Search results for ""allen unwin""

A no-holds-barred memoir that charts the rise and fall - and rise - of one of Australia's most iconic music performers.You think you know Deborah Conway? You think seeing her scowling and striding and smouldering in her music videos over the years means you know who Deborah Conway is? She figures you probably don't know the half of it. If you have listened to any of Deborah's iconic songs and were curious about their origins; if you ever wondered what happened to that chick who covered herself in Nutella and was photographed shovelling cream cakes into her mouth; if you gave a nanosecond's thought to whose bare arse adorned the giant billboard ads for jeans in the 1980s and how much someone got paid to do that; if you liked Tracy Mann's vocals in Sweet and Sour but asked yourself, 'did she really sing them?'; if you thought Running On Empty was a classic before it became a cult phenomenon and need behind-the-scenes gossip, now's your chance to find out all this and so much more.Conway pulls back the curtain on the fevered world of 1980s post-punk and the spectacular rise and fall and rise of one of the more obstreperous women in Australia's music industry, a woman who has straddled the high arts and the low without losing her footing or her mind. A woman who said no to the system and whose fierce independence has seen her produce her best work.Welcome to the good, the bad and the ugly of an extraordinary life from the vantage point of a music insider (and outsider) with a deep need to tell the truth about it all.'An enthralling, unputdownable read.' Toni Collette'A witty, searingly honest testimony of what it really took to become one of Australia's most beloved storytellers.' Clare Bowditch'Candid and revealing, witty, wise and full of wonder.' Brian Nankervis'I appreciated every honest, emotional, human page.' Sofie Laguna'A wild ride through sex, love, birth, death, business, friendship, creativity and the magic of song. She is as sharp, honest, brave, funny and brazen on the page as she is on stage or at her table, offering nourishment for all comers.' Ramona Koval'Deborah has been surprising me since she was 13. This brave and passionate book has done it yet again.' Caroline Wilson

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Weddings, at their heart, are about two people joining their families and communities together in the name of love, good times and the future. But when couples start planning their big day, they often find themselves contending with waves of unsolicited advice, old-school rhetoric and overwhelming decision fatigue. Enter Get Wed: the wedding-planning bible to help you navigate everything from budgets to venues, traditions to vows, and run sheets to vendors, to plan a wedding that says 'this is us'.With practical information, thoughtful first-hand experiences and sage advice off the back of thousands of weddings, Get Wed takes the unknown out of wedding planning to ensure your milestone moment is smooth-sailing, perfectly personal and positively brimming with good vibes.

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A timely and defiant manifesto unpacking the past, present and future of women's sport, from the Olympic gold medal-winning founder of The [Female] Athlete Project.'A must-read'-Laura Henshaw'A brilliant argument in favour of the case for women's sport'-Liz EllisWhen Chloe Dalton was eight years old, she would practise her goal kicks in the half-time break of her brothers' rugby matches, all the while telling impressed onlookers: 'Girls don't play rugby.'Sixteen years later, Chloe Dalton won Olympic gold playing rugby sevens for Australia and is now a fixture in the AFLW. In 2020, she started her own news platform, The [Female] Athlete Project, because while she was surrounded by women achieving incredible things in sport, nobody was hearing about them.This book shines a light on the interlinked quagmires of respect, opportunity, representation and pay that continue to stall the progress of women's teams around the world. Girls Don't Play Sport is a fierce manifesto advocating for female athletes at all levels. It explores how we got to this point and asks where we need to go next to embrace the untapped potential of women's sport.'Captivating, empowering and relatable . . . a must-read.'-Ellie Cole'Chloe's tireless commitment to sharing female athletes' unique stories and struggles is inspiring.'-Tayla Harris'For too long, female sport has been undervalued and under-resourced. But the tide is turning, and the message this book presents is clear: ignore us at your own peril.'-Cate Campbell

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A centuries-old curse, a house of secrets and a young woman determined to find out the truth.Sydney, 1930: In a well-heeled corner of Paddington, just a short distance from the razor gangs of Darlinghurst and Kings Cross, sits La Maison des Fleurs, an upscale brothel run by the indomitable Madame. The star of La Maison is Violet Kelly - beautiful, clever and determined to make something of herself in a world that has already taken so much.When a former associate of Madame's emerges to claim a long-owed favour involving a kidnapped girl and an ancient curse, Violet is drawn into a risky game of cat and mouse that takes her from dangerous underworld dealings to raucous parties to untold stories about her own past, and, eventually, right into the heart of La Maison des Fleurs. But how much is she willing to risk to save her friends, her home and the life she's come to love? And will it be enough?Violet Kelly is Agatha Christie meets Underbelly, with a Beretta tucked into her French lingerie.

