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Goodbye Europe: The unique must-have collection
by VariousThis is not a book about politics. It is a book about what makes us British, and what makes us European.Spend time with some of your favourite writers and artists in this truly unique collection spanning everything from art, language, food, music and movies, to war, literature, driving, nudity, geography, smoking and nature.Featuring pieces of exceptional quality from some of our most treasured novelists, historians, journalists, poets and artists, including: Jessie Burton, Richard Herring, Alain de Botton, Tom Bradby, Val McDermid, Matt Haig, Afua Hirsch, Lionel Shriver, Sarah Perry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Ian Rankin, Owen Jones, Mark Kermode, Robert Macfarlane, Chris Riddell, Former Prime Minister Jim Hacker and many more.A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the times we live in, our relationship with the continent, and ourselves.* * * * *INCLUDES PIECES BY:Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Tom Bradby, Jessie Burton, Ben Collins (aka The Stig), Colonel Tim Collins, Robert Crampton, Adam Dant, Alain de Botton, Kate Eberlen, Matt Frei, Nicci French, Simon Garfield, Jonathan Lynn writing as Former Prime Minister Jim Hacker, Matt Haig, Richard Herring, Jennifer Higgie, Afua Hirsch, Owen Jones, Oliver Kamm, Alex Kapranos, Mark Kermode, Hari Kunzru, Olivia Laing, Marie Le Conte, Amy Liptrot, Robert Macfarlane, Henry Marsh, Val McDermid, Ian McEwan, Hollie McNish, Kate Mosse, Jenni Murray, Sarah Perry, Ian Rankin, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Chris Riddell, Andrew Roberts, Will Self, David Shrigley, Lionel Shriver, Sunny Singh, Ece Temelkuran, Rob Temple, Bee Wilson, Sarah Winman
Goodbye, My Havana: The Life and Times of a Gringa in Revolutionary Cuba
by Anna VeltfortAn eyewitness account of idealism, self-discovery, and loss under one of the twentieth-century's most repressive political regimes Set against a backdrop of world-changing events during the headiest years of the Cuban Revolution, Goodbye, My Havana follows young Connie Veltfort as her once relatively privileged life among a community of anti-imperialist expatriates turns to progressive disillusionment and heartbreak. The consolidation of Castro's position brings violence, cruelty, and betrayal to Connie's doorstep. And the crackdown that ultimately forces her family and others to flee for their lives includes homosexuals among its targets—Connie's coming-of-age story is one also about the dangers of coming out. Looking back with a mixture of hardheaded clarity and tenderness at her alter ego and a forgotten era, with this gripping graphic memoir Anna Veltfort takes leave of the past even as she brings neglected moments of the Cold War into the present.
Goodbye Sarajevo: A True Story of Courage, Love and Survival
by Atka Reid Hana SchofieldMay, 1992. Hana is twelve years old when her older sister Atka puts her on a UN evacuation bus fleeing the besieged city of Sarajevo. Thinking they will be apart for a short time, they make a promise to each other to be brave. But as the Bosnian war escalates and months go by without contact, their promise becomes deeply significant. Hana is forced to cope as a refugee in Croatia, while Atka and their younger siblings battle for survival in a city overwhelmed by crime and destruction. Then, when Atka manages to find work as a translator, events take an unexpected turn, and the remarkable events that follow change her life, and those of her family, forever.
