With the help of friends who recognized her extraordinary talent, Althea Gibson rose from a childhood of playing stickball on Harlem streets to claim victory at Wimbledon. It is widely recognized that her sacrifices along the way paved the road for the successes of Venus and Serena Williams. But Althea's was a victory hard fought and painfully won.

She had no idea the turn her life would take when she met Angela Buxton at the French Indoor Championships. Despite her athletic prowess, Althea was shunned by the other female players. Her failing was her skin color. Angela, the granddaughter of Russian Jews, was also shunned. Her failing was her religion. Finding themselves without doubles partners, the pair decided to join forces, and together they triumphed, going on to win the 1956 championship at Wimbledon. The two women would become lifelong friends, and Angela would prove to be among Althea's greatest supports during her darkest times.

Gibson died in 2003, but her life and her contributions to tennis and race relations in the United States are well preserved in this valuable book. Bruce Schoenfeld delivers not only the true story of Gibson's life but also an inspiring account of two underdogs who refused to let bigotry win -- both on and off the courts.

Also Available as an eBook

Friendship• Love• Fear• Death•

Here, back in print at last, is Dennis Smith's American classic: a searing vision of urban American through the eyes of a silent hero, a New York City fireman stationed in the South Bronx.

Report From Engine Co. 82

This could be the night reads the sign above the firehouse door. And, indeed, with the introspection of a man prepared to face death with every alarm bell, Dennis Smith turns his observant eye upon the lives he unflinchingly places before his own. From his bawdy and brave fellow firefighters, to the hopeful, hateful, beautiful, and beleaguered residents of the poverty-stricken district where he works, this is the compelling human story of the most brutalizing-and most rewarding-profession in the country.

Now reissued with a new introduction by the author, Report From Engine Co. 82 is a tense, violent, poignantly written account from the front lines...where fire illuminates a battered city and heroes are made of ordinary men.

An Alternate Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club®

'One of the greatest escape stories I've ever read' Mail on Sunday An ordinary man's extraordinary escape from Mao's brutal labour camps Xu Hongci was an ordinary medical student when he was incarcerated under Mao's regime and forced to spend years of his youth in China's most brutal labour camps. Three times he tried to escape. And three times he failed. But, determined, he eventually broke free, travelling the length of China, across the Gobi desert, and into Mongolia. It was one of the greatest prison breaks of all time, during one of the worst totalitarian tragedies of the 20th Century. This is the extraordinary memoir of his unrelenting struggle to retain dignity, integrity and freedom; but also the untold story of what life was like for ordinary people trapped in the chaos of the Cultural Revolution.

This is the true-life story of a Polish girl soldier who fought for her country and lost her homeland; told through numerous vivid personal experiences. Aged 14 'Wira' became a freedom fighter and later played her part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Liberated from a POW camp she began a new life in exile as a political refugee in England. - Danuta's story begins with her childhood years in German-occupied Warsaw. She was ten in 1939 when her family home in central Warsaw was destroyed. Her mother turned to smuggling to feed the family as they struggled to survive. The Germans closed down Danuta's school in an effort to destroy Poland's identity. Aged 14 she watched smoke rising from the burning Jewish Ghetto. The terror continued as Poles were rounded-up for forced labour. Flickering candles covered the streets where public executions had taken place. Warsaw's spirit was almost broken, but Danuta refused to be a victim and dreamed of fighting back. The opportunity arrived when she was recruited into the Grey Ranks, part of Poland's underground resistance army, within an all-female unit. She assumed the pseudonym 'Wira' (pronounced Vera) and began her assigned sabotage activities, duties which had to be kept secret even from her own family. - One year later the Warsaw Uprising erupted and the city became an inferno. Abandoned by the outside world, the Polish Home Army resisted the brutal German onslaught for 63 days. Wira, then aged 15, played her part in the field Post Office, in the underground cellars filled with terrified civilians, and on the front line. Wira's survival was remarkable, but at what cost? - Wira became a POW in Germany joining over 1,700 Polish female soldiers of the Uprising at Stalag VI-C, Oberlangen. Following their emotional liberation, Wira met a Polish officer serving with the 2nd Polish Corps within the British 8th Army. Faced with a hostile, Soviet-backed communist government in Poland, they took the difficult decision to remain in political exile in Britain. - The early years in a foreign land were difficult and the Poles formed close communities, gradually finding a place for themselves. Wira could never forget the past. In post-war years, Wira revisited her homeland and continued to work for her country's freedom. - In later years Wira was reunited with co-conspirators from the resistance. Finally, after 50 years of oppression, Poland became free again, the Warsaw Uprising was commemorated and Wira was honoured by her country. Now aged 86 she reflects on her life, still resolute that the Warsaw Uprising was inevitable. - About the Author: George Szlachetko is Wira's son. He was born in Ealing, West London where he still lives with his family. Having received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Birmingham, he pursued a career in finance. Over the course of three years George interviewed his mother, who also lives in Ealing, about her extraordinary life. He conducted additional research, visited archives and made a number of trips to Poland to illuminate the background to her life story.

