![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Fiction > True stories > General
This book commemorates the enduring legacy of the world's most famous ship - TITANIC. Her story is one of all those bound together on that fateful voyage. On board were: writers, artists, honeymooners, sportsmen, priests, reverends, fashion designers, aristocrats, millionaires, children, crew and emigrants looking for a better life. This book tells of their lives, and shines the spotlight on: Some of the great ship's surprising treasures Her feted voyage from Belfast's Harland & Wolff shipyard The fascinating museums devoted to her memory, including Titanic Belfast The iconic music and movies Her winged and four-legged passengers The sister ships of Olympic and Britannic Tales of heroism Theories surrounding Titanic's fatal collision The lifeboats and just how close the SS Californian was on that tragic night How Arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and the inquiries viewed events These stories and much more lie inside.
Kintsugi is die Japanese kunstegniek om ’n gebroke keramiekvoorwerp met
goud te herstel. Die tegniek maak ’n voorwerp mooier en meer kosbaar as
wat dit in ’n ongebroke toestand was. Met die regte ingrype kan
gebrokenheid waarde en skoonheid ontsluit. Hierdie idee is die draad
wat deur dié boek loop.
In January 2003 Asne Seierstad entered Baghdad on a ten-day visa. She was to stay for over three months, reporting on the war and its aftermath. A Hundred and One Days is her compelling account of a city under siege, and a fascinating insight into the life of a foreign correspondent. An award-winning writer, Seierstad brilliantly details the frustrations and dangers journalists faced trying to uncover the truth behind the all-pervasive propaganda. She also offers a unique portrait of Baghdad and its people, trying to go about their daily business under the constant threat of attack. Seierstad's passionate and erudite book conveys both the drama and the tragedy of her one hundred and one days in a city at war.
Twaalf ongelooflike vroue wat ’n verskil maak tussen die bendes, die werkloosheid en die koeëls. Atlantis is steeds die verlore stad, maar hierdie twaalf vroue se verhale inspireer. Hulle het besluit om nie moed op te gee nie. Hulle stories is dié van moed, optimisme en inspirasie. Dit is ’n moetlees vir almal wat glo dat liefde en geloof ’n verskil kán maak. Atlantis aan die Weskus was die breinkind van ’n vorige regering se “desentralisasiebeleid” – maar is tans die toonvenster van ontheemding. Uit hierdie wanhoop, brand dié twaalf vroue se stories soos fakkelligte in ’n lang, donker nag. Hulle is: Francis Brown, Mary-Ann Cedras, Chrissie Cloete, Mandy Jonker, Christine Lewis, Sylvia Losper, Lenie Maya, Carol Muller, Sillene Oppel, Olivia Pharo, Mary Tenggren en Rachael Watson.
It's not just a war over horses. It's a battle for the soul of Australia. This is a book about the intense culture war raging around Australia's wild horses, known as brumbies. It pits a vision of the legendary Man from Snowy River and the iconic ANZAC Light Horse against the spectre of ecosystems destroyed by feral pests. The debate involves powerful politicians and media commentators, and stars an animal mythologised in Australian poetry and prose. But in essence, this is about us. The Brumby Wars is about Australians at war with each other over their vision of an ideal Australia. To ecologists and people who ski, walk and fish in the High Country and other areas where the brumbies proliferate, they are a feral menace which must be removed to save delicate alpine landscapes. To the descendants of cattle families and many Australians in urban and regional areas, brumbies are untouchable, a symbol of wildness and freedom. Something has to give. But what? The land or the horses? This war is set to escalate dramatically before we have an answer. Featuring interviews with characters from all sides of the debate, The Brumby Wars is the riveting account of a major national issue and the very human passions it inspires. It is also a journey, a quest to understand what makes us tick in our increasingly polarised country. Praise for Anthony Sharwood's From Snow to Ash 'Makes for inspirational reading' West Australian 'A distinctive, charming narrative ... a thinking, caring man's trek' Canberra Times 'A joyous read with personality in spades ... A book for the adventurer in us all' Australian Geographic
A guide to all things aphrodisiac, Edible Pleasures is the perfect book to whet the appetite and satiate the senses. aimed at the more discerning gourmand, Edible Pleasures offers an irresistible guide to the unbreakable bond between food and love. From the poetic to the philosophical, the absurd to the abstruse, indulge in scientific, gastronomic and cultural histories, accompanied by an a-z of aphrodisiacs with a side order of seductive recipes. lovingly combining delicacies from The Taste of a Kiss by Martial to Madame Pompadour's Asparagus Tips, by way of South Park's Hot Salty Chocolate Balls, Edible Pleasures is bound to be the definitive textbook on food, passion, love and desire.
