuminating account of a great writer''s revelatory encounter with the New World.Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Patricia InghamTable of ContentsEdited by Patricia InghamAcknowledgmentsA Dickens ChronologyIntroductionFurther ReadingA Note on the TextMapAMERICAN NOTESAppendix I: Dickens's Unpublished Introduction of 1842Appendix II: Dickens's Preface of 1850Appendix III: Dickens's Postscript of 1868

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Book SynopsisLong self-identified as a gay man, America's greatest playwright Williams' candour in his book about his love life, sexual encounters, and drug use was found shocking in and of itself. Here, more than thirty years later, Williams' look back at his life is not quite so scandalous as it once seemed.

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Book SynopsisIn Journey Through a Small Planet (1972), the writer Emanuel Litvinoff recalls his working-class Jewish childhood in the East End of London: a small cluster of streets right next to the city, but worlds apart in culture and spirit. With vivid intensity Litvinoff describes the overcrowded tenements of Brick Lane and Whitechapel, the smell of pickled herring and onion bread, the rattle of sewing machines and chatter in Yiddish. He also relates stories of his parents, who fled from Russia in 1914, his experiences at school and a brief flirtation with Communism. Unsentimental, vital and almost dream like, this is a masterly evocation of a long-vanished world.

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Book SynopsisMy Happy Days in Hell (1962) is Gyorgy Faludy''s grimly beautiful autobiography of his battle to survive tyranny and oppression. Fleeing Hungary in 1938 as the German army approaches, acclaimed poet Faludy journeys to Paris, where he finds a lover but merely a cursory asylum. When the French capitulate to the Nazis, Faludy travels to North Africa, then on to America, where he volunteers for military service. Missing his homeland and determined to do the right thing, he returns - only to be imprisoned, tortured, and slowly starved, eventually becoming one of only twenty-one survivors of his camp.Trade ReviewA man whose moral compass in all the great questions of the twentieth century has never deviated from the correct direction, no matter what the cost to himself * Telegraph *Confronts the monoliths of 20th century totalitarianism and, surprisingly, triumphs. * London Review of Books *[The series] sheds remarkable light on the literature, culture and politics of the region...anyone coming fresh to the field will be captivated by the richness, variety, humour and pathos of a classic literature that, through a shared historical experience, transcends national and linguistic boundaries. -- CJ Schüler * Independent on Sunday *This [series] is a wonderful idea ... They are absurdist parables, by turns hilarious, unsettling and enigmatic. -- Nicholas Lezard * Guardian *I urge you to go and read them. -- Adam Thirlwell * New Statesman *This new series of Central European Classics is important well beyond simply providing 'good reads'. -- Stephen Vizinczey * Daily Telegraph *

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

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Book SynopsisA mesmerising, chilling close-up portrayal of Stalin from Milovan Djilas, a Communist insider - with an introduction from Anne Applebaum, author of Gulag and Iron CurtainThis extraordinarily vivid and unnerving book three meetings held with Stalin during and after the Second World War. Djilas brilliantly describes the dictator in his lair - cunning, cruel, enormously talented. Few books give as clear a sense of what made Stalin such a compelling figure and how he was able to hypnotise and terrify those around him. Djilas also describes the key members of Stalin''s court: Beria, Malenkov, Zhukov, Molotov and Khruschchev. The result is a gripping account of the ruler at the height of his fame and power.

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Book SynopsisDiscover the many wonders of the hedgehog: a funny, charming creature of the countryside. Carrying its secrets beneath patterned spinesand roaming our fields, parks and gardens, why is it that the hedgehog fascinates so many of us? In A Prickly Affair, Hugh Warwick - life member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society - explores the quirky humour, misunderstanding and affection that characterises our feelings for this marvellous beast, going all out to explain the charm of the hedgehog. Although hedgehog psychics and the International Hedgehog Olympics may be too much even for him...Trade ReviewThis gem ... is much more than a sentimental journey through hoggyland—Ann WiddecombeSave the hedgehog and save the world—IndepedentHumorous, touching and obsessive—New ScientistFunny, generous, kind, learned, thoughtful, ecologically minded and - this is quite important, actually - unsentimental ... It achieves its purpose: and in its charm lies its success—Nicholas Lezard, Guardian

