Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisA riveting true-life tale of newspaper noir and Japanese organised crime from an American investigative journalist. Now a Max Original Series on HBO Max----------EITHER ERASE THE STORY, OR WE'LL ERASE YOU. AND MAYBE YOUR FAMILY. BUT WE'LL DO THEM FIRST, SO YOU LEARN YOUR LESSON BEFORE YOU DIE.From the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police press club: a unique, first-hand, revelatory look at Japanese culture from the underbelly up.At nineteen, Jake Adelstein went to Japan in search of peace and tranquility. What he got was a life of crime . . . crime reporting, that is, at the prestigious Yomiuri Shinbun. Working eighty-hour weeks for twelve years, he covered the seedy side of Japan, where extortion, murder, human trafficking and corruption are as familiar as ramen noodles and sake. But when his final scoop brought him face-to-face with Japan's most infamous yakuza boss - and the threat of death for him and his family - Adelstein decided to step down . . . momentarily. Then, he fought back.With its visceral descriptions and detailed exploration of the modern-day yakuza, Tokyo Vice is a deeply thought-provoking book: equal parts cultural exposé, true crime and hard-boiled noir.'Expertly told and highly entertaining' GEORGE PELECANOS, writer and producer of The Wire'Sacred, ferocious, and businesslike, Adelstein describes the Japanese mafia like nobody else' ROBERTO SAVIANO, author of Gomorrah'Gripping and absorbing . . . A terrifying, deeply moral story that you cannot put down' MISHA GLENNY, author of McMafiaTrade ReviewTerrific. With gallows humour and a hard-boiled voice, Adelstein takes readers on a shadow journey throught the Japanese underworld and examines the twisted relationships of journalists, cops, gangsters. Expertly told and highly entertaining.Sacred, ferocious, and businesslike, Adelstein describes the Japanese mafia like nobody else.Gripping and absorbing ... A terrifying, deeply moral story that you cannot put down.Hugely fascinating... utterly authentic. * Literary Review *Fascinating * Books Quarterly *thrilling * Financial Times *Hardcore * Jewish Chronicle *Gripping. * Catholic Herald *Fascinating. * James Cracknell, Daily Express *

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Book Synopsis'A beautiful and poetic meditation on loss, nature, and what matters in life.' - Nigel WarburtonFrom the BAFTA award-winning writer of The New Yorker short film, Heart ValleyKiran Sidhu never thought she could leave London, but when her mother passes away, she knows she has to walk out of her old life and leave her toxic family behind. She chooses fresh air, an auditorium of silence and the purity of the natural world - and soon arrives in Cellan, a small, remote village nestled in the Welsh valleys.At first, the barrenness and isolation is strange. But as the months wear on, Kiran starts to connect with the close-knit community she finds there; her neighbour Sarah, who shows her how to sledge when the winter snow arrives; Jane, a 70-year-old woman who lives at the top of a mountain with three dogs and four alpacas; and Wilf, the farmer who eats the same supper every day, and teaches Kiran that the cuckoo arrives in April and leaves in July. Tender, philosophical and moving, I Can Hear the Cuckoo is a story about redefining family, about rebirth and renewal, and respecting the rhythm and timing of the earth. It's a book about moving through grief and the people we find in the midst of our sadness - and what this small community in the Welsh countryside can teach us about life.

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Book SynopsisBones play a vital role in the body. They provide structure, protect organs and anchor muscles. Protecting bone health and preventing the early onset of osteoporosis is vital and easier than you think.The Bone-strength Plan guides the reader through the science behind bones and why osteoporosis and other bone diseases and problems occur; it looks at lifestyle measures to be taken such as weight management and explains the importance of the right kind of exercise – offering easy workouts that can be done at home. Featuring key ingredients and nutrients that are needed for bone health, there are 30 easy and delicious recipes making this book a comprehensive plan for increasing the strength of your bones.Table of ContentsThe Science: Bone basics; How bones grow and repair; Bones and hormones; What is osteoporosis; Factors that influence bone health. Lifestyle: Exercise; Sunshine; Weight; Good and bad habits. Nutrition: Key nutrients for bone health; Other helpful foods; Food and drinks to limit; Alkaline and acid foods. Recipes: Snacks; Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner.

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Book Synopsis'This country is like a little island, where the people live so happily, as if nothing was wrong with the world...' When Ralph Brewster wrote those lines, in the summer of 1943, Hungary's involvement in WWII was still barely felt in Budapest. Less than a year later the Nazis took over. Born an American but given Italian nationality as a child (the 'Wrong Passport' of the title) Brewster refused to return 'home' to Italy to fight for Mussolini. Instead he went into hiding in Budapest and his story of life in a country at war, resorting to ever more desperate measures to dodge detection, makes fascinating reading. As Fascists tighten their grip and the Soviets begin their advance, the once-carefree city of coffee houses, concert halls and thermal baths is torn apart and Brewster's world disintegrates, together with that of his extraordinary cast of characters: the Archimandrite, the art-dealer spy, the cinema impresario, the Jewish philosophy student who refuses to wear the yellow star and the real-life 'English Patient'. Originally published in 1954, Wrong Passport is reissued now for the first time by Blue Danube. With extensive notes bringing the context and historic background to life and tracing the subsequent fortunes of Brewster and his friends.

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Book SynopsisMy Life as a Commercial Diver is an autobiography following the author'spath from finding his way into commercial diving, firstly inshore andlater offshore in the oilfield both in the UK and overseas. We followhis journey diving with air, mixed gas including saturation as wellas atmospheric diving suits.

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Book SynopsisA young woman spends a month taking the waters at a thermal water-based rehabilitation facility in Budapest. On her return to London, she attempts to continue her recovery using an 80 pound inflatable blue bathtub. The tub becomes a metaphor for the intrusion of disability; a trip hazard in the middle of an unsuitable room, slowly deflating and in constant danger of falling apart. Sanatorium moves through contrasting spaces - bathtub to thermal pool, land to water, day to night - interlacing memoir, poetry and meditations on the body to create a mesmerising, mercurial debut. 'There is a dreamlike quality to Abi Palmer's exquisite Sanatorium. In lucid, gorgeous prose, she tells the story of a body, of illness and of navigating the complicated wellness industry, but ultimately this is a book about what it means to be alive. A striking, experimental debut that will stay with me.' Sinéad Gleeson Shortlisted for The Barbellion Prize 2020Trade Review'There is a dreamlike quality to Abi Palmer's exquisite Sanatorium. In lucid, gorgeous prose, she tells the story of a body, of illness and of navigating the complicated wellness industry; but ultimately this is a book about what it means to be alive. A striking, experimental debut that will stay with me.' Sinead Gleeson; 'Sanatorium is such an intricately structured book, combining memoir and poetry to hypnotic effect. Palmer creates a space entirely new and oddly familiar - embodied, startlingly direct and, by turns, claustrophobic and expansive. A prayer, a spell, a confession, a vision; the book morphs like the chronic pain it meticulously portrays with the clarity and confusion of an hallucination vs the confusion and clarity of life precisely observed with wit and intelligence. An urgent debut, alight with ideas - I loved every page.'Luke Kennard; 'I'm blown away... a sharp, original evocation of chronic pain, the strangeness of being in a body, and the incomprehension and sometimes cruelty of the able bodied.' Rebecca Tamas;'The states of physical and metaphysical are so well drawn, they capture an essence of what it can be like to not be of this world while your body is firmly under the influence of gravity ... This is a beautifully constructed book full of important thoughts, lyrical poetry and prose, and stunning imagery that immerses the reader entirely.'Louise Kenward, Spooniehacker; 'Memoir and poetry in a mesmerising debut' David Nicholls

