Petrovna Metelerkamp het geen bekendstelling nodig nie. Sy het jare lank vir tydskrifte soos Huisgenoot en Insig geskryf en in 2000 die uitgewery Hemel & See Boeke gestig. Sy het bekendheid verwerf vir haar biografieë van Ingrid Jonker en Jeanne Goosen.

Petrovna was ook verantwoordelik vir die publikasie van die brieweboeke van onder andere Audrey Blignault, Uys Krige en Hennie Aucamp, asook die memoires van Wilna Snyman, Fanus Rautenbach en Ollie Viljoen.

Met hierdie langverwagte boek deel Petrovna haar herinneringe, wat die geskiedenis van haar herkoms en haar persoonlike ervarings oor baie dekades insluit.

From the celebrated author of Square Haunting comes a biography as unconventional and surprising as the life it tells.

'Think of the Bible and Homer, think of Shakespeare and think of me,' wrote Gertrude Stein in 1936. Admirers called her a genius, sceptics a charlatan: she remains one of the most confounding - and contested - writers of the twentieth century.

In this literary detective story, Francesca Wade delves into the creation of the Stein myth. We see her posing for Picasso's portrait; at the centre of Bohemian Parisian life hosting the likes of Matisse and Hemingway; racing through the French countryside with her enigmatic companion Alice B. Toklas; dazzling American crowds on her sell-out tour for her sensational Autobiography - a veritable celebrity.

Yet Stein hoped to be remembered not for her personality but for her work. From her deathbed, she charged her partner with securing her place in literary history. How would her legend shift once it was Toklas's turn to tell the stories - especially when uncomfortable aspects of their past emerged from the archive? Using astonishing never-before-seen material, Wade uncovers the origins of Stein's radical writing, and reveals new depths to the storied relationship which made it possible.

This is Gertrude Stein as she was when nobody was watching: captivating, complex and human.

Uncooperative animals, underperforming crops, and rather less than best-laid plans pursued with unbridled enthusiasm. Clarkson’s farm is the gift that keeps on giving.

But, as one overseas visitor* admitted, he only came to Diddly Squat because he just didn’t believe that Jeremy could be so incompetent.

Not one to be discouraged, however, our hero decides to bring his misunderstood entrepreneurial flair to bear on a new venture: a pub. And just a few short weeks later, the doors open on The Farmer’s Dog.

All British produce, Hawkstone beer on tap, a private bar for farmers and a vintage tractor hanging from the ceiling. The perfect country pub. A welcome distraction from sustainable farming initiatives, psychedelic wheat, angry protests in central London and a headbutting goat.

What, you may be asking, could possibly go wrong?

On top of the lavatories packing up and the electricity running out, you mean? As the Cotwolds’ newest publican quickly discovers, there’s a lot more to landlording than pulling pints.

Just as well, then, that he still has Lisa, Kaleb, Cheerful Charlie and Gerald to help him through. Especially now his doctor’s told him he’s got to become a vegetablist …

*along with the whole of the rest of China, apparently

Gallagher chronicles the fall and rise again of one of the world's biggest bands: Oasis. With a focus on Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher's individual journeys, this absorbing biography starts from the shattered remnants of Oasis in 2009, taking fans through 15 years of high and lows as the brothers become formidable solo artists, pinpointing the significant events that allowed them to bridge their fraternal rift and stage the greatest comeback of all time.

Inside, PJ Harrison, a former label owner and artist manager (but above all Oasis fan) who spent time on the road and in the studio with the band, takes fans on a filmic journey to the heart of Oasis and everything they stand for. Through meticulous research, exclusive interviews and inside access, Harrison strives to understand how two brothers rose from a council estate in Manchester to create the dominant musical force of their generation throughout the 1990s and 2000s and why they have such enduring legacies both together and apart.

With a foreword from legendary Rolling Stones manager and producer, Andrew Loog Oldham, this unique telling of the Oasis story allows fans new and old to draw their own comparisons between two very different brother; casting a new light on how they navigated fame, feuds and family to create music history before shocking the world with the reunion nobody thought could happen.

In this fourth volume of The Deals of Warren Buffett, we trace Buffett’s journey as he made Berkshire Hathaway the most respected company in the world.