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Ninety years on from its opening in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge remains the most recognisable symbol of Australia. The iconic arch took almost nine years to complete - at a cost of sixteen lives and more than six million pounds - and the people, political wranglings and incredible feats of engineering behind its creation have become the stuff of legend.The Bridge brings to life the stories of those who dreamed it, built it and were drawn to it: Lennie Gwyther, the nine-year-old boy who made a 900-mile solo journey on horseback to witness the opening; Dr J.J.C. Bradfield who eventually realised his dream of connecting Sydney's two shores; Vince Kelly, the larger-than-life boilermaker who fell from the arch and survived; and many other fascinating characters.This is the lively history of a bridge that has garnered the collective pride of the nation and become one of the world's most famous structures.'. . . in world terms, that great arch defined Sydney and for the most part, Australia . . .' - Hon. Paul Keating, former Prime Minister of Australia'Lalor has written a most intimately affectionate version of an epic story' Canberra Times

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When three bombs tore out the heart of Bali and destroyed so many Australian lives in 2002, burns surgeon Professor Fiona Wood and her team were there to help. A pioneer in the field of burns and reconstructive surgery, Fiona made world headlines with the use of her groundbreaking invention of 'spray-on skin' to help minimise her patients' terrible scarring.Fiona was later made Australian of the Year, voted Australia's Most Trusted Person for an unprecedented six years running in the annual Reader's Digest poll and acclaimed as a 'National Living Treasure'.This is the story of her extraordinary life. Against all the odds, Fiona, the daughter of a fifth-generation coalminer in the north of England, became one of Australia's most innovative, respected and dedicated surgeons and researchers. She talks candidly of the moving valour of her burns patients, and the heartbreak, triumph, tears and controversies that have stalked her stellar career.Remarkably, she has achieved all of this while raising six children.In Under Her Skin, Sue Williams, a bestselling author and award-winning journalist who has written a number of biographies - most notably about Father Chris Riley, Father Bob Maguire and Dr Catherine Hamlin - presents a searingly honest, no-holds-barred account of all aspects of Fiona Wood's remarkable life.

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On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Wilhelmina Mann is already dealing with more than enough problems, so a birthday misadventure landing her in the lock-up is hardly even a surprise.But that mistake leads to Wil receiving a packet of old letters; letters to Wil from her mother that were written just before she died, back when Wil was a small child.Suddenly, Wil's life is thrown into a new kind of turmoil as she discovers the mother she lost. And while the letters begin as tales of growing up, they soon become a great love story, almost as great as the bond between mother and daughter. Caught in old, unexpected emotions and unresolved hurts, Wil risks everything to journey back to the tiny English village in which her mother grew up, searching for answers in another set of letters she is meant to find there.But secrets are kept for a reason. Will she find the last letters? And will she want to know what they contain?Twenty-Six Letters is a captivating novel entwining family, place and identity, the shame of keeping secrets and the liberation of finding them out.

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Four Grammys. 20 US Number Ones. A Hollywood marriage. Who wouldn't want to be Keith Urban?Keith Urban came from humble origins. His father worked at the local tip and Keith was a high school dropout. But Keith had a plan: conquering Nashville. 'It's my destiny,' he said. And Keith was hell-bent on scaling that musical Everest. Whatever it took.It didn't come easy. Keith served his apprenticeship in the beer barns of Australia and his early trips to America were disastrous. But he never gave up, settling in Nashville in the 1990s and forming The Ranch. When the band fell apart, so did Keith, ending up in rehab (not for the last time). But Keith did eventually reach the top, through a combination of talent, charisma, sex appeal, dogged perseverance-and skin thick enough for a rhino. And along the way he married Nicole Kidman.As Keith has said, 'All those detours, especially the really dark ones, got me to where I am now. I would not want to change one leaf on any tree in the whole journey.'Keith Urban is the definitive biography of an Australian superstar.

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From the historical Jesus and his disciples through to the present day, Greg Sheridan has written an impassioned, informed and utterly compelling case for the truth and importance of Christianity in our lives. He presents a strong argument for the historical reliability of the New Testament, meets the living Jesus there, explores the extraordinary personality of Paul, celebrates Mary's activism and examines the magnificent richness of John.Filled with insights, intelligence, warmth and humour, Greg also introduces us to a range of fascinating Christians today, among them political leaders, and young activists offering the radical Christian interpretation of love to their generation. His book explores the journey of those who have been guided by faith, such as Gemma Sisia, whose school in Tanzania has transformed the lives of thousands of children, and the dynamic Chinese Christians pursuing their beliefs under harsh restrictions. He examines where Jesus can be found in popular culture and talks to Christian leaders - Pentecostal, Catholic, Evangelical and others - in Australia, the US and Britain.At a time when the chasm of understanding between secularism and faith has never seemed wider, Christians is timely, relevant and convincing.