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Book SynopsisIn 2017, Simon Moreton's father fell suddenly ill and died. His death sent the author back to his childhood home in rural Shropshire trying to process his grief by revisiting his family's time as transplants to the countryside. The story centres around Titterstone Clee Hill, and Caynham, the nearby village in which the author lived as a child. There are tales of empty mansions, of being bullied; cooking with his Dad, messing around with his brother, exploring forests; being an adult faced with an ill father; history and folklore of the Clee Hills; of high-society scandals, prejudice and fear; industrial decline and automation; haunted cliff faces; working on a radar station; of being a kid, of hospitals, of growing old, of the seasons passing, of his family, of his father and his kindnesses; of how he became whatever it is he was, and how this big hill was a backdrop to so much of it. In a memoir that that combines prose, illustration, photos, archival texts, and more, Where? weaves a gentle story that slips and slides in time and geography, creating connections across geographies, histories, families, times, and circumstance all to answer the question - 'where are you from?' Where? is more than a graphic novel, it is a treatise on grief, on childhood, nature, and belonging. It is a challenge to think differently about what it means to be 'from' somewhere, and how the political urgency of early twenty-first century living needs us to be more critical of our stories, reclaiming what is valuable to us from the grip of those who would take our histories and use them for division and exploitation.

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Book SynopsisThe author, a professional conservationist, tells his own stories of truely exhilarating encounters of British wildlife, especially birds, while working as a nature warden.

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Book SynopsisAUTHOR OF INTERSTATE, STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016"Julian's tales of weaving through the streets of London on two wheels bring to life the gig economy, showing how things have changed in the modern workforce but have also stayed the same. Messengers gives the reader insights on what goes on behind the grand lobbies of the UK's banks and large companies, to see the people who really make business work" Financial TimesMessengers sees Julian Sayarer return to work as a London bicycle courier, after six months cycling around the world. From saddle and kerbside, his stories of delivering flowers to politicians, and administration notices to banks toppled by the financial crisis, make for a social history of a less seen city, written from the perspective of someone stuck in one of London's most insecure and poorly paid jobs.Underneath the deliveries, we meet London's bicycle messengers, a family drawn from jaded graduates, jailbirds and recovering drug addicts. The riders all share their brushes with the law, struggles on the breadline and compete together in alleycat races, forming an unlikely but tender community upon the streets.With a bicycle the one constant that seems to make sense of everything else, Messengers is a two-wheeled portrait of everyday life in a modern city at the start of the twenty-first century."Sayarer is a precise and passionate writer . . . The vast energy of his commitment to discover, observe and communicate makes for engrossing, often incandescent prose. We need writers who will go all the way for a story, and tell it with fire. Sayarer is a marvellous example" HORATIO CLARE

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Book SynopsisAt the age of fifty, towards the end of the First World War, W. H. Davies decided that he must marry. Spurning London society and the literary circles where he had been lionised since the publication of his Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, he set about looking for the right partner on the streets of London. Young Emma is a moving and revealing memoir told with disarming honesty and humour. Davies records his life with three women: from his affair with Bella, the wife of a Sergeant Major, to his year-long liaison with the gentle Louise, to the turbulent brushes with a society woman who fears for her own life at his hands. He finally meets Emma, then pregnant, at a bus-stop on the Edgware Road. This is the story of their love affair.Trade Review"Young Emma is a masterpiece, and stranger than any fiction" Sunday Telegraph "Classic... remarkable... an extraordinary manuscript" The Observer "An extraordinary memoir destined to become a classic" Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisOver a hundred years ago Somerville and Ross galloped across the pages of popular Irish literature writing of horses, hunts and high jinks. Today, Wexford based Patrick Donegall has taken over their reins to record the Ireland of his youth. An Ireland that has almost, but not quite, disappeared.

