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Books > Biography
The story of a fifty-year relationship between a Vietnam veteran
and a remote Aboriginal tribe: a miniature epic of human
adaptation, suffering and resilience. The Passion of Private White
describes the meeting of two worlds: the world of the fiercely
driven biologist and anthropologist Neville White, and the world of
the hunter-gatherer clans of remote northern Australia he studied
and lived with. As White tried to understand the world as it was
understood on the other side of the vast cultural divide, he was
also trying to transcend the mental scars he suffered on the
battlefields of Vietnam. The clans had their own injuries to deal
with, as they tried to adapt to modernity, live down their losses
and yet hold onto their ancient lands, customs, laws and language.
Over five decades, White mapped in astonishing detail the culture
and history of the Yolgnu clans at Donydji in north-east Arnhem
Land. But eventually presence meant involvement, and White became
advocate more than anthropologist in the clan's struggle to survive
when everything - from the ambitions of mining companies and a
zombie bureaucracy, to feuds, sorcery and magic, despair and
dysfunction - conspired to destroy them. And the fifty-year
endeavour served another purpose for White and the members of his
old platoon he took there. Working to help the community at Donydji
became a kind of antidote for the psychic wounds of Vietnam. While
for the clans, from the old warriors to the children, their
fanatical benefactor offered a few rays of meaning and hope. There
was no cure in this meeting of two worlds, both suffering their own
form of PTSD, but they helped each other survive. This is a
miniature epic of human adaptation, suffering and resilience, an
astonishing window into both our recent and our deep history, the
coloniser and colonised - indeed into the human condition itself.
A definitive and intriguing biography of Max Verstappen, Formula 1's hottest new superstar, Lewis Hamilton's great rival, the winner of the 2021 World Drivers' Championship, and the recently crowned 2022 champion.
No Hollywood scriptwriter could possibly have envisioned the breathless, adrenaline-pumping climax to the 2021 Formula 1 season. On the very last lap of the final race of an unbelievably arduous and controversial season, Red Bull's Max Verstappen nervelessly overtook the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to clinch the first place that thrust the young prodigy to the narrowest of victories and to his first World Drivers' title. It surely won't be his last.
Verstappen may only be 25 years of age, but the Dutch motorsport sensation has an incredible record in F1: 161 race starts, 76 podium finishes and 34 Grand Prix victories barely tell the story - this young man has already left an indelible mark on the sport. The son of F1 driver Jos, Verstappen junior quickly stepped out of his father's shadow: his youthful charisma, ferocious speed, fearless driving style and refusal to back down mark him out as a true champion. And the phenomenal success of Netflix's Drive to Survive documentary series has elevated his worldwide popularity still further.
Widely respected motorsport writer and F1 insider Mark Hughes is perfectly placed to write the most authoritative narrative on Verstappen's incredible rise through the ranks to F1 glory. Hughes' immaculate credentials and first-rate access enable him to generate fresh and fascinating insights, and to paint a fully-rounded and richly-textured portrait of one of the most exciting young sportsmen on the planet.
One of the most remarkable memoirs ever written. The diary of
Jean-Dominique Bauby who, with his left eyelid (the only surviving
muscle after a massive stroke) dictated a remarkable book about his
experiences locked inside his body. A masterpiece and a bestseller
in France. In December 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief
of French Elle and the father of two young children, suffered a
massive stroke and found himself paralysed and speechless. But his
mind remained as active and alert as it had ever been. Using his
only functioning muscle - his left eyelid - he was determined to
tell his remarkable story, painstakingly spelling it out letter by
letter. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly records Bauby's lonely
existence but also the ability to invent a life for oneself in the
most appalling of circumstances. It one of the most extraordinary
books about the triumph of the human spirit ever written.
