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Travelling to Work: Diaries 1988–1998 (Michael Palin Diaries #3)
by Michael PalinThe third volume of Michael Palin's celebrated diaries.TRAVELLING TO WORK is a roller-coaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of curiosity and sense of adventure. Michael was not the BBC's first choice for the travel series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, but after its success, the public naturally wanted more. Palin, however, had other plans. There was his film AMERICAN FRIENDS, a role in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama GBH, the staging of his West End play THE WEEKEND, a first novel, HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR, and a lead role in FIERCE CREATURES. He did find time for two more travel series, POLE TO POLE in 1991 and FULL CIRCLE in 1996, and wrote two bestselling books to accompany them. These ten years in different directions offer riches on every page.
Call the Midwife: Illustrated Edition
by Jennifer WorthThis is a large beautifully illustrated edition of CALL THE MIDWIFE with never-before-seen photographs which bring the real London and real lives to life. Pictures of the docklands, photos of how life was lived at the time, the families, housing, health service, food and of course the nuns and the midwives who brought so many babies into the world will be a beautiful addition to Jennifer Worth's bestselling memoir.
Margot at War: Love and Betrayal in Downing Street, 1912-1916
by Anne de CourcyMargot Asquith was perhaps the most daring and unconventional Prime Minister's wife in British history. Known for her wit, style and habit of speaking her mind, she transformed 10 Downing Street into a glittering social and intellectual salon. Yet her last four years at Number 10 were a period of intense emotional and political turmoil in her private and public life. In 1912, when Anne de Courcy's book opens, rumblings of discontent and cries for social reform were encroaching on all sides - from suffragettes, striking workers and Irish nationalists. Against this background of a government beset with troubles, the Prime Minister fell desperately in love with his daughter's best friend, Venetia Stanley; to complicate matters, so did his Private Secretary. Margot's relationship with her husband was already bedevilled by her stepdaughter's jealous, almost incestuous adoration of her father. The outbreak of the First World War only heightened these swirling tensions within Downing Street. Drawing on unpublished material from personal papers and diaries, Anne de Courcy vividly recreates this extraordinary time when the Prime Minister's residence was run like an English country house, with socialising taking precedence over politics, love letters written in the cabinet room and gossip and state secrets exchanged over the bridge table. By 1916, when Asquith was forced out of office, everything had changed. For the country as a whole, for those in power, for a whole stratum of society, but especially for the Asquiths and their circle, it was the end of an era. Life inside Downing Street would never be the same again.
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery
by Henry MarshWinner of the PEN Ackerley Prize and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for LiteratureShortlisted for the Costa Biography Award; Duff Cooper Prize; Wellcome Book Prize; Guardian First Book Award; and Slightly Foxed Best First Biography PrizeLonglisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction What is it like to be a brain surgeon?How does it feel to hold someone's life in your hands, to cut through the stuff that creates thought, feeling and reason?How do you live with the consequences when it all goes wrong?DO NO HARM offers an unforgettable insight into the highs and lows of a life dedicated to operating on the human brain, in all its exquisite complexity. With astonishing candour and compassion, Henry Marsh reveals the exhilarating drama of surgery, the chaos and confusion of a busy modern hospital, and above all the need for hope when faced with life's most agonising decisions.
Going Off Alarming: The Autobiography: Vol 2
by Danny BakerThe dazzlingly funny second volume of Danny Baker's memoirs: the television years.Since my first book was published I have had countless friends and family members get in touch to say how come I hadn't included this story or that tale. Was I ashamed of being shot twice, once up the arse, in Jamaica Road? How long should a man live with such a secret? If by retrospectively dropping my trousers every few pages I can reveal a fuller picture of myself during these years, then so be it.Besides. Being shot up the arse. In front of your mates.What else did I forget?