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Book SynopsisIn this insightful memoir Lennie Goodings takes the reader behind the scenes at Virago, the feminist press that she has led for twenty years. Moving from Virago's early days of independence, through its various commercial incarnations, the author reflects on idealistic publishing and how it feels to be a beacon for change.Trade ReviewAn immersive, lovingly written memoir, whose story resonates beyond publishing. * Johanna Thomas-Corr, The Sunday Times *An inspiring book. * Sarah Baxter, The Sunday Times *Pensive and surprisingly poignant...this book glows with the gratitude of doing [the work of an editor], and in doing so, finding oneself occupying a front seat to feminist history...It's a memoir that doesn't merely look backward, but in its form, in all its limitations, gestures at the work to be done. It's a memoir of a Virago reader. * Parul Sehgal, New York Times *Moving and hugely inspiring ... As a cultural history, A Bite of the Apple is clear. As a reminder of female artists' ongoing fight for space and respect, it's necessary. As a riff on writers and writing, it's essential. * Bidisha, The Observer *What Goodings is so good at drawing out are the interrelations between various social and political movements and their correlatives in publishing and literature. Not only does she recover Virago's story, but she loops in the narratives of various authors and movements, building up a rich and textured historical fabric ... An inspiring, entertaining and insightful read, full of the energy and fervour of hard-won wisdom. * Seán Hewitt, The Irish Times *This history has it all: boardroom wrangles, bestsellers, legendary authors ... fascinating stuff on the complex alchemy of talent, political fashion and marketability that propels certain authors forward at certain times, and the loving effort and attention involved in editing a manuscript. * Melissa Benn, New Statesman *What runs through A Bite of the Apple, unifying it and contributing to its charm, is the passion for books you'd expect, but also an impressive idealism about the ways in which the published word can change society and help readers to become the people they want to be. * Mark Bostridge, The Spectator *This little book is as candid and charming as its cover ... One of the most interesting chapters relates to the craft closest to editor Goodings' heart, the craft of editing and the complex relationship between editor and author. * Jane Hailé, New York Journal of Books *[Goodings'] thoughts on the great industry issues of the day are well worth reading. * DJ Taylor, Literary Review *A Bite of the Apple feels effortless, and so alive to the conversations about women's rights today ... [Goodings'] voice is engaging and full of warmth. * Julie Vuong, BookBrunch *Goodings' account of her life at the inkface vividly, and with immediacy, transports us from those poky London rooms where the mouse that roared was born, into the realpolitik of international publishing. * The Sydney Morning Herald *Consistently fascinating ... a book that shows how Virago transformed the world. * Colin Oehring, The Saturday Paper *Fascinating and beautifully written. * Dan Carrier, Camden New Journal *Informative, lively, reflective, and somehow a poignant mix of honest, generous, and forgiving. * Simon, Shiny New Books *All an apple should be: crisp, tart but sweet, steeped in mysterious history and tangled symbolism, and not a bad missile when it comes to alleyway combat. Oh, and delicious! * Margaret Atwood, on Twitter *There is so very much to enjoy -and learn about- in this engaging book. We meet a young Lennie from Canada, in love with books, who lands a job at Virago and over the years survives and steers many of its changes to ensure its safety and vibrancy. Along the way, we track the changes in the publishing industry, feminist practice, and encounter the magnificence of Virago authors. A wonderful memoir and such a great read. * Susie Orbach *An indispensable piece of feminist history; nothing less than the exciting story of how women found their voice and made society listen. I enjoyed it hugely. * Caroline Criado Perez *Lively, frank, fascinating and above all, inspiring. A celebration of boldness: of wanting something better and making change happen. * Sarah Waters *Behind every great book there is a great editor. And behind every feminist press, a remarkable set of women. Lennie Goodings is one of both. * Sarah Dunant *A fascinating, charming and sometimes fierce, but always beguiling memoir... A celebration of the power of women supporting women. * Kate Mosse *Enthralling ...the best book I've read on publishing since Diana Athill's Stet. * Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller *Table of ContentsPreface Part One: A New Kind of Being 1: First Bites: The early years 2: Setting the world on fire 3: The acceptable face of feminism? Why not! Part Two: The Books 4: The Virago Modern Classics 5: Fuck the Patriarchy!: Nonfiction 6: What Stories Can Do: Fiction Part Three: The Politics: office and otherwise 7: The Dramas 8: Disrupting the old stories 9: Beyond Borders 10: Up, Down and Up Again Part Four: The Power to Publish is a Wonderful Thing 11: The Intimacy of Editing 12: Does any other successful publisher get asked constantly if they are still necessary? 13: Why can't a man read like a woman? 14: Giving and taking courage

