Biography & True Accounts
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Humble Pie
Everyone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, driven, stubborn. But this is his real story…
In this fast-paced, bite-sized edition of his bestselling autobiography Ramsay tells the real story of how he became the world’s most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother’s heroin addiction, his failed first career as a footballer, his fanatical pursuit of gastronomic perfection and his TV persona – all the things that have made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today. Gordon talks frankly about:
- his tough childhood: his father’s alcoholism and violence and the effects on his relationships with his mother and siblings
- his first career as a footballer: how the whole family moved to Scotland when he was signed by Glasgow Rangers at the age of fifteen, and how he coped when his career was over due to injury just three years later
- his brother’s heroin addiction.
- Gordon’s early career: learning his trade in Paris and London; how his career developed from there: his time in Paris under Albert Roux and his seven Michelin-starred restaurants.
- kitchen life: Gordon spills the beans about life behind the kitchen door, and how a restaurant kitchen is run in Anthony Bourdain-style.
- and how he copes with the impact of fame on himself and his family: his television career, the rapacious tabloids, and his own drive for success.
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£0.70Humble Pie
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Agatha Christie: The Sunday Times Bestseller
‘A smart and highly entertaining portrait of a literary powerhouse’
– THE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR‘A riveting portrait’
– GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR***
‘Worsley’s sparkling biography brings a fresh eye to Christie’s life and work, firmly busting the myth that she, or her novels, were cosy.’ Daily Mail‘Every Christie fan should read this’ – The Times
‘Shows the Queen of Crime in a new light.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Worsley’s book excels in bringing a broader historical perspective to Christie’s life and work, and her enthusiasm is infectious.’ – Observer
‘Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was.’
Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was ‘just’ an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn’t? As Lucy Worsley says, ‘She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern’. She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.
So why – despite all the evidence to the contrary – did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?
She was born in 1890 into a world which had its own rules about what women could and couldn’t do. Lucy Worsley’s biography is not just of an internationally renowned bestselling writer. It’s also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley’s biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realise what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was – truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.
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Billy Connolly
The inside story of the one of the most successful British stand-up comedians, as told by the person best qualified to reveal all about the man behind the comic, his wife of over 20 years – Pamela Stephenson.
Once in a lifetime, there strides upon the stage someone who can truly be called a legend. Such a person is the inimitable, timeless genius who is Billy Connolly. His effortlessly wicked whimsy has entranced, enthralled – and split the sides of – thousands upon thousands of adoring audiences.
And when he isn’t doing that…he’s turning in award-winning performances on film and television.
He’s the man who needs no introduction, and yet he is the ultimate enigma. From a troubled and desperately poor childhood in the docklands of Glasgow he is now the intimate of household names the world over.
How did this happen, who is the real Billy Connolly? Only one person can answer that question: his wife, Pamela Stephenson. Pamela’s writing combines the very personal with a frank objectivity that makes for a compelling, moving and hugely entertaining biography. This is the real Billy Connolly.
This genre-defining book is now released as an ebook for a new generation of comedy fans, with a new Foreword from the author. Pamela’s vision of Billy is as true now as it ever was – as groundbreaking, as moving and as laugh-out-loud funny – and here she brings the book fully into its context, as one of the most influential biographies ever written.
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£0.90Billy Connolly
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Bravo Two Zero: the classic true story from an SAS hero
Sergeant Andy McNab recounts the story of the top secret mission that would reveal the secrets of the SAS to the world for the first time.
Their location: Iraq
Their mission: to sever a vital enemy underground communication link, to find and destroy mobile Scud launchers
Their call sign: Bravo Two ZeroWhen eight members of the elite SAS regiment embark on a highly covert operation, they are each laden with 15 stones of equipment, needing to tab 20km across the desert to reach their objective. But within days, their location is compromised. They engage in a fierce battle. They escape on foot to the Syrian border. Three men die. One escapes.
But four men are captured. For them, the worst is yet to come. Delivered to Baghdad, they are tortured with a savagery for which not even their intensive SAS training has prepared them…This is a story of superhuman courage, strength, endurance and dark humour in the face of overwhelming odds. It shows just how much it takes to be a member of the SAS.