Going on the Turn: Being the Extraordinary Stories of My Life and Dodging Death’s Door
by Danny BakerIn this book my father dies. I almost die.*** My showbiz career winds down. And yet everyone keeps telling me it's the funniest book I've ever written. If I'd known that's what the public wanted, I'd have cancelled Pets Win Prizes and just got sick sooner. Along the way this time we encounter, among others, David Bowie, Kanye West (I think), John Cleese, Peter O'Toole, and have several adventures in the Fourth Dimension. Oh, and I can reveal the Man With The Foulest Mouth In All Show Business. Plus assorted high-kicking hoopla and a whole lot of rather stark stuff about what it's like to be told you could be On The Way Out. *** (SPOILER ALERT: I don't actually die.)
The Audacious Crimes of Colonel Blood: The Spy Who Stole the Crown Jewels and Became the King’s Secret Agent
by Robert Hutchinson'A marvellous romp' The Times'The clash of blades, the whizzing bullets and galloping hooves guarantee nonstop adventure' Literary ReviewIn May 1671, Colonel Blood became the only person ever to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. How did he succeed? Why did King Charles II decide to pardon him, and hire him as his personal spy?In a page-turning narrative that reads like a thriller, Robert Hutchinson tells the compelling story of Colonel Blood: turncoat, fugitive, double agent - and the most wanted man in Restoration England.
Curious: True Stories and Loose Connections
by Rebecca Front'Warm, anxious and true - a Little Book of Un-Calm' Caitlin MoranShortlisted for Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the National Book AwardsSometimes things are more ordinary than you think. And sometimes they're a whole lot odder than you can possibly imagine. By turns poignant, comic and uplifting, Curious is a book of stories from Rebecca Front's life, all of them true, though sometimes perhaps a little bent out of shape in the telling. It is a beguiling celebration of the curiosities of everyday life, and of what it is to be curious - in every sense of the word.
Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Adventures in the Ordinary
by Rebecca Front'Hilarious' Daily Mail'I was completely captivated' David SedarisPeople are odd. Even the most predictable of us sometimes defy expectations. Add to that the tricks that life plays on us and the world suddenly seems full of impossible things.As an award-winning actor and writer, Rebecca Front has always been fascinated by life's little quirks. Impossible Things Before Breakfast is a collection of true stories about surprising turns of events, bizarre misunderstandings and improbable life lessons. We learn, among other things, how gazing at the stars can help you communicate with teenagers, how a mushroom can undermine an ancient ritual, and why everyone should wear a cape.Combining elegant writing, wry humour and genuine insight, this brilliant collection prises open the lid on ordinary life and feasts on the impossible.
Bolivar: The Epic Life of the Man Who Liberated South America
by Marie AranaThe dramatic life of the revolutionary hero Bolivar, who liberated South America - a sweeping narrative worthy of a Hollywood epic.Simón Bolivar's life makes for one of history's most dramatic canvases, a colossal narrative filled with adventure and disaster, victory and defeat. This is the story not just of an extraordinary man but of the liberation of a continent.A larger-than-life figure from a tumultuous age, Bolívar ignited a revolution, liberated six countries from Spanish rule and is revered as the great hero of South American history. In a sweeping narrative worthy of a Hollywood epic, BOLIVAR colourfully portrays this extraordinarily dramatic life. From his glorious battlefield victories to his legendary love affairs, Bolívar emerges as a man of many facets: fearless and inspiring general, consummate diplomat, passionate abolitionist and gifted writer.
Fathomless Riches: Or How I Went From Pop To Pulpit
by Richard ColesThe memoir of popular BBC Radio 4 SATURDAY LIVE presenter and former member of the Communards, the Reverend Richard Coles. 'I love @RevRichardColes SO MUCH' Caitlin Moran FATHOMLESS RICHES is the Reverend Richard Coles's warm, witty and wise memoir in which he divulges with searing honesty and intimacy his pilgrimage from a rock-and-roll life of sex and drugs in the Communards to one devoted to God and Christianity. The result is one of the most unusual and readable life stories of recent times, and has the power to shock as well as to console.