Goodbye Soldier: A Biography (Spike Milligan War Memoirs #6)
by Spike MilliganSpike Milligan's legendary war memoirs are a hilarious and subversive first-hand account of the Second World War, as well as a fascinating portrait of the formative years of this towering comic genius, most famous as writer and star of The Goon Show. They have sold over 4.5 million copies since they first appeared.'The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read' Sunday Express'Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines and marvelous anecdotes' Daily Mail'Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar' Sunday Times'My namer is Maria Antonoinetta Fontana, but everyone call me Toni.' 'I'm Spike, sometimes known as stop thief or hey you.' 'Yeser, I know.' The sixth volume of Spike Milligan's off-the-wall account of his part in World War Two sees our hero doing very little soldiering. Because it's 1946. Rather, he is now part of the Bill Hall Trio - a 'Combined Services Entertainment' inflicted on unsuspecting soldiers across Italy and Austria - and is largely preoccupied with the unbearably beautiful ballerina, Ms Toni Fontana ('Arghhhhhhhhh!). But he must enjoy it while he can before he is demobbed and sent home to Catford - so he does ...'That absolutely glorious way of looking at things differently. A great man' Stephen Fry'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie Izzard'Manifestly a genius, a comic surrealist genius and had no equal' Terry Wogan'A totally original comedy writer' Michael Palin'Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense' GuardianSpike Milligan was one of the greatest and most influential comedians of the twentieth century. Born in India in 1918, he served in the Royal Artillery during WWII in North Africa and Italy. At the end of the war, he forged a career as a jazz musician, sketch-show writer and performer, before joining forces with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe to form the legendary Goon Show. Until his death in 2002, he had success as on stage and screen and as the author of over eighty books of fiction, memoir, poetry, plays, cartoons and children's stories.
Goodbye to All That: An Autobiography (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Robert GravesIn 1929 Robert Graves went to live abroad permanently, vowing 'never to make England my home again'. This is his superb account of his life up until that 'bitter leave-taking': from his childhood and desperately unhappy school days at Charterhouse, to his time serving as a young officer in the First World War that was to haunt him throughout his life. It also contains memorable encounters with fellow writers and poets, including Siegfried Sassoon and Thomas Hardy, and covers his increasingly unhappy marriage to Nancy Nicholson. Goodbye to All That, with its vivid, harrowing descriptions of the Western Front, is a classic war document, and also has immense value as one of the most candid self-portraits of an artist ever written.Includes illustrations and explanatory footnotes.
Goodbye to Russia: A Personal Reckoning from the Ruins of War
by Sarah Rainsford'Quite simply the best and most powerful book I've read this year' David Peace'A magnificent book . . . beautifully written and passionately argued' Dominic Sandbrook'A remarkable eye-witness account of Russia's descent into authoritarianism and war' Catherine BeltonA unique, personal insight into Vladimir Putin's Russia and the devastating impact his rule has had on his own people and those of neighbouring Ukraine. In 2021, BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford set out to write a book about how Russians who dared to think differently to the Putin regime were being labelled as enemies, foreign agents and even traitors. It was to chart Russia's slide from democracy and warn of where the crushing of liberties could lead. She had experienced something of that herself when she was expelled from Moscow as a supposed 'security threat'. Then, in February 2022, Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, moving faster than her worst fears.This is the story of how Vladmir Putin changed Russia so deeply that he was able to launch the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Sarah's focus is on the extraordinary characters she has encountered, from the Russians such as Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny who paid with their lives for challenging Putin, to the Ukrainians she found burying their dead in Bucha. It is also her own personal reckoning with Russia, where she first lived in the 1990s: a country she saw emerge from decades of authoritarian rule to embrace new freedoms, that has now quashed internal dissent and declared a ruinous war on its neighbour.The culmination of many years of on-the-ground reporting, Goodbye to Russia shines a light on the attacks on freedom that she has witnessed and paints an intimate portrait of the individuals who have tried to resist.
