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An A–Z of Exceptional Dogs
￥73.58
In this charming bestiary of exceptional dogs, Mikita Brottman reflects on the role dogs play in our world, all explored through her relationship with her dog Grisby and many other examples of the dogs of great writers and artists from literature, lore, and life. While gradually unveiling her eight-year love affair with her French bulldog, Grisby, Mikita Brottman ruminates on the singular bond between dogs and humans. Why do prevailing attitudes warn us against loving our pet “too much”? Is her relationship with Grisby nourishing or dysfunctional, commonplace or unique? Challenging the assumption that there’s something repressed and neurotic about those deeply connected to a dog, she turns her keen eye on the many ways in which dog is the mirror of man. The Great Grisby is organised into twenty-six alphabetically arranged chapters, each devoted to a particular human-canine union drawn from history, art, philosophy, or literature. Here is Picasso’s dachshund Lump; Freud’s chow Yofi; Bill Sikes’s mutt Bull’s Eye in Oliver Twist; and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s spaniel Flush, whose biography was penned by Virginia Woolf. There are royal dogs, like Prince Albert’s greyhound Eos, and dogs cherished by authors, like Thomas Hardy’s fox terrier, Wessex. Brottman’s own beloved Grisby serves as an envoy for sniffing out these remarkable companions. Quirky and delightful, and peppered with incisive personal reflections and back-and-white sketches portraying a different dog and its owner, The Great Grisby reveals how much dogs have to teach us about empathy, happiness, love―and what it means to be human.
They All Love Jack: Busting the Ripper
￥76.91
LONGLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION A book like no other – the tale of a gripping quest to discover the identity of history’s most notorious murderer and a literary high-wire act from the legendary writer and director of Withnail and I. For over a hundred years, ‘the mystery of Jack the Ripper’ has been a source of unparalleled fascination and horror, spawning an army of obsessive theorists, and endless volumes purporting finally to reveal the identity of the brutal murderer who terrorised Victorian England. But what if there was never really any ‘mystery’ at all? What if the Ripper was always hiding in plain sight, deliberately leaving a trail of clues to his identity for anyone who cared to look, while cynically mocking those who were supposedly attempting to bring him to justice? In THEY ALL LOVE JACK, the award-winning film director and screenwriter Bruce Robinson exposes the cover-up that enabled one of history’s most notorious serial killers to remain at large. More than twelve years in the writing, this is much more than a radical reinterpretation of the Jack the Ripper legend, and an enthralling hunt for the killer. A literary high-wire act reminiscent of Tom Wolfe or Hunter S. Thompson, it is an expressionistic journey through the cesspools of late-Victorian society, a phantasmagoria of highly placed villains, hypocrites and institutionalised corruption. Polemic, forensic investigation, panoramic portrait of an age, underpinned by deep scholarship and delivered in Robinson’s inimitably vivid and scabrous prose, THEY ALL LOVE JACK is an absolutely riveting and unique book, demolishing the theories of generations of self-appointed experts – the so-called ‘Ripperologists’ – to make clear, at last, who really did it; and more importantly, how he managed to get away with it for so long.
Stan: Tackling My Demons
￥80.25
The searingly honest and at times harrowing autobiography of the former Liverpool, Aston Villa and England striker. Exposes the dark and often seedy world hidden behind the glamorous facade of professional football. ‘I was a mess. I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t structure my day properly. I couldn’t face having a shower or getting dressed. Those all seemed like major events I didn’t want to confront.’ Once the most charismatic and expensive player in the new Premiership flooded with cash, Stan Collymore had, by the age of 28, booked himself into The Priory to treat his depression, close to self-destruction and unable to get his head round playing at all. Along the way, he had been the goalscorer nobody wanted to congratulate, the centre-forward no one knew how to manage, a deeply reluctant star in a tabloid culture that saw him make the front pages as often as the back, and that waited for him to crack up or lash out. When he eventually did, it was, infamously, inevitably, at his then celebrity girlfriend, Ulrika Jonsson. But then retired from football in 2001 and finding himself in the commentary box, he proved he did care about the game, rather too much perhaps, sounding like a fan as much as an ex-player – and at a stroke he had more in common with the rest of the nation. He knew it was all so much more than a game, and what happened on the field was only a reflection of what was going on inside players’ heads. The contradictions remain. A man, who had a steady stream of celebrity women falling at his feet, shamed by his voyeurism in a Cannock car park; a star with everything who was once discovered by his wife tightening a belt around his neck; a loving dad of two whose own father walked out of the marital home and who Collymore continues to blot from his memory to this day; a footballer who abstains from drugs, yet who needs therapy at Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous; the loner slated for his aloofness who found critical acclaim as a football pundit on national prime-time radio. This is Stan Collymore’s own life story, the real person on his flawed character and personal demons, telling it like you have never seen before – raw and uncut.