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‘The best account yet of the SAS in action.’ Sunday Times
‘A gripping account of special forces at work…a tremendous adventure story.’ Daily TelegraphRead more
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Could It Be Forever? My Story
This ebook edition contains the full text version as per the book. Doesn’t include original photographic and illustrated material. In the seventies, when he was just 20 years old, David Cassidy achieved the sort of teen idol fame that is rarely seen. He was mobbed everywhere he went. His clothes were regularly ripped off by adoring fans. He sold records the world over. He was bigger than Elvis. And all thanks to a hit TV show called The Partridge Family. Now, in his own words, this is a brutally frank account of those mindblowing days of stardom in which being David Cassidy played second fiddle to being Keith Partridge. Including stories of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll that explode the myth of Cassidy as squeaky clean, it’s also the story of how to keep on living life and loving yourself when the fickle fans fall away.Read more
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The Doctor Will See You Now: The Junior Doctor’s Back in Hospital
The doctor is back again and on the wards! Now in his third year as junior doctor, Max looks and sounds the part. But this time around, things are not at all as he expected …
The junior doctor … back on the wards. After a year on the streets treating outreach patients, Max Pemberton is back in the relative comfort of hospital. This time running between elderly care and the dementia clinic to A&E and outpatients. No longer inexperienced (Max and his doctor friends can now tell when someone is actually dead), they are on the front line of patient care for better or worse.
In the midst of an NHS still under threat (some things never change) there are committed and caring doctors, big issues, hope, frustration, huge societal changes affecting the entire health system as well as the general drama of everyday life in a big hospital, from biscuit wars to resus. It’s not like television, this is real – there are no easy answers – but The Doctor Will See You Now will give you hope that there are enough good doctors asking the questions.
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A Funny Life: The Sunday Times Bestseller
The Sunday Times top 10 bestseller.
Laugh along with Michael McIntyre as he lifts the curtain on his life in his revealing autobiography.
Michael’s first book ended with his big break at the 2006 Royal Variety Performance. Waking up the next morning in the tiny rented flat he shared with his wife Kitty and their one-year-old son, he was beyond excited about the new glamorous world of show business. Unfortunately, he was also clueless . . .
In A Funny Life, Michael honestly and hilariously shares the highs and the lows of his rise to the top and desperate attempts to stay there. It’s all here, from his disastrous panel show appearances to his hit TV shows, from mistakenly thinking he’d be a good chat show host and talent judge, to finding fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams and becoming the biggest-selling comedian in the world. Along the way he opens his man drawer, narrowly avoids disaster when his trousers fall down in front of three policemen and learns the hard way why he should always listen to his wife.
Michael has had a silly life, a stressful life, sometimes a moving and touching life, but always A Funny Life.
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The Royal Station Master’s Daughters at War: A dramatic World War I saga of the royal family (The Royal Station Master’s Daughters Series book 2)
The second heartwarming book in The Royal Station Master’s Daughters series. For readers of Maisie Thomas and Daisy Styles.It is 1917 and Maria has adapted well to her new life on the royal Sandringham estate where she works as a maid in the Big House for Queen Alexandra and is in awe of the many treasures around her. It is two years since she turned up at the royal station master’s house to escape her secret past, destitute and with nowhere else to turn. Having proven herself to Harry Saward and his daughters, she is now welcomed by them as one of the family. But when Nellie, a mysterious relative turns up, on the run from the law, Maria’s new-found happiness could be under threat.
Meanwhile, the impact of World War I is felt deeply in the community as the fate of missing men from the Sandringham Company, who fought in Gallipoli, is still unknown. Harry’s daughters pull together to support each other and women on the royal estate as they face their sorrows and challenges. Ada’s husband, Alfie, is away fighting on the front line while Beatrice is now a VAD nurse at a cottage hospital. Jessie has become a land army girl, proudly doing a man’s job, while pining for her sweetheart Jack.
In a community torn apart by loss and tragedy, how will the station master’s family survive and find the happiness they’re all searching for?
The Royal Station Master’s Daughters at War is the second book in the WWI saga series, inspired by the Saward family, who ran the station at Wolferton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through this family we get a glimpse into all walks of life – from royalty to the humblest of soldiers.
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An Englishman at War: The Wartime Diaries of Stanley Christopherson DSO MC & Bar 1939-1945
‘An astonishing record…There is no other wartime diary that can match the scope of these diaries’ James Holland
‘An outstanding contribution to the literature of the Second World War’Professor Gary Sheffield
From the outbreak of war in September 1939 to the smouldering ruins of Berlin in 1945, via Tobruk, El Alamein, D-Day and the crossing of the Rhine, An Englishman at War is a unique first-person account of the Second World War.
Stanley Christopherson’s regiment, the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, went to war as amateurs and ended up one of the most experienced, highly trained and most valued armoured units in the British Army.A junior officer at the beginning of the war, Christopherson became the commanding officer of the regiment soon after the D-Day landings. What he and his regiment witnessed presents a unique overview of one of the most cataclysmic events in world history and gives an extraordinary insight, through tragedy and triumph, into what it felt like to be part of the push for victory.
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Sherlock Holmes and the Duelling Dukes (The Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes 6)
Discover one of Sherlock Holmes’ secret early cases! Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Horowitz and classic crime fiction.Is a killer hiding in plain sight…?
