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Books > Fiction > True stories
This book is an account of a search in 1980 in the Nusa Tenggara
Islands of Indonesia to find a suitable island for the Vietnamese
Boat People to settle and start a new life. They were pouring out
of Vietnam on anything that would float and thousands were
perishing. The world was demanding that something be done...Most of
the search was island hopping on a Balinese cow transporter made
from a single tree trunk.
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.
This is the extraordinary story of Olaudah Equiano: Child slave. Soldier. Free man. Traveller. Abolitionist. Celebrity. Kidnapped as a child into slavery, Equiano spent the rest of his life fighting for his freedom. After years of slavery, working on ships that carried him across empire and into battle during the Seven Years War, he eventually managed to purchase his own freedom, and went on to become a leading figure in the early abolition movement. Published to coincide with the first attempt to abolish the slave trade in 1789, Equiano's remarkable autobiography became a sensation and turned its author into the most famous Black person in Georgian Britain. As vivid and powerful today as it was in 1789, Equiano's story is the most significant autobiographical account of slavery to emerge from Britain's centuries as a slave trading power. In this JM Classics edition, leading historian David Olusoga's introduction sets Equiano's book in its historical context, helping us to understand the man himself.
* PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY * The compelling and moving memoir of
forensic psychiatrist Dr Duncan Harding
Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2021
Running away from your problems doesn't solve anything - but
sometimes it's more fun than dealing with them Elise was spending a
lot of time crying on buses. She had just graduated from
university; she had a shiny new flat, her first proper job and a
budding relationship - and they were all making her utterly
miserable. Sitting at work one day, she hit upon the obvious
solution: Run 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain, carrying her
kit on her back. Six months later Elise set off, with absolutely no
ultra-running experience, unable to read a map and having never
pitched a tent alone before. Over the 301 days that followed she
developed a debilitating fear of farmyard animals, cried on a lot
of beaches and saw Britain at its most wild and wonderful. Coasting
is about putting one foot in front of the other, even when it feels
impossible, and trying to enjoy it too. With heart and humour,
Elise explores the thrill of taking risks and putting your trust in
total strangers, and learns some home truths along the way. 'A true
Great British Adventure, with humour and heart.' Sir Ranulph
Fiennes 'Elise Downing has achieved the impossible - leaving you in
awe at her superhuman achievements, but also convincing you that
you could probably do the same.' Emily Chappell 'A hugely enjoyable
jaunt around Britain, that proves that you can find adventure right
on your doorstep.' Alastair Humphreys 'Elise Downing has reminded
us all of the most crucial aspects of adventure: 1) You don't have
to be an expert. 2) It's all about the people. 3) However hard,
tough, excruciating and doubt-driven a challenge might be, at heart
it's a funny, funny story.' Dave Cornthwaite 'Reading Coasting is
like listening to a friend tell a tale down the pub that you can't
quite believe. Elise's storytelling is hilarious, warm-hearted and
wonderfully down-to-earth. It's the kind of book that makes you
want to lace up your trainers and start running towards that mad
idea you once had. There's no doubt that Elise's gung-ho attitude
is her superpower. Her kryptonite? Cows.' Anna McNuff, author and
adventurer 'Elise's irresistibly readable adventures are both
ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. She's an inspiration.'
Damian Hall, author and ultrarunner 'Funny and engaging and
inspiring... an absolute gem.' Vassos Alexander, presenter, author
and runner 'A beautifully observed and blisteringly truthful
account of what happens when you decide to combine adventure and
endurance. Absolutely brilliant.' Jake Tyler, author of A Walk from
the Wild Edge 'An honest and exciting tale of how a dream became an
awesome reality. Definitely worth a read!' Ben Smith, founder of
The 401 Challenge 'I was already laughing at the Dedication and
this continued all the way to the very last page. Elise Downing is
a comedy genius and has a heart of gold!' Danny Bent, author,
runner and founder of Project Awesome 'Elise tells her story with
such good-humoured light-heartedness that you could be forgiven for
forgetting that what she is describing is a feat of real endurance.
Running 5,000 miles is a truly remarkable achievement, and the fact
that Elise emerged from it with a smile on her face and a total
lack of ego speaks wonders to her character. This is an incredible
tale told with total humility. Running around the coast of Great
Britain was a mad thing to do, but not buying this book would be
madder still.' Tim Moss, author, adventurer and founder of The Next
Challenge 'Like any epic journey worth sharing, Elise encountered
the same doubts, setbacks and fears that leave many dreams stuck on
the drawing board. One foot after the other, Elise set out to
achieve the extraordinary many miles over. Coasting shares the
literal highs and lows as she finds her rite of passage to the
world of ultra-running, with an endearing vulnerability and
hilarious flair that brings places to life. In the same way that
countless strangers felt compelled to join her around the UK,
Coasting carries the reader along and inspires us all to ask 'why
not?' in pursuit of our own home-grown adventures.' Alex
Staniforth, adventurer and author 'A wonderfully honest tale of
courage, perseverance and self-discovery.' Dr Juliet McGrattan,
author and runner 'Elise brings so much fun and energy, as well as
raw honesty, to the world of adventure books, and her incredible
journey is an inspiration to young (and old!) adventurers.' Jenny
Tough, author, adventurer and editor of Tough Women Adventure
Stories 'Thoughtful, funny and beautifully written. Just goes to
show that there's a ram-spinning, swashbuckling adventure right
there on your doorstep.' Huw Jack Brassington, writer, presenter
and adventurer
It is January, 1978. Groups of nervous, dutiful white conscripts
begin their National Service with Rhodesia's security forces. Ian
Smith's minority regime is in its dying days and negotiations
towards majority rule are already under way. For these
inexperienced eighteen-year-olds, there is nothing to do but go on
fighting, and hold the line while the transition happens around
them. Dead Leaves is a richly textured memoir in which an ordinary
troopie grapples with the unique dilemmas presented by an
extraordinary period in history - the specters of inner violence
and death; the pressurized arrival of manhood; and the place of
conscience, friendship and beauty in the pervasive atmosphere of
futile warfare.