Goodbye to Russia: A Personal Reckoning from the Ruins of War
by Sarah Rainsford'Quite simply the best and most powerful book I've read this year' David Peace'A magnificent book . . . beautifully written and passionately argued' Dominic Sandbrook'A remarkable eye-witness account of Russia's descent into authoritarianism and war' Catherine BeltonA unique, personal insight into Vladimir Putin's Russia and the devastating impact his rule has had on his own people and those of neighbouring Ukraine. In 2021, BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford set out to write a book about how Russians who dared to think differently to the Putin regime were being labelled as enemies, foreign agents and even traitors. It was to chart Russia's slide from democracy and warn of where the crushing of liberties could lead. She had experienced something of that herself when she was expelled from Moscow as a supposed 'security threat'. Then, in February 2022, Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, moving faster than her worst fears.This is the story of how Vladmir Putin changed Russia so deeply that he was able to launch the biggest conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Sarah's focus is on the extraordinary characters she has encountered, from the Russians such as Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny who paid with their lives for challenging Putin, to the Ukrainians she found burying their dead in Bucha. It is also her own personal reckoning with Russia, where she first lived in the 1990s: a country she saw emerge from decades of authoritarian rule to embrace new freedoms, that has now quashed internal dissent and declared a ruinous war on its neighbour.The culmination of many years of on-the-ground reporting, Goodbye to Russia shines a light on the attacks on freedom that she has witnessed and paints an intimate portrait of the individuals who have tried to resist.
Goodness Nose: The Passionate Revelations of a Scotch Whisky Master Blender
by Richard PatersonRichard Paterson has Scotch whisky running through his veins. His grandfather and father were both prominent in the Scotch whisky industry in Glasgow for decades before Richard joined a competing whisky brokerage firm to start his apprenticeship. But this is no dry textbook on blending. Far from it. Humour, insight, history, a love of people and an abiding and evangelical passion inform every page. For the first time one of the world's foremost whisky blenders reveals how he rose through the ranks to top of his profession. He also candidly reveals some of the secrets of his craft and gives his thoughts on where he feels the industry is heading today. Lavishly illustrated in colour and black and white with black and white line artwork, this is destined to become a whisky classic and an essential item on every whisky lover's bookshelf. CONTENTS 1. Raw Spirit - The Birth of a Blender 2. Maturation Begins 3. The Spirit of Campbeltown - Glen Scotia 4. A Blender in the Making 5. The Spirit of the Highlands - Dalmore & Fettercairn 6. The Master Blender 7. The Art of Whisky Blending 8. The Spirit of the Islands - Jura 9. Going for Gold - Fully Matured
The Goodness of Dogs: The Human's Guide to Choosing, Buying, Training, Feeding, Living With and Caring For Your Dog
by India KnightThis book is a celebration of happy dogs and the happy people who own them. At once a companion, a manual and a repository of useful information, The Goodness of Dogs also contains avid dog-lover India Knight's reflections on the sheer brilliance of dogs and the life-enhancing delight of dog ownership. If you have reached dog nirvana, you will recognize yourself. If you haven't yet - this book will help you. With chapters ranging from how to choose a breed (and where to get it from), to the joy and chaos of puppies, to feeding and training your dog, to choosing a vet and even how to cope with illnesses and death, The Goodness of Dogs will take you through every facet of dog ownership.Full of India Knight's inimitable wit and the sound advice she is famous for, and beautifully illustrated by artist Sally Muir, this book will make the perfect gift for any dog-lover.
Goodnight June: A heartbreaking romance of friendship, family and the mystery of love
by Sarah Jio'Sarah Jio's writing is exquisite and engrossing' Elin HilderbrandA remarkable story of friendship, love, and the mystery behind a beloved classic... Acclaimed writer June Andersen is professionally successful, but her personal life is marred by unhappiness. When she is unexpectedly called to settle her great-aunt Ruby's estate and determine the fate of Bluebird Books, June doesn't have a choice and it provides the perfect escape. Ruby founded her beloved children's bookstore, Bluebird Books, in the 1940s and was always an inspiration to June as she began her own writing career. As June throws herself into the store and her great-aunt's items she stumbles upon letters between her great-aunt and the late Margaret Wise Brown amidst the store's papers - and steps into the pages of American literature.As June uncovers her great-aunt Ruth's secrets, is it finally time for her life to begin to flourish again?