'A grisly treat' Financial Times on the podcast Based on the 'world's spookiest podcast' of the same name comes Unexplained: a book of ten real-life mysteries which might be best left unexplained. . . ******************************* What can a case of demonic possession in 1970's Germany teach us about free will? What might we learn about how we construct reality from the case of a poltergeist in the Fens? And what can a supposed instance of reincarnation in Middlesbrough tell us about how we develop a concept of the self? Taking incidents once thought of as supernatural or paranormal and questioning whether radical ideas in science might provide a new but equally extraordinary explanation, Unexplained asks what real-life unexplained events can reveal of our unique human experience. 'These mysteries are all the creepier for being true' Tatler
Warm, funny and moving; the perfect summer read. For fans of Arthur, Finding Gobi and Damien Lewis' A Dog Called Hope. When Steve Jamieson met Bilbo, a chocolate Newfoundland puppy, little did he know that the small bundle of fluff would grow to take up a huge space in his heart and change his life forever. The pair were inseparable, with Bilbo accompanying Steve to his job as head lifeguard of Sennen beach in Cornwall every day. With his webbed paws and thick, double layer of fur, Bilbo was an excellent swimmer and he was soon promoted to honorary lifeguard. He was even credited with saving the lives of three people. Word about Bilbo spread and fans flocked from miles around to meet the friendly giant. But Bilbo and Steve couldn't have foreseen the obstacles that life would throw at them. Together, they would have to gather every bit of their strength to fight for their livelihood. Warm, heartfelt and moving, Bilbo the Lifeguard Dog is a tale of heroism and friendship, and is one man's tribute to his extraordinary dog.
People love their pets--cats more so than any other (or so the "cats" would like to think). And if there is anything cat-lovers enjoy almost as much as stroking their beloved feline friends, it's reading about cats. In the tradition and style of her previous smash hits, Callie Smith Grant brings readers a brand-new collection of uplifting stories about the amazing creatures that warm our hearts--and our laps With stories from Melody Carlson, Jill Eileen Smith, Robert Benson, Kathi Lipp, and many others, "The Cat in the Window "offers the perfect excuse to curl up on the couch with a furry friend.
#1 "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER
"After years of battling uncontrollable addiction, I have achieved the supposedly impossible: complete freedom from craving." Dr. Olivier Ameisen was a brilliant cardiologist on the staff at one of America’s top teaching hospitals and running his own successful practice when he developed a profound addiction to alcohol. He broke bones with no memory of falling; he nearly lost his kidneys; he almost died from massive seizures during acute withdrawal. He gave up his flourishing practice and, fearing for his life, immersed himself in Alcoholics Anonymous, rehab, therapy, and a variety of medications. Nothing worked. So he did the only thing he could: he took his treatment into his own hands. Searching for a cure for his deadly disease, he happened upon baclofen, a muscle relaxant that had been used safely for years as a treatment for various types of muscle spasticity, but had more recently shown promising results in studies with laboratory animals addicted to a wide variety of substances. Dr. Ameisen prescribed himself the drug and experimented with increasingly higher dosages until he finally reached a level high enough to leave him free of "any "craving for alcohol. That was more than five years ago. Alcoholism claims three hundred lives per day in the United States alone; one in four U.S. deaths is attributable to alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs. Baclofen, as prescribed under a doctor’s care, could possibly free many addicts from tragic and debilitating illness. But as long as the medical and research establishments continue to ignore a cure for one of the most deadly diseases in the world, we won’t be able to understand baclofen’s full addiction-treatment potential. "The End of My Addiction "is both a memoir of Dr. Ameisen’s own struggle and a groundbreaking call to action—an urgent plea for research that can rescue millions from the scourge of addiction and spare their loved ones the collateral damage of the disease.
