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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography
This is a story of a simple idea that turned into a global movement. This is the story of parkrun, told for the very first time from the man who started it all.
Growing up in the brutal care system of South Africa, Paul Sinton-Hewitt had a lonely, difficult childhood. Yet he found solace in running – a simple pleasure that taught him resilience and offered a young boy a sense of self-worth.
With dogged determination, Paul built a stable family life for himself and eventually settled in the UK. But by 2004 he was struggling to hold it all together. He’d lost the successful career he’d worked so hard for, his marriage had broken down, and now a devastating injury threatened to cut him off from the running club which had been a lifeline.
In search of connection and purpose, Paul came up with a simple idea. He would start a weekly time trial run every Saturday morning in his local park. There would be no winners or losers, it would always be free and Paul would be there every week – even on Christmas Day – whether or not anyone else came. Little did he know that from just thirteen runners on that first Saturday, parkrun would grow into a 10 million strong community across five continents. Twenty years on parkrun continues to grow, bringing together people from all walks of life in search of health, happiness and community.
Filled with hope and optimism, One Small Step is a powerful affirmation of how coming together in simple ways can change our own lives and might even change the world.
In this keenly awaited new collection, Zadie Smith brings her unique
skills as an essayist to bear on a range of subjects which have
captured her attention in recent years.
She takes an exhilaratingly close look at artists Toyin Ojih Odutola,
Kara Walker and Celia Paul. She invites us along to the movies, to see
and to think about Tár, and to Glastonbury to witness the ascendance of
Stormzy. She takes us on a walk down Kilburn High Road in her beloved
North West London and invites us to mourn with her the passing of
writers Joan Didion, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel, Philip Roth and Toni
Morrison. She considers changes of government on both sides of the
Atlantic – and the meaning of ‘the commons’ in all our lives.
Throughout this thrilling collection, Zadie Smith shows us once again
her unrivalled ability to think through critically and humanely some of
the most urgent preoccupations and tendencies of our troubled times.
Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was is the first biography of Jan
Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his
generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the
Tour de France. In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world
by obliterating his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour
de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves
throughout the world of cycling and invited headlines such as
L'Equipe's 'The New Giant'. He went on to become Germany's first
ever Tour winner, storming to victory in that edition by almost ten
minutes, a result that was greeted as an era-defining changing of
the guard. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling.
He was soon also voted Germany's most popular sportsperson of all
time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most
controversial years of the Tour de France. Now, Daniel Friebe - who
has covered twenty-one editions of the Tour de France - has gone in
search of the man who was said in 1997 would go on to dominate his
sport for a generation, but never quite managed it. Just what did
happen to the best who never was? This is a gripping account of how
unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects
of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one
individual - Lance Armstrong - can conspire to reroute destiny.
Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany's drugs
programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price can
you give sporting immortality?
Few people have courted as much controversy or evoked such strong and divergent emotions as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Adored by some, abhorred by others, she bears a name famous throughout the world, yet not many people know the woman behind the headlines, myths and controversies, or the details of the fascinating story that is her life. This biography reveals the enigma that is Winnie Mandela, by exploring both her personal and political life.
The reader is given a rare glimpse into Winnie's strict yet happy rural upbringing, where the foundations were laid for her faith, compassion and indomitable resolve. As a young social worker in 1950s Johannesburg, her beauty, style and character captivated the political activist and Tembu prince, Nelson Mandela. Together, they
personified the rising aspirations and political awakening of their people, and, in so doing, inspired a nation. Through her fierce determination and dauntless courage, she survived her husband's imprisonment, continuous harassment by the security police, banishment to a small Free State town, betrayal by friends and allies, and more than a year in solitary confinement – all the while keeping the struggle flame alight and the name of Nelson Mandela alive.
A sensitive and balanced portrayal, the title nevertheless thoroughly investigates and honestly examines the controversies that have dogged Winnie Mandela in recent years - the allegations of kidnapping and murder, her divorce from Mandela, and the current charges of fraud.
This authentic account is a tribute to the courage and resolve with
which soldiers and their loved ones confront uncertainty, fear,
hardship and the loss of their comrades. Subjected to continual
changes of affiliation as the Falklands campaign unfolds, 2 Troop
has to create its own identity and sense of belonging drawing on
its professional belief, strength of leadership, and intrinsic
camaraderie. This is the story of how they did it, and the
contribution they made, in one of the toughest campaigns since
World War 2. A 'must read' for aspiring junior commanders and
students of the realities of war. -- General Sir Peter Wall GCB,
CBE, DL, FREng
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