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Now, more than ever, we're burnt out, heartsick and overwhelmed by a world full of problems that seem too big to fix. The solution doesn't lie in caring less and switching off. Nor does it lie in caring more and throwing ourselves into further burnout. The radical solution is to learn how to care small. Tiny, even.Care: The radical art of taking time explores what it means to care in small, powerful ways-for ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities-and reveals that caring doesn't need to cost us our wellbeing, happiness or connection to the world. That making simple changes to how we live-spending more time in nature, putting down our devices and connecting with each other face-to-face, finding awe and wonder in the world around us and remembering how to play-will have ripple effects that reach far beyond our own corner of the planet.With unwavering compassion and understanding, Brooke McAlary takes us on a journey to rediscover the small pleasures that create large ripples, reminding us that no one needs to shoulder the burden of doing it all by themselves-we only need to cast our eyes forward and start small, with care.

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She was 'amused, cynical, ironic, loving, gay, ferocious, cold, ardent but never gentle'. She was a whirlwind. She created around her the atmosphere of a Court at which her friends were either in disgrace or favour, a butt or a blessing.Elizabeth von Arnim may have been born on the shores of Sydney Harbour, but it was in Victorian London that she discovered society and society discovered her. She made her Court debut before Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace, was pursued by a Prussian count and married into the formal world of the European aristocracy. It was the novels she wrote about that life that turned her into a literary sensation on both sides of the Atlantic and had her likened to Jane Austen.Her marriage to the count produced five children but little happiness. Her second marriage to Bertrand Russell's brother was a disaster. But by then she had captivated the great literary and intellectual circles of London and Europe. She brought into her orbit the likes of Nancy Astor, Lady Maud Cunard, her cousin Katherine Mansfield and other writers such as E.M. Forster, Somerset Maugham and H.G. Wells, with whom it was said she had a tempestuous affair.Elizabeth von Arnim was an extraordinary woman who lived during glamorous, exciting and changing times that spanned the innocence of Victorian Sydney and finished with the march of Hitler through Europe. Joyce Morgan brings her to vivid and spellbinding life.

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'It's the Ghosts!' cried Sharkey, and his blood ran cold. 'It's the Hungry Ghosts! And they've found Rampart!' Sharkey was born on a fortunate tide, and everyone on the giant submersible Rampart knows it. He's a hero, a future admiral, beloved by the ancestors. The trouble is, it's all based on a lie, and now Sharkey is thirteen, the whole thing has begun to fall apart. He's been a fake hero for years, but when tragedy strikes, he must become a real one. And he has no idea how to go about it. Meanwhile above water, Petrel, Fin and the crew of the Oyster are on a mission to defeat the Devouts and bring knowledge back to the world, a mission they have no idea how to carry out. When the Captain of the Oyster comes up with a plan, Fin and Petrel have no choice but to accompany him - no matter how ridiculous or how dangerous the plan seems. Can the Sunkers and the Ice Breakers put aside their differences and work together? Or will the Devouts finally catch up with them all?

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'And a ONE - and a TWO - and a THREE-' 'Excuse me. Can I join your choir?' 'No. You cannot join our choir. This is a MEERKAT choir.' The meerkats are excited. They're ready for their very first rehearsal with their meerkat choirmaster. But just as they're about to sing their very first note, they're interrupted by a steady stream of other animals who want to join in. The meerkat choirmaster insists his choir is only for meerkats. And he gets grumpier and grumpier at each interruption. A laugh-out-loud picture book that celebrates the joy of joining in.

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Mike Allsop is a dynamo, an airline pilot and mountaineer who ran seven peaks in seven days on seven continents. He's also a motivational speaker, author of bestseller High Altitude, a husband and the father of three children.He's found a way of incorporating his adventures into family life by taking each of his three children on major one-on-one expeditions. This has led to some incredible challenges:* Trekking over 100 km in the Himalaya with each child at the age of seven - most recently Dylan* Twelve-year-old Maya attempting the world's highest stand-up paddle board on a freezing lake at 5,300 metres* Ethan, at 15 years old, struggling through altitude sickness to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro and set his own world record* Fundraising to buy a new house for a Sherpa widow after the devastating earthquake of 2015The challenges and excitement continue, with the family continually dreaming up new adventures.

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In this timely book, Dr Jo Cribb and David Glover, former CEOs who have launched successful portfolio careers, share insights from their own experiences plus those of an impressive range of successful business leaders who are all actively thinking about the future of work.Aimed at anyone who needs to change careers or whose job leaves them feeling unchallenged and unfulfilled, as well as those starting work for the first time, this book will provide the inspiration, support and practical tools needed to change your working life.