When we left Buffett at the end of Volume 3 towards the end of the 1990s, he was leading the largest corporation in America and his personal fortune had reached $40 billion. In this enthralling next instalment, we follow Buffett’s investment deals over the first few years of the 21st century, as Berkshire grew to become a giant with annual profits north of $4 billion.

Buffett, then in his early 70s, was still tap dancing to work, thoroughly enjoying analysing companies, finding bargains and interacting with his growing team of managers.

By studying the decision-making that went into his investment deals and the successful and unsuccessful outcomes, we can learn from Buffett and become better investors ourselves.

During this period, exploiting the low prices following the dot-com crash, Buffett made investments in the following companies: MidAmerican Energy, CORT, Moody’s, H&R Block, Shaw Industries, Star Furniture, Jordan’s Furniture, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Justin Boot, Acme Brick, Benjamin Moore and CTB.

For each of these deals, investing expert and Buffett historian Glen Arnold dives into unprecedented detail to analyse the investment rationale, the stories of the individuals involved and, where possible, the profits Buffett made.

Night Divides the Day is the definitive chronicle of The Doors, offering an intimate and richly illustrated exploration of the band’s legendary journey. Featuring interviews with Robby Krieger and John Densmore and meticulously sourced archival text from Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek, their 50,000-word manuscript comes to life with a treasure trove of rare, unpublished photographs, original recording and production notes and exclusive memorabilia – all drawn from The Doors’ private archives.

In this first-hand account, The Doors narrate the band's story from their early days playing local clubs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles to the iconic, and sometimes infamous, moments that defined their career. From the electrifying release of anthems like ‘Light My Fire’, ‘The End’ and ‘Riders on the Storm’, to the notorious Dinner Key Auditorium performance in Miami, Night Divides the Day captures the essence of The Doors’ meteoric rise and the reverberations they left in their wake.

Featuring new and insightful contributions from a diverse array of artists, including Van Morrison, Nile Rodgers, Slash, Nancy Sinatra and more, the book is anchored by a foreword from Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and an afterword by maestro Gustavo Dudamel. These unique voices offer fresh perspectives on The Doors’ indelible cultural impact.

Granted unprecedented access to the band’s archives, Night Divides the Day is a visual and narrative feast. The book showcases a stunning personal collection of historical artifacts – childhood photographs, handwritten song lyrics, poster art, movie stills and previously unseen album cover outtakes. Images of the band in the recording studio, along with work from celebrated photographers and trusted insiders, transport readers behind the scenes and on the road with The Doors. In addition, rare and invaluable items from the band’s history, including vintage instruments and recording equipment, are specially photographed to enrich this kaleidoscopic portrait of one of rock music’s most legendary bands.

Night Divides the Day is the ultimate account of The Doors, capturing their incredible story and enduring legacy in a way that has never been seen before.

Before his murder at twenty-five, Tupac Shakur rose to staggering artistic heights as the pre-eminent storyteller of the 90s, building, in the process, one of the most iconic public personas of the last half century. He recorded several platinum-selling albums, starred in major films and became an activist and political hero known the world over.

In this cultural history and brilliantly researched biography, Van Nguyen reckons with Tupac's coming of age, fame and influence and how the political machinations that shaped him as a boy have since buoyed his legacy as a revolutionary following the George Floyd uprising. Words for My Comrades crucially engages with the influence of Tupac's mother, Afeni, whose role in the Black Panther Party, with its dedication to dismantling American imperialism and police brutality, informed Tupac's art. Tupac's childhood as a son of the Panthers, coupled with the influence of his militant step-father Mutulu Shakur, became his own riveting code of ethics that helped listeners reckon with America's inherent injustices.

Drawing upon conversations with the people who bore witness - from Panther veterans and other committed Marxist revolutionaries of 1970s America, to good friends and close collaborators of the rapper himself - Van Nguyen demonstrates how Tupac became one of the most enduring musical legends in hip-hop history and how intimately his name is threaded with the legacy of Black Panther politics.

Words for My Comrades is the story of how the energy of the Black political movement was subsumed by culture and how America produced, in Tupac and Afeni, two of its most iconic, enduring revolutionaries.

