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.

Drawing on extensive interviews and correspondence with many of Tann's surviving victims, Barbara Raymond shows how Tann not only popularised adoption - which until then had been feared and discouraged - but also commercialised and corrupted it. She tells how Tann abducted babies or coerced women to leave their children in her care and then sold them. To cover her kidnapping crimes she falsified birth certificates, a practice that was approved by legislators who believed it would spare adoptees the taint of illegitimacy - an one that still holds today in the form of 'amended' birth certificates and closed adoption records. Uncovering many life-shattering stories along the way, Raymond recounts how Tann openly sold more that 5,000 children, and killed so many through neglect that Memphis's infant mortality rate soared to the highest in the country. She explores how Tann's operation was able to thrive in a Tennessee governed by 'Boss' Ed Crump and the political network that allowed her to operate with impunity. And she portrays the lack of options available to women, affecting not only the birth mothers she robbed, but also Tann herself, who turned to social work after having been barred for a 'masculine profession' - the law. Written by an adoptive mother, The Baby Thief is part social history, part detective story, and part expose. It is a riveting investigative narrative that explores themes that continue to reverberate in the modern era, when baby sellers operate overseas. It is particularly relevant at this time in the UK, amidst heated national debate over the controversial adoption targets that seem to provide a perverse incentive to remove babies from birth parents.

On screen, Danny Trejo is the most recognisable anti-hero in Hollywood. But off screen, he is so much more. The ultimate hard-knock-lifer, and a true man of the world, he has all the stories, and all the scars. Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled from an early age with heroin addiction, doing time in some of the country's most notorious prisons, before breaking into acting. Starring in modern classics and cult hits alike, including Heat, Breaking Bad, From Dusk Till Dawn and Sons of Anarchy, Danny has worked with silver-screen icons like Robert De Niro and Charles Bronson. Now, Danny recounts how he survived the horrors of jail, rebuilt his life, and drew inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbery heists of his past to forge his on-screen legend. Redemptive and raw, Trejo is an unforgettable journey through tragedy, pain, and success. Told with cowboy appeal, gritty rebel wisdom, and total honesty, these are outlaw stories from the frontiers: the frontiers of prison, of Hollywood, and of life.

A news media frenzy hurled the quiet resort community of Pinehurst into the national spotlight in 1935 when hotel magnate Ellsworth Statler's adopted daughter was discovered dead early one February morning weeks after her wedding day. A politically charged coroner's inquest failed to determine a definitive cause of death, and the following civil action continued to expose sordid details of the couple's lives. More than half a century later, the story was all but forgotten when local resident Diane McLellan spied an old photograph at a yard sale and became obsessed with solving the mystery. Her enthusiastic sleuthing captured the attention of Southern Pines resident and journalist Steve Bouser, who takes readers back to those blustery winter days so long ago in the search to reveal what really happened to Elva Statler Davidson.

22 high-profile contributors, from a wide range of backgrounds, describe how they have all achieved extraordinary success in their lives. Each then share, through their brilliantly inspirational advice, precisely what we should do, to find success in ours -------------- A FEW WISE WORDS is the perfect guide for young people, young adults (and older adults too) on how to prepare for our personal journey towards success, purpose, and fulfilment in life. -------------- This book is for parents too - helping with the vital role that we must play, to inspire our children to get completely ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead -------------- Compelling, down-to-earth, and beautifully presented, A FEW WISE WORDS can help anyone to discover the best version of themselves, while learning how to navigate their journey ahead, with confidence and direction. -------------- WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM: Sir Ben Ainslie -- Frank Arnesen -- Zak Brown -- Ursula Burns -- Sir Roger Carr -- Sherry Coutu -- Pablo Ettinger -- Mikhail Fridman -- Stephen Fry -- Dame Katherine Grainger -- Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson -- Anya Hindmarch -- Declan Kelly -- Baroness Martha Lane-Fox -- Joanna Lumley -- Dame Carolyn McCall -- Sir Keith Mills -- Vin Murria -- Danielle de Niese -- Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks -- Shriti Vadera -- Sir Clive Woodward