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Making the Cat Laugh
Making the Cat Laugh
Lynne Truss
¥66.22
SPECIAL PRICE FOR A LIMITED TIME One woman's journal of single life on the margins. A brilliant collection of Lynne Truss’ journalism – recording the life of a metropolitan refugee from coupledom. The alternative ‘Bridget Jones’. For seven long years, starting in ‘The Listener’ in 1988 and continuing in ‘The Times’ and ‘Woman's Journal’, Lynne Truss has been trying to make her cat laugh. It has been an uphill task, which is why she deserves this book, a recognition of outstanding courage in the face of futility. Along the way, 'Margins', 'Single of Life' and 'One Woman's Journal' have collected a band of devoted fans, yet still the cat remains unimpressed. Never have so many jokes about Kitbits been found in such concentration as in ‘Making the Cat Laugh’. But under the headings such as 'The Single Woman Considers Going Out but Doesn't Fancy the Hassle' and 'The Single Woman Stays at Home and Goes Quietly Mad', we discover a writer not only obsessed with cats, but prone to over-reacting generally - to news stories, shopping, passive smoking, Christmas, coupledom, boyfriends, snails, sheds, Andre Agassi, cooking instructions, requests of 'How's the novel going?' and personal remarks of any kind.
Hizzy: The Autobiography of Steve Hislop
Hizzy: The Autobiography of Steve Hislop
Steve Hislop
¥80.25
Steve Hislop was one of the most famous motorcycle racers in the world. He had always been a controversial and outspoken character having had many famous clashes and splits with teams and riders over the years, not always to his advantage. Season 2003 was no different. Steve’s life was incredible, funny and ultimately tragic. Hislop made his debut in 1979 on a bike paid for by his father, but when the latter died of a heart-attack, he embarked on a self-destructive quest that resulted in more crashed bikes and cars than he can remember. Three years later his brother Garry was killed racing at Silloth. It looked as if he would never race again but while on holiday at the Isle of Man TT races in 1983, he was mesmerised by the sight of Joey Dunlop and he knew he had to try it. He took to the roads immediately, amassing an amazing career record of 11 wins and was the first rider in history to lap the course at an average speed of over 120mph. Hizzy's TT victories over big name rivals like Joey Dunlop and Carl Fogarty made him a living legend beyond the confines of just the UK. He turned his back on the Isle of Man in 1994, claiming it was too fast and dangerous for modern superbikes. However, he had already proved he was just as fast on purpose-built short circuits having won the British 250cc championship in 1990 and then went on to win the British Superbike (BSB) title in 1995 and 2002. Defending a title is always difficult and made even harder when your current team doesn't give you a new contract. However, season 2003 started positively for Steve, inasmuch as he found a new team, but he was sacked half way through the season after a string of poor results on an uncompetitive bike. These events, however, paled into insignificance when Steve was killed in July 2003 when the helicopter he was flying crashed in a remote Scottish border region. His book is a fitting tribute to a motor racing legend.
A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton (Text Only)
A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of Joseph Paxton (Text Only)
Kate Colquhoun
¥72.40
A biography of an unsung Victorian hero, Joseph Paxton was the man behind the garden design at Chatsworth and the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Victorians heralded a new era of creativity, a revolutionary fervour seizing all forms of design. Joseph Paxton was a leading light of this movement. Head Gardener at Chatsworth House by the age of twenty-three, encouraged by the sixth Duke of Devonshire he transformed the Derbyshire estate into the greatest garden in England. Queen Victoria came to marvel and with the development of the railway, so too did daytrippers from all over the country. His design for the Crystal Palace sealed his reputation. By the time of his death, Paxton ‘the busiest man in England’ according to Charles Dickens, could count Brunel and Stevenson amongst his friends. Horticulturalist, designer, architect – Paxton was one of the most remarkable figures of his time. The greatest age of art and industry is embodied in this compelling portrait of a Victorian hero.
The Stones:The Acclaimed Biography
The Stones:The Acclaimed Biography
Philip Norman
¥68.67
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 knowledge, trust and co-operation of the participants, this fully updated version is indisputably the best book on The Stones ever written. Norman spares no detail, covering the Jerry Hall/Mick Jagger split and the Stones' lives as tax exiles, the recording of Exile on Main St. as well as the iconic stage performances, Mick’s control of the band's affairs and his contractual disputes with managers and promoters. This a story of fame, money, drugs, booze, sex, hedonism and the greatest rock band of all time.