Paul McCartney: The Biography
by Philip NormanThe first biography written with McCartney's approval and with access to family members and friends closest to him.In 2013, Sir Paul McCartney granted Philip Norman 'tacit approval' as his biographer. The result is a masterly and complex portrait of the most successful songwriter in history.It gives a unique insight into McCartney's childhood, blighted by the loss of his mother when he was fourteen, and into the creative symbiosis and fierce rivalry between John Lennon and himself that powered the Beatles' music. Here, too, for the first time, is the full story of McCartney's triumphant but troubled post-Beatles years: the tragic death of his first wife, Linda, and the chaotic divorce from his second wife, Heather Mills.Paul McCartney is the definitive life of a long-misunderstood genius that superbly evokes half a century of popular music and culture.
Richard III: Brother, Protector, King
by Chris Skidmore'Fresh, gripping and vivid' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Exhaustively researched and scrupulously even-handed' David Starkey 'A portrait that chills you to the bone' Leanda de Lisle, The TimesA dedicated brother and loyal stalwart to the Yorkist dynasty for most of his early life, Richard's personality was forged in the tribulation of exile and the brutality of combat. An ambitious nobleman and successful general with a loyal following, he could claim to have achieved every ambition in life except one: the crown.By stripping back the legends that surround England's most controversial king and returning to original manuscript evidence, Chris Skidmore's compelling biography reveals Richard III as contemporaries saw him.
I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai*Winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize*When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, 9 October 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price when she was shot in the head at point-blank range.Malala Yousafzai's extraordinary journey has taken her from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations. She has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and is the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.*****'Malala is an inspiration to girls and women all over the world' JK Rowling'Moving and illuminating' Observer'Inspirational and powerful' Grazia'Her story is astonishing' Spectator
Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy
by Anne Sebba"Totally riveting. I couldn't put it down" VICTORIA HISLOP"Masterful, original and painfully gripping" PHILIPPE SANDS"A heart-piercingly brilliant book about a woman whose personal life put her in the cross-hairs of history" HADLEY FREEMAN"I don't think I've ever read a book that has moved me more" ANTHONY HOROWITZ"A brilliant and fresh take on a famous case" SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIOREEthel Rosenberg's story has been called America's Dreyfus Affair: a catastrophic failure of humanity and justice that continues to haunt the national conscience, and is still being played out with different actors in the lead roles today.On 19th June 1953 Ethel Rosenberg became the first woman in the US to be executed for a crime other than murder. She was thirty-seven years old and the mother of two small children. Yet even today, at a time when the Cold War seems all too resonant, Ethel's conviction for conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union makes her story still controversial. This is an important moment to recount not simply what FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called the 'trial of the century', but also a timeless human story of a supportive wife, loving mother and courageous idealist who grew up during the Depression with aspirations to become an opera singer. Instead, she found herself battling the social mores of the 1950s and had her life barbarically cut short on the basis of tainted evidence for a crime she almost certainly did not commit.Anne Sebba's masterly biography makes full use of the dramatic prison letters Ethel exchanged with her husband, lawyer and psychotherapist over a three-year period. Sebba has also interviewed Ethel's two sons and others who knew her, including a fellow prisoner. Ethel's tragic story lays bare a nation deeply divided and reveals what happens when a government motivated by fear tramples on the rights of its citizens.
Trenchard: The Life of Viscount Trenchard, Father of the Royal Air Force
by Russell Miller'A magnetic and colourful portrait' Daily TelegraphHugh 'Boom' Trenchard was embarrassed by being described as 'The Father of the Royal Air Force' - he thought others were more deserving. But the reality was that no man did more to establish the world's first independent air force and ensure its survival in the teeth of fierce opposition from both the Admiralty and the War Office. Born in Taunton in 1873, Trenchard struggled at school, not helped by the shame of his solicitor father's bankruptcy when he was sixteen. He failed entrance examinations to both the Royal Navy and the Army several times, eventually obtaining a commission through the 'back door' of the militia. After service in India, South Africa - where he was seriously wounded - and Nigeria, he found his destiny when he joined the fledgling Royal Flying Corps in 1912, where he was soon known as 'Boom' thanks to his stentorian voice. Quick to recognise the huge potential aircraft offered in future conflicts, he rose rapidly to command the RFC in France during the First World War despite handicaps that would have blighted conventional military careers: he was obstinate, tactless, inarticulate and chronically unable to remember names - yet he was able to inspire unflagging loyalty among all ranks. Despite his conspicuous distrust of politicians, he served as a successful Chief of the Air Staff for a decade after the war and then, at the personal request of the King, took over as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, which he reorganised and reformed. He never wavered in his belief that mastery of the air could only be achieved by relentless offensive action, or in his determined advocacy of strategic bombing. His most enduring legacy was the creation of the finest air force in the world, engendered with the spirit that won the Battle of Britain.