1877
Sherlock Holmes and his good friend Mr Stamford have taken a break from their studies at Barts Medical College in London to join a gentlemen’s sporting week at a large country manor house.
But on arrival, they find the guests consumed by old rivalries, with new hatreds and sinister plots festering among them.
And tensions boil over when one of the guests is discovered, dead.
With a large collection of weapons to hand and a group consumed with vengeance and malice, it is soon apparent that there is at least one killer in their midst.
Holmes is determined to solve the mystery and no can leave until he has done so.
But how far will the killer go to escape detection? Will he strike again?
Or can Holmes and Stamford outwit him…?
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE DUELLING DUKES is the sixth Victorian crime thriller in the Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes series.
THE EARLY CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES SERIES:
BOOK 1: Sherlock Holmes and the Rosetta Stone Mystery
BOOK 2:Sherlock Holmes and the Explorers’ Club
BOOK 3: Sherlock Holmes and the Ebony Idol
BOOK 4: Sherlock Holmes and the Persian Slipper
BOOK 5: Sherlock Holmes and the Legend of the Great Auk
BOOK 6: Sherlock Holmes and the Duelling DukesRead more
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Seventy Times Seven: A True Story of Murder and Mercy
A masterful, revelatory work of literary non-fiction about a teenage girl’s shocking crime — and its extraordinary aftermath.
‘An absorbing work of social history and a story about the mystery and miracle of forgiveness…it deserves to be read with attention.’ Hilary Mantel,Booker Prize–winning author of the Wolf Hall trilogy
On a spring afternoon in 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a fifteen-year-old black girl kills a white elderly bible teacher in a violent home invasion. In a city with a history of racial tension the press swoops in.
When Paula is sentenced to death, no one decries the impending execution of a tenth grader. But the tide begins to shift when the victim’s grandson Bill forgives the girl, against the wishes of his family, and campaigns to spare her life. This tragedy in a midwestern steel town soon reverberates across the United States and around the world — reaching as far away as the Vatican — as newspapers cover the story on their front pages and millions sign petitions in support of Paula.
As Paula waits on death row, her fate sparks a debate that not only animates legal circles but raises vital questions about the value of human life. This story asks us to consider the nature of justice, and what radical acts of empathy we might be capable of.
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Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
From the legendary vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, lessons in investment strategy, philanthropy, and living a rational and ethical life.“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up,” Charles T. Munger advises in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of eleven talks delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman between 1986 and 2007 has become a touchstone for a generation of investors and entrepreneurs seeking to absorb the enduring wit and wisdom of one of the great minds of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Edited by Peter D. Kaufman, chairman and CEO of Glenair and longtime friend of Charlie Munger—whom he calls “this generation’s answer to Benjamin Franklin”—this abridged Stripe Press edition of Poor Charlie’s Almanack features a brand-new foreword by Stripe cofounder John Collison.
Poor Charlie’s Almanack draws on Munger’s encyclopedic knowledge of business, finance, history, philosophy, physics, and ethics—and more besides—to introduce the latticework of mental models that underpin his rational and rigorous approach to life, learning, and decision-making. Delivered with Munger’s characteristic sharp wit and rhetorical flair, it is an essential volume for any reader seeking to go to bed a little wiser than when they woke up.
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Vinyl Countdown
‘You hold in your hand a miracle. A book about a passion, and the hipsters, oddballs and old heads who share it, written by one of their number, albeit a ludicrously erudite one’ – Danny Kelly
A revival of interest in vinyl music has taken place in recent years – but for many of those from the ‘baby boomer’ generation, it never went away.
Graham Sharpe’s vinyl love affair began in the 1960s and since then he has amassed over 3000 LPs and spent countless hours visiting record shops worldwide along with record fairs, car boot sales, online and real life auctions.Vinyl Countdownfollows his journey to over a hundred shops across the globe – from New York to New Zealand, Walsall to Warsaw, Oslo to Ozstralia, (old) Jersey to New Jersey – and describes the many characters he has encountered and the adventures he accrued along the way.
Vinyl Countdown seeks to reawaken the often dormant desire which first promoted the gathering of records, and to confirm the belief of those who still indulge in it, that they happily belong to, and should celebrate the undervalued, misunderstood significant group of music-obsessed vinylholics, who always want – need – to buy… just one more record.
A mesmerising blend of memoir, travel, music and social history, Vinyl Countdown will appeal to anyone who vividly recalls the first LP they bought and any music fan who derives pleasure from the capacity that records have for transporting you back in time.
