Not a Novel is the best of Jenny Erpenbeck's non-fiction. Moving and insightful, the pieces range from personal essays and literary criticism to reflections on Germany's history, interrogating life and politics, language and freedom, hope and despair. By turns both luminous and explosive, this collection shows one of the most acclaimed European writers reckoning with her country's divided past, and responding to the world today with intelligence and humanity.

"As I sat on the side of Hamnafield on Foula in the Shetland Islands, looking down at my 'enormous' 38-foot ferry stowed in its cradle on the quay in Ham Voe, over 1,000 feet below me, I reflected on a moderately successful career to date, and wondered how on Earth I had ended up driving what was, in effect, a floating dust cart" After 42 years at or connected with the sea, Jeremy Walker ended up on the Shetland Island of Foula commanding and running a small ferry to the mainland of Shetland. Throughout the course of his career, firstly as a seagoing deck officer with a large, but now defunct, British shipping company, then as a Hovercraft Commander for four years, returning to sea for a brief period as Master of two small coastal tankers and then for the majority of his career as a Pilot on the River Humber, he encountered many amusing situations. In this book he attempts to relate these stories and to illustrate the lighter side of what was a very difficult, responsible and, at times, incredibly stressful job. And little did he know that his career was far from over and new opportunities and challenges would take him on for a further 13 years to eventual retirement.

"As I sat on the side of Hamnafield on Foula in the Shetland Islands, looking down at my 'enormous' 38-foot ferry stowed in its cradle on the quay in Ham Voe, over 1,000 feet below me, I reflected on a moderately successful career to date, and wondered how on Earth I had ended up driving what was, in effect, a floating dust cart" After 42 years at or connected with the sea, Jeremy Walker ended up on the Shetland Island of Foula commanding and running a small ferry to the mainland of Shetland. Throughout the course of his career, firstly as a seagoing deck officer with a large, but now defunct, British shipping company, then as a Hovercraft Commander for four years, returning to sea for a brief period as Master of two small coastal tankers and then for the majority of his career as a Pilot on the River Humber, he encountered many amusing situations. In this book he attempts to relate these stories and to illustrate the lighter side of what was a very difficult, responsible and, at times, incredibly stressful job. And little did he know that his career was far from over and new opportunities and challenges would take him on for a further 13 years to eventual retirement.

"I became a life insurance salesman in London in May 1969, for the glamour, the fast cars, the groupies... the beautiful women who'd stop at nothing to buy life insurance. It's a very well-kept secret." Thus begins Peter Rosengard's extraordinary account of his life so far, and the endless adventures in which he made, lost and remade a fortune; founded London's famous Comedy Store, discovered and managed some of the greats in stand-up comedy; turned an unknown boy band into a chart-topping sensation; and sold the world's biggest life insurance policy in history, for $100m, which is still celebrated by the Guinness Book of Records. This is a book about "chutzpah," testament to a simple belief that "nothing is impossible."

J. Michael Wilson (1916-1999), Soldier, Medical Doctor, Priest and Academic, may be best known for his often ground-breaking professional achievement, from working with lepers in Ghana to his seminal work in Pastoral Studies. For all his successful accomplishments, however, he thought accolades, titles and qualifications were no more than vain baubles for obituary columns. Becoming a fully human being was, he believed, best manifested in community, through art, poetry, prayer and revelling in the wonders of Nature. Here, finally, is your chance to share a merry dance through his creative life and works...

Met die deurlees van Jeanne Goosen se notaboeke, dagboeke, flardes en uitknipsels verskyn 'n verrassing! Die skrywer het deurentyd los gedagtes neergepen - nie net 'n paar nie, maar honderde gedagtes, te kosbaar om verlore te gaan: sêgoed, insigte, waarnemings, aforismes, mymerings . . . alles dáár, om oplaas in boekvorm met haar lesers gedeel te word.

Die aantekeninge weerspieël die merkwaardige intellektuele aktiwiteit van 'n denker-kunstenaar. Sy bemoei haar intens met letterkundige, filosofiese, politiese, wetenskaplike, sielkundige insae en bevindings wat sy soms ernstig, soms satiries en soms ook kru verwoord. Die versameling is spesifiek nie volgens onderwerp geklassifiseer nie, maar lukraak soos die losstaande aantekeninge opeenvolgend gevind is. Daar is ook nie geredigeer om taalgebruik te verbeter nie. Jeanne Goosen praat hier in haar eie, unieke stem.

Voorbeelde:

• Feite steur hulle nie aan sielkunde nie.
• Ek moet probeer om nuwe foute te maak.
• Date rape. Dit klink soos 'n nagereg.
• Jy kan nie 'n held wees met R100 'n maand vir groceries nie.
• 'n Jakkals is 'n wolf wat blomme stuur.
• As julle trou, word julle een. Watter een?
• Moenie steel nie, die regering hou nie van kompetisie nie.
• Moet nooit 'n geskenk aanvaar wat eet nie.

