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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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  • Save 20%
    by Nick Cave
    £11.99

    Romantic, poetic and heartfelt, Nick Cave's Sick Bag Song is a contemporary epic, somewhere between Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Wasteland

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    - Life Lessons
    by Kevin Hart
    £7.99

    Motivational memoir from the award-winning actor and comedian Kevin Hart, full of hilarious-yet-sincere advice for living your best life.

  • Save 24%
    - The Autobiography of the Great Wisdom Queen
    by The Terton Drime Kunga
    £17.49

  • Save 15%
    by Patti Smith
    £10.99

    'So honest and pure as to count as a true rapture' JOAN DIDION'A poetic masterpiece' JOHNNY DEPP'Our St John of the Cross, a mystic full of compassion' EDMUND WHITE'A roadmap to my life', from the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids: an unforgettable odyssey of a legendary artist, told through the prism of cafés and haunts she has worked in around the worldREVISED EDITION WITH FIVE THOUSAND WORDS OF BONUS MATERIAL AND NEW PHOTOGRAPHS M Train begins in the tiny Greenwich Village café where Smith goes every morning for black coffee, ruminates on the world as it is and the world as it was, and writes in her notebook. Through prose that shifts fluidly between dreams and reality, past and present, and across a landscape of creative aspirations and inspirations, we travel to Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul in Mexico; to a meeting of an Arctic explorer's society in Berlin; to a ramshackle seaside bungalow in New York's Far Rockaway that Smith acquires just before Hurricane Sandy hits; and to the graves of Genet, Plath, Rimbaud and Mishima. Woven throughout are reflections on the writer's craft and on artistic creation. Here, too, are singular memories of Smith's life in Michigan and the irremediable loss of her husband, Fred Sonic Smith. Braiding despair with hope and consolation, illustrated with her signature Polaroids, M Train is a meditation on travel, detective shows, literature and coffee. It is a powerful, deeply moving book by one of the most remarkable artists at work today.

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    - A True Story
    by Whitley Strieber
    £10.99

    This UFO classic and the basis for the cult film starring Christopher Walken, Communion is one of the most thought-provoking books of the twentieth-century.

  • Save 21%
    - My Life as a Country Vet
    by David E Fisher
    £13.49

  • Save 18%
    by Rich Froning
    £11.49

    Physical Strength Can Only Take You So Far Reigning CrossFit World Champion Rich Froning is ΓÇ£The Fittest Man on Earth.ΓÇ¥ HeΓÇÖs fast. HeΓÇÖs strong. And heΓÇÖs incredibly disciplined. But it takes more than physical strength to compete and win at an elite level. It takes incredible mental and spiritual toughness as well. And it is the precise balance of all three that makes Rich Froning a champion. In First, readers come alongside Rich as he trains for and competes in back-to-back-to-back CrossFit World Championships. Along the way, Rich shares invaluable training tips, motivational techniques, and spiritual insights that, in keeping with the CrossFit philosophy, will prepare you to respond to any real-life physical, mental and spiritual challenge.

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    - The Fall and Rise of David Millar
    by David Millar
    £10.99

    The SUNDAY TIMES bestselling memoir from the Tour de France cyclist who lifts the lid on his drug use and return to sport.

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    - The Biography
    by Neal Gabler
    £11.99

    The definitive biography of this remarkable man.

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    by Andy McNab
    £9.49

    What is a good psychopath? McNab is a diagnosed psychopath but he is a GOOD PSYCHOPATH. Unlike a BAD PSYCHOPATH, he is able to dial up or down qualities such as ruthlessness, fearlessness, conscience and empathy to get the very best out of himself - and others - in a wide range of situations.

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    - A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
    by Anthony Bourdain
    £10.99

    Anthony Bourdain's long-awaited sequel to Kitchen Confidential, the worldwide bestseller

  • Save 21%
    - The Autobiography of Laurent Fignon
    by Laurent Fignon
    £13.49

    Presents the autobiography of Laurent Fignon, who is one of the charismatic cyclists of all time. This book shows his fans the glimpse of what really went on behind the scenes of this epic sport: the friendships, the rivalries, the betrayals, the scheming, the parties, the girls, and, the performance-enhancing drugs.