Goose Green: The first crucial battle of the Falklands War
by Mark AdkinReissued for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflictThe most in-depth and powerful account yet published of the first crucial clash of the Falklands war - told from both sides.'Thorough and exhaustive' Daily Telegraph'An excellent and fast paced narrative' Michael McCarthy, historical battlefield guideGoose Green was the first land battle of the Falklands War. It was also the longest, the hardest-fought, the most controversial and the most important to win. What began as a raid became a vicious, 14-hour infantry struggle, in which 2 Para - outnumbered, exhausted, forced to attack across open ground in full daylight, and with inadequate fire support - lost their commanding officer, and almost lost the action.This is the only full-length, detailed account of this crucial battle. Drawing on the eye-witness accounts of both British and Argentinian soldiers who fought at Goose Green, and their commanders' narratives, it has become the definitive account of most important and controversial land battle of the Falklands War. A compelling story of men engaged in a battle that hung in the balance for hours, in which Colonel 'H' Jones' solo charge against an entrenched enemy won him a posthumous V.C., and which for both sides was a gruelling and often terrifying encounter.
The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor's Memoir of a Deadly Medical Crisis
by Kafeel KhanA HARROWING MEDICAL CRISIS.A DOCTOR IN THE EYE OF THE STORM.HIS ACCOUNT OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED.On the evening of 10 August 2017, liquid oxygen ran out at the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College’s Nehru Hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Reportedly, over the next two days, more than eighty patients – sixty-three children and eighteen adults – lost their lives. In the intervening hours, Dr Kafeel Khan, the junior-most lecturer at the college’s paediatrics department, went to extraordinary lengths to secure oxygen cylinders, perform emergency treatment and rally the staff in order to prevent as many deaths as possible.As the news of the tragedy grabbed national attention, Khan was called a hero for working ceaselessly to control the crisis and drawing attention to a healthcare system in dire need of repair. But a few days later, he found himself suspended and that an FIR had been filed against nine individuals, including him, for corruption and medical negligence, among other grave charges. Soon after he was summarily carted off to jail.The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy is Kafeel Khan’s first-hand chronicle of the events of that fateful night in August 2017 and the gut-wrenching turmoil that followed – a suspension without end, an eight-month-long incarceration and a relentless fight for justice in the face of extreme apathy and persecution.
Gorbals Diehards: A Wild Sixties Childhood
by Colin MacFarlaneEnid Blyton wrote about the Famous Five - wholesome kids who were always up to some adventure or other - but during the 1960s Glasgow boy Colin MacFarlane had his own gang: the Incredible Gorbals Diehards. These were young boys trying to survive in one of the world's toughest areas, the infamous slums of Glasgow.During the gang's daily adventures, they came across a plethora of undesirable characters, including foul-mouthed drunks, thieves, razor-flicking gang members, con men, fly men and street brawlers. Through it all, MacFarlane and his band of brothers retained their sense of humour while roaming the filthy, stench-ridden Gorbals backstreets.In the third volume of his acclaimed memoirs, bestselling author Colin MacFarlane reveals what it was like to grow up on the streets of the Gorbals during this period. Be prepared to be shocked and entertained at the adventures of the gang that called themselves the Incredible Gorbals Diehards.
Gordon Brown (Text Only): Prime Minister (text Only)
by Tom BowerThe gripping inside story of Gordon Brown’s rise to become Prime Minister.
Gordon Strachan: The Biography
by Leo MoynihanGordon Strachan has probably become best known among football fans for his realistic and often witty assessments of his teams' performances and football matters in general. It is easy to forget that Strachan forged a career as a player where his abilities made him the only player ever to win the Football Writers' Player of the Year Award both north and south of the border.Now managing Celtic, this fully updated biography of one of Scotland's most charismatic exports is published 40 years after the club became the first British team to win the European Cup.In this comprehensive and fascinating biography, Leo Moynihan looks at the tenacity of Strachan as a player, determined to prove his old mentor wrong when Ferguson sold him to Leeds Utd, on the basis of him being past his best, and the true relationship that exists between them, as well as the honesty of a man who has often left followers of the beautiful game scratching their heads, but always full of admiration.