‘Graham Sharpe’s journey around the second-hand record shops of the UK is full of laugh out loud anecdotes and wonderful observations. A great read not just for vinyl fans, but for anybody who has ever visited a record shop’ – Graham Jones, author of Last Shop Standing (Whatever Happened to Record Shops), Strange Requests and Comic Tales From Record Shopsand The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it HappenRead more
£1.10Vinyl Countdown
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Working for the Royals (Kindle Single)
Ask any visitor to London, from Tokyo to Tennessee, what is their number one priority in places to see, and the answer will invariably be: Buckingham Palace. It is by far the most famous building in the world and the lady who lives there, Queen Elizabeth 11, is easily the most famous woman on the planet.
Her Majesty employs some 1,200 men and women, full and part-time, permanent and temporary in her various Royal residences with over 400 working for her at Buckingham Palace alone.
So, what is she like to work for? Is she a generous employer? Does she encourage friendliness among those whose salaries she pays or does she prefer to keep her distance? Is it true she hates her servants to have facial hair – beards or moustaches? Why do the housemaids have to vacuum while walking backwards at all times? How are the servants told to react when they meet the Queen or any member of her family? What’s the money like?
In many ways Her Majesty is a model employer, providing food, drink and accommodation, at the best address in London, to her staff, but one thing she does not offer is high wages.
So why do most of them stay for many years? This book gives all the answers from the inside.Brian Hoey has written 26 books about Britain’s Royal Family and as a former reporter and presenter with BBC Television and Radio he has interviewed Prince Charles, Princess Anne ( whose official biography he wrote), the Duke of Edinburgh and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Hoey was a television commentator at the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 and again, sadly, in 1997 at the funeral of Diana, He has also interviewed many of Hollywood’s Royalty including; Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Ray Milland, Cary Grant, David Niven, Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons and he conducted the final TV interview with Charlie Chaplin.
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The Ladies of Whitechapel: London. 1888. Their Stories.
London, 1888.Enter the narrow dark alleys of Victorian London, where women sold their bodies for pennies, and the rich preyed among the weak!
In the dark lanes, away from the hustle and bustle of Whitechapel High Street, four women live their lives. But someone is watching – and waiting.
In 1888, five victims of Jack the Ripper became famous for their horrific fate. That same year, police ignored many other women’s murders because of their class, or in an attempt to dispel the idea of a serial killer loose in Whitechapel.
Discover the forgotten women of Whitechapel: from heiress to whore, from wife to murderer – four woven tales of women struggling to survive the terror of Jack the Ripper’s reign.
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Sean Connery: A Life from Beginning to End (Biographies of Actors)
Discover the remarkable life of Sean Connery…
Free BONUS Inside!Sean Connery is still well remembered for his role in the epic James Bond series. Although we often picture him as a smooth, daring, and debonair agent, surviving all manner of incredible stunts, Sean Connery was more than just James Bond. His films were indeed action-packed, but so was his personal life.
Connery was a man who was always on the move. Since his earliest days growing up in Scotland, he sought to make the most of everything he had. Whether he was involved in theater, film, or worthy causes in his ancestral homeland, he gave it his all. This book explores the life and legend of Sean Connery in full.
Discover a plethora of topics such as
- Early Days in Edinburgh
- Connery, the Bodybuilder and Casket Polisher
- Becoming James Bond
- Work with Hitchcock
- Sci-Fi Era
- Late Life and Death
- And much more!
So if you want a concise and informative book on Sean Connery, simply scroll up and click the “Buy now” button for instant access!
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Nursing In The ’60’s
The NHS, nurse training and hospital life were vastly different in the 1960s when the author qualified as a nurse. Her autobiography covers the pressured years full of incident and humour in which Liz proved she was competent enough to be let loose on the patients of Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Selly Oak and other prominent West Midlands institutions.Read more
£1.90Nursing In The ’60’s
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I’m no Shakespeare: Walking the South West Coast Path
The unlikely but perfectly true story of how a nosey menopausal linguist threw away her pills, pulled on a backpack, and accidentally wrote a best seller.“It’s beautiful. Touching, honest, heartfelt and zigzags effortlessly from poignancy, reflection to humour in a sentence.”
“Really lively writing … brilliant stuff … love the characters coming to life and your wry sense of humour!”
For 630 miles she walked, with her life on her back, her heart on her sleeve, and a wickedly sharpened pencil behind her ear.
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At My Mother’s Knee…And Other Low Joints: Tales from Paul’s mischievous young years
THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER
‘Warmly funny, dry and mischievous . . . Genuine and brilliant.’ Daily Mail
Paul O’Grady is one of Britain’s very best loved entertainers. He is known and adored by millions, whether as the creator of the acid-tongued Blonde Bombsite, Lily Savage, the presenter of the fantastically successful, award-winning Paul O’Grady Show on Channel 4 or the massive hit ITV show, For the Love of Dogs.
