Biography

'This is the story of my journey into parenthood, from being a 24 year old man-child with no idea of what being a dad involved, to (read more)

'This is the story of my journey into parenthood, from being a 24 year old man-child with no idea of what being a dad involved, to where I find myself today: the single male representative in a household of five women, or in other words, outnumbered. Our house is now known as "the place where silence came to die". It's also where you'll find carpets that are made up of 50% glitter and where there are more pink stuffed animals than at a colour-blind taxidermy specialists.

But I wouldn't change a thing. These people are my life.'From uninitiated parents-to-be to those who know the ropes in families large or small, everyone will find something to relate to in Simon's hilarious and chaotic tales of his own home life. His observations of being a father have delighted his hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram: before now dads are often the forgotten ones who carry the luggage, open stiff jars, take photos on holiday, fix broken bikes, go back to work, do the night feeds and make a mean beans on toast with melted cheese without so much as a pat on the back. (hide)

In Forty Autumns, Nina Willner recounts the history of three generations of her family - mothers, sisters, daughters and cousins (read more)

In Forty Autumns, Nina Willner recounts the history of three generations of her family - mothers, sisters, daughters and cousins - separated by forty years of Soviet rule, and reunited after the fall of the Berlin Wall.Shortly after the end of the Second World War, as the Soviets took control of the eastern part of Germany, Hanna, a schoolteacher's daughter, escaped with nothing more than a small suitcase and the clothes on her back. As Hanna built a new life in the West, her relatives (her mother, father and eight siblings) remained in the East. The construction of the Berlin Wall severed all hope of any future reunion.

Hanna fell in love and moved to America. She made many attempts to establish contact with her family, but most were unsuccessful. Her father was under close observation; her mother, younger sister Heidi and the others struggled to adjust to life under a bizarre and brutal regime that kept its citizens cut off from the outside world. (hide)

An incredible memoir from one of the world's most eminent heart surgeons and some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he's (read more)

An incredible memoir from one of the world's most eminent heart surgeons and some of the most remarkable and poignant cases he's worked on. Grim Reaper sits on the heart surgeon's shoulder. A slip of the hand and life ebbs away.

The balance between life and death is so delicate, and the heart surgeon walks that rope between the two. In the operating room there is no time for doubt. It is flesh, blood, rib-retractors and pumping the vital organ with your bare hand to squeeze the life back into it. (hide)

Pub Date:13/01/2015 - This is the autobiography of Reginald Levy, a British pilot who reached a total of 25,090 flying hours in over (read more)

Pub Date:13/01/2015 - This is the autobiography of Reginald Levy, a British pilot who reached a total of 25,090 flying hours in over forty years of civil, military and commercial aviation. He recounts his training and military operations as an RAF Bomber Command pilot during the Second World War. Enthralled and immersed within the ever growing world of aviation, he flies sixty-four types of aircraft between 1941 and 1981 and takes part in the Berlin Airlift.

He joins the Belgian airline Sabena in 1952. In 1972, he is hijacked by Black September terrorists and plays a heroic part in the liberation of the hostages thanks to his professionalism and training. Not only does the book offer an insight into the hardships and camaraderie of the Second World War and of the Cold War, it also gives a first-hand account of a Palestinian terrorist attempt. (hide)

Brigid Keenan was never destined to lead a normal life. From her early beginnings - a colourful childhood in India brought to an (read more)

Brigid Keenan was never destined to lead a normal life. From her early beginnings - a colourful childhood in India brought to an abrupt end by independence and partition, then a return to dreary post-war England and on to a finishing school in Paris with daughters of presidents and princes - ordinary didn't seem to be her fate. When, as a ten-year-old, she overheard her mother describe her as 'desperately plain', she decided then and there that she had to rely on something different: glamour, eccentricity, character, a career - anything, so as not to end up at the bottom of the pile.