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Book Synopsis'What a nutjob!' - Geoff Dyer'Questions that occurred to me as I read this brilliant, baffling book: What the hell is this? Who the hell is this? Is this poetry?' - Tom BissellCan civilization save us from ourselves? That is the question J. D. Daniels asks in his first book, a series of six letters written during dark nights of the soul. Working from his own highly varied experience – as a janitor, night watchman, adjunct professor, drunk, exterminator, dutiful son –he considers how far books and learning and psychoanalysis can get us, and how much we’re stuck in the mud.In prose wound as tight as a copper spring, Daniels takes us from the highways of his native Kentucky to the Balearic Islands and from the Pampas of Brazil to the rarefied precincts of Cambridge, Massachusetts. His travelling companions include psychotic kindergarten teachers, Israeli sailors, and Southern Baptists on fire for Christ. In each dispatch, Daniels takes risks – not just literary (voice, tone, form) but also more immediate, such as spending two years on a Brazilian jiu-jitsu team (he gets beaten to a pulp, repeatedly) or participating in group psychoanalysis (where he goes temporarily insane). Daniels is that rare thing, a writer completely in earnest whose wit never deserts him, even in extremis. Inventive, intimate, restless, streetwise and erudite, The Correspondence introduces a brave and original observer of the inner life under pressure.Trade ReviewTightly written, often brilliant… Alive with deft asides and daring intuitive leaps. Daniels is a very good writer, and [this is] a very good book… The self is the well from which all these essays are drawn; or perhaps it’s the sewer into which all these essays drain… A complete work about a work-in-progress, the self-portrait of a writer slowly coming into his own. -- J Robert Lennon * Guardian *What a nutjob! Increasingly these three words constitute my highest praise for – almost my ideal of – a writer, and in this regard J. D. Daniels takes the biscuit. I love the way he throws out everything, both in the sense of throwing it all at us, and the opposite: discarding everything that might be deemed necessary to the seemly construction of narrative. So The Correspondence gives us the best of both worlds. -- Geoff DyerThe Correspondence gives off the unmistakable crackle of an original writer who has found a new form. It's hard to say who or what is meant to be on the receiving end of these “letters”, but if you care about modern life you need to read them. -- John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of PULPHEADThe Correspondence is one of the best things I’ve read in a long time, a whole new music that changes the score of masculinity, and a new kind of writing too, one that pushes form and sentence into radical, contemporary shapes. The word ‘honesty’ has become something of an irritant in contemporary literary culture: J. D. Daniels does something more moral than be simply honest. He invokes the grandeur and abasement of experience with a tactility of language that makes a psychological landscape of it, rather as the ancient Greeks did, and his notions of justice and truth are as richly textured as theirs. I have lent this slim, meaningful book to one person after another, and received the confirmation that it has changed their view of the world with its economy, its potency, its different fall of light. -- Rachel Cusk, author of TRANSITDaniels sees what others don't, feels what others won't, and writes what others can't. He is a blazing virtuoso of the English sentence, an oracle with a vulnerable and willing heart, and he has produced a shockingly perfect book. -- Sarah Manguso, author of ONGOINGNESSQuestions that occurred to me as I read this brilliant, baffling book: What the hell is this? Who the hell is this? Is this poetry? How can that sentence be so good? Can I steal that later? In 130 pages, Daniels shows you just about everything great prose can do. Books like this are why I read. -- Tom Bissell, author of APOSTLEJ.D. Daniels's The Correspondence is an epic in fragments: masterly, comic, wise, daring. It is a book for everyone, from Kentucky to Cambridge to Kathmandu, though as a reader you may feel that Daniels is trafficking in secrets, meant for you alone. It is occult. It is so strong, it will melt the books on the shelves around it. This is a book that will become a legend, introducing one of the very best writers in the country. If I could thrust it into every true reader's hands, I would. -- Mark Greif, author of THE AGE OF THE CRISIS OF MANThrough the speed and shocking cuts of his prose, Daniels shows us what it is to be a writer now. Each of these six letters is a modern expression of Baudelaire's tortured prayer: “O Lord God grant me the grace to produce a few good verses, which shall prove to myself that I am not the lowest of men, that I am not inferior to those whom I despise.” -- Michael Clune, author of GAMELIFEJ.D. Daniels is a scourge to an America drunk on fraudulent images of masculinity and to a literary scene enamored of dainty exhibitionism. A writer so rigorously on guard against complacency that he's likely to take any compliment paid him like a slap in the face. -- Marco Roth, author of THE SCIENTISTSMasculinity as vulnerable, smelly smackdown, personal failure as syntactic delight: in this volatile, brilliant collection, Daniels recollects in not-quite tranquility a series of synesthesiac rearrangements of the self. The riveting swerves of his sentences and of his geographic and spiritual wanderings will make you keep asking what “here” might be. These essays pay tribute to “the world… our common property”. -- Lisa Cohen, author of ALL WE KNOWDaniels’ book, a slip of a thing, is a hard one to pin down. But pin it down you should… Darker, fiercer, funnier… His is a strange, addictive voice, impossible to categorise. You won’t read another book like it. -- Miranda Collinge * Esquire *Daniels writes in a splendidly self-deprecating way while describing how martial arts took over his life (Brazilian jiu-jitsu, if you must know), about leaving the teaching profession because “I wanted to kill and eat the children who had been entrusted to my care” and of his reintroduction to his home state of Kentucky. Some would call him glib, but it’s an ironic pseudo-glibness which acknowledges pain and regret but isn’t going to let them get in the way of a good story. The Correspondence may be a tricky book to define, but what’s easier to discern from it is the emergence of a distinctive new voice worth listening to. * Herald Scotland *

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Book SynopsisA graphic memoir like no other: the true story of a marriage in China that spanned the twentieth century, told in vibrant, original paintings and prose.WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN AWARDRao Pingru was a twenty-six-year-old soldier when he first saw the beautiful Mao Meitang. One glimpse of her through a window as she put on lipstick was enough to capture Pingru’s heart. It was a moment that sparked a union that would last almost sixty years.But when Meitang passed away in 2008, Pingru realised that their marriage and all the small moments and memories of a life together, would be lost to history. And so at the age of eighty-eight, in an outpouring of love and grief, Pingru began to paint.Our Story is a memorial to Pingru and Meitang’s epic romance, told through Pingru’s exquisitely detailed paintings and handwritten notes. We see Pingru and Meitang through the decades, through both poverty and good fortune, and as they grow so too does China: the nation undergoing political turmoil and seismic cultural change. A tale both tragic and inspiring, of enduring love and simple values, Our Story is an old-fashioned romance that unfolds within the rush of a rapidly changing nation. A love letter, a work of folk art and a historical testament, Our Story is a truly unique graphic memoir.'A beautifully warm, personal, human story of life, love and family' Forbidden PlanetTrade ReviewA deeply moving love letter… Almost every page is gorgeously illustrated with his enchanting, sometimes heartbreaking paintings * Asia Review of Books *Pingru, [at age] 95, makes his literary debut with a charming memoir illustrated with his own evocative watercolors... A graceful, gently told narrative of contentment and resilience * Kirkus Reviews *Thanks to the persuasive power of its humane and humorous author, Our Story is as hard to resist as the great, rich, rambling serial narratives of the oral storytellers who travelled from one Chinese village to another -- Hilary Spurling * The Spectator *His pictures tell expressively of his talent for observation but also of his capacity for happiness… A wonderful book, full of energy and curiosity -- Muriel Zagha * Elephant *A beautifully warm, personal, human story of life, love and family * Forbidden Planet *

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Book SynopsisWhat does it mean to lose your roots within your culture, within your family? And what happens when you find them? Nicole Chung was born severely premature, placed for adoption by her Korean parents, and raised by a white family in a sheltered Oregon town. From childhood, she heard the story of her adoption as a comforting, pre-packaged myth. She believed that her biological parents had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hope of giving her a better life, that forever feeling slightly out of place was her fate as a transracial adoptee. But as Nicole grew up - facing prejudice her adoptive family couldn't see, finding her identity as an Asian American and as a writer - she began to wonder if the story she'd been told was the whole truth. With warmth, candor, and startling insight, Nicole Chung tells of her search for the people who gave her up. All You Can Ever Know is a profound, moving chronicle of surprising connections, and family secrets.