One Hundred and Four Horses
One Hundred and Four Horses
Mandy Retzlaff
¥69.26
‘A letter is handed to you. In broken English, it tells you that you must now vacate your farm; that this is no longer your home, for it now belongs to the crowd on your doorstep. Then the drums begin to beat.’ As the land invasions gather pace, the Retzlaffs begin an epic journey across Zimbabwe, facing eviction after eviction, trying to save the group of animals with whom they feel a deep and enduring bond – the horses. When their neighbours flee to New Zealand, the Retzlaffs promise to look after their horses, and making similar promises to other farmers along their journey, not knowing whether they will be able to feed or save them, they amass an astonishing herd of over 300 animals. But the final journey to freedom will be arduous, and they can take only 104 horses. Each with a different personality and story, it is not just the family who rescue the horses, but the horses who rescue the family. Grey, the silver gelding: the leader. Brutus, the untamed colt. Princess, the temperamental mare. One Hundred and Four Horses is the story of an idyllic existence that falls apart at the seams, and a story of incredible bonds – a love of the land, the strength of a family, and of the connection between man and the most majestic of animals, the horse.
Prisoner of War:Judy
Prisoner of War:Judy
Isabel George
¥15.60
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of canine devotion and bravery. The only dog to be officially registered as a Prisoner of War, Judy began her wartime career as a mascot aboard several Royal Navy warships. Torpedoed, shot at, sunk and almost drowned, the English Pointer survived only to be take prisoner and spend three years in Japanese camps in Sumatra. From the moment fellow inmate Frank Williams offered Judy his precious handful of rice she never left his side. Judy saved Frank’s life many times over and raised the morale of all the men in the camp. Extracted from the bestselling title The Dog That Saved My Life, this short story tells the tale of a dog like no other, a dog who was awarded an animals’ Victoria Cross for her bravery and devotion.
From Death Row To Glory:Caesar
From Death Row To Glory:Caesar
Isabel George
¥15.60
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of canine devotion and bravery. Eleven tracker dogs left their Army life in Australia to serve in the war in Vietnam – black Labrador Caesar was one of them. He had been rescued from death row, con*ed to serve his country and sent to fight in a war that would test every tracking skill he possessed. The binding loyalty to his handler, Peter Haran, saved the lives of man and dog many times over, despite the fact the odds were stacked against them. And when it was time to go home – only one dog made the journey. Extracted from the bestselling title The Dog That Saved My Life, this inspiring true story represents the unquestioning loyalty of man’s best friend.
A Dog With A Destiny:Smoky
A Dog With A Destiny:Smoky
Isabel George
¥18.93
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of canine devotion and bravery. Smoky, a baseball-size mass of brown fur, was found in a foxhole in the depths of the New Guinea jungle in the middle of the Second World War. The soldier who found her took the Yorkshire Terrier pup back to base and sold her to Bill, the US serviceman who would adopt her, for three Australian dollars. It was the start of a partnership that saw Smoky save US war plans and ground crew from bombings and bring a life line to stranded men when she laid phone lines through pipes under the runway. Extracted from the bestselling title Beyond The Call Of Duty, this is the story of a remarkable little dog who saw no boundaries. She stayed at Bill’s side throughout the action and to the end of the war.
Loyal Unto Death:Antis
Loyal Unto Death:Antis
Isabel George
¥15.60
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of canine devotion and bravery. Rescued from the rubble of a farmhouse in France, this German Shepherd puppy became the constant companion of his saviour, Czech airman Václav Robert Bozdèch. Lying at his master’s feet, Antis flew on many missions with his handler Bozdèch as he served for first French Air Force and then the British Royal Air Force during WWII. Extracted from the bestselling title Beyond The Call Of Duty, this is the tale of the many adventures this man and dog shared before finally finding protection and a new life in Britain in 1949.
The Most Decorated Dog In History:Sergeant Stubby
The Most Decorated Dog In History:Sergeant Stubby
Isabel George
¥15.60
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of canine devotion and bravery. A stub-tailed Bull Terrier, Sergeant Stubby was recognised many times over for his bravery in the trenches of Flanders. His specially embroidered jacket, laden with medals, made him the most decorated dog in history. Extracted from the bestselling title Beyond The Call Of Duty, the story of the unofficial mascot for the 26th ‘Yankee’ Division and his rescuer Private Robert J Conroy takes us on a journey through the build up to WWI and beyond.
