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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 Eric Blehm
    £11.99 - 18.99

  • Save 24%
    - The Making of a Modern Christian Mystic
    by Cynthia Bourgeault
    £17.49

    The first portrait of Thomas Keating's remarkable evolution, in the last decades of his life, into a fully realized modern-day Christian mystic. In the first four decades of his life as a Trappist monk, Thomas Keating created a comprehensive, unified psychospiritual pathway leading from healing to holiness and from contemporary psychological wellness to classic mystical sanctity and beatitude. In short, he fashioned a powerful new on-ramp to the Christian contemplative tradition. Yet, as beloved author and Keating disciple Cynthia Bourgeault shows, that was not the end of Keating's story. In this unique blend of biography, personal experience, and close reading of his late works, Bourgeault illuminates Keating's remarkable spiritual development from the late 1980s until his death in 2018. She explores: Keating's increasing commitment to the nondual practice of "objectless awareness" His contributions to interspiritual dialogue The evolution of his early teaching on the movement from "false self" to "true self," to that from "true self" to "no self" His final "dark night of the spirit" and passage through death New evidence that he never left Christianity but carried it with him to new places The profound final stages of Keating's spiritual journey may inspire you toward the ineffable experience of living as a modern mystic--fundamentally at home and at peace in the universe.

  • by Daniel Chidiac
    £18.49

    "This book honestly helped to understand and release those experiences that made me feel unworthy and doubt myself for years. I feel more empowered than I ever have. These words will stay with me forever."- Samantha F (Amazon customer)Daniel Chidiac, International best-selling author of Who Says You Can't? You Do and The Modern Break-Up brings his new interactive series, Thoughts and Feelings - A collection of his never released work. Thoughts and Feelings is a compassionate and empowering guide designed to help you liberate yourself from the grip of negativity. With a dedicated lined-page next to each piece, Daniel invites the reader to write down their own thoughts and feelings. At the end, the reader will have their own Thoughts and Feelings book written.This book focuses on dismantling and releasing self-doubt, the feeling of unworthiness and finally discovering the self-love you have been yearning for. Through the therapeutic act of reading and writing, it guides you to confront and let go of negative thoughts, paving the way for a transformative journey towards positivity. The way we observe ourselves through our experiences (especially our experiences with others) impacts our life deeply. Thoughts and Feelings helps you come to terms with those experiences through observing and understanding them in a way that will change YOU, and your life for the better.Note from the author..."I often have these deep thoughts and feelings that I express in the only way I know how...through words. I don't usually share them as most are a passing moment, a sudden reflection or a personal perspective of my experiences. But now, I really feel it's time to release them for others to relate to, connect with and to gain inspiration from. I invite you to get a pencil, co-write and express yourself in the same way within this book. You may write something in relation to what I have written or something completely different...that side of the book is yours. And in the end, you will have your own Thoughts and Feelings Volume One book written. If you do not feel ready to write anything, that is also fine. I hope you enjoy the read."Love,Daniel Chidiac

  • Save 10%
    by Stephanie Land
    £8.99 - 17.99

  • Save 18%
    by Paul Rosolie
    £16.49

    When Paul Rosolie, a restless eighteen-year-old hungry for adventure, embarked on a journey to the western Amazon in 2006, he didn't know that it would transform his life. In the Madre de Dios ("Mother of God") region of Peru, where the Amazon River begins, the cloud forests of the Andes converge with the lowland Amazon rain forest to create the most biodiverse wilderness on the planet.In a true story of adventure and discovery that spans more than nine years, Rosolie takes us into the most inaccessible reaches of the Amazon. Along the way, he encounters massive snakes, isolated tribes, prowling jaguars, giant anteaters, and much more in the Wild West of the natural world. It is a journey into the last great wilderness that ultimately asks the question of our time: How much longer will these places exist? The primordial depths of the Madre de Dios are in grave danger.Mother of God is the story of an amazing odyssey into the heart of the wildest place on earth. But as Rosolie delves deeper into the heart of the jungle, he finds things he never imagined could exist. And as the legendary explorer Percy Fawcett warned, "The few remaining unknown places of the world exact a price for their secrets."