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Book Synopsis'We were just sacks of flesh existing as punchbags for their rage, or toys for their entertainment'Chris Wild lost his dad aged 11, leaving him to grow up in the care system. There, he witnessed the incessant physical and sexual abuse of children, with the only escape leading to the streets. So many others like him, failed by the systems put in place to protect them, ended up with nothing but drink, drugs, prostitution and crime as their normality.Later, working in a care home himself became the only way Chris could help, but he was shocked to discover little had changed and vulnerable children were still being failed. In Damaged, he shares heartbreaking memories of the care system along with the stories of all the boys, girls, men and women he met along the way - exposing why we must take action now to protect all of Britain's forgotten children.Trade ReviewA powerful book that pulls on your heartstrings * Denise Welch *Chris Wild's searing exposé of life in and around the children's care system in the early 1990s... this no-holds-barred, often distressingly graphic depiction of young lives lost to neglect and abuse in the north of England. The reader is at once moved, outraged and ashamed. Moved, because you would need a granite heart not to weep at the brutal destruction of innocence; outraged at how the perpetrators could get away with so much for so long, and how the system's indifference facilitated such horrors, and ashamed because chances are that you and I have, at some point, walked past and ignored these lost souls on the high street or in our local park...Read the book, get angry, and do anything and everything to ensure that, even in times of austerity and budget cuts, that those charged with caring for our nation's children remain scrutinised and accountable to the public. * outnewsglobal.com *

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Book SynopsisA pioneering cardiac surgeon expertly sews up the heart of surgery, the health of the nation, and the NHS. The Angina Monologues speeds from the transporting of a donor’s heart up the motorway hard shoulder, to cautionary stories of excessive intervention gone awry in US hospitals, to a traumatic trip to bring advanced cardiac surgery to the Palestinian West Bank. Nashef tells heart-stopping stories of transplants, coronary artery bypasses, aorta repair, and cardiac arrest. He also delivers humane advice about medical realities rarely observed: the futility of obsessing over diet, the necessity of calculating risks, the role of decision making, the resilience of doctor and patient alike, and the threadbare brilliance of the NHS. Nashef is a magnificently warm and likeable doctor and writer; and he has the best imaginable bedside manner.Trade Review‘Nashef's honest, unvarnished writing about his life and death work has given his readers new insights into the reality of life inside the operating theatre.’ -- Stephen Sackur * BBC World News HARDtalk *‘Enthralling and outspoken.’ -- Andrew Billen * The Times *‘It’s funny, sad, uplifting and hopeful. Samer Nashef’s writing style is easy for the lay person to understand (his description of how to do a heart transplant is unforgettable) but is also interesting to those who have some knowledge of cardiology ... Whether you work in medicine or are just interested in how heart problems can be corrected by surgery, this is a great read. I read this book in a couple of days because the stories were so varied and enthralling.’ * Sam Still Reading *Praise for The Naked Surgeon: ‘A Malcolm Gladwell-esque look at what happens in operating theatres … Nashef’s humanity and compassion shine through.’ * The Times *Praise for The Naked Surgeon: ‘One can’t help but think of Henry Marsh when reading Samer Nashef … [He] writes clearly, with plentiful moments of humour.’ * The Independent *Praise for The Naked Surgeon: ‘[The Naked Surgeon] takes a scalpel to the medical profession and asks if patients get the standard of care they have the right to expect from their surgeons … A valuable resource.’ * Irish Independent *

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Book Synopsis'Vital and heart-wrenchingly intimate' Leah Hazard'Urgent, fascinating and thought-provoking' Julia Bueno'Thoughtfully researched and beautifully written' Pippa VosperAfter losing four pregnancies with no obvious cause, Jennie Agg set out to understand why miscarriage remains such a profoundly misunderstood, under-researched and under-acknowledged experience.Part-memoir, part-scientific investigation, Life, Almost documents Agg's path to motherhood and her search for answers. Tracing each tentative step of her fifth pregnancy - as her body becomes a creature she does not wish to spook - Agg dismantles the myths that we unquestioningly accept about our reproductive lives:· Why are we told miscarriage can't be prevented when half of all miscarriages are of perfectly healthy embryos?· Why is it normal not to tell anyone you're pregnant for the first three months? · Why don't we know why labour starts? Drawing on pioneering research and interviews with world-leading experts, Life, Almost is a ground-breaking book that will change how you think about miscarriage, and a moving reflection on grief and love at the edge of life as we understand it.Trade Review'Vital and heart-wrenchingly intimate, this is the miscarriage manifesto we need'Leah Hazard, bestselling author of Hard Pushed'Beautiful, powerful and important ... Essential reading for anyone who lives in a world where miscarriage happens - a book for us all'Georgina Lucas, author of If Not For You'An urgent, fascinating and thought-provoking book that should pioneer new conversationsJulia Bueno, author of The Brink of Being'A thoughtfully researched and beautifully written book'Pippa Vosper, author of Beyond Grief'The perfect combination of informed personal experience and practical journalistic research. Highly recommended'Viv Groskop, author of How to Own the Room

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Book SynopsisAfter the 1993 Oslo Accords, a handful of Palestinians were allowed to return to their hometowns in Israel. Fida Jiryis and her family were among them. This beautifully written memoir tells the story of their journey, which is also the story of Palestine, from the Nakba to the presenta seventy-five-year tale of conflict, exodus, occupation, return and search for belonging, seen through the eyes of one writer and her family. Jiryis reveals how her father, Sabri, a PLO leader and advisor to Yasser Arafat, chose exile in 1970 because of his work. Her own childhood in Beirut was shaped by regional tensions, the Lebanese Civil War and the 1982 Israeli invasion, which led to her mother's death. Thirteen years later, the family made an unexpected return to Fassouta, their village of origin in the Galilee. But Fida, twenty-two years old and full of love for her country, had no idea what she was getting into. Stranger in My Own Land chronicles a desperate, at times surreal, search for a homel

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Book SynopsisA Palestinian activist recalls his adolescence in Gaza during the Second Intifada, and how he made a strong commitment to peace in the face of devastating brutality in this moving, candid, and transformative memoir that reminds us of the importance of looking beyond prejudice, anger, and fear.

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Book SynopsisR.M. Murray has a story. Quite a few of them. Of seasickness, hangovers, the wrong kind of weather. Of the joy of woe, and disappointments fairy-lit with hope. From fishing in the endless rain on the Isle of Lewis to performing in a band with Peter Capaldi and Craig Ferguson at Glasgow School of Art. A stargazer, looking through the wrong end of the telescope. This is a memoir... of sorts. A join-the-dots journey through a life. A series of vignettes and minor personal fables, sardonic and self-deprecating. If it were a wine it would be very dry with an insolent nose and a desperate finish. Complex but approachable. And affordable.Trade Review"A heartwarming trip through the ruins of youthful delusion, much of which I don't remember." Peter Capaldi; "Here we have the trampings of a slight Chaplinesque figure whose fickle fate seldom tires of tripping him up." Finlay MacLeod; "The moors, a hamster perishing from hypothermia, the drinking habits of Glaswegian punks, the fascination with boxing, a sheep in a house, the outdoorsy tramping....the subjects are indeed bleak. But the writing is animated, curious, precise and horribly candid. Not bleak. Nor are the many incidental digressions and the constant wryness. Invigorating as a gallon of Lanliq with an Eldorado chaser." Jonathan Meades

