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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 New Life of Charles V
    by Geoffrey Parker
    £18.49

  • Save 23%
    - A Complete Guide to the World of Cinema
    by Ronald Bergan
    £15.49

    Immerse yourself into the world of cinema and discover action-packed chases, epic journeys, and tear-jerking moments.Get the popcorn popping and keep the movies coming! From box office hits and cult classics to romcoms and thrillers, this is your go-to guide to movies, directors, genres and styles.This ultimate movie guide profiles more than 100 of the most significant films ever made and brings cinema to life in true blockbuster fashion. Discover the behind-the-scenes stories about timeless classics like Citizen Kane and The Godfather, and take a front-row seat at lavish blockbusters like Star Wars or Titanic.- Lists of top 10 film recommendations - What to watch boxes that explore specific plot lines, scenes, and images- Trivia sections to test your knowledge on Oscar-winning movies, biggest flops and banned films- Explains complex methods of film-making in familiar, non-technical jargon- High-resolution photography and stills allow for a deeper understanding of the nature of film-makingEach page of this film book takes you on a journey through the ever-changing landscape of cinema - from Hollywood to Bollywood and everything in between. It includes every film-making school from across the globe, behind-the-scenes shots, profiles of 100 influential directors, and lists more than 100 of the greatest movies ever made!Lights. Camera. Action!Whether you enjoy art films or sci-fi, going to the cinema or watching movies on Netflix, The Film Book covers it all. It's perfect for inspiring your next movie night!This updated version covers the best films and directors of the last 10 years, along with new discoveries in the history of cinema since the last edition from 2011. It's the ultimate gift for any film buff or critic.

  • - A Concern
    by Andrea Long Chu
    £8.99

    An exploration of gender and desire from our most exciting new public intellectual

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    - A Trading Savant, a Global Manhunt and the Most Mysterious Market Crash in History
    by Liam Vaughan
    £8.99

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    by Carine McCandless
    £8.99

    The key missing piece of Jon Krakauer's multi million, multi territory bestseller and widely acclaimed Sean Penn film Into the Wild is finally revealed by his best friend and sister, Carine. The story of Chris McCandless, who gave away his savings, hitchhiked to Alaska, walked into the wilderness alone, and starved to death in 1992, fascinated not just New York Times bestselling author Jon Krakauer, but the rest of the nation too. Krakauer's book and a Sean Penn film skyrocketed Chris McCandless to worldwide fame, but the real story of his life and his journey has not yet been told - until now. Carine McCandless, Chris's sister, featured in both the book and film, was the person with whom he had the closest bond, and who witnessed firsthand the dysfunctional and violent family dynamic that made Chris willing to embrace the harsh wilderness of Alaska. Growing up in the same troubled and volatile household that sent Chris on his fatal journey into the wild, Carine finally reveals the broader and deeper reality about life in the McCandless family. For decades, Carine and Chris's parents, a successful aerospace engineer and his beautiful wife, raised their children in the tony suburbs of Northern Virginia. But behind closed doors, her father beat and choked her mother. He whipped Carine and Chris with his belt. He cursed them, belittled their accomplishments, and told them they were nothing without him. Carine and Chris hid under the stairs, hoping to avoid his wrath. They were teenagers before they learned they were conceived while their father was still married and having babies with his first wife, who finally summoned the courage to leave him after he broke her back in a fight. In the 20-plus years since the tragedy of Chris's death, she has searched for some kind of redemption. But in this touching and deeply personal memoir, she reveals how she has learned that real redemption can only come from speaking the truth. Finally, she has found the truth not just in her brother's story, but also her own.

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    - The Evolution of Animals, Minds, Consciousness and Dreams
    by Peter Godfrey-Smith
    £9.49

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    by Christina Lamb
    £10.99

    'A wake-up call ... These women's stories will make you weep, and then rage at the world's indifference.' Amal ClooneyFrom award-winning war reporter and co-author of I Am Malala, this is the first major account to address the scale of rape and sexual violence in modern conflict.Christina Lamb has worked in war and combat zones for over thirty years. In Our Bodies, Their Battlefield she gives voice to the women of conflicts, exposing how in today's warfare, rape is used by armies, terrorists and militias as a weapon to humiliate, oppress and carry out ethnic cleansing.Speaking to survivors first-hand, Lamb encounters the suffering and bravery of women in war and meets those fighting for justice. From Southeast Asia where 'comfort women' were enslaved by the Japanese during World War Two to the Rwandan genocide, when an estimated quarter of a million women were raped, to the Yazidi women and children of today who witnessed the mass murder of their families before being enslaved by ISIS. Along the way Lamb uncovers incredible stories of heroism and resistance, including the Bosnian women who have hunted down more than a hundred war criminals, the Aleppo beekeeper rescuing Yazidis and the Congolese doctor who has risked his life to treat more rape victims than anyone else on earth.Rape may be as old as war but it is a preventable crime. Bearing witness does not guarantee it won't happen again, but it can take away any excuse that the world simply didn't know.