A Safe Place for Joey
￥58.86
From bestselling author and teacher Mary Maccracken comes the engaging and inspiring story of five troubled children who she fought to bring back from the brink Joey is the class clown, but alone proves to be an intensely dark seven-year old who still can’t read. Eric is a kindergartener, left withdrawn and speechless by the horrors he’s witnessed at home. Alice appears the model fifth year child, but secretly scores zero on every maths test. Charlie, an eight-year old, struggles to understand his place in the world, leaving him confused and alone. Ben comes from a comfortable life at home, but has been called stupid so many times he now believes it. These are some of the learning-disabled children who were in deep trouble until Mary MacCracken, an extraordinary therapist and teacher, works her magic with them and transforms their lives. Her heart-warming book is a testament to her talent, compassion and love.
To Fight Alongside Friends: The First World War Diaries of Charlie May
￥73.58
The First World War Diaries of Manchester Pals Captain Charlie May – written and kept in secret and published now for the first time. A born storyteller, Charlie May’s vivid eye for detail and warm good humour brings his experience in the trenches (and the experience of millions of ordinary men like him) to life for a 21st-century readership. Captain Charlie May was killed, aged 27, in the early morning of 1st July 1916, leading the men of ‘B Company’, 22nd Manchester Service Battalion (the Manchester Pals) into action on the first day of the Somme. This tolerant and immensely likeable man had been born in New Zealand and – against King’s regulations – he kept a diary in seven small, wallet-sized pocket books. A journalist before the war and a born storyteller, May’s diaries give a vivid picture of battalion life in and behind the trenches during the build-up to the greatest battle fought by a British army and are filled with the friendships and tensions, the home-sickness, frustrations, delays and endless postponements, the fog of ignorance, the combination of boredom and terror to which every man that has ever fought could testify. His diaries reflect on the progress of the war, tell jokes – good and bad, give details of horse-rides along the Somme valley, afternoons with a fishing rod, lunch in Amiens, a gastronomic celebration of Christmas 1915 and concerts in ‘Whiz Bang Hall’. He describes battles not just with the enemy, but with rats, crows and on the makeshift football pitch – all recorded with a freshness that brings these stories home as if for the first time. The diaries are also written as an extended and deeply-moving love letter to his wife Maude and baby daughter Pauline. ‘I do not want to die’, he wrote – ‘Not that I mind for myself. If it be that I am to go, I am ready. But the thought that I may never see you or our darling baby again turns my bowels to water.’ Fresh, eloquent and warm, these diaries were kept secret from the censor and were delivered to his wife after his death by a fellow soldier in Charlie’s company. Edited by his great-nephew and published for the first time, these diaries give an unforgettable account of the war that took Charlie May’s life, and millions of others like him.
Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s Learned
￥66.22
Lena Dunham, acclaimed writer-director-star of HBO and Sky Atlantic’s ‘Girls’ and the award-winning movie ‘Tiny Furniture’, displays her unique powers of observation, wisdom and humour in this exceptional collection of essays. “If I could take what I’ve learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I’m already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you, but also my future glory in having stopped you from trying an expensive juice cleanse or thinking that it was your fault when the person you are dating suddenly backs away, intimidated by the clarity of your personal mission here on earth. No, I am not a sexpert, a psychologist, or a dietician. I am not a mother of three or the owner of a successful hosiery franchise. But I am a girl with a keen interest in having it all, and what follows are hopeful dispatches from the frontlines of that struggle.”
The Child Bride
￥58.86
Cathy Glass, international bestselling author, tells the shocking story of Zeena, a young Asian girl desperate to escape from her family. When 14 -year-old Zeena begs to be taken into care with a non-Asian family, she is clearly petrified. But of what? Placed in the home of experienced foster carer Cathy and her family, Zeena gradually settles into her new life, but misses her little brothers and sisters terribly. Prevented from having any contact with them by her family who insist she has brought shame and dishonour on the whole community, Zeena tries to see them at school. But when her father and uncle find out, they bundle her into a car and threaten to set fire to her if she makes anymore trouble. Zeena is too frightened to press charges against them despite being offered police protection in a safe house. Eventually, Cathy discovers the devastating truth from Zeena, and with devastation she believes there is little she can do to help her.