Soldier Magazine's Book of the Month Fascinating... Incredibly dangerous. The Times Gripping. Adrenalin fuelled true-life account with all the makings of a military thriller. The action unfolds like a Le Carre novel. Soldier Magazine 'If there are young women with children trapped in that hell and we can get them out, don't we have a duty to do so?' Hearing terrifying stories first-hand from naive young girls who'd been tricked, abused and enslaved by ISIS, ex-British Army soldier John Carney set up a high-risk operation to rescue as many as he could. This is the breath-taking true story of how he repeatedly led his men behind enemy lines into the Syrian lead storm to liberate women and children, delivering them to de-radicalization programmes and fair trials. Believing that 'every person we can bring back is living proof that ISIS is a failure', Carney tackles the complex issue of Jihadi Brides head on, as he and his men endanger their lives, not always returning safely home.

"I am just an ordinary mum, yet I would go to the ends of the earth to get justice for my daughter. If I can change the way people are treated, then Jodey will not have died in vain. I now feel that this was her destiny; to change the lives of millions of others." While Jodey Whiting was stuck in hospital battling pneumonia over Christmas, a letter dropped on her doormat from the Department of Work and Pensions, asking her to attend an assessment. It was a letter she never saw. Despite suffering from major health problems and needing daily care, the powers-that-be callously halted benefit payments for the mum-of-nine. While waiting for her appeal, and with no money coming in, Jodey killed herself, aged just 42. Another DWP letter pronouncing her 'fit to work' was sent to her home three days after her tragic death. A Mother's Job is the story of how Jodey's mum Joy Dove, 67, took on the system - and won justice for her daughter. A former cleaner and shop-worker, she is intimidated by nothing and nobody. Joy reveals how she struggled to raise her family, as a single mother, living on the now notorious: 'Benefits Street' estate in Stockton-on-Tees. Of how Jodey, her middle daughter, developed problems including curvature of the spine, a brain cyst, and bipolar and personality disorders and how, as her health deteriorated, Joy became her unofficial carer, visiting several times a day. Jodey left farewell notes following her suicide, warning that her youngest son, Cory, a twin, was particularly vulnerable. Tragically, her premonition was realised when, unable to cope with his grief, he died from a drug overdose, aged 19, in May 2020. Joy felt that the DWP had stolen two members from her family. An inquiry after Jodey's death found the DWP had failed to follow its own safeguarding practice. It issued an apology and compensation. The case was discussed in Parliament where the Prime Minister labelled it 'appalling.' Joy launched 'Justice For Jodey' which aims to hold the DWP to account and to prevent other tragedies. She met other grieving families and her campaign saw her take centre stage at the Labour Party conference and argue her case in the High Court.

In 1922 a journalist commented on British tenacity to General Bruce, leader of the British Everest Expedition. Bruce replied with a single word: 'Shackleton'. Ernest Shackleton is one of history's great explorers, an extraordinary Edwardian character who pioneered the path to the South Pole and became a leading figure in Antarctic discovery. His incredible adventures on four expeditions to the Antarctic have captivated generations. A restless adventurer from an Irish background, he joined the Empire's last great endeavour of exploration - to reach the South Pole with Scott on the Discovery expedition. A clash with Scott led to Shackleton being ordered home and a bitter feud. Shackleton's riposte was the Nimrod expedition, which uncovered the route to the Pole, achieved the first fixing of the South Magnetic Pole, and honed the acclaimed leadership skills which kept despair at bay and encouraged men to overcome unimaginable hardship on the Endurance expedition. But Shackleton was a flawed character whose chaotic private life contrasted with celebrity status as the leading explorer. Persistent money problems left his men unpaid and his family with debts.This first comprehensive biography in a generation brings a fresh perspective to the heroic age of Polar exploration dominated by Shackleton's complex, compelling and enduringly fascinating story.