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Book SynopsisHow would any of us feel if we could meet our teenage selves, a ghost on the road? Everything Passes, Everything Remains is a confluence of journeys, made by Chris Dolan, his friends, and writers before him. It’s a bit about cycling, a bit about walking, and a bit about buses. It’s a kind of travelogue, over time, and through some lesser-known parts of Spain. It’s an obsession with Spain’s writers and its history, from the Inquisition to the Civil War to the questions it faces as a country today. What makes a nation, or a family for that matter, or a group of friends? In many ways it’s as much about Dolan’s native Scotland as Spain. But mostly, it’s about the highs and lows of growing up and growing older – how the past plays merry hell with the present. About friendship, loss, music, memory, and the demons that follow us as we try to make sense of our history and our place in the world.Trade Review"The warmth of friendship and wanderlust of retirement, making good on decades of dreaming – Everything Passes, Everything Remains is brilliantly relatable, a personal journey shared candidly, painting a vivid picture of Spain with self-deprecating Scottish humour." Mark Beaumont; "Magical. A story for our times and what it is to be alive now.’ Elaine C Smith; "Everything Passes, Everything Remains is the multi-talented Dolan’s 'My Back Pages': a rich, evocative ramble through Spain, history and memory. It’s a constant delight." Graeme Macrae Burnet; "A treat from start to finish… To those who love life, read this book." David Hayman; “You can be gallus enough to busk across Spain but your demons and weaknesses still come with you … Chris Dolan celebrates the power of cycling to link his friendships, music and the Iberian ways of life.” Alan Brown;“A life remembered, a past revisited, proof of the healing power of friendship… thoughtful, hopeful and beautifully written." Colin Blane, cyclist and former BBC Europe Correspondent

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Book SynopsisFrida Kahlo was an amputee in the last part of her life, but long before that her right leg had been compromised by a childhood bout with polio. Since adolescence, Emily Rapp, herself an amputee since the age of four, felt that there were many things she had in common with Frida Kahlo. From the first sight of Kahlo's painting of the devastating bus crash that almost killed her, Rapp felt a sense of kinship with the artist. They both endured numerous operations; both alternately hid and revealed their altered bodies; and both found a way to live and create despite physical and emotional pain. In this riveting read, Rapp gets to the essence of Kahlo through her art, her letters, and her diaries. Rapp tells her own story of losing a child to Tay-Sachs; finding love, and becoming pregnant with her daughter; and of how Kahlo's life and work helped her to find a way forward when all seemed lost. Containing several full-color images of Kahlo's art and clothing, Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg offers a unique perspective on the artist and the challenges she faced. I want to know and remember what it was like to walk as Frida once walked: before polio at six years old shrunk her right leg; before the infamous bus crash on September 17, 1925 when the pole pierced her pelvis; then the casts, the saws, the stitches woven into the skin and then carefully twisted out, the scars gone white and silent and sealed. I am one-legged, like Frida, but I am also unlike her, and there in our essential difference is where my fascination lies, and there lies also my devotion, my despair, my revulsion, my resentment, my desire.Trade Review“This book is a wild masterpiece. It is about everything that matters: mortality, motherhood, desire, love, the body, art, writing, survival. Remarkably, the author is able to express the chaos of grief and anger without ever losing control. The fire of Frida Kahlo’s spirit courses through this book and twins with the author’s own attempts to understand her life, and survive. It is brilliant, furious, funny, gorgeously written, terribly sad and, without being sentimental, hopeful. I am sure that any feeling being will love and treasure this generous, remarkable book.” —Matthew Zapruder, author of Why Poetry and Father’s Day “With endless intellect and intimacy, Emily Rapp Black brings us a book without parallel, a book that will become well-worn by readers who have passed it on, saying, here, you have to read this. In Frida Kahlo and My Left Leg, Rapp Black scours and thinks and confides not in order to write an impossibly original work of art, though she has, but to survive all that has threatened her body and soul. Is it peculiar, then, to say that Frida Kahlo is one of the great loves of her life? For this is the story, and this is the bond between two artists in whom there is no hiding, just expressive, salvific brilliance. Read this. This book might just get you through.” —Katie Ford, poet and author of If You Have to Go and Blood Lyrics

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Book SynopsisWhen the author is given a small package, containing letters and papers relating to his grandfather's brother, who was killed in Syria during the Second World War, it leads him on an extended personal journey. An exploration of history, imagination and the process of memory, shifting imperceptibly from autobiography to travelogue, from letters and diaries to official records. In his first prose work Lewis reveals a rare and consummate literary talent. Deeply rooted in his Welsh identity, this young writer locates his own and his family's experience within the wider European world in a thoughtful, mature and highly original book.

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Book SynopsisOther Ranks is a First World War classic, first published in 1931 but quickly lost in the wave of war memoirs and novels. It is the fictionalised account of William Tilsley's war experiences through the eyes of ordinary soldier Dick Bradshaw in the 55th West Lancashire Division. This authentic memoir of life and death on the front line begins with Bradshaw’s “C” Company leaving the depot at Etaples and heading for their first engagement at the front on the Somme in the Autumn of 1916. Over the next fourteen months it follows the chores behind the line and unwelcome stints on the front line through to his wounding during the Third battle of Ypres in 1917 and subsequent return to Blighty. As well as criticism of the conduct of the war, there is description of the desolation of the landscape and continual conditions of the trenches as experienced by the Poor Bloody Infantry (PBI); wet, cold, frost bite, trench foot, shelling and general life in trenches with continual risk of collapse. War is not a chivalrous experience and his narrative does not hold back in his thoughts and feelings concerning soldiers behind the lines out of the reach of the guns and those at the top. This new edition follows research by Gaye Magnall and is accompanied by introductions from relatives of the three main characters, O'Neill, Magnall and WVT's great nephew, David Tilsley.Trade Review‘Mr. Blunden remarks that Mr. Tilsley “misses nothing.” He has, indeed, a very keen eye. Mr. Tisley’s description of an attack on the Somme is as vivid as anything of the sort that has been written’ Times Literary Supplement, 16 April 1931 ‘An unvarnished account…he gives us modestly the prose of the matter; of mud, stench, lice, fatigue, cold, fear, danger and death’ The Guardian, 18 March 1931 ‘This re-publication of W V Tilsley’s Other Ranks, a book at the pinnacle of the mountain of other ranks writing about the Great War after 88 years came as both surprise and pleasure. Although frequently, and unfairly, described as a forgotten book, it is one with a great reputation’ Stand To!