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In Munjed Al Muderis's bestselling memoir Walking Free, he described his experience as a refugee fleeing Saddam Hussein's Iraq, his terrifying sea journey to Australia and the brutal mandatory detention he faced in the remote north of Western Australia. The book also detailed his early work as a pioneering orthopaedic surgeon at the cutting edge of world medicine. In Going Back, Munjed shares the extraordinary journey that his life-changing new surgical technique has taken him on. Through osseointegration, he implants titanium rods into the human skeleton and attaches robotic limbs, allowing patients genuine, effective and permanent mobility. Munjed has performed this operation on hundreds of Australian civilians, wounded British soldiers who've lost legs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a survivor of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. But nothing has been as extraordinary as his return to Iraq after eighteen years, at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to operate on soldiers, police and civilian amputees wounded in the horrific war against ISIS. These stories are both heartbreaking and full of hope, and are told from the unique perspective of a refugee returning to the place of his birth as a celebrated international surgeon.

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Jonathan Cranston is no ordinary vet. In addition to his day job in the Gloucestershire countryside treating cows, dogs, pigs and cats, he's also worked with an astonishing range of species around the world, including crocodiles, rhinos and pandas. In this charming collection he introduces us to some of his favourite patients, ranging from beloved family pets through to magnificent creatures of the wild. Whether microchipping armadillos, anaesthetising giraffes or birthing a calf, Jonathan's love for his work and the entire animal kingdom is infectious. From the preposterous (castrating a sugar glider) to the poignant (encountering victims of rhino poaching), the stories in The Travelling Vet will delight and enthral every animal lover.

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By the end of World War I, 45,000 Australians had died on the Western Front. Some bodies had been hastily buried mid-battle in massed graves; others were mutilated beyond recognition. Often men were simply listed as 'Missing in Action' because nobody knew for sure.Lieutenant Robert Burns was one of the missing, and now that the guns had fallen silent his father wanted to know what had become of his son. He wasn't the only one looking for answers. A loud clamour arose from Australia for information and the need for the dead to be buried respectfully. Many of the Australians charged with the grisly task of finding and reburying the dead were deeply flawed. Each had his own reasons for preferring to remain in France instead of returning home. In the end there was a great scandal, with allegations of 'body hoaxing' and gross misappropriation of money and army possessions leading to two highly secretive inquiries. Untold until now, Missing in Action is the compelling and unexpected story of those dark days and darker deeds and a father's desperate search for his son's remains.

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Award-winning writer and nurse Sallie Tisdale offers a lyrical, thought-provoking yet practical perspective on death and dying in this frank, direct and compassionate meditation on the inevitable._______________________________________From the sublime to the ridiculous, Tisdale leads the reader through the peaks and troughs of death with a calm, wise and humorous hand. More than a how-to manual or a spiritual bible, this is a graceful compilation of honest and intimate anecdotes based on the deaths Tisdale has witnessed in her work and life, as well as stories from cultures, traditions and literature around the world.As Tisdale explores all the heartbreaking, beautiful, terrifying, confusing, absurd and even joyful experiences that accompany the work of dying, she also addresses the meaning of 'a good death', how to communicate with the dying, loved ones, doctors and more, and what to expect, physically and emotionally, from the last months, days and hours of life.Beautifully written and compulsively readable, Advice for the Dying offers the resources and reassurance that we all need for planning the ends of our lives. It is essential reading for all of us.

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Beyond the Bump is a thoughtful and practical guide that aims to help new mums feel calm, confident and equipped to face the physical, emotional and mental hurdles they may encounter post birth.Clinical psychologist Sally Shepherd understands that a healthy and happy parent is a baby's most important asset. But the first year postpartum can be very challenging. Women must grapple with a whole new existence, and going from 'me' to 'we' can be terrifying for new mums. Sally hadn't expected to struggle during this time, so it came as a big surprise when she did. As they say, you don't know what you don't know, and it turns out Sally didn't know much at all! She had more extensive training for her first job at KFC than she did for the 'job' of being a mum!Beyond the Bump is a book that focuses on mothers. Sally has combined her personal and professional experiences, along with clinical research, to create this much-needed resource. Covering rage, relationships, nutrition, identity and returning to work, it is a kind, considered and essential companion for any new mum.

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'For Bram to share his amazing stories is a gift . . . you can't help but be inspired.' - Paul RoosTo be a good leader you first have to be a good follower, but to be a great leader you have to remember that being a good follower wasn't easy.Imagine having access to the planning, training and motivational secrets of Australia's most elite military operators; then imagine being able to adapt what they know to your own everyday life. This is what Bram Connolly gives us in this smart, surprising, optimistic and autobiographical manual for resilience, personal leadership and success.In sharing the tedium of training as a raw recruit and taking us into the pitch of battle during some of the toughest fighting in Afghanistan, Bram Connolly reminds us among other things that it is okay to be bored, that laziness can quickly become a habit, that there are advantages in being scared and that it's fine to let go. Clear-headed, honest and self-deprecating, The Commando Way offers powerful lessons that can be used in all aspects of life, no matter who you are.'The Commando Way is an engaging and practical journey . . . a must read for leaders in any stage of their own leadership journey.' - General Stanley McChrystal (Ret'd), former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces Afghanistan

