Biography

Despite describing an Irish-Scottish childhood in Glasgow during the 1930s Depression - in a period book-ended by two world wars (read more)

Despite describing an Irish-Scottish childhood in Glasgow during the 1930s Depression - in a period book-ended by two world wars - The Facts of Life is written in a charming and simple style with many amusing and memorable vignettes. As Anne grows into adolescence, the warm and loving relationship with her parents begins to grow dull and chafe as a new and exciting social life opens up in dancing, amateur dramatics and in the university campus. Although it is a personal intimate story of suburban family life in Scotland, it is of interest to parents and early educators the world over.
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Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked. Leaving school (read more)

Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked. Leaving school at eleven years of age, the threat of borstal hanging over his head, running with gangs in Birmingham, and almost being killed in a knife fight eventually led to Billy discovering the British armed forces at sixteen years of age. It would be the making of him.

Billingham would graduate from the Royal Marine cadets to enlisting with the Parachute Regiment in 1983, where he would serve with distinction as a Patrol Commander and expert sniper. In 1991 he took on an even bigger challenge - taking the SAS course - the fearsome and secretive elite special forces unit with a well-won reputation for excellence in operating in extreme and hazardous conditions. He excelled in this life, rising to the rank of sergeant major for the regiment, and undertaking dozens of classified and extremely dangerous missions. (hide)

Stunning three-volume slipcased set containing the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien's life and works ever published, (read more)

Stunning three-volume slipcased set containing the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien's life and works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, and a Tolkien gazetteer, who's who and chronology. The three volumes contained in this slipcase, written by two of the foremost experts on J.R.R. Tolkien, comprise the definitive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the 20th century.

Tolkien's progress is traced from his birth in South Africa in 1892, to the battlefields of France and the lecture-halls of Leeds and Oxford, to his success as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, until his death in 1973. His many academic and literary achievements, his public reception, and his enduring fame are examined in detail. The first volume in this set is a Chronology of Tolkien's life and works, the most extensive biographical resource about him ever published.
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Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their (read more)

Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.

Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey. The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. (hide)

The inspirational inside story from the 2018 Tour de France and Sports Personality of the Year winner"This year G was the strongest (read more)

The inspirational inside story from the 2018 Tour de France and Sports Personality of the Year winner"This year G was the strongest rider, and he finally had Lady Luck on his side. An unstoppable combination" Chris Froome"I understood what Geraint's win meant: for him, for me, for the team, and for Wales, too" Dave Brailsford"Wow!" Thierry HenryFor years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice an Olympic gold medallist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his team-mates. In the summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion - from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees and, finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris. (hide)

t's 1983. A young Englishwoman arrives in Manhattan on a mission. Summoned in the hope that she can save Conde Nast's troubled new (read more)

t's 1983. A young Englishwoman arrives in Manhattan on a mission. Summoned in the hope that she can save Conde Nast's troubled new flagship Vanity Fair, Tina Brown is plunged into the maelstrom of competitive New York media.

She survives the politics and the intrigue by a simple stratagem: succeeding. Here are the inside stories of the scoops and covers that sold millions: the Reagan kiss, the meltdown of Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles, the sensational Annie Leibovitz cover of a gloriously pregnant, naked Demi Moore. Written with dash and verve, the diary is also a sharply observed account of New York and London society. (hide)

Would you sacrifice yourself to save thousands of others? In the Summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground (read more)

Would you sacrifice yourself to save thousands of others?

In the Summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interned at a new concentration camp on the border of the Reich. His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising.

The name of the detention centre -- Auschwitz. It was only after arriving at the camp that he started to discover the Nazi's terrifying plans. Over the next two and half years, Witold forged an underground army that smuggled evidence of Nazi atrocities out of Auschwitz. (hide)

`Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - (read more)

`Painfully funny. The pain and the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble and entirely loveable.' - Stephen FryWelcome to 97-hour weeks. Welcome to life and death decisions.

Welcome to a constant tsunami of bodily fluids. Welcome to earning less than the hospital parking meter. Wave goodbye to your friends and relationships .

. . Welcome to the life of a junior doctor. (hide)

A funny and heart-warming love letter to childhood, family and growing up. Till the Cows Come Home is DJ and TV presenter Sara Cox's (read more)

A funny and heart-warming love letter to childhood, family and growing up. Till the Cows Come Home is DJ and TV presenter Sara Cox's wonderfully written, funny coming of age memoir of growing up in 1980s Lancashire.

The youngest of five siblings, Sara grew up on her father's cattle farm surrounded by dogs, cows, horses, fields and lots of 'cack'. The lanky kid sister - half girl, half forehead - a nuisance to the older kids, the farm was her very own dangerous adventure playground, 'a Bolton version of Narnia'. Her writing conjures up a time of wagon rides and haymaking and agricultural shows, alongside chain smoking pensioners, cabaret nights at the Conservative club and benign parenting. (hide)

Astonishing, soul-baring - the must-read memoir by rock's greatest survivor' DAILY MAIL***The full, dramatic story of one of the (read more)

Astonishing, soul-baring - the must-read memoir by rock's greatest survivor' DAILY MAIL***The full, dramatic story of one of the most remarkable women in music history, celebrating Tina Turner's 60th year in the industry***'Unbearably poignant' THE TIMES, Book of the Week_______________________Love's got everything to do with it. Tina Turner is the Queen of Rock `n' Roll, a musical icon celebrating her 60th year in the industry. In this dramatic autobiography, she tells the story of a truly remarkable life in the spotlight.

From her early years picking cotton in Nutbush, Tennessee to her rise to fame alongside Ike Turner, and finally to her phenomenal success in the 1980s and beyond, Tina candidly examines her personal history, from her darkest hours to her happiest moments and everything in between. In her honest and heart-felt voice, Tina reveals:* How (love) and a kidney transplant saved her life - and how her new husband made an incredible personal sacrifice* How she has coped with the tragic suicide of her son* How ex-husband Ike Turner forced her to go to a brothel on their wedding night... and why she tried to kill herself because of Ike's mistresses * The Cinderella moment when David Bowie made Tina a star ...
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