Diaries & Memoirs

Gerald Durrell's beloved account of his childhood in Corfu, now in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time'A lot of frolic, fun and charming ribaldry, as well as the warm feeling of having been transported to a lovely spot where worry is unknown and anything is believable' - The New York Times'Another tiger-golden day lay ahead of us. It was as though England had never really existed'The Durrell clan's escapades on their Greek island home resume with the second volume of the Corfu Trilogy. Budding zoologist Gerald continues to explore the natural wonders around him, enjoying a night fishing trip, receiving a donkey as a birthday present and accidentally bringing a bear home for tea. Here too are more stories of the eccentric creatures he calls his family, including Margo's ill-advised foray into spiritualism and what becomes known as 'Mother's Great Romance'. Ending as the Second World War is declared, Birds, Beasts and Relatives is an enchanting return to a magical place.

"All Frenchmen know you have to become civilised between eighteen and twenty-three and that civilisation comes upon you by contact with an older woman, by revolution, by army discipline, by any escape or any subjection, and then you are civilised and life goes on normally in a latin way." Gertrude Stein's Paris France, published in 1940 on the day Paris fell to Nazi Germany, is a witty account of Stein's life in France, and the perfect introduction to her work.

The extraordinary true story of a mother's dedication to reveal the lies, deceit and corruption, which surround her son's untimely death

In Tokyo Tempos, award-winning mystery writer Michael Pronko explores the mystery of everyday Tokyo life. Drawing on three decades of living, writing, and teaching in Japan, he delves into Tokyo's dynamism to show what it's like living with Japanese food, seasons, ceremonies, and special moments he calls "small intensities."These pithy, pointed writings reveal how even massive cities like Tokyo live and breathe with the loves, hopes, pleasures, and meanings of the people who live there. These personal and philosophical explorations, part travelogue and part analysis, paint a vivid portrait of the city rich with curiosity and insight. Join Pronko on his journey into the contradictions, intricacies, and enigmas of Tokyo, a city that is old and new, immense and intimate, indifferent and yet very humane. Independent Book Review called the essays "A medley of vignettes that are as eclectic as they are eloquent." Authentic and immersive, Tokyo Tempos takes readers deep into the compelling rhythms of Tokyo life. Tokyo Tempos is the fourth in the Tokyo Moments Series. More on the other books in the series: Motions and Moments"Pronko takes the sweeping size, bustle, and chaos of Tokyo and makes it small, introspective, and personal." Independent PublisherTokyo's Mystery Deepens "A rare glimpse of the structure and nature of Tokyo's underlying psyche." Midwest Book ReviewBeauty and Chaos "An elegantly written, precisely observed portrait of a Japanese city and its culture." Kirkus ReviewsAs for the Detective Hiroshi series set in Tokyo: "If there's a better crime series set in Japan, I've not yet read it." Crime Thriller Hound"The city of Tokyo is very much a character in its own right. It's not the tourist hotspots we see, but the real city with the food and drink which the locals consume. It's glorious." The Bookbag review of Tokyo Traffic.BookLife Review wrote that Pronko's sixth novel, Shitamachi Scam, "does as good a job of taking us on a trip through Tokyo as Simenon does through Inspector Maigret's Paris." So, join Pronko on an enlightening non-fictional trip through Tokyo in the Tokyo Moments Series.

In this mosaic of historical and personal anecdotes, fact and fiction are intertwined. We lie to ourselves and to one another, and coincidence shifts the paths of our lives this way and that. We believe what we're ready to believe, and what we believe is more important that what actually happens. And we all share a common ancestry, connected as one family.