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Virginia Lloyd spent much of her childhood and adolescence learning and playing the piano and thought she would make a career as a pianist. When that didn't happen, she spent a long time wondering about those years of study: had they been wasted? What was their purpose? This intriguing memoir explores those questions and investigates the mystery of the author's very musical and deeply unhappy grandmother Alice, and how their lives--both at and away from the piano--intersected and diverged.Girls at the Piano also explores the changing relationship between women and the piano over the course of the instrument's history, taking us from the salons of 18th-century Europe to an amateur jazz workshop in Manhattan in the early 21st century.Funny, tender and fascinating, Girls at the Piano is an elegant and multi-layered meditation on identity, ambition and doubt, and on how learning the piano had a profound effect on two women worlds and generations apart. It is essential reading for music lovers everywhere, and for anyone who has undertaken their own voyage around a piano.

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Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith were the original pioneers of Australian aviation. Together they succeeded in a number of record-breaking flights that made them instant celebrities in Australia and around the world: the first east-to-west crossing of the Pacific, the first trans-Tasman flight, Australia to New Zealand, the first flight from New Zealand to Australia. Business ventures followed for them, as they set up Australian National Airways in late 1928. Smithy was the face of the airline, happier in the cockpit or in front of an audience than in the boardroom. Ulm on the other hand was in his element as managing director. Ulm had the tenacity and organisational skills, yet Smithy had the charisma and the public acclaim. In 1932, Kingsford Smith received a knighthood for his services to flying, Ulm did not.Business setbacks and dramas followed, as Ulm tried to develop the embryonic Australian airline industry. ANA fought hard against the young Qantas, already an establishment favourite, but a catastrophic crash on the airline's regular route from Sydney to Melbourne and the increasing bite of the Great Depression forced ANA's bankruptcy in 1933. Desperate to drum up publicity for a new airline venture, Ulm's final flight was meant to demonstrate the potential for a regular trans-Pacific passenger service. Somewhere between San Francisco and Hawaii his plane, Stella Australis, disappeared. No trace of the plane or crew were ever found.In the years since his death, attention has focused more and more on Smithy, leaving Ulm neglected and overshadowed. This biography will attempt to rectify that, showing that Ulm was at least Smithy's equal as a flyer, and in many ways his superior as a visionary, as an organiser and as a businessman. His untimely death robbed Australia of a huge talent.

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A feel-good story of an unconventional friendship between an old retired jazz musician and a young girl who is trying to find her place in the world.What can a bullied teenager learn from an old man spending his days in a retirement home? For a start, she'll learn that it ain't got a thing, if it ain't got that swing...Passing by a retirement home on her way from yet another awful day at school, she hears a familiar song playing through an open window. An old man is playing her musical idol Povel Ramel - a quirky jazz musician from the 1940s - and it sparks a new stage of her life. The man's name is Alvar and just like Steffi, he has a huge interest in music.Before long he starts telling her his story. In his youth, as the Second World War tore across Europe, he travelled to Stockholm. Young, innocent and quite naive, Alvar began his life in the big city, struggling to become a famous jazz musician. Or at least someone who was in a band. Or at the very least someone who could dance the jitterbug and talk to girls.Intrigued and inspired by Alvar's story, Steffi spends more and more time at the retirement home, learning about jazz and forgetting about school. She begins to realize that she doesn't have to be the Steffi other people know; instead, as Alvar did, she can recreate herself through music.

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A feel-good story of an unconventional friendship between an old retired jazz musician and a young girl who is trying to find her place in the world.What can a bullied teenager learn from an old man spending his days in a retirement home? For a start, she'll learn that it ain't got a thing, if it ain't got that swing...Passing by a retirement home on her way from yet another awful day at school, she hears a familiar song playing through an open window. An old man is playing her musical idol Povel Ramel - a quirky jazz musician from the 1940s - and it sparks a new stage of her life. The man's name is Alvar and just like Steffi, he has a huge interest in music.Before long he starts telling her his story. In his youth, as the Second World War tore across Europe, he travelled to Stockholm. Young, innocent and quite naive, Alvar began his life in the big city, struggling to become a famous jazz musician. Or at least someone who was in a band. Or at the very least someone who could dance the jitterbug and talk to girls.Intrigued and inspired by Alvar's story, Steffi spends more and more time at the retirement home, learning about jazz and forgetting about school. She begins to realize that she doesn't have to be the Steffi other people know; instead, as Alvar did, she can recreate herself through music.

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What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only Speedos? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China?And Then You're Dead offers serious answers to these horribly interesting questions. Paul Doherty and Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios, offering insights into physics, astronomy, anatomy and more along the way. Illustrated with straightforward technical art and leavened by small doses of dry humour, And Then You're Dead is both scientifically informative and gruesomely entertaining.