Gordon’s Game: Blue Thunder
by Paul Howard Gordon D'ArcyGordon is back for more mayhem and mischief in the second book in the laugh-out-loud Gordon's Game series!__________Gordon D'Arcy - the only kid at school with a Six Nations medal hidden under his pillow! Though helping Ireland to win the Grand Slam feels like it was just a dream.Now, he's been given a brand new challenge - the chance to play for Leinster.After learning so many lessons playing for Ireland - including how to make a complete eejit of himself in front of millions of people - fitting in at Leinster should be a breeze. Right?Unfortunately, not. After his first training session, he sees why the team is mocked for being 'soft' (those stories about players wearing fake tan? All true!). Now he knows why so many people from Leinster support Munster.But Gordon settles down to work under an inspiring coach named Joe Schmidt. Joe promises that, with hard work, discipline and a bit of self-belief, Leinster can win the European Cup. Maybe another dream can come true!
Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds
by Kara Richardson WhitelyThe inspiring memoir of a plus-size woman who summited Kilimanjaro while overcoming fat prejudice and her own demons--"I was moved and inspired by every page of this beautiful book" (Cheryl Strayed)Kara Richardson Whitely was determined to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. But she struggled with each step--with the grueling conditions on the steep mountainside, with the 300-pound weight of her own body, and with her food addiction, which came from a lifetime of reckoning with feelings of failure and shame. Deep in her personal gorge, Kara realized the only way out was up. Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds is the raw story of Kara's ascent from the depths of self-doubt to the top of the world. Her inspiring trek speaks to every woman who has struggled with her self-image or felt that food was controlling her life. Honest and unforgettable, Kara's journey is one of intense passion, endurance, and self-acceptance.
Gorilla and the Bird: A memoir of madness and a mother's love
by Zack McDermott'One of the gems of the year' - Michele Magwood, Sunday Times (Books LIVE SA)The story of a young man fighting to recover from a devastating psychotic break and the mother who refuses to give up on him.Zack McDermott, a twenty-six-year-old Brooklyn public defender, woke up one morning convinced he was being filmed as part of an audition for a TV pilot. Every passerby was an actor; every car would magically stop for him; everything he saw was a cue from 'The Producer' to help inspire the performance of a lifetime. After a manic spree around Manhattan, Zack, who is bipolar, was arrested on a subway platform and admitted to hospital. So begins the story of Zack's free fall into psychosis and his desperate, poignant, often darkly funny struggle to claw his way back to sanity, regain his identity, and rebuild some semblance of a stable life. It's a journey that will take him from New York City back to his Kansas roots and to the one person who might be able to save him, his tough, bighearted Midwestern mother, nicknamed the Bird, whose fierce and steadfast love is the light in Zack's dark world. Before his odyssey is over, Zack will be tackled by guards in mental wards, run naked through cornfields, receive secret messages from the TV, befriend a former Navy SEAL and his talking stuffed monkey and see the Virgin Mary in the whorls of his own back hair. But with the Bird's help, he just might have a shot at pulling through, starting over, and maybe even meeting a woman who can love him back, bipolar and all. Written with raw emotional power, humor, and tenderness, Gorilla and the Bird is a bravely honest account of a young man's unraveling and the relationship that saves him.
Gorillas in the Mist: A Remarkable Woman's Thirteen Year Adventure In Remote African Rain Forests With The Greatest Of The Great Apes
by Dian FosseyDian Fossey's classic account of four gorilla families; the basis for the major movie starring Sigourney Weaver.For thirteen years Dian Fossey lived and worked with Uncle Bert, Flossie, Beethoven, Pantsy and Digit in the remote rain forests of the volcanic Virunga Mountains in Africa, establishing an unprecedented relationship with these shy and affectionate beasts.In her base camp, 10,000 feet above sea-level, she struggled daily with rain, loneliness and the ever-constant threat of poachers who slaughtered her beloved gorillas with horrifying ferocity. African adventure, personal quest and scientific study, Gorillas in the Mist is a unique and intimate glimpse into a vanishing world and a vanishing species.
