Diaries & Memoirs

'This is BRAVO TWO ZERO meets ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Tom Read's story had me on the edge of my seat. It also made me cry.'Andy McNabA former member of the British Parachute Regiment, Tom Read was preparing to freefall from more than 23 miles above the earth to become the first man to punch a hole through the sound barrier unassisted. It didn't work out that way. From his hospital bed in a French sanatorium, Tom began to review his life in an attempt to trace the roots of his madness: the tough childhood, moving from place to place; joining the Parachute Regiment at seventeen and confronting riots, IRA snipers and booby-traps; doing more than 1,000 jumps with the Red Devils and the first ever Parachute drop onto the Falklands; and the high-altitude work that may have created a chemical imbalance in his brain. Weaving backwards and forwards between a haunting present and a remarkable past FREEFALL is an unrelentingly suspenseful account of an amazing life.'Extraordinary'Mail on Sunday'A courageous book'The Times

When Sofia Behrs married Count Leo Tolstoy, the author of "War and Peace", husband and wife regularly exchanged diaries covering the years from 1862 to 1910. Sofia's life was not an easy one: she idealized her husband, but was tormented by him. Even her many children were not an unmitigated blessing.

A Fly Girl gives insight to the highs and lows in the world of a former BA cabin crew, in an intriguing travel writing memoir. In the global landscape the memoirist meticulously documents personal adventures, social structures and political history throughout her daring and exciting expeditions. Conveying tales from the America's, Arabia, Asia to Africa the narrative is fuelled with race, gender and sexuality as the author walks through hip hop history to terrain vibrations and eruptions. The author exposes her relation to addictions, alcohol, air rage and the life of the jet set, highlighting history of British Airways at forty. Amanda tells poignant stories that portray the complications of humanity; others are alarming, amusing and vivid and manifest the nature of humankind, the kith and kin of a global family. In addition to powerful story telling infused with lyrical prose the book is also spiritual and reveals a healing mindset as the autobiographer deals with the battle of self esteem, national identity, and the idea of beauty for women in an image conscious world. Is Amanda transformed by travel? Memoir ǀ Mind, Body & Spirit Travel

A Kyokushin Karate Coming of Age StoryJust another unassuming undergrad? Yes, but this one carries a terrible secret . . . one that's driven him through seven years of hellish karate training and study so that he might learn to bear its weight. Seven years have already taken Nathan Ligo to Japan, where he spent 600 days in the most rigorous, monastic karate program in the world, training under the watchful daily supervision of Masutatsu Oyama, Japan's most famous living karateka. But it's not until he suffers a crushing defeat in Japan, and returns home empty-handed, that he comes to understand that the combination of three treasured sources of his ongoing education just might hold the key to unlocking an awesome truth. The samurai-like do-or-die education he acquired from his karate teachers, the progressive liberal arts education he acquires at North Carolina's Davidson College, and the enlightened, open-eyed, and all-loving character education he received in the first decade of his life from his father: three sometimes violently warring components combine to show Nathan that he just might use the dark secret that he carries to enact a great good for the children of the future . . . that is, IF he's willing to make the necessary sacrifice. "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore RooseveltThe Only American Student of the Legend Mas Oyama> At the time of Masutatsu Oyama's death in 1994, he was regarded by many as the world's greatest living karateka. His Kyokushin Karate had spread to 133 countries around the world and was reputed to have touched as many as twelve million students. Forty years earlier, the Korean-born "Mas" Oyama had, himself, become a virtual revolution in the world of Japanese karate, in that it was he who introduced stone- and therefore bone-breaking power to the highly stylized traditional forms of karate that had come to exist in Japan. Kyokushin Karate became known for its no-nonsense practicality, its fearsome physical power, and a theretofore unseen degree of spiritual strength conjured through a revival of Japan's do-or-die samurai personality. Once Kyokushin exploded to such incredible proportions, Mas Oyama took on only a very few students that were his own, that he himself guided, day by day, in an attempt to ensure that his teaching would endure. Uchi deshi literally means "live-in disciple;" it is the opposite of the kayoi deshi or "commuting student," who merely visits the dojo regularly for training. Mas Oyama's uchi deshi program was a one-thousand-day monastic karate program for his small group of personal students who lived in the Young Lions' Dormitory, a small building attached to his world headquarters dojo in Tokyo. In 1993, Nathan Ligo become the only American to hold a graduation certificate from this program, given to him by Mas Oyama in recognition of the 600 days he lived in the Young Lions' dormitory.