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Winner of a 2015 Gourmand Cookbook Award For FictionShortlisted for the 2015 ABIA Matt Richell Award for New WriterChristmas Livingstone has formulated ten top rules for happiness that she lives by: Nurturing the senses every day, doing what she loves, sharing joy... but the most important for her rules is absolutely no romantic relationships!Her life is good as the owner of the enchantingly seductive shop, The Chocolate Apothecary. In her shop she can explore the potential medicinal uses of chocolate that make people happy. Her friends surround her and her role as a fairy godmother to her community allows her to share her joy. What she doesn't need is a handsome botany ace who knows everything about cacao to walk into her life...Or does she...The Chocolate Apothecary is a glorious novel of a strong creative woman discovering that you can't always play life by the rules.

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Since his surprise appointment in March 2013, Pope Francis has emerged as the most talked-about and most revolutionary pope in living memory. He has become a subject of fascination, conversation, and headlines not only to the 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, but to virtually everyone. This biography of Pope Francis describes how this revolutionary thinker became who he is, and how he will use the power of his position to challenge and redirect one of the world's most formidable religions.Drawing on extensive interviews in Argentina and other countries and now featuring an updated epilogue, The Great Reformer traces the roots of his papacy in Francis's childhood in Buenos Aires, in his Jesuit training, and in the dramatic events during the Perón era and the military government in Argentina in the 1970s. It shows how these experiences have shaped his beliefs, and with his commitment to the discernment of God's will, enabled him to challenge and redirect the Church.Pope Francis was elected in the midst of one of the biggest crises in the Church in modern times. This is the story of a true radical who is transforming the Church by restoring what it has lost.

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In 2013, Tom Denniss became the fastest person to circumnavigate the world on foot. His epic journey lasted nearly two years, and for each of the 622 days it took him to run around the planet, Tom completed the equivalent of a marathon or more. Based on distance alone his feat was an extraordinary act of endurance, but along the way Tom also survived a near-death experience on an ice cliff as he was running over the top of the Andes, was chased by dogs, snakes and suspicious border police, narrowly avoided lethal cars and buses, suffered in sixty-degree heat and sub-zero blizzards, tore through seventeen pairs of running shoes, and raised tens of thousands of dollars for Oxfam. He also experienced an amazing diversity of scenery, culture, food and people as he traversed New Zealand, North and South America, Europe from the Atlantic to the Bosphorus, and Australia from Fremantle to Sydney.The World at My Feet is his account of an incredible 26,232 kilometre run, and a vivid insight into an adventure of truly global proportions.

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Ralf the Giant Schnauzer was once a small puppy with a big barking problem. He was facing an uncertain future until Caroline Lovick and her loving family came along. They rescued Ralf from Tasmania and welcomed him into their family home in Melbourne.Ralf was the recipient of daily cuddles from Caroline''s four children who would spend hours playing with him. He became an important part of their daily walk to school and a celebrity at the school gates where children would stop and pat the friendly visitor.One day Caroline and her family took Ralf to compete at the Royal Melbourne Show. It was here that his potential as a therapy dog was first spotted.Shortly afterwards Ralf began working at Trinity Manor nursing home followed by The Royal Children''s Hospital in Melbourne where he became an instant hit with children and their families. Soon Ralf was a permanent fixture, earning fans far and wide.Ralf''s story is by turns heart-warming and inspiring

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Trouble Tomorrow is a novel for young adults, set during the Sudanese Civil War. Obulejo, a sixteen-year-old Ma'di boy, whose name translates as 'trouble tomorrow', is asleep in the dormitory of his boarding school when the town is attacked by Rebel troops. Separated from family and close friends, Obulejo flees into the hills, and then makes a terrifying journey, full of danger from wild animals and pursuing soldiers. Once across the border in a refugee camp, he is safer but has no future among them - until he joins a pioneering peace education program and begins to find ways create a more hopeful life for himself and others.

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Come with Tashi and his friend Jack on four fabulous adventures of mystery and magic. In this collection, Tashi tells tales of courage and daring, and each story features a beautiful colour illustration. Tashi is bold and clever, and tells the best stories ever! There's a Magnificent Magician with a greedy plan, a haunted house about to go up in flames, ruthless ruffians after a rare orchid, and a quest for the bravest person in the land to face the fire-breathing Red Whiskered Dragon.

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Fabish had once been a racehorse. Now he lived in a paddock with the frisky young horses and showed them how to behave. But one hot summer day, a wild wind blew up, and the horses were nervous and flighty. This was the day that became known as Black Saturday. When Fabish smelled smoke he knew that fire was coming. The trainer threw open the gate and told Fabish, 'Go now! Take care of the boys.' The horses galloped away. Where would Fabish lead them? And could he keep them safe?