In this stunning memoir, Rob Sheffield, a veteran rock and pop culture critic and staff writer for Rolling Stone magazine, tells the story of his musical coming of age, and how rock music, the first love of his life, led him to his second, a girl named Renee. Rob and Renee's life together - they wed after graduate school, both became music journalists, and were married only five years when Renee died suddenly on Mother's Day, 1997 - is shared through the window of the mix tapes they obsessively compiled. There are mixes to court each other, mixes for road trips, mixes for doing the dishes, mixes for sleeping - and, eventually, mixes to mourn Rob's greatest loss. The tunes were among the great musical output of the early 1990s - Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Pavement, Yo La Tengo, REM, Weezer - as well as classics by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin and more. Mixing the skilful, tragic punch of Dave Eggers and the romantic honesty of Nick Hornby, LOVE IS A MIX TAPE is a story of lost love and the kick-you-in-the-gut energy of great pop music.
Charmain Bynoe, a council housing officer for the London borough of Southwark, inspired the nation when she appeared on the TV series Council House Britain. Now, in The Estate, she shines a light on the challenges faced by so many of our citizens and provides heartwarming and inspirational stories of how they have been helped to help themselves. The role of our council housing officers is often overlooked and forgotten about. But their work is vital and, for some, the officers are their best hope for a better quality of life. Sometimes, Charmain works with those who are struggling to cope, finding it hard to keep a roof over their heads or to deal with day-to-day challenges. All they may need is some hope, and she is there to suggest a way forward. In Charmain's powerful new book, she looks back at some of the people she's worked with, from the old man who lives in squalor because he can no longer keep his flat tidy and needs support, to the young Ghanaian woman in a coercive relationship who fears that if she speaks out she will be deported. Britain's housing crisis remains an enormous issue for the country, which was only further highlighted by the Grenfell Tower disaster. But, as Charmain shows, with humanity and consideration for others, we can make things better in ways that don't have to cost a fortune but can deliver results that are truly priceless.
'Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible' In equal measure famous and infamous, Janet Malcolm's book charts the true story of a lawsuit between Jeffrey MacDonald, a convicted murderer, and Joe McGinniss, the author of a book about the crime. Lauded as one of the Modern Libraries "100 Best Works of Nonfiction", The Journalist and the Murderer is in equal measure fascinating and controversial, a contemporary classic of reportage.
When sixteen-year-old Jess arrives on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep with her newborn son Jimmy, she has nowhere else to go. Arriving straight from the hospital having just given birth, Jess is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Scared, alone, and practically a child herself, she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a newborn without the support of a loving family or her beloved boyfriend. With social services threatening to take baby Jimmy into care, Jess knows that Maggie is her only chance of keeping her son. Maggie can see that Jess loves her boyfriend and wants to be a good mother to her son. Can Maggie help Jess learn to become a mum? Will the family ever be allowed to live together?
'A moving true story that will pull at the heartstrings' - Woman & Home The first book in the Paws of Fame series, which follows movie animal trainer Julie Tottman as she rescues, nurtures and transforms animals in need of a second chance into film stars. Pickles the Yorkshire Terrier has just had her litter of puppies taken away from her - who knows how many litters she's delivered and watched the same thing happen to. She's been left behind in an overcrowded, noisy and dirty barn. She's very weak and her body is burning all over from a painful skin condition. This has been her life for six years and it will likely never change. Or will it? Julie is a young animal trainer for the movies and is looking for a Yorkshire Terrier for a new film she's working on with Colin Firth and Amanda Bynes. By chance, she hears of a puppy farm that has been raided by the authorities - the dogs were kept in appalling conditions and among them was a poor Yorkshire Terrier called Pickles. Julie doesn't know whether Pickles will be the right dog for the film, but she doesn't care: Pickles needs a safe home with love and care and Julie can give it. Will Pickles recover from the traumas of her past? Can she be the movie star Julie is looking for? And will Julie be able to make it in the world of movie animal trainers? Will You Take Me Home? is the moving true story of one woman and her dog. The second book in the Paws of Fame story - Rescue Me, about the abandoned Mastiff who went on to play Fang in Harry Potter - is available now
In the tradition of Krakauer's Into the Wild, The Golden Spruce
tells an astonishing true story of a furious man's obsessive
mission against an industrial juggernaut, the struggle of the Haida
people to save their world, and the mysterious golden tree that
binds them all together. "To look at this seedling -- if one could see it at all -- and
believe that it had every intention of growing into one of the
towering columns that blot out so much of the northwestern sky,
would have seemed far-fetched at best. In its first year, the
infant tree would have been about two inches tall and sporting a
half dozen or so pale green needles. It would have been appealing
in the same abstract way that baby snapping turtles are, its alien
appearance transcended by the universal indicators of wild
babyhood: utter helplessness and primordial determination in equal
measure. Despite its bristling ruff and a stem as straight as a
sunbeam, the seedling was still as vulnerable as a frog's egg; a
falling branch, the footstep of a human or an animal -- any number
of random occurrences -- could have finished it there and
then.
