True stories / true accounts of events Books

Book SynopsisJohn Reid spent years building the life he always wanted: a beautiful wife, a luxury yacht, a holiday home. But this all comes crashing down around him when he is wrongfully accused by New Zealand government officials of masterminding a colossal tax fraud against well-heeled investors. Finding himself at the centre of a national scandal, and with the threat of a long prison sentence looming, John battles to clear his name. Despite his lawyer's best efforts, the fight will never be a fair one: New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office is renowned for its prosecutorial prowess, and the country's top QC has his sights set on putting John behind bars for good. As the case gets further underway, John uncovers a thread of corruption that runs deeper than he could ever imagine. With justice spiralling further out of reach and the verdict ever closer, John must draw on every reserve ha has to be in with a chance of overcoming the odds in what becomes a David-versus-Goliath fight. Based on true accounts, A Few Bad Men is a gripping true crime thriller about one man's fight for justice in the face of a broken, corrupt system.

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Book SynopsisThe former head of Lockheed''s SKUNK WORKS reveals the amazing story of the secret aircraft that changed the course of history - from the U-2 to the Stealth Fighter. A must-read for anyone interested in aviation, advanced technologies, Cold War history, and thrilling true stories.SKUNK WORKS is the true story, told for the first time, of America''s most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation''s brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the story of Lockheed''s legendary Skunk Works is a high-stakes drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds.SKUNK WORKS is dramatic and immediate. Direct from the cockpits of these astonishing aircraft - U-2 spy-plane, SR-71 Blackbird and F-117 Stealth Fighter. It is a tribute to genius in the unrelenting contest for mastery of the skies.Trade ReviewDynamite - the true story of one of America's crown jewels! * Tom Clancy *

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Book SynopsisThe gripping true story of the hunt for a man-eating tiger across the forbidding landscape of Russia's Far East....Trade ReviewAn adventure so heart-thumping, it can feel like a spy thriller.An unbelievable tale, expertly told, with a few paragraphs that I would give my eye teeth to have written.Like its majestic and terrifying subject, John Vaillant's book moves with subtlety and grace, commands a vast terrain - and has the power to shake the observer's soul . . . What unfolds, in a richly layered story that partners cunning with sublimity, is a tragedy in several acts and with multiple dimensions . . . The Tiger also counts as a supreme example of true-crime writing driven by wide-angle empathy and compassion. Some readers may choose to shelve it, not among cosy wildlife yarns, but with Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *A tale with memorable characters, a beautifully described setting and moments of startling drama . . . Vaillant's research is matched by the elegance of his writing . . . Vaillant is able to empathise so fully with both human and animal protagonists that it is hard to believe he wasn't there . . . This is a remarkable story, exceptionally well told -- Tim Souster * Financial Times *This masterful account of the terror, death and grief caused by a man-eating Amur tiger in Russia in 1997 is as mesmerising, rangy and relentless as the creature in question. * Sunday Telegraph *Extraordinary . . . a brilliantly told tale of man and nature -- Tim Flannery * New York Review of Books *Few writers have taken such pains to understand their monsters, and few depict them in such arresting prose. * New York Times Book Review *Compelling . . . a superb book - hyper-intelligent, wonderfully well-written, with a great cast, both human and animal, and at its heart, the amazing and truly chilling story of one tiger's winter campaign of murderous revenge -- Harry Ritchie * Daily Mail *The structure of Vaillant's nonfiction hunting tale echoes that of Moby Dick, alternating a gripping chase narrative -- the search, in the late 1990s, for a man-eating Amur tiger in the Primorye region, on Russia's far eastern border -- with dense explanations of the culture and ecology surrounding the chase. * New York Times *This is an altogether different kind of manhunt story . . . . The pursuit culminates in a breathtaking stand-off of man versus cat in a forest clearing - a denouement every bit as explosive and surprising as the raid in Abbottabad earlier this week. -- Hampton Sides * Wall Street Journal *Riveting * Washington Post *By all means read Vaillant's magnificent book about the animal: The Tiger offers readers a shiver-inducing portrait of a predator that has been revered - and feared - like no other animal. * San Francisco Chronicle *Brad Pitt has bought the movie rights to The Tiger, but with all due respect to Mr. Pitt, there's no way the movie will match Mr. Vaillant's book. * Washington Times *An affectionate account * TLS *The Tiger is the sort of book I very much like and rarely find. Humans are hard-wired to fear tigers, so this book will attract intense interest. -- Annie Proulx, Puliter Prize-winning author of THE SHIPPING NEWSThe Tiger takes us on a journey to the raw edge of civilization, to a world of vengeful cats and venal men, a world that, in Vaillant's brilliant telling, is simultaneously haunting and enchanting. -- Hampton Sides, author of GHOST SOLDIERSThis book must be read by everybody who is interested in the conservation of wildlife. It takes you to the Russian wilderness to meet face-to-face with the Siberian tiger. -- Temple Grandin, author of ANIMALS IN TRANSLATIONAn absolutely superb book. -- George Schaller, Wildlife Conservation Society & PantheraA masterpiece * Outside *Brilliant * US Library Journal *An instant classic * Calgary Herald *Astoundingly gripping * Toronto Star *Read this fine, true book in the warmth, beside the flicker of firelight. Read it and be afraid. Be very afraid. -- Simon Winchester * Globe and Mail *Breathtakingly exciting * Vancouver Sun *A hair-raising tale in which conservation, madness and even murder collide. * Montreal Gazette *Fascinating and compelling plot * Ottawa Citizen *Not so incidentally, if ever a nonfiction author has used the techniques of fiction any better to recount a real-life narrative, it is difficult to imagine who that author would be. * Seattle Times *Part natural history, part Russian history and part thriller; it tells a gripping and gory story of what it's like to stalk - and be stalked by - the largest species of cat still walking the Earth. * National Public Radio (USA) *John Vaillant is a literary shaman. * Quill & Quire *Enthralling * Christian Science Monitor *An extraordinary account of a tracker on the trail of a Siberian man-eating tiger in 1997. Along the way we get a load of tiger facts and a beautiful portrait of a forbidding region. It is a stunning, lovely, lovely book. * Bookseller *Writing in a vigorous, evocative style . . . Vaillant paints a haunting portrait of man's vexed relationship with nature. * Publishers Weekly *An adventure so heart-thumping, it can feel like a spy thriller.An unbelievable tale, expertly told, with a few paragraphs that I would give my eye teeth to have written.Enriched by sparkling sidetracks into nature and history, this enthralling true-crime narrative takes us on a snowbound search not only for a beast but for a motive. Like its superb quarry, Vaillant's book moves with grace and stealth, covers a vast terrain and shakes the observer's soul * Independent *The structure of Vaillant's nonfiction hunting tale echoes that of Moby Dick, alternating a gripping chase narrative -- the search, in the late 1990s, for a man-eating Amur tiger in the Primorye region, on Russia's far eastern border -- with dense explanations of the culture and ecology surrounding the chase. * New York Times *This masterful account of the terror, death and grief caused by a man-eating Amur tiger in Russia in 1997 is as mesmerising, rangy and relentless as the creature in question. * Sunday Telegraph *This is an altogether different kind of manhunt story . . . . The pursuit culminates in a breathtaking stand-off of man versus cat in a forest clearing - a denouement every bit as explosive and surprising as the raid in Abbottabad earlier this week. * Wall Street Journal *Extraordinary . . . a brilliantly told tale of man and nature * New York Review of Books *The Tiger also counts as a supreme example of true-crime writing driven by wide-angle empathy and compassion. Some readers may choose to shelve it, not among cosy wildlife yarns, but with Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. * Independent *A remarkable story, exceptionally well told. * Financial Times *Few writers have taken such pains to understand their monsters, and few depict them in such arresting prose. * New York Times Book Review *A superb book -- hyper-intelligent, wonderfully well-written, with a great cast, both human and animal, and at its heart, the amazing and truly chilling story of one tiger's winter campaign of murderous revenge. * Daily Mail *Riveting * Washington Post *By all means read Vaillant's magnificent book about the animal: The Tiger offers readers a shiver-inducing portrait of a predator that has been revered - and feared - like no other animal. * San Francisco Chronicle *Brad Pitt has bought the movie rights to The Tiger, but with all due respect to Mr. Pitt, there's no way the movie will match Mr. Vaillant's book. * Washington Times *An affectionate account * TLS *The Tiger is the sort of book I very much like and rarely find. Humans are hard-wired to fear tigers, so this book will attract intense interest.The Tiger takes us on a journey to the raw edge of civilization, to a world of vengeful cats and venal men, a world that, in Vaillant's brilliant telling, is simultaneously haunting and enchanting.This book must be read by everybody who is interested in the conservation of wildlife. It takes you to the Russian wilderness to meet face-to-face with the Siberian tiger.An absolutely superb book.A masterpiece * Outside *Brilliant * US Library Journal *An instant classic * Calgary Herald *Astoundingly gripping * Toronto Star *Read this fine, true book in the warmth, beside the flicker of firelight. Read it and be afraid. Be very afraid. * Globe and Mail *Breathtakingly exciting * Vancouver Sun *A hair-raising tale in which conservation, madness and even murder collide. * Montreal Gazette *Fascinating and compelling plot * Ottawa Citizen *Not so incidentally, if ever a nonfiction author has used the techniques of fiction any better to recount a real-life narrative, it is difficult to imagine who that author would be. * Seattle Times *Part natural history, part Russian history and part thriller; it tells a gripping and gory story of what it's like to stalk - and be stalked by - the largest species of cat still walking the Earth. * National Public Radio (USA) *John Vaillant is a literary shaman. * Quill & Quire *Enthralling * Christian Science Monitor *An extraordinary account of a tracker on the trail of a Siberian man-eating tiger in 1997. Along the way we get a load of tiger facts and a beautiful portrait of a forbidding region. It is a stunning, lovely, lovely book. * Bookseller *Writing in a vigorous, evocative style . . . Vaillant paints a haunting portrait of man's vexed relationship with nature. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisIN 12 YEARS, MICHELLE LYONS WITNESSED NEARLY 300 EXECUTIONS.As a reporter and then spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Michelle was a frequent visitor to Huntsville's Walls Unit, where she recorded the final moments of death row inmates' lives before they were put to death by the state. Michelle witnessed some of the most notorious criminals, including serial killers, child murderers and rapists, speak their last words on earth, while a cocktail of lethal drugs surged through their veins.Misgivings began to set in as the execution numbers mounted. She came to know and like some of the condemned people she saw die, and began to query the seemingly arbitrary nature of the death penalty. Do executions actually make victims of us all?'Haunting, dark and hard to put down' Houston Chronicle'A portrait of what it's like to be surrounded by death... a memoir of perseverance in the face of routine tragedy' The Daily Beast