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A heartfelt story told with warmth, perception and humour, in award winning Bill Condon's deceptively effortless prose. Ten-year-old Stephen has never met his great aunt Lola, and he doesn't want to. She sends him money twice a year and he always writes back, but he doesn't send her any love, because he can't lie. 'How can you love someone you've never met?' he asks. He decides you can't, not even for ten dollars twice a year. When he arrives with his parents at Lola's house, Stephen discovers she's grumpy, scary and really, really old. What will they have to talk about? He wants to turn around and go home, but his mum says they have to stay until Lola's birthday - three weeks away. Left to his own devices, Stephen learns about the simple things in life - like fishing, and cricket, and climbing trees - and the importance of family. Soon Aunty Lola entrusts Stephen with a great secret, and he realises just how much she has come to mean to him.

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A gripping time-slip adventure set in a hidden valley. 11-year-old Lucy travels across the river of time to fight fires, battle floodwaters and discover the meaning of true friendship. 'Enchanting, exciting, and shimmering with magic, this is a gorgeous adventure from a master story-teller. I wanted to follow Lucy right through the wall.' - Kate Constable. The room was full of moon shadows and dancing light. But it was the wall around the window that Lucy couldn't stop staring at, the one with the painting of Spring. It was as bright as a sunny day and the tiny yellow flowers that covered the fields were moving, as if a breeze had blown through the painting and set all the petals dancing. Lucy McKenzie can walk through walls. Sent to stay with her Aunt Big in a hidden valley, Lucy discovers the old house is full of mysteries. One hot night, she hears a voice calling from inside a painting on the dining-room wall...On the other side of the painting, Lucy meets three children. Together they race horses through the bush, battle fires and floods, and make friendships that will last a lifetime. But who are April, Tom and Jimmy Tiger, and what magic has drawn Lucy to them? For ages 8-12

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A fun story told in rhyming verse about two children with a real passion for dinosaurs. A novelty picture book filled with dinosaur madness, lift-the-flaps, jokes, games, facts and puzzles, and every dinosaur under the sun! Find out what happens when a little boy called Darwin discovers dinosaurs! Has he got a fever? Has he got bronchitis? No, it's DINOSAURITIS! A fun story to share with your dinosaur-obsessed child. Includes bonus dinosaur themed games, fun facts and jokes. Ages: 3 to 5

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Mindfulness practice can help you reduce stress, improve performance, manage pain and increase wellbeing. These are the reasons why elite athletes, performing artists and business leaders are taking up the practice, and why it is being introduced into the world's most successful companies, banks, business schools - even the US Army.David Michie introduces mindfulness practice and offers innovative solutions to common obstacles. Drawing on ancient Buddhist teachings and contemporary science, he also takes us beyond 'mindfulness lite,' offering lucid instructions on how to experience the pristine nature of one's own consciousness directly - an encounter that is truly life-changing.Written with warmth and good humour, Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate is the ultimate guide to self-discovery. It will make chocolate taste better too!

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A new puppy can be the perfect new playmate. Or it can be IN THE WAY ALL THE TIME. But even the most mischievous of puppies can grow up to become a very best friend. This adorable and funny picture book will charm dog-lovers of all ages.

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'When I was born in 1935 I grew up, despite depression and World War II, with a primitive sense of being fortunate . . . The Utopian strain was very strong . . . if we weren't to be a better society, if we were simply serfs designed to support a system of privilege, what was the bloody point?'Tom Keneally has been observing, reflecting on and writing about Australia and the human condition for well over fifty years. In this deeply personal, passionately drawn and richly tuned collection he draws on a lifetime of engagement with the great issues of our recent history and his own moments of discovery and understanding.He writes with unbounded joy of being a grandparent, and with intimacy and insight about the prospect of death and the meaning of faith. He is outraged about the treatment of Indigenous Australians and refugees, and argues fiercely against market economics and the cowardice of climate change deniers. And, he introduces us to some of the people, both great and small, who have dappled his life.Beautifully written, erudite and at times slyly funny, A Bloody Good Rant is an invitation to share the deep humanity of truly great Australian.

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On a frozen January evening in 1944, Nancy Levin, and her three-year-old daughter, Emily, flee their impoverished East London home as an air raid siren sounds. Not far away, 39- year-old Diana Meadows and her own child, three-year-old Abigail, are lost in the black-out as the air raid begins. Finding their way in the jostling crowd to the mouth of the shelter they hurry to the safety of the underground tube station. Mrs Meadows, who has so far sat out the war in the safety of London's outer suburbs, is terrified - as much by the prospect of sheltering in an Eastend tube station as of experiencing a bombing raid first hand.Far away Diana's husband, Gerald Meadows finds himself in a tank regiment in North Africa while Nancy's husband, Joe Levin has narrowly survived a torpedo in the Atlantic and is about to re-join his ship. Both men have their own wars to fight but take comfort in the knowledge that their wives and children, at least, remain safe.But in wartime, ordinary people can find themselves taking extreme action - risking everything to secure their own and their family's survival, even at the expense of others.