The Small Dog With A Big Personality:Rats
The Small Dog With A Big Personality:Rats
Isabel George
¥15.60
An inspiring and heart-warming short story of canine devotion and bravery. Rats was a stumpy, feisty, determined little terrier of mixed parentage who attached himself to British solders serving in Northern Ireland during the late 1970s. He liked to play with their boot laces and they admired his unstinting courage on patrol. The Troubles were at the height in Crossmaglen, but the little dog who felt safe in the company of soldiers, liked hitchhiking in helicopters and bore the scars of war on his body like the men, wouldn’t give up. Extracted from the bestselling title The Dog That Saved My Life, The Small Dog With A Big Personality tells the story of a courageous canine who brought ‘an oasis of friendship in a desert of sadness’.
Mummy’s Little Helper
Mummy’s Little Helper
Casey Watson
¥51.50
The fifth book from bestselling author and specialist foster carer Casey Watson. A recent census shows that there are at least 175,000 child carers in the UK, 13,000 of whom care for more than 50 hours a week. Many remain invisible to a system that would otherwise help them. Abigail is one of those children. This is her story. Ten-year-old Abigail has never known her father. Her mother, Sarah, has multiple sclerosis, and Abigail has been her carer since she was a toddler – shopping, cooking, cleaning and attending to her personal needs. When Sarah is rushed to hospital, suddenly this comes to the attention of the social services, and Abigail has nowhere to go. Though she doesn’t fit the usual profile of a child that specialist foster carers Casey and Mike Watson would take on, they are happy to step in and look after Abigail. It’s an emergency, after all – and all that’s needed is a loving temporary home, while social services look into how to support the family so that they can be reunited. But it soon becomes clear that this isn’t going to happen. Sarah’s MS is now at a very advanced stage, and the doctors are certain that there will no longer be periods of remission. Abigail’s emotional state starts to spiral out of control as she struggles to let go of the burden of responsibilities she has carried for so long. Sarah and Abigail insist that they do not need help, but with no other family to contact, social services are left with no choice but to find long-term care for Abigail, against their wishes. But Casey never gives up on a child in need, and she knows there must be another solution… Includes a sample chapter of Sunday Times bestseller Trafficked.
Remembering Whitney:A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss and the Night the Music Died
Remembering Whitney:A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss and the Night the Music Died
Cissy Houston
¥65.16
The definitive account of Whitney Houston's astonishing life, ground-breaking career, and tragic death -- complete with never-before-seen photographs -- from the only one who truly knows the story behind the headlines: her mother, Cissy Houston. Cissy has said little publicly about Whitney's heart-breaking death. Now, for the first time, she opens up and shares the unbelievable story of her daughter's life, as well as her own, and addresses Whitney's brightest and darkest moments. A legendary Grammy Award-winning gospel singer in her own right, Cissy Houston shows how the lessons from her own musical journey helped to shape Whitney's career -- from teaching Whitney to use her voice, to keeping her level-headed throughout her meteoric rise to fame. With candor and respect, she sets the record straight about Whitney, exploring both her turbulent marriage and her misunderstood struggles with drug abuse. Cissy goes behind the tabloid headlines to show fans around the world the true, human side of a strong, successful -- yet flawed -- musical icon who died much too young.
Squeezing the Orange
Squeezing the Orange
Henry Blofeld
¥68.67
The quintessentially English cricket commentator, writer, oenophile, bon viveur, collector and national treasure, fondly known as “Blowers”, tells his colourful life story. Born in Norfolk and educated at Eton and Cambridge, Henry Calthorpe Blofeld OBE, nicknamed “Blowers” by the late Brian Johnston, is best known as a cricket commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. His distinctively rich, cut glass voice and his vividly eccentric observations of life on and off the pitch, have made him a household name, not only in Britain but around the world, wherever cricket is played. Blowers has been close the the heart of the game for over fifty years and his career has taken him to the far corners of the earth. This autobiography, stuffed to the gunwhales with delicious anecdotes, brings his astonishingly colourful story bang up to date.