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Book SynopsisThis is an account of how an angry young man can cross the line that divides theoretical support for violence from a state of 'killing rage', in which the murder of neighbour becomes thinkable. Over 3000 people have died in Northern Ireland since 1969, and most of them have died at the hands of their neighbours. The intimacy of the Ulster conflict, what it means to carry out a political murder when in all probability the victim is personally known, or lives in a nearby street, is described accurately by an honest participant. The book does not attempt to soften the impact of the events it describes through euphemism or rhetoric. It is a truthful picture of the brutality and waste caused by the IRA's unwinnable campaign, and of its human consequences. It is also a self-portrait of the despair and disintegration, the hardening to conscience and grief, that accompany political violence.Trade ReviewEamon Collins's book is the most devastating account we have of what actually went on within the IRA during its years of 'armed struggle'. Collins revealed the banality, the ignorance and psychotic inhumanity of the little men pumped up into village Napoleons by the Troubles -- Fintan O’Toole * The Independent on Sunday *The most convincing honest book ever written about the IRA -- Jim Cusack * The Irish Times *A moving, even thrilling book... I would recommend it very strongly indeed * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisSPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTOR''S EDITION to mark the 800th anniversary of William Marshal''s death.A ''Director''s Cut'' of Elizabeth Chadwick''s bestselling and best-loved novel.''An author who makes history come gloriously alive'' The Times''Stunning'' Barbara Erskine***Elizabeth''s new novel TEMPLAR SILKS is OUT NOW in hardback, ebook and audio, and available to pre-order in paperback.*** ************************************Normandy, 1167 A penniless young knight with few prospects, William Marshal is plucked from obscurity when he saves the life of Henry II''s formidable queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In gratitude, she appoints him tutor to the heir to the throne. However, being a royal favourite brings its share of conflict and envy as well as fame and reward. William''s influence over the volatile, fickle Prince Henry and his young wife is resented by less favTrade ReviewElizabeth Chadwick is a disciplined and hugely talented storyteller...highly recommended. - HISTORICAL NOVEL REVIEWElizabeth Chadwick knows exactly how to write convincing and compelling historical fiction - Marina OliverThe author blends authentic period detail with a modern convnention for emotional drama. - MAIL ON SUNDAYAn author who makes history come gloriously alive. - THE TIMES

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Book Synopsis'Compulsively readable . . . thrilling' – Sunday Telegraph'Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine' – Sunday TimesIn June 1952, a woman was murdered by an obsessive colleague in a hotel in South Kensington. Her name was Christine Granville – Churchill's favourite spy. That she died young was perhaps unsurprising. That she had survived the Second World War was remarkable.The daughter of a feckless Polish aristocrat and his wealthy Jewish wife, Christine fled to Britain on the outbreak of war and persuaded MI6 to make her their first female recruit. She took on mission after mission, skiing into occupied Poland, serving in Egypt and later parachuting into occupied France.Her quick wit, courage and determination won her release from arrest more than once, and she saved the lives of several fellow officers, including one of her many lovers just hours before he was due to be eTrade ReviewA stunning biographical achievement -- Alison Weir, lison Weir, New York Times bestselling author of Innocent Traitor and The Lady ElizabethClare Mulley tells her story with a bravura that matches Christine's charismatic character * Saga *A fine account of Christine Granville's extraordinary war, told with skill and care . . . Mulley succeeds in making her human . . . inspiring * Literary Review *Compulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life. Understandably obsessed by her charismatic subject, she has written a thrilling book and paid due homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both hands * Daily Telegraph *A breath-taking story, told with panache and sympathy for an extraordinary heroine. Mulley vividly brings to life not only a resourceful and unusual woman but in doing so helps us understand what makes an ordinary person act with superhuman courage in times of adversity. The Spy Who Loved is required reading for anyone interested in understanding what makes an ordinary person act with superhuman courage in times of adversity. This is a gripping read -- Anne Sebba, New York Times bestselling author of That WomanNot only was Christine Granville Britain's first woman agent in World War II but carried out some of the most daring missions ever conceived. Her biographer Clare Mulley has provided a vivid account of her activities yet maintains a balanced assessment of the results. Careful research has created sustained tension, vitality and immediacy which are truly page-turning -- Gordon Thomas, bestselling author of The Pope's Jews and Gideon's SpiesI enjoyed and admired The Spy Who Loved . . . A really gripping account of the remarkable Christine Granville -- Simon Mawer, bestselling author of Trapeze and The Glass RoomAn astonishing story, brilliantly told. If a Hollywood movie isn't made about Christine Granville's remarkable life, I'd be amazed -- Charles Cumming, award-winning author of A Foreign CountryImpressively researched, and absolutely fascinating. Christine Granville is one of those women you can't help wishing you'd met in real life -- Jojo Moyes, award-winning author of Me Before YouCompulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life... She has written a thrilling book, and paid overdue homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both hands * The Sunday Telegraph *Mulley writes well . . . This is both a compelling read and a testimony to the work of a dedicated opponent of Nazism. I highly recommend it * BBC History Magazine *Spellbinding saga of espionage and adventure * Vogue.com *Admirable and overdue -- Ben Macintyre, The New York Times Book ReviewOustanding . . . While a few books about Christine have emerged in the intervening decades, only now, with the publication of Clare Mulley's scrupulously researched and expertly rendered biography, do we have a multi-dimensional, uncensored, impartial portrait of the legendary spy – said to be Churchill's favorite – whose forty-four-year existence was filled with more eye-popping adventures than we'd find plausible in any novel or movie * The Daily Beast *Well-written and thoroughly researched . . . One British functionary described [Granville's] dispatches from the field as 'good reading.' The same can be said of Ms. Mulley's biography of this extraordinary woman * Wall Street Journal *Excellent . . . A romping adventure of international espionage, grand plots and sex, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance . . . [a] well-researched portrayal, a fascinating and riveting account of an exceptional spy's exceptional life . . . An exemplary feminist biography, which, without ever slipping into didacticism, takes its subject, her desires and her choices seriously * Haaretz *A dazzling tale * Maclean's *Mulley gives a remarkable, charismatic woman her due in this tantalizing biography -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)Compulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life . . . She has written a thrilling book, and paid overdue homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both hands -- The Sunday Telegraph (UK)Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine -- The Sunday Times (UK)Engrossing biography details the high-voltage life of one of Britain's most remarkable female spies . . . Fascinating -- Mail on Sunday (UK)