Leon and his twin Norman were born in August 1929, the youngest of four children born to Mary and Mark Levy, immigrants from Lithuania. His father died when Leon was six; to heroic degree, his mother carried the family – financially, practically and emotionally – in her widowhood. Leon was an intensely bookish boy but left school aged sixteen to help makes ends meet through a series of jobs. Deeply affected by the events of the Second World War and the Holocaust, Leon was radicalised in the Hashomer Hatza’ir, a left-wing Zionist youth movement. He was seventeen when he joined the Communist Party and became a committed young activist.

In 1953, at the age of twenty-four, Leon became a full-time trade unionist. ‘It was a defining moment in my life story,’ he writes. ‘It gave practical form to my political beliefs; it also determined the shape and scope of my life. It transpired that I would spend the next six decades and more working in trade unions, industrial relations and mediation.’

A comrade in the trade union movement nicknamed Leon, TsabaTsaba – which means “here, there and everywhere”. Anyone who reads Leon’s account of his years as a full-time unionist will agree that the soubriquet was well earned. (Alongside trade union work, Leon was also committed to the remarkable Discussion Club, which he co-founded and ran throughout the 1950s; he was also secretary of the South African Peace Council from 1951 to 1961.) In the mid-1950s, he was part of a small group of progressive trade unionists who pushed for the formation of the first non-racial trade union federation in South Africa. These aspirations were realised in March 1955 with the launch of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU). Later that year Leon was elected president and remained in that position for nine years. SACTU linked day-to-day concerns of workers with support for national liberation and the abolition of apartheid and was one of the five organisations which formed the Congress Alliance. As SACTU leader, Leon served on the committee that directed the activities of the Alliance; he was present at Kliptown when the Freedom Charter was adopted – and as SACTU president was one of the five original signatories of the Freedom Charter.

Political activism of this order came at a high price. Leon Levy was served with banning orders and arrested several times; he was Accused No 4 of the 156 people arrested and charged with treason, and from November 1958 was one of the final 30 (and with Helen Joseph one of only two whites) who faced charges until the trial was finally dismissed in March 1961. He was detained for five months during the 1960 State of Emergency. In May 1963 he was the first person to be detained under the notorious General Laws Amendment Act, known as the 90-day Act. Unable to continue his work he chose to go into exile in the United Kingdom. There, he studied politics, economics and industrial relations at Oxford – and then applied what he had learned in a series of positions in industrial relations. After 1994, he was determined to make the skills and knowledge that he had acquired available to a democratic South Africa – and he and his wife Lorna returned to the country of their birth in 1997. In a remarkable final phase of his career, Leon took office shortly after his 70th birthday as a full-time commissioner for the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration – and spent the next 19 years in this capacity.

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor-including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother-and how she retook control of her life. Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother's dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called "calorie restriction," eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, "Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn't tint hers?" She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income. In I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail-just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly, she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi ("Hi Gale!"), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants. Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I'm Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Touching, honest and life affirming, Meet Ella is a love letter to man's best friend, and a beacon of hope to anyone struggling through hard times.

When he was a child, James Middleton wanted nothing more than a dog of his own. Struggling to connect in the classroom, James would often take off in pursuit of nature and animals—exploring the Berkshire countryside, tinkering with rusty farm machinery, caring for injured creatures, and losing himself for hours to the outdoors. Then, finally, his pleas for a dog (made via handwritten letters to his parents) were answered.

Meet Ella traces the extraordinary bond between James and his beloved first pup, Ella. From their enchanting introduction to their many adventures, from Scottish mountain sides to royal weddings, their journey is marked by love, loyalty, and unexpected twists of fate. Ella, a well-mannered and kind-natured companion, accompanied James everywhere, even playing a pivotal role in introducing him to his future wife, Alizee.

But beyond the glamorous veneer of society engagements and entrepreneurial achievements lies a deeply personal account of James' battle with depression. Through unconditional love, Ella emerges as an intuitive friend, reading James' moods and offering solace during his darkest hours, becoming the catalyst for his healing journey, and helping him to see all the good in his life and future.

By turns tender and poignant, Meet Ella is a wonderfully heartwarming celebration of an unbreakable bond and the amazing healing potential of the human-animal connection.

Louis Botha was ’n briljante Boeregeneraal wie se taktiese vernuf en intuïtiewe aanslag vir etlike oorwinnings oor die Britse magte in die Anglo-Boereoorlog gesorg het. Maar dit was sy enigmatiese karakter en vaste oortuiging om te hou by wat hy geglo het reg was, wat hom as ’n leier van die Boerevolk bevestig het.

Richard Steyn gee op meesterlike wyse insae in die lewe van hierdie grootse Suid-Afrikaanse krygsman en staatsman. Hy beskryf verhelderend hoe Botha saam met sy hegte vriend, Jan Smuts, die vier Suid-Afrikaanse kolonies na Uniewording in 1910 gelei het waarna Botha as die eerste eerste minister van die Unie aangewys is.