From world traveler, entrepreneur, and content creator @DearAlyne, a vulnerable and hilarious memoir of how she escaped the restrictive expectations of her family and faith and found herself in the process.

Alyne Tamir was raised to live her life for others: for her husband, her family, and the Mormon church. For twenty-five years, she put them ahead of herself, repressing things that didn’t fit the neat, traditional story that had been written for her. On the surface, her life seemed picture-perfect. But in reality, Alyne was miserable, struggling to reconcile her flawless image with the pain and humiliation of abuse, an eating disorder, infidelity, and depression.

Until Alyne reached a breaking point: the day her husband asked for a divorce—over email. Thank God! Or, not God. Finally free from the expectations of her family and faith, Alyne had to start a new life, which meant rediscovering herself and what she secretly wanted all along: the liberating life of a digital nomad.

In a singular voice brimming with honesty and humor, Alyne invites us on a journey of strength and self-discovery—with a little bit of irreverence along the way. Dear Alyne is a one-of-a-kind, coming-of-age story and a testament to the limitless possibilities that await those brave enough to defy convention.

Lady Gaga, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, the Barbie soundtrack—Mark Ronson’s musical fingerprints are everywhere in our pop culture. Now comes his electrifying memoir, which captures the music, characters, escapades, and raw emotional journey of his DJ days in ’90s New York.

‘What happens when your music obsession catapults you beyond your wildest dreams? The answer is Night People – the most life-affirming coming-of-age story I’ve read in an age, with a soundtrack to die for. You know how your favourite record sounds? That’s how Mark Ronson writes.’ Pete Paphides, author of Broken Greek

Mark Ronson was born a night person. With hedonistic creatives for parents, parties became his playground. Yet, having moved to New York City from London at a young age, he always felt like a bit of an outsider, until discovering himself in the pulsing, unifying joy of the city’s parties and hip-hop scene. Each night brought a heady mix of music, ambition, danger, delight, and possibilities. Having well and truly caught the DJing bug, he worked to find his place and make his name in the city that never sleeps.

Night People conjures the undeniable magic of '90s New York. It evokes the rush of a time and place where fashionistas and rappers on the rise danced alongside club kids and 9-to-5'ers – and invites us into the tribe of creatives and partiers who came alive when the sun went down. A heartfelt coming-of-age tale, Night People is the definitive account of a cultural moment and the making of a musical mastermind.

Discover the reigns of twelve African queens and warriors from across the continent, from pioneering historian and writer, Paula Akpan.

There are women who ruled vast swathes of the African continent. They led, loved and fought for their kingdoms and people and their impact can still be felt today. However, beyond the lands they called home, so few of us have heard their names.

From pre-colonial Nigeria to the rich plains of Rwanda, from Ancient Egypt to apartheid South Africa, historian Akpan writes the stories of these powerful queens and takes you on a spellbinding, enrapturing and immersive journey that is nothing short of revelatory.

In Fires Which Burned Brightly, Faulks, a reluctant memoirist, offers readers a series of detailed snapshots from a life in progress. They include a post-war rural childhood – ‘cold mutton and wet washing on a rack over the range’ – the booze-sodden heyday of Fleet Street and a career as one of the country’s most acclaimed novelists.

There are not one, but two daring escapes from boarding school; the delirium of a jetlagged American book tour; the writing of Birdsong in his brother’s house in 1992; and memorable trips across the channel to France. Politics, psychiatry and frustrated ventures into the world of entertainment are analysed with patience and rueful humour.

The book is driven by a desire ‘to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.’ It ends with a tribute to Faulks’s parents and a sense of how his own generation was shaped by the disruptive power of war and its aftermath.

Sharply perceptive and alive with a generous wit, Fires Which Burned Brightly is a work of subtle yet profound intelligence and warmth.

An esthetician and single mother with no connections, Anastasia Soare risked her life escaping communist Romania to come to America. Raising Brows tells the remarkable story of how she built a billion-dollar beauty brand and went from watching Oprah's TV show to learn English, to shaping Oprah's eyebrows on the very same show years later.