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Book SynopsisOver forty million people a year travel to Vegas, more than to Mecca. It is a global celebrity, an improbable oasis, a place offering bank-breaking fortunes and instant gratification, 24/7, with no moral debits. Award-winning writer Timothy O’Grady lived in Vegas for two years. He finally began to understand it when he talked to people who had grown up there, the children of the card dealers and cocktail shakers, the jugglers and the dancers – young people who had been bearing witness to this strange city all their lives. One had her student loans and credit card limits stolen by her father. Another fled a sequence of exploiters until she found herself living in the storm drains under the casinos. There is the boy whose father entered him into a drinking contest when he was eight, the casino owner’s son, the erudite contortionist turned stripper. Each tells their own tale.In Children of Las Vegas, O’Grady renews his partnership with renowned photographer Steve Pyke. Through short essays, Pyke’s portraits and ten witness testimonies, he pierces the city’s glittering façade to reveal the darker reality that lies beneath.Trade Review'These are brave, honest, articulate stories, the children wise beyond their years . . . A modern fairy tale' Martina Evans, Irish Times

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A heartbreaking, beautifully written book. A classic for sure' Claire Tomalin, GuardianExtraordinary true stories of those who lived in East Germany. Travel through the remains of East Germany with Anna Funder as she meets the people who lived in the GDR before the fall of the wall. There is Miriam, condemned as an enemy of the state at sixteen. She hears the heartbreaking story of Frau Paul, who was separated from her young baby by the Berlin Wall. And she gets drunk with the legendary 'Mik Jegger' of the East, a man once declared by the authorities - to his face - to no longer exist. Then she meets the Stasi themselves - men and women who spied on their families and friends - people who, despite everything, are still loyal to the vanished regime and who long for the return of Communism. Stasiland is a gripping portrait of the horror and the absurdities of state oppression. In a world of total surveillance, its celebration of resilience and resistance is as potent as ever. 'A brilliant and necessary book about oppression and history ... Here is someone who knows how to tell the truth' Rachel Cusk 'Superb... Funder skillfully deploys fictional techniques to make the material jump off the page... Vividly conveyed [with] flashes of humour too' Independent on Sunday

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Book SynopsisI knew dogs could make a difference to the children's lives. I knew it the moment I watched a little boy, exhausted by pain and sickness, stretch out his hand to touch my dog's paw, and thenhe smiled.'Lyndsey Uglow has endured and overcome mental health challenges and much personal pain, including her young son's battle with Leukaemia. Lyndsey knows only too well the emotional rollercoaster experienced by parents supporting their children through critical illness, but she also knows just how much the company of dogs can alleviate just some of their worry and pain.The healing bond with dogs that helped her, she now shares with others in the shape of a dynasty of exceptional Golden Retrievers, including the incredible Leo. Since 2012, Lyndsey has made it possible for therapy dogs to visit more than 10,000 children, many critically ill, bringing smiles of simple joy and a sense of normality to lives ruled by pain, sadness and uncertainty in paediatric intensive care, cancer wards and pal

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Book SynopsisThe Personals reveals how classified ads are not just a few commercial lines of text in print or online they can be a treasure trove of fascinating human stories; stories of love, loss, loneliness, redemption and hope.Some people do Sudoku, others watch Netflix. Brian O'Connell loves the classified ads.In an era of spin doctors and press releases, celebrities and social influencers, the classified ads can open a door into the lives of ordinary people with extraordinary stories.What draws Brian to the classified ads are the intriguing human stories he finds there, the unexpected twists and turns, the personalities, the curious objects and the range of human experience waiting to be discovered.The Personals is a diverse collection of compelling stories about the people and the lives behind the small ads.

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Book Synopsis* ERNEST HEMINGWAY wrote to a friend: 'She can write rings around all of us ... I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book' * introduction by MARTHA GELLHORNTrade ReviewA beautiful and evocative story that deserves to be ranked alongside Karen Blixen's Out of Africa * Time Out *A poet's feeling for her land, an adventurer's response to life * New York Herald Tribune *[Markham] can write rings around all of us . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book -- Ernest HemingwayMarkham made her name as one of the first pilots to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 . . . A vivacious account of an eccentric life, with Markham's headstrong nature and spirit shining out * Daily Mail *A beautiful and evocative story that deserves to be ranked alongside Karen Blixen's OUT OF AFRICA * Time Out *A poet's feeling for her land, an adventurer's response to life * New York HERALD Tribune *Markham made her name as one of the first pilots to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 . . . A vivacious account of an eccentric life, with Markham's headstrong nature and spirit shining out * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis''FRANK, FILTHY and FEROCIOUSLY FUNNY'' Sunday Mirror''I loved every HONEST and HILARIOUS second!'' Carrie Hope Fletcher ''Made me CACKLE OUT LOUD on every single page'' Daisy BuchananLush (adj.) Very rich and providing great sensory pleasure (Oxford English Dictionary) (n.) A habitual drunkard (Oxford English Dictionary)Gabby and Emma have been best friends since primary school in Wales. Emma has a stable job, a nice home and has just got engaged. Gabby has had a succession of disastrous one-night stands and awful jobs since drama school . . . and she has just been diagnosed with scurvy. She has one year until the wedding to pull herself together and prove to her friends and family that she can be a proper grown-up.Described by Caitlin Moran as Trade ReviewGabrielle Fernie shares more of her most raucous stories with eye-watering honesty - a laugh-out-loud account of a young woman trying to get her disastrous life together before her best friend's wedding, to prove to everyone she can actually be a grown-up. * SheerLuxe.com *I ADORED Gabrielle Fernie's memoir, Lush - it's so giddy and gleeful and warm. She's a hugely gifted comic writer and there was something that made me cackle out loud on every single page -- Daisy Buchanan, author of HOW TO BE A GROWN-UPFrank, filthy and ferociously funny * Sunday Mirror *An enjoyable resurrection of the ladette, Lush covers drunken nights, one night stands and reality TV dating, showing not all Millennials are Instagram obsessed wellness devotees. * The Herald *Lush is only 'put-downable' because it makes you laugh so hard you fear if you continue reading you might burst. I loved every honest and hilarious second! -- Carrie Hope FletcherFernie's funny, filthy memoir about her life as a struggling actress and her attempts to pull herself together offers hope to anyone who feels growing up has somehow passed them by * iNews (Best non-fiction books for autumn 2018) *[Lush] had me guffawing on public transport -- Carrie Hope Fletcher * Metro *[A gift] for the friend whose cackle you can hear down the street. In this laugh riot, best friends Gabby and Emma have grown up together. When Emma reveals she is getting married, it dawns on Gabby she must grow up herself once and for all. Hilarious and debauched. * The Sun *I ADORED Gabrielle Fernie's memoir, Lush - it's so giddy and gleeful and warm. She's a hugely gifted comic writer and there was something that made me cackle out loud on every single page. * Daisy Buchanan, author of HOW TO BE A GROWN-UP *