Memoirs of a Fruitcake
Memoirs of a Fruitcake
Chris Evans
¥68.67
In Its Not What You Think Chris Evans had written himself a recipe for success. He was poised on the brink of seeing it become a reality. All the right ingredients were there: he was rich, famous; now he was the owner of his own radio station and media company. What could possibly go wrong? As it turned out, the answer was everything…well almost. In It’s Not What You Think Chris Evans had seemingly found the recipe for success. He was rich, famous, and now the owner of his own radio station and media company. What could possibly go wrong? As it turned out, the answer was everything…well almost. When we left our loveable ginger hero at the end of It's Not What You Think, it looked like Chris had made it. But things were about to take a very dark turn. Soon Chris’s childhood dreams of a job in radio lay in tatters, and as an endless drink-fuelled lifestyle began to take its toll, he plunged into a downward spiral so deep that escape seemed almost impossible. And then his salvation appeared, in the form of a young singer called Billie Piper. Told with the same wit, verve and startling honesty that surprised and delighted readers of It’s Not What You Think, this is the final part – for now – of Chris Evans’s journey of self discovery.
Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters
Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters
Jon Lellenberg,Daniel Stashower,Charles Foley
¥80.25
A collection of letters between Arthur Conan Doyle (author and creator of Sherlock Holmes) and his mother, covering most of his life, written between 1867 and the year of her death in 1921. Doyle was raised almost solely by his mother in Dickensian circumstances, (his father latterly suffered from dipsomania and epilepsy and so spent much of his later life in asylums). Since Sherlock Holmes's inception in 1887, he has been one of the best-known and widely read literary characters, and the subject of more radio and television shows and motion pictures than any other fictional character in history. Although Doyle and his Holmes continue to be much written about, talked about and adapted, this is the first time that this material, along with other personal papers, has ever been made available. Conan Doyle although most famously remembered for Holmes, was also a physician, sportsman, public figure, war correspondent, pioneer of science fiction, psychic investigator, and prominent spiritual missionary. These letters reveal fascinating portraits of Doyle: his trip to the Arctic aged 21 where he served as a ship's surgeon on a whaling ship; his unprofitable stint as a Harley Street doctor and his decision to abandon this in favour of writing, more money and the opportunity to help his mother to look after his many younger brothers and sisters; his friendships with J.M.Barrie (among others); his attempts to write material other than Holmes; and his involvement in the spiritualist movement – something that his mother, a devout Roman Catholic, was completely against. ‘Mam’ as he called her, was his most loyal confidant, and his letters functioned to a certain extent as confession and cleansing penance, until his mother’s death in 1921. The collection is annotated by Daniel Stashower, award-winning mystery novelist and author of the recent Conan Doyle biography "Teller of Tales", and Jon Lellenberg, the U.S agent for the Conan Doyle estate.
The Year of Yes: The Story of a Girl, a Few Hundred Dates, and Fate
The Year of Yes: The Story of a Girl, a Few Hundred Dates, and Fate
Maria Headley
¥81.03
Headley, a wise-cracking New York City girl with as much wit as any character on Sex and the City, is jaded and cynical about men in New York. She vows to say yes to any and every person who asks her out – a taxi driver, a homeless man – you name it, she'll say yes for an entire year. By the year's end, she meets the man she eventually marries. ‘The Year of Yes’ is the hilarious and hopeful true account of one woman’s quest to find a man she can stand (for longer than a couple of hours). Frustrated by her own pitiful taste, writer Maria Headley decided to leave her love life up to fate, going out with everyone who asked her: homeless men, taxi drivers, and yes, even a couple of women. Opening her heart and mind to the possibility that her perfect match might be the person she least expects, she spent 12 months dating most of New York City, and beyond, including: JARZHE: A Microsoft Millionaire who still lived with his mother THE ROCKSTAR: A young homeless man who believed himself to be Jimi Hendrix IRA: Her high school nemesis, whom she’d spent seven years rejecting THE MIME: A man in the Marceau Mold who proposed with hand gestures CHUPA CHUPA: A 70-year-old neighborhood eccentric who spoke only Spanish And finally, a man whose baggage should have taken him off her list – at least until ‘The Year of Yes’ taught her what was really important: love and perseverance always wins in the end.
