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Audubon at Sea: The Coastal and Transatlantic Adventures of John James Audubon
by Subhankar BanerjeeThis one-of-a-kind, lavishly illustrated anthology celebrates Audubon’s connection to the sea through both his words and art. The American naturalist John James Audubon (1785–1851) is widely remembered for his iconic paintings of American birdlife. But as this anthology makes clear, Audubon was also a brilliant writer—and his keen gaze took in far more than creatures of the sky. Culled from his published and unpublished writings, Audubon at Sea explores Audubon’s diverse observations of the ocean, the coast, and their human and animal inhabitants. With Audubon expert Christoph Irmscher and scholar of the sea Richard J. King as our guides, we set sail from the humid expanses of the American South to the shores of England and the chilly landscapes of the Canadian North. We learn not only about the diversity of sea life Audubon documented—birds, sharks, fish, and whales—but also about life aboard ship, travel in early America, Audubon’s work habits, and the origins of beloved paintings. As we face an unfathomable loss of seabirds today, Audubon’s warnings about the fragility of birdlife in his time are prescient and newly relevant. Charting the course of Audubon’s life and work, from his birth in Haiti to his death in New York City, Irmscher and King’s sweeping introduction and carefully drawn commentary confront the challenges Audubon’s legacy poses for us today, including his participation in American slavery and the thousands of birds he killed for his art. Rounded out by hundreds of historical and ornithological notes and beautiful illustrations, and with a foreword by distinguished photographer and conservationist Subhankar Banerjee, Audubon at Sea is the most comprehensively annotated collection of Audubon’s work ever published.
A Taste of My Life: A Memoir in Essays and Recipes
by Chitrita BanerjiChitrita Banerji is an absolute master of the difficult art of writing autobiographically about food' Amitav Ghosh ‘A book of complex flavours: by turns sad and joyous’ Arvind Krishna Mehrotra'A delightful anthology by a gifted writer' Pushpesh PantFrom a two-time winner of a Sophie Coe Award in Food HistoryOne of the most celebrated culinary historians of our time, Chitrita Banerji grew up in a Calcutta home devoted to food. From there she went to Harvard as a graduate student, then to Dhaka soon after the 1971 India–Pakistan war, and later returned to the US, the passage of these years inspiring a fecund writing career.In this memoir, styled like a three-course meal with an ironic twist, she offers an absorbing portrait of a life that has intermingled with food in moving and unexpected ways. Through vividly evoked repasts with family, and other meaningful gastronomic encounters in settings both personal and political, Banerji reveals how food has played a defining role in her experiences of love, adventure, conflict, loss and reconciliation. In the process, she introduces us to those dishes and drinks most special to her – Kadam Bhai’s duck bhuna, her father’s favourite tea, winter treats such as narkel naru, a chicken sandwich from memoryland – and charms us throughout with her sublime and enchanting prose.
The Phoenix Land
by Miklos BanffyThe 1000-year-old kingdom of Hungary, which formed a major part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, was dismembered by the Allies in 1918. Phoenix-like, the Hungarian people survived the horrors of war, the disappointment of the first socialist republic, the disillusion of the brief but terrifying rule of Bela Kun and the bitterness of seeing their beloved country dismembered by the Treaty of Trianon. This is the world Miklos Banffy, author of the hugely popular Transylvanian Trilogy (Arcadia), describes in his arresting memoir.
Letters from Alice: A Tale Of Hardship And Hope. A Search For The Truth
by Petrina BanfieldLetters from Alice can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 1 of 3.
Letters from Alice: A Tale Of Hardship And Hope. A Search For The Truth
by Petrina BanfieldTwo women. One secret. Will they be able to keep it under wraps?
Letters from Alice: A Tale Of Hardship And Hope. A Search For The Truth
by Petrina BanfieldLetters from Alice can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 2 of 3.
Letters from Alice: A Tale Of Hardship And Hope. A Search For The Truth
by Petrina BanfieldLetters from Alice can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 3 of 3.
