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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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  • - Memories of Growing Up in the 1930s, '40s and '50s
    by Howard Temperley
    £13.49 - 22.99

  • - The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II Memories of the Only Negro Infantry Division to Fight in Europe During World War
    by Ivan J Houston
    £10.49

    Numbering 4,000 select officers and men, Combat Team 370 was part of n Europe during World War II the 92nd Infantry Division, the only all-Negro division to fight in Europe during World War II. In Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II, author Ivan J. Houston recounts his experiences, when, as a nineteen-year-old California college student, he entered the US Army and served with the 3rd Battalion, 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division of the US Fifth Army from 1943 to 1945. Drawn from minute-by-minute records of the unit's activities compiled by Houston during his deployment in Italy, this account describes both the historic encounters and the achievements of his fellow black soldiers during this breakthrough period in American military history. It tells of how the Buffalo Soldiers fought alongside other American troops, including Japanese Americans and soldiers from Great Britain, Brazil, South Africa, and India. With photos and maps included, Black Warriors: The Buffalo Soldiers of World War II provides a compelling, firsthand account of the segregated Buffalo Soldiers' experiences while they fought not only the power of the Nazi war machine but also racism and the widely held belief they were not up to the task. Their achievements prove otherwise.

  • - A Soldier's Dreams, Demons and Destination
    by George Howard Newton
    £11.99 - 21.49

  • - Composer of Lucca
    by Raffaello Barbiera, Domenico Luigi Pardini & Giovanni Battista Nappi
    £10.49 - 21.49

  • by Patti Trickett
    £14.49 - 22.49

  • - The Official 1939 Edition
    by Adolf Hitler
    £25.49 - 34.49

  • by Adolf Hitler
    £25.49 - 34.49

  • - A Memoir of Lost Generations
    by Peter Hovenden Longley
    £27.49 - 34.49

  • - The Woman Who Stole the World
    by Lynette Holloway
    £14.49

  • by Adolf Hitler
    £30.99 - 32.99

  • - A Story of Tragedy and Forgiveness
    by Grace L Fabian
    £15.49 - 21.49

  • by Savitri & Savitri Devi
    £14.49 - 23.49

  • by Maria Parnell
    £20.49

  • by Samuel Bamford
    £13.49

    Volume 1 of Samuel Bamford's autobiography. Samuel Bamford (28 February 1788 - 13 April 1872, was an English radical and writer, who was born in Middleton, Lancashire. In August 1819, Bamford led a group from Middleton to St Peter's Fields, to attend a meeting pressing for parliamentary reform, where they witnessed the Peterloo Massacre. Bamford was arrested and charged with treason. Although the evidence showed that he had not been involved in the violence, he was nevertheless found guilty of inciting a riot and sentenced to a year in Lincoln gaol. The experience of the massacre made a deep impression on Bamford, and convinced him that the state's power would always succeed against radical militancy. He came to be seen as a voice for radical reform, but opposed to any activism that involved physical force. Bamford was the author of poetry (mostly in standard English)but of those in dialect several showing sympathy with the conditions of the working class became widely popular.

  • Save 10%
    by Robert Webb
    £8.99

    Following Peep Show, and alongside Back, the new Mitchell and Webb sitcom, comes part-memoir, part call-to-arms from the award-winning and hilariously funny Robert Webb

  • Save 15%
    - Extraordinary but true stories from over a century of golf
    by Andrew Ward
    £10.99

    A quirky collection of true stories from the stranger side of golf, including irrational finishes, record rounds and famous freak shots.

  • Save 24%
    - An Enlightening Story
    by Bruce D Schneider
    £15.99

    An enlightening story. . . Scott Billings has a pretty good life, or so it appears. But something is missing for him.