The true story of an ordinary policeman who served in the South African Police Force at the height of apartheid. With graphic scenes of violence and sex, it exposes the realities of being in the police force in the seventies and eighties when brutality was commonplace and men didn't cry. Johan Marais was also a witness to and participant in several incidences of police corruption and brutality. He developed a serious drinking problem and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, but it took a suicide attempt before he would admit that he had a problem. He consulted a doctor who recommended that he should write down his incredible life story. The result is Time Bomb. Not for the faint-hearted, this is story that needs to be told.
WINNER OF THE POLITICAL BOOK AWARDS POLITICAL HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014. Published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Profumo scandal, An English Affair is a sharp-focused snapshot of a nation on the brink of social revolution. Britain in 1963 Harold Macmillan was the Prime Minister of a Conservative government, dedicated to tradition, hierarchy and, above all, old-fashioned morality. But a breakdown of social boundaries saw nightclub hostesses mixing with aristocrats, and middle-class professionals dabbling in criminality. Meanwhile, Cold War paranoia gripped the public imagination. The Profumo Affair was a perfect storm, and when it broke it rocked the Establishment. In An English Affair, the author of the critically-acclaimed Titainic Lives Richard Davenport-Hines brings Swinging London to life. The cast of players includes the familiar louche doctor Stephen Ward, good-time girls Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, and Secretary for War John Profumo himself. But we also encounter the tabloid hacks, property developers and hangers-on whose roles have, until now, never been fully revealed. Sex, drugs, class, race, chequebook journalism and the criminal underworld the Profumo Affair had it all. This is the story of how Sixties England cast off respectability and fell in love with scandal."
Peter Christensen describes working for the parks service maintaining trails and warden patrol stations in national parks. It's a job that involves patrolling remote wilderness on horseback, and long days in the saddle give way to wry contemplations on human nature and the beauty of the natural world. While working in the backcountry, Christensen found himself insulated not only from the intrusions of highway noise but also from the stress of modern life. As a result, his thoughtful stories about life in the mountains of Alberta are often poignant, sometimes tragic, but always a great read.
'Raw, unflinching, incredibly brave' - BBC Woman's Hour 'Visceral and gripping' - Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun My name is Liz, and I am the partner of an alcoholic. Coming Clean is a searingly honest memoir of loving an alcoholic - both through the heaviest drinking years and into recovery. When Liz Fraser's partner fell into a catastrophic vortex of depression and alcoholism, Liz found herself in a relentless hailstorm of lies, loneliness and fear, looking after their young child on her own, heartbroken, mentally shattered and with no idea what was happening or what to do. As she and her family moved between Cambridge, Venice and Oxford, she kept the often shocking truth entirely to herself for a long time, trying in vain to help her partner find a path to sobriety, until she herself finally broke from the trauma and started to speak out - only to find she was one of hundreds experiencing similar things, also living in silence and fear. Part diary, part travel journal and part love letter, Coming Clean is the true story of addiction of many kinds, mental collapse and heartbreak. Above all, it offers a voice of deep human compassion, strength and hope for recovery. I hope that in sharing this story it might change the way addiction is talked about and understood from both sides, encourage open, trusting and supportive dialogue between addicts and those their addiction affects, and provide some solace and help for those who need it - as I did.
Sunday Times bestselling foster carer Maggie Hartley faces one of the toughest challenges of her career when she is forced to choose between two children in her care. A heartbreaking true story perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and Rosie Lewis. ***** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER At just ten years old, Kirsty has already suffered a lifetime of heartache and suffering. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she is fostered by Pat and Mike, who she comes to see as her real mum and dad. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's all her fault. They blame her temper tantrums for putting Pat under stress and they don't want Kirsty in their lives anymore. Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth. Social Services must take Kirsty's threat seriously and Maggie is forced to choose between eight-month-old Ryan, who she's grown to love, or angry Kirsty, who will most likely end up in a children's home if Maggie can no longer care for her. Maggie is in an impossible position, one that calls in to question her decision to become a foster carer in the first place... An inspiring and heartwarming read, perfect for fans of Cathy Glass, Casey Watson, Angela Hart and Rosie Lewis. |
You may like...
|