THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'I'd been in so many scrapes with Theo and he'd always saved me. Those days were the hardest of my life so far and ... at the darkest point, those big brown eyes and that torn ear where I needed them to be. Right there next to me.' PC Gareth Greaves first met Theo, a German Shepherd, when he was a nervous 14-month-old puppy. They were instantly inseparable and police dog Theo became the best partner Gareth's ever had. During six-and-a-half years of active service, police dog Theo located, tracked and detained suspects leading to more than 200 arrests. In that time, he endured broken ribs and being bitten by assailants as well as being set on fire. From tackling and detaining an arsonist, to protecting Gareth from a gang of men with machetes in an armed robbery, Theo's bravery knew no bounds. Time and time again he put his own life at risk (often coming close to death) to save others. Even while off duty Theo has been a rock to his partner, providing emotional support as Gareth learned that some of the hardest battles aren't always on the front line. My Hero Theo is the heartwarming story of one man and his heroic dog - and the bond that sees them go above and beyond the call of duty to keep each other safe.

'There's water in the engine,' he said. 'The engine has stopped.' This changed everything... Surviving the Storms brings together incredible first-hand accounts of rescues carried out by the remarkable RNLI lifesavers. In this collection of heart-wrenching and life-affirming missions, we hear blow-by-blow descriptions of some of the most dramatic rescues from the last twenty years. We experience these through the eyes of the lifesavers as they must make life-or-death decisions, face fierce conditions and tackle difficult and dangerous situations. But we also see the optimism, passion and courage that is crucial to a successful rescue, and experience the genuine joy felt by the volunteer crews and lifeguards in being a part of something so important. Each remarkable story is one of bravery, jeopardy and an unrelenting commitment to battling the forces of nature and saving every life. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the RNLI - men, women, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers, all forming one big crew determined to protect perfect strangers. They are ordinary people doing the truly extraordinary.

Innocent is the shocking true story of little Molly and Kit, siblings, aged 3 years and 18 months, who are brought into care as an emergency after suffering non-accidental injuries. Aneta and Filip, the children's parents, are distraught when their children are taken into care. Aneta maintains she is innocent of harming them, while Filip appears bewildered and out of his depth. It's true the family has never come to the attention of the social services before and little Kit and Molly appear to have been well looked after, but Kit has a broken arm and bruises on his face. Could it be they were a result of a genuine accident as Aneta is claiming? Both children become sick with a mysterious illness while, experienced foster carer, Cathy, is looking after them. Very worried, she asks for more hospital tests to be done. They've already had a lot. When Cathy's daughter, Lucy, becomes ill too she believes she has found the cause of Kit and Molly's illness and the parents aren't to blame. However, nothing could be further from the truth and what comes to light is far more sinister and shocking.

The impossibly moving story of how Judy, World War Two's only animal POW, brought hope in the midst of hell. Judy, a beautiful liver and white English pointer, and the only animal POW of WWII, truly was a dog in a million, cherished and adored by the British, Australian, American and other Allied servicemen who fought to survive alongside her. Viewed largely as human by those who shared her extraordinary life, Judy's uncanny ability to sense danger, matched with her quick-thinking and impossible daring saved countless lives. She was a close companion to men who became like a family to her, sharing in both the tragedies and joys they faced. It was in recognition of the extraordinary friendship and protection she offered amidst the unforgiving and savage environment of a Japanese prison camp in Indonesia that she gained her formal status as a POW. Judy's unique combination of courage, kindness and fun repaid that honour a thousand times over and her incredible story is one of the most heartwarming and inspiring tales you will ever read.

** The true story that inspired the stage adaptation of the Amiri family's journey from Afghanistan to the UK, currently being performed at the Dorfman Theatre (National Theatre) in London between 1 October - 12 November 2022 following a sold-out run at the Wales Millennium Centre ** A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 29 JUNE - 3 JULY 2020 READ BY SANJEEV BHASKAR (GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME, THE KUMARS AT NO. 42 AND MORE) 'Enthralling ... A fascinating insight' Daily Mail 'An inspiring read' Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 Live A powerful tale of a family in crisis, and a moving love letter to the NHS. Herat, Afghanistan, 2000. A mother speaks out against the fundamentalist leaders of her country. Meanwhile, her family's watchful eyes never leave their beloved son and brother, whose rare heart condition means that he will never lead a normal life. When the Taliban gave an order for the execution of Hamed Amiri's mother, the family knew they had to escape, starting what would be a long and dangerous journey, across Russia and through Europe, with the UK as their ultimate destination. Travelling as refugees for a year and a half, they suffered attacks from mafia and police; terrifying journeys in strangers' cars; treks across demanding terrain; days spent hidden in lorries without food or drink; and being robbed at gunpoint of every penny they owned. The family's need to reach the UK was intensified by their eldest son's deteriorating condition, and the prospect of life-saving treatment it offered. The Boy with Two Hearts is not only a tale of a family in crisis, but a love letter to the NHS, which provided hope and reassurance as they sought asylum in the UK and fought to save their loved ones.