Gory Tales: The Autobiography of John Gorman
by John GormanJohn Gorman's story is very much about a football man, but it is also much more than just that. After a lifetime in the game John thought he had seen and done it all. He had played, coached and managed at the top and experienced the harsh realities of survival at the lower end of the scale. There was little in professional football that he had not had to cope with. But on a cold February day in 2006 as he gazed lovingly into the weary eyes of his dying wife, Myra, he knew trying to maintain his ability to think clearly as a manager would be impossible. Football had always meant so much to him, but love for his wife meant so much more.
The Gospel According to Chris Moyles: The Story of a Man and His Mouth
by Chris MoylesMotor mouth. Loud Mouth. Tubby DJ. Overpaid ego.What is the truth? Who is Chris Moyles? And what does he have to say for himself when he's not on the radio? Who is this man they call 'The Saviour of Radio 1'?In The Gospel According to Chris Moyles, Chris dissects the world around him and tackles all sorts of subjects; from interviewing the world's most famous celebrities, to trying to find a parking space in his own street. But you'll also get to meet his family and friends and learn about how he went from teenage DJ on a psychiatric hospital radio show to become the nation's favourite breakfast show DJ on BBC Radio 1. His is a life lived on and off air. And this book is a combination of both. It's funny, honest and gives Chris a platform to talk about his favourite subject... himself.Ego? What ego?
The Gospel According to Luke
by Paul Rees Steve LukatherNo one explodes one of the longest-held misconceptions of music history better than Steve Lukather and his band Toto. The dominant pop-culture sound of the late-1970s and '80s was not in fact the smash and sneer of punk, but a slick, polished amalgam of rock and R&B that was first staked out on Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees. That album was shaped in large part by the founding members of Toto, who were emerging as the most in-demand elite session muso-crew in LA, and further developed on the band's self-titled three-million-selling debut smash of 1978. A string of hits followed for the band going into the '80s and beyond. Running parallel to this, as stellar session players, Lukather and band-mates David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro were also the creative linchpins on some of the most successful, influential and enduring records of the era. In The Gospel According to Luke, Lukather tells the Toto story: how a group of high school friends formed the band in 1977 and went on to sell more than 40 million records worldwide. He also lifts the lid on what really went on behind the closed studio doors and shows the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Don Henley, Roger Waters and Aretha Franklin. And yet, Lukather's extraordinary tale encompasses the dark side of the American Dream.Engaging, incisive and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir. It is the real thing . . .
The Gospel According to Paul
by Jonathan BigginsMy fellow irrelevant Australians. Never, in the history of our democracy, has Australian political life been in such a parlous state. There are people living in this country who have never seen true political leadership, having been governed in recent times by the dullest, most sanctimonious, hypocritical choir of patsies. This book will give them a woefully overdue idea of what a real leader looks like.Leadership is not like a can of Popeye's spinach - you have to earn it. And earn it I did. And I am going to tell you how.In The Gospel According to Paul, writer and satirist Jonathan Biggins draws on his award-winning play to harness the eviscerating wit, wisdom and confidence of Keating, showing us the evolution of Paul John Keating, from Bankstown to the Lodge and beyond. Almost the autobiography Keating said he would never write, it is a timely reminder of the political leadership we are sorely missing.
Gospel Of Mary Oecgt:c (Oxford Early Christian Gospel Texts)
by Christopher TuckettThis volume, the first in a major new series which will provide authoritative texts of key non-canonical gospel writings, comprises a critical edition, with full translations, of all the extant manuscripts of the Gospel of Mary. In addition, an extended Introduction discusses the key issues involved in the interpretation of the text, as well as locating it in its proper historical context, while a Commentary explicates points of detail. The gospel has been important in many recent discussions of non-canonical gospels, of early Christian Gnosticism, and of discussions of the figure of Mary Magdalene. The present volume will provide a valuable resource for all future discussions of this important early Christian text.
The Gospel of the Eels: A Father, a Son and the World's Most Enigmatic Fish
by Patrik Svensson’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'