In the 1970s Hennie Keyter was an angry young man, fresh out of
military service for the apartheid government of South Africa,
unsure of his path in life and deeply uneasy about his faith. When
God revealed to him that He had a purpose for him and a calling on
his life, at first Hennie was not ready to hear it. When he finally
accepted and understood his mission, a flame was lit in his heart
that nothing could have extinguished. But nothing could have
prepared him either for the extraordinary spiritual journey he was
about to embark on which would take him wherever God wanted him to
go: from Malawi, ‘the warm heart of Africa’, to Mozambique at the
height of its civil war, where he was sentenced to death and faced
a firing squad, from a less than welcoming beginning in Zanzibar,
to the United Nations base at Lokichokio on the border between
Kenya and Sudan (where on one trip he discovered that he had a
price of US 10 000 on his head). Desiring only to do the will of
God and to spread the Gospel, Hennie took up the challenge of
taking the Gospel to many of the countries on the African continent
and in the Middle East, building up leaders and planting churches
in poverty stricken areas, lands devastated by years of conflict
and deprivation, and war zones where soldiers seemed to have lost
everything, even hope. Through the bushfire of mass evangelism and
his dedicated teams of volunteers, supported by the love and faith
of his wife Rita and his children Anton and Mari, in His Call, My
All: An African Drumbeat – A Missionary’s Heartbeat Hennie Keyter
looks back at his life in the service of the Lord and forward to
continuing His work for as long as God requires it of him.
An ardent steward of the land, fearless traveller and unrivalled
observer of nature and culture, Barry Lopez died after a long
illness on Christmas Day in 2020. The previous summer, a wildfire
had consumed much of what was dear to him in his home and the
community around it - a tragic reminder of the climate change of
which he'd long warned. At once a cri de Coeur and a memoir of both
pain and wonder, this remarkable collection of essays adds
indelibly to Lopez's legacy, and includes previously unpublished
works, some written in the months before his death. They unspool
memories, both personal and political, among them tender, sometimes
painful stories of his childhood in New York and California,
reports from expeditions to study animals and sea life,
recollections of travels to Antarctica and other extraordinary
places on earth, and mediations on finding oneself amid vast,
dramatic landscapes. He reflects on those who taught him, including
Indigenous elders and scientific mentors who sharpened his eye for
the natural world. We witness poignant returns from his travels to
the sanctuary of his Oregon backyard and in prose of searing
candour, he reckons with the cycle of life, including own and - as
he has done throughout his career - with the dangers the earth and
its people are facing. With an introduction by Rebecca Solnit that
speaks to Lopez's keen attention to the world, including its
spiritual dimensions, Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World opens
our minds and sounds to the important of being wholly present to
the beauty and complexity of life.
Having joined the BBC as a trainee in 1984, Jeremy Bowen first
became a foreign correspondent four years later. He had witnessed
violence already, both at home and abroad, but it wasn't until he
covered his first war -- in El Salvador -- that he felt he had
arrived. Armed with the fearlessness of youth he lived for the job,
was in love with it, aware of the dangers but assuming the bullets
and bombs were meant for others. In 2000, however, after eleven
years in some of the world's most dangerous places, the bullets
came too close for comfort, and a close friend was killed in
Lebanon. This, and then the birth of his first child, began a
process of reassessment that culminated in the end of the affair.
Now, in his extraordinarily gripping and thought-provoking new
book, he charts his progress from keen young novice whose first
reaction to the sound of gunfire was to run towards it to the more
circumspect veteran he is today. It will also discuss the changes
that have taken place in the ways in which wars are reported over
the course of his career, from the Gulf War to Bosnia, Afghanistan
to Rwanda.
No American leader has accomplished more for his state than
Governor Ron DeSantis. Now, he reveals how he did it. He played
baseball for Yale, graduated with honors from Harvard Law School,
and served in Iraq and in the halls of Congress. But in all these
places, Ron DeSantis learned the same lesson: He didn't want to be
part of the leftist elite. His heart was always for the people of
Florida, one of the most diverse and culturally rich states in the
union. Since becoming governor of the sunshine state, he has fought
-and won-battle after battle, defeating not just opposition from
the political left, but a barrage of hostile media coverage
proclaiming the end of the world. When he implemented
evidence-based and freedom-focused COVID-19 policies, the press
launched a smear campaign against him, yet Florida's economy
thrived, its education system outperformed the nation, and its
COVID mortality rate for seniors was lower than that in 38 states.
When he enacted policies to keep leftist political concepts like
critical race theory and woke gender ideology out of Florida's
classrooms, the media demagogued his actions, but parents across
Florida rallied to his cause. Dishonest attacks from the media
don't deter him. In fact, DeSantis keeps racking up wins for
Floridians. A firsthand account from the blue-collar boy who grew
up to take on Disney and Dr. Fauci, The Courage to Be Free delivers
something no other politician's memoir has before: stories of
victory. This book is a winning blueprint for patriots across the
country. And it is a rallying cry for every American who wishes to
preserve our liberties.
