The journal of an Englishman's solo trip across Northern India Have you ever considered visiting the Taj Mahal or exploring the pink city of Jaipur? Or maybe a trek to see a tiger in the wild is more to your taste? Join me on my adventures where I encounter colourful temples, tempting curries and eventful drives along some of the world's most dangerous roads.

Having skippered and delivered in excess of 750 Motor Cruisers over the past 40 years, totalling a distance equivalent to 29 times around the world, has provided me with a number of adventurous and sometimes hair-raising stories to tell. Thankfully, I have lived to tell the tales! "Homeward Bound" starts with daily notes of the author's last single-handed voyage from the south of France to the south coast of England. In between these notes he recalls some of his memorable adventures, which he tells in such a way that the reader could almost be there with him, often experiencing how quickly a difficult situation at sea can turn into a disastrous one. Although showing the serious side of sailing there is also a fair amount of humour in his writing. An enjoyable and entertaining read.

Featuring forewords from bandmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, this is the official and fully authorised biography of the world's most revered and celebrated drummer. Mid-1962. The newly formed Rolling Stones are on the hunt for a permanent drummer. Their sights are set on Charlie Watts, a jazz musician already well-known within London's rhythm and blues clubs. Fortunately for future Stones fans the world over, they persuade him to take on the job. Once installed at the drum seat, Charlie would not miss a beat for the rest of his life. He was there throughout the swinging sixties as the Stones reached superstardom and for the well-documented debauchery of the 1970s, typified by the iconic album Exile on Main St. Battling his own demons by the eighties, Charlie emerged unscathed, cementing his reputation as the thoughtful, cultured but no less compelling counterpoint to his more raucous bandmates. For almost 60 years - through all the band bust-ups, bereavements and changes in personnel both on stage and off - Charlie remained the rock at the heart of the Rolling Stones. At the same time, he was the antithesis of the rock-star archetype, an intensely private man who valued his family above all else. Drawing on new interviews with his family, friends and former bandmates - including Mick Jagger and Keith Richards - Charlie's Good Tonight is the remarkable life story of Charlie Watts: official, authorised and as it's never been told before.

Book of the Month, Countryside magazine '[this] fascinating new book... provides a detailed insight into the snow-white species' Waterways World A wildlife writer and photographer's celebration of the mute swan, Britain's most iconic breed, exploring the bird's significance across myth and history alongside vivid observations on its habits and habitats. The swan is both a lover and a fighter. A graceful angel and a clumsy oaf. Immortalized by artists over the ages yet misunderstood and threatened in the present day. The mute swan - with its orange beak and aura of stately silence - is the breed we know best in Britain. Dan Keel has been captivated by these birds since boyhood, studying their contrasting qualities over more than three decades. He's spent countless hours documenting their power, beauty and vulnerability as a writer of nature journalism, as a wildlife photographer looking for the perfect shot, and as a pilot sharing the skies. In this labour of love, Dan speaks up for the mute, answering the essential questions about its nature and its future. Along the way, weaving his first-hand observations into the narrative, he shows us how swans have been portrayed in myth, art and culture for millennia, and how they have been venerated and imitated as well as harmed by humans. Does anybody still eat swan? Can a swan really break your arm? Does the Queen own them all? With an eye for the humour as well as the tragedy of the swan's story, Dan lays out the facts, guides us to our lakes and riverbanks, and urges us to see these familiar creatures in a fresh light.

Eager Traveller was written for the grandchildren of the author in order that they should see how different life was fifty years ago. It is the story of a London child, dominated by a stern father, who spent much of her time in the company of loving relatives. On leaving school her father sent her into private service where she was the lowest of the low, and made to take orders from all and sundry. She enjoyed the travels of the great families and their families and their servants as they moved about the country following the huntin', shootin' and fishin' seasons. She married a farm worker and as there was little money she was unable to travel, so she became an "Armchair Traveller" until chance and someone's bad luck took her abroad for the first time at the age of forty-one. From then on travel came frequently and the greatest adventure came in 1971 when she took her family behind the Iron Curtain into Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. They found kind and happy people who, although they had known great sufferings, showed kindness to the "Engleski". A strong psychic thread runs through the story

Whatever happens in life, Rosemary Solomon has an amazing gift for finding God in there somewhere. Rosemary's Ramblings is a light-hearted look at the kind of everyday experiences that life throws at all of us. In this, her first book, she offers a collection of 45 Ramblings, each a short story in themselves. The book has appeal across the board. No previous knowledge of faith, God or the bible is required. Reverend Rosemary Solomon is a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the United Reformed Church. She shares her home and her life with her husband Jeff and greyhound Blackie (and God!).