Discover a powerful collection of the hardships, hairbreadth escapes, and mortal struggles of enslaved people seeking freedom: These are the true stories of the Underground Railroad.

A secret network of safe houses, committees and guides that stretched well below the Mason-Dixon Line into the brutal slave states of the American South, the Underground Railroad remains one of the most impressive and well-organised resistance movements in modern history. It facilitated the escape of over 30,000 slave 'passengers' through America and into Canada during its peak years of 1850-60, and, in total, an estimated 100,000 slaves found their freedom through the network.

Abridged from William Still's The Underground Railroad Records - an epic historical document that chronicles the first-hand stories of American slaves who escaped to freedom via the Underground Railroad - Passengers tells of the secret methods, risks and covert sacrifices that were made to liberate so many from slavery. From tales of men murdered in cold blood for their part in helping assist runaways and terrifyingly tense descriptions of stowaways and dramatic escape plans, to stories of families reunited and the moments of absurdity that the Underground Railroad forced its 'passengers' to sometimes endure, Still's narratives testify to the humanity of this vast enterprise.

Mary Elmes was a brilliant young woman from Cork who ventured into war zones to rescue children in trouble. When she learned that children in war-torn Europe were getting hurt, she wanted to help. She wasn't a doctor or a nurse, but she was a great organiser and soon she was running several hospitals, where she made sure there was always time for toys and play. Knowing that Jewish people were in grave danger, she even risked everything to smuggle children to safety in the boot of her car. She was arrested and imprisoned but nothing could stop her from returning to the children as soon as she was released. Through the voices of real children she saved, Miss Mary tells the magical story of one woman's love for children, and the lengths Miss Mary went to protect and comfort them.

In her captivating memoir Through the Leopard's Gaze, Njambi McGrath details the harrowing circumstances of her life as a young girl in Kenya, who one fateful night was beaten to a pulp and left for dead. Thirteen-year-old Njambi, fearing her assailant would return to finish her, courageously escaped, walking through the night in the Kenyan countryside, risking wild animals, robbers and murderers, before being picked up by two shabbily dressed but safe men. She buries the memories of that fateful day and night, and years later ends up in London with a British husband and children. Then one day a simple unassuming wedding invitation arrives in her mailbox causing her to have to confront the remnants of a past she had thought was behind her. This is a book about survival, and courage when all else fails. It's a searingly honest examination of human cruelty and strength in equal measure.

When therapist-in-training, James O'Neill, starts his placement at a therapy centre in West London, his first referral is Abraham, a silent and frightened young man in a tightly zipped, hooded anorak. After spending the majority of their initial sessions in silence, O'Neill gradually gains Abraham's trust and learns of the abuse and violence he was subjected to as a child that caused him to hide away from the world - barely sleeping, too frightened to get undressed and shower, anything that might make him that vulnerable. Over the many years they meet, Abraham's unfolding story and bravery inspires O'Neill to confront his own complicated past. Abraham's courage to stand up to, and become intimate with, his fears teaches O'Neill to do the same. Undressing is at once a case-history, a novella, and something more than either: a remarkable story of two people drawn to each other for different reasons, discovering through trust how redemptive therapy can be.

THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE for anyone who thinks they'd survive the world's most hostile environments - or at least imagine they could do. ----------------------------- First issued to airmen in the 1950s, the Air Ministry's Sea Survival guide includes original and authentic emergency advice to crew operating over the ocean. With original illustrations and text, these survival guides provide an insight to military survival techniques from a by-gone era. Packed with original line drawings and instruction in: - The best faces to pull to prevent frostbite and when you can expect bits of you to 'fall off', should you fail - How to build a structurally sound igloo - How to fashion a mask to prevent snowblindness Focussing on the harshest of situations one can find oneself in, Arctic Survival is one of four reprints of The Air Ministry's emergency survival pamphlets. Others include: Jungle Survival Desert Survival Arctic Survival

Experienced foster carer, Rosie Lewis, takes on the heart-breaking case of Megan, a baby born with a drug addiction and a cleft palate. Addicted to drugs from birth because of her mother's substance abuse during pregnancy, new-born Megan is taken into Rosie's loving care. Rosie is supposed to help Megan find her new permanent home, but it turns out that Megan has already found her 'forever mummy' in Rosie. Rosie grows incredibly attached to Megan and applies to adopt her, but the system refuses her in favour of a young couple and Rosie is devastated. Against all her instincts, Rosie does her job and prepares Megan for her new 'forever family', but everything about Megan leaving feels wrong. When Rosie learns a few months later that Megan's adoption has broken down, she is saddened but also filled with hope - will this little girl be allowed to return to her true 'forever home'?

`Moving - at times almost unbearably so - and fascinating' Antonia Fraser A family's story of human tenacity, faith and a race for survival in the face of unspeakable horror and cruelty perpetrated by the Nazi regime against the Jewish people. Growing up in the safety of Britain, Jonathan Wittenberg was deeply aware of his legacy as the child of refugees from Nazi Germany. Yet, like so many others there is much he failed to ask while those who could have answered his questions were still alive. After burying their aunt Steffi in the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, Jonathan, now a rabbi, accompanies his cousin Michal as she begins to clear the flat in Jerusalem where the family have lived since fleeing Germany in the 1930s. Inside an old suitcase abandoned on the balcony they discover a linen bag containing a bundle of letters left untouched for decades. Jonathan's attention is immediately captivated as he tries to decipher the faded writing on the long-forgotten letters. They eventually draw him into a profound and challenging quest to uncover the painful details of his father's family's history. Through the wartime correspondence of his great-grandmother Regina and his grandmother, aunts and uncles, Jonathan weaves together the strands of an ancient rabbinical family with the history of Europe during the Second World War and the unfolding policies of the Nazis, telling the moving story of a family whose lives are as fragile as the paper on which they write, but whose faith in God remains steadfast.

'He pushed open the door, and I saw that he was pulling something out of a bag he was carrying. It was a gun - a sawn-off shotgun.' Featured on ITV's Lorraine with Michael Sheen and Rachel Williams. Darren was funny and attractive, and 21-year-old Rachel fell head-over-heels for him; it wasn't long before they moved in together, and she fell pregnant with his child. But his inner demons soon surfaced... Weakened and alone, Rachel was beaten and tormented by him for 18 years, until one day, Darren turned up at her place of work with a shotgun and left her for dead. But her ordeal wasn't over... Devastating yet inspiring, Rachel's story of hope tells of how you can always find the light, even in the very darkest of times. 'Incredibly poignant and powerful.' - Victoria Derbyshire 'Transformative. Life changing.' - Michael Sheen

* * * Special 75th Anniversary Edition * * * Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man tells the story of the rescue in May 1940 of British soldiers fleeing capture and defeat by the Nazis at Dunkirk. Dunkirk was not just about what happened at sea and on the beaches. The evacuation would never have succeeded had it not been for the tenacity of the British soldiers who stayed behind to ensure they got away. Men like Sergeant Major Gus Jennings who died smothering a German stick bomb in the church at Esquelbecq in an effort to save his comrades, and Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews VC who single-handedly held back a German attack on the Dunkirk perimeter thereby allowing the British line to form up behind him. Told to stand and fight to the last man, these brave few battalions fought in whatever manner they could to buy precious time for the evacuation. Outnumbered and outgunned, they launched spectacular and heroic attacks time and again, despite ferocious fighting and the knowledge that for many only capture or death would end their struggle. 'A searing story . . . both meticulous military history and a deeply moving testimony to the extraordinary personal bravery of individual soldiers' Tim Gardam, The Times 'Sebag-Montefiore tells [the story] with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail and an inexhaustible appetite for tracking down the evidence' Richard Ovary, Telegraph Hugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and then an author. He wrote the best-selling Enigma: The Battle for the Code. One of his ancestors was evacuated from Dunkirk.