In the midst of the most disastrous economic climate of Wall
Street's history, one executive has weathered the storm more deftly
than any other: Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. In
2008, while Dimon's competitors watched their companies crumble,
JPMorgan not only survived, it made an astonishing $5 billion
profit. Dimon's continued triumph in the face of an industry-wide
meltdown has made him a paragon of finance.
In "Last Man Standing, "award-winning journalist Duff McDonald
provides an unprecedented and deeply personal look at the
extraordinary figure behind JPMorgan's success. Using countless
hours of interviews with Dimon and his full circle of friends,
family, and colleagues, this definitive biography is by far the
most comprehensive portrait of the man known as the Savior of Wall
Street.
Now, in an updated prologue, McDonald offers insight into the
future of Wall Street and how Dimon will overcome the challenge of
aggressive new regulation from Washington--and how he plans to
continue to thrive as the world's preeminent banker.
In 2018, Alastair McAlpine, a palliative paediatrician in Cape Town,
decided to share some inspiring thoughts from the children in his care.
He posted: ‘I asked some of my terminal paediatric palliative care
patients what they had enjoyed in life, and what gave it meaning. Kids
can be so wise, y’know. Here are some of the responses.’
Their simple yet profound answers went viral, found their way into
homes across the world and touched the hearts of millions. Yet it was
never McAlpine’s plan to find himself in this position. Challenged from
all sides by crippling addiction, a brutal internship and a deadly HIV
pandemic, McAlpine’s journey was very nearly derailed.
Prescription: Ice Cream is his engaging memoir about the highs and lows
of working as a medical doctor in South Africa and how, with a little
help from metal music and ice cream, he was able to struggle on, find
meaning in the chaos and inspire others.
The monumental biography of the most influential leader on the world stage in the last twenty years.
Vladimir Putin is a pariah to the West. Alone among world leaders, he has the power to reduce the United States and Europe to ashes in a nuclear firestorm and has threatened to do so. He invades his neighbours, most recently Ukraine, meddles in western elections and orders assassinations inside and outside Russia. The regime he heads is autocratic and corrupt. Yet many Russians continue to support him. Despite western sanctions, the majority have been living better than at any time in the past. By fair means or foul, under Putin's leadership, Russia has once again become a force to be reckoned with.
Philip Short's magisterial biography explores in unprecedented depth the personality of its enigmatic and ruthless leader and demolishes many of our preconceptions about Putin's Russia. Since becoming President in 2000, his obsession has been to restore Russia's status as a great power, unbound by western rules. What forces and experiences shaped him? What led him to challenge the American-led world order that has kept the peace since the end of the Cold War?
To explain is not to justify. Putin's regime is dark. He pursues his goals relentlessly by whatever means he thinks fit. But on closer examination, much of what we think we know about him turns out to rest on half-truths.
This book is as close as we will come to understanding Russia's ruler. It also makes us revise long-held assumptions about the course of global politics since the end of the Cold War.
‘It is the godly feeling of dancing like a goddess and snapping on a beat with sheer joy that makes all the trouble life demands worthwhile. In these moments, of intensive freedom from pain, of joy that knows no bound and peace that passeth all understanding, I become that kid again, dancing with my mother.’
Welcome Mandla Lishivha’s exquisitely crafted memoir is unlike anything you’ve ever read. Boy On The Run is a staggeringly beautiful and honest exploration of identity through grief, love and friendship, giving us, the readers, a glorious song of self-expression.
This book will change your life.
Musa Okwonga - a young Black man who grew up in a predominantly
working-class town - was not your typical Eton College student. The
experience moulded him, challenged him... but also made him wonder
why a place that was so good for him also seems to contribute to
the harm being done to the UK. The more he searched, the more
evident the connection became between one of Britain's most
prestigious institutions and the genesis of Brexit, and between his
home town in the suburbs of Greater London and the rise of the far
right. Woven throughout this deeply personal and unflinching memoir
of Musa's five years at Eton in the 1990s is a present-day
narrative which engages with much wider questions about pressing
social and political issues: privilege, the distribution of wealth,
the rise of the far right in the UK, systemic racism, the 'boys'
club' of government and the power of the few to control the fate of
the many. One of Them is both an intimate account and a timely
exploration of race and class in modern Britain.
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