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Books > Biography
Get tucked in to a third bestselling helping of Clarkson's Farm from
our favourite wellie-wearing wannabe farmer, Jeremy Clarkson
Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. Since taking the wheel three years ago
Jeremy's had his work cut out. And it's now clear from hard-won
experience that, when it comes to farming, there's only one golden rule:
Whatever you hope will happen, won't.
Enthusiastic schemes to diversify have met with stubborn opposition
from the red trouser brigade, defeat at the hands of Council Planning
department, and predictable derision from Kaleb - although, to be fair,
even Lisa had doubts about Jeremy's brilliant plan to build a business
empire founded on rewilding and nettle soup. And only Cheerful Charlie
is still smiling about the stifling amount of red tape that's incoming
. . . But he charges by the hour.
Then there are the animals: the sheep are gone; the cows have been
joined by a rented bull called Break-Heart Maestro;. the pigs are
making piglets; and the goats have turned out to be psychopaths.
But despite the naysayers and (sometimes self-inflicted) setbacks,
Jeremy remains irrepressibly optimistic about life at Diddly Squat.
Because It's hard not to be when you get to harvest blackberries with a
vacuum cleaner.
And, after all, it shouldn't just be Break-heart Maestro who gets to
enjoy a happy ending . . .
It is January, 1978. Groups of nervous, dutiful white conscripts
begin their National Service with Rhodesia's security forces. Ian
Smith's minority regime is in its dying days and negotiations
towards majority rule are already under way. For these
inexperienced eighteen-year-olds, there is nothing to do but go on
fighting, and hold the line while the transition happens around
them. Dead Leaves is a richly textured memoir in which an ordinary
troopie grapples with the unique dilemmas presented by an
extraordinary period in history - the specters of inner violence
and death; the pressurized arrival of manhood; and the place of
conscience, friendship and beauty in the pervasive atmosphere of
futile warfare.
With the security services under resourced for the demands now
being placed upon them, the Government have decided, as a temporary
measure, to recruit some suitably experienced former Senior NCOa s
to fulfil this role. As they are to have a slightly different role
from that of MI5 and Special Branch they are to be referred to as
the a Praetoriansa which of course was the name given to the elite
guard given to those protecting the Roman Generals in ancient
times. In the following story we follow the adventures of one of
these men as he endeavours to protect his Minister both here in the
United Kingdom and on her journeys overseas.
a Call Them the Happy Yearsa recounts at first hand the first 40
years of the life of Barbara Everard in her own words, augmented,
now in this second edition, with her elder son, Martina s boyhood
memories of some of those years. From a privileged early childhood
as a daughter of a wealthy Sussex farming family, Barbara grew up
through the depression desperate to become an artist, an ambition
that she achieved with award-winning success as one of the worlda s
foremost botanical artists. But this followed some years of
colonial life in Malaya and the horrors of war both in Singapore
and England, described in graphic detail as is her husband, Raya s
story as a Japanese PoW on the infamous Siam railway.
The full story behind every single song Taylor Swift has ever released.
Covering eleven albums, more than 250 songs, hidden gems, cover
versions, vault tracks and more besides, this is the definitive guide
to Taylor Swift's incredible songbook and a celebration of one of
music's greatest ever talents - from her self-titled debut to The
Tortured Poets Department.
Award-winning music writer Annie Zaleski (Rolling Stone, Billboard, the
Guardian) leaves no stone unturned as she explores the inspiration,
production and legacy of pop's greatest back catalogue, delving into
every era to tell the story of Taylor Swift's entire career through her
music.
A journey through country, pop, indie and folk, this is the ultimate
guide to the musical and storytelling genius of Taylor Swift.
LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE
'Terrific fun' David Walsh, Sunday Times * * 'Thoroughly engaging'
Washington Post A frank and revealing biography of legendary golf
champion Phil Mickelson - who has led a big, controversial life -
as reported by longtime Sports Illustrated writer and bestselling
author Alan Shipnuck. Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling
figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among
the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was
exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the
cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to
win a major championship. In this raw and unauthorised biog raphy,
Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories,
crushing defeats and countless controversies. Mickelson is a
multi-faceted character, and all his warring impulses are on
display in these pages: he is a smart-ass who built an empire on
being the consummate professional; a loving husband dogged by
salacious rumours; a high-stakes gambler who knows the house always
wins but can't tear himself away. Mickelson's career and public
image have been defined by the contrast with his lifelong rival,
Tiger Woods. Where Woods is robotic and reticent, Mickelson is
affable and extroverted, an incorrigible showman. In their early
years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger's laser focus and
discipline, yet as Tiger's career has been curtailed by scandal,
addiction and a broken body, Phil sails on, still relevant on the
golf course and in the marketplace. Phil is the perfect marriage of
subject and author. Shipnuck delivers numerous revelations, from
the true scale of Mickelson's massive gambling losses to the
secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson
championed. But Phil also celebrates Mickelson's random acts of
kindness and generosity of spirit, to which friends and strangers
alike can attest. Shipnuck has covered Mickelson for his entire
career, allowing him to take readers inside the ropes with a
thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and
liveliest golf book in years - full of heart, humour and unexpected
turns.
Sometimes you can't choose your own battles. A memoir of coming of age in Rhodesia explores the author's experiences as a young conscript caught up in the bush war of the late 1970s.
