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Sonia: My Story
by Sonia O'SullivanSonia O'Sullivan is one of the greatest sporting figures Ireland has ever produced. In a career which saw her competing at the highest international levels for over a decade, she turned in world-class times in events ranging from the 1,500 metres to the marathon, capped by World Championship gold in the 5,000 metres in 1995 and Olympic silver in the same event in 2000. But her performances on the track are only part of the story of this passionate, sometimes fragile, and always compelling athlete.Now, Sonia tells the full story of her life for the first time - from her childhood in Cobh, Co. Cork, through her early successes on the track, to the highs of 1995 and 2000 and the low of the 1996 Olympics. Whether in triumph or in tears, Sonia has always been a uniquely fascinating - and mysterious - figure. This frank autobiography takes us behind the scenes of international athletics and behind the mask of a brilliant, vulnerable sportswoman.'As a story of dedication and perseverance finally rewarded, it's inspirational' Sunday Business Post'A cocktail of thrills, spills, heartache, near-things, personal tumult, and devastation. This is a book written from the heart' Irish Catholic'The candid nature of the book alone makes it a must-read for any Irish sports buff' Belfast News Letter
A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life
by J. Craig VenterCraig Venter is no ordinary scientist, and no ordinary man. He is the first human being ever to read their own DNA – and see the key to life itself. Yet in doing so, he rocked the establishment and became embroiled in one of the biggest controversies of our age.This is the story of his incredible life: from teenage rebel and Vietnam medic, to daredevil sailor and maverick researcher, whose race to unravel the sequence of the human genome made him both hero and pariah. Incorporating his own genetic make-up into his story, this is an electrifying portrait of a man who pushed back the boundaries of the possible.
The Farm: The Story of One Family and the English Countryside (Isis Series)
by Richard BensonWhen Richard Benson was growing up he felt like 'the village idiot with O'levels' - glowing school reports aren't much help when you're trying to help a sow give birth, or drive a power harrow in a straight line without getting half the hedgerow stuck in the tines. He left Yorkshire to work as a journalist in London, but returned when his dad called with the news that they were going to have to sell the family farm, and, in so doing, leave the home and livelihood that the Bensons had worked for generations. This is not only a moving personal account, but also one that reflects a profound change in rural life.
A Voyage Round John Mortimer: The Biography
by Valerie GroveNovelist, playwright and barrister John Mortimer has led an extraordinarily rich life, privately and professionally, much of it in the public eye. His own writings, from the play A Voyage Round My Father to the memoirs Clinging to the Wreckage and Murderers and Other Friends, have given his many fans plenty of insights. But now for the first time a biographer has had full access to Mortimer, his circle of friends and colleagues, and their diaries and letters. The result is a riveting account of the life of one of the great figures of our time. A Voyage Round John Mortimer is revealing of many aspects of Mortimer's legal and literary career, from his first attempts at writing novels and the early help he offered his barrister father through to the great triumphs of Rumpole and the Oz trial.
Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa
by Ekow Eshun'Where are you from?' 'No, where are you really from?' These questions, which he has been asked since boyhood, drive Ekow Eshun to travel through Ghana in search of his roots, and lead him on an exploration of history and belonging, from slavery in Africa and the West to the present day and what it means to be black. In search of answers, Ekow unearths yet more questions, some shocking contradictions and some long-forgotten truths about his family past...
The Kid: A True Story
by Kevin LewisKevin Lewis grew up on a council estate in South London. Beaten and starved by his parents, ignored by the social services and bullied at school, he was offered a chance to escape this nightmare world and was put into care. Despite his best efforts to make things work out, his life spiralled out of control. At the age of 17 he became caught up in the criminal underworld of London, where he was known as 'The Kid'. From the violent anger he suffered at the hands of his mother and father, to the continuous torments at school; from the way in which he coped with rejection from people he trusted, to suffering from bulimia and a wish to take his own life, Kevin succeeded in making a better life for himself. This is his story ..