Benjamin Franklin in London: The British Life of America’s Founding Father (Age Of Legends Ser.)
by George Goodwin'Sensitive, moving and finely textured' Guardian'Fantastic' Dan SnowFor the great majority of his long life, Benjamin Franklin was a loyal British royalist. In 1757, having made his fortune in Philadelphia and established his fame as a renowned experimental scientist, he crossed the Atlantic to live as a gentleman in the heaving metropolis of London. With just a brief interlude, a house in Craven Street was to be his home until 1775. From there he mixed with both the brilliant and the powerful, whether in London coffee house clubs, at the Royal Society, or on his summer travels around the British Isles and continental Europe. He counted David Hume, Matthew Boulton, Joseph Priestley, Edmund Burke and Erasmus Darwin among his friends, and as an American colonial representative he had access to successive Prime Ministers and even the King.The early 1760s saw Britain's elevation to global superpower status with victory in the Seven Years War and the succession of the young, active George III. These two events brought a sharp new edge to political competition in London and redefined the relationship between Britain and its colonies. Though Franklin long sought to prevent the break with Great Britain, his own actions would finally help cause that very event. On the eve of the American War of Independence, Franklin fled arrest and escaped by sea. He would never return to London. With his unique focus on the fullness of Benjamin Franklin's life in London, George Goodwin has created an enthralling portrait of the man, the city and the age.
A Very Private Diary: A Nurse in Wartime
by Mary MorrisThe newly discovered diary of a wartime nurse - a fascinating, dramatic and unique insight into the experiences of a young nurse in the Second World War.'I always seem to be saying good-bye to men whom I might have loved had there been enough time...'1939: 18-year-old trainee nurse Mary Mulry arrives in London from Ireland, hoping for adventure. Little did she know what the next seven years would bring.In her extraordinary diary, published now for the first time, Mary records in intimate detail her life as a nurse, both on the Home Front and on the frontline. From nursing children during bombing raids in London to treating Allied soldiers in Normandy, Mary's experiences gave her vivid and unforgettable material for the private diary she was dedicated to keeping.Filled with romance, glamour and inevitably sadness, too, these are the rich memories of an irrepressible personality, living through the turbulent years of the Second World War.
A Kind of Love Story
by Tom SellersThe story behind life in a world-renown Michelin-starred restaurant.Tom Sellers is a luminary of the British culinary scene. His Restaurant Story opened its doors in April 2013; its innovative literary-inspired menu, taking diners on 'a personal journey through food', has won him huge critical and public acclaim. Story was awarded its first Michelin star just five months after opening. This stunning book will be your chance to enter the visionary mind of one of the most original chefs of our time, and discover the truth behind the tales of his brilliant food.
My History: A Memoir of Growing Up
by Lady Antonia FraserThe childhood and early life memoir of Antonia Fraser, one of our finest narrative historians.Antonia Fraser's magical memoir describes growing up in the 1930s and '40s, but its real concern is with her growing love of history. A fascination that began with reading Our Island Story and her evacuation to an Elizabethan manor house at the beginning of the Second World War soon developed into an enduring passion, becoming, in her own words, 'an essential part of the enjoyment of life'.My History follows Antonia's relationship with her family: she was the eldest of eight children. Her parents Frank and Elizabeth Pakenham, later Lord and Lady Longford, were both Labour politicians. Then there are her adventures as a self-made debutante before Oxford University and a fortunate coincidence that leads to her working in publishing. It closes with the publication of her first major historical work, Mary Queen of Scots - a book that became a worldwide bestseller. Told with inimitable humour and style, this is an unforgettable account of one person's journey towards becoming a writer - and a historian.