Jaco van Gass was 23 when he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan in 2009. Losing his left arm to the blast, he sustained life-threatening injuries that stopped his heart twice; yet by a miracle - and the skill of the medics treating him - he survived. Against all the odds, Jaco has fought to build a post- injury life as an adventurer and professional athlete, a journey that has taken him from the slopes of the world's highest mountains to the North Pole, from the Carretera Austral to international cycling competitions in an Olympic velodrome. In his inspirational autobiography, Jaco tells his compelling and inspiring story, starting with his childhood in South Africa and ending on the podium in Tokyo. Shedding light on the potholes and pitfalls encountered along the way, he paints a vivid picture of the harshness of Basic Training, the cruel realities of war, the struggle to rebuild his life after losing a limb, the energy-sapping cold experienced at 6,000 metres above sea level, and the complexities of navigating the world of British Cycling. From the dust of the Afghan desert to the blinding whiteness of the North Pole, Jaco's story is one of horror and of great hope, of near-death escapes and of fierce resolve, and, above all, his unequivocal determination to succeed. Jaco has overcome extraordinary odds, not only in refusing to let injury define his life, but in going on to tackle challenges of which few people would even dream. Not just for adventure and military enthusiasts, Unequivocal is for any reader looking for an honest, inspiring voice that will encourage them to live life to the full.

The inspiring, heartwarming true story of Barney and Kada Miller. This couple prove that love and resilience can change everything. As a 20-year-old, David 'Barney' Miller was one of the best surfers on the New South Wales mid-north coast. He was looking to go professional. But when a workmate lost control of their car, flipped it and slammed into a tree, Barney was trapped in the wreckage. He was told he would never breathe independently or use his legs again. Refusing to give in, he defied the doctors through self-belief, hard work and sheer guts. But he still wasn't able to walk. Barney plunged into a depression many thought he wouldn't emerge from. Then he met Kada, a beautiful girl from a country town who dreamed of becoming a singer. Kada had moved to the coast to escape her own troubled life. When Barney met Kada they fell in love. She didn't see his wheelchair, she saw the man he was. Barney saw everything Kada was and everything she could be. With Barney's support, Kada has now released her first album, and she was there to cheer Barney on as he claimed a gold medal at the World Adaptive Surfing Championships. Together they believe anything is possible. Every day they prove that is true. 'You can wake up every now and then and think the world's against you. But you look at Barney and he's still smiling and 100 per cent ... He's definitely a huge inspiration in my life.' Mick Fanning, 3 x Surfing World Champion 'relentless and uplifting' HERALD SUN on the documentary YOU AND ME

Inspiring the film starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, and directed by Stephen Frears, Philomena is the tale of a mother and a son whose lives were scarred by the forces of hypocrisy on both sides of the Atlantic and of the secrets they were forced to keep. With a foreword by Judi Dench, Martin Sixsmith's book is a compelling and deeply moving narrative of human love and loss, both heartbreaking yet ultimately redemptive. When she fell pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena Lee was sent to the convent at Roscrea in Co. Tipperary to be looked after as a fallen woman. She cared for her baby for three years until the Church took him from her and sold him, like countless others, to America for adoption. Coerced into signing a document promising never to attempt to see her child again, she nonetheless spent the next fifty years secretly searching for him, unaware that he was searching for her from across the Atlantic. Philomena's son, renamed Michael Hess, grew up to be a top Washington lawyer and a leading Republican official in the Reagan and Bush administrations. But he was a gay man in a homophobic party where he had to conceal not only his sexuality but, eventually, the fact that he had AIDS. With little time left, he returned to Ireland and the convent where he was born: his desperate quest to find his mother before he died left a legacy that was to unfold with unexpected consequences for all involved.

'A raw, honest rollercoaster that touches the heart' ***** 'Kate and her family's courageous battle over the last year is told with such candour' ***** 'Written from the heart with the will never to give up hope' ***** ........................ In March 2020, Kate Garraway's husband, Derek Draper, contracted Covid-19 and was placed in a medically-induced coma. Initially, Kate was told that he would not survive. A year later he was still in hospital. Now at home but requiring round-the-clock care, he is thought to be the UK's longest-fighting Covid-19 patient. In this intimate book, Kate shares her deeply personal story. As well as recounting how the illness took hold of their lives, she writes about how she is coping with the uncertainty of their future, how she's supporting her children through this traumatic time, how she has found strength in community and how she strives to hold on to hope even at the darkest of times. Covid-19 has affected everyone across the country in so many ways and Kate hopes that by revealing her own personal experience, it will give comfort to others. By sharing the lessons she has learnt along the way, it will help us all begin to try to re-build our lives. Kate's exceptional courage, positivity and warmth shine through on every page, making The Power of Hope a truly inspiring read that will resonate with all of us whose lives continue to be touched by the virus. THIS EDITION IS UPDATED, WITH NEW MATERIAL ABOUT CARING FOR DEREK AT HOME.

