Secondhand Biographies

'Once upon a time there was a father who, because he had grown old, called together his sons and daughters - four, five, six, eight in number - and finally...

Food - meals eaten together in many different places and circumstances - is the common thread of this book whose underlying idea is that the family at the table is...

'I was born on 31 January 1979 - a Wednesday. I know it was a Wednesday, becasue the date is blue in my mind and Wednesdays are always blue, like...

Shearling boots. Draped ponchos. Shoulder pads. Turbans. Jumpsuits. These items are all glamorous, fashionable, and desirable - to women. But do they literally send men running in the opposite direction?...

This is the fantastic true story of Pitt the Younger's niece, Lady Hester Stanhope, who, at the turn of the eighteenth century left her homeland and travelled through Cairo, Jaffa,...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZElonglisted for the ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTIONA BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, i PAPER, NEW STATESMAN,...

Afghanistan: Parvana's father is arrested and taken away by the Taliban solders. Under Taliban law, women and girls are not allowed to leave home. Parvana, her mother and sisters must...

"I was bored, angry, tired and sad. I felt all alone, yet I had nothing to complain about. I had a good job, a husband who wasn't shagging his assistant,...

Take a funny and illuminating tour of the female body with award-winning comedian Sara Pascoe. Women have so much going on, what with boobs and jealousy and menstruating and broodiness...

'You are here for the rest of your life. Do you understand? You are not leaving Iran. You are here until you die.'Betty Mahmoody and her husband, Dr Sayyed Bozorg...

The day Koren turned fourteen she tasted alcohol for the first time. At fifteen she was piecing together forgotten fragments of drink, men and misplaced clothes. At sixteen she was...

In 1984, when he was Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester, John Stalker was asked to go to Northern Ireland to investigate the alleged "shoot to kill" policy by RUC policemen...

The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, LONG WALK TO FREEDOM brilliantly recreates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny....

The remarkable and shocking true account of the kidnap of Natascha Kampusch in 1998, who shares her deeply moving story. On 2 March 1998 ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was snatched off...

NEW STATESMAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017Most politicians write autobiographies to 'set the record straight' and provide retrospective justification for their careers. That is not the case with this book....

* * * WINNER OF THE 2014 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS POPULAR NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR * * *'I adored this book, and I could quote from it forever. It's...

These volumes comprise Bell's celebrated trilogy of novelized memoirs set in the West Suffolk countryside between the two World Wars. The lasting fascination of all three books lies in the...

This is the dramatic story of Meihong Xu, a remarkable woman trained as an elite member of the Chinese Army, who fell in love with the visiting American professor on...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Compassionate, unblinking and very, very funny' MEG ROSOFF'Eye-opening . . . occasionally haunting, always insightful' DAVID EAGLEMANFrom her very first day at Westwind Cremation & Burial,...

The authoritative and illuminating biography of T. E. Lawrence - the man who inspired the iconic film Lawrence of Arabia - from "The World's Greatest Living Explorer" Ranulph Fiennes.Thomas Edward...

In this book my father dies. I almost die.*** My showbiz career winds down. And yet everyone keeps telling me it's the funniest book I've ever written. If I'd known...

'Gillespie is rock and roll's Oliver Twist. A punk rock fairytale, razor sharp on class struggle, music, style, and a singular view of the world resulting in one of the...

Before she became Smokin Jo - the most famous and visible of the first generation of 'superstar DJs' - Joanne Joseph was a young girl growing up in a children's...

A BEST BOOK OF 2023 IN THE TIMES, GUARDIAN AND WALL STREET JOURNAL A searing memoir from Hadley Freeman, bestselling author of House of Glass, about one of the most...

The story of an unwanted Chinese daughter growing up during the Communist Revolution, blamed for her mother's death, ignored by her millionaire father and unwanted by her Eurasian step mother....

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they bought...

**THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** **WINNER OF THE 2010 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD** 264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them bigger than a matchbox: Edmund de Waal was entranced...

In his New York Times bestselling memoir, A Work in Progress, Connor Franta shared his journey from small-town Midwestern boy to full-fledged Internet sensation. Exploring his past with humor and...

Your perception of your body will change when you read this book. You will be pulling on your jeans or your black lace bra, & suddenly consider why you decorate...

** CONTAINS NEW MATERIAL ** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTELLER & WINNER OF THE ATTITUDE BOOK AWARD 'Refreshing, inspiring and candid.' ATTITUDE 'I love this man so much. He was, and...

I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the...

On 17th November, 2012, Salvador Alvarenga left the coast of Mexico for a two-day fishing trip. A vicious storm killed his engine and the current dragged his boat out to...

From a filthy flat in Tufnell Park to the starship Enterprise, it's fair to say that Simon Pegg's career didn't go quite the way he expected. Zombies in North London,...

Who'd have thought a missing bacon rasher and a teaspoon would play a part in advancing someone's career? It's the late '60s and Jane Yeadon has always wanted to be...

THE PHENOMENAL KOREAN BESTSELLERTRANSLATED BY INTERNATIONAL BOOKER SHORTLISTEE ANTON HURPSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you? ME: I don't know, I'm - what's the word - depressed? Do I have...