Days in the Caucasus
by BanineA scintillatingly witty memoir telling the story of a young woman's determined struggle for freedomWe all know families that are poor but 'respectable'. Mine, in contrast, was extremely rich but not 'respectable' at all...This is the unforgettable memoir of an 'odd, rich, exotic' childhood, of growing up in Azerbaijan in the turbulent early twentieth century, caught between East and West, tradition and modernity.Banine remembers her luxurious home, with endless feasts of sweets and fruit; her beloved, flaxen-haired German governess; her imperious, swearing, strict Muslim grandmother; her bickering, poker-playing, chain-smoking relatives. She recalls how the Bolsheviks came, and they lost everything. How, amid revolution and bloodshed, she fell passionately in love, only to be forced into marriage with a man she loathed- until the chance of escape arrived.By turns gossipy and romantic, wry and moving, Days in the Caucasus is a coming-of-age story and a portrait of a vanished world. Banine shows us what it means to leave the past behind, and how it haunts us.Banine was born Umm El-Banu Assadullayeva in 1905, into a wealthy family in Baku, then part of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution and the subsequent fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Banine was forced to flee her home-country - first to Istanbul, and then to Paris. In Paris she formed a wide circle of literary acquaintances including Nicos Kazantzakis, André Malraux, Ivan Bunin and Teffi and eventually began writing herself. Days in the Caucasus is Banine's most famous work. It was published in 1945 to critical acclaim but has never been translated into English, until now.
Parisian Days
by BanineA brilliantly witty memoir telling the story of a young woman's determined struggle for freedomPraise for Days in the Caucasus: ‘An enchanting memoir’ Jane Shilling, Evening StandardThe Orient Express hurtles towards the promised land, and Banine is free for the first time in her life. She has fled her ruined homeland and unhappy forced marriage for a dazzling new future in Paris. Now she cuts her hair, wears short skirts, mingles with Russian émigrés, Spanish artists, writers and bohemians in the 1920's beau monde - and even contemplates love. But soon she finds that freedom brings its own complications. As her family's money runs out, she becomes a fashion model to survive. And when a glamorous figure from her past returns, life is thrown further into doubt. Banine has always been swept along by the forces of history. Can she keep up with them now? Told with vivacious wit and a lust for life, this companion to Days in the Caucasus is a bittersweet portrayal of youthful dreams, and the elusive search for happiness.
The Bad Boys of Brexit: Tales of Mischief, Mayhem & Guerrilla Warfare in the EU Referendum Campaign
by Arron BanksFULLY UPDATEDArron Banks enjoyed a life of happy anonymity flogging car insurance in Bristol until he dipped his toes into the sharkinfested waters of politics and decided to plunge right in. Charging into battle for Brexit, he tore up the political rule book, sinking £8 million of his personal fortune into a mad-cap campaign targeting ordinary voters up and down the country. His anti-establishment crusade upset everyone from Victoria Beckham to NASA and left MPs open-mouthed.Lurching from comedy to crisis (often several times a day), he found himself in the glare of the media spotlight, fending off daily bollockings from Nigel Farage and po-faced MPs. From talking Brexit with Trump and trying not to embarrass the Queen, to courting communists and wasting a fortune on a pop concert that descended into farce, this is his honest, uncensored and highly entertaining diary of the campaign that changed the course of history.
Banksy: The Autobiography
by Gordon BanksFor 10 years Gordon Banks was not only England's Number One, but was acknowledged to be the best keeper in the world - perhaps the best there's ever been. Banksy is more than just a football story: it's the story of a man who represents all that was admirable about the game in a golden era. This is the story of a genuine English hero. Of triumph and tragedy and a stirring, insiders account of the England team's finest years.
An Irrational Hatred of Everything: My Continuing Odyssey as a West Ham Fan 2003–2018
by Robert BanksFOREWORD BY PHIL PARKESAn Irrational Hatred of Luton author Robert Banks is back with his latest instalment in West Ham's journey through the football leagues to recount the past fifteen years of his life as a long-suffering Hammers fan.Picking up where he left off in 2003, Banks charts the varying fortunes of West Ham United alongside the mutable modern nature of the beautiful game in An Irrational Hatred of Everything. Cataloguing a stadium move, an Icelandic banking collapse, takeovers, hirings and firings as well as promotions and relegations, Banks follows West Ham's ups and downs in a refreshingly frank and humorous account of the club's recent history.Through an interconnected exploration of West Ham's progress and the important moments in his own life, Banks continues along the torturous road of detailing his tumultuous relationship with the club to show how much football can mean to the individual while providing sobering reminders that, at the end of the day, it's only a game.
An Irrational Hatred of Luton
by Robert BanksSomewhere in a parallel universe there is another Robert Banks, who is a season ticket holder at Manchester United and is a highly successful novel writer and adored by everyone in the world, regardless of footballing, religious or racial denomination. But is he happy? You bet the hell he is. But Robert Banks is not that man. Since childhood, he has been obsessed with West Ham United Football Club. A team of persistent and historical under-achievers. After all, the only thing West Ham ever brought home was the 1966 World Cup, but that doesn't count, apparently. Laugh out loud funny, and almost devastatingly poignant, AN IRRATIONAL HATRED OF LUTON is an odyssey through the world of a committed football supporter. A real-life Fever Pitch, and with a Hornby-esque deftness of tone, Banks' book shows how intricately in the life of a true fan, football interconnects with the everyday. Banks' friendships, relationships, work, emotions of joy and despair all take place against a backdrop of claret and blue. Then Saturday comes and he watches his team get thumped again. A compelling and hilarious journey into the nature of obsession.