'POWERFUL AND SOMETIMES SHOCKING ...' SUNDAY TIMES In this powerful book, Dr Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights lawyer and activist, tells of her fight for reform inside Iran, and the devastating backlash she faced after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Having fought tirelessly for democracy, equality before the law and freedom of speech, Ebadi became a global voice of inspiration. Yet, inside her own country, her life has been plagued by surveillance, intimidation and violence. Until We Are Free tells shocking stories of how the Iranian authorities eventually forced her into exile. Her sister and daughter were detained, her husband was enmeshed in an espionage plot with another woman, her Nobel medal was stolen from her safety deposit box, and her offices in Tehran were ransacked. An illuminating depiction of life in Iran today as well as the account of Ebadi's personal struggle to uphold her work and keep her family together, Until We Are Free is ultimately a work of hope and perseverance under circumstances of exceptional difficulty.

Joanne Phillips' ordeal began aged 13 when she was gang-raped in her bedroom by local boys. Following the trauma, she dropped out of school, was befriended by an older man and was forced into prostitution aged 16. Over the next six years, she was raped by over 500 men, starved, beaten, and transported around the country to brothels. Forced to have sex with men from all walks of life including lawyers, stockbrokers, doctors, a parish councillor, Joanne was even made to have sex with her former school headteacher - who didn't recognise her. Every attempt to flee failed. Police warned her mother and stepdad she had chosen the lifestyle and even threatened to charge her parents with living off immoral earnings if they allowed her to move back. Escape seemed impossible, until one day she couldn't take any more. Just before her 21st birthday, Joanne eventually escaped her enslavement. After being left alone briefly in a London flat, where she was expected to work, she took a chance after finding a bag of money and a handgun. Fearing for her life, she fled into the night with nothing but a plastic bag of cash. After catching a train to Northern Ireland, she found her real dad and hid at his home from her pimp. Desperate to readjust to normal life, she found a job and went on to study at university. But when she tried to explain to a new boyfriend about her past, he didn't believe any of it was true, so she vowed to keep the abuse a secret - until years later, a conversation with one of her own teenage daughters changed her life...

In July 2009, Geraint (Gez) Jones was sitting in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan with the rest of The Firm – Danny, Jay, Toby and Jake, his four closest friends, all junior NCOs and combat-hardened infantrymen. Thanks to the mangled remains of a Jackal vehicle left tactlessly outside their tent, IEDs were never far from their mind. Within days they’d be on the ground in Musa Qala with the rest of 3 Platoon – a mixed bunch of men Gez would die for.

As they fight furiously, are pushed to their limits, hemmed in by IEDs and hampered by the chain of command, Gez starts to wonder what is the point of it all. The bombs they uncover on patrol, on their stomachs brushing the sand away, are replaced the next day. Firefights are a momentary victory in a war they can see is unwinnable. Gez is a warrior – he wants more than this. But then death and injury start to take their toll on The Firm, leaving Gez with PTSD and a new battle just beginning.

Learn Resilience Through These Survival Stories #1 New Release in Disaster Relief Extreme Survival is the long awaited followup to New York Times best-selling author Michael Tougias's The Finest Hours. This thriller will have you mentally on the edge-of-your-seat as you read these true survival stories and learn useful survival techniques! Explore the stories and the causes of manmade disasters. To answer the question of why disasters happen and how some survive, Tougias interviewed over 100 people who survived against all odds, first chronicling their harrowing survival stories, and then discussing in detail the lessons learned. Both an exciting and informative read, this book provides the entertainment and exceptional research fans expect. Learn resilience through the mindset of a survivor. Tougias shares what a person is capable of when under pressure and facing different types of disasters. Surviving disasters requires extreme survival techniques to kick in at just the right time! All of Michael Tougias books have a level of deep survival laced within the pages. Learn how to rise against the odds in your personal and professional life. Inside, you'll find: Captivating and narrative survival stories told in true Tougias' trademark style Analysis of major man-made disasters and the faulty decisions that led to them First-person accounts and detailed survival tactics that can be utilized in your day-to-day life If you like non-fiction survival books like The Gift of Fear, Deep Survival, or If I Live Until Morning, you'll love Extreme Survival.