Bermondsey Boy: Memories of a Forgotten World
by Tommy SteeleThirties Bermondsey was a thriving place, and it was in this bustling London borough that Thomas Hicks was born. Later, this Bermondsey boy would become known as Tommy Steele …In this engaging memoir Tommy recalls his childhood years growing up in Bermondsey. He relives with great fondness Saturdays as a young boy, spent gazing at the colourful posters for the Palladium and days spent wandering up Tower Bridge Road to Joyce’s Pie Shop for pie and mash. But he also brings to life with extraordinary vividness what it was like to live through the devastation of the Blitz.Yet it was once he joined the merchant navy and began singing and performing for his fellow seamen that his natural ability as an entertainer marked him out as a favourite. And it was while ashore in America that he became hooked on rock’n’roll and a legend was born …From Tommy’s humble beginning to life at sea and finally as a performer, Bermondsey Boy is a colourful, charming and deeply engaging memoir from a much-loved entertainer.
The Boy in the Cupboard: The True Story Of A Child Care Worker's Fight For Ireland's Forgotten Children
by Shane DunphyThree heart-stopping stories of children trapped by their parents' pasts ... Craig, the little boy who can't speak English, isn't allowed to use his real name and hides food around his playschool, afraid he'll be hungry again. His parents are trying to make a fresh start, but their gangland bosses are about to catch up with the family and Craig will pay a terrible price...Edgar is a twelve-year-old boy who nobody wants, not even the staff at the residential unit where he lives. Just when it seems that there might be a way of getting through to Edgar, his mother reveals a secret that changes everything ...Vinnie is a teenage boy who knows exactly what his gangster father is capable of, of how he makes problems disappear. He also knows that he had become a very big problem for his father ...... One man's fight to give these children the future they deserve.
The Job: Interviews with William S. Burroughs (Penguin Modern Classics #983)
by William S. BurroughsWilliam Burroughs’ work was dedicated to an assault upon language, traditional values and all agents of control. Produced at a time when he was at his most extreme and messianic, The Job lays out his abrasive, incisive, paranoiac, maddened and maddening worldview in interviews interspersed with stories and other writing. On the Beat movement, the importance of the cut-up technique, the press, Scientology, capital punishment, drugs, good and evil, the destruction of nations, Deadly Orgone Radiation and whether violence just in words is violence enough – Burroughs’ insights show why he was one of the most influential writers and one of the sharpest, most startling and strangest minds of his generation.
An Amazing Murmur Of The Heart (PDF)
by Cecil HelmanCecil Helman - GP, award-winning anthropologist and acclaimed writer - looks back on a life-time of encounters with patients to ask: 'Where has the patient gone?' And answers that patients 'are still here, waiting for their doctors to notice them again, to shift their attention away from all their magic machines and high tech tests, and to listen to their stories again. And hidden away in those stories, to hear the faint, almost inaudible, murmuring of their hearts.' An Amazing Murmur of the Heart mingles those patients' stories with Cecil's understanding that medicine is an art, though rooted in science, and that by listening to what the sick are saying - not necessarily just in words - healthcare professionals can do more than simply cure symptoms - they can heal.
Anne Frank and Children of the Holocaust
by Carol Ann LeeThe life story of Anne Frank set chronologically against the significant events of the Holocaust, e.g. Kristallnacht, the Kindertransports and D-Day. Spanning Anne's short life from 1929 to 1945, and the early rise of Hitler to the liberation of the concentration camps, this highly moving account examines both the fate of the Frank family and the wider picture of the Holocaust. Photographs illustrate this engaging yet ultimately harrowing biography, together with short extracts from autobiographies, diaries and letters of other young people who had personal experience of the Holocaust, providing a contrast to Anne's life in hiding.