'Since I was a child, I've been interested in dead bodies. When I
was eight years old, I dug up the remains of my pet budgie Zazbut.
He had been buried for about eight weeks in a patch of grass
outside our house in Dasmarinas, a fortified village in Manila, in
the Philippines. 'The first exhumation was the beginning of my
intrigue with death, which has persisted. As a journalist, I've
written about graveyards, funerals and death doulas. I always visit
the local cemetery wherever I am in the world. But one thing that
has largely been hidden from me in this death trip is the dead
body.' Dissection might not be a normal topic to contemplate but
when both your paternal grandparents donate their bodies to science
it does intermittently cross your mind. This is the story of how
Jackie Dent's grandparents-Ruby and Julie-gave their bodies to
science when they died. No one in her family seems to know why, or
what really happened with their bodies afterwards. Were they avid
science buffs? Was it to save on cremation costs? How do scientists
tackle the practicalities and ethics of cutting up the dead for
research? And who are body donors generally? Weaving the personal
with the history of anatomy and the dissected, Jackie Dent explores
the world of whole-body donation - all the while looking for
answers as to what happened to her grandparents.
'The most magical book about the African bush since Born Free' -
Daily Mail
'A beautiful love story between humans and the majestic elephants' Jo
Malone, Daily Express
Françoise Malby-Anthony never expected to find herself responsible for
a herd of elephants with a troubled past. A chic Parisienne, her life
changed forever when she fell in love with South African
conservationist Lawrence Anthony. Together they founded a game reserve
but after Lawrence’s death, Françoise faced the daunting responsibility
of running Thula Thula without him. Poachers attacked their rhinos,
their security team wouldn’t take orders from a woman and the
authorities were threatening to cull their beloved elephant family. On
top of that, the herd’s feisty new matriarch Frankie didn’t like her.
In this heart-warming and moving book, Françoise describes how she
fought to protect the herd and to make her dream of building a wildlife
rescue centre a reality. She found herself caring for a lost baby
elephant who turned up at her house, and offering refuge to traumatized
orphaned rhinos, and a hippo called Charlie who was scared of water. As
she learned to trust herself, she discovered she’d had Frankie wrong
all along . . .
Filled with extraordinary animals and the humans who dedicate their
lives to saving them, An Elephant in My Kitchen by Françoise
Malby-Anthony is a captivating and gripping read.
"This is the Zodiac speaking. I like killing people because it is
so much fun...the most thrilling experience..." This shocking true
crime classic is now a major movie. A sexual sadist, the Zodiac's
pleasure was torture and murder. He taunted the authorities with
mocking notes telling where he would strike next. The official
tally of his victims was six. He claimed 37 dead. He was never
caught. Author Robert Graysmith tells the inside story of the hunt
for the hooded killer, and finally reveals his possible true
identity. The new movie "Zodiac" is based on this book. Directed by
David Fincher ("Fight Club"), it stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Graysmith
himself, Robert Downey Jr and Chloe Sevigny.
In the summer of 2014, Firas Jumaah was working diligently to
complete his doctorate in chemistry at Lund University in Sweden
when he suddenly received news that an ISIS advance in northern
Iraq threatened the lives of his wife and children who had returned
to their native land for a family wedding. The Islamic State had
unexpectedly launched an assault on a nearby village inhabited by
members of the Yazidi religious minority, to which Firas belongs,
slaughtering or enslaving the entire population. Fearing for his
family, Firas immediately returned to Iraq and soon found himself
reunited with them behind enemy lines. As the situation worsened by
the minute, Firas managed to send a message to his professor,
Charlotta Turner, to let her know that he did not expect to return
to Sweden to complete his dissertation. Unbeknownst to Firas,
Charlotta sprang into action. "What was happening was completely
unacceptable," she later explained. "I got so angry that ISIS was
pushing itself into our world, exposing my doctoral student and his
family to danger, and disrupting his research." Charlotta consulted
university officials about what could be done to help. Unwilling to
accept this tragic situation or to abandon her student and his
family to the whims of fate, she quickly organized a commando
mission that resulted in the dramatic rescue of Firas, his wife,
and his two young children, ages four and six, from war-torn Iraq,
bringing them safely back to Sweden. Thanks to the heroic efforts
of Charlotta and those who supported her efforts, Firas Jumaah
finished his Ph.D. in 2016. He now works as a chemist in the
Swedish pharmaceutical industry. In Rescued from ISIS Terror, Firas
and Charlotta tell their fascinating story. In this riveting tale
of family, friendship, and loyalty in the face of extreme
adversity, they brilliantly interweave the story of the dramatic
rescue operation with that of the tragic situation faced by the
Yazidi people in Iraq.
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