In the spring of 1944, nearly 500,000 Jews were deported from the Hungarian countryside and killed in Auschwitz. In Budapest, only 150,000 Jews survived both the German occupation and dictatorship of the Hungarian National Socialists, who took power in October 1944. Zsuzsanna Ozsvath's family belonged among the survivors. This memoir begins with the the author's childhood during the Holocaust in Hungary. It captures life after the war's end in Communist-ruled Hungary and continues with her and her husband's flight to Germany and eventually the United States. Ozsvath's poignant story of survival, friendship, and love provides readers with a rare glimpse of an extraordinary journey.

The "American Sniper" legacy continues: Taya Kyle celebrates the American Spirit in her inspiring new book Life leads us through difficult terrain. But what happens if you use challenge as an opportunity to discover your PURPOSE? These Americans did and are changing the world. After losing her husband, "American Sniper" Chris Kyle, bestselling author Taya Kyle entered a period of deep grief. And yet the experience served as a catalyst for profound growth. Taya found her own reserve of strength with the help of the generous love and support of family and friends-and also many strangers across America, who selflessly shared their own stories of suffering, survival, and triumph. Inspired by her experience, Taya discovered her calling: spreading a message of how love, passion, and service can combine to help us persevere over personal pain and heal our communities. Working with trusted collaborator Jim DeFelice (coauthor of American Sniper and American Wife), Taya tells her own story, as well as those of other Americans who have built extraordinary lives after traveling down life's most difficult roads-through loss, illness, all manner of setback. They embody the "American spirit" of resilience, faith, togetherness that has built the nation. American Spirit profiles more than 30 individuals, young and old, rich and not-so-rich, famous and unknown, who have overcome hardship and done extraordinary things for their communities and for the nation at large. The 9/11 survivor, badly burned over 60% of his body, who asked himself What debt do I owe to God? And to my fellow human beings? What am I supposed to do with this miracle of survival? The man with the hole in his heart who runs ultramarathons. The young cancer victim whose lemonade stand inspired a revolutionary new model for fighting cancer. The blind cyclist; the pastor who became an undercover investigator, and more. In the end, these stories teach us how to find purpose and heal the world, no matter the difficulty. "Every action, big or small," Taya writes, "has the potential to spark someone else's movement."

One of the first unaccompanied refugee children to enter the United States in 2000, after South Sudan's second civil war took the lives of most of her family, Rebecca's story begins in the late 1980s when, at the age of four, her village was attacked and she had to escape. WHAT THEY MEANT FOR EVIL is the account of that unimaginable journey. With the candor and purity of a child, Rebecca recalls how she endured fleeing from gunfire, suffering through hunger and strength-sapping illnesses, dodging life-threatening predators-lions, snakes, crocodiles, and soldiers alike-that dogged her footsteps, and grappling with a war that stole her childhood. Her story is a lyrical, captivating portrait of a child hurled into wartime, and how through divine intervention, she came to America and found a new life full of joy, hope, and redemption.

"A beautiful, wise book. It deals with the some of the grimmest aspects of human experience, but it is also one of the most genuinely up-lifting works I have read in years. Emma Brockes' superb, clear-eyed narration is an object lesson for any aspiring memoir-writer. She Left Me the Gun deserves to become a classic." Zoe Heller When Emma Brockes was ten years old, her mother said 'One day I will tell you the story of my life and you will be amazed.' Growing up in a tranquil English village, Emma knew very little of her mother's life before her. She knew Paula had grown up in South Africa and had seven siblings. She had been told stories about deadly snakes and hailstones the size of golf balls. There was mention, once, of a trial. But most of the past was a mystery. When her mother dies of cancer, Emma - by then a successful journalist at the Guardian - is free to investigate the untold story. Her search begins in the Colindale library but then takes her to South Africa, to the extended family she has never met and their accounts of a childhood so different to her own. She encounters versions of the life her mother chose to leave behind - and realises what a gift her mother gave her. Part investigation, part travelogue, part elegy, She Left Me the Gun is a gripping, funny and clear-eyed account of a writer's search for her mother's story.

Wheat Songs is a memoir of two interconnected Greek-American journeys-an actual physical journey for the grandfather, Pericles Rizopoulos, and a philosophical quest by the author, Perry Giuseppe Rizopoulos. When the grandfather, Pericles Rizopoulos, a proud old man, tells his fascinating, tragic and true stories of the Nazi occupation of Greece during World War II and the following Greek Civil War, to his 20-something grandson, Perry Giuseppe Rizopoulos, Perry's philosophical reflections on his grandfather's stories along with his own memories of growing up in his extended Greek/Italian/American family in the Bronx combine to create an enduring story about the strength created by a strong, tightly-knit family and the powerful values passed down from generation to generation.