Minus Nine to One: The Diary of an Honest Mum
by Jools OliverBeing pregnant for the first time changed Jools Oliver's life. Having longed for children since before she can remember, she was suddenly faced with an array of unfamiliar, unexpected and sometimes downright embarrassing emotional and physical reactions. And when Poppy (and a year later Daisy) was born she had to learn a whole new set of skills.From trying to conceive and a first positive pregnancy test to Poppy's first birthday, Minus Nine To One takes you through the worries, surprises, excitement, miracles and sheer bloody hard work that Jools - and all new mums in their own different ways - have to cope with along the way. As Jools writes, 'This certainly isn't meant to be read as a guidebook, or a medical reference book - it is simply my story and I hope that you can relate to it in some way (and maybe even relax with it in the bath!).'Down to earth, personal and very, very funny, this is the book no aspiring mother will want to be without.
Estuary: Out from London to the Sea
by Rachel LichtensteinLONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017An immersive, intimate journey into the world of the Thames Estuary and the people who spend their lives thereThe Thames Estuary is one of the world's great deltas, providing passage in and out of London for millennia. It is silted up with the memories and artefacts of past voyages. It is the habitat for an astonishing range of wildlife. And for the people who live and work on the estuary, it is a way of life unlike any other - one most would not trade for anything, despites its dangers.Rachel Lichtenstein has travelled the length and breadth of the estuary many times and in many vessels, from hardy tug boats to stately pleasure cruisers to an inflatable dinghy. And during these crossing she has gathered an extraordinary chorus of voices: mudlarkers and fishermen, radio pirates and champion racers, the men who risk their lives out on the water and the women who wait on the shore.From the acclaimed author of Brick Lane and Rodinsky's Room, Estuary is a thoughtful and intimate portrait of a profoundly British place. With a clear eye and a sharp ear, Rachel Lichtenstein captures the essence of a community and an environment, examining how each has shaped and continues to shape the other.
Giggs: The Autobiography
by Joe Lovejoy Ryan GiggsRyan Giggs first played for Manchester United in the season before the Premiership began; back when Bryan Robson was still captain. He took possession of United's left wing and never loosened his grip. Over a fourteen year career so far, he's seen them all come and go: Cantona, Schmeichel, Beckham and the rest. Sir Alex Ferguson said of Giggs 'I knew we had an outstanding talent when we gave him his debut.' That was back in 1991, but it remains as true in 2005 as it ever was. Giggs has been a pivotal figure in United's dominance of the Premiership. There have been rivals but no other team can match the their sustained record of success over recent years. And Giggs is the only player to have played in all eight of those title winning campaigns. Off the pitch, Ryan Giggs has always closely guarded his private life. But here he opens up for the first time, sharing details of the sometimes turbulent childhood that shaped him and the relationships that have mattered to him to reveal the man behind the famous number 11 red shirt. One thing seems clear: the Old Trafford crowd will be singing 'Giggs will tear you apart again!' for a few years yet ...
The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street
by Charles NichollIn 1612 Shakespeare gave evidence at the Court of Requests in Westminster – it is the only occasion his spoken words are recorded. The case seems routine – a dispute over an unpaid marriage-dowry – but it opens up an unexpected window into the dramatist’s famously obscure life-story. Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying glass to this fascinating episode in Shakespeare’s life. Marshalling evidence from a wide variety of sources, including previously unknown documentary material on the Mountjoys, he conjures up a detailed and compelling description of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked, and in which he wrote such plays as Othello, Measure for Measure and King Lear.
Quicksands: A Memoir
by Sybille BedfordBeginning in 1956 with the publication of A Legacy, Sybille Bedford has narrated - in fiction and non-fiction - what has been by turns her sensuous, harrowing, altogether remarkable life. In this magnificent memoir, she moves from Berlin during the Great War to the artists' set on the Côte d'Azur of the 1920s, through lovers, mentors, seducers and friends, and from genteel yet shabby poverty to relative comfort in London's Chelsea. Whether evoking the simple sumptuousness of a home-cooked meal or tracing the heart-rending outline of an intimate betrayal, she offers spellbinding reflections on how history imprints itself on private lives.