Birds Art Life Death: The Art of Noticing the Small and Significant
Birds Art Life Death: The Art of Noticing the Small and Significant
Kyo Maclear
¥66.22
‘Now when I hear birdsong, I feel an entry to that understory. When I am feeling too squeezed on the ground, exhausted by everything in my care, I look for a little sky. There are always birds flying back and forth, city birds flitting around our human edges, singing their songs.’ One winter, Kyo Maclear became unmoored. Her father had recently fallen ill and she suddenly found herself lost for words. As a writer, she could no longer bring herself to create; her work wasn’t providing the comfort and meaning that it had before. But then Kyo met a musician who loved birds. The musician felt he could not always cope with the pressures and disappointments of being an artist in a big city. When he watched birds and began to photograph them, his worries dissipated. Intrigued, Kyo found herself following the musician for a year, accompanying him on his birdwatching expeditions; the sounds of birds in the city reminded them both to look outwards at the world. Intricate and delicate as birdsong, Birds Art Life Death asks how our passions shape and nurture us, and how we might gain perspective, overcome our anxieties and begin to cherish the urban wild spaces where so many of us live.
Dead Now Of Course
Dead Now Of Course
Phyllida Law
¥95.75
‘My future mother-in-law burst into tears when she heard her son was to marry an actress. There’s still something disturbing, I grant you, about the word “actress”. If an MP or some other outstanding person plays fast and loose with an actress the world is unsurprised. She is certainly no better than she should be, and probably French…’ As well as being a mother (to the actresses Sophie and Emma Thompson) and a devoted carer to her own mother and mother-in-law, Phyllida Law is also a distinguished actress, and Dead Now Of Course is the tale of her early acting career. As a young member of a travelling company, Phyllida learned to cope with whatever was thrown at her, from making her own false eyelashes to battling flammable costumes and rogue cockroaches. We find her in Mrs Miller’s digs, which were shared with a boozy monkey bought from Harrods, an Afghan hound known as the ‘the flying duster’, several hens and various children. Filled with funny, charming anecdotes, Dead Now Of Course paints a fascinating picture of life in the theatre – and at the heart of the story is an enchanting account of Phyllida’s courtship with her future husband, the actor and writer Eric Thompson.
Letting Go: A true story of murder, loss and survival by Rachel Nickell’s son
Letting Go: A true story of murder, loss and survival by Rachel Nickell’s son
Alex Hanscombe
¥58.86
This is Alex Hanscombe’s powerful, inspirational account as seen on This morning, BBC Breakfast, BBC Newsnight and published in The Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and The Sun. ‘I was the most famous child in the British Isles…’ A coming-of-age story that begins with tragedy but ends in understanding, forgiveness and peace. The stunning and heartbreaking story of the young son of Rachel Nickell – who witnessed the brutal attack on his mother and whose childhood was shaped by the media storm that followed. A coming-of-age story that begins with a tragedy but ends in optimism, forgiveness and peace. On a beautiful July morning in 1992, just three weeks before his third birthday, Alex Hanscombe and his young mother, Rachel Nickell, went walking on Wimbledon Common. Life was never the same again. Shortly after ten o’clock that morning, Alex was discovered by the side of his mother’s body – she had been assaulted, stabbed forty-nine times in a frenzied attack, and left dead. Alex was the only witness to the attack. Letting Go is Alex’s heartbreaking account of that morning, the aftermath, and the devastating effect on his father, the extended family and the wider community. Alex tells the story of the resulting media storm, the legal cases following and the peace and understanding that he has now found, as a young man. In telling his story, and the truth, this is the last stage of Alex’s incredible journey to letting go.
A Long Way from Home
A Long Way from Home
Cathy Glass
¥58.86
The true story of 2 year-old Anna, abandoned by her natural parents, left alone in a neglected orphanage. Elaine and Ian had travelled half way round the world to adopt little Anna. She couldn’t have been more wanted, loved and cherished. So why was she now in foster care and living with me? It didn’t make sense. Until I learned what had happened. … Dressed only in nappies and ragged T-shirts the children were incarcerated in their cots. Their large eyes stared out blankly from emaciated faces. Some were obviously disabled, others not, but all were badly undernourished. Flies circled around the broken ceiling fans and buzzed against the grids covering the windows. The only toys were a few balls and a handful of building bricks, but no child played with them. The silence was deafening and unnatural. Not one of the thirty or so infants cried, let alone spoke.