Now, in his own unique voice, Paul O’Grady tells story of his early life in Irish Catholic Birkenhead that started him on the long and winding road from mischievous altar boy to national treasure. It is a brilliantly evoked, hilarious and often moving tale of gossip in the back yard, bragging in the corner shop and slanging matches on the front doorstep, populated by larger-than-life characters with hearts of gold and tongues as sharp as razors.
At My Mother’s Knee features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners – and one iconic bus conductress. It’s a book which really does have something for everyone and which reminds us that, when all’s said and done, there’s a bit of savage in all of us…
Readers love At My Mother’s Knee:
‘I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down and the characters really just jumped out of the page.’ *****
‘Candid, heart warming and also hilarious.’ *****
‘Wonderfully written, laugh out loud funny and poignant by turns.’ *****Read more
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Robert My Father: A Personal Biography of Robert Morley
‘If Robert had a mission, it was to emphasise that life was meant to be fun; he was one of the few men I knew who strode through life instead of circumnavigating it. He died without ever growing old.’ Michael Parkinson
‘Comic genius’ was the uncontested verdict of the International Herald Tribune. But Robert Morley was bigger even than that. While he is remembered for landmark performances such as the first portrayal of Oscar Wilde on stage and screen, and for many more as the epitome of the crusty but lovable English gentleman, Robert Morley is equally remembered for perhaps his finest role: playing himself. Through books, plays and countless radio and television performances, Robert Morley spread his own unique brand of irresistible humour and joie de vivre, generally resembling, to quote one memorable description, ‘an indignant elephant’. In this wonderfully entertaining account of a remarkable life, Sheridan Morley reveals the true Robert Morley – actor, playwright, bon viveur, and, not least, father.
‘Warm yet unsentimental … a first-rate portrait of a true original and star’ Evening Standard
‘Affectionate and moving, packed with anecdotes. Above all it is fun’ Sunday Express
‘Charming and affectionate … What his son’s biography sets out to do, and succeeds in admirably, is to celebrate the joyful pleasure that old-fashioned performers took in their art’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Hugely entertaining, and bulges with very good stories’ Mail on Sunday
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Britney Spears: The Biography of Britney Spears
University Press returns with a short, captivating biography of one of history’s most compelling figures: Britney Spears.Britney Spears, the pop sensation who exploded onto the scene like a glittery tornado, has lived a life as vibrant as her music.
Born in McComb, Mississippi, in 1981, this Southern belle traded her small-town roots for the neon lights of Hollywood, and the world hasn’t been the same since.
From her iconic schoolgirl outfit in “Baby One More Time” to her fierce comeback in Las Vegas, Britney’s journey has been nothing short of legendary.
She’s danced her way through triumphs, survived the harshest media storms, and emerged stronger than ever.
With a discography that could make anyone want to “Scream & Shout,” Britney’s star power remains as blinding as ever.
Raise a toast to the princess of pop, who continues to live life on her terms and reminds us that we’re all stronger than yesterday.
This short book tells the intensely human story of a woman who is inspiring her millions of adoring fans – and changing the world in a way that no one else can.
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Listen: A powerful new book about life, death, relationships, mental health and how to talk about what matters – from the Sunday Times bestselling author … to Find the Words…
‘Powerful, humane and wise’ JULIA SAMUEL
‘Everyone should read it’ NIGELLA LAWSON
‘Beautiful … This is a book for everyone. You feel held by it’ PHILIPPA PERRY
Most of us have a conversation we’re avoiding.
From the bestselling author of With the End in Mind, this is a book about the conversations that matter and how to have them better – more honestly, more confidently and without regret.
A child coming out to their parent. A family losing someone to terminal illness. A friend noticing the first signs of someone’s dementia. A careers advisor and a teenager with radically different perspectives.
There are moments when we must talk, listen and be there for one another. Why do we so often come away from those times feeling like we could have done more, or should have been braver in the face of discomfort? Why do we skirt the conversations that might matter most?
By bringing together stories with a lifetime’s experience working in medicine and the newest psychology, Mannix offers lessons for how we can better speak our mind and help when others need to.
Kathryn Mannix’s ‘With the End in Mind’ was a Sunday Times bestseller the weeks ending 6 January 2018, 13 January 2018 and 3 February 2018.
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Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad: A Family Memoir of Miraculous Survival
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘Epic, moving and important’ ROBERT HARRIS
‘A modern classic’ OBSERVER
‘An unforgettable epic of a book’DAILY MAIL
From longstanding political columnist and commentator Daniel Finkelstein, a powerful memoir exploring both his mother and his father’s devastating experiences of persecution, resistance and survival during the Second World War.