The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics)
by George Orwell Richard HoggartA searing account of George Orwell's observations of working-class life in the bleak industrial heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire in the 1930s, The Road to Wigan Pier is a brilliant and bitter polemic that has lost none of its political impact over time. His graphically unforgettable descriptions of social injustice, cramped slum housing, dangerous mining conditions, squalor, hunger and growing unemployment are written with unblinking honesty, fury and great humanity. It crystallized the ideas that would be found in Orwell's later works and novels, and remains a powerful portrait of poverty, injustice and class divisions in Britain.Includes illustrations, explanatory footnotes, and an introduction by Richard Hoggart.
Orwell in Spain (Penguin Modern Classics)
by George Orwell Peter Davidson Christopher HitchensThe volume collects together, for the first time ever, Orwell's writings on his experience of the Spanish Civil War - the chaos at the Front, the futile young deaths for what became a confused cause, the antique weapons and the disappointment many British Socialists felt on arriving in Spain to help. ORWELL IN SPAIN includes the complete text of HOMAGE TO CATALONIA.
Dialogues and Letters (Penguin Classics Series)
by SenecaA major writer and a leading figure in the public life of Rome, Seneca (c. 4BC-AD 65) ranks among the most eloquent and influential masters of Latin prose. This selection explores his thoughts on philosophy and the trials of life. In the Consolation to Helvia he strives to offer solace to his mother, following his exile in AD 41, while On the Shortness of Life and On Tranquillity of Mind are lucid and compelling explorations of Stoic thought. Witty and self-critical, the Letters - written to his young friend Lucilius - explore Seneca's struggle to acquire philosophical wisdom. A fascinating insight into one of the greatest minds of Ancient Rome, these works inspired writers and thinkers including Montaigne, Rousseau, and Bacon, and continue to intrigue and enlighten.
King Arthur In Legend And History (PDF)
by Richard WhiteEveryone has heard of the Dark-Age hero Arthur,but who was he? Stories about him and his Round Table have been told and retold in numberous languages. But how did he come to have such a fine reputation? Was he really a king, or just a powerful warrior? This rich anthology of Arthurian texts, many of which have been translated into English for the first time, provides an invaluable insight into the mysterious figure of Arthur.
King Arthur In Legend And History
by Richard WhiteEveryone has heard of the Dark-Age hero Arthur,but who was he? Stories about him and his Round Table have been told and retold in numberous languages. But how did he come to have such a fine reputation? Was he really a king, or just a powerful warrior? This rich anthology of Arthurian texts, many of which have been translated into English for the first time, provides an invaluable insight into the mysterious figure of Arthur.
The Making of a Radical: A Political Autobiography (Good Life Series)
by Scott Nearing Staughton LyndScott Nearing lived one hundred years, from 1883 to 1983--a life spanning most of the twentieth century. In his early years, Nearing made his name as a formidable opponent of child labor and military imperialism. Having been fired from university jobs for his independence of mind, Nearing became a freelance lecturer and writer, traveling widely through Depression-era and post-war America to speak with eager audiences. Five-time Socialist candidate for president Eugene V. Debs said, "Scott Nearing! He is the greatest teacher in the United States." Concluding that it would be better to be poor in the country than in New York City, Scott and Helen Nearing moved north to Vermont in 1932 and commenced the experiment in self-reliant living that would extend their fame far and wide. They began to grow most of their own food, and devised their famous scheme for allocating the day's hours: one third for "bread work" (livelihood), one third for "head work" (intellectual endeavors), and one third for "service to the world community." Scott (who'd grown up partly on his grandfather's Pennsylvania farm) taught Helen (who was raised in suburbia, groomed for a career as a classical violinist) the practical skills they would need: working with tools, cultivating a garden and managing a woodlot, and building stone and masonry walls. For the rest of their lives, the Nearings chronicled in detail their "good life," first in Vermont and ultimately on the coast of Maine, in a group of wonderful books--many of which are now being returned to print by Chelsea Green in cooperation with the Good Life Center, an educational trust established at the Nearings' Forest Farm in Harborside, Maine, to promote their ongoing legacy. With a new foreword by activist historian Staughton Lynd, The Making of a Radical is freshly republished-Scott Nearing's own story, told as only he could tell it.