Anastasia disrupted the beauty industry by applying her art school training on the 'golden ratio' of beauty to eyebrows. Helping women find harmony with their face, Anastasia put eyebrows on the map. She pioneered new makeup products and built a glittering roster of clients like Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, and Cindy Crawford. But beneath the glossy exterior, Anastasia's path wasn't easy.

In this powerful memoir, she shares her extraordinary journey, putting her Romanian values of hard work, persistence, and optimism to the test in Los Angeles, ignoring the landlords and bank managers who laughed w hen she tried to open a salon focusing on eyebrows.

Anastasia's story serves as a powerful reminder that you can do anything you put your mind to so long as you are passionate and determined. As she says, 'it's the love and effort we put into our pursuits and relationships that truly define our success.'

Jan Smuts is revered by some as a national and international statesman, but he is condemned by others as an architect of segregation. In his new book, prize-winning author Bongani Ngqulunga examines Smuts’s political life in terms of how it affected black people.

He considers the impact of Smuts’s role in the treaty ending the Anglo-Boer War and the National Convention that created the Union of South Africa. He follows Smuts’s actions as a minister under Louis Botha, as prime minister from 1919 to 1924 and again from 1939 to 1948, and his relationship with Barry Hertzog’s National Party, first in opposition and then in a fused South African Party. Ngqulunga concentrates on the events and policies that affected black people directly, and he presents the views of people such as Sol Plaatje, Alfred Xuma, John Dube, D.D.T. Jabavu and Z.K. Matthews – and, later on, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. He shows how Smuts evolved in his views, eventually coming to recognise that segregation had failed. But the reforms he introduced in the 1940s were too little, too late, and were swept away by the National Party and its policy of apartheid.

Giving a balanced view that is both respectful and critical, Under Smuts’s Rule is a vital addition to the literature on Smuts and to South African history.

How does the greatest writer of our time tell her own story? Immerse yourself in the creative universe of Margaret Atwood for a riot of life, art and everything in between

Every writer is at least two beings: the one who lives, and the one who writes

Raised by scientifically minded parents, Atwood spent most of each year in the wild forest of northern Quebec: a vast playground for her entomologist father and independent, resourceful mother. It was an unfettered and nomadic childhood, sometimes isolated but also thrilling and beautiful.

From this unconventional start, Atwood unfolds the story of her life, linking key moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel school year that would become Cat’s Eye to the unease of 1980s Berlin, where she began The Handmaid’s Tale. In pages alive with the natural world, reading and books, major political turning points and her lifelong love for the charismatic writer Graeme Gibson, we meet poets, bears, Hollywood stars and larger-than-life characters straight from the pages of an Atwood novel.

As she explores her past, Atwood reveals more and more about her writing, the connections between real life and art – and the workings of one of our boldest imaginations.

Op 13 Oktober 2021 is Suid-Afrika tot stilstand geruk deur die nuus oor dominee Liezel de Jager, geliefde leraar van die NG Kerk Suidkus in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, wat in die oprit van die pastorie vermoor is toe sy terugkeer van haar daaglikse oggenddraf saam met vriende. Dit was ondenkbaar dat ’n geestelike leier soos sy, wat ’n enorme impak op haar gemeenskap gehad het, so wreed weggeruk kon word.

Maar nog vreemder gebeure volg in die dae en jare na haar moord. Haar man, Werner, verdwyn skielik spoorloos en word later in ’n bedenklike toestand in ’n suikerrietplantasie gevind. Hy vermoed dat hy moontlik deur Liezel se moordenaars aangeval is. Benewens verskeie ander amper-noodlottige gebeure rondom Werner, is hy later ook in ’n ongeluk betrokke waar nog twee vroue dood is. Om alles te kroon, sloer die polisie twee jaar lank voordat hulle met die moordondersoek begin.

Intussen voer Liezel se ouers ’n volgehoue stryd om geregtigheid vir hul dogter te kry.

Dit loop uit op ’n suksesvolle hofsaak teen die minister van polisie en die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens, met die gevolg dat Werner weens die moord op sy vrou in hegtenis geneem word, maar later onder misterieuse omstandighede in die hospitaal sterf. Die moord bly onopgelos.