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Biographies

A good biography invites you into someone else’s life. It takes you on fascinating journeys through the ups and downs of the life of legendary film stars, talented musicians, inspiring athletes, visionary politicians and many more. A good biography lets you get under the skin of your biggest idols, and you feel collected when reading their story - maybe even in the form of their own words. You will find both biographies and autobiographies in Tales’ selection, in addition to diaries and memoirs. So are you ready to be inspired by some of the world’'s most extraordinary individuals?
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  • - A Case Study of Mass Murder
    by Martin Dillon
    £9.49

    This book by the author of "Rogue Warrior of the SAS", retells the story of a series of murders by the Ulster Volunteer Force in N. Ireland in the 1970s. When convicted, the killers received over 2000 years in jail, the longest sentences ever given in a single trial in British legal history.

  • by Woody Guthrie
    £8.99

    An autobiography of Woody Guthrie, founder of modern American folk music. This book presents a cynical, earthy and tragic account of his life in an Oklahoma oil-boom town, of the Depression that followed, and of his subsequent travels in, on, and under trains, in stolen cars and on his feet, round an America going rotten from the top downwards.

  • - Journals
    by Kurt Cobain
    £18.99

    The first publication of Kurt Cobain's diaries, which were found after his death in 1994. Genuinely moving, provocative and candid, and suprisingly funny, pieces of writing which, as a whole, provide a unique account of the rise and fall of a greatpopular artist and icon.

  • - Tales of Glamour and Excess
    by Danny Sugerman
    £10.99

    WONDERLAND AVENUE is the careering autobiography of someone who wilfully, skilfully and enthusiastically abused all the cards that life dealt.

  • - And Heaven and Hell
    by Aldous Huxley
    £8.99

    In 1953, in the presence of an investigator, Aldous Huxley took four-tenths of a gramme of mescalin, sat down and waited to see what would happen. When he opened his eyes everything, from the flowers in a vase to the creases in his trousers, was transformed.

  • by Evan Wright
    £9.49

    Generation Kill is about the young men sent to fight their nation's first open-ended war since Vietnam. Generation Kill is not just a combat chronicle but an inside look at how people fighting in war actually experience it.

  • - An Autobiography
    by Andre Agassi
    £9.49

    He is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court - but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game.

  • by Dame Ethel Smyth
    £21.49

    Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) was an exceptional woman in an age rich in strong personalities. A feminist, intrepid traveller and sportswoman, she wrote nine volumes of autobiography, recounting a life packed with incident. Her writings, abridged by Ronald Crichton, and including a catalogue of her music, are full of brilliant portraits.

  • - A Year On The Killing Streets
    by David Simon
    £10.99

    The bestselling true crime classic from the creator of The Wire

  • - Being a True and Detailed History of the Most Barbarous and Inhumane Murder at Oddingley and the Quick and Awful Retribution
    by Peter Moore
    £13.49

    The brutal murder of the Reverend George Parker in the rural village of Oddingley on Midsummer's Day in 1806 - shot and beaten to death, his body set on fire and left smouldering in his own glebe field - gripped everyone from the Home Secretary in London to newspapermen across the country.

  • by Roger Deakin
    £9.49

    From the sea, from rock pools, from rivers and streams, tarns, lakes, lochs, ponds, lidos, swimming pools and spas, from fens, dykes, moats, aqueducts, waterfalls, flooded quarries, even canals, Deakin gains a fascinating perspective on modern Britain.

  • - Love, Grief and a Journey into Japan's Shadows
    by Richard Lloyd Parry
    £9.49

    In the summer of 2000, Jane Steare received the phone call every mother dreads. Her daughter Lucie Blackman - tall, blonde, and twenty-one years old - had stepped into the vastness of a Tokyo summer and disappeared forever. That winter, her dismembered remains were found buried in a seaside cave. Had Lucie been abducted by a religious cult?

  • by Hermione Lee
    £21.99

    Her brilliant, disturbing fiction shows her deep understanding of the longing and struggle in women's lives. This masterly new biography draws on new material and delves into every aspect of Wharton's extraordinary life-story.