In this landmark guide to the spiritual journey, respected Zen teacher and psychotherapist John Tarrant brings together ancient Eastern traditions and the Western passion for the soul. Using real-life stories, Zen tales, and Greek myths, The Light Inside the Dark shows how our darkest experiences can be the gates to wisdom and joy. Tarrant leads us through the inevitable descents of our journey--from the everyday world of work and family into the treasure cave of the interior life--from which we return with greater love of life's vivid, common gifts. Written with empathy and a poet's skill, The Light Inside the Dark is the freshest and most challenging work on the soul to he published in years.

A Doctor, A Lawyer, and an Accountant tell You Everything You Need To Know About What Men Want.

If you're like most women, you're in the dark about what men really think about love. This enormously helpful book takes you into the heart and mind of the single professional male to show you not only what but how he thinks about dating and being in love, about what turns him on, and what sends him running in the other direction.

Journalist Kate Young decided to combine the trip of a lifetime with a wacky writing challenge to raise money for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice on the Isle of Wight. Starting from post-Olympic Beijing, she lost her soul to the Mongolian steppes; survived the hurly-burly of Ulaanbaatar; escaped amorous advances near Lake Baikal and made it to the Tsarist majesty of Moscow in a poignant trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Football supporters, over the years, have garnered a pretty poor reputation, often regarded as anti-social yobs, or foul-mouthed hoodlums - and at times that reputation has been well deserved. Some supporters though, fare worse than others, and fans of Rangers Football Club seem to be particularly vilified, very often castigated en masse as nothing more than Neanderthal, knuckle-dragging, bigoted thugs. Well, I'm a Rangers fan and I'm none of the above! And neither, for that matter, are any of my friends or associates. Rangers' supporters are in fact just normal hard working folk who love their football team. This is my story, from a schoolboy in Clydebank, to a married man in East Calder. Growing up, maturing as I watch my football team. I experience sporting joy and triumph, just as I suffer pain and tragedy, my personal life intertwining with the fortunes of my favourites, the Rangers. It's off to the match I go - My journey with the 'Gers

From the #1 international bestselling author of The Revenant - the book that inspired the award-winning movie - comes the remarkable true story of the worst mining disaster in American history. In 1917, the lives of a company of miners changed forever when the underground labyrinth of tunnels in which they worked burst into flames. Within an hour, more than four hundred men would be locked in a battle to survive. Within three days, one hundred and sixty-four of them would be dead.

This is an autobiographical account of life in Covent Garden Market. It is illustrated throughout with drawings of both the traders who work there and also the amazing mix of people passing through. The story is told with humour and compassion.

From the #1 international bestselling author of THE REVENANT - the book that inspired the award-winning movie - comes the fascinating story of America's first battle over the environment. In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to twelve. In an era that treated the West as nothing more than a treasure chest of resources to be dug up and shot down, the buffalo was a commodity, hounded by hide hunters seeking to make their fortunes. Supporting them was the US Army, which considered the eradication of the buffalo essential to victory in its ongoing war on Native Americans. Into this maelstrom rode young George Bird Grinnell. A scientist and a journalist, a hunter and a conservationist, Grinnell would lead the battle to save the buffalo and preserve an American icon from extinction.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE KIDS WHO FOUND A FERRARI BURIED IN THEIR GARDEN? WHAT ABOUT THE MAN WHO SUED SATAN? DO YOU KNOW THE LEGEND OF THE BUNNY MAN? Strange happenings, unsolved mysteries and seemingly supernatural events have gripped and shocked us for centuries, passed from person to person in whispers in classrooms, tales around the campfire and idle gossip among friends. Whether they're based on a grain of truth or a complete flight of fancy, the myths, legends and weird tales contained within this book will take you on a fascinating journey to the outer limits of plausibility, and dare you to believe the unbelievable.

A true Christmas story of a family suffering their darkest moments finding strength and love from a surprise Christmas miracle. December 1999: It was the Christmas season, but Joanne Smith was numb. She wished she could just go to sleep and wake up on December 26. No singing. No laughter. No shopping. She typically enjoyed the holidays, but this year she couldn't celebrate. Her beloved husband of almost twenty years had died two months previously. What had once been a happy home was now devastated, leaving her and her three children drowning in grief. Until they were thrown a lifeline. Twelve days before Christmas, Jo was in the midst of rushing her kids to school, when she discovered a poinsettia sitting on her doorstep with a card, signed cryptically by her "true friends." That seemingly small gift was the turning point for the Smith family, as over the course of the twelve days of Christmas, a new gift arrived daily. The mystery of the Christmas presents - specifically, the generosity and kindness behind them - worked its magic on the Smiths as the family knitted back together. They rose out of their grief and latched onto the hope they suddenly felt again: that with love, with community, and with family, even the most broken hearts can be mended.