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Book SynopsisA tale of obsession and very big fish from Jeremy Wade, the presenter of ITV''s RIVER MONSTERS.Over ten feet long, it weighs in at nearly a quarter of a ton. Covering its back are armoured plates made of bone. Five hundred stiletto-sharp teeth line its long crocodilian jaws. It''s a prehistoric beast of staggering proportions; a fearsome creature from the time of the dinosaurs.But the Alligator Gar, an air-breathing survivor from the Cretaceous period is still with us today, patrolling inland rivers, hunting in murky waters shared by human communities.And for Jeremy Wade, described as the ''greatest angling explorer of his generation'', the Gar and other outlandish freshwater predators have been an obsession for all his adult life. With names like Arapaima, Snakehead, Goonch, Goliath Tigerfish and Electric Eel, many of them have acquired an almost mythical status.In a quest that has taken him from the Amazon to the Congo, and from North AmericaTrade ReviewThe fishing fanatic's Downton Abbey... a terrific book * THE LADY *A serious angler with a genuinely pioneering streak, his written accompaniment to the series, now in paperback, is well crafted and, although the species are exotic, the tales of chasing elusive specimins will resonate with all anglers. * ANGLING TIMES *A reflective character with a hint of angst about him, he has a travel writer's eye and a philosopher's mind to go with his scientific background. * TROUT FISHERMAN *

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Book SynopsisBex and Laura really have pieced together the parachute we all need to help us land safely after falling into the world of loss and fertility struggles.' Elle Wright, author of A Bump In The RoadA practical and emotional self-help guide for anyone affected by miscarriage and pregnancy loss, from the co-hosts of the successful podcast, The Worst Girl Gang Ever.Following pregnancy loss, it can feel like you've forgotten how to speak and need to learn a new language. You can tell your story to a room full of people but if no-one speaks this new language, they won't understand. They will try but ultimately, they won't fully grasp what you are saying.This is us. This is our new language. It is a language built from pain, and it is a language we need to teach others. Welcome to our gang.We are so, so sorry that you've found yourself here. It's the gang you'd never chose to join but it is also a community chock-a-block full of kind, supportive, warrior women just like you.We are here to tell Trade Review‘Bex and Laura really have pieced together the parachute we all need to help us land safely after falling into the world of loss and fertility struggles. It’s like the kind friend who climbs down into the hole with you through the worst parts, and gives you a leg back up when you’re ready to try again. Thoughtful, helpful, and a little bit sweary… my kind of manual!’ Elle Wright, Feathering the Empty Nest and author of A Bump In The Road ‘Buckingham and Gunn are part of a growing group of women helping to change the place of miscarriage in public consciousness.’ Nell Frizzell, Vogue ‘[Bex and Laura] are here to offer support to others and smash the stigma of baby loss, with their powerful mantra: “We get you. And we’ve got you.”’OK

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Book SynopsisFrom storytelling phenomenon The Moth: a collection about risk, courage, and facing the unknown, drawn from the best stories ever told on their stages. All These Wonders features The Moth's customary variety of voices. Storytellers range from Suzi Ronson (who styled David Bowie's hair into Ziggy Stardust) to author Jung Chang, by way of a hip hop 'one hit wonder', an astronomer gazing at the surface of Pluto for the first time and a young female spy-tester in World War II. They share their ventures into uncharted territory - and how their lives were changed forever by what they found there. These true stories have been carefully selected and adapted to the page by the creative minds at The Moth, and encompass the very best of the 17,000+ stories performed in live Moth shows around the world. Filled with a variety of humourous, moving, and gripping tales from all walks of life, it is timed to celebrate the Moth's 20th anniversary year.Trade ReviewPraise for The Moth: 'Brilliant and quietly addictive * Guardian *Beautifully simple, authentic, a little bit therapeutic and utterly addictive. It is a joyful reminder of the power of the story and the need for story-telling. * Sunday Times *The stories remain very much in the voices of those who spoke them and thus retain the vulnerability and rawness inherent in the situation of one person, alone at the mic, telling a room full of strangers something personal. * Observer *The stories not only maintain their oral integrity but take on new dimensions, allowing you to ponder a turn of events or swirl the language around in your head without missing the next part of the story. * New York Times *While these tales transport us into the lives of others, they also invoke recognition with our own; there are connecting wires with even the most disparate experiences and existences, the 'I's are turned into 'we's. They fulfil our fundamental human need to communicate, learn and grow through others. * The List *One of the hottest events in town ... enthralling, funny and moving * The Times *New York's hottest and hippest literary ticket * Wall Street Journal *A wonderful new book ... Some [stories] are heartbreakingly sad; some laugh-out-loud funny; some momentous and tragic; almost all of them resonant or surprising. They are stories that attest to the startling varieties and travails of human experience, and the shared threads of love, loss, fear and kindness that connect us ... The stories here...have translated seamlessly to the page. Though they are all relatively short ... most possess a remarkable emotional depth and sincerity ... They are...closely focused, finely tuned narratives that have the force of an epiphany, while opening out to disclose the panoramic vistas of one person's life or the shockingly disparate worlds they have inhabited or traversed -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *All These Wonders is replete with wondrous true stories of loves, losses, rerouted dreams, and existential crises of nearly every unsugarcoated flavor -- Maria Popova * Brain Pickings *All These Wonders is divided into seven expertly curated chapters. The effect is an anthology of seven Mainstage shows, averaging six stories per show. Each juxtaposes sensational stories by famous names (Ishmael Beah, John Turturro, Tig Notaro, Louis C.K.) with those by relatively unknown storytellers, whose narratives, quite often, deliver the biggest emotional punches -- Megan Labrise * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisIt's time we celebrated women in adventureWhat does "toughness" mean to you? Perhaps it's being physically fit and mentally resilient. Perhaps it's doing something no one else has done before. Perhaps it's breaking down boundaries and proving what you can do, in spite of the naysayers. Perhaps it's travelling alone, immersing yourself in new cultures and meeting new people. Perhaps it's running ultramarathons in the blistering heat and beating the competition. Perhaps it's conquering your fears.The badass adventurers in this collection are all fearless, intelligent, compassionate and curious about the world - and they all happen to be female. From endurance obstacle races to arctic expeditions, from mountain climbing to wingsuit flying, from horse trekking to swimming the English Channel, they have set the bar high for what women are capable of. Let yourself be inspired by their stories of grit, courage, determination, triumph and heartbreak - you never know, it might lead to something incredible!