  • - Insider's Edition
    by Anthony Bourdain
    £10.99

    Kitchen Confidential is a captivating book penned by the renowned author, Anthony Bourdain. Published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, this book delves into the thrilling and often unseen world of culinary arts. Bourdain, with his characteristic wit and candor, takes the reader on an unforgettable journey behind the scenes of restaurant kitchens, revealing both the highs and lows of the food industry. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the genre of culinary literature. It offers an insightful, no-holds-barred view of what it truly means to be a chef. Kitchen Confidential is a testament to Bourdain's love for food and his respect for those who dedicate their lives to creating it. Read it to explore the culinary world through the eyes of one of its most iconic figures.

  • - The True Story of My Lifelong Battle With Anorexia
    by Nikki Grahame
    £15.99

    'The figure looking back at me was little more than a skeleton with just a thin layer of tissue paper for skin, drawn over the stick-like bones. I stood staring for a good couple of minutes, considering what I'd become. And my verdict? Brilliant, I thought. It's been worth every moment of all that hard work.'

  • by Sam Millar
    £11.49

    The incredible true life story of Sam Millar, from his childhood in Belfast to membership of the IRA, time spent in Long Kesh internment camps and carrying out the $7 million Brinks heist, one of the biggest robberies in U.S. history. Subject of RTE Documentary on One: The Seven Million Dollar Man.

  • - The Inspirational Memoir of the World's Greatest Ultra-Runner
    by Kilian Jornet
    £11.99

    Run or Die by Kilian Jornet - the autobiography of the world's most dominating athlete in ultra runningShortlisted for the 2014 William Hill Sports Book of the Year AwardNational Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2014Marca Legend Award 2014 'This man can run 100 miles. Up and down mountains. Without stopping. After skipping breakfast. Meet Kilian Jornet, the world's greatest ultra-runner' The TimesAt 18 months he went on his first hike. At 3, he climbed his first mountain. At 10, he entered his first mountain race. At 26, he plans to run up Everest - without an oxygen mask.Kilian Jornet has conquered some of the toughest physical tests on the planet. He has run up and down Mt. Kilimanjaro faster than any other human being, and struck down world records in every challenge that has been proposed - all before the age of 25. Dominating ultra marathons and races at altitude, he has redefined what is possible in running, astonishing competitors with his near-superhuman fitness and ability.In Run or Die Kilian shares his passion, inviting readers into a fascinating world rich with the beauty of rugged trails and mountain vistas, the pulse-pounding drama of racing, and an intense love for sport and the landscapes that surround him. In turns inspiring, insightful, candid, and deeply personal, this is a book written from the heart of the world's greatest endurance runner, for whom life presents one simple choice: Run. Or die.This is the next must-have read for those who enjoyed the endurance books Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes.'Fascinating insight into the gruelling world of the ultimate ultra-runner' Daily MailKilian Jornet is a world champion ultra-runner, climber and ski mountaineer (a combination of skiing and mountaineering).He was voted the presitigious 'Adventurer of the Year 2014' award by National Geographic magazine, in honour of his latest project to break speed records up and down the world's 7 tallest mountains. The 4-year-project finishes with a running attempt up Everest in 2016.

  • - The Autobiography
    by Richie McCaw
    £16.99

    In his autobiography, McCaw recounts for the first time, with brutal honesty, the roots of his family life that defined his character and how it gave him the strength to emerge from the lowest moment in his career to become the most successful Captain world rugby has ever seen.

  • - A True Story of Corruption, Murder and how I became Putin's no. 1 enemy
    by Bill Browder
    £9.49

    Magnitsky's brutal killing has remained uninvestigated and unpunished to this day. His farcical posthumous show-trial brought Putin's regime to a new low in the eyes of the international community.

  • - My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made
    by Tom Bissell & Greg Sestero
    £8.99 - 9.49

    Now a major motion picture, The Disaster Artist, starring James Franco, Alison Brie, Zoey Deutch, Lizzy Caplan, Zac Efron, Bryan Cranston, Dave Franco, Kristen Bell, Seth Rogen, Sharon Stone, and Judd Apatow.In 2003, an independent film called The Room - starring and written, produced, and directed by a mysteriously wealthy social misfit named Tommy Wiseau - made its disastrous debut in Los Angeles. Described by one reviewer as 'like getting stabbed in the head', the $6 million film earned a grand total of $1,800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. Over a decade later, The Room is an international cult phenomenon, whose legions of fans attend screenings featuring costumes, audience rituals, merchandising and thousands of plastic spoons. In The Disaster Artist, Greg Sestero, Tommy's costar, recounts the film's bizarre journey to infamy, explaining how the movie's many nonsensical scenes and bits of dialogue came to be and unraveling the mystery of Tommy Wiseau himself. But more than just a riotously funny story about cinematic hubris, The Disaster Artist is an honest and warm testament to friendship.