Wonder Boy is a riveting investigation into the turbulent life of Zappos visionary Tony Hsieh, whose radical business strategies revolutionized both the tech world and corporate culture, based on rigorous research and reporting by two seasoned journalists. Tony Hsieh's first successful venture was in middle school, selling personalized buttons. At Harvard, he made a profit compiling and selling study guides. In 1998, Hsieh sold his first company to Microsoft for $265 million. About a decade later, he sold online shoe empire Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion. The secret to his success? Making his employees happy. At its peak, Zappos's employee-friendly culture was so famous across the tech industry that it became one of the hardest companies to get hired at, and CEOs from other companies regularly toured the headquarters. But Hsieh's vision for change didn't stop with corporate culture: Hsieh went on to move Zappos headquarters to Las Vegas and personally funded a nine-figure campaign to revitalize the city's historic downtown area. There, he could be found living in an Airstream and chatting up the locals. But Hsieh's forays into community-revival projects spun out of control as his issues with mental health and addiction ramped up, creating the opportunity for more enablers than friends to stand in his mercurial good graces. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with a wide range of people whose lives Hsieh touched, journalists Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans craft a rich portrait of a man who was plagued by the pressure to succeed but who never lost his generous spirit.

A shocking and sizzling look at life as a sex addict. Shelley Matthews is married to her job as a journalist at a glossy women's magazine. Which is just as well as she hasn't had sex for over a year. But when her editor decides a re-vamp of the magazine is needed, Shelley is forced to go undercover - as a sex addict... Attending therapy sessions, Shelley meets a whole host of extraordinary characters. There's: Cian, lead singer of a hot new band, enjoying ALL the trappings of fame. Dominatrix Abigail, who finds that inflicting pain has become a necessary part of sex. Will, family man and serial adulterer. He knows his marriage is in jeopardy but he just can't help himself. Former porn star Rose who is only aroused when the cameras are rolling. Cliff and Cheryl, a swinger couple who prefer sleeping with strangers rather than with each other. Can Shelley keep her secret from the others as well as writing the story of the year? And most importantly can she keep her cool - and chastity - intact? And does she really want to?

'America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.' - Abraham Lincoln Is the story of the United States that of George Washington, John Adams and Barack Obama? Or of slave rebel Nat Turner, of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King? Or Sitting Bull and Al Capone? Or Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and OJ Simpson? Of course, it is the story of all these, of both civil war and world war, of gold rush and dust bowl, of the Pilgrim Fathers and religious cults, of Prohibition and the Mafia, of the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy-era witch-hunts. From the Iroquois and early European settlers to the Revolutionary War and Civil War, from slavery to segregation, from the frontier to the Reservations, The History of America is a chronological examination of the United States through politics, labour, big business, crime and culture. Featuring such varied characters as Thomas Jefferson and John Brown, Bugsy Siegel and J P Morgan, Calamity Jane, Chuck Berry and Bonnie & Clyde, it tells the story of the first 'new nation', the first major colony to revolt successfully against colonial rule, and how it became the world's most powerful country. Extensively researched and illustrated with 180 black-&-white artworks and illustrations, The History of America is a lively and fascinating account of the darker side of the story of the United States.

"An engrossing microcosm of the internet's Wild West years" (Kirkus Reviews), award-winning journalist David Kushner tells the incredible battle between the founder of Match.com and the con man who swindled him out of the website Sex.com, resulting in an all-out war for control for what still powers the internet today: love and sex.In 1994, visionary entrepreneur Gary Kremen used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com. Only five percent of Americans were using the internet at the time, and even fewer were looking online for love. He quickly bought the Sex.com domain too, betting the combination of love and sex would help propel the internet into the mainstream. Imagine Kremen's surprise when he learned that someone named Stephen Michael Cohen had stolen the rights to Sex.com and was already making millions that Kremen would never see. Thus follows the wild true story of Kremen's and Cohen's decade-long battle for control. In The Players Ball, author and journalist David Kushner provides a front seat to these must-read Wild West years online, when innovators and outlaws battled for power and money. This cat-and-mouse game between a genius and a con man changed the way people connect forever, and is key to understanding the rise and future of the online world. "Kushner delivers a fast-paced, raunchy tale of sex, drugs, and dial-up." --Publishers Weekly

Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2021 'To compare any book to a Sacks is unfair, but this one lives up to it . . . I finished it feeling thrillingly unsettled, and wishing there was more.' - James McConnachie, Sunday Times In Sweden, refugee children fall asleep for months and years at a time. In upstate New York, high school students develop contagious seizures. In the US Embassy in Cuba, employees complain of headaches and memory loss after hearing strange noises in the night. These disparate cases are some of the most remarkable diagnostic mysteries of the twenty-first century, as both doctors and scientists have struggled to explain them within the boundaries of medical science and - more crucially - to treat them. What unites them is that they are all examples of a particular type of psychosomatic illness: medical disorders that are influenced as much by the idiosyncratic aspects of individual cultures as they are by human biology. Inspired by a poignant encounter with the sleeping refugee children of Sweden, Wellcome Prize-winning neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan travels the world to visit other communities who have also been subject to outbreaks of so-called 'mystery' illnesses. From a derelict post-Soviet mining town in Kazakhstan, to the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua via an oil town in Texas, to the heart of the Maria Mountains in Colombia, O'Sullivan hears remarkable stories from a fascinating array of people, and attempts to unravel their complex meaning while asking the question: who gets to define what is and what isn't an illness? Reminiscent of the work of Oliver Sacks, Stephen Grosz and Henry Marsh, The Sleeping Beauties is a moving and unforgettable scientific investigation with a very human face. 'A study of diseases that we sometimes say are 'all in the mind', and an explanation of how unfair that characterisation is.' - Tom Whipple, The Times Books of the Year

What is it like learning from a mother who is privy to a whole different type of privilege than you? When was the first time you realised your boyfriend was dating you to satisfy some weird fetish? How demoralising was it to find out that Princess Jasmine, your sole claim to Disney royalty, was based on a white model? What impact did it have to play the entire Puerto Rican community in West Side Story in your local theatre group? And was Parvati Patil really such an appalling date for Harry? Part autobiography and part critical commentary, join Laila Woozeer as she blends together stories from her own life, looking specifically at the impact pop culture and media representation has on non-white people and the way they understand themselves, charting a narrative about being mixed race that stems from the 90s until the present day. Her book examines the multi-racial experience: the personal, emotional and psychological impact of being mixed, without being reduced to two separate representations of a person. In the UK alone, "mixed" is the fastest growing census category, and the number of mixed race people has risen by a quarter of a million in just 10 years. But even so, mixed people are placed outside of the conversation - they can speak directly to one of their communities but can't be all of them at the same time. Except, that is exactly how mixed people have to function all day, every day. Most of us agree that Representation Matters - but why? What does that actually mean? It's important to make these issues real - to attach them to a human emotion or personal journey lest they become an abstract phrase that just gets bandied around every time Hollywood release another Very White cast list. That's where Laila comes in: the face of the lived experience, sharing with you the cruelest and funniest moments of her life for your delectation. The book is routed in her own specific journey and introduces concepts as she chronologically learned of them. She incorporates child psychology, academic texts, and race theory without losing the personal connection, using anecdotes and experience to truly get to the core of the issues explored.

Capital DJ Roman Kemp has achieved much success but he hasn't had an easy ride. He's battled depression since the age of 15, once contemplated suicide, and has bravely fought to smash the stigma still surrounding medication and mental health. The lifelong Arsenal supporter grafted his way to Capital's highly coveted Breakfast slot - and pulled in record-beating listeners with his cheeky sense of humour. Who else could convince Ed Sheeran to tattoo Roman's leg on air, drive around London playing cab-roulette with James Corden, get Craig David to freestyle rap, or rope Lewis Capaldi into a life-drawing class? Then, in 2019, Roman won over yet more fans coming third in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, with his uncanny impressions of everyone from Ant and Dec to his mate Harry Styles. Here, for the first time, Roman's ready to reveal the things that weren't captured on camera, and how his time in the jungle changed his whole outlook on life. During the pandemic Roman's life changed when his best friend - the producer who'd nurtured his career every step of the way - tragically took his own life. Amidst the shock, loss and confusion, Roman bravely made a moving BBC3 documentary about the alarming rates of suicide amongst young males. He's well aware he too, could have been a statistic. In this page-turning book - peppered with hilarious and surprising anecdotes from his youth - Roman also unflinchingly tackles the taboo of suicide, in the hope that by talking about his own struggles and sharing advice, he can help others. Roman shares all the experiences that have shaped him, and why love, marriage and having his own family one day are so important to his future dreams.

Graham Morgan has an MBE for services to mental health, and helped to write the Scottish Mental Health (2003) Care and Treatment Act. This is the Act under which he is now detained. Graham's story addresses key issues around mental illness, a topic which is very much in the public sphere at the moment. However, it addresses mental illness from a perspective that is not heard frequently: that of those whose illness is so severe that they are subject to the Mental Health Act. Graham's is a positive story rooted in the natural world that Graham values greatly, which shows that, even with considerable barriers, people can work and lead responsible and independent lives; albeit with support from friends and mental health professionals. Graham does not gloss over or glamorise mental illness, instead he tries to show, despite the devastating impact mental illness can have both on those with the illness and those that are close to them, that people can live full and positive lives. A final chapter, bringing the reader up to date some years after Graham has been detained again, shows him living a fulfilling and productive life with his new family, coping with the symptoms that he still struggles to accept are an illness, and preparing to address the United Nations later in the year in his new role working with the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.