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    - The Will to Succeed
    by Michael Phelps
    £8.99

    Fresh from his triumphant and extraordinary achievement at the Olympic Games in Beijing, Michael Phelps shows us the secrets to his remarkable success

  • Save 14%
    - Who survives when disaster strikes - and why
    by Amanda Ripley
    £9.49

    It was 8.46 a.m. on 9/11 when Elia Zedeno, who had worked in the World Trade Center for twenty-one years, heard a booming explosion and felt the building lurch violently to the south.

  • Save 21%
    - The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
    by Ron Chernow
    £14.99

    National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist From the acclaimed, award-winning author of Alexander Hamilton: here is the essential, endlessly engrossing biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.-the Jekyll-and-Hyde of American capitalism. In the course of his nearly 98 years, Rockefeller was known as both a rapacious robber baron, whose Standard Oil Company rode roughshod over an industry, and a philanthropist who donated money lavishly to universities and medical centers. He was the terror of his competitors, the bogeyman of reformers, the delight of caricaturists-and an utter enigma. Drawing on unprecedented access to Rockefeller's private papers, Chernow reconstructs his subjects' troubled origins (his father was a swindler and a bigamist) and his single-minded pursuit of wealth. But he also uncovers the profound religiosity that drove him "to give all I could"; his devotion to his father; and the wry sense of humor that made him the country's most colorful codger. Titan is a magnificent biography-balanced, revelatory, elegantly written.

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    - The Autobiography
    by Marco Pierre White
    £9.49

    The long-awaited autobiography of the archetypal kitchen bad boy - Marco Pierre White

  • Save 21%
    by Jon Halliday
    £13.49

    Based on a decade of research, and on interviews with many of Mao's close circle in China who have never talked before - and everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him, this book is the story of the life of Mao. It is full of revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing completely unknown Mao.

  • Save 14%
    by Hana Yasmeen Ali
    £9.49

    Now, working tirelessly as a worldwide ambassador for peace, he talks of the damage caused when religion is used to tear people apart, the essential need for unity in this troubled world, and how his faith sustains him on this, the most important journey of his life - the journey to forgiveness and peace.

  • Save 15%
    - Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle
    by Daniel (Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University) Everett
    £10.99

    Although the author was a missionary, far from converting the Pirahas, they converted him. This title shows the slow, meticulous steps by which he gradually mastered their language and his gradual realisation that its unusual nature closely reflected its speakers' startlingly original perceptions of the world.

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    by João Silva & Greg Marinovich
    £10.99

  • Save 14%
    by Bob Dylan
    £9.49

    An unprecedented publishing event - the first volume in a series of memoirs by one of the most important and influential musicians and songwriters of our time.

  • Save 10%
    by Waris Dirie
    £8.99

    * Inspirational, dramatic and extraordinary - the autobiography of a Somalian nomad circumcised at 5, sold in marriage at 13, who became an American model and is now at the young age of 30, the UN spokeswoman against circumcision

  • Save 20%
    - THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
    by Diego Armando Maradona
    £11.99

    'Operatically emotional...exceptionally vivid' Martin Amis, GuardianCelebrate the life of one of the world's greatest footballers. Diego Maradona.

  • Save 11%
    - Made In America
    by Sam Walton
    £7.99

  • Save 27%
    by Lionel Barber
    £21.99

  • Save 23%
    by Hugo LLoris
    £16.99

  • Save 23%
    by Andy Mitten
    £16.99

  • Save 14%
    by James Rebanks
    £9.49 - 16.99

  • Save 14%
    by Neil Atkinson
    £9.49 - 15.49

  • Save 15%
    by Marti Perarnau
    £10.99 - 16.99

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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