Storming The Falklands: My War and After (William Lorimer)
by Tony BanksThirty years after the Falklands War 'Secret Millionaire' Tony Banks is still haunted by his experiences in the South Atlantic. As a member of the crack Parachute Regiment his unit was the first to land on the Falklands and he fought in the bloody first and last battles of the war before liberating Port Stanley.In this memoir Tony vividly recalls the fighting in the Falklands. He relives the bombing raids in San Carlos bay, the Battle of Goose Green, the Argentinian attack on the Sir Galahad and the Battle of Wireless Ridge. But he also tells of his own battles with Combat Stress and of how three decades on the war is still claiming victims.He tells the stories of British and Argentine veterans and travels to Argentina to return a war trophy - a trumpet he had taken from a prisoner - to its rightful owner. The return of the trumpet brings closure to both men. And finally Tony returns to the Falklands to lay the ghosts that have haunted him to rest.
Anyone Can Do It: My Story
by Duncan BannatyneAt 30, Duncan Bannatyne had no money and was enjoying life on the beaches of Jersey. He saw a story of someone who had made himself a millionaire, and decided to do the same. Five years later he had done it, and now he is worth £168 million.In this remarkable book, Bannatyne relives his colourful path to riches, from ice cream salesman to multi-millionaire, explaining how anyone could take the same route as he did - if they really want to. Hugely articulate, and with numerous fascinating and revealing stories to tell, this is an autobiography and a business book unlike any other - but then Bannatyne isn't like any other businessman, either.
Riding the Storm
by Duncan BannatyneCan money buy you happiness?A few years ago Duncan Bannatyne might have said so. He was happily married and his businesses were thriving. Life was good. He couldn't have known that a storm was brewing on the horizon and that he would soon face immense personal and professional struggles, including the strain of a divorce and the impact of the recession on his business empire. Riding the Storm is the inspirational account of how Duncan overcame these setbacks. It's a survival story, full of insights into how he adapted his businesses and his life to new financial realities. In it, Duncan explains exactly how a working-class boy from Clydebank built himself a multimillion-pound business empire, and talks with incredible frankness about the current strategies, goals and finances of his companies. He reveals the true nature of his feuds and friendships with the other Dragons and uses his experiences from Dragons' Den to offer advice to start-up entrepreneurs in today's market. He speaks openly about the terrible pain of his divorce and how his children's love gave him the strength to get through it. He discusses the opportunities that success has given him, from learning to dance for Sport Relief to trekking up Kilimanjaro with his daughter. And finally he explains why, in spite of having just gone through the toughest years of his life, he feels positive about the future - and why you should too.
Becoming Historians
by James M. Banner John R. GillisIn this unique collection, the memoirs of eleven historians provide a fascinating portrait of a formative generation of scholars. Born around the time of World War II, these influential historians came of age just before the upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s and helped to transform both their discipline and the broader world of American higher education. The self-inventions they thoughtfully chronicle led, in many cases, to the invention of new fields—including women’s and gender history, social history, and public history—that cleared paths in the academy and made the study of the past more capacious and broadly relevant. In these stories—skillfully compiled and introduced by James Banner and John Gillis—aspiring historians will find inspiration and guidance, experienced scholars will see reflections of their own dilemmas and struggles, and all readers will discover a rare account of how today’s seasoned historians embarked on their intellectual journeys.
Becoming Historians
by James M. Banner John R. GillisIn this unique collection, the memoirs of eleven historians provide a fascinating portrait of a formative generation of scholars. Born around the time of World War II, these influential historians came of age just before the upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s and helped to transform both their discipline and the broader world of American higher education. The self-inventions they thoughtfully chronicle led, in many cases, to the invention of new fields—including women’s and gender history, social history, and public history—that cleared paths in the academy and made the study of the past more capacious and broadly relevant. In these stories—skillfully compiled and introduced by James Banner and John Gillis—aspiring historians will find inspiration and guidance, experienced scholars will see reflections of their own dilemmas and struggles, and all readers will discover a rare account of how today’s seasoned historians embarked on their intellectual journeys.
Becoming Historians
by James M. Banner John R. GillisIn this unique collection, the memoirs of eleven historians provide a fascinating portrait of a formative generation of scholars. Born around the time of World War II, these influential historians came of age just before the upheavals of the 1960s and ’70s and helped to transform both their discipline and the broader world of American higher education. The self-inventions they thoughtfully chronicle led, in many cases, to the invention of new fields—including women’s and gender history, social history, and public history—that cleared paths in the academy and made the study of the past more capacious and broadly relevant. In these stories—skillfully compiled and introduced by James Banner and John Gillis—aspiring historians will find inspiration and guidance, experienced scholars will see reflections of their own dilemmas and struggles, and all readers will discover a rare account of how today’s seasoned historians embarked on their intellectual journeys.
Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox
by Lois BannerMarilyn Monroe died on 5th August, 1962. Since then, the appetite for information about Monroe has proved insatiable. Lois Banner's new biography is revelatory. Banner had access to material no one else has seen, from a trove of personal papers to facts and anecdotes about her childhood and her death. Banner traces the eleven foster homes Marilyn went to, uncovering the sexual abuse she suffered and her bisexuality. She is also the first biographer to read Monroe's psychiatric records, revealing a woman deeply rooted in paradox. No biographer before has attempted to analyse - much less realise - most of these aspects of her personality. Lois Banner has.
Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox
by Lois BannerLike her art, Marilyn Monroe was rooted in paradox: She was a powerful star and a childlike waif; a joyful, irreverent party girl with a deeply spiritual side; a superb friend and a narcissist; a dumb blonde and an intellectual. No previous biographer has recognized-much less attempted to analyze-most of these aspects of her personality. Lois Banner has. With new details about Marilyn's childhood foster homes, her sexual abuse, her multiple marriages, her affairs, and her untimely death at the age of thirty-six, Marilyn is, at last, the nuanced biography Monroe fans have been waiting for.
The Beatons: A Medical Kindred in the Classical Gaelic Tradition
by John BannermanThis book traces the Clann Meic-bethad or Clan MacBeth whose members practised medicine in the classic Gaelic tradition in various parts of Scotland from the early fourteenth to the early eighteenth century. From many medieval Gaelic manuscripts known to have been in their possession, individual members of the clan and their activities are identified. Sometime in the second half of the sixteenth century the kindred began to adopt Beaton as a surname for use in non-Gaelic contexts. The medical Beatons fell naturally into two divisions: one confined mainly to the Western Isles and the other to the mainland of Scotland. This detailed study of the Beatons and their medicine describes how the position of medical doctor was inherited by the eldest son, and potential Beaton physicians were sent out to be trained by other members of the family for several years before undertaking their own practice. The book provides information on medieval medicine at the highest levels of Highland society.
Twin Tracks: The Autobiography
by Roger BannisterIt was a blustery late spring day in 1954 and a young Oxford medical student flung himself over the line in a mile race. There was an agonising pause, and then the timekeeper announced the record: three minutes, fifty-nine point four seconds. But no one heard anything after that first word - 'three'. One of the most iconic barriers of sport had been broken, and Roger Bannister had become the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. To this day, more men have conquered Mount Everest than have achieved what the slender, unassuming student managed that afternoon. Sixty years on and the letters still arrive on Roger Bannister's doormat, letters testifying to the enduring appeal of the four-minute mile and the example it set for the generation of budding athletes who were inspired to attempt the impossible. In this frank memoir, Sir Roger tells the full story of the talent and dedication that made him not just one of the most celebrated athletes of the last century but also a distinguished doctor, neurologist and one of the nation's best-loved public figures. With characteristically trenchant views on drugs in sport, the nature of modern athletics and record breaking, the extraordinary explosion in running as a leisure activity, and the Olympic legacy, this rare and brilliant autobiography gives a fascinating insight into the life of a man who has lived life to the fullest.
Running with the Firm: My Double Life As An Undercover Hooligan
by James Bannon'Of course I'm a f**king hooligan, you pr**k. I am a hooligan...there I've said it...I'm a hooligan. And, do you know why? Because that's my f**king job.'In 1995, a film called I.D., about an ambitious young copper who was sent undercover to track down the ‘generals’ of a football hooligan gang, achieved cult status for its sheer brutality and unsettling insight into the dark and often bloody side of the so-called beautiful game.The film was so shocking it was hard to believe the mindless events that took place could ever happen in the real world. Well, believe it now...Almost twenty years on, the man behind the film has explosively revealed that the script was largely a true story. That man, James Bannon, was the ambitious undercover cop. The football club was Millwall F.C. and the gang that he infiltrated was The Bushwackers, among the most brutal and fearless in English football. In Running with the Firm, Bannon shares his intense and dangerous journey into the underworld of football hooliganism where sickening levels of violence prevail over anything else. He introduces you to the hardest thugs from football’s most notorious gangs, tells all about the secret and almost comical police operations that were meant to bring them down, and, how once you’re on the inside, getting out from the mob proves to be the biggest mission of all.A disturbing but compelling read, this is the book that proves fact really is stranger than fiction.