  • Save 21%
    by Warren Zanes
    £13.49

    The fascinating story behind the making of Bruce Springsteen’s most surprising album, Nebraska, revealing its pivotal role in Springsteen’s career—in development as a major motion picture starring Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) “Brilliant . . . For fans of American music, Deliver Me from Nowhere makes a great ghost story.”—The Boston GlobeAN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEARWithout Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen might not be who he is today. The natural follow-up to Springsteen’s hugely successful album The River should have been the hit-packed Born in the U.S.A. But instead, in 1982, he came out with an album consisting of a series of dark songs he had recorded by himself, for himself. But more than forty years later, Nebraska is arguably Springsteen’s most important record—the lasting clue to understanding not just his career as an artist and the vision behind it, but also the man himself. Nebraska is rough and unfinished, recorded on cassette tape with a simple four-track recorder by Springsteen, alone in his bedroom, just as the digital future was announcing itself. And yet Springsteen now considers it his best album. Nebraska expressed a turmoil that was reflective of the mood of the country, but it was also a symptom of trouble in the artist’s life, the beginnings of a mental breakdown that Springsteen would only talk about openly decades after the album’s release. Warren Zanes spoke to many people involved with making Nebraska, including Bruce Springsteen himself. He also interviewed more than a dozen celebrated artists and musical insiders, from Rosanne Cash to Steven Van Zandt, about their reactions to the album. Zanes interweaves these conversations with inquiries into the myriad cultural touchpoints, including Terrence Malick’s Badlands and the short stories of Flannery O’Conner, that influenced Springsteen as he was writing the album’s haunting songs. The result is a textured and revelatory account of not only a crucial moment in the career of an icon but also a record that upended all expectations and predicted a home-recording revolution.

  • Save 27%
    by David Grann
    £21.99 - 23.49

    "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, a mesmerizing story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then ... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death-for whomever the court found guilty could hang. The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann's recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O'Brian, his portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound. Most powerfully, he unearths the deeper meaning of the events, showing that it was not only the Wager's captain and crew who were on trial - it was the very idea of empire"--

  • Save 25%
    by Atiba Hutchinson
    £17.99

    NATIONAL BESTSELLER“A captivating read from one of our country’s greatest athletes.” ―Christine Sinclair, former captain of the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team and National Bestselling Author of Playing the Long GameOut of the Toronto suburb of Brampton comes an irresistible story of trials, perseverance, the limelight of international soccer, and—above all—heart.Despite debuting on Canada’s senior national soccer team 20 years ago, scarce is known of Atiba Hutchinson. We’ve watched him win Canadian Men’s Player of the Year six times; celebrated his club team championships; and mourned his injuries. We’ve lamented the state of Canadian soccer and cursed the lost potential—and years. Yet, we know little about Atiba’s personal life, or how he rose from suburban Brampton to becoming Canada’s most-capped national men’s team player, often described as the country’s greatest athlete you haven’t heard about.For the first time, Atiba is ready to share the extraordinary story of his ascent to the heights of professional soccer, nationally and internationally, and what he believes makes a true champion. The Beautiful Dream is an intimate account of Atiba’s awe-inspiring career, from his humble beginnings to playing across Europe; the crushing disappointment of failing national team competitions in the 2010s that nearly led to his resignation from the national program; all the way to his triumphant arrival in Qatar to face off against 31 other nations at the world’s most pre-eminent soccer competition. He has strived to better not only his own game but the landscape of Canadian soccer for over two decades, culminating in Canada’s first trip to the FIFA World Cup since 1986. Yet, as the reflective midfielder shows, this isn’t just his story: The Beautiful Dream is the story of countless Canadians, who strive and scrape for a seemingly unreachable dream—until their fingertips finally graze the surface. It’s a lesson about the unyielding belief required when taking the long road to success. Atiba's journey mirrors the progression of Canadian soccer, and the story of Canada itself: goals that may begin as outsized but as we work towards them, our world changes with us. Atiba’s journey of hope, belief, and resilience connects the country’s modest soccer past to a bold, exciting future in the game. It’s a story that transcends the pitch, exploring what it means to be a kid who dares to dream of achieving the impossible, and the man who perseveres to get there.