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Book Synopsis**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER****SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD**Uncovering the mystery of her mother's disappearance as a child: Laura Cumming, prize-winning author and art critic, takes a closer look at her family story.'A modern masterpiece' GuardianAutumn 1929 - a young girl is kidnapped from a beach. Five agonising days go by before she is discovered safe and well in a nearby village. The child remembers nothing of these events and at home, nobody ever speaks of them again.Decades later, Laura Cumming delves into the mystery surrounding her mother's disappearance. Examining everything from old family photos to letters, tickets and recipes, she uncovers a series of secrets and lies perpetuated not just by her family but by the whole community and in doing so unlocks a mystery almost a century old.'A moving, many-sided human story of great depth and tenderness, and a revelation of how art enriches life' Sunday TimesShortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionShortlisted for the Rathbones Folio PrizeLonglisted for the RSL Ondaatje PrizeTrade Review*Memoir of the Year* How we see -- and who see and what secrets they choose to share -- is at the heart of this exquisitely composed memoir... A peerless detective story that keeps you guessing to the end * The Sunday Times *On Chapel Sands is much more than a search for truth. It is a moving, many-sided human story of great depth and tenderness, and a revelation of how art enriches life. In short, a masterpiece -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Cumming skilfully withholds key twists in the tale, revealing them at just the right moment. There are surprises, but no shocks. Her prose is too elegant for such gaudiness – composed and restrained but empathetic -- Leaf Arbuthnot * The Times *Brilliant... This book is a love letter to her [Cumming's] mother, whose warmth, articulacy and survival instincts shine though. It's also an intimate portrait of a village community, with its storybook characters (butcher, baker, dairyman, bell-ringer, gravedigger) and their wonderful old-fashioned names -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *By turns beautiful, wistful, and ominous… the reasons behind the kidnap, and the repurcussions, are every bit as complex as any served up by fiction, and, oddly enough, the dénouement -- or succession of dénouements -- is just as satisfying, perhaps more so... a meditation on the way some people disappear, and time erases memory... so familiar as to be universal, and will probably ring bells with all but the sunniest reader (***** Five Stars) -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisSet at the height of World War II, Escaping the Russian Onslaught is the untold story of Ruth Meissner's harrowing journey from her besieged home in Pomerania, Germany, to safety in the middle of Germany. When Ruth Meissner heard hooves clattering on the cobblestones of the family's country estate of Klein Pobloth, she knew her family was in trouble. Tensions rose as a German equestrian school fleeing the Russians sought refuge in their home. Escaping became imperative for the family's survival. Ruth risked the only life she'd ever known to save her young children, Susanne, Hans-Georg, and baby Dorlies, from the Russian Army and Hitler's Nazi Regime. Their harrowing journey began from their home in Pomerania, Germany, to find safety at Schloss Prüzen. The Schloss had a two-way radio, where they heard Pomerania had fallen. By 15 May 1945, they reached Vorrade near Lübeck, where two former friends came to live with the family group. Ruth always remembered her husband's warning before he left for the Western Front: Ruth, do what you must to save yourself and our children. This is their story.

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Book SynopsisThe sequel to BOB: NO ORDINARY CAT. A special edition for children aged 11 and above of the number one bestseller THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BOB.

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Book SynopsisBeware the women who are called witches, or those who claim the name for themselves...Banshees - a howling night-witch and harbinger of death; She-devils - Lilith and her daughters; or Bitches - Hecate, whose chariot is drawn by dogs.Alluring women, enchantresses, seekers of revenge, wise old women and badly-behaved girls. As Shahrukh Husain says, witches are ''womanhood in all its complexity''.Over fifty stories of crones and nixies, shape shifters and beauties are here, including the loving fox witch of Japan; Italy''s Witch-Bea-Witch; Scotland''s Goodwife of Laggan; Biddy Earl and the terrifying Kali and Baba Yaga who comes in many forms to haunt, entice, possess, transform and challenge. From every corner of the globe, with tom-foolery, fun, strife and victory, these folklore and legends celebrate women who step out of line.Trade ReviewShahrukh Husain gives us a delightful array of witches of all kinds from across the globe - from the kindly to the cruel, from the wise to the wicked. A collection of stories that won't fail to entertain. -- Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women

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Book SynopsisQUEEN GIVEN THE MARVEL COMICS TREATMENT! Former Marvel Comics editor and writer Tim Quinn has created a unique Platinum Jubilee souvenir with a brand new comic book telling the life story of Queen Elizabeth II. Quinn has used his colleagues from the publishing giant to illustrate the book. "As I researched the Queen's life story, I was struck by how visual the tale was," says Quinn. "It proved to be a perfect story to approach in exactly the same way we produced the super-hero titles at Marvel Comics." The book captures the Queen's story from childhood to the present day. It has been put together to raise funds for the Merseyside children's charity Liverpool Heartbeat who create literacy projects for schools. "There's nothing quite like the Marvel method of storytelling to capture the imagination of even the most ardent non-reader," says Quinn. "The combination of the Marvel approach and the Queen's amazing story has proved to be a visual treat." The book was presented to the Queen at Windsor Castle and received a very positive response which is featured in this new printing.

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed golf author and historian Stephen Proctor tells the story of the rise of women's golf in Britain and the U.S. through the rivalry that developed in the 1920s between Joyce Wethered and Glenna Collett.Matchlesstells the story of these two incomparable golfers women who personified the ambitions of their age.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisTeachers inspire and nurture children. Never has this been more evident than during Covid-19, where teachers risk their own health and wellbeing to ensure that no child is left behind, either face to face or online. Yet teachers do not live at school. They have rich lives we know little about. These stories explore the human side of our educators.

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Book SynopsisAS SEEN ON BBC2 BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUBMontgomery, Alabama. 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference in her community. She wants to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a tumbledown cabin and into the heart of the Williams family, Civil learns there is more to her new role than she bargained for. Neither of the two young sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling their welfare benefits, that''s reason enough to have them on birth control. When Civil discovers a terrible injustice, she must choose between carrying out instructions or following her heart and decides to risk everything to stand up for what is right.Inspired by true events and a shocking chapter of recent history, Take My Hand is a novel that will open your eyes and break your heart. An unforgettablTrade ReviewIt is Civil's determination and resilience that imbue the book with undeniable power and grace. I cheered out loud! * Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry *An impressive arrival . . . This is a book about choice, freedom and forgiveness, that pulls threads of history together, and in doing so, catapults its ideas forward . . . As with all good historical fiction, Take My Hand speaks to the now' * Irish Times *Soon-to-be classic . . . shot through with spirit and hope, it's one hell of a book * Stylist, The fiction books you can’t miss in 2022 *Extraordinary and powerful . . . a must-read * Prima *Compelling . . . A gut-punch of a book, heartrending and suspenseful in turn * Irish Examiner *An utterly gripping tale from start to finish, Take My Hand is storytelling at its finest. -- The top 30 books that everyone will be reading in 2022 * Glamour UK *Delicate and poetic, Dolen manages to fuse beauty and tragedy in her work, which makes her a masterful storyteller and gifted writer. In this story, Dolen speaks eloquently for those who, in being denied the right of having a choice and agency over their bodies, have lost their voice. This haunting tale, captured through the lens of an unforgettable narrator and a cast of memorable characters, will stay with you for a very, very long time * Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun *When you know Dolan Perkins-Valdez is writing a book, you know that it is going to be a spectacular thing. And that is the case with Take My Hand. Conveyed as softly as a familial conversation, this is a work that makes difficult things endurable. Perkins-Valdez relays untold pain honestly, astutely, but most of all, gently, like a sage would. That is another way of saying that she crafts this book with great truth and wisdom. As a result, Take My Hand is the kind of rare, elevating, illuminating, useful art that we would all do well to grasp for dear life. * Robert Jones, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of The Prophets *In her newest novel, Dolen Perkins-Valdez probes the many ways institutional racism and classism inflicts lasting scars, especially on young Black women - and the grace, courage, and love needed to begin to heal those wounds. Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze, Take My Hand is an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption, the dangers of good intentions, and the folly of believing anyone can decide what's best for another's life * Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere *A wonderful novel. Moving, powerful and completely absorbing - I cared deeply about all the characters and rooted for them to the last page * Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love *Inspired by a real life case, this is the story of two sisters aged 12 and 14 who were sterilised without consent in Alabama in 1973, a case that shed light on a shocking chapter in American history * Good Housekeeping, The books we're looking forward to in 2022 *A deeply moving novel about a reprehensible time, Dolen Perkins-Valdez writes with such shattering eloquence that Take My Hand is impossible to put down. I have absolutely no doubt that this is a story that will stay with me for a very long time * AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird *Arresting, horrifying, heartbreaking and utterly immersive. It will make you want to scream at the sky * Kirsty Capes, author of Careless *Take My Hand is a gem: one of those rare and beautiful novels that walks the balance beam of heartbreak and hope. Dolen Perkins-Valdez can breathe life into history through fiction that adds deep and profound meaning to the past - and makes its relevance to the present meaningful and clear * Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch *Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a brilliant writer in a class all by herself. I love her voice and how she makes the past feel immediate and relevant, because it is * Terry McMillan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to Exhale *Dolen Perkins-Valdez pens a powerfully emotional tale that calls upon the many ways Black women create sisterhoods. The strength and courage the characters exhibit will stay with readers for a long time * AARP Sisters *Take My Hand will break your heart and lift your soul. A young nurse with big dreams of helping her community comes to an Alabama clinic and is immediately embroiled in the lives of two young Black girls, caught first in the trap of rural poverty and then in the spotlight of a national court case as their mistreatment at the clinic's hands comes out into the open. Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a consummate storyteller: profound, transcendent, heart-wrenching. * Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code *Perkins-Valdez's latest is a piercing look into a shameful moment in America's history, and it could not be more timely. Her electrifying, masterful novel brims with fierce compassion and deserves attention and accolades galore. I will be recommending it to everyone I know * Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue *Moving, important, and timely, Take My Hand is both a poignant personal story and a riveting courtroom drama. By refusing to accept the status quo, big-hearted, idealistic Civil Townsend sets events in motion that eventually change hearts, minds, and lives, including her own. A perfect book-club pick. * Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles *This powerful novel finds the humanity in one of the most inhumane chapters of American history. Take My Hand will enrage you. It will illuminate you. It just might redeem you. In the process, it will take your breath away. I don't say this often, but it's a must-read * Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet *Take My Hand moved me so much. It has everything I love in a novel: characters that you love spending time with, a story that moves you and sweeps you along, something to learn about, and a huge amount of heart. It's rare that a book about something so awful can leave you feeling so hopeful. It will make you want to change the world for the better - it certainly changed me * Chrissy Ryan, BookBar *

