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"An absolutely delightful true story of a lovely written interaction between Helene & the staff at Marks & Co Booksellers that will amuse you, warm your heart and make you laugh at times. Set between post war Britain & slightly better off America - it's a fantastic pick-me-up, even if you don't need one." Marta. ISBN 9780751503845 -
In 1994 fledgling journalist Louis Theroux was given a one-off gig on Michael Moore's TV Nation, presenting a segment on apocalyptic religious sects. Gawky, socially awkward and totally unqualified, his first reaction to this exciting opportunity was panic. But he'd always been drawn to off-beat characters, so maybe his enthusiasm would carry the day. Or, you know, maybe it wouldn't... In Gotta Get Theroux This, Louis takes the reader on a joyous journey from his anxiety-prone childhood to his unexpectedly successful career. Nervously accepting the BBC's offer of his own series, he went on to create an award-winning documentary style that has seen him immersed in the weird worlds of paranoid US militias and secretive pro-wrestlers, get under the skin of celebrities like Max Clifford and Chris Eubank and tackle gang culture in San Quentin prison, all the time wondering whether the same qualities that make him good at documentaries might also make him bad at life. As Louis woos his beautiful wife Nancy and learns how to be a father, he also dares to take on the powerful Church of Scientology. Just as challenging is the revelation that one of his old subjects, Jimmy Savile, was a secret sexual predator, prompting him to question our understanding of how evil takes place. Filled with wry observation and self-deprecating humour, this is Louis at his most insightful and honest best. ISBN 9781509880393 -
Who gets to shape the narrative of our times? The current moment is a battle over that foundational power. Women, people of colour and non-straight people are telling other versions, and white men in particular are fighting to preserve their own centrality. In this outstanding collection of essays by one of the most prescient and insightful commentators today, Solnit appraises the voices that are emerging, why they matter and the obstacles they face in making themselves heard. ISBN 9781783785438 -
One night in December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of ten, was abducted from her home in Belfast and never seen alive again. Her disappearance would haunt her orphaned children, the perpetrators of the brutal crime and a whole society in Northern Ireland for decades. Through the unsolved case of Jean McConville's abduction, Patrick Radden Keefe tells the larger story of the Troubles, investigating Dolours Price, the first woman to join the IRA, who bombed the Old Bailey; Gerry Adams, the politician who helped end the fighting but denied his IRA past; and Brendan Hughes, an IRA commander who broke their code of silence. A gripping story forensically reported, Say Nothing explores the extremes people will go to for an ideal, and the way societies mend - or don't - after long and bloody conflict. ISBN 9780008159269 -
It was an upbringing in many ways normal. A loving home, shared with squabbling siblings, overseen by devoted parents. Yet in other ways it was the precise opposite: a revolving door of TV camera crews and documentary makers, a world of extreme discipline, of siblings vanishing in the night. Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church - the fire-and-brimstone religious sect at once aggressively homophobic and anti-Semitic, rejoiceful for AIDS and natural disasters, and notorious for its picketing the funerals of American soldiers. From her first public protest, aged five, to her instrumental role in spreading the church's invective via social media, her formative years brought their difficulties. But being reviled was not one of them. She was preaching God's truth. She was, in her words, 'all in'. In November 2012, at the age of twenty-six, she left the church, her family, and her life behind. Unfollow is a story about the rarest thing of all: a person changing their mind. It is a fascinating insight into a closed world of extreme belief, a biography of a complex family, and a hope-inspiring memoir of a young woman finding the courage to find compassion for others, as well as herself. ISBN 9781787478015 -
In a debut memoir as candid as her music, Phair eschews themes of typical rock-and-roll tell-all for a more introspective look at events in her life. Phair, who released her debut album Exile in Guyville 1993, made her name with bluntly honest and sometimes sexually explicit lyrics focused on desire, independence, and relationships. She does the same her, moving nonlinearly through her life and focusing on "the small indignities we all suffer daily," where horror is found "in brief interactions that are as cumulatively powerful as the splashy heart-stoppers, because that's where we live most of our lives." Nine months pregnant, she became self-conscious as she was examined by her ob-gyn, recalling her first visit with a male pediatrician who erroneously told her that "she was very tight. It may be difficult for her to have sex." Her stories include realizing that a boyfriend is a "calculatingly dishonest" cheat, her own infidelity during her first marriage, getting lost in a blinding New York City snowstorm late at night, and dealing with the frightening fallout of a street fight in Shanghai that she started. Phair admits that she can still make "colossal errors in judgement," but her empathy for people's "private struggles" shines throughout: "The stranger next to you is so much more like you than you think." This powerful debut will delight Phair's many fans. Since then, Vicky has become women's voice for justice on the issue, and her system-changing activism has made her a household name. In her memoir Overcoming, Vicky shares her remarkable personal story, from a life-threatening accident in early adulthood through to motherhood, a battle with depression, her devastating later discovery that her cancer had returned in shocking circumstances - and the ensuing detective-like scrutiny of events that led the charge for her history-making legal action. An inspiring story of rare resilience and power, Overcoming is an account of how one woman can move mountains - even when she is fighting for her own life - and of finding happiness and strength in the toughest of times. ISBN 9780525512004 -