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Book SynopsisA COSMOPOLITAN BEST NON-FICTION BOOK OF 2022 The Lonely Hunter explores the rise of singledom, the realities of loneliness, and whether it is possible to live contentedly alone. ‘So what’s going on in your love life?’ This seemingly innocent question at a dinner party prompted Aimée Lutkin to finally tell the truth: it had been six years since her last relationship, and she was starting to suspect that it would be better to accept the life she had as a single woman — a life she liked very much — rather than keep searching for a partner. But Lutkin’s answer was met with uproar; surely she couldn’t give up on love? So she threw herself into dating, going on two dates every week over a number of months. Documenting her experiences, Lutkin explores the reality of sexual relationships today and reveals how the cultural messages we receive shape our expectations of love. From weird Tinder hookups to the way the self care industry capitalises on our fear of being alone, and from the complexities of queer dating to the truth about the ‘loneliness epidemic’, she uses her experiences to fearlessly tell a wider story about how we love now.Trade Review‘A funny, honest and confronting account that challenges views about being single in a world built for couples.’ * The Sunday Times *‘A Sex and the City for mid-30s millennials that is confessional, ironic, and fun … Lutkin injects a fresh anti-glamour into her escapades.’ -- Fried Klotz * Sunday Independent *‘A brilliant reframing of the cultural narrative around singledom with an impassioned defence of its pleasures ... With sparkling intellect and wit, Lutkin argues that being single can be just as life-giving as companionship.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘[The Lonely Hunter] will change the way you perceive solitude forever.’ -- Hayley Maitland * Vogue Australia *‘In unflinching, honest prose that deftly weaves sociological and cultural analysis with her personal journey, The Lonely Hunter challenged everything I assumed about the nature of loneliness and what it means to lead an authentic life ... A deeply relatable story that will resonate with readers, lonely or not.’ -- Doree Shafrir, author of Thanks for Waiting and Startup‘An insightful and thorough investigation into one woman’s loneliness and the systemic ways we’re all becoming less connected ... It might seem like a depressing topic, but I laughed so hard and learned so much.’ -- Blythe Roberson, author of How to Date Men When You Hate Men‘Wry, smart, full of bittersweet detail and vivid scenes, The Lonely Hunter is engaging without giving in to easy answers and is willing to ask the big questions — what makes a good life, and what do we want from each other?’ -- Rosalie Knetch, author of the Vera Kelly novels‘Interesting and thoughtful.’ -- James Greig * Dazed *‘At once heartbreaking and deeply funny, Lutkin’s The Lonely Hunter captures the essence of seemingly endless singlehood in a world built for couples. As vulnerable as she is illuminative, Lutkin achieves what so many of us singles are looking for — she makes us feel less alone.’ -- Rebecca Fishbein, author of Good Things Happen to People You Hate‘I’m not sure how one could read The Lonely Hunter and NOT fall in love with Aimée Lutkin! Her memoir is at once a tender, vivacious consideration of modern romance and an incisive cultural study of American loneliness — a great and heartwarming achievement.’ -- Rachel Vorona Cote, author of Too Much‘[The Lonely Hunter is an] astute, poignant, meditation on the single life, as well as dating, sex and connection.’ * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘Part memoir, part cultural criticism, The Lonely Hunter reveals society’s pathologising of love and loneliness for an insightful and full-of-heart read.’ * Denizen *‘A blend of memoir and reportage, The Lonely Hunter will convince you that our “search for love is broken”, whether you’re single or not.’ * Vogue *

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Book SynopsisFor most of human history, sudden and unexpected deaths of a suspicious nature, when they were investigated at all, were examined by lay persons without any formal training. People often got away with murder. That is, until Frances Glessner Lee.Frances Glessner Lee (1878-1962), born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she became the mother of modern forensics and was instrumental in elevating homicide investigation to a scientific discipline. Frances Glessner Lee learned forensic science under the tutelage of pioneering medical examiner Magrath. A voracious reader too, Lee acquired and read books on criminology and forensic science - eventually establishing the largest library of legal medicine. Lee went on to create The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death - a series of dollhouse-sized crime scene dioramas depicting the facts of actual cases in exquisitely detailed miniature - and perhaps the thing she is most famous for. Celebrated by artists, miniaturists and scientists, they were first used as a teaching tool in homicide seminars at Harvard Medical School in the 1930s, subsequently becoming an integral part of the longest-running and still the highest-regarded training for police detectives of its kind in America. In Unexplained Deaths, Bruce Goldfarb weaves Lee's remarkable story with the advances in forensics made in her lifetime to tell the tale of the birth of modern forensics.Trade ReviewA culmination of years of historical research, including the papers of Frances Glessner Lee herself. As this absorbing and evocative book will show you, Frances Glessner Lee should be recognized as the matriarch of the modern practice of forensic pathology. * Judy Melinek, M.D., co-author of Working Stiff *Frances Glessner Lee's dioramas of death have long been objects of fascination; now Bruce Goldfarb, the man who knows them best, has written a definitive account of how they came to be, and of the compelling, complex woman who created them. This book will beguile anyone with an interest in the history of crime investigation. * Rachel Monroe, author of Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime and Obsession *Eye-opening biography of Frances Glessner Lee, who brought American medical forensics into the scientific age...genuinely compelling. * Kirkus Reviews *Thorough research helps him paint a captivating portrait of a feminist hero and forensic pioneer. * Booklist *Goldfarb's clearly written and well-researched book is recommended for history and legal studies audiences. * Library Journal *

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Book Synopsis**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**A riveting, inspiring memoir from the star of Netflix's My Unorthodox Life'Haart is a hustler, a born entrepreneur, charismatic enough to attract investment like a pop ingenue attracts talent scouts and a fighter.' POLLY VERNON, THE TIMES'An irresistible read . . . Written with great intensity and rare candor, Brazen is a story of longing for more and manifesting that vision.' TOMMY HILFIGEREver since she was a child, every aspect of Julia Haart's life - what she wore, what she ate, what she thought - was controlled by the rules of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. At nineteen, after a lifetime spent caring for her seven younger siblings, she was married off to a man she barely knew. But when she realises her daughters will be forced into the same unending servitude, Haart secretly starts preparing for a life beyond the confines of their Orthodox suburb - where she can pursue her 'sinful' dreams designing clothes. Propulsive and unforgettable, Brazen follows Haart's extraordinary journey from an extreme religious sect to how she found freedom and success in the world of fashion. 'Julia lives her life with an exhilarating fervour that's contagious to anyone lucky enough to be around her. Never willing to accept the status quo, time and again she has fought for her place in the world and demanded her seat at the table. I'm incredibly inspired by her stories, which are always told with honesty and heart. This book is a must read!'COCO ROCHA'Julia Haart is a hustler. Her story is an inspiring, believe-in-your-dreams, never-give-up, anything-in-life-is-possible story of hope. Run, don't walk, to get this book!'LISA RINNA

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Book SynopsisIlluminating her inner journey growing up mixed-race in Britain, Esua Jane Goldsmith's unique memoir exposes the isolation and ambiguities that often come with being 'an only'.Raised in 1950s South London and Norfolk with a white, working-class family, Esua's education in racial politics was immediate and personal. From Britain and Scandinavia to Italy and Tanzania, she tackled inequality wherever she saw it, establishing an inspiring legacy in the Women's lib and Black Power movements. Plagued by questions of her heritage and the inability to locate all pieces of herself, she embarks on a journey to Ghana to find the father who may have the answers.A tale of love, comradeship, and identity crises, Esua's rise to the first Black woman president of Leicester University Students' Union and Queen Mother of her village, is inspiring, honest, and full of heart.