A heartwarming true animal story, for fans of A Dog's Purpose, A Street Cat Named Bob and Marley & Me. In the 54 years she has run the Barby Keel Animal Sanctuary, deep in the Kent countryside, Barby has taken in all manner of animals in need of love, care and a second chance at life. She thinks she's seen it all until Gabby, a scruffy, golden-haired terrier, arrives on her doorstep. Trembling, her eyes wide with fear, Gabby is unable to play with other dogs and is completely mute. When Barby discovers that Gabby has been kept locked indoors her whole life, all becomes clear - Gabby has never learnt to be a dog. Soon Barby has fallen in love with this strange little mutt and is determined to help her connect with her true nature. But when tragedy befalls Barby, it is not only Gabby but the entire animal sanctuary that's at stake... A Street Cat Named Bob meets Marley & Me, this is an emotional, joyful true story of the deepest bond that exists between humans and animals.

An astonishing true story of mountaineering survival On 5 January 2003, former Special Forces soldier Ken Jones was caught in a devastating avalanche as he climbed in the frozen wilderness of Romania's Transylvanian Alps. Flung from a cliff, he regained consciousness to find himself shrouded in darkness, separated from his supplies, suffering from overexposure in the sub zero-temperatures and in horrendous pain from a broken leg and shattered pelvis. Heavily frostbitten and bleeding internally, Ken dragged himself to safety over three agonizing days only to discover that his true ordeal had yet to begin. His account of life saving surgery and his battle to walk again is a classic tale of triumph over adversity and what it means to never give up. Heart stopping and inspiring to the very last page, Ken Jones's story of endurance and survival is an unforgettable testament to the strength of the human spirit.

An extraordinary novel based on an incredible true story of love, resilience, survival and hope. Perfect for fans of THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, THE VOLUNTEER and THE LIBRARIAN OF AUSCHWITZ. _______________________________ Against all odds, love will lead them home. Shurka, her husband and their two small children never thought the war would reach their remote Polish village. They were wrong. Forced to flee their family home, they find shelter with their fellow Jews in the ghetto - but every night more and more people disappear, taken away on trucks to never be seen again. As terrible rumours of extermination camps swirl, Shurka realises that the longer they stay in the ghetto, the lower their chances of survival. Their best hope is to flee into the Polish forest, where Jewish resistance fighters hold out against Nazi search parties. Their new life is precarious in the extreme - and will test them more than they ever thought possible... Even in the dark, hope can be found. _______________________________ Surviving The War is the international Amazon bestselling survival and holocaust story, based on an incredible true story and previously published as Surviving The Forest. It has been translated into English from the original Hebrew.

The author's title is the true account of the traumatised memory of the people of at least five townships in the Vaal. They made it happen; they suffered the consequences; they are remembered. They're burning the churches is written in the downfall of apartheid. The authors' unbiased historical record regarding important events such as the Sharpeville Six trail, the Delmas Treason trial, the 1984 uprising that led to international sanctions against South Africa, the first-ever army invasions of the Vaal townships, and the still controversial Boipatong massacre that stopped the negotiations for a new South Africa for at least six months.

It's a tennis story. It's a family story. It's a teamwork story. It's the story of how I got to where and who I am today. I'm only in my mid-twenties, and some might think that's young to write a memoir. But it's important to reflect on every part of the journey, especially the end. The timing is perfect to share my story, from the first time I picked up a racquet as a five-year-old girl in Ipswich to the night I packed up my tennis bag at Melbourne Park after winning the 2022 Australian Open. Now I can look back at the 20 years in between and think carefully through the work and the play, the smiles and the tears, and all the people who helped along the way, be it my first ever coach, Jim Joyce, or my longtime one, Craig Tyzzer. My Dream Time follows me on my path to being the best I could be, not just as an athlete but as a person. How do you conquer nerves and anxiety? How do you deal with defeat, or pain? What drives you to succeed - and what happens when you do? The answers tell me so much, about bitter disappointments and also dreams realised - from injuries and obscurity and self-doubt to winning Wimbledon and ranking number 1 in the world. My story is about the power and joy of doing that thing you love and seeing where it can take you. It's about the importance of purpose - and perspective - in our lives.