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Book SynopsisA wide-ranging collection of essays from a celebrated master of the form.Trade Review"He takes in news from African countries and American cities; but also, by necessity and interest, Asian, European and Latin American culture and history. In short, the world belongs to Cole and is thornily and gloriously allied with his curiosity and his personhood."-- "Claudia Rankine, New York Times Book Review, on Known and Strange Things" "The forms of resistance depend on the culture they resist, and in our era of generalizations and approximations and sloppiness, Teju Cole's precise and vivid observation and description is an antidote and a joy. This is a book written with a scalpel, a microscope, and walking shoes, full of telling details and sometimes big surprises."-- "Rebecca Solnit, on Known and Strange Things" "[Teju Cole is] an emissary for our best selves. He is sampling himself for our benefit, hoping for enlightenment, and seeking to provide pleasure to us through his art. May his realm expand." -- "Norman Rush, New York Review of Books, on Known and Strange Things" "The places he can go, you feel, are just about limitless." -- "Dwight Garner, New York Times, on Every Day Is for the Thief"Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Part One After Caravaggio Part Two: Elegies Room 406 Mama’s Shroud Four Elegies Two Elegies A Letter to John Berger A Quartet for Edward Said Part Three: Shadows Gossamer World: On Santu Mofokeng An Incantation for Marie Cosindas Pictures in the Aftermath Shattered Glass What Does It Mean to Look at This? A Crime Scene at the Border Shadow Cabinet: On Kerry James Marshall Nighted Color: On Lorna Simpson The Blackness of the Panther Restoring the Darkness Part Four: Coming to Our Senses Experience Epiphany Ethics Part Five: In a Dark Time A Time for Refusal Resist, Refuse Through the Door Passages North On Carrying and Being Carried Epilogue Black Paper Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"How the fractal nature of grief is both the key to understanding it and the doorway to moving through it is what mathematician Frame explores in his unusual book Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics, Loss, and Life. After twenty years of working with the visionary father of fractals and another twenty years of teaching fractal geometry at Yale, Frame draws on a lifetime of loss and a lifetime of delicate attention to the details of aliveness we call beauty to interleave memoir and mathematics in an uncommon tapestry of thought, twining Borges and quantum mechanics, evolutionary biology and Islamic art, music and multiverse theory. . . . Attentiveness to beauty is the instrument of transcendence—that essential facet of Frame’s geometry of grief and readjustment." -- Maria Popova * The Marginalian *"Frame has written a poignant and beautiful book. . . . Treat yourself to the wisdom of this sweet, gentle soul." -- Steven Strogatz * @stevenstrogatz *"Frame's new book, Geometry of Grief, suggests that thinking about fractals—and thinking geometrically, in general—can help us process life's most difficult moments... Zooming out instead of in, we might see our individual griefs as small versions of other tragedies in the world. Maybe, Frame says, thinking of grief as a fractal can inspire empathy and lead us to channel our sadness into helping others." * Boston Globe *"This brief, intriguing personal meditation is inspired by mathematician Michael Frame’s lifelong love of geometry — including 20 years’ collaboration with fractal geometer Benoit Mandelbrot — and the childhood loss of his aunt, who set him on his career path. He writes: 'Grief informs geometry and geometry informs grief.' How so? His epiphany on first understanding any beautiful mathematical idea is always tinged with sadness, because it is unrepeatable. With quirky illustrations, he integrates the lives of his Mom and Dad." * Nature *"The word fractal, from the Latin fractus meaning 'broken glass,' was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot, who brought mathematics closer to nature by showing that iterating a simple geometric pattern can result in complex, rough-edged, and beautiful shapes. In Geometry of Grief, Frame, a former colleague of Mandelbrot’s at Yale, aims to unite maths with our lived experience still further by showing how fractals both inform and can help us cope with the experience of irreversible loss. . . . Ambitious and moving.” * Times Literary Supplement *"Frame has written a