An international bestseller, this is the extraordinary memoir of a German-Nigerian woman who learns that her grandfather was the brutal Nazi commandant depicted in Schindler's List.

____________________________A moving celebration of what Bill Hayes calls 'the evanescent, the eavesdropped, the unexpected' of life in New York City, and an intimate glimpse of his relationship with the late Oliver Sacks.____________________________'A beautiful memoir in which Oliver Sacks comes wonderfully to life ... Exquisitely wrought, heartrending and joyous' - Joyce Carol Oates'A loving tribute to Sacks and to New York ... Read just 50 pages, and you'll see easily enough how Hayes is Sacks's logical complement' - Jennifer Senior, New York Times____________________________Bill Hayes came to New York in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at forty-eight years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera. And he unexpectedly fell in love again, with his friend and neighbor, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks, whose exuberance is captured in funny and touching vignettes throughout. What emerges is a portrait of Sacks at his most personal and endearing, from falling in love for the first time at age seventy-five to facing illness and death (Sacks died of cancer in August 2015). Insomniac City is both a meditation on grief and a celebration of life. Filled with Hayes's distinctive street photos of everyday New Yorkers, the book is a love song to the city and to all who have felt the particular magic and solace it offers.____________________________'A unique and exuberant celebration of life and love' - Kirkus Reviews

The follow-up to the phenomenal international bestseller, Letters of Note

Even after his death, Tupac Shakur maintains star status as his books and music are hotter than ever. Finally, fans can read this collection of letters which offers insight into the psyche of the rap icon.

One night in 1974, a young Frenchman secretly - and illegally - rigged a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. At daybreak, he gave the high-wire performance of all time, making eight crossings over the course of an hour, 110 floors up above the earth, as a hundred thousand people gathered on the ground to watch.In To Reach the Clouds, now filmed as The Walk, Philippe Petit re-creates a six-year quest to realise his dream, an adventure as thrilling as the walk itself. In an unforgettable memoir he tells the story of how he conspired, connived, improvised, and insisted his way to this 'coup', abetted by a motley crew of accomplices, the occasional miracle, and his own unflagging passion. He reveals himself to be not only a virtuoso of the air but also a bold and inspired performer on the page. Animated by never-seen photographs and Petit's ingenious sketches, To Reach the Clouds is a tour de force of the imagination and a serenade to his beloved towers.

Bergens Guttehjem (Boy''s home)The author of these memoirs, Olof A. Eriksen, was born in Norway 1936. In 1952 he moved to Karlskrona, Sweden to study Mechanical Engineering, and 1956 he immigrated to the United States. This book is his diary containing his true life memories. "A fascinating, unbelievable, and heart-rending story that will make you shake your head in disbelief."One publisher wrote: "If your accomplishments were not so well documented, readers would want to characterize your writings as a fictitious tale of adventure, filled with exaggeration and fantasy. But we are more amazed to know that this is not fiction, but rather an autobiographical account of, how through determination, creativity and sheer genius, you successfully overcame seemingly insurmountable odds, to live a life so special, most of us can only dream of or see in the movies. This extraordinary book deserves a wide audience, indeed."One Professional writer, Nina M. Sherwood wrote: "Olof''s life is riveting and inspiring. It is hard to imagine that one person could have gone through so much and still come out a "winner"! This definitely is a story that movies and dreams are made from."

He shows us the famous people with epilepsy like Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc and Vincent van Gogh, the pioneering doctors whose extraordinary breakthroughs finally helped gain an understanding of how the brain works, and, through the tragic tale of his brother, he considers the effect of epilepsy on his own life.

From rap superstar Lil Wayne comes the long-awaited GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER, a deeply personal and revealing account of his time spent incarcerated on Rikers Island for eight months in 2010.

The `visionary memoir' (Observer) of a young female architect in war-torn Syria, and the role architecture plays in whether a community crumbles or comes together, now available in B-format paperback.