  • by Vera Seaton
    £20.49

  • - The Final Years
    by David E Stanley
    £27.49

    In My Brother Elvis, David Stanley shares his harrowing experiences while on the road as a 16 year old bodyguard to the King of Rock n' Roll. The final 5 years of Elvis Presley's life were filled with his greatest triumphs and his toughest tribulations, as the iconic star fought a war with addiction he would tragically lose at the age of 42.Though surrounded by those who loved him and revered around the globe, Elvis battled the demons of fame, depression and loss, and those demons eventually proved too strong a foe. Despite the efforts of his family and friends, Elvis Presley eventually succumbed to his addiction on August 16, 1977, leaving a trail of devastation and loss felt worldwide to this day.In sharing this intimate account of his stepbrother, David hopes to reach those who are also suffering from addiction-some 15 million from prescription drugs in the US alone.Though many never knew, Elvis was famous for far more than music, as he was the ultimate giver to those around him. In this spirit of giving, David is revealing and laying bare the cold, hard realties of addiction, in the attempt to help as many addicts as possible recover successfully from this often-fatal disease.

  • by Savitri Devi
    £20.99 - 31.99

  • by Adolf Hitler
    £27.49

  • - Including Stories from the Poolroom
    by Michael P MacDonald
    £13.49

  • Save 19%
    by Candida Lycett Green
    £12.99

    Here she lives with her father John Betjeman and her mother Penelope Chetwode, in one of the bleakest and highest spots on the windswept downland.Candida runs wild with the 'gang' of village children. Stimulated by regular excursions to the cinema in Wantage, Candida and her best friend June became fascinated by the idea of love.

  • Save 20%
    - A Wellbeing & Happiness Journal
    by Peter Coxon
    £11.99

    Forward Thinking offers a year of weekly suggested mindful activities punctuated by motivational quotes to help people thrive and flourish, living the life they wish to lead and be in their element.

  • - Exploring Sathya Sai Baba's Mystery and Unique Contributions as the Harbinger of the New Age
    by Satya Pal Ruhela
    £11.49

  • by Adolf Eichmann
    £18.49 - 22.49

  • Save 14%
    - The international bestselling memoir
    by Tara Westover
    £9.49

  • by Kreitim Aftim
    £10.49

    Author looks back on his lengthy career working for the BBC.

  • by Otto Dix
    £23.49

    Otto Dix (1891–1969) is considered one of the true lions of 20th-C art, a man who established himself as an uncompromising artist that refused to temper how he rendered the realities that he witnessed. Dix’s early works often depict the true brutalities of the WWI battlefields and trenches he served in for over three years, as well as the decadent underworld of 1920s Berlin.  With the publication of this first of three volumes of an extensive selection of letters, the most comprehensive collection of Otto Dix texts at last comes into print in English. Encompassing well over 1,000 letters, and ranging from friends and family to other artists, collectors, colleagues, critics & biographers, the letters offer a personal portrait of six decades of the 20th C. Dix himself was a controversial figure throughout his life, and while he claimed never to write self-testimonials, the artist had much to say about the widest range of subjects in his private correspondence. Therein, we discover much about a figure who exhibited a gruff, often abrasive persona to many, a man who depicted war with unrepentant brutality yet who could at the same time pen the most romantic, schmaltzy letters to his wife and sketch amusing caricatures to his daughter.   Following his experiences throughout WWI, Dix immediately took up with the dadaists in Dresden in 1919 and became an established figure as part of the Sezession. A few years later, after his first portrait commission in Dusseldorf in 1922, Dix met his future wife, Martha, with whom he would go on to raise three children, and who is one of the principle correspondents in this volume of letters. Some of his most significant work was produced in the 1920s, including his powerful Krieg (War) portfolio, for which the Nazis branded him a “degenerate artist” and forced him to resign his professorship in 1933. Condemned to internal exile, Dix thereafter resided in Hemmenhofen, in the extreme southwest part of Germany. Twelve years later, he would suffer further indignities from the Nazis when ordered to join the Volkssturm in 1945. Dix ended up in a prisoner-of-war camp, again a survivor of a second harrowing cataclysm. After his release, from 1946 onwards, the painter lived between East and West Germany, never truly at home in either ideologically, yet he remained prolific, continuing to produce art until the end of his life, having lived through two World Wars as well as the “Cold War.” This first volume covers the period 1904–1927 and the heart of it is a selection of Dix’s postcards from the WWI front written to his school friend in Dresden, Helene Jakob, a form of artistic reportage of uncanny power. Recipient of the Die schönsten Deutschen Bücher shortlist in 2014, Dix’s letters will prove to be of considerable interest to art historians, scholars of Expressionism, and aficionados of Dix, all of whom will encounter the artist as never before.

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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