Daniel’s mother Mirjam Wiener was the youngest of three daughters born in Germany to Alfred and Margarete Wiener. Alfred, a decorated hero from the Great War, is now widely acknowledged to have been the first person to recognise the existential danger Hitler posed to the Jews and began, in 1933, to catalogue in detail Nazi crimes. After moving his family to Amsterdam, he relocated his library to London and was preparing to bring over his wife and children when Germany invaded the Netherlands. Before long, the family was rounded up, robbed and sent to starve in Bergen-Belsen.
Daniel’s father Ludwik was born in Lwów, the only child of a prosperous Jewish family. In 1939, after Hitler and Stalin carved up Poland, Ludwik’s father was arrested and sentenced to hard labour in the Gulag. Meanwhile, deported to Siberia and working as a slave labourer on a collective farm, Ludwik survived the freezing winters in a tiny house he built from cow dung.
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad is a deeply moving, personal and at times horrifying memoir about Finkelstein’s parents’ experiences at the hands of the two genocidal dictators of the twentieth century. It is a story of persecution; survival; and the consequences of totalitarianism told with the almost unimaginable bravery of two ordinary families shining through.
‘Danny Finkelstein has written an elegant, moving account of the history of one family, and in doing so shines light on the history of the 20th century. If you want to understand Hitler and Stalin, read this book about people whose lives were upended by both of them’ ANNE APPLEBAUM, author of Gulag: A History, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
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The Sea-paddler’s Tale
Set in 1970, “The Sea-paddlers Tale” tells the true story of how, against all the odds and the accepted norms of the canoeing establishment, a young man gave up his job, built an Eskimo kayak and set out to fulfil a personal dream of making the first kayak circumnavigation of mainland Britain.Despite high level boat-handling skills, his early plans exposed a naivety concerning the numerous difficulties that required him to treat every day as an exercise in practical problem solving. Life-threatening battles with the sea were sometimes dwarfed by those on land in finding somewhere to sleep and eat on a minimalist budget.
There were moments of humour bordering the absurd, but more memorably, of extreme adventure and high drama, not least being robbed; spending a night astride a buoy and watching his kayak drift off on the tide. Time and again, when all seemed hopeless, he found people that were prepared to help him so that he was able to continue.
Anyone who has a taste for adventure, laced with grit, determination and resilience will find this a compulsive read.
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£2.80The Sea-paddler’s Tale
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A Family of Kings: The descendants of Christian IX of Denmark (Theo Aronson Royal History)
In 1863, Queen Victoria decreed that her son Edward, Prince of Wales, should marry Princess Alexandra, daughter of the obscure and unsophisticated heir to the Danish throne.The beauty, grace and charm of Prince Christian’s daughter had prevailed over the Queen’s intense dislike of the Danish royal house. Even the embarrassingly difficult Bertie was persuaded to agree to the match.
Thus began the fairy-tale saga of a family that handed on its good looks, unaffectedness and democratic manners to almost every royal house of modern Europe. For, in the year that Alexandra became Princess of Wales, her brother Willie was elected King of the Hellenes; her father at last succeeded to the Danish throne; her sister Dagmar was soon to become wife of the future Tsar Alexander III of Russia; and her youngest sister Thyra later married the de jure King of Hanover.
A Family of Kings is the story of the crowned children and grandchildren of Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark, focusing on the half-century before the First World War. It is an intimate, domestic study of a close-knit family, their individual personalities, and the courts to which they came.
Theo Aronson is the author of over twenty works of royal historical biography, published in eleven languages. Among the widely read are Grandmama of Europe, The King in Love, Napoleon and Josephine and a biography of Princess Margaret. In the course of researching and writing these books he has interviewed major and minor members of Britain’s royal family and members of the royal households, as well as various officials, servants, friends and others whose lives are in some way connected with the monarchy.
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Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors. The Sunday Times no 1 bestseller
THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER‘Explosive’ The Sun
‘Accounts from insiders who have never spoken before’ The Times
‘Bombshell’ The MirrorThe British Royal Family believed that the dizzy success of the Sussex wedding, watched and celebrated around the world, was the beginning of a new era for the Windsors. Yet, within one tumultuous year, the dream became a nightmare. In the aftermath of the infamous Megxit split and the Oprah Winfrey interview, the Royal Family’s fate seems persistently threatened.
As Meghan and Harry’s much-trailed Netflix documentary finally airs, the public remains puzzled. Meghan’s success has alternatively won praise, bewildered and outraged. Confused by the Sussexes’ slick publicity, few understand the real Meghan Markle. What lies ahead for Meghan? And what has happened to the family she married into? Can the Windsors restore their reputation?
