Ever since the very public dissolution of Jesse's marriage to Sandra Bullock first hit the news, fans have been clamouring to hear his side of the story. When he appeared on Nightline for his first interview after the scandal, the show saw huge overnight ratings, averaging more than 6 million total viewers. A staple on celebrity blogs and in the tabloids, Jesse's personal life remains the subject of endless speculation... .until now. American paints a portrait of a self-made man who has known his fair share of triumph and regret along his path to fame. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Jesse James was a teenage football star turned professional bodyguard who worked for many A-list rock bands, including Soundgarden, Danzig, and Slayer, and travelled the globe with them. After an injury sustained at a show, Jesse decided to set off on his own to pursue his childhood love: motorcycles. In 1992, Jesse began West Coast Choppers in a corner of a friend's garage. He built it from the ground up, transforming the tiny operation into a multi-million dollar business that caters to a host of celebrity clientele and has been the subject of Discovery Channel's hugely successful series Monster Garage and the documentaries Motorcycle Mania and Motorcycle Mania 2.

Veering from the hilarious to the tragic, Andrew Mitchell's tales from the parliamentary jungle make for one of the most entertaining political memoirs in years. From his prep school years, straight out of Evelyn Waugh, through the Army to Cambridge, the City of London and the Palace of Westminster, Mitchell has passed through a series of British institutions at a time of furious social and political change - in the process becoming rather more cynical about the British Establishment. Here, he reflects on the perils and pleasures of loyalty, whether to a party, to individuals or to one's own principles. He brilliantly lifts the lid on the dark arts of the government Whips' Office ('Whipping, like stripping, is best done in private') and reveals how he accidentally started Boris Johnson's political career and later naively backed him to be Prime Minister - an act which rebounded on him spectacularly. Mitchell also writes candidly about the Plebgate fiasco, which led to four police officers being sacked for gross misconduct and in one case imprisoned, while Mitchell himself faced a bill of millions of pounds in legal fees after losing his libel case. Engagingly honest about his ups and downs in politics, Beyond a Fringe is crammed with hilarious political anecdotes and irresistible insider gossip from the heart of Westminster.

Winner of the Bancroft Prize""
"The New York Times Book Review," Editor's Choice
American Heritage, Best of 2009
In this vivid new biography of Abigail Adams, the most illustrious woman of the founding era, Bancroft Award-winning historian Woody Holton offers a sweeping reinterpretation of Adams's life story and of women's roles in the creation of the republic.
Using previously overlooked documents from numerous archives, Abigail Adams shows that the wife of the second president of the United States was far more charismatic and influential than historians have realized. One of the finest writers of her age, Adams passionately campaigned for women's education, denounced sex discrimination, and matched wits not only with her brilliant husband, John, but with Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. When male Patriots ignored her famous appeal to "Remember the Ladies," she accomplished her own personal declaration of independence: Defying centuries of legislation that assigned married women's property to their husbands, she amassed a fortune in her own name.
Adams's life story encapsulates the history of the founding era, for she defined herself in relation to the people she loved or hated (she was never neutral), a cast of characters that included her mother and sisters; Benjamin Franklin and James Lovell, her husband's bawdy congressional colleagues; Phoebe Abdee, her father's former slave; her financially naive husband; and her son John Quincy.
At once epic and intimate, Abigail Adams, sheds light on a complicated, fascinating woman, one of the most beloved figures of American history.

Sankara's legacy, unclear as it may be, still lives and he remains immensely popular. If you travel through Africa his image is unmistakable. His picture, with beret and broad grin, is pasted on run-down taxis and is found on the walls of local bars. Internationally Sankara is often referred to as the `African Che Guevara' and like his South American counterpart; it is his perseverance, dedication and incorruptibility that appeal to the imagination. Voices of liberation: Thomas Sankara starts with a comprehensive timeline covering Thomas Sankara's life and major events in the history of the continent and region. His Life section provides the most critical and fraternal assessment of the 1980s radical experiment within the broader history of the country, the region and continent. His Voice section succinctly provides a selection of Sankara's speeches, broadcasts and interviews and gives us insight to his outlook on the world. His Legacy section combines an almost poetic tribute to the flawed through heroic period of Sankara's `revolution' with an incredibly relentless and honest analysis. This is done through the story of last year's uprising against Compaore - with haunting lessons for South Africa. The Postscript is an indispensable update to the extraordinary events in Burkina Faso during 2015, chiefly the resistance to the coup in September. The authors look at Sankara's influence on the popular movements and its wider significance for Africa.

'Let me say to Mr Botha: apartheid is doomed! It has been condemned in the Councils of God, rejected by every nation on the planet and is no longer believed in by the people who gave it birth. Apartheid is the god that has failed.' So preached Bishop Peter Storey in 1986. Challenging apartheid wherever he could, he led the SA Methodist Church into what many whites saw as uncomfortable 'political' territory.