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Book SynopsisI'm going to love my baby and give her lots of attention,' Jade said. I'll show my mum she's wrong.'Jade, 17, is pregnant, homeless and alone when she's brought to live with Cathy. Jade is desperate to keep her baby, but little more than a child herself, she struggles with the responsibilities her daughter brings.Cathy is worried as soon as Jade arrives: she's never looked after a pregnant teenager before, but none of the mother and baby carers is free, and seventeen years old, seven months pregnant and homeless Jade is in a desperate situation.But Jade doesn't want to listen or advice and although her daughter is born safely it isn't long before Jade's in trouble with the police.Cathy knows that Jade loves her daughter with all her heart, but will she be able to get through to Jade in time to make her realise just how much she might lose?

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Book Synopsis*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND MAJOR MOTION MOVIE PICTURE ON AMAZON PRIME, STARRING MARK WAHLBERG, SIMU LIU, JULIET RYLANCE AND NATHALIE EMMANUEL*''A shaggy dog story with a lovely happy ending'' BBC BreakfastWhen you are racing 435 miles through the jungles and mountains of South America, the last thing you need is a stray dog tagging along. But that''s exactly what happened to Mikael Lindnord, captain of a Swedish adventure racing team, when he threw a scruffy but dignified mongrel a meatball one afternoon.When they left the next day, the dog followed. Try as they might, they couldn''t lose him - and soon Mikael realised that he didn''t want to. Crossing rivers, battling illness and injury, and struggling through some of the toughest terrain on the planet, the team and the dog walked together towards the finish line, where Mikael decided he would save Arthur and bring him back to his family in Sweden, whatever it took.Trade ReviewLindnord draws readers into his story, confiding the many ways that Arthur touched and enriched his life . . . [a] story about the powerful connection that can develop between people and dogs * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisCOMING TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ON 27 MAY 2019_________In March 2014, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported.Trade ReviewOne of the most terrifying books I've ever read. Move over Stephen King and Michael Crichton - this really happened, within sight of the Washington Monument. And sooner or later it will happen again -- Arthur C. ClarkeReads like a nightmarish Stephen King thriller...It will keep you awake at night because you know that this is not a figment of the author's imagination * Today *A nightmarish scenario...dramatic...frightening * Daily Mail *The spookiest story of 1994...A terrifying premonition of what might come out of the woods * The Sunday Times *The first chapter of The Hot Zone is one of the most horrifying things I've read in my entire life...And then it gets worse. What a remarkable piece of work. I devoured it in two or three sittings and have a feeling the memories will linger a long time -- Stephen King

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Book SynopsisSet in and around the city of Veracruz in Mexico, This Is Not Miami delivers a series of devastating stories – spiralling from real events – that bleed together reportage and the author’s rich and rigorous imagination. These crónicas – a genre unique to Latin American writing that blends reportage, narrative non-fiction and novelistic forms – probe deeply into the motivations of murderers and misfits, into their desires and circumstances, forcing us to understand them – and even empathize – despite our wish to disdain them as monsters. As in her hugely acclaimed novels Hurricane Season and Paradais, and once again brilliantly translated by Sophie Hughes, Fernanda Melchor’s masterful stories show how the violent and shocking aberrations that make the headlines are only the surface ruptures of a society on the brink of chaos.Trade Review‘The result is an absorbing, compassionately rendered portrait of a place, its people and its ills. The stories are punctuated by brief but telling allusions to the material conditions that sustain the moral degradation she describes: police corruption, social security cuts, prison overcrowding, unscrupulous building contractors. Melchor’s macabre aesthetic has shades of gothic horror, but she is a Dickensian at heart.’ — Houman Barekat, Sunday Times‘Melchor evokes the stories of Flannery O’Connor, or, more recently, Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings. Impressive.’ ― Julian Lucas, New York Times‘Fernanda Melchor has a powerful voice, and by powerful I mean unsparing, devastating, the voice of someone who writes with rage and has the skill to pull it off.’ ― Samanta Schweblin, author of Fever Dream‘Time spent with her writing leaves no doubt: the unholy noise she creates is the work of someone who knows exactly which notes to hit.’ — Chris Power, Guardian‘Don’t get too hung up on what exactly This Is Not Miami is, though, and you’ll find its world filthy, disquieting and compulsive.’ — Pippa Bailey, New Statesman‘She isn’t holding a Stendhalian mirror up to Mexican society; she’s dissecting its body and its psyche at the same time, unafraid of what she might find. ... In Melchor’s world, there’s no resisting the violence, much less hating it. All a novelist can do, she seems to suggest, is take a long, unsparing look at the hell that we’ve made.’ — Juan Gabriel Vázquez, New Yorker‘In addition to bravely presenting dark truths, Melchor writes from a good heart…Melchor makes her point (not without sorrow and gruesome humor), then gets out of the way, so that her subjects can speak.’ — William T. Vollmann, New York Times‘Melchor isn’t inventing anything in broad strokes…She’s not playing with facts so much as how facts are delivered — oral history, first person, second person, ghost story, legend. A lesser journalist massages details to more perfectly fit a narrative. Melchor is doing something more like the opposite: playing with form to expose the lies, hypocrisies, hatreds and oversights that soften or avoid the reality of human evil. Melchor isn’t claiming to know the whole story. But what she means to say is that we should think twice before we do as well.’ — Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times‘Skillfully translated by Hughes, this is a book that’s as gorgeous as it is dark, and it proves that Melchor is one of the finest writers working today. Absolutely stunning.’ —Kirkus starred review‘Melchor resists the seductive burden of explaining the realities (or exaggerations) of such non-European regions in blistering, true-crime detail. Though based on real events, these relatos are decidedly not journalistic, and not even realist. Melchor’s prose blooms under that strange light.’ — Lisa Yin Zhang, Frieze‘Translator Sophie Hughes has performed another heroic feat in rendering Melchor’s winding sentences into breathtakingly stylish English. These stories, packed with dismembered limbs and immolation, are not for the faint-hearted, but Melchor’s writing offers a special, twisted kind of beauty.’ — Michael Delgado, i News‘In finding a narrative for those who are rarely given literary or any other kind of airtime, and in writing in a vernacular that acknowledges the cruelty that lurks in the language of neutral observation, Melchor writes a new kind of folklore that allows us to hear the ferocious reality of contemporary violence.’ — Jess Cotton, Jacobin‘Seamlessly translated by Sophie Hughes from the initial Spanish, This Is Not Miami is a compelling read. However, be warned; these tales may well devour your dreaming.’ — Annie Hayter, Big Issue‘In a country where corruption runs rampant, where the official story from the police or the government is tainted, inadequate, or missing altogether, This Is Not Miami functions as a counternarrative: Melchor presents a corrective simply by getting close to her subjects and telling their stories one by one, often in their own voices.…This Is Not Miami makes clear just how grounded the heightened drama of Hurricane Season and Paradais is. The connections between Melchor’s fiction and nonfiction go beyond the subject matter—poverty and superstition, misogyny and sexual violence—and include how a story can be corrupted as it passes from person to person.’ — Laura Adamczyk, The Nation