  • Save 14%
    by Zahra Hankir
    £9.49

    A dazzling exploration of the intersections of beauty and power around the globe, told through the lens of an iconic cosmeticFrom the distant past to the present day, humans have been drawn to lining their eyes. The aesthetic trademark of figures ranging from Nefertiti to Amy Winehouse, eyeliner is one of our most enduring cosmetic tools; ancient royals and Gen Z beauty influencers alike would attest to its uniquely transformative power. It is undeniably fun - yet it is also far from frivolous.Seen through Zahra Hankir's (kohl-lined) eyes, this ubiquitous but seldom-examined product becomes a portal to history, proof both of the stunning variety among cultures across time and space and of our shared humanity. Through intimate reporting and conversations - with nomads in Chad, geishas in Japan, dancers in India, drag queens in New York, and more - Eyeliner embraces the rich history and significance of its namesake, especially among communities of colour. What emerges is a delightful, surprising, and unexpectedly moving journey through streets, stages, and bedrooms around the world, and a thought-provoking reclamation of a key piece of our collective history.

  • Save 14%
    by Paul Mullin
    £9.49 - 18.99

  • Save 20%
    by Simon Cambers
    £11.99

  • Save 23%
    by The Beach Boys
    £38.49

    "Here, for the first time in print, is the history of The Beach Boys, by The Beach Boys. Their only official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys is the ultimate chronicle of one of the world's greatest bands. Through their unique sound, complex harmonies, sensational live shows and use of innovative recording techniques, The Beach Boys became woven into the cultural fabric of America and influenced generations of musicians globally. This book documents how it happened. Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston together provide a combined career narrative especially for this book, and through meticulous compilation from sources worldwide, Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson's words are equally represented. Documenting how they went from a Hawthorne garage band to a global phenomenon, they tell the astounding story of their ascent: perfecting their harmonies, initial fame as a surf group, and then their ultimate progression as pioneering recording artists to become one of the most musically complex ensembles in history. Their story is accompanied by iconic images, never-before-seen negatives and rare ephemera. Given unprecedented access to their personal archives, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys offers intimate insight into the lives of the group. Also opening their archives are Brother Records and Capitol Records, all of which assist in illustrating their remarkable journey. Joining the band are a host of contributors who have been involved with or inspired by the band's music, including Peter Blake, Lindsey Buckingham, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Ray Davies, Bob Dylan, Def Leppard, the Flaming Lips, Bobby Gillespie, David Lee Roth, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Jim Kerr, Roger McGuinn, Graham Nash, Jimmy Page, Carly Simon, Pete Townshend, Rufus Wainwright, Thom Yorke, and many more. A group collaboration, The Beach Boys by the Beach Boys is, in effect, The Beach Boys' autobiography. Like their music, it is poignant, frank, often humorous but always sincere. Finally, here is The Beach Boys' own story." --

  • Save 23%
    by Maggie Nelson
    £15.49

    A CAREER-SPANNING COLLECTION OF INSPIRING, REVELROUS ESSAYS ABOUT ART AND ARTISTS'Like Love may be one of the most movingly specific, the most lovingly unruly celebrations of the ethics of friendship we have' Guardian'Incisive, smart and witty, it will leave you looking and love and life anew' iLike Love is a momentous, raucous collection of essays drawn from twenty years of Maggie Nelson's brilliant work. These profiles, reviews, remembrances, tributes and critical essays, as well as several conversations with friends and idols, bring to life Nelson's passion for dialogue and dissent. The range of subjects is wide - from Prince to Carolee Schneemann to Kara Walker to Bjork - but certain themes recur: intergenerational exchange; love and friendship; feminist and queer issues, especially as they shift over time; subversion, transgression and perversity; and the fruits and follies of a life spent devoted to making.The collection is a portrait of a time, an anarchic party rich with wild guests, a window into Nelson's own development as a writer, and a testament to the profound sustenance offered by art and artists.'Maggie Nelson is one of the most unique voices in non-fiction: enquiring, political, lyrically dazzling, empathetic' Sinéad Gleeson

