|
|
Books > Fiction > True stories
Pete Ashton is a detective tasked with smashing open the most
dangerous drugs gangs blighting Britain's streets. He targets
hardened criminals who have everything to lose, and who would not
hesitate to put a bullet in his head if his cover is blown. Crack
gangs, heroin dealers, speed freaks: he's infiltrated them all and
put many of them behind bars. This is the story of a life lived in
the shadows.
Journalist Kate Young decided to combine the trip of a lifetime
with a wacky writing challenge to raise money for the Earl
Mountbatten Hospice on the Isle of Wight. Starting from
post-Olympic Beijing, she lost her soul to the Mongolian steppes;
survived the hurly-burly of Ulaanbaatar; escaped amorous advances
near Lake Baikal and made it to the Tsarist majesty of Moscow in a
poignant trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
This is a compelling story about the brave recovery of a man whose
early life was full of hopelessness, who nevertheless overcame many
barriers so that he could become a normal member of society. The
author grew up in Surrey in a large working class family in which
problems were an everyday occurrence. From an early age life became
increasingly difficult due to a traumatic accident when he was
three years old, and later when at the age of twelve he was
sexually abused. Before the age of twenty-one he contracted a major
neurological illness called Dystonia. For many years thereafter, he
became addicted to prescribed medication which isolated him from
mainstream society. His problems were further exacerbated by a term
in prison. His recovery was arduous and painful and it took many
years before he found his way back to normal life through
University education, social work training and friendships. The
book is an inspiring read that will give hope and courage to many
others who have experienced similar setbacks in life.
My grandfather, Frank Carollo, was a prisoner of war in the
infamous POW camp Stalag 17 B during World War II. During these
dark days, he managed to keep a diary of his experiences, depicting
everyday life within, through beautiful short stories, poetry, and
drawings. Now years later, I've taken his accounts, adding
background details from friends and family, to create a memoir of
hope, love, and survival; a story of one man's life before, during,
and after being confined within one of the most notorious of Nazi
camps. 20% of the profits from each book sold will be donated to
the national Alzheimer's Association, in memory of Frank Carollo.
When convicted murderer Gary Tison broke out of an Arizona prison
with the help of his sons in 1978, it was an embarrassment to the
state. Then it became a nightmare. Tison and his gang murdered six
people before they were stopped near the Mexican border. Clarke's
story of that manhunt is a chilling account of both cold-blooded
murder and astonishing corruption within the state penal system.
"Last Rampage" is a tale of criminal ruthlessness that has been
called the "In Cold Blood" of the American West. Twenty years
later, overtaxed law enforcement and overcrowded prisons can only
make us wonder if such an incident could happen again.
Football supporters, over the years, have garnered a pretty poor
reputation, often regarded as anti-social yobs, or foul-mouthed
hoodlums - and at times that reputation has been well deserved.
Some supporters though, fare worse than others, and fans of Rangers
Football Club seem to be particularly vilified, very often
castigated en masse as nothing more than Neanderthal,
knuckle-dragging, bigoted thugs. Well, I'm a Rangers fan and I'm
none of the above! And neither, for that matter, are any of my
friends or associates. Rangers' supporters are in fact just normal
hard working folk who love their football team. This is my story,
from a schoolboy in Clydebank, to a married man in East Calder.
Growing up, maturing as I watch my football team. I experience
sporting joy and triumph, just as I suffer pain and tragedy, my
personal life intertwining with the fortunes of my favourites, the
Rangers. It's off to the match I go - My journey with the 'Gers
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.
The evil thugs of Idi Amin's Uganda and the fanatical bombers and
machine-gun-toting terrorists of Mumbai make The Crocodile's Teeth
a gripping tale of one man's survival and resourcefulness set
against a background of tyranny, terror and hardship on two
continents. Sam Thaker was born to Indian immigrant parents in
Uganda in the days when it was one of the most beautiful, fertile
and contented countries in the world. Then Idi Amin swept to power,
and under his tyranny Sam's paradise became a hell on Earth. Having
been forced by Amin's thugs to give up their home, Sam's thriving
airline cargo business and most of their money and possessions, he
and his family began a new life in England as near-penniless
refugees. But Sam was a survivor. Ignoring his bank manager's
patronising advice to open a corner shop, he decided instead to
build on his experience in the cargo business to start up a
London-based air freight company. Realising the immense potential
of the Indian import market, he returned to the land of his fathers
to build an international company which eventually opened offices
in eight Indian cities. Along the way he and his wife were caught
up in the wave of terrorism which struck Bombay in 1993 and again
in 2008, and narrowly escaped the floods which struck the city in
2005 and drowned more than 5000 people. The Crocodile's Teeth is a
fascinating portrait of survival and resourcefulness against a
background of tyranny and terror on two continents.
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.
|
|