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Book SynopsisLied about and hounded by his ex inlaws, his ex wife and her new boyfriend, Social Services and The Family Courts, Garry Johnson was close to being destroyed, mentally, physically and financially. He stood alone and nobody believed his side of a very bad break up and messy divorce. When children are involved it always makes is so much worse. How do you stand up to lies and bullying when no one believes you, and everyone believes your ex wife? Made out to be the villain, maltreated by the family courts and social services, Garry Johnson finally found the strength to fight back. Ironically his custody battle lasted twice as long as the Second World War, and nearly cost Garry his life when his heart stopped - twice, due to the stress and harrassment he had to suffer from the very people who are meant to help families. Garry Johnson's true story of one mans fight to expose the secretive Family Courts and social services and get access to his children is indeed a tale of courage in the face of persecution. Dont miss this compelling tale of one fathers fight for his right to be a father to his children.

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Book SynopsisGo behind the scenes with Maggie Alphonsi - the iconic face of women's rugby and member of the England side that won the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup.This is her extraordinary against-all-the-odds story of how she became the best player in the world despite having to battle against racism, sexism, and prejudice.

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Book SynopsisThe autobiography – the dangerous life and wild times – of Sonny Barger, the legendary leader of the Hell’s Angels. Sonny Barger is the Hell’s Angel of all Hell’s Angels, the motorcycle club that has been the scourge of America for over forty years. Sonny was their de facto leader for much of that time, the man who Hunter S. Thompson immortalised in his 1965 classic Hells Angels, noting ‘Barger is nothing short of Winston Churchill when it comes to leading people’. He’s been called an American legend and he’s feared and revered by people on both sides of the law. From the club’s formation in the 1940s to the height of their notoriety twenty years later, from Sonny’s first-hand account of what really happened with the Rolling Stones at Altamont to his periods of imprisonment, from his fights with rival gangs and the police to his own battle with cancer, ‘Hell’s Angel’ sets the record straight. Sonny Barger has ridden with the Angels for forty years, obeying no law but that of the HAMC. For the first time, this is his own – and their own – story.

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Book SynopsisThe International No. 1 Bestseller A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick 'Cuts to the heart of who we are' Sunday Times 'A book that begs discussion' Vanity Fair All Lina wanted was to be desired. How did she end up in a marriage with two children and a husband who wouldn’t touch her? All Maggie wanted was to be understood. How did she end up in a relationship with her teacher and then in court, a hated pariah in her small town? All Sloane wanted was to be admired. How did she end up a sexual object of men, including her husband, who liked to watch her have sex with other men and women? 'I will probably re-read it every year of my life' Caitlin Moran 'Will have millions nodding in recognition' The Times 'As gripping as the most gripping thriller' Marian Keyes 'When I picked it up, I felt I'd been waiting half my life to read it' Observer 'The kind of bold, timely, once-in-a-generation book that every house should have a copy of, and probably will before too long' New Statesman The book Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Alexa Chung, Jodie Comer, Reese Witherspoon, Harry Styles, Fearne Cotton, Caitriona Balfe, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sharon Horgan, Zoe Ball, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Davina McCall, Gemma Chan, Christine and the Queens and Gillian Anderson are all readingTrade ReviewThe most important book I’ve read this decade, and possibly ever -- Books of the Decade * Stylist *My best book of the year so far. And probably next year’s too -- Jojo MoyesControversial, detailed, spellbinding, upsetting, true and compelling in equal measure -- Books of the Year * Sunday Times *Painful and beautiful, gutting and sexy. I don’t think I’ve read a book that has captivated me as intensely as this one, which I still think about, months later, in the quietest hours of the night * Red *A book with the thrill of the new that you can expect to dominate WhatsApp threads, line Tube carriages and pop up in foreign Airbnbs for years to come * Evening Standard *The biggest debut of the year . . . Groundbreaking * Vogue *Captures the pain and powerlessness of desire as well as its heady joys -- Books of the Year * Economist *For anyone who thinks they know what women want, this book is an alarm, and its volume is turned all the way up * Time Magazine *This book wrecked me, in a good way -- Reese WitherspoonWhether you are a man curious to know how the woman in your life thinks and feels, or a woman who longs to hear someone articulate the thoughts you’ve never even admitted to yourself, Three Women should be on your bedside table * Irish Independent *

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Book Synopsis'Exquisite' – Daily MailShortlisted for the Walter Scott PrizeBased on true events, The Good People is Hannah Kent's engrossing novel about superstition and devoted love.Ireland, 1825. Nóra, bereft after the sudden death of her husband, finds herself alone and caring for her young grandson Micheál, who cannot speak or walk. What happened to the healthy, happy grandson she met when her daughter was still alive?Mary arrives in the valley to help Nóra just as the whispers are spreading: stories of unexplained misfortunes, of illnesses, and rumours that Micheál is a changeling child who is bringing bad luck to the valley.Nance has lived in the valley all of her life. She is a healer who knows how to use the plants and berries of the woodland; she understands the magic in the old ways. And she might be able to help Micheál . . .As these three women are Trade ReviewExceptional . . . The Good People is an even better novel than Burial Rites — a starkly realised tale of love, grief and misconceived beliefs * Sunday Times *Lyrical and unsettling . . . A literary novel with the pace and tension of a thriller . . . I am in awe of Kent's gifts as a storyteller. -- Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the TrainAn imaginative tour-de-force that recreates a way of perceiving the world with extraordinary vividness . . . With its exquisite prose, this harrowing, haunting narrative of love and suffering is sure to be a prize-winner * Daily Mail *Kent has a terrific feel for the language of her setting. The prose is richly textured with evocative vocabulary . . . A serious and compelling novel about how those in desperate circumstances cling to ritual as a bulwark against their own powerlessness -- Graeme Macrae Burnet * Guardian *Hannah Kent's second novel is a thorough study of the faiths and rituals of a rural community, as well as a poignant portrayal of grief * Financial Times *The Good People lies somewhere between Andrew Michael Hurley's gothic The Loney and Emma Donoghue's The Wonder . . . an absorbing and imaginative novel about superstition and the old ways * The Times *A thoroughly engrossing entrée into the macabre nature of a vanished society, its virtues and its follies and its lethal impulses . . . utterly unexpected -- Thomas Keneally, Booker Prize-author of Schindler's ArkBeautiful . . . the setting and the characters drew me in immediately and kept me completely absorbed -- Claire King, author of The Night RainbowAn immersive, startlingly lyrical portrait of a time when the borders between logic and superstition were dangerously porous . . . thrillingly alive * Metro *Remarkable . . . Kent displays an uncanny ability to immerse herself in an unfamiliar landscape and to give that landscape a life - a voice - that is utterly convincing . . . a haunting novel, shrewdly conceived and beautifully written * The Australian *A sensitively drawn tale of love, grief, and terrible loss * The Age *The Good People is a sensitively drawn tale of love, grief, and terrible loss, set in a tiny Irish village in the early 19th century . . . filled with descriptions of ritual and rhythm * Canberra Times *