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Book SynopsisSpanning the years from 1935 to 2010, Are We Home Yet? is the moving and funny story of a girl and her mother. As a girl, Katy accidentally discovers her mother is earning money as a sex worker at the family home, rupturing their bond. As an adult, Katy contends with grief and mental health challenges before she and her mother attempt to heal their relationship. From Canada, to Leeds and Jamaica, and exploring shame, immigration and class, the pair share their stories but struggle to understand each other's choices in a fast-changing world. By revealing their truths, can these two strong women call a truce on their hostilities and overcome the oppressive ghosts of the past?Trade ReviewKaty's writing is unflinchingly honest and undeniably authentic. It is also funny, sharp and full of perfectly placed detail. She challenges our preconceptions whilst transporting us right into the middle of a world few of us have had a chance to see this clearly before. * Sharon Duggal, author of The Handsworth Times and Should We Fall Behind *

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Book Synopsis***'Brave and vividly evoked, should haunt Kier Starmer et al.' - The Telegraph'Where Did I Go Right? is sharp, considered, insightful, and helped me make sense of "the other side". And because Geoff Norcott is so funny, it unfortunately means I can't dismiss his views entirely. It's so important to have a friend you can disagree with but still admire and Geoff can be that friend to you!' - Katherine Ryan'I've always thought the benefit of having batsh*t parents is it increases the chance of you growing up funny. It's certainly worked for Geoff Norcott.' - David Baddiel'Few people walk the line of thought provoking and laugh out loud funny like Geoff Norcott.' - Romesh RanganathanComedian Geoff Norcott should have been Labour through and through. He grew up on a council estate, both of his parents were disabled, and his Dad was a Union man. So, how was it that he grew up to vote Tory?In this courageously honest and provocative memoir, Geoff unpicks his working-class upbringing and his political journey from left to right. Raised by a fierce matriarch and a maverick father on a South London council estate where they filmed scenes for The Bill, Geoff spends his youth attempting to put out kitchen fires with aerosols and leaping in and out of industrial skips. But as he reaches adolescence, his political views begin to be influenced by major events including the early 90s recession, the credit crunch, and a chance encounter with Conservative PM John Major.As an adult, Geoff begins to have the gnawing feeling that the values and traditions he grew up with no longer match Labour's. And, as Brexit appears, he feels even more like a double agent operating behind enemy lines.Written with warmth, wit and often laugh-out-loud humour, Where Did I Go Right? is Geoff's attempt to understand why he ended up voting 'for the bad guys', and why blue-collared conservatism could be here to stay.Praise for Geoff Norcott:'A mature, sharp take on modern politics' - The Sunday Times'Gently abrasive, but that's what makes him so entertaining... with a sharp, self-knowing wit' -The Times'Geoff Norcott genuinely has something original to say' - New European'A refreshingly brilliant new comedic voice' - Spectator'Norcott is an out-and-out rebel' - Express

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Book Synopsis*****'Reads like a John le Carré novel but is, in fact, very real.' - The Big Issue'Very Bad People would be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.' - Isabella Tree, author of Wilding'Global Witness are fearless.' - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' - Edward Zwick, Director of Blood Diamond'Very Bad People reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men.' - David Farr, Screenwriter, The Night Manager'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists is simply riveting. Don't miss it.' - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' - Irish Times'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.' - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency InternationalArms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them.VERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to The Night Manager's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.As they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.Patrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.Trade ReviewVery Bad People shines a light on the real life dramas that are truly more alarming than the pages of fiction - it is a shocking, important and page-turning book that gives a unique insight into a hidden world of criminality, and into the shadow networks that really run our world. -- Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman Participant Media * Skoll Foundation *Stories such as those you will read here are more usually found in the pages of thrillers, but these stories are frighteningly and unfortunately true. Corruption is one of the greatest enemies of democracy, to win the fight we need champions like Global Witness. -- George Soros

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Book SynopsisIn Come By The Hills Cameron McNeish shares his journeys through Scotland on foot, by bike and in his wee red campervan. He is still an adventurer, but these days things are a bit different. Reaching summits is still enjoyed, but no longer a priority. Instead, he takes us on a wide exploration of Scotland’s hills, forests, and coastlines, and the ancient tales that bring a turbulent history to life. He takes us into the loveliest of glens, Etive and Lyon, to our most distant islands in the Hebrides and Shetland, and reminisces on wonderful characters such as Dick Balharry, Finlay MacRae, and the early working-class climbers when they first took to the hills.Trade ReviewObservant and witty. -- Muriel GrayWritten with humour and clarity. What is obvious is McNeish’s adoration for the wilderness – something that could enthuse even a non-walker to don the old walking boots. * Scottish Field *

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Book SynopsisA heartbreaking account of a poor and illiterate young West African’s odyssey to Europe, translated by one of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights. Ibrahima, whose family live in a village in the West African country of Guinea, helps his father sell shoes at a street stall in the capital, Conakry. At the sudden death of his father, he becomes the head of the family and picks up various skills, always alone and away from home, although his dream is to be a truck driver in his country. But when his little brother, Alhassane, suddenly disappears, heading for Europe in a bid to earn money for the family, Ibrahima leaves everything behind to try to find him and convince him to go back to their village and continue his education. In an epic journey, Ibrahima risks his life many times searching for his little brother. Each waystation that Ibrahima passes through takes him to another world, with different customs, other languages, other landscapes, other currencies, and new challenges to overcome. His willpower is astonishing, and the friendship and generosity of strangers he encounters on the way help him to keep going. After enduring many trials and tribulations, he learns of Alhassane’s fate. Unable to return home, he embarks on the journey to Europe himself. Little Brother is a testimonial account that gives a voice, heart, and soul, and flesh and bones to the seemingly nameless masses of people struggling and dying, trying only to achieve a better life for themselves and their families.Trade Review‘The charm of this wonderful book is both in the simplicity and the innocence of the storytelling. Ibrahima’s quest is at times heartbreaking, at times amusing, but steadfastly fascinating and admirable. His stream-of-consciousness delivery, with no detail too small to omit, will captivate readers and keep them turning the pages. This inspirational book should be mandatory reading at every school in the country.’ -- Robin Yocum, award-winning author of The Essay‘Who among us could have walked half so far, survived half so many perils, as Ibrahima Balde? Told with innocence and honesty, his is an astounding story of kindness, cruelty, and everything in between.’ -- Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee‘A deeply moving novel that reminds us of the power of perseverance and love in the face of violent borders. This is an important book.’ -- Reece Jones, author of White Borders‘A breathtaking and eye-opening account in the best tradition of storytelling, where a true story is told simply and without embellishment, for Balde's painful journey needs none. Along the way, we are brought into a world where, despite unimaginable cruelty and violence, compassion is found in the slightest of places and where people who have so little to give always find a way to do so. Above all, perhaps, it is an incredible story of dedication, loyalty, and one boy's determination to do the right thing, despite all odds.’ -- Mark R. Thornton, author of Kid Moses‘A heartbreaking account of a poor West African's journey to Europe, prompted by the disappearance of his younger brother who had gone ahead. From a remote village in Guinea, Ibrahima's journey takes in a range of cultures, languages and dangers in a story that says far more than dehumanising statistics ever could.’ * The New European *‘Balde’s narration is concise and unemotional, but its lightness of touch belies the weight of worry and expectation he has carried since the age of 13.’ * New Internationalist *