Undisputed Truth: My Autobiography
￥80.25
One of the most talked-about and bestselling books of last year, this is the no-holds-barred autobiography of a sporting legend driven to the brink of self-destruction. The bestseller that has everyone talking. In this, his first, autobiography, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson pulls no punches and lays bare the story of his remarkable life and career. Co-written with Larry Sloman, author of Antony Keidis’s best-selling memoir ‘Scar Tissue’, this is a visceral, and unputdown-able story of a man born and raised to brutality, who reached the heights of stardom before falling to crime, substance abuse and infamy. Full of all the controversy and complexity that you would expect from a man who delighted as much as he shocked, this is a book that will surprise and reveals a fascinating character beneath the exterior of violence. If you think you know all about Mike Tyson, read this book and think again.
The Loyal Lieutenant
￥66.22
The stunningly candid autobiography of one of cycling’s great names and the man who rode alongside Lance Armstrong for each of his now infamous seven Tour victories George Hincapie has always personified more than the sport in which he chose to compete, cycling, and his legacy will be more than the sum of his accomplishments on the road. It is also intertwined with the team-mates he helped to achieve success. As Lance Armstrong’s trusted sidekick, he helped re-write the record books of the greatest cycling event in the world, the Tour de France. No other team-mate was with Lance for all seven of his wins. No one was closer to him as a friend or confidante and no one was closer to the scandal which would ultimately bring down Armstrong and so many of those around him. Told with stunning candour, ‘The Loyal Lietenant’ offers the most transparent and engaging account yet of the now infamous years of cycling’s modern history. It is a book that will once again change our perceptions of what it means to be a sporting great.
Betrayed: Part 3 of 3
￥47.48
Betrayed can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 3 of 3. You can read Part 3 on release of the full-length eBook and paperback. In the much-anticipated follow-up to Sunday Times bestseller Trapped, foster carer Rosie Lewis tells the heartbreaking true story of 13-year-old Zadie. When the young teenage girl runs away and is discovered hiding on the city streets by the police, it is clear that all is not as it should be. Taught to believe that Westerners should not be trusted, when Zadie is initially delivered into the experienced hands of foster carer Rosie she is polite and well-behaved, but understandably suspicious of the family around her. Through Rosie’s support and understanding, gradually Zadie begins to settle into her new surroundings, but loyalty to her relatives, and fear of bringing shame on those around her, prevents her from confessing the horrifying truth about her troubled past. When the shocking truth finally emerges, Rosie and her family can hardly believe that Zadie had managed to keep the shocking secrets to herself for so long.
Nowhere to Go: Part 1 of 3
免费
Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson shares the shocking true story of Tyler, an abused eleven-year-old who, after stabbing his step-mother, had nowhere else to go. Knowing a little of Tyler’s past – his biological mother, a heroin addict, died of an overdose when he was three – Casey feels bound to do her best for him. It isn’t easy; Tyler continuously lashes out, even trying to attack Casey herself. Investigation into his earlier childhood reveals why: forced to watch his mother die he was found emaciated and traumatised two days later, then delivered to a father who didn’t want him and a step-mother who beat him. With the horrific events of his past now vividly affecting the course of his present, Casey and her husband Mike are determined to veer him away from the violence and drugs they fear he will come to depend on. Heartbreaking and profoundly moving, Nowhere to Go tells the story of a child forsaken by his family but fought for by his foster carers.
Nowhere to Go: Part 3 of 3
￥47.48
Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson shares the shocking true story of Tyler, an abused eleven-year-old who, after stabbing his step-mother, had nowhere else to go. Knowing a little of Tyler’s past – his biological mother, a heroin addict, died of an overdose when he was three – Casey feels bound to do her best for him. It isn’t easy; Tyler continuously lashes out, even trying to attack Casey herself. Investigation into his earlier childhood reveals why: forced to watch his mother die he was found emaciated and traumatised two days later, then delivered to a father who didn’t want him and a step-mother who beat him. With the horrific events of his past now vividly affecting the course of his present, Casey and her husband Mike are determined to veer him away from the violence and drugs they fear he will come to depend on. Heartbreaking and profoundly moving, Nowhere to Go tells the story of a child forsaken by his family but fought for by his foster carers.