A thrilling account of two friends kayaking 1000 miles though the Inside Passage of BC and southeast Alaska. This is a story of exploration and adventure, with rough seas, calving glaciers, bear encounters and persistently bad weather. But equally enjoyable is the story of this dramatic and culturally rich region, which the author weaves fluidly throughout the book. With flowing prose and non-technical language, the author provides a fundamental understanding of the area's rain forest, glaciers, wildlife and both past and present cultures. In addition to maps, instructive sidebars offer further information and tips about the many issues that arise while discovering the beauty and danger of this region. History buffs will like the many stories about the Pacific Northwest's early explorers; sea kayakers will benefit from the kayaking information; wilderness adventure buffs will be inspired by the exciting tale of paddling the Inside Passage. This book is sure to appeal to many and be enjoyed by all.

In Shackleton's Forgotten Men Lennard Bickel honours the memory of a group of men who carried out some of the most heroic and devoted journeys ever made in the Antarctic. This is the stirring account of the little-known, tragic expedition launched by Ernest Shackleton in 1915 to provide support for his own Antarctic expedition that would follow.These journeys were made to set up depots across the Great Ice Shelf to supply the coming Shackleton expedition: a crossing of the Antarctic continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. But the group lost their ship and supplies when a fierce polar gale ripped the ship from its moorings, and had to haul sledges almost 2000 miles across the hostile interior of the Antarctic. Despite enduring unimaginable deprivation, from bad weather to disease and madness, this heroic band accomplished their mission, laying the way for Shackleton and his men. But Shackleton and his men never came and the drama of their own disastrous journey has until now overshadowed the extraordinary story of those brave men who came before them. Lennard Bickel tells the story of these forgotten heroes in a gripping account, drawing largely from interviews with one team member, Dick Richards, and from the diary of another. This new account underscores the capacity of ordinary men for tragedy, endurance and noble action.

'I was the shadow child no one ever saw...' From the day she was born until she escaped aged 30, Katy Morgan-Davies knew nothing but a life in captivity. Her father was the deluded and cruel leader of a cult based in South London who brainwashed those around him. Her father's paranoia and his need to completely control others led to Katy being imprisoned indoors and denied any kind of love or friendship. From a young age, Katy's father subjected her to violence and mental abuse. She was not permitted contact with anyone outside the house and on the rare occasions she did have to go out, she was always chaperoned. Katy never gave up hope of one day breaking free from her father's cruel clutches and finally found her freedom. This is her true story of endurance and survival.

"A classic… historical writing at its best – and at the same time, one of the most chilling books I have aver read."
SEBASTIAN JUNGER, author of 'The Perfect Storm'

"Superbly readable… he gives us, in fascinating detail, the stark, bloodstained true story… Philbrick's book is more than a piece of elegantly written maritime history… It is a compelling study of the infinite human meanings of the sea itself."
ANDREW RISSIN, 'Guardian'

The sinking of the Nantucket whaleship 'Essex' by an enraged spermwhale far out in the Pacific in November 1820 set in train one of the most dramatic sea stories of all time. Accounts of the unprecedented whale attack inspired Herman Melville's mighty novel 'Moby Dick', but 'In the Heart of the Sea' goes beyond these events to describe what happened when the twenty mixed-race crewmen took to three small boats and what, three months later, the whaleship 'Dauphin', cruising of the coast of South America, discovered when it spotted a tiny boat sailing erratically across the open ocean.

"The approach is unusual and fresh, the book intelligent, probing, scholarly, gripping and satisfying. It sets a new mark for maritime literature, away from the traditional adventure pattern… much of the literary excellence of 'In the Heart' lies in its fine and introspective passages… Philbrick relishes words and language, and skilfully uses them to carry the reader into cubby-holes of darker causes and effects."
ANNIE PROULX, 'Irish Times'

John R. Jewitt's story of being captured and enslaved by Maquinna, the great chief of the Mowachaht people, is both an adventure tale of survival and an unusual perspective on the First Nations of the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. On March 22, 1803, while anchored in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the "Boston" was attacked by a group of Mowachaht warriors. Twenty-five of her 27 crewmen were massacred, their heads "arranged in a line" for survivor John R. Jewitt to identify. Jewitt and another survivor, John Thompson, became 2 of some 50 slaves owned by the chief known as Maquinna. Among other duties, they were forced to carry wood for three miles and fight for Maquinna when he slaughtered a neighbouring tribe. But their worst fear came from knowing that slaves could be killed whenever their master chose. Since most of the Mowachaht wanted the two whites dead, they never knew what would come first--freedom or death. After Jewitt was rescued, following 28 months in captivity, he wrote a book of his experiences. It appeared in 1815 and became known as "Jewitt's Narrative." It proved so popular that it is still being reprinted today.