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Books > Biography > General
Adapted for younger readers from Born a Crime: And Other Stories-
the #1 South African and New York Times bestseller
‘If my mother had one goal, it was to free my mind. My mother spoke to me like an adult. She was big into Psalms. I had to read Psalms every day. She would quiz me on it. “What does the passage mean? What does it mean to you? How do you apply it to your life:” That was every day of my life. My mom did what the school didn’t. She taught me how to think.
In Born a Crime, Trevor Noah shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. But he did exist and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his quick wits and humour to navigate a harsh life.
This edition of Trevor’s fascinating memoir blends drama, comedy and tragedy to depict the day-to-day trials that turned a mischievous young boy into a restless young man. Against all the odds, and supported his mom’s unwavering love and indomitable will, Trevor overcame many obstacles and created a promising future for himself.
Born a Crime provides a fascinating and honest perspective on South Africa’s racial history and it will also inspire readers looking to improve their own lives.
TREVOR NOAH is a much-loved South African comedian, who is currently the host of The Daily Show.
How do you rebuild yourself when your whole world changes overnight?
Thrust onto the public stage at fifteen years old after the Taliban's
brutal attack on her life, Malala quickly became an international icon
known for bravery and resilience. But away from the cameras and crowds,
she spent years struggling to find her place in an unfamiliar world.
Now, for the first time ever, Malala takes readers beyond the headlines
in Finding My Way - a vulnerable, surprising memoir that buzzes with
authenticity, sharp humour and tenderness.
Finding My Way is a story of friendship and first love, of anxiety and
self-discovery, of trying to stay true to yourself when everyone wants
to tell you who you are. In it, Malala traces her path from high school
loner to reckless college student to a young woman at peace with her
past. Through candid, often messy moments like nearly failing exams,
getting ghosted and meeting the love of her life, Malala reminds us
that real role models aren't perfect - they're human.
In this astonishing memoir, Malala reintroduces herself to the world,
sharing how she navigated life as someone whose darkest moments
threatened to define her - while seeking the freedom to find out who
she truly is. Finding My Way is an intimate look at the life of a young
woman taking charge of her destiny - and a deeply personal testament to
the strength it takes to be unapologetically yourself
In Running from the Shadows Stephanie Hickey tells, in her own
words, how she survived abuse at the hands of a trusted family
member and of how running, a simple physical activity helped her
achieve mindfulness, but also to rediscover love and faith in her
body - to reclaim it. Charting her life growing up in the rolling
countryside of Waterford in the safety of her beloved family to the
moment her childhood was shattered, to the court case where she
waived her anonymity, to how she was able to reclaim a sense of
herself through the sport which became like a therapy, Running from
the Shadows is told with humour, strength and incredible courage --
a book that reveals how, even when things seem at their bleakest, a
run through the Irish countryside, can bring you back into the
light.
In 1997, Dr Marie Cassidy arrived in Dublin from Glasgow. There to
discuss a possible deputy state pathologist post with Professor
John Harbison, instead she was whisked by police escort to a
Grangegorman murder scene. There was no turning back. She became
Ireland's State Pathologist from 2004 until 2018, her image
synonymous with breaking news of high-profile cases - a trusted
figure in turbulent times. Here, with the scalpel-like precision
and calm authority of her trade, Marie shares her remarkable
personal journey from working-class Scotland into the world of
forensic pathology, describing in candid detail the intricate
processes central to solving modern crime. She recounts her work
following the tragic deaths of Rachel O'Reilly, Siobhan Kearney,
Robert Holohan, Tom O'Gorman and others - along with the Stardust
exhumations and lesser known cases from her long career - outlining
the subtle methods by which pathology and the justice system meet.
Beyond the Tape is a unique behind-the-scenes journey into the
mysteries of unexplained and sudden death - by turns poignant,
stark and deeply compelling.
From the author of Sunday Times bestsellers One Child and Ghost
Girl comes a heartbreaking story of a boy trapped in silence and
the teacher who rescued him. When special education teacher Torey
Hayden first met fifteen-year-old Kevin, he was barricaded under a
table. Desperately afraid of the world around him, he hadn't spoken
a word in eight years. He was considered hopeless, incurable. But
Hayden refused to believe it, though she realised it might well
take a miracle to break through the walls he had built around
himself. With unwavering devotion and gentle, patient love, she set
out to free him - and slowly uncovered a shocking violent history
and a terrible secret that an unfeeling bureaucracy had simply
filed away and forgotten. Torey refused to give up on this tragic
"lost case." For a trapped and frightened boy desperately needed
her help - and she knew in her heart she could not rest easy until
she had rescued him from the darkness.
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in English, both prose
and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James
famously said of him: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most
complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I
have ever known." In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Literature.
Elephants breaking down walls, a hyena sharing a fire with the
night guard to keep warm, hippos fighting, armless monkeys bringing
their young to be admired by the author-this book is a kaleidoscope
of wild animals, strange and often eccentric tourists, the trails
and tribulations of running a poorly equipped lodge in a remote
wilderness area, and the laughter and tears of working with and
living alongside staff from a different background and culture.