If you think you know the news, think again. In this behind-the-scenes, no holds barred account of life on Newsnight in the seconds before, during and after going on air, Emily Maitlis discloses the wrangling, bust-ups, blow-ups, pleading, last-second script-shreddings, scoops, walk-outs and unexpected love-ins that we never see on-screen. Covering everything from the Paris terror attacks to Grenfell, #MeToo to President Clinton's love affairs, Boris Johnson, goat yoga, and interviews with everyone from Emma Thompson and Tony Blair to Donald Trump and Russell Brand, Airhead is a brilliant expose of the moments that never make the news. 'A wonderfully sane book for our unhinged times' Simon Schama. ISBN 9781405938341 -
This beautiful love-letter to children's books makes the perfect Christmas gift 'Beautiful and moving... It will kickstart a cascade of nostalgia for countless people' Marian Keyes. When Lucy Mangan was little, stories were everything. They opened up different worlds and cast new light on this one. She was whisked away to Narnia - and Kirrin Island - and Wonderland. She ventured down rabbit holes and womble burrows into midnight gardens and chocolate factories. No wonder she only left the house for her weekly trip to the library. In Bookworm, Lucy brings the favourite characters of our collective childhoods back to life and disinters a few forgotten treasures poignantly, wittily using them to tell her own story, that of a born, and unrepentant, bookworm. ISBN 9781784709228 -
Entering her thirties, Helen Jukes feels trapped in an urban grind of office politics and temporary addresses - disconnected, stressed. Struggling to settle into her latest job and home in Oxford, she realises she needs to effect a change if she's to create a meaningful life for herself, one that can accommodate comfort and labour and love. Then friends give her the gift of a colony of honeybees - according to folklore, bees freely given bring luck - and Helen embarks on her first full year of beekeeping. But what does it mean to `keep' wild creatures? In learning about the bees, what can she learn of herself? And can travelling inside the hive free her outside it? As Helen grapples with her role in the delicate, awe-inspiring ecosystem of the hive, the very act of keeping seems to open up new perspectives, deepen friendships old and new, and make her world come alive. A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings is at once a fascinating exploration of the honeybee and the hive, the practices of honey-gathering and the history of our observation of bees; and a beautifully wrought meditation on responsibility and care, on vulnerability and trust, on forging bonds and breaking new ground. ISBN 9781471167744 -
'I was saying things in songs that female singers didn't really say back then. I wasn't submissive or begging him to come back, I was kicking his ass, kicking him out, kicking my own ass too. My Blondie character was an inflatable doll but with a dark, provocative, aggressive side. I was playing it up, yet I was very serious.' BRAVE, BEAUTIFUL AND BORN TO BE PUNK DEBBIE HARRY is a musician, actor, activist and the iconic face of New York City cool. As the front-woman of Blondie, she and the band forged a new sound that brought together the worlds of rock, punk, disco, reggae and hip-hop to create some of the most beloved pop songs of all time. As a muse, she collaborated with some of the boldest artists of the past four decades. The scope of Debbie Harry's impact on our culture has been matched only by her reticence to reveal her rich inner life - until now. In an arresting mix of visceral, soulful storytelling and stunning visuals that includes never-before-seen photographs, bespoke illustrations and fan art installations, Face It upends the standard music memoir while delivering a truly prismatic portrait. With all the grit, grime, and glory recounted in intimate detail, Face It recreates the downtown scene of 1970s New York City, where Blondie played alongside the Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Following her path from glorious commercial success to heroin addiction, the near-death of partner Chris Stein, a heart-wrenching bankruptcy, and Blondie's break-up as a band to her multifaceted acting career in more than thirty films, a stunning solo career and the triumphant return of her band, and her tireless advocacy for the environment and LGBTQ rights, Face It is a cinematic story of a woman who made her own path, and set the standard for a generation of artists who followed in her footsteps - a memoir as dynamic as its subject. ISBN 9780008229443 -
In late 2018, Michael Harding was in a hotel room in Blanchardstown experiencing severe pains in his chest. He eventually phoned an ambulance and was admitted to hospital, suffering from an acute heart attack. Here, in Chest Pain, he looks at the months before the heart attack when he kept the signs of failing health from his beloved and instead retreated into solitude -- and with his own inimitable style and humour takes us with him through the months after a stent had been inserted in his heart, where he travels the roads of Donegal in a camper van in a journey back to the beloved, and to himself. Chest Pain is a thought-provoking, spell-binding memoir about togetherness and what it means to be alive. ISBN 9781473690677 -