The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor: The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi
by Les LeopoldA CIA-connected labor union, an assassination attempt, a mysterious car crash, listening devices, and stolen documents--everything you'd expect from the latest thriller. Yet, this was the reality of Tony Mazzocchi, the Rachel Carson of the U.S. workplace; a dynamic labor leader whose legacy lives on in today's workplaces and ongoing alliances between labor activists and environmentalists, and those who believe in the promise of America. In The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor: The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi, author and labor expert Les Leopold recounts the life of the late Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union leader. Mazzocchi's struggle to address the unconscionable toxic exposure of tens of thousands of workers led to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and included work alongside nuclear whistleblower Karen Silkwood. His noble, high-profile efforts forever changed working conditions in American industry--and made him enemy number one to a powerful few. As early as the 1950s, when the term "environment" was nowhere on the political radar, Mazzocchi learned about nuclear fallout and began integrating environmental concerns into his critique of capitalism and his union work. An early believer in global warming, he believed that the struggle of capital against nature was the irreconcilable contradiction that would force systemic change. Mazzocchi's story of non-stop activism parallels the rise and fall of industrial unionism. From his roots in a pro-FDR, immigrant family in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, through McCarthyism, the Sixties, and the surge of the environmental movement, Mazzocchi took on Corporate America, the labor establishment and a complacent Democratic Party. This profound biography should be required reading for those who believe in taking risks and making the world a better place. While Mazzocchi's story is so full of peril and deception that it seems almost a work of fiction, Leopold proves that the most provocative and lasting stories in life are those of real people.
The Life of St Teresa of Avila by Herself
by Teresa Of Avila J. CohenBorn in the Castilian town of Ávila in 1515, Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation when she was twenty-one. Tormented by illness, doubts and self-recrimination, she gradually came to recognize the power of prayer and contemplation - her spiritual enlightenment was intensified by many visions and mystical experiences, including the piercing of her heart by a spear of divine love. She went on to found seventeen Carmelite monasteries throughout Spain. Teresa always denied her own saintliness, however, saying in a letter: 'There is no suggestion of that nonsense about my supposed sanctity.' This frank account is one of the great stories of a religious life and a literary masterpiece - after Don Quixote, it is Spain's most widely read prose classic.
Loving and Leaving the Good Life (Good Life Series)
by Helen NearingHelen and Scott Nearing, authors of Living the Good Life and many other bestselling books, lived together for 53 years until Scott's death at age 100. Loving and Leaving the Good Life is Helen's testimonial to their life together and to what they stood for: self-sufficiency, generosity, social justice, and peace. In 1932, after deciding it would be better to be poor in the country than in the city, Helen and Scott moved from New York Ciy to Vermont. Here they created their legendary homestead which they described in Living the Good Life: How to Live Simply and Sanely in a Troubled World, a book that has sold 250,000 copies and inspired thousands of young people to move back to the land. The Nearings moved to Maine in 1953, where they continued their hard physical work as homesteaders and their intense intellectual work promoting social justice. Thirty years later, as Scott approached his 100th birthday, he decided it was time to prepare for his death. He stopped eating, and six weeks later Helen held him and said goodbye. Loving and Leaving the Good Life is a vivid self-portrait of an independent, committed and gifted woman. It is also an eloquent statement of what it means to grow old and to face death quietly, peacefully, and in control. At 88, Helen seems content to be nearing the end of her good life. As she puts it, "To have partaken of and to have given love is the greatest of life's rewards. There seems never an end to the loving that goes on forever and ever. Loving and leaving are part of living." Helen's death in 1995 at the age of 92 marks the end of an era. Yet as Helen writes in her remarkable memoir, "When one door closes, another opens." As we search for a new understanding of the relationships between death and life, this book provides profound insights into the question of how we age and die.