With extensive research, expert sourcing and interviews from insiders who have never spoken before, Tom Bower, Britain’s leading investigative biographer, unpicks the tangled web of courtroom drama, courtier politics and thwarted childhood dreams to uncover an astonishing story of love, betrayal, secrets and revenge.
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Keith Richards: Satisfaction
In celebration of Keith Richards’ 80th birthday, this edition features a new introduction from the author.‘A highly readable portrait of the irresistible millionaire minstrel.’ Independent
‘Highly entertaining . . . Of this latest crop of Stones books, Sandford’s affectionate, warts-and-all portrait of Keith is undoubtedly the best read.’ Charles Spencer, Sunday Telegraph
‘A pungent, air-guitar twanging celebration of one of rock’s true wild men.’ The Times
He’s the shy, half-educated boy from Dartford . . . the ‘elegantly wasted’ junkie who wrote and played the Rolling Stones’ best-known songs . . . the artist formerly known as Wormwood Scrubs’ prisoner 7855 . . . the original Human Riff . . . and, today, the contented family man who continues to be rock’s most indomitable living practitioner.
But who is the real Keith behind the kohl-eyed image? Christopher Sandford’s penetrating and entertaining biography is a hard, fast, sometimes shocking saga of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll — and of a flawed but wildly creative life.
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The Insanity of Gambling
The 27-year rollercoaster descent into the world of gambling madness and the eventual search for sobriety.Read more
£2.90The Insanity of Gambling
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Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka: The Horrific True Story Behind Canada’s Ken and Barbie Killers (Real Crime by Real Killers Book 7)
Abduction. Rape. Murder.
Multiple assaults. Three dead teenage girls.
A pair of criminals. But which one was the killer?This graphic account of convicted killers, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, shows that in some relationships, neither party is the “better half.” Both halves of this Canadian couple add up to one evil story. A story too shocking to believe, but the truth, especially true crime, is all too often stranger and more gruesomely horrific than any mere work of fiction.
Weaving a tale of innocent victims who were terrorized, sexually assaulted, and murdered, this true-crime thriller details the crimes and takes an in-depth look at the perpetrators. Criminal profilers have found when killers work in tandem; often, they are designated as the “leader” and the “follower.” Readers are invited to draw their own conclusions as to which one of the deadly duo was the manipulator and who was being manipulated. Dubbed the “Ken and Barbie Killers” by the media, Paul and Karla’s pink dream house became a place of nightmares.
Get a copy today and discover the shocking confession that causes their world to fall apart like a house of cards and reveals that this “perfect couple” is, in fact, perfectly evil.
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Wicked Beyond Belief: The True Crime Story Behind the Hit New TV Show
Now a major TV series
‘A masterpiece that reads like a thriller’ Time Out
A gripping and probing account of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history.
It is over 40 years since Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking 7 more. Still, he remains a killer of almost mythical proportions; his surviving victims, and their families, forever attached to his infamy.
Michael Bilton’s acclaimed account is a powerful indictment of the calamitous investigation that logged over 2 million man-hours of police work – the biggest criminal manhunt in British history. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, the pathologist’s archives and declassified documents, this account reads like the most gripping of thrillers.
Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
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GORDON RAMSAY: Biography of a Culinary Maverick
Gordon Ramsay, a culinary maverick with a career as sizzling as his signature dishes, emerged as a prominent figure in the culinary world. Born in Scotland in 1966, Ramsay’s journey from aspiring footballer to renowned chef began when he enrolled at North Oxfordshire Technical College to study hotel management.His early career saw him training under culinary luminaries in Europe, honing his skills in classic French cuisine. Ramsay’s breakthrough moment came when he joined Marco Pierre White’s restaurant, Harvey’s, where he absorbed both the artistry and intensity that would later define his own culinary approach.In 1998, Ramsay opened his first solo venture, Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, quickly earning three Michelin stars. This success marked the inception of his global empire, expanding to restaurants worldwide and culminating in a myriad of Michelin stars.Beyond the kitchen, Ramsay became a household name through television. His unfiltered and passionate persona on shows like “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Kitchen Nightmares” solidified his status as a culinary rockstar. Ramsay’s commitment to perfection, tempered by a fiery temper, adds a unique flavor to his celebrity chef persona.
Despite the tough exterior, Ramsay is also a philanthropist, author, and family man. His journey from a small town in Scotland to the summits of the culinary world illustrates the tenacity of a man whose love for food and uncompromising standards have left an indelible mark on the global gastronomic landscape.Read more
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Johnny Ruffo : The biography of Home and Away’ actor and singer, cause of death and legacy
It is a short interesting Biography of Home and Away Actor and Singer, Cause of Death and LegacyJohnny Ruffo was more than just a celebrity. He was a man who faced the most difficult challenge of his life with courage, optimism, and humor. He was a man who never stopped chasing his dreams and never stopped spreading his joy. He was a man who left an indelible mark on the world with his talent, charisma, and spirit.