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Book SynopsisThe phenomenal bestseller A Street Cat Named Bob, featuring best friends James and street cat Bob, now available as a special edition for children aged 11 and above.''We are all given second chances every day of our lives, but we don''t usually take them. Then I met Bob.''James Bowen was a homeless musician, busking on the streets of London to survive. But the moment he met an injured stray cat with ginger fur and big green eyes, his life began to change. Together James and Bob the cat faced the world - and won. A purrfectly true ''tail'' of love and friendship to make you smile!Please note contains some drug references.Trade ReviewIt is moving and life-affirming. Everyone should read this. * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - NOW UPDATED WITH FOUR NEW CHAPTERS'This swashbuckling book is a furious attack on the Russian president. Killer in the Kremlin traces Putin's bloody career... a life littered with corpses.' - THE TIMESA gripping and explosive account of Vladimir Putin's tyranny, charting his rise from spy to tsar, exposing the events that led to his invasion of Ukraine and his assault on Europe.In Killer in the Kremlin, award-winning journalist John Sweeney takes readers from the heart of Putin's Russia to the killing fields of Chechnya, to the embattled cities of an invaded Ukraine.In a disturbing exposé of Putin's sinister ambition, Sweeney draws on thirty years of his own reporting - from the Moscow apartment bombings to the atrocities committed by the Russian Army in Chechnya, to the annexation of Crimea and a confrontation with Putin over the shooting down of flight MH17 - to understand the true extent of Putin's long war.Drawing on eyewitness accounts and compelling testimony from those who have suffered at Putin's hand, we see the heroism of the Russian opposition, the bravery of the Ukrainian resistance, and the brutality with which the Kremlin responds to such acts of defiance, assassinating or locking away its critics, and stopping at nothing to achieve its imperialist aims.In the midst of one of the darkest acts of aggression in modern history - Russia's invasion of Ukraine - this book shines a light on Putin's rule and poses urgent questions about how the world must respond.'An extraordinarily prescient and fascinating book.' - NIHAL ARTHANAYAKEInstant Sunday Times bestseller, March 2023Trade ReviewAn extraordinarily prescient and fascinating book. * NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE *This swashbuckling book is a furious attack on the Russian president. Killer in the Kremlin traces Putin's bloody career... a life littered with corpses. * The Times *'No one in the world will forgive you for killing peaceful people.' * VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE *'Words have power, Putin is afraid of the truth, I have always said that.' * ALEXEI NAVALNY, LEADER OF THE RUSSIAN OPPOSITION *'Putin is the main war criminal of the 21st century.' * IRYNA VENEDIKTOVA, UKRAINE’S PROSECUTOR-GENERAL *'The evil dwarf-president is merely another one of those damn fool misfits like that scrappy little Stalin, or wee little Lenin.' * BORIS NEMTSOV, ASSASSINATED RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER *'A dictator, bent on rebuilding an empire, will never erase the people's love for liberty. This man cannot remain in power.' * JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES *'Examines the sins of the Russian leader's regime' * iPAPER *Vivid, harrowing and urgently personal * DAILY MAIL *

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Book SynopsisThe fire was visible from seventy miles away and the heat generated was so intense that a helicopter could only circle the rig at a perimeter of one mile. On the surface of the sea, a converted fishing trawler inched as close as possible, but the paint on the vessel’s hull blistered and burnt. In the water surrounding the inferno, men’s heads could be seen bobbing like apples as their yellow hard hats melted with the heat.On 6 July 1988 a series of explosions ripped through the Piper Alpha oil platform, 110 miles north-east of Aberdeen in the North Sea. Ablaze with 226 men on board, the searing temperatures caused the platform to collapse in just two hours. Only sixty-one would survive by leaping over 100 feet into the water below.Newly updated for the thirtieth year since the tragedy, Fire in the Night by journalist Stephen McGinty tells in gripping detail the devastating story of that summer evening. Combining interviews with survivors, witness statements and transcripts from the official inquiry into the disaster, this is the moving and vivid tale of what remains the worst offshore oil-rig disaster to date.Trade ReviewFire in the Night is rare and riveting, among the classics of Scottish reporting. -- Andrew O’HaganGenuinely gripping reading...[McGinty] has an eye for the illuminating detail, both human and technical * The Scotsman *The stories of how survivors escaped from 'the inferno' of the rig are truly heart-stopping * The Herald (Glasgow) *

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Book SynopsisHarry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry''s modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Their story captured the heart of Cold War-era America-a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshots-and their win was the stuff of legend.

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Book SynopsisThe internationally bestselling account of the grief of heartbreak, based on three true stories, for fans of Three Women and Conversations on Love.Heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect. And so we are left in the middle of the ocean, floating in a dinghy with no anchor, while the world waits for us to be okay again. ‘Jessie Stephens’ journalistic skill shines as she weaves together true stories with a narrative as compelling as any novel’ – Jane Harper Claire is excited to bring her partner Maggie back home, but even as they build a new life together, she fears a distance is growing between them. Patrick is a lonely university student, until he meets Caitlin – but does she feel as connected as he does? Ana is happily married with three children. Then, one night, she falls in love with someone else. Based on three true stories, Heartsick by Jessie Stephens is a compelling narrative non-fiction account of the many lows and occasional surprising highs of heartbreak. Bruising, beautiful, achingly specific but wholeheartedly universal, it reminds us that emotional pain can make us as it breaks us, and that storytelling has the ultimate healing power.Trade ReviewA remarkable long-form journalism exploration of the human heart and how it breaks. Original, meticulous, marvellous. -- Trent Dalton, bestselling author of Boy Swallows UniverseThought-provoking, highly original and beautifully nuanced. Jessie Stephens' journalistic skill shines as she weaves together true stories with a narrative as compelling as any novel -- Jane Harper, bestselling author of The DryTackles heartbreak at its most real and raw * West Australian *I felt completely seen by this book. Jessie captures the earth-shattering grief of heartbreak in the most compelling and original way. Beautiful, affecting and unputdownable - I recommend this to anyone who's ever suffered from grief, loss or heartbreak. -- Laura Price, author of Single Bald Female

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe farewell calls from the planes the mounting terror of air traffic control the mothers who knew they were witnessing their loved ones perish From an author who's spent 5 years reconstructing its horror, never has the story been told with such devastating, human force' Daily MailThis is a 9/11 book like no other. Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerising, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day.In the days and months after 9/11, Mitchell Zuckoff, then a reporter for the Boston Globe, wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families. After further years of meticulous reporting, Zuckoff has filled Fall and Rise with voices of the lost and the saved. The result is an utterly gripping book, filled with intimate stories of people most affected by the events of that sunny Tuesday in September: an out-of-work actor stuck in an elevator i

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