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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 21%
    - An Experimental Life
    by Richard Zenith
    £14.99

  • - A journey on the Suffolk coast
    by May de la Rue
    £9.49 - 14.99

    The true story of how a ten-year-old's charity challenge created an endowment and led through young philanthropy to a career in medicine. A light-hearted but poignant parent-child journey, its excitement and suspense, purpose and fulfilment, recalled by the girl as a young woman. A portrait of coastal Suffolk, its cultural and natural heritage.

  • by John Davis
    £12.99 - 24.99

  • - One family embracing the unexpected
    by Leah Moore
    £16.49 - 22.49

  • - In His Own Words
    by Raphael Afil
    £15.49 - 23.99

  • Save 15%
    - Alive in the Wilderness
    by Bridget Pitt & Sicelo Mbatha
    £10.99 - 14.99

    Wilderness guide Sicelo Mbatha shares lessons learnt from a lifetime's intimate association with Africa's wildest nature.

  • Save 12%
    by David Nutt
    £21.99

    Nutt Uncut is a direct challenge to politicians and others by a world expert on drugs.

  • Save 13%
    - The Duran Duran Story
    by Stephen Davis
    £13.99

    A stunning new biography of Duran Duran by the best-selling author of Gold Dust Woman and Hammer of the Gods

  • Save 22%
    - Helen Frankenthaler and 1950s New York
    by Alexander Nemerov
    £13.99

  • Save 23%
    - Changing the World
    by Claire Tomalin
    £15.49

  • Save 21%
    - In Search of W. G. Sebald
    by Carole Angier
    £13.49 - 21.99

  • Save 10%
    - Saving Lives in War, Disaster and Disease
    by Dr Tony Redmond
    £8.99 - 13.49

    One heroic doctor's unflinchingly honest and visceral account of the impossible ethical choices required by medical emergencies. 'A true Humanitarian.' David Nott, author of War Doctor

  • Save 14%
    - What almost dying taught me about living
    by Suleika Jaouad
    £9.49

  • Save 15%
    - One Firefighter's Story of Courage, Darkness, and the Relentless Love That Saved Him
    by Jason Sautel
    £10.99

    The true story--told with heart-pounding action and heart-melting romance--of a heroic firefighter forced to confront an emergency even he can't handle: saving himself.

  • - 99 essays on growth through loss
    by Charlotte Eriksson
    £12.49

  • Save 20%
    by Lana Del Rey
    £22.49

    The highly anticipated debut book of poetry from singer, songwriter, artist and poet Lana Del Rey, Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass. 'Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, and some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I'm proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic,' Lana Del Rey. Lana’s breathtaking first book solidifies her further as 'the essential writer of her times' (The Atlantic). The collection features more than thirty poems, many exclusive to the book: Never to Heaven, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, LA Who Am I to Love You?, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, Paradise Is Very Fragile, Bare Feet on Linoleum and many more. This beautiful hardcover edition showcases Lana’s typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator.

  • - My Words, My Life, My Experiences; A Memoir
    by Phil P Woodford
    £17.49

    This is my story of SOME of Phil''s life, it chronicles how many forking paths can create an individual able to dine with a Prime Minister or platonically sleep in a van with a sex worker.This frank, conversational book talks of Phil''s dreams for the future, his views on Leadership and the NHS, where he''s worked for over two decades. You''ll be open mouthed at some of his life tales that he shares in a brutally honest way. Phil Woodford is a self-confessed day-dreamer and that is where this story begins and ends. the author is an Optimist, believing he can accomplish most things and even if he can''t he''s not afraid to tell you how!Grab a beer and dive into this heartfelt, seriously candid, often oddly relatable story of Phil''s continuing battle with his sometimes poor mental health and living through an angry father that parented with a leather belt. Root for him as Phil survive an extensive stroke that has turned his world upside down.You''ll laugh with Phil, cry with him, and watch the journey transform him. Phil''s anecdotes and experiences will lead you on an ever-twisting path of a man that survived an often enraged father who killed his beloved dog through to mental health and physical health issues that he believes professionals missed in the 70s. This tale of survival against the odds, his tenacity, and perseverance, Phil will inspire and move you.