wonderful memoir. Combining his passion for mathematics and his mastery of the geometry of fractals, in this text he seeks to educate, encourage, and inspire readers in a personal way. Identifying grief as irreversible, Frame makes surprising connections to foundational mathematical concepts such as continuity and self-similarity. . . . Here, he elucidates the foundational intertwining of science and grief in his own life through deeply and surprisingly personal stories from lived experience. Weaving together references from literature, art, popular culture, and mathematics, Frame clarifies the transcendence found through grief as a universal human experience. The text offers a wealth of resources for curious readers and is a must have for the bookshelf of any mathematics teacher who wants to inspire curiosity in students or relate with empathy to a student suffering loss. This book will be a wonderful addition to any advanced or graduate-level seminar, and preprofessionals in mathematics education will certainly benefit from exploring the book's diverse fields of discourse. Highly recommended." * Choice *"Frame writes: ‘Times folds up. So many ghosts crowd into my head. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, dear friends, students… And far too many cats.’ Live long enough oneself and one realizes that half or more of one’s friends and relatives have departed the planet, ‘summoned,’ as the poet Robert Southey had it, ‘on the grand tour of the universe,’ before one. One lives with it, saddened yet grateful oneself still to be in the game. Yet some holes never successfully fill up." * Commentary *“With poignancy and audacity, Frame builds an unexpected bridge between mathematical beauty and human sorrow, illuminating both.” -- Francis Su, author of "Mathematics for Human Flourishing"“I expected to enjoy the experience of thinking in fresh ways with Frame about grief—and encountering his love of cats, really of all nature, made manifest on the page. What blew me away were the exciting new connections among love, grief, beauty, and resilience that flowered in my mind as I read. Immersed in Frame’s world of geometry, including fractals, and its applications to real-world emotions, I sometimes felt afloat in a mysterious, and always inviting, dream. It’s a beautiful place for all of us to spend time.” -- Barbara J. King, author of "How Animals Grieve"“With concision and compassion, Frame shows how a mathematical mind makes sense of a grieving heart. The result is a peculiar, wise, and beautiful book.” -- Ben Orlin, author of "Math with Bad Drawings" and "Change Is the Only Constant"“A unique, meaningful, and moving work that connects the irreversibility of loss that comes with grief and the irreversibility of first deeply understanding something—particularly something mathematical.” -- Susan Jane Colley, Oberlin College, editor of "American Mathematical Monthly"“Captured perfectly an experience that I've long tried to put into words but couldn't—the nostalgic sense that comes immediately after a discovery. It's astonishing how so many important ideas come to us in an almost dream-like state, fully formed and with a hazy beauty that somehow falls away when we more fully work out to implications of that idea and put it into words and onto paper; the whole process makes the idea more real but somehow less charming." -- Christina Stankey, medical student and former student of Michael Frame“Frame believes everyone can fall in love with math if it’s presented with empathy and humor and clarity and context. He portrays math as math-lovers know it: a beautiful garden, a place of curiosity and delight, a tribute to human creativity and the wonders of nature.” -- Steven Strogatz, from the foreword to "Fractal Worlds"Table of ContentsPrologue 1 Geometry 2 Grief 3 Beauty 4 Story 5 Fractal 6 Beyond Appendix: More Math Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWith a car chase, violence and beautiful women, it reads like a thriller * The Sunday Times *The Gypsy Code [is] about how he turned from staunch critic of the travelling community to one who saw the good in them - and, for a while, even became one of them. It is a story of his road to redemption but what changed his mind? In a word: love * Daily Express *A violent underworld feud, car chases, petrol bombings and court cases, to being offered a home by gypsies, Mike Woodhouse's eventful life sounds like the plot of a novel . . . [an] incredible riches to rags story * Diss Mercury *

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