  • Save 15%
    by Annie Ernaux
    £10.99

    In A GIRL'S STORY, Annie Ernaux revisits the summer of 1958, her first away from home, and recounts the first night she spent with a man.

  • Save 14%
    by Marcus Aurelius
    £9.49

    The private notebooks of Roman Emperor and Philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, published here with an introduction by John Sellars.

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    - The Donkey Who Survived Against All Odds and Raced Like a Champion
    by Christopher McDougall
    £9.49

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    - The Restless Life of Soren Kierkegaard
    by Clare Carlisle
    £9.49

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    - Surgery on the Front Line
    by David Nott
    £9.49

    The gripping true story of a front-line trauma surgeon in the world's most dangerous war zones.

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    - How Wolves Can Teach Us To Be More Human
    by Elli H. Radinger
    £9.49

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    - Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
    by Ronan Farrow
    £9.49

    In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.

  • Save 14%
    - A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, etc.
    by Jeff Tweedy
    £9.49

    Through his pioneering work in the legendary country-punk band, Uncle Tupelo, to his enduring legacy as the creative force behind the unclassifiable sound of Wilco, Jeff Tweedy has weaved his way between the underground and the mainstream - and back again.

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    - 253 Steps to Becoming an Anti-it Girl
    by Celeste Barber
    £9.49

    `Prepare to laugh' - Reese Witherspoon 253 steps to becoming an anti-it girl.

  • Save 18%
    - Weird. Wonderful. Indispensable. the Ones Who Run Our World.
    by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
    £8.99

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    - Our Surprising Love Story
    by Savannah LaBrant & Cole LaBrant
    £11.49

    Popular YouTubers Cole and Savannah LaBrant share their inspiring love story, highlighting the redemptive, surprising nature of God at work in our lives, and how He graciously steps in and turns our messes into something beautiful.

  • Save 10%
    by Clementine Ford
    £8.99

    An incendiary debut taking the world by storm, Fight Like A Girl is an essential manifesto for feminists new, old and soon-to-be.

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    - The perfect gift for the adventurer in your life
    by Simon Reeve
    £10.99

    The inspiring memoir from TV traveller Simon Reeve's life of amazing adventures in over 120 countries and the most remote and extreme corners of the planet.

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    - A new story about anxiety
    by Sarah Wilson
    £10.99

    I loved this book.' Matt Haig, author of Reasons to Stay Alive and Notes On a Nervous Planet'Probably the best book on living with anxiety that I've ever read.' Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck If you have anxiety, this book is for you.

  • - The True Story Volume Two
    by Andrea Perron
    £17.99 - 21.99

  • Save 28%
    - Bring that Horizon to Me!
    by Neil Peart
    £27.49

  • Save 14%
    - A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery
    by Scott Kelly
    £9.49

    From the Nasa astronaut who spent a record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station - what it's like out there and what it's like now, back here.

  • Save 20%
    - The Biography
    by Philip Norman
    £11.99

    Illuminating biography of legendary composer, musician and performer Paul McCartney.

  • Save 21%
    - On Days Like These
    by Neil Peart
    £14.99

  • Save 14%
    - My Life in and out of Aerosmith
    by Joe Perry
    £9.49

    Aerosmith's Joe Perry opens up for the first time to tell the wild, remarkably candid inside story of his lifein the band

  • Save 14%
    - The Anatomy of Crime
    by Val McDermid
    £9.49

  • Save 14%
    by Dave Eggers
    £9.49

    The superb, bestselling story of David Eggers's extraordinary life with his brother

  • Save 14%
    - A Life Backwards
    by Alexander Masters
    £9.49

    `Stuart does not like the manuscript. He's after a bestseller, "like what Tom Clancy writes". "But you are not an assassin trying to frazzle the president with anthrax bombs," I point out. You are an ex-homeless, ex-junkie psychopath, I do not add.'

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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