Join him in his inspiring journey from sailor-turned-minister to the South African Council of Churches leadership in its darkest hour, from tending to Robert Sobukwe and Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, through the forced removals of District Six and the storm surrounding Stompie Seipei's murder. I Beg to Differ spans a parish minister’s sorrows and joys, founding Life Line SA, the bombing of Khotso House and a close shave with death with Desmond Tutu. Storey shares the convictions that inspired him to minister amid the teargas, violence and intimidation of the apartheid regime.

At last we can know who 'king' Arthur was, when he lived and what he did. This is the first work on the legendary hero started without any axe to grind. Here it is demonstrated that Arthur was a Coeling - a prince directly descended from Old King Cole - selected as a very young age by the kings of the 'Hen Ogled' (The Old north, which had been a magor subdivision of Roman Britannia) to be 'Pendragon' (Army Commander in Chief) of the alliance of forces tasked to put an end to raids into their lands by Picts and Scots once and for all. The sites of the 12 famous battles are identified, Arthur's pedigree is specified and the circumstances of his death examined. Such well know elements of Arthurian legend as 'Excalibur', Camelot, Karduel and the 'Isle of Avalon' are all identified, explained and put in context. This book then goes on to suggest where the boundary between history and legend lies, identifying the relationship between the two and showing how the legend developed in the first place. Finally Arthur's legacy is assessed.

Robert Southey was an English poet and contemporary of Nelson. It was his ambition to write a clear and concise life of Nelson which could be easily absorbed by any young sailor.'

At last we can know who 'king' Arthur was, when he lived and what he did. This is the first work on the legendary hero started without any axe to grind. Here it is demonstrated that Arthur was a Coeling - a prince directly descended from Old King Cole - selected as a very young age by the kings of the 'Hen Ogled' (The Old north, which had been a magor subdivision of Roman Britannia) to be 'Pendragon' (Army Commander in Chief) of the alliance of forces tasked to put an end to raids into their lands by Picts and Scots once and for all. The sites of the 12 famous battles are identified, Arthur's pedigree is specified and the circumstances of his death examined. Such well know elements of Arthurian legend as 'Excalibur', Camelot, Karduel and the 'Isle of Avalon' are all identified, explained and put in context. This book then goes on to suggest where the boundary between history and legend lies, identifying the relationship between the two and showing how the legend developed in the first place. Finally Arthur's legacy is assessed.

Read the fascinating story of one of the greatest unsung figures of the nature conservation movement, founder of the RSPB and icon of early animal rights activism, Etta Lemon. A heroine for our times, Etta Lemon campaigned for fifty years against the worldwide slaughter of birds for extravagantly feathered hats. Her legacy is the RSPB, grown from an all-female pressure group of 1889 with the splendidly simple pledge: Wear No Feathers. Etta's long battle against 'murderous millinery' triumphed with the Plumage Act of 1921 - but her legacy has been eclipsed by the more glamorous campaign for the vote, led by the elegantly plumed Emmeline Pankhurst. This gripping narrative explores two formidable heroines and their rival, overlapping campaigns. Moving from the feather workers' slums to high society, from the first female political rally to the rise of the eco-feminist, it restores Etta Lemon to her rightful place in history - the extraordinary woman who saved the birds. ETTA LEMON was originally published in hardback in 2018 under the title of MRS PANKHURST'S PURPLE FEATHER. 'A great story of pioneering conservation.' KATE HUMBLE 'Quite brilliant. Meticulous and perceptive. A triumph of a book.' CHARLIE ELDER 'Shocking and entertaining. The surprising story of the campaigning women who changed Britain." VIRGINIA NICHOLSON 'A fascinating and moving story, vividly told.' JOHN CAREY 'A fascinating clash of two causes: rights for women and rights for birds to fly free not adorn suffragettes' hats. An illuminating story, provocative, well-researched and brilliantly told.' DIANA SOUHAMI

Die eiesoortige vriendskap tussen Winston Churchill en Jan Smuts is ’n studie in kontraste. In hul jeug het hulle uiteenlopende wêrelde bewoon: Churchill was die weerbarstige en energieke jong aristokraat; Smuts die asketiese, filosofiese Kaapse plaasseun, wat later aan Cambridge sou gaan studeer. Daar sou hy die eerste student word wat albei dele van die finale regskursus in dieselfde jaar neem en al twee met onderskeiding slaag.

Nadat hulle in die Anglo-Boereoorlog eers as vyande, en later in die Eerste Wêreldoorlog as bondgenote byeengebring is, het die mans ’n vriendskap gesmee wat oor die eerste helfte van die twintigste eeu gestrek het en tot Smuts se dood in 1950 voortgeduur het. Richard Steyn, die skrywer van Jan Smuts: Afrikaner sonder grense, bestudeer dié hegte vriendskap deur twee wêreldoorloë aan die hand van ’n magdom argiefstukke, briewe, telegramme en die omvangryke boeke wat oor albei mans geskryf is.