  • - A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE
    by Phil Knight
    £9.49

    The first-ever memoir of the legendary co-founder of Nike Inc, Phil Knight

  • - A Tale of the Lake District
    by James Rebanks
    £9.49

    THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER'Affectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book' Nigel Slater'Triumphant, a pastoral for the 21st century' Helen Davies, Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'The nature publishing sensation of the year, unsentimental yet luminous' Melissa Harrison, The Times, Books of the YearSome people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.

  • - An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea
    by Jonathan Franklin
    £9.49

    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 sea. The storm picked up and carried him West, deeper into the heart of the Pacific Ocean. Alvarenga would not touch solid ground again for 14 months. When he was washed ashore on January 30th, 2014, he had drifted over 9,000 miles. Three dozen cruise ships and container vessels passed nearby. Not one stopped for the stranded fisherman. He considered suicide on multiple occasions - including offering himself up to a pack of circling sharks. But Alvarenga developed a method of survival that kept his body and mind intact long enough for the Pacific Ocean to spit him up onto a remote palm-studded island. Crawling ashore, he was saved by a local couple living in their own private castaway paradise.Based on dozens of hours of interviews with Alvarenga and his colleagues, search and rescue officials, the medical team that saved his life and the remote islanders who nursed him back to normality, 438 Days by Jonathan Franklin is an epic tale of survival and one man's incredible story of beating the ultimate odds.

  • by Daniel Friebe
    £10.99 - 18.99

    The first full biography of one of the most controversial champions of the Tour de France, Jan Ullrich.

  • - In Pursuit of the Rural Dream
    by Janine Marsh
    £8.99

    Ten years ago, Janine Marsh decided to leave her corporate life behind to fix up a run-down barn in northern France. This is the true story of her rollercoaster ride from her early struggles and homesickness through personal tragedy, to her attempts to become self-sufficient, with her sharp observations on the very different way of life in France.

  • by Gerald Durrell
    £8.99

  • by Emma Baxter-Wright
    £11.49

    Little Book of Chanel is a fascinating exploration of the timeless elegance of Chanel. Authored by Emma Baxter-Wright, this book delves into the iconic brand's evolution and influence in the fashion industry. Published in 2017, the book offers an intimate look at the creative journey of one of the most celebrated fashion houses in the world. Baxter-Wright, a renowned fashion journalist, provides an in-depth analysis of Chanel's unique style and its impact on contemporary fashion. Published by the Welbeck Publishing Group, this book is a must-read for fashion enthusiasts and those interested in the history of high fashion. Dive into the Little Book of Chanel and immerse yourself in the captivating world of luxury fashion.

  • - The Story of Women in the 20th Century Told Through the Clothes They Wore
    by Lynn Knight
    £9.49

    Tracing the story of women at home and in work, from the jet buttons of Victorian mourning, to the short skirts of the 1960s, taking in suffragettes, bachelor girls, little dressmakers, Biba and the hankering for vintage, this book lifts the lid on women's lives and their clothes.

  • - A Memoir
    by Chris Packham
    £10.99

    Voted the UK s Favourite Nature BookThe memoir that inspired Chris Packham's BBC documentary, Asperger s and MeEvery minute was magical, every single thing it did was fascinating and everything it didn't do was equally wondrous, and to be sat there, with a Kestrel, a real live Kestrel, my own real live Kestrel on my wrist! I felt like I'd climbed through a hole in heaven's fence.An introverted, unusual young boy, isolated by his obsessions and a loner at school, Chris Packham only felt at ease in the fields and woods around his suburban home. But when he stole a young Kestrel from its nest, he was about to embark on a friendship that would teach him what it meant to love, and that would change him forever. In his rich, lyrical and emotionally exposing memoir, Chris brings to life his childhood in the 70s, from his bedroom bursting with fox skulls, birds' eggs and sweaty jam jars, to his feral adventures. But pervading his story is the search for freedom, meaning and acceptance in a world that didn t understand him.Beautifully wrought, this coming-of-age memoir will be unlike any you've ever read.