And in classic Brigid style, she somehow ended up with them all. Fate often gave Brigid a helping hand - in the late fifties, in her teens, she landed a job as an assistant at the Daily Express in London, and by the tender age of twenty-one she was a Fashion Editor at the Sunday Times. It was the dawn of the swinging sixties, and London was the place to be.
(hide)

'Refreshingly honest [...] a highly enjoyable, fascinating read.' Horse and Hound"To ride into that arena, next to a sea of British (read more)

'Refreshingly honest [...] a highly enjoyable, fascinating read.' Horse and Hound"To ride into that arena, next to a sea of British flags and hear the roar of clapping and cheering, was so exciting. It's a sound I will never, ever forget."Charlotte Dujardin and her charismatic horse Valegro burst onto the international sports scene with their record-breaking performance at the London, 2012 Olympics. The world was captivated by the young woman with the dazzling smile and her dancing horse. (hide)

Based on her hugely popular sex blog, Abby Lee's "Girl With a One Track Mind" was a publishing phenomenon. Unfortunately for Abby, (read more)

Based on her hugely popular sex blog, Abby Lee's "Girl With a One Track Mind" was a publishing phenomenon. Unfortunately for Abby, her true identity was revealed shortly after publication and her private life - now public - was thrown into disarray. Suddenly all her friends, family and colleagues knew her most shockingly intimate secrets.

In her follow up book she details how she coped once the whole world knew she was Britain's most famous sex diarist, and reveals her attempts to lead a satisfying sex life once more. Once again this results in hilarious adventures, from doomed sex with a rock star and uneventful sex with a newspaper columnist to an on-off relationship with a tv presenter and a one-night stand with an internet celebrity. In spite of the disastrous dates, Abby doesn't give up on her search for a more meaningful relationship with a trustworthy companion. (hide)

'I wish I had been brave enough to come out earlier in my tenure as CEO of BP. I regret it to this day. I know that if I had done (read more)

'I wish I had been brave enough to come out earlier in my tenure as CEO of BP. I regret it to this day. I know that if I had done so I would have made more of an impact for other gay men and women.

With The Glass Closet, I hope to give some of them the courage to make an impact of their own.' Whether you're lesbian, gay, transgender or straight, John Browne's message is simple and clear, it's better for you and it's better for business when you bring your authentic self to work. Drawing on his personal experiences and the experience of other gay and lesbian business leaders, and by investigating the research and the social contexts, The Glass Closet strives to give courage and inspire the LGBT community that despite the risks involved, self-disclosure is best for employees and for the businesses that support them. Every CEO, every HR Manager, every team leader - anyone who is responsible for the culture and success of their business should read The Glass Closet.

And for anyone fearful or lacking the confidence to bring their true self into work every day, this book was written for you. (hide)

The bestselling follow-up to Humble Pie, now in paperback. When he was struggling to get his first restaurant in the black, Gordon (read more)

The bestselling follow-up to Humble Pie, now in paperback. When he was struggling to get his first restaurant in the black, Gordon Ramsay never imagined he'd be famous for a TV show about how to run profitable eateries, or that he'd be head of a business empire. But he is and he did.

Here's how. "In the beginning there was nothing. Not a sausage - penniless, broke, fucking nothing - and although, at a certain age, that didn't matter hugely, there came a time when hand-me-downs, cast-offs and football boots of odd sizes all pointed to a problem that seemed to have afflicted me, my mum, my sisters, Ronnie and the whole lot of us. (hide)

Graeme Souness is a Glasgow Rangers icon, and a Liverpool legend in the same bracket as Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and Jamie (read more)

Graeme Souness is a Glasgow Rangers icon, and a Liverpool legend in the same bracket as Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. He has racked up getting on for fifty years in and around the world of professional football. The game has been his life, and his enduring passion.

Souness has written a perceptive and opinionated autobiography. It chronicles one of the most successful and colourful careers in the history of British football. But it also provides an intriguing assessment of the game which has dominated his existence, drawing extensively on his incredibly rich and varied experiences as a player, manager and pundit. (hide)