  • Save 15%
    by Uli Hesse
    £10.99 - 15.49

  • Save 23%
    by Naomi Wolf
    £15.49

    From New York Times bestselling author Naomi Wolf, Facing the Beast is a devastating, detailed account of wrongthink, deplatforming, and an unexpected political, personal, and spiritual transformation that followed during one of the most divisive times in American history. In this uncompromising investigation into todayâEUR(TM)s most urgent issues, Naomi Wolf uses her own wildly politicized pilgrimageâEUR"from New York Times bestselling author and high-level Democratic consultant to a journalist cast out from the elite political and social circles she once moved throughâEUR"as a stunning narrative framework that is both chilling and incisive. WolfâEUR(TM)s sin? Doing the job that good journalists once prided themselves on: asking questions, challenging authority, and, during one of the most politically divisive moments in modern history, exposing the many failures of the public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic by chronicling the dangerous descent of our democracy into tyranny, censorship, and totalitarianism. Unable to remain silent in the shadows and unwilling to collude with the mainstream, Wolf bravely covers topics that few other writers dare to address critically for fear of being deplatformed. Facing the Beast explores reproductive rights, medical freedom, the uncurious thought-policing of the âEURœprogressiveâEUR? left, the Second Amendment, the criminal relationship between the FDA and PfizerâEUR"WolfâEUR(TM)s clear writing repeatedly shines light in the dark corners of our fractured society. A decades-long champion of free speech, freedom of the press, and the Constitution, Wolf found herself not only in the midst of a political rebirth but a spiritual transformation as wellâEUR"one in which the events of the day could only be described in terms of good, evil, and a metaphysical quest on the nature of reality. For readers of Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and Bari Weiss, Facing the Beast is a fearless indictment of legacy media and the political class, as well as a brutal reminder that searching for and defending the truth can be dangerous. âEURœNaomi Wolf is one of the bravest, clearest-thinking people I know. The reason you hear the forces of repression so desperately trying to dismiss her is because she is right.âEUR?âEUR"Tucker Carlson

  • Save 14%
    by Katherine May
    £9.49

  • Save 14%
    by Sonny Barger
    £9.49

  • Save 14%
    by David Mitchell
    £9.49 - 18.99

  • Save 14%
    by Shaun Pinner
    £9.49

  • Save 14%
    by Tim Rayborn
    £9.49

    You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen...but do you recall the most petrifying Christmas figures of all? Not all children fear just a lump of coal in their stockings. Discover the terrifying Yuletide fables that have horrified kids for generations.

  • Save 32%
    by Emma Baxter-Wright
    £74.99

    With images of the eight houses' most timeless and celebrated designs, plus captivating text on the personalities and lives of the creative geniuses behind the brands, The Little Guides to Style Collection is the quintessential collection that will delight any fashion lover.

  • Save 24%
    by Jada Pinkett Smith
    £18.99

  • Save 15%
    by Fern Brady
    £10.99 - 13.49

  • Save 15%
    by Christopher Nolan
    £10.99

    "First published in the USA in 2023"--Title page verso.

  • by Carl von Clausewitz
    £37.99

    On War is a book on military strategy by Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, written mostly after the Napoleonic wars, between 1816 and 1830. It is one of the most important books on political-military analysis and strategy ever written.

  • Save 14%
    by Ben Hubbard
    £9.49

  • by Homer
    £13.99 - 25.49

    When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017-revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)-critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer's other great epic-the most revered war poem of all time.The Iliad roars with the clamor of arms, the bellowing boasts of victors, the fury and grief of loss, and the anguished cries of dying men. It sings, too, of the sublime magnitude of the world-the fierce beauty of nature and the gods' grand schemes beyond the ken of mortals. In Wilson's hands, this thrilling, magical, and often horrifying tale now gallops at a pace befitting its legendary battle scenes, in crisp but resonant language that evokes the poem's deep pathos and reveals palpably real, even "complicated," characters-both human and divine.The culmination of a decade of intense engagement with antiquity's most surpassingly beautiful and emotionally complex poetry, Wilson's Iliad now gives us a complete Homer for our generation.

  • Save 24%
    by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
    £18.99 - 29.99

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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