Written with great compassion, this is Lesley Cripps Thomson's
story of how she forges a bond with staff who do not want to be
told what to do or how to do it by a woman and the hardships they
have to live with, including illness and poverty. She tells of the
good times they have and how, in a crisis, they all pull together.
============================ In The Derelict House, Lesley Cripps
Thomson vividly conveys the fun and the frustrations of living and
working in the African bush. Enlivened by the many characters who
pepper the pages, her book also paints a colourful picture of the
wildlife scene. For those who aspire to sample wild Africa for the
first time, and for those who have already fallen under its spell,
this is an excellent read. For myself, it has been a pleasure to
encounter a book so evocative of the Africa I have come to love.
Douglas Willis, FRGS, FRSGS (Scotland) Running a lodge in the
African bush means not only exotic wildlife but also eccentric
human life. A vivid and engaging read. William Saunderson-Meyer -
Sunday Times, South Africa "I loved The Derelict House ... it
brought back fond memories of my own time in The Luangwa Valley and
the characters and wildlife really are true to form" Julie
Croucher, 'Travel With Jules' UK
'No' is the first thing I ever said. It was actually the only thing
I said in my first speaking months. Like most children, I was born
with an innate ability to set boundaries for myself. 'No.' 'Mine.'
I intuitively knew how to practise self-care and self-preservation.
Then, at some point, just like my ability to shuffle across the
floor on my butt, I forgot how to say no... Traumatic childhood
sleepovers, stressful social occasions, unrealistic demands at
work, unwanted second dates and endless offers of cake, in her
memoir, award-winning writer Stefanie Preissner leaves no NO
unexplored. From the issue of consent, and what happens when a
whole country comes together to say Yes, Can I Say NO? is one
woman's honest and hilarious take on how re-learning one small word
can pave the way to saying YES to who you really are.
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Henry V
(Paperback)
Dan Jones
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R398
R369
Discovery Miles 3 690
Save R29 (7%)
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Ships in 9 - 17 working days
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Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months, and died at the age of just 35, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond. The victor of Agincourt was a model king for his successors. Shakespeare's version of Henry V saw his youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship, and in the dark days of World War II, Henry's victories in France were recounted in British propaganda. Churchill called Henry 'a gleam of splendour in the dark, troubled story of medieval England', while for one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, 'the greatest man who ever ruled England'. For Dan Jones, Henry is one of the most intriguing characters in all medieval history, but one of the hardest to pin down. He was a hardened, sometimes brutal, warrior, yet he was also creative and artistic, with a bookish temperament. He was a leader who made many mistakes, who misjudged his friends and family members, yet always seemed to triumph when it mattered. As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England's borders; in foreign diplomacy, he made England a serious player once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses. Dan Jones's life of Henry V provides unprecedented insight into the critical first 26 years of his life before he became king. Both a standalone biography and a completion of Dan's sequence of English medieval histories that began with The Plantagenets and The Hollow Crown, Henry V is a thrilling and unmissable life of England's greatest king from our best-selling medieval historian.
"Chatham Sea Captains in the Age of Sail" chronicles the lives and
adventures of twenty-five men who traveled the seas from the
eighteenth through the twentieth century. These were extraordinary
men masters of navigation who charted paths from the Cape to the
Far East with their regal clipper ships; deep-sea fishermen whose
fearless spirit drove them to the Grand Banks and Newfoundland in
the quest for their catch; and coastal captains who skirted
America's eastern seaboard in pursuit of trade. Spurred on by the
Industrial Revolution's demands, these mariners continued their
pelagic exploration while pirates, privateers and Confederate
raiders tested their mettle. The sea was both foe and ally. To meet
the foe was the challenge; to sail her waters and return home as
true masters was the force that drove these men to excellence.
Paralympics champion and Dancing with the Stars contestant Victoria
Arlen shares her courageous and miraculous story of recovery after
falling into a mysterious vegetative state and how she broke free,
overcoming the odds and never giving up hope, eventually living a
full and inspiring life. When Victoria Arlen was eleven years old,
she contracted two rare diseases which induced a vegetative state.
For two years her mind was dark, but in the third year, her mind
broke free, and she was able to think clearly and to hear and feel
everything - but no one knew. When she was fifteen years old,
against all odds and medical predictions, she was finally able to
communicate through eye blinks, and she gradually regained her
ability to speak and eat and move her upper body, but she faced the
devastating reality of paralysis from the waist down because of
damage to her spine. However, Victoria didn't lose her strength or
steadfast determination, and two years later, she won a gold medal
for swimming at the London 2012 Paralympics. Victoria shares her
story - the pain, the struggle, the fight to live and thrive, and
most importantly, the faith that carried her through.
Introduced in 1918 as an award for bravery in the field, the
Military Medal was almost immediately open to women. During its 80
year existence, the Military Medal was awarded to women on only 146
occasions, the vast majority during the First World War. This
volume provides the definitive roll of recipients together with
citations, many of which were not available at the time, plus
service and biographical detail. Over 80% of the entries are
accompanied by a photograph. The vast majority of the recipients
were British, but the medal was open to women of all nationalities
and the names of French and United States recipients are recorded
together with allied personnel from the Empire.
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