Gedurende die Eerste Wêreldoorlog was Botha aan die voorpunt van die Suid-Afrikaanse magte se suksesvolle inval van Duits-Suidwes-Afrika. Tog is hy deur talle Afrikaners verkwalik vir sy steun aan Brittanje, en die Afrikaner-rebellie van 1914, waartydens hy teen voormalige makkers moes optree, het sy hart gebreek.

Botha se groothartig en vrygewige omgang met mense – van Vereeniging tot Versailles – het hom bo sy tydgenote laat uitstaan.

My recollection of one of the proudest days of my life. At the Meardy Farm, I stood next to my mother and my dad Arthur while she rang France to speak to the Duke of Windsor. The change in my mothers voice from this miserable woman in her sixties, who would moan and groan regardless about life, into a young girl blushing at the sound of his voice. "Hello David, its Rose," she sounded so gentle. I looked at Arthur and he did not look happy with mum, hearing her conversation, watching her acting in this way. I stood waiting nervously, what would I say to this man? A Prince, a King, and now the Duke of Windsor, but always my father. Then mum passed me the telephone, I put it against my ear and stammered. "Hello, it's Roy, Roy Albert." The telephone went silent for a few moments, then a voice on the end of the line replied, "Hello Roy Albert, this is Edward ..."

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.

Eierigting is‘n regsterm wat beteken dat jy die reg in jou eie hande neem.

In ‘n grondwetlike bestel is die uitgangspunt dat die burgery kollektief hul reg om hulself te beskerm oordra aan die staat. Wanneer die staat faal en nie meer sy burgers beskerm nie, verander die situasie. Dan raak eierigting nodig.

Willie Spies skryf sedert 2016 – die jaar van Fees Must Fall in Suid-Afrika en die verkiesing van Donald Trump in die VSA – rubrieke vir Beeld en Netwerk 24.

Die rubrieke ontgin die stand van die makro-omgewing van verval van die staat waarin Suid-Afrikaners hulle bevind gedurende die jare van staatskaping, die einde van die Zuma-bewind, die EFF, die einde van Afrikaans in die universiteitswese, die era van Rama-forie, die COVID-pandemie en gepaardgaande wêreld gebeure in historiese konteks.

Dit keer telkens terug na die mikro-werklikheid van eie menswees, geloof, hartseer, eensaamheid, verlies, ouer-word en vergifnis.

Dit ondersoek ’n nuwe vryheidsideaal, 30 jaar na die verkiesing van 27 April 1994 en beskryf hoe eierigting regmatig deur instellings van die burgerlike samelewing plaasvind wat leemtes vul wat die staat ooplaat.

For anyone who has ever felt like they don't belong, Sigh, Gone shares an irreverent, funny, and moving tale of displacement and assimilation woven together with poignant themes from beloved works of classic literature. In 1975, during the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran immigrates to America along with his family. By sheer chance they land in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town where the Trans struggle to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The Metamorphosis, The Scarlet Letter, The Iliad, and more, Tran navigates the push and pull of finding and accepting himself despite the challenges of immigration, feelings of isolation, and teenage rebellion, all while attempting to meet the rigid expectations set by his immigrant parents. Appealing to fans of coming-of-age memoirs such as Fresh Off the Boat, Running with Scissors, or tales of assimilation like Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Displaced and The Refugees, Sigh, Gone explores one man's bewildering experiences of abuse, racism, and tragedy and reveals redemption and connection in books and punk rock. Against the hairspray-and-synthesizer backdrop of the '80s, he finds solace and kinship in the wisdom of classic literature, and in the subculture of punk rock, he finds affirmation and echoes of his disaffection. In his journey for self-discovery Tran ultimately finds refuge and inspiration in the art that shapes--and ultimately saves--him.

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER It has been 30 years since Noel Fitzpatrick graduated as a veterinary surgeon, and that 22-year-old from Ballyfin, Ireland, is now one of the leading veterinary surgeons in the world. The journey to that point has seen Noel treat thousands of animals - many of whom were thought to be beyond help - animals that have changed his life, and the lives of those around them, for the better. If the No.1 Sunday Times bestseller Listening to the Animals was about Noel's path to becoming The Supervet, then How Animals Saved My Life is about what it's like to actually be The Supervet. Noel shares the moving and often funny stories of the animals he's treated and the unique 'animal people' he has met along the way. He reflects on the valuable lessons of Integrity, Care, Love and Hope that they have taught him - lessons that have sustained him through the unbelievable highs and crushing lows of a profession where lives are quite literally at stake. As Noel explores what makes us connect with animals so deeply, we meet Peanut, the world's first cat with two front bionic limbs; eight-year-old therapy dachschund Olive; Odin, a gorgeous five-year-old Dobermann, who would prove to be one of Noel's most challenging cases - and of course his beloved companions Ricochet, the Maine Coon, and Keira, the scruffy Border terrier who is always by his side.