America's Congress: Actions In The Public Sphere, James Madison Through Newt Gingrich
by David R. MayhewIn this work, political scientist David R. Mayhew examines actions performed by members of Congress throughout American history. He assesses their patterns and importance and their role in the American system of separation of powers.
Angels & Monsters: Male and Female Sopranos in the Story of Opera, 1600–1900 (PDF)
by Richard Somerset-WardDuring its first two centuries, opera was dominated by sopranos. There were male sopranos, or castrati, whose supercharged voices (female vocal cords powered by male lungs) were capable of feats of vocalism that are hard to imagine today. And there were female sopranos, or prima donnas, whose long battle for social acceptance and top billing was crowned in the early nineteenth century when the castrati disappeared from the opera stage and left them supreme. Whether they were male or female, these singers were amazing virtuosi, perhaps the greatest singers there have ever been - "angels." Unfortunately, some of them (and often the most famous) were also capable of behaving extremely badly, both on and off stage - "monsters." This book tells their colorful stories. Besides providing fascinating anecdotes about some of those who graced and disgraced the operatic stage, Richard Somerset-Ward tells the story of their greatest glory-the singing tradition they founded and perfected, which we know as bel canto and which is still the backbone of operatic singing today. Rich in musical, social, and cultural lore, Angels and Monsters illuminates a unique and vanished tradition.
Congress: The Electoral Connection
by David R. Mayhew"Any short list of major analyses of Congress must of necessity include David Mayhew's Congress: The Electoral Connection." -Fred Greenstein In this second edition to a book that has achieved canonical status, David R. Mayhew argues that the principal motivation of legislators is reelection and that the pursuit of this goal affects the way they behave and the way that they make public policy. In a new foreword for this edition, R. Douglas Arnold discusses why the book revolutionized the study of Congress and how it has stood the test of time.
Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman: Two Kings of Jazz
by Joshua BerrettIn Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman the jazz scholar Joshua Berrett offers a provocative revision of the history of early jazz by focusing on two of its most notable practitioners-Whiteman, legendary in his day, and Armstrong, a legend ever since.Paul Whiteman’s fame was unmatched throughout the twenties. Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, and Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey honed their craft on his bandstand. Celebrated as the "King of Jazz” in 1930 in a Universal Studios feature film, Whiteman’s imperium has declined considerably since. The legend of Louis Armstrong, in contrast, grows ever more lustrous: for decades it has been Armstrong, not Whiteman, who has worn the king’s crown.This dual biography explores these diverging legacies in the context of race, commerce, and the history of early jazz. Early jazz, Berrett argues, was not a story of black innovators and white usurpers. In this book, a much richer, more complicated story emerges-a story of cross-influences, sidemen, sundry movers and shakers who were all part of a collective experience that transcended the category of race. In the world of early jazz, Berrett contends, kingdoms had no borders.
Mary P. Follett: Creating Democracy, Transforming Management
by Professor Joan C. TonnMary P. Follett (1868-1933) brought new dimensions to the theory and practice of management and was one of America’s preeminent thinkers about democracy and social organization. The ideas Follett developed in the early twentieth century continue even today to challenge thinking about business and civic concerns. This book, the first biography of Follett, illuminates the life of this intriguing woman and reveals how she developed her farsighted theories about the organization of human relations.Out of twenty years of civic work in Boston’s immigrant neighborhoods, Follett developed ideas about the group basis of democracy and the foundations of social interaction that placed her among leading progressive intellectuals. Later in her career, she delivered influential lectures on business management that form the basis of our contemporary discourse about collaborative leadership, worker empowerment, self-managed teams, conflict resolution, the value of inclusivity and diversity, and corporate social responsibility.