A Finalist for the 26th Lambda Literary AwardCaroline Paul was recovering from a bad accident and thought things couldn't get worse. But then her beloved cat Tibia disappeared. She and her partner, illustrator Wendy MacNaughton, mourned his loss. Yet weeks later, Tibia waltzed back into their lives. His owners were overjoyed. But they were also...jealous? Betrayed? Where had their sweet anxious cat disappeared to? Had he become a swashbuckling cat adventurer? Did he love someone else more? His owners were determined to find out.Using GPS technology, cat cameras, psychics, the web, and animal communicators, the authors of Lost Cat embarked on a quest to discover what their cat did when they weren't around. Told through writer Caroline Paul's rich and warmly poignant narrative and illustrator Wendy MacNaughton's stunning and hilarious 4-color illustrations, Lost Cat is a book for animal lovers, pet owners, and anyone who has ever done anything desperate for love.

Forty-five oral histories of iconic rock and R&B hits based on the popular Wall Street Journal column 'Anatomy of a Song'.

The Wizards FC was a team of former schoolfriends who - with the help of a few star ringers - slogged their way through mud, skinheads and Staffordshire bull terriers to win the Edmonton Sunday League. Team captain Ewan Flynn brings alive a world of young men giving it their all on sloping pitches a million miles from the glamour of the Premier League, and officials who volunteer to maintain some sort of order. Along the way he charts the bittersweet stories of mates who brought success to the Wizards, despite suffering disappointment in their own all-too-brief professional football careers. It's a sometimes farcical, sometimes tragic tale of growing up in north London: family tensions, friendship, being a man, and seeing where your dreams can take you - even a Roy-of-the-Rovers rise to captaining your country against the world champions. Injuries on the pitch led the writer to many encounters with the surgeon's knife in order to keep playing. He shows how once football has you, it never lets you go.

As a Brit banged up abroad, Pieter had to learn how to survive - and fast - because one wrong move would mean death. This is the insider account of what it's like to live in a place worse than hell and come out a changed man on the other side.

________________'This anthology will help turn your intellectual understanding of oppression into an emotional one' - New Statesman'Thanks for being who you are and for giving us such exposure to wonderful people. Palestine is proud of you' - Suad Amiry________________The Palestine Festival of Literature was established in 2008. Bringing together writers from all corners of the globe, it aims to help Palestinians break the cultural siege imposed by the Israeli military occupation, to strengthen their artistic links with the rest of the world, and to reaffirm, in the words of Edward Said, 'the power of culture over the culture of power'.Celebrating the tenth anniversary of PalFest, This Is Not a Border is a collection of essays, poems and stories from some of the world's most distinguished artists, responding to their experiences at this unique festival. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, their gathered work is a testament to the power of literature to promote solidarity and courage in the most desperate of situations.Contributors: Susan Abulhawa, Suad Amiry, Victoria Brittain, Jehan Bseiso, Teju Cole, Molly Crabapple, Selma Dabbagh, Mahmoud Darwish, Najwan Darwish, Geoff Dyer, Yasmin El-Rifae, Adam Foulds, Ru Freeman, Omar Robert Hamilton, Suheir Hammad, Nathalie Handal, Mohammed Hanif, Jeremy Harding, Rachel Holmes, John Horner, Remi Kanazi, Brigid Keenan, Mercedes Kemp, Omar El-Khairy, Nancy Kricorian, Sabrina Mahfouz, Jamal Mahjoub, Henning Mankell, Claire Messud, China Miéville, Pankaj Mishra, Deborah Moggach, Muiz, Maath Musleh, Michael Palin, Ed Pavlic, Atef Abu Saif, Kamila Shamsie, Raja Shehadeh, Gillian Slovo, Ahdaf Soueif, Linda Spalding, Will Sutcliffe, Alice WalkerWith messages from China Achebe, Michael Ondaatje and J. M. Coetzee________________'Every literary act, whether it is a great epic poem or an honest piece of journalism or a simple nonsense tale for children is a blow against the forces of stupidity and ignorance and darkness . The Palestine Festival of Literature exists to do just that - and I salute it for its work. Not only this year but for as long as it is necessary' - Philip Pullman

Like no other cycling book, from no other rider

In 1997, Emma Slade was taken hostage in a hotel room on a business trip to Jakarta. Over the ensuing months the trauma following the event took hold. Realising her view on life had profoundly changed she embarked upon a journey, discovering the healing power of yoga and, in Bhutan, opening her eyes to a kinder, more peaceful way of living.

A stunningly designed memoir with pictures by one of the world's leading architects and urban thinkers - 'A towering genius' Telegraph