Dit is ’n fassinerende verhaal oor twee besonderse individue in oorlog en vrede – die een die leier van ’n groot ryk, die ander die leier van ’n klein, weerspannige lid van daardie ryk.

The Class of `44', the founders of the African National Congress Youth League (CYL) in 1944, includes a remarkable list of names: Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Anton Lembede, and Ashby Peter (A.P.) Mda. While much has been written on the others, relatively little attention has been paid to Mda, the Youth League president from 1947 to 1947 whom his peers regarded as the foremost political intellectual and strategist of their generation. He was known for his passionate advocacy of African nationalism, guiding the ANC into militant forms of protest, and pressing activists to consider turning to armed struggle in the early 1950s. In his late teens Mda began leaving a rich written record-through letters and essays in newspapers, political tracts and speeches, and letters to colleagues-that allows us to chart the evolution of his views throughout his life not only on politics but also on culture, language, literature, music, religion, and education.

"Garry Curtis is a solider, whom some might say is of misfortune, rather that the opposite. Yet, he is a man, who has lived not one but several lives in an existence of remarkable colour and variance. His story is frank and heartfelt, expressed in a street language that he knows intimately. From his earliest childhood memories to the career direction that shaped his livelihood, he expresses his emotions with intensity and sparkling wit. He has been in the front-line. He has worked behind the scenes. However, Garry is never the less that forthright and unafraid of pertinent invective. This superbly well-expressed work is both dramatic and tragic. It deals with with life and death in equal measure and displays and energy that will fill you with laughter and hope." Garry is a rare breed of man, he is a man of high standards and for the most part a decent, caring lad who always looking out for those around him. A once promising boxer, a former Royal Marines commando, an elite firefighter in the fire rescue unit in London and for a couple of decades as close protection and a hostile environment consultant has been constantly putting himself in harms way to look after those persons he has been given the privilege to look after, as well as looking after others that have been in a bad place during some kind of attack. Many lives saved also much death around him. A family man, a father of four beautiful, adoring children and his world is his grandson Ralph Garry has been asked by so many people over the years to write a book and always pushed it to one side. However, after a breathtaking daring escape whilst held against his will in Libya 2011 by colonel Gaddaffis loyalist gunmen, not only had Garry successfully escaped with the ITN media team, he then returned to carry out what could have been a daring rescue. A chain reaction of bad luck followed and lies as well as embarrassment from an individual caused Garry's world to come crashing down around him. During a four year period the man that so many had entrusted their lives run out of fight and almost succumbed to death not only from injury in Afghanistan, which led to four huge surgeries where he contracted blood poisoning, also the darkest place he has been his own war. Surprisingly or not surprisingly, once you read what he has been through he almost died at his own hand an attempted suicide. Then the love of his life along with the dramas from a former lover in Ukraine. Garry's world comes crashing down. The pride of this man was so great and the financial ruin caused by just a very few and what he describes as his perfect storm, the culmination of all this, wreaked havoc and the trigger for Garry to step down that dark road. Garry being Garry is back stronger than ever and rebuilding his life. This is the powerful no warts brutal truth of a sometimes larger than life ordinary down to earth guy some call a hero. Garry would always say I am not a hero it's just a job, it's just me, I love my job. Gary supports mental health charities such as Rock2Recovery a charity set up to support men, women and families of the armed forces. Also the London Air Ambulance as they flew Garry to Hospital when he tried to commit suicide. Proceeds from "incoming" will go towards helping these charities help people all over the U.K.

Terry Gardiner ran a business in the Middle East for more than 30 years, and was living and working in Baghdad when America and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003. During the months that followed he experienced the full horrors of war, and witnessed appalling abuse by certain sections of the coalition forces. A member of his staff was abducted and decapitated by the insurgents, while another died under torture at the hands of the British. Gardiner was even kidnapped himself at one point, escaping with his life only because he was able to convince his captors that he was pro-Iraqi. And he knows the truth about how, where and when Saddam Hussein was really captured. The book reveals in detail the truth about how Iraq / Syria and Libya's fate was decided in 2001 as part of Blair and Bush's Foreign Policy. It also shows how greedy Western interests have led to the rape and near destruction of a country and helped to provoke a terrible terrorist backlash

“A brilliant biography that will transform your understanding of this young, charismatic leader” — Joseph Nhini, BooksLive, Sunday Times

“Deeply thought-provoking” — Tyrone August, Cape Times

“Makes a good job of weaving together a number of strands that make the totality of the powerful persona Biko became ... Sheds new light on more than just Biko” — Sam Mkokeli, Business Day

Interest in the iconic Steve Biko has strongly revived, as the current generation of activists calls on his legacy and thoughts. Biko is cited and disputed particularly in the #RhodesMustFall and decolonisation movements. This comprehensive biography, shortlisted for the Alan Paton award, explores Biko's life, the people and ideas that shaped him, and his part in Black Consciousness and the struggle. Updated in an affordable new edition, Biko: A Biography presents a new generation with nuanced insights into the life and thought of a South African hero.