No Ordinary Wedding Planner
￥11.77
This is the inspiring story of Naomi Thomas, a secondary breast cancer sufferer who has decided to devote the remainder of her life to spreading joy, helping others to find happiness by fulfilling the wedding dreams of those who are terminally ill. Naomi was 26 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her boyfriend Graham had proposed just two days earlier. After seven months of treatment Naomi was declared cancer free, only to receive the devastating news a few short months later that the disease had returned and was no longer curable. Her son, Devon, was just six days old. Thoughts of their wedding were the one thing that kept Naomi and Graham going, but the financial burden of terminal illness had made the reality of their special day seem impossible. However, in this time of darkness, the couple discovered the amazing generosity and selflessness of local companies as they rallied around and helped to organise and fund a dream wedding. Their kindness was overwhelming. Determined not to die in vain, Naomi began fund-raising, ultimately setting up her own charity with the mission of spreading the joy she had experienced on her big day. The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation was formed, and Naomi now organises and funds weddings for those affected by terminal and life-limiting illnesses, helping them to enjoy married life before it’s too late. Inspiring, heart warming and incredibly moving, this story will show you the true meaning of love. ‘Everyone has the right to marry the love of their life, but you don’t realise just how important it is until you are told you are dying.’
D-day Dogs: Remarkable true stories of heroic dogs
￥9.71
Incredible true stories of canine loyalty in the Second World War. There were dogs involved with the landings, dogs the soldiers could not bear to leave behind and dogs trained to patrol, protect and locate. The dogs sailed with the Merchant Navy and brought their boats into dangerous waters to retrieve the wounded or stranded. They were on land, in the air and on the water during the D-Day operation – playing their special part in every aspect. Through this inspiring short collection of the true stories of four of these canine heroes the remarkable achievements of the D-Day dogs are brought to life.
Warrior: The true story of the real war horse
￥11.77
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of devotion and bravery. A thoroughbred horse, Warrior, is passed through various owners before he is shipped to the thick of the action on the Western Front to serve as his current master’s mount for all four years of the First World War. Warrior and General ‘Galloping Jack Seeley’ were involved from the first engagements through to one of the last, the Battle of Moreuil Wood. Together they fought in terrifying battles and witnessed the death of many horses and masters who served alongside them, terrible deaths, but through it all Warrior seemed to pass like a spirit. This is the tale of his heroic wartime exploits and eventual return to the green fields of England. An evocative and powerful story of a real and great war horse. Warrior’s story was the basis for the fictional Joey in Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse.
The New Arrival: Part 1 of 3
免费
The New Arrival can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 1 of 3 (Chapters 1-9 of 30). You can read Part 1 two weeks ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback. 17-year-old Sarah Hill leaves behind her home in Wales and enrols at Hackney General Hospital, where she is due to start her training. Looking up at the rows and rows of little windows, there was no way Sarah could have guessed just what she was getting herself into… More than just a hospital, Hackney General was part of the community, just as much as the Adam & Eve pub the staff frequent. A place where the poorly children of Hackney were nursed to health, a place where young nurses would discover just want they wanted from life, fall in love with shy photographers and grow into women. But it’s not all smooth sailing in Hackney: for every baby that goes home to its loving family another is abandoned, unloved, or never gets to go home at all. Funny, warm and deeply moving, Sarah Beeson’s poignant memoir captures both the heartache and happiness of hospital life and 1970s London through the eyes of a gentle but determined young nurse.
Little Girl Lost: The true story of a broken child
￥9.71
The fourth in a series of true short stories from foster carer Mia Marconi. Kira first came to foster carer Mia Marconi’s home on respite care when she was three. She had suffered an unimaginable amount of abuse in her short life. Although she couldn’t tie her shoe laces, she could smash a room to pieces; she fought against everything like a wild cat. At the age of five Kira moved permanently to live with Mia and her family, but by the time she was nine years old the whole family was at breaking point. Mia is the kind of person who won’t give in and believes she can always change things for the better, but try as she might she can’t change Kira. So after six years, with a very heavy heart, she is forced to question whether she can really help this lost and damaged child. Raw, shocking and honest, this short story will shed new light on the role of foster carers, revealing the kind of heartbreaking real life situations carers like Mia Marconi are confronted with every day.
