Книги жанра биографии и мемуары
‘Shocking, tender and funny… as gripping as a thriller’ Miranda SawyerMind-boggling, heart-rending and darkly comic, this is the full story for the first time, from the writer of the Guardian column Midlife Exwife….When her husband fell in love with someone else, Stella Grey thought she’d be unhappy for the rest of her life. But then she realised that she needed to take her future in her own hands…
The life of the complex, ruthless adversary of General Franco, whose life spanned much of Spain’s turbulence in the 20th century.From 1939 to 1975, the Spanish Communist Party, effectively lead for two decades by Santiago Carrillo, was the most determined opponent of General Franco’s Nationalist regime. Admired by many on the left as a revolutionary and a pillar of the anti-Franco struggle and hat…
The life of the complex, ruthless adversary of General Franco, whose life spanned much of Spain’s turbulence in the 20th century.From 1939 to 1975, the Spanish Communist Party, effectively lead for two decades by Santiago Carrillo, was the most determined opponent of General Franco’s Nationalist regime. Admired by many on the left as a revolutionary and a pillar of the anti-Franco struggle and hat…
From the author of the ever-popular Flashman novels, a collection of film-world reminiscences and trenchant thoughts on Cool Britannia, New Labour and other abominations.In between writing Flashman novels, George MacDonald Fraser spent thirty years as an «incurably star struck» screenwriter, working with the likes of Steve McQueen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cubby Broccoli, Burt Lancaster, Federico Fe…
The Lost Diaries is a wide-ranging anthology of the world's greatest diarists, each of them channelled onto paper through the considerable psychic force that is Craig Brown.Arranged on a day-to-day basis, spread throughout an entire year, these diary extracts form a patchwork quilt of observation, reflection, contemplation and, above all, self-promotion. As the months unfold, different diarists of…
In 1938, with the Japanese army approaching from Nanking, Huan Hsu’s great-great grandfather, Liu, and his five granddaughters, were forced to flee their hometown on the banks of the Yangtze River. But before they left a hole was dug as deep as a man, and as wide as a bedroom, in which was stowed the family heirlooms.The longer I looked at that red chrysanthemum plate, the more I wanted to touch i…
The hapless and hilarious tale of a life lived under the constant and ruthless reign of a chocolate biscuit…Lumped into 'the too fat for potatoes group' by her mother, carefree eating isn't something Arabella Weir had much experience of growing up.Written with startling frankness, Arabella unravels her own eating history in this humorous appraisal of our attitudes towards eating disorders and obes…
A raw, intensely personal memoir of spiritual exploration from one of the world’s great commentators on religion.After seven years in a convent, which she left, dismayed by its restrictions, an experience recounted in ‘Through the Narrow Gate’, Karen Armstrong struggled to establish herself in a new way of life, and became entrapped in a downward spiral, haunted by despair, anorexia and suicidal f…
In 2012 the Rolling Stones celebrate their 50th anniversary. Their story – the band's meteoric rise to fame, the Marianne Faithfull, Brian Jones and Altamont scandals, the groundbreaking hits – is the stuff of twentieth century legend, and core to popular culture.But it is Norman's skills as a researcher and biographer which bring a whole new dimension to such a story. Written with the personal kn…
An intense and emotive memoir of one girl’s difficult family upbringing in a Singaporean Chinese family during the Second World War.Lucy Lum was the third of seven children, born in Singapore in 1933 into a Chinese immigrant family ruled with an iron hand by Popo, her fearsome and superstitious grandmother. Popo is a firm believer in the old ways, in stomach-churning herbalist remedies, in the dub…
This major best-selling memoir of a poverty-stricken childhood in Liverpool is one of the most harrowing but uplifting books you will ever read.When Helen Forrester’s father went bankrupt in 1930 she and her six siblings were forced into utmost poverty and slum surroundings in Depression-ridden Liverpool. The running of the household and the care of the younger children all fell on twelve-year-old…
A classic of mountaineering literature, The White Spider tells the story of the harrowing first ascent of the Eiger’s North Face, one of the most legendary and terrifying climbs in recorded history.Heinrich Harrer, author of Seven Years in Tibet and one of the twentieth century’s greatest mountaineers, was part of the team that finally conquered the fearsome North Face of the Eiger in 1938. It was…
‘Resilience can give you strength to keep moving forwards when you are caught in the rain or a storm, and keep you continuing on your journey through life. And it is a strength which resides in everyone.’Maya Yoshida, one of Southampton FC’s most admired players, is well known for his sense of humour on the field. However, underneath the convivial public persona is a man with unrivalled ambition, …
First published in 1994 and now available as an ebook.This edition does not include illustrations.Richard Branson is unique among today's folk heroes. Which other self-made British billionaire could lay claim to the highest esteem of our school children? Which other company chairman could be referred to by former BA Chairman Lord King as a 'pirate', having launched an airline largely on the profit…
Chuck it all in and buy a zoo? Why not? thought Benjamin Mee, unaware of the grim living conditions, creditors and escaped big cat that lay in wait…A few years ago, Ben and his wife, Katherine, sold their small flat in Primrose Hill and moved to France to pursue their dream of restoring an old barn near Nimes.That dream then became much, much bigger for, last October, they moved with their two you…