Johnny Ruffo: The Biography of Home and Away Actor and Singer, Cause of Death and Legacy is the definitive account of Johnny Ruffo’s extraordinary life, from his childhood in Perth to his meteoric rise to fame and his brave battle with brain cancer. It is a story of passion, perseverance, and resilience, told with honesty and compassion by those who knew him best.In this book, you will discover:
How Johnny Ruffo became a star on The X Factor Australia, impressing the judges and the audience with his singing and dancing skills.
– How Johnny Ruffo landed a role on Home and Away
– How Johnny Ruffo balanced his music and acting careers, releasing hit singles, touring with international artists, and starring in TV shows and movies.
– diagnosis of brain cancer
– lasting legacy in the entertainment industry, the cancer community, and the hearts of his family, friends, and fans.Johnny Ruffo: The Biography of Home and Away Actor and Singer, Cause of Death and Legacy is a tribute to a man who lived a remarkable life and touched the lives of many. It is a book that will remind you to never give up and never stop smiling.
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Harry & Meghan: Vol. 2: A New American Royal Family Takes Their Place in History
Finally, Volume 2, the second installment of the “Harry & Meghan” series, is here! Be one of the first to read this #1 New Release and follow-up to Volume 1, also a #1 New Release when it launched in 2021, examining the next phase of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s historical move from the UK to California. This mini-biography is the first to be released since their daughter and American-born royalty Lilibet “Lili” Diana met her gan-gan Queen Elizabeth—and much of it is told in their own words.An incisive, analytical and occasionally satirical view of the racism, press intrusion and betrayal they’ve faced since moving to America, this mini-biography contains fresh new details and up-to-the-minute news on the couple **(Please note page counts before purchasing; these books are short, quick looks at one moment in time).**
More dramatic than a season of The Crown, more gripping than any soap opera and more intriguing than any mystery thriller, the true story of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex rocking the British royal family is like no other book you’ve ever read.
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The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man
If you have anything to do with advertising or are interested in it, this is a must book to read. There is no other book on the subject so revealing and relevant, not to mention engaging. Veteran ad man Fred Goldberg, gives us an unforgettable glimpse into the chaos, drama, and outright wackiness that fuels one of the most loved and hated industries. While Goldberg shares plenty of behind-the-scenes dirt on what it was like to craft ad campaigns for some of the most well known corporate titans, he also doesn’t spare the mad men who worked alongside him. Outsize personalities, some prone to jaw-dropping displays of ego and antics that are truly hard to believe, but true. There’s a week spent with John Wayne shooting commercials, commercials he didn’t want to be shooting; the untold story behind Steve Jobs and the infamous introductory Apple “1984” Macintosh commercial; what it was like working with Michael Dell as Dell Computers mushroomed from $100M to $30+B; along with insights and anecdotes recounted from dealing with advertising legends like Jay Chiat, Guy Day, Lee Clow and Ed Ney; entrepreneurs like Larry Ellison, Les Crane, Ben Rosen, Don Kingsborough and Joseph E. Levine. Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man is the real story of mad men in a very mad environment.Read more
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Ewen and Cat’s Wee Book of Aye or Naw?: 500 quiz questions to test your knowledge on EVERYTHING!
500 quiz questions to test your knowledge on EVERYTHING! Packed full of hilarious behind-the-scenes moments and puzzling brain busters from their award-winning radio show Ewen and Cat at Breakfast. It’s bound to bemuse and amuse in equal measure!Are these statements true? Aye or Naw?
Usain Bolt would beat a cat over 100m.
A jiffy is a real unit of time.
Volkswagen sell more sausages than cars.
All will be revealed.Will Ewen and Cat’s Wee Book of Aye or Naw? change your life? NAW.
But will it make you instantly more interesting to other humans? OH AYE!!Read more
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American Prince: My Autobiography
He has appeared in over a hundred films. Elvis copied his looks. The Beatles put him on the cover of Sgt. Pepper. Tony Curtis is without question a Hollywood legend and part of its Golden Age. In American Prince he tells the whole story, from his hard-knock childhood growing up in the Bronx to his wild days as a Hollywood playboy, his destructive drug addiction and his life now as an artist in his eighties. He talks frankly about the people he has known during his long and illustrious career, from the studio owners and directors to his famous friends, such as Jack Lemmon, Cary Grant and James Dean, and the women in his life, including Janet Leigh and Natalie Wood.
Forthright and enthralling, and sparing no detail and no ego, American Prince is the true record of a life lived to the full.
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