Learning to Love Amy
￥11.77
The second in a series of true short stories from foster carer Mia Marconi. India was a child who was destined to end up in care. She came to foster carer Mia Marconi’s house when she was three; she’d already been in care for five months by then. But her mum Amy didn’t get on with her carer and threatened to kill her so India was moved. But no matter how inadequate parents are, children in care love them and want the world to love them too. Amy had had a hard life: she was one of seven siblings, all of who had been abused and ended up in care. She was an alcoholic and she phoned all times of day and night threatening suicide. When India finally settled in Mia’s happy household, Mia embarked on amazing journey to help Amy too.
Get Her Off the Pitch!: How Sport Took Over My Life
￥66.22
From the bestselling author of ‘Eats, Shoots & Leaves’, this is the hilarious new book from Lynne Truss about her strange journey through the world of sport and sports journalism. ‘Years ago, Boris Becker famously said, after losing at Wimbledon, “Nobody died. I just lost a tennis match.” And while some people applauded him for his healthy sense of proportion, it didn’t ring remotely true. While I was writing about sport, I was caught on the horns of this dilemma for the whole bloody time. I was like the poor confused jurors in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ who sit in their jury box, writing emphatically on their little slates, both “important” and “not important” because they honestly don't have a clue.’ In this magnificent book, Lynne Truss charts her often bizarre wanderings during her time as a sports journalist for the ‘Sunday Times’. From covering a heavyweight world title fight at Madison Square Garden, to watching England beat Holland from an airship above Wembley (while eating chocolate cake); from her extravagant feelings about Andre Agassi, to covering sports like cricket (where, initially, she didn’t have any idea what was going on), Lynne Truss manages to crystallize exactly the essence of what sport is about, and bring her characteristic wisdom and wry humour to it. The book will be a revelation to sport's foolish doubters, and a treat for the many of us who spend too much of our time watching it.
Some Sunny Day
￥63.18
The remarkable autobiography of the last great wartime icon. Born Vera Welch on 20 March, 1917 in the East End of London, Dame Vera Lynn’s career was set from an early age - along with her father, who also did a ‘turn’, she sang in Working Men’s Clubs from just seven years old. She had a successful radio career with Joe Loss and Charlie Kunz in the 1920s and ‘30s, but it was with World War II that she became the iconic figure that captured the imagination of the national public. Her spirit and verve, along with her ability to connect with the men fighting for their country and those left behind praying for their loved ones, made her the ‘Forces’ sweetheart’. Performing the songs that she will always be associated with, such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘Yours’, Vera toured Egypt, India and Burma to entertain the troops and bring them a sense of ‘back home’. Her career after the war flourished, with hits in the US and the UK, but Vera was never able to leave behind her wartime role and was deeply affected by what she had seen. Still heavily involved with veteran and other charities, this is Dame Vera’s vivid story of her life and her war - from bombs and rations to dance halls and the searing heat of her appearances abroad. Epitomising British fortitude and hope, Dame Vera gives a vivid portrait of Britain at war, and a unique story of one woman who came to symbolize a nation.
Geoff Hurst, the Hand of God and the Biggest Rows in World Football
￥84.66
Ex-referee and now fearless writer and football pundit, Graham Poll is no stranger to controversy. His latest book is an entertaining and provocative reappraisal of the major incidents in World and English football down the years – from Geoff Hurst’s goal in ‘66, through Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ to the infamous Battle of the Bridge in 2009. Graham Poll, England’s highest profile referee of the last two decades, refereed over 400 Premiership games, involving more than 1.5 million spectators, and at two World Cups, placing him at the centre of some of the most controversial incidents in football. So what does Poll make of some of the biggest rows in English and World football down the years? Would modern referees have reached different key decisions? What can the game learn from the mistakes of history? In this follow-up book to Seeing Red, Poll’s bestselling memoirs, we get an informative, frequently provocative but always entertaining romp through the pages of football history and the major incidents that sent shockwaves through the game. The book revisits in startling clarity all those much talked about football moments that continue to be the topic of pub debate among football fans the world over – and turns everything on its head. What was the real reason for the linesman giving Geoff Hurst’s goal in 1966 at Wembley? In the infamous Maradona ‘Hand of God’ game, why should the behaviour of Argentine players have helped the ref disallow the goal? How does Kim Milton Nielson, the official who red-carded David Beckham against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, view the decision now? And was video technology used to 'convict' Zinedine Zidane of his World Cup Final head-butt? Framed with other fascinating football facts, personality profiles and colourful anecdotes, these stories and more – including football's most recent controversies – provide a rich seam of material for Graham Poll, in his usual no-nonsense style, to set the topical football agenda and to enrich our knowledge and understanding of the beautiful game.