  • by Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
    £9.49

    ';The work that brought down a presidency...perhaps the most influential piece of journalism in history' (Time)from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, #1 New York Times bestselling authors of The Final Days. The most devastating political detective story of the century: two Washington Post reporters, whose brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation smashed the Watergate scandal wide open, tell the behind-the-scenes drama the way it really happened. One of Time magazine's All-Time 100 Best Nonfiction Books, this is the book that changed America. Published just months before President Nixon's resignation, All the President's Men revealed the full scope of the scandal and introduced for the first time the mysterious ';Deep Throat.' Beginning with the story of a simple burglary at Democratic headquarters and then continuing through headline after headline, Bernstein and Woodward deliver a riveting firsthand account of their reporting. Their explosive reports won a Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post, toppled the president, and have since inspired generations of reporters. All the President's Men is a riveting detective story, capturing the exhilarating rush of the biggest presidential scandal in US history as it unfolded in real time.

Biographies
Biographies books are per definition a collection of someone’s life. That someone is mostly a celebrity and often comes from the world of entertainment for example a famous movie or television star. A good biography lets you under the skin of the subject. Biographies are mostly written by biography authors, who are specialized in capturing the life of another person through research and multiple interviews with both the individual and his or her relatives. The celebrity or icon can also choose to write his or her own story, which is what characterizes an autobiography. An autobiography can - if the writer is good - give you a more intimate picture of the subject. You can both find biographies and autobiographies in Tales’ wide selection of Biographies. 

Biographies best sellers
Tales’ selection contains most of the biographies best sellers. The biographies books are often about celebrities known from film, television or the music industry, but they can also be about inspiring trailblazers from the societal or political world like the biography best seller Becoming about Michelle Obama. The American first lady has inspired many Americans and people around the world. Her and her husband - the first black American first lady and President - made many extraordinary changes in the American society and advocated for more diversity and respect in the American people. Michelle Obama also fights for more equality, especially when it comes to girls and women. Read the inspiring story of how Michelle Obama became one of our times most popular, kind and obliging residents of the White House in her biography Becoming, and let it guide you to finding our own voice. 
Another best seller is Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. Taddeo has written an innovative biography that is a collection of three American women's lives. The biography is an investigation of the female lust in all its complexity. Many women have expressed that they can reflect their own life and feelings of desire in the book. 

Biographies about musicians
Take a look in our selection and find some of the best biographies about musicians. The selection has something for every taste, because you find accounts about musicians from every end of the spectre. Whether you like rock, jazz, classical music, pop or musicals you will find biographies about musicians representing every genre. 
Take for example the autobiography Me Elton John, who has gained extraordinary reviews and success all around the world making the Elton John biography an international best seller. The book is the only official biography made about the iconic musician and singer. Read the incredible and turbulent story about one of our biggest stars to date, and you might learn the secrets behind writing and performing hit after hit.
You can also dive into the fascinating story of the musical legend Julie Andrews. In the biography Home you can read about her journey from London to Broadway stardom. The triple threat is the woman behind legendary roles such as Mary Poppins and Maria from The Sound of Music, and you can follow her journey through Hollywood in the sequel Home Work. Julie Andrews is the writer of her own story and she writes in an intimate and heart-warming narrative. 

Biographies about artists
Are you an art lover, art student or an artist yourself? Then we would recommend you to find inspiration in our biographies about artists. Our collection of biographies contains among others the book Frida Kahlo - A Biography written by Claudia Schaefer. Schaefer gives an introduction to the beloved Latino artist. Frida Kahlo is one of modern times greatest female artists and her surrealist artworks are extraordinary. The biography introduces the reader to her unique form of art - Kahlo did not see herself as a surrealist - but it also gives a look into the artist behind the world famous works of art. If you want to dive into the lives of amazing artists, the story of Kahlo is just one of many wonderful biographies about artists. 

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