From prolific metal guitarist and songwriter for Exodus (and formerly Slayer) Gary Holt comes an entertaining and deeply personal memoir of Holt's "destruction-laden" life, along with a firsthand account of the genesis of the Thrash Metal scene, from its origins in the Bay Area to its world dominationSince exploding out of the Bay Area heavy metal scene in the 1980s, thrash metal has made its way to every corner of the globe, conquering worldwide charts with every passing year. As the guitarist and primary songwriter of Exodus, and as an originator of the subgenre and one of its fiercest proponents, Gary Holt watched as his peers-Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax-soared to superstardom. As his fellow artists amassed millions of fans and record sales, Exodus' albums received critical recognition and inspired generations of listeners but struggled to reach the same heights of success, as the band was plagued by years of bad management, bad luck, and bad decision-making. In A FABULOUS DISASTER, Holt shares a deeply personal account of what it was like to "live fast, play fast, and crash hard" as thrash metal dominated the globe. Holt's "destruction-laden farce" follows our narrator through the highest of highs and lowest of lows as he and his bandmates juggle major label contracts, MTV-sponsored tours and festivals, growing addictions to alcohol and meth, and the loss of key founding members. In the throes of addiction, Holt's own fall from grace is swift; one year, he's playing on the MTV Headbanger's Ball Tour with Anthrax and Helloween, and the next, he's struggling to find minimum wage jobs as he battles drugs, divorce, and the dissolution of his creative prospects. Ultimately, after the tragic death of one of his closest friends and former bandmates-Holt decides that enough is enough and realizes the only one who can save him is himself. Newly sober and determined to resurrect his career, he commits himself to Exodus, pushing the band to new heights. He then joins Slayer, one of metal's biggest bands, and plays massive venues around the world, including Madison Square Garden. After Slayer's unexpected retirement, Holt devotes his attention full-time to Exodus once again, recording and playing with more passion than ever before.An "unadulterated odyssey through decades of insanity," punctuated by Holt's unique insight and knack for storytelling, A FABULOUS DISASTER is a thrill ride from start to finish. His story proves that redemption-even from the pits of rock 'n' roll excess-is always possible.

Fieldnotes from Celtic Palestine embodies a new type of sociological writing that weaves ethnography with memoir as well as fusing other convention-breaking literary forms, styles and devices. In its innovative analysis of the rhetorical power of the creative works of four Celtic witnesses to the conflict in Palestine, three Irish and one Welsh, it explores how the creative practitioner may effectively engage in political persuasion and activism without compromising their art. The book also reflects upon a series of encounters in the field between the author and various individuals - political prisoners, diplomats, members of terrorist organisations, members of the security services, journalists and politicians, and also ordinary people making their lives in a society profoundly shaped by brutal ethno-political occupation and conflict. Amongst these encounters is that of being served tea by the daughter of a Hamas suicide bomber, and that of being taken to Jewish settlements regarded as illegal under international law.

The first memoir from Geoff Dyer, author of Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It, recollecting his childhood and coming of age in postwar Britain

Angels in the Cellar is a year spent on Peter Hahn's small batch organic vineyard in the Loire Valley, reflecting on his life, the land and the lives of those who work with him.

This unique wartime conversation chronicles a newlywed couple's parallel yet contrasting lives during the tensions and brutalities of WWII, told through their handwritten letters, diary entries and photographs.

For fans of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking or David Sheff’s Beautiful Boy, this debut memoir about a mother grieving her young-adult son’s death is a must-read for any parent who has lost a child or whose child struggles with addiction. A luminous story of how love triumphs over pain, love transcends fear, and love never dies; this debut memoir from a mother grieving her young-adult son’s death is a must-read for any parent who has lost a child, is raising a child from the edge of their seat, or whose family struggles with addiction. When Sally’s twenty-one-year-old son died in a boat accident, her greatest fear is realized. Christopher was often drawn to risk and struggled with addiction. In this riveting memoir, Sally captures the wild ride of his jam-packed life and her deep love for him while reflecting on her own childhood and family’s legacy of alcoholism. Sally shares insights about what it’s like to experience the emotional aftershocks of acute grief, filtered through the lens of her personal experience as a mother and her professional vantage point as a psychotherapist. Even if they have not been touched by loss in this way, readers may see themselves in Sally’s bittersweet illusion of trying to keep her son safe, in how she is challenged to let go of her fear, guilt, and regret in order to forgive herself, and in the ways grief teaches her about the power of love.

'A memoir that captivates and delights. Fabulous' - Nina StibbeAutumn 1993. The former USSR. Viv is about to turn 21 and is on a study year abroad, supposedly immersed in the language, history and politics of a world that has just ceased to exist: the Soviet Union.Instead, she finds herself immersed in Bogdan Bogdanovich - the lead guitarist of a Ukrainian punk rock band. As the temperature drops, he promises that if she can get through the freezing Russian winter, he will give her "one Ukrainian summer." But is he serious about her? Or is she just another groupie?At parties, gigs and dive bars, Viv and her new friends argue over whose turn it is to buy cigarettes, the best places to find Levi's jeans and whether beer counts as a soft drink. No-one debates the merits of speaking Ukrainian over Russian, the precise location of the border or the undeniable brightness of the future. Of course good times are here to stay. Because the Soviet Union is finished. Isn't it?A poignant and often comical account of coming-of-age in the time after the Cold War and before Putin, One Ukrainian Summer is a love letter to a unique moment in history.ALL AUTHOR EARNINGS FROM THIS BOOK WILL BE DONATED TO PEN INTERNATIONAL

A smart, funny, anarchic and gripping memoir from Mark Hoppus, the vocalist, bassist, and founding member of pop-punk band blink-182.