  • - How Xi Jinping Shut Down the World
    by Michael P Senger
    £16.99

  • by Reine Jan Reiner with Rhonda Sonnenberg, Jan Reiner with Rhonda Sonnenberg & Jan Reiner
    £14.99 - 25.49

  • Save 10%
    - A family's silence weighs on everyone.
    by Camille Kouchner
    £8.99

    The shocking story of how incest and sexual abuse is ever-present at the highest levels of French society, even among the most glamorous, powerful, bohemian, left wing intellectual Parisian elite.

  • - Tina Turner
    by Michael Frizell
    £7.99 - 17.99

  • Save 22%
    by Elizabeth Williamson
    £13.99 - 15.99

  • Save 15%
    - The Letters and Diaries of Gotthard Heinrici 1941-1942
    by Huerter & Johannes
    £10.99

    First-hand account of Operation Barbarossa by a German general.

  • Save 11%
    - A Life In Full
     
    £19.49

    "The name George Soros is recognized around the world. Universally known for his decades of philanthropy, progressive politics, and investment success, he is equally well-known as the nemesis of the right--the target of sustained attacks from national populists, authoritarian regimes, and anti-Semites in the United States and around the world--because of his commitment to open society, freedom of the press, and liberal democracy. Named the Financial Times Person of the Year for 2018, and now at 91 years old, he still looms large on the global stage. And yet the man himself is surprisingly little understood. Depending on who or where you are, describing Soros is likely to elicit different answers. He has even more identities than he has lived decades, now into his tenth. Who is George Soros, really? And why does this question matter? Over the years, attempts have been made to write George Soros's biography, but no single account of his life can capture its extraordinary multi-faceted character. In addition to survivor, billionaire, speculator, philanthropist, activist, author, nemesis of the far right, and global citizen, there is husband, father, and to an extent he may not even realize, friend. The writers whose work appears in this volume have approached Soros from wide-ranging and unique perspectives. Their collective expertise shines a new light on the activities and passions of George Soros' life and, to the extent possible, the motivation for them and their impact. The breadth of these portrayals is considerable; the depth of insight, it is hoped, equally so. The goal is to give readers the best possible representation of George Soros's life that can be achieved. George Soros's life in full"--

  • by Terry Conrow Toczynski & Martin J Levitt
    £15.99 - 21.49

  • Save 15%
    - A Dungeness Notebook
    by Derek Jarman
    £10.99

    Conceived of as a 'pharmacopoeia' - an ever-evolving circle of stones, plants and flotsam sculptures all built and grown in spite of the bracing winds and arid shingle - it remains today a site of fascination and wonder. Pharmacopoeia brings together the best of Derek Jarman's writing on nature, gardening and Prospect Cottage.

  • Save 14%
    - A Creative Memoir - with an introduction by Emma Gannon
    by Julia Cameron
    £9.49

    In Floor Sample, the author of the international bestseller The Artist's Way weaves an honest and moving portrayal of her life. From her early career as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine and her marriage to Martin Scorsese, to her tortured experiences with alcohol and Hollywood, Julia Cameron reflects in this engaging memoir on the experiences in her life that have fuelled her own art as well as her ability to help others realise their creative dreams. She also describes the fascinating circumstances that led her to emerge as a central figure in the creative recovery movement - a movement that she inaugurated and defined with the publication of her seminal work, The Artist's Way.Julia Cameron is a passionate and wry observer of the world and describes her life as a 'floor sample' for all she teaches in her brilliant books on creativity. Floor Sample is an absorbing literary memoir that will surprise, entertain, and inspire Julia's many fans and win her new admirers.

  • by George Orwell
    £5.99

    Shooting an Elephant tells the story of a police officer in Burma who is called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant. Loosely based on Orwell's own experiences, the tightly written essay weaves together fact and fiction indistinguishably, and leaves the reader contemplating the heavy topic of colonialism.

  • Save 14%
    by Georgia Pritchett
    £9.49

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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