Could you go a whole year without shopping? In her late twenties, that's exactly what Cait Flanders did. Despite having cleared nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, she still struggled to save money. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy, she embarked on a year-long shopping ban. The Year of Less documents the 12 months during which Cait spent money only on the essentials - food, bills, car fuel - and steadily cleared out 70 per cent of her belongings. She learned to make do and mend, imposed a television ban and researched the zero waste movement. The results were profoundly transformative: the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt. In the process of decluttering her apartment, she also decluttered her life and overcame long-held toxic habits. With advice and practical tips from Cait, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you're holding on to in your own life - and quite possibly lead you to find your own path of less. ISBN 9781781808597 -
The gripping life story of the great war correspondent Marie Colvin told by one of her closest friends. Marie Colvin was glamorous, hard-drinking, braver than the boys, with a troubled and rackety personal life. She reported from the most dangerous places in the world and her anecdotes about encounters with figures like Colonel Gaddafi and Yasser Arafat were incomparable. She was much admired, and as famous for her wild parties as for the extraordinary lengths to which she went to tell the story. Fellow foreign correspondent Lindsey Hilsum draws on unpublished diaries and interviews with friends, family and colleagues to produce a story of one of the most daring and inspirational women of our times. ISBN 9781784703950 -
The best-known modern Chinese fairy tale is the story of three sisters from Shanghai, who for most of the twentieth century were at the centre of power in China. It was sometimes said that 'One loved money, one loved power and one loved her country', but there was far more to the Soong sisters than these caricatures. As China battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, each sister played an important, sometimes critical role, and left an indelible mark on history. Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister is a gripping story of love, war, exile, intrigue, glamour and betrayal, which takes us on a monumental journey, from Canton to Hawaii and New York, from exiles' quarters in Japan and Berlin to secret meeting rooms in Moscow, and from the compounds of the Communist elite in Beijing to the corridors of power in democratic Taiwan. In a group biography that is by turns intimate and epic, Jung Chang reveals the lives of three extraordinary women who helped shape the history of twentieth-century China. ISBN 9781784703967 -
A few years ago, I found myself in A&E. I had never felt so ill. I was mentally and physically broken. So fractured, I hadn't eaten properly or slept well, or even changed my expression for months. I sat in a cubicle, behind paper-thin curtains and I shook with the effort of not crying. I was an inch away from defeat... but I knew I had to carry on. Because I wasn't the patient. I was the doctor." In this powerful memoir, Joanna Cannon tells her story as a junior doctor in visceral, heart-rending snapshots. We walk with her through the wards, facing extraordinary and daunting moments: from attending her first postmortem, sitting with a patient through their final moments, to learning the power of a well, or badly chosen, word. These moments, and the small sustaining acts of kindness and connection that punctuate hospital life, teach her that emotional care and mental health can be just as critical as restoring a heartbeat. In a profession where weakness remains a taboo, this moving, beautifully written book brings to life the vivid, human stories of doctors and patients - and shows us why we need to take better care of those who care for us. ISBN 9781788160582 -
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The best of an extraordinary 70 year archive, gathered in one volume for the first time. The prestigious BBC Reith Lectures have been enriching the world with new ideas since 1948. Every year, a world-leading thinker is invited to speak on a topic of their choosing, spanning art, science, nature, technology, history, religion, society, culture, politics and much more. Unearthing forgotten gems as well as sharing the latest in intellectual thought, Remarkable Minds is a time capsule into our changing world that provides wise words for turbulent times. With a foreword by Anita Anand, presenter of the Reith Lectures, and an introduction by Gwyneth Williams, controller of Radio 4, 2010-2019. ISBN 9781472262288 -
"Award-winning journalist Dolly Alderton survived her twenties (just about) and in Everything I Know About Love, she gives an unflinching account of the bad dates and squalid flat-shares, the heartaches and humiliations, and most importantly, the unbreakable female friendships that helped her to hold it all together. Glittering with wit, heart and humour, this is a book to press into the hands of every woman who has ever been there or is about to find themselves taking that first step towards the rest of their lives. ISBN 9780241982105 -
Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to the Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Mitch and his wife, Janine operate. Chika's arrival made a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delighted the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal disease that no doctor in Haiti could help with. Mitch and Janine took Chika to America, hoping that treatment there would enable her to go back home. Instead, Chika became a permanent part of their lives, as they embarked on a two-year, around-the-world journey to find a cure. As Chika's boundless optimism and humour taught Mitch the joys of caring for a child, he learnt that a relationship built on love, no matter what blows it takes, can never be lost. This is Mitch Albom at his most poignant, powerful and personal. Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed - a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made. ISBN 9780751571943