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The second magnificent adventure for Martha Grimstone. Discover the secrets that lie in Mortimer's crypt, in this sweetly gothic fairytale told in a collage of words, photos and drawings.

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'If I were to tell you our story in sign language-the story of my grandparents and me-I'd begin with a single finger touching my chest.'Jessica Kirkness has traversed the boundary between deaf andhearing cultures all her life. Her memoir tells the story of hergrandparents who grew up deaf in a hearing world-one wheresign language was banned for much of the twentieth century-and weaves in her own experience as a hearing child in afamily that often struggled to navigate their elders' difference.This journey takes her from the family home to the workplaces ofresearch audiologists, and back to England where she visits hergrandparents' old schools and other family landmarks-discoveringalong the way how terribly their deafness has been misunderstood.The House With All The Lights On captures the universal experienceof navigating complex family relationships and beautifully exploresthe nuances of identity in what is both a memoir and a love letterto those closest to her heart.'An elegant and empathic love letter to family.' Fiona Murphy, author of The Shape of Sound'A sensory window into Deaf gain and other complexities of our community.' - Asphyxia, author of Future Girl'Kirkness tells a moving, artful story about how we seek to understand our grandparents, and how they become the frame through which we see the world.' Andrew Pippos, author of Lucky's

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Shortlisted for Biography of the Year at the Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2020Shortlisted for Adventure Travel Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020On June 3rd 2017, professional climber Mark Synnott was in Yosemite to witness something that only a handful of people knew was about to occur: his friend, Alex Honnold, was going to attempt to summit one of the world's most challenging ascents, a route called Freerider on the notorious rock formation El Capitan. It is an extraordinarily dangerous and difficult climb, and yet Alex was going to do it 'free solo'. Meaning no help. No partner. No equipment. No rope. Where a single small mistake would mean certain death. Indeed, to summit El Cap free solo was a feat likened to Neil Armstrong first walking on the moon.As Alex plots, rehearses and ultimately attempts his heart-stopping ascent, Mark also shares his own personal history of climbing, filled with triumphs, defeats and dilemmas, in this deeply reported, inspiring exhortation to live life to the fullest.

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Cassy smiled, blew them a kiss. 'See you in September,' she said. It was a throwaway line. Just words uttered casually by a young woman in a hurry. And then she'd gone. It was supposed to be a short trip - a break in New Zealand before her best friend's wedding. But when Cassy waved goodbye to her parents, they never dreamed that it would be years before they'd see her again. Having broken up with her boyfriend, Cassy accepts an invitation to stay in an idyllic farming collective. Overcome by the peace and beauty of the valley and swept up in the charisma of Justin, the community's leader, Cassy becomes convinced that she has to stay.As Cassy becomes more and more entrenched in the group's rituals and beliefs, her frantic parents fight to bring her home - before Justin's prophesied Last Day can come to pass.A powerful story of family, faith and finding yourself, See You in September is an unputdownable new novel from this hugely compelling author.

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Hen is counting the days until her eggs hatch. But one night a wild storm scatters them far and wide. The other animals start searching high and low. But are they all Hen's eggs?

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In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person's physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers.Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute - and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning but dangerous: day and night they face mortal dangers that bigger, richer people don't ever have to think about, from being mauled by cats to their house getting stepped on. There are no cars or phones built small enough for them, or schools or hospitals, for that matter - there's no point, when no one that little has any purchasing power, and when salaried doctors and teachers would never fit in buildings so small. Warner and Prayer know their only hope is to scale up, but how can two littlepoors survive in a world built against them?Brilliant, warm and funny, this is a social novel for our times in the tradition of 1984 or the work of Douglas Adams.

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'From my earliest tennis memories, Rod Laver stood above all others as the greatest champion our sport has known.' Roger FedererRod Laver's autobiography tells the inspiring story of how a diminutive, left-handed, red-headed country boy became one of the greatest ever sporting champions. Rod was a dominant force in world tennis for almost two decades, playing and defeating some of the greatest players of the twentieth century. In 1962, Rod became the second man to win the Grand Slam - that is, winning the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US titles in a single calendar year. In 1969 he won it again, becoming the only player ever to win the Grand Slam twice.His book is a wonderfully nostalgic journey, transporting readers from the early days of growing up in an Australian country town in the 1950s, to breaking into the amateur circuit, to the extraordinary highs of Grand Slam victories. Away from on-court triumphs, Rod also writes movingly about the life-changing stroke he suffered in 1998, and of his beloved wife of more than 40 years, Mary, who died in 2012 after a long illness.Filled with anecdotes about the great players and great matches, set against the backdrop of a tennis world changing from rigid amateurism to the professional game we recognise today, this is a warm, insightful and fascinating account of a great sportsman.

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