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Book SynopsisA shocking depiction of one of the world’s most ruthless regimes — and the story of one woman’s fight to survive. I will never forget the camp. I cannot forget the eyes of the prisoners, expecting me to do something for them. They are innocent. I have to tell their story, to tell about the darkness they are in. It is so easy to suffocate us with the demons of powerlessness, shame, and guilt. But we aren’t the ones who should feel ashamed. Born in China’s north-western province, Sayragul Sauytbay trained as a doctor before being appointed a senior civil servant. But her life was upended when the Chinese authorities incarcerated her. Her crime: being Kazakh, one of China’s ethnic minorities. The north-western province borders the largest number of foreign nations and is the point in China that is the closest to Europe. In recent years it has become home to over 1,200 penal camps — modern-day gulags that are estimated to house three million members of the Kazakh and Uyghur minorities. Imprisoned solely due to their ethnicity, inmates are subjected to relentless punishment and torture, including being beaten, raped, and used as subjects for medical experiments. The camps represent the greatest systematic incarceration of an entire people since the Third Reich. In prison, Sauytbay was put to work teaching Chinese language, culture, and politics, in the course of which she gained access to secret information that revealed Beijing’s long-term plans to undermine not only its minorities, but democracies around the world. Upon her escape to Europe she was reunited with her family, but still lives under the constant threat of reprisal. This rare testimony from the biggest surveillance state in the world reveals not only the full, frightening scope of China’s tyrannical ambitions, but also the resilience and courage of its author.Trade Review‘The Chief Witness is a deeply disturbing insight into the dark heart of the Chinese Communist Party and its reign of terror in Xinjiang. It will rank historically along with the great literary exposés of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and the Soviet gulag. If you thought another Holocaust could never happen, pick up this book. Told with an aching honesty, Sayragul Sautbay’s account of her experience in China’s concentration camps in Xinjiang wounds the soul.’ -- Clive Hamilton‘An extraordinary testament to Sauytbay’s bravery.’ -- Edward Lucas * The Times *‘A remarkable story of a woman’s pride, suffering, and resilience … It is only through accounts such as this one … that the world can sift the evidence.’ -- Michael Sheridan * The Sunday Times *‘Stunning.’ -- Ed Needham * Strong Words *

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Book Synopsis"The blue and white print has the night-time glow of a Joseph Cornell ice-cube box or a Stan Brakhage film, the poppy glows candescent but is gone. Anna Atkins' dirty fingernails are pressing the damp skin of the poppy into cotton wadding and blotting paper until the life has dried out of it..." Amateur botanist Anna Atkins is now widely considered to be the first woman ever to have taken a photograph. The introduction to one of her albums states that she uses the photographic medium in order to "depict with the most accuracy possible," and so assist other scientists. Yet visual artist Annabel Dover's investigations led her to believe that Atkins doctored and adulterated certain specimens, collaging different sections of different plants together. In the subversive, scrapbook narrative that follows both historic and imaginary characters' stories are woven together: Henry James 'drowns' the clothes of a friend post-suicide; Joe Orton's cleaning lady considers the collaged wall in his bedsit; and Anna Atkins makes the seaweed prints that will then appear in the first photographic book to be published. A complex mixture of scientific observation and tender, girlish enthusiasm Florilegia is above all else a profound meditation on memory, loss, and our relationship to images.Trade Review"Haunting, enchanting, and forensically observed... a tender, anthropological elegy, and it will stay with you long after you finish it." Sophie Dahl ----------"A staggering accomplishment. Impossible to categorise, this is a work of exquisite art; encyclopaedic in its scope, drawing connections across time and cultures. An alchemist, Annabel Dover transmutes the minutiae of life into poetry." Heidi James ---------- "An archive of nature and artifice in which every word shimmers with kaleidoscopic brilliance." Nancy Campbell ---------- "Annabel Dover's writing is a delight: inquisitive, keen-eyed, alive with colour and texture; she has the rare ability to make details sing. I loved this book." Laura Barton---------- "You'll never read another book like this... it defies any description save that it is mad, enchanting and mesmerising.... At its end I had no idea what I had been reading but I know it's a work of art." Polly Devlin---------- "A fascinating, subversive and moving tribute to forgotten women by a unique artist." Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett ---------- "A trippy, hyper-connected, vastly entertaining memoir entangled with the history of art, botany and science. It's hypnotising." Jennifer Higgie ---------- "A strange, beautiful response to the life and work of botanist, photographer & cyanotype trail-blazer Anna Atkins." Book of the Month at The Learned Pig. ---------- "Beautiful, fragmented ... haunting." What We're Watching, Reading and Listening to at A Little Bird. --------- "Binding and entwining ... exceptional and enjoyable ... minds set racing by the everyday strangeness of the experiences, imaginings and perceptions we have encountered in this extrodinary book." Declan O'Driscoll

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Book SynopsisTom King’s personal memoirs range across a life of exceptional activity and interest. Aged nineteen, he found himself commanding a military company against Mau Mau terrorists in Kenya; at thirty he became the youngest ever general manager in a major printing and packaging group, in charge of a factory with a staff of 700 and dealing with nine different trade unions. Elected as an MP in 1970, nine years later he took through the legislation that transformed London’s vast derelict docklands into the thriving business district of Canary Wharf. Subsequently his five Secretary of State roles saw him carrying through the law that gave union members the right to a secret ballot before a strike, then facing IRA terrorism and Unionist opposition when he launched what became the start of the peace process, then watching the fall of the Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain and being responsible for the massive UK deployment to help liberate Kuwait. Told with a sharp recollection of his fifty years in Parliament, Tom King’s memoirs cover a particularly interesting period of history and his part in shaping the events that led up to the world we live in now.

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