This is a compelling, touching and often humorous account of growing up in a straitlaced, racist society and the absurdity of fighting for a dying regime. The ugliness of the conflict, the trauma of transformation, the agonies of conscience of the writer, the beauty of the landscape: all are captured here in brilliant detail.
Threading through the narrative is the story of Williams’ obsessive infatuation with the enigmatic, sharp-tongued Bianca Pennefather, who leads him on a painful emotional and spiritual journey. Looming over this fragile world is the grotesque experience of the battlefield, where young soldiers like Paul Williams inexorably shed their illusions and lost their youth.
Peter Jewell and Juliet Clutton-Brock had a shared passion for
animals and Africa, and as brilliant young zoologists in the 1960s
they were pioneers of the new movements in ecology, archaeozoology
and animal conservation. This fascinating account of their
extraordinary lives follows them as they travel, and live, in and
out of Africa accompanied by their three daughters and a medley of
pets, including dogs, cats, tortoises, chameleons and a chimpanzee.
Jane Austen, one of the nation's most beloved authors, whose face
adorns our currency, surely needs no introduction, but while many
are familiar with her groundbreaking novels, few have come across
her short burlesque work The History of England. Billed a history
'from the reign of Henry IV to Charles I by a partial, prejudiced
and ignorant historian', The History of England pokes fun at the
overly verbose and grand histories of Austen's day. Written when
she was just fifteen, this is a comic tour de force that shows
Austen's wit developing into the satirical prowess she is
remembered for.
One of the earliest known published works written by an African
author, The Interesting Narrative was a groundbreaking memoir that
helped pave the way for the abolition of slavery. In it, Equiano
describes his early life in Africa, his abduction and his gruelling
journey across the world on a slave ship. Published in London once
Equiano had secured his freedom, the runaway success of the book
led to his financial independence, and he toured England, Scotland
and Ireland lecturing on the horrors described in the book, and he
dedicated his life to advocating for the abolition of slavery.
Forgotten until the 1960s, The Interesting Narrative has again shot
to fame, and is now considered the most detailed account of a
slave's life, exposing the trials of the long road to freedom.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, published to exceptional reviews in both the US and the UK, American Prometheus is as compelling a work of biography as it is a significant work of history.
Physicist and polymath, as familiar with Hindu scriptures as he was with quantum mechanics, J. Robert Oppenheimer - director of the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb - was the most famous scientist of his generation.
In their meticulous and riveting biography, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin reveal a brilliant, ambitious, complex and flawed man, profoundly involved with some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.
The stories of Naz Gool Ebrahim and District Six are intimately
linked; in fact it is hard to imagine the one without the other.
As
the niece of Cissie Gool, Naz came from fighting stock. Strong
women with strong voices ran in the family. So when the Apartheid
Government declared 'the District', a slum in 1966 and announced
plans to flatten it, Naz wasn’t about to lose all that she held
dear without a fight. She became the voice of the voiceless, both
in South Africa and in the USA and was nominated as ‘Woman of the
Year’. Naz combined her radical political activism with her roles
as devoted wife and mother to six children. Up until the end of her
life in 2005, she worked tirelessly to oppose the evil of racial
segregation.
To her opponents, she was an indomitable adversary,
but to her friends she was ‘Naz – Raz-a-ma-tazz’, a great lady who
certainly knew how to tell a story and put on a good show.
This biography of Tony Streather describes a man who was one of the
very great trailblazers of the golden age of Himalayan climbing in
the 1950s. Tony Streather was a professional soldier to the core,
serving in the North-West Frontier of India, Germany, Cyprus, North
Borneo and Northern Ireland among many assignments. But through a
chance meeting in post-Partition Pakistan, he became transport
officer to a Norwegian expedition to Tirich Mir and joined the
summit team that scaled the mountain for the first time. From that
moment onwards, he combined soldiering with a distinguished
mountaineering career. He summited Kangchenjunga as a member of the
second rope in 1955 and survived tragedies on K2 and Haramosh. Many
expeditions followed. His military career, which included
co-founding the Army Mountaineering Association, was exemplary. For
the first time, this authorized biography tells the full story of
Tony Streather, soldier and mountaineer.
Professor. Pundit. Public nuisance. In his columns, books and on social
media, Jonathan Jansen is prolific and he likes to speak his mind about
schools and universities, race, politics and our complex South African
society.
He has brought an incisive analysis, compassion and sense of humour to
some of the most controversial issues in our country for many years.
And now, in this memoir, he goes back to his early years growing up in
a loving, fiercely evangelical family on the Cape Flats,
being put on the road to purpose by an inspiring school teacher and
becoming the first of his generation to go to university under the
apartheid regime. Journey with Jansen as he finds a passion for
teaching high school and becomes a leading academic and thinker
amid great transformation in post-apartheid South Africa.
This patchwork of memories tells a bigger story than his own life. It’s
a tale of learning the value of ‘breaking bread’ with others, of
finding mutual recognition in our different faith and fears, our ideals
and frustrations, our hurts and our hopes.
Based on a series of fascinating interviews, this extraordinary
book relates real stories of conflict from the people who lived
through it. In vivid detail, and genuinely moving accounts, this
unique publication draws the reader into a hugely significant
period of history; capturing surprising and emotional stories first
hand, before they disappear forever. These are more than just
memories, they are the events that marked the world and an entire
generation.
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