The hotel business is a licence to print money - not only for the managers, owners and shareholders, but for the people who work there. From chambermaids' tips, to doormen making pound]2,000 a week, to the concierge taking backhanders - everyone in the hotel trade is on the make. The hotel business is a licence for the guests to steal - anything from fridges, furniture, plasma TVs, carpets, loo seats, bathrobes, ashtrays, teaspoons - even re-filling the vodka bottle in the mini-bar with water. The hotel business is a licence for guests to behave badly - from rent boys and girls by the hour, to pound]800 on telephone porn bills, pound]24,000 room parties, drugs, dead sheep, splashing out on pound]5,000 bottles of wine, guests falling through windows, naked guests, drunken guests and guests who have to be sectioned. The hotel business is also a licence for celebrity to reign supreme - from Michael Jackson's Evian bath to Madonna's odd curtain fetish, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp's parties, Princess Diana's taste for oysters, Pamela Anderson's sexual gymnastics, the Queen Mother's chips and Prince Phillip's Silver Bullet cocktail. tragedies, the miseries, the decadence and the debauchery of the ultimate service industry - where money not only talks, but gets you the best room, the best service, and also entities you to behave in any way you please...

In March 2020 Covid struck and the world changed - much of the world locked down - will it ever be the same again? The author woke up one morning at the end of June 2021 and decided that she wanted to put a book together of "lives during these times". She had been watching families and friends becoming increasingly divided by their opposing views on what was going on in the world. People were becoming angry and frustrated with each other for not sharing the same view on what was going on. Fear, blame, anxiety, were on the increase. People were suffering and if there was one thing we didn't need more of it was suffering. We all have our own unique circumstances, views, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears and her aim for this book is to create more understanding, respect and love. She has gathered individual heartfelt stories from friends, ordinary people, of where they were in their lives when Covid struck and how they have navigated the past 2 and a half years. The world is in crisis and we need unity, trust and love, not division, hopelessness and fear. This book tells the unique stories of people living in different circumstances, in different countries with some very different opinions. Each story is the truth of the person who wrote it even if it is not your truth. The author hopes you will enjoy reading the wonderful stories that have been shared with her.

Michael Finkel was a top New York Times Magazine journalist publicly fired and disgraced for making up a composite character for a big investigative news piece about Africa. This book is about how this brilliant, high achieving journalist found himself at that point in his life. But in parallel it's also about Christian Longo, a man accused of the multiple murder of his own wife and three children. After the deaths, Longo fled to Mexico, where he passed himself off as Michael Finkel, New York Times journalist. These two weird stories come together as Finkel in turn becomes fascinated (perhaps obsessed) with Longo the accused murderer, who while in prison and during his trial would talk only to Finkel. Who is using whom...?

During the frenzied Klondike Gold Rush, many daring women ventured north to seek riches and adventure or to escape a troubled past. These unforgettable, strong-willed women defied the social conventions of the time and endured heartbreak and horrific conditions to build a life in the wild North. At the height of the gold rush, Martha Purdy, Nellie Cashman, Ethel Berry and a few hundred other women were conquering what came to be called the Trail of '98--a route that proved to be an impossible ordeal for many men. From renowned reporter Faith Fenton and successful entrepreneur Belinda Mulrooney to Mae Field, "The Doll of Dawson," and other "citizens of the demimonde," the Klondike's rebel women bring an intriguing new perspective to gold-rush history.

Kyle Keegan was like many teenagers: eager to fit in at school, he experimented with alcohol and drugs. Soon, his abuse of these substances surpassed experimentation and became a ruthless addiction to heroin that nearly destroyed his life.
Now in recovery, Keegan tells his remarkable story in Chasing the High. Starting with the early days of alcohol and drug use, Keegan charts his decline into crime and homelessness as his need for heroin surpassed all thoughts of family and friends, of right and wrong. He then goes on to use these experiences to offer guidance and practical advice to other young people who may be struggling with substance abuse. In straightforward, easy-to-understand language and along with the psychiatric expertise of Howard Moss, MD, Keegan discusses what is known about the neurobiology of addiction in young people, how to seek treatment, and how to get the most out of professional help. He also covers such topics as therapies which are used to combat addiction, how to talk to families and friends about substance abuse, and how to navigate risky situations. Both an absorbing memoir and a useful resource for young people.
Part of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative series of books written specifically for teens and young adults, Chasing the High offers hope to young people who are struggling with substance abuse, helping them to overcome its challenges and to go on to lead healthy, productive lives.

The remarkable story of a woman who refused to renounce her faith and unwittingly became the global symbol of the fight against religious extremism. 'I was going to die because of a glass of water.' After drinking water from the same glass as a Muslim woman, Asia Bibi, a Christian, was sentenced to hang by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 2010 on charges of blasphemy. Bibi's case polarised all of Pakistan and mobilised international support from across the globe, including politicians, journalists, and countless organisations and supporters who fought for her freedom. For nine long years, Bibi awaited death in prison until she was formally acquitted in January 2019. Now a political exile, Bibi is reunited with her family in the West, but she will never be allowed to return to her homeland.