Search Results for: true story

A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK

‘With poignancy, humour and compassion, Jones invites us into “the invigorating chaos of pre-hospital care” . . . a panorama of experiences: the mundane, the ridiculous, the heartbreaking and the tragic’ – The Guardian

‘This beautifully written book, punctuated with wry humour, is a sobering portrayal of the ailing, the distressed and the lonely… Yet it’s also an uplifting read which will make you thankful that should your hour of need arrive, so will someone like Jones’ – Daily Express

A memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life as a paramedic.

A young man has stopped breathing in a supermarket toilet. A pedestrian with a nasty head injury won’t let the crew near him on a busy road. A newborn baby is worryingly silent. An addict urinates on the ambulance floor when denied a fix. This is the life of an ambulance paramedic.

Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years: every day, he sees a dozen of the scenes we hope to see only once in a lifetime. Can You Hear Me? – the first thing he says when he arrives on the scene – is a memoir of the chaos, intensity and occasional beauty of life on the front-lines of medicine in the UK.

As well as a look into dozens of extraordinary scenes – the hoarder who won’t move his collection to let his ailing father leave the house, the blood-soaked man who tries to escape from the ambulance, the life saved by a lucky crew who had been called to see someone else entirely – Can You Hear Me? is an honest examination of the strains and challenges of one of the most demanding and important jobs anyone can do.

‘To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, religion, all in one’

“Brilliant” – Philip Hoare, New Statesman

John Ruskin – born 200 years ago, in February 1819 – was the greatest critic of his age: a critic not only of art and architecture but of society and life. But his writings – on beauty and truth, on work and leisure, on commerce and capitalism, on life and how to live it – can teach us more than ever about how to see the world around us clearly and how to live it.

Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper delves into Ruskin’s writings and uncovers the dizzying beauty and clarity of his vision. Whether he was examining the exquisite carvings of a medieval cathedral or the mass-produced wares of Victorian industry, chronicling the beauties of Venice and Florence or his own descent into old age and infirmity, Ruskin saw vividly the glories and the contradictions of life, and taught us how to see them as well.

Ever wondered what it’s REALLY like to be a Premier League footballer?

My name is James Milner and I’m not a Ribena-holic.

Let me share insights into what it’s like being a professional footballer, across my different experiences with Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and now Liverpool (not forgetting a six-match loan spell at Swindon). Plus my highs – and a few too many lows – playing for England.

There isn’t a current player who’s been playing Premier League football as long as I have, and that gives me a pretty rare perspective into how the top-flight game has changed over the past seventeen years.

In this book, I explain how a footballer’s working week unfolds – what we eat and how we prepare for matches technically, tactically, mentally and physically – and talk you through the ups and downs of a matchday. I reveal my penalty-taking techniques, half-time team talks and the differences between playing against Lionel Messi, Wilfried Zaha and Jimmy Bullard.

I’ve played for managers ranging from Terry Venables, Peter Reid and Sir Bobby Robson to Martin O’Neill, Fabio Capello and Jurgen Klopp. I tell you what it’s like sharing a training ground and a dressing-room with team-mates such as Lee Bowyer, Mario Balotelli and Mo Salah. I also reveal the behind-the-scenes work that went into Liverpool’s Champions League success – and the celebrations that followed.

So this isn’t an autobiography. The whole point of Ask A Footballer is that you, the fans, asked me questions and I have used my own experiences to answer them. I hope you like it, and don’t find it too boring.

*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

*ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2019*

*WITH NEW & EXCLUSIVE AFTERWORD*

‘Addictive … a jaw-dropping read’ STYLIST

‘Explosive … Definitely one for the beach’ ELLE

‘Paints a fascinating picture of an eccentric egomaniac who rails against all authority … gripping stuff’ SUNDAY TIMES
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How does it feel to be betrayed by your closest friend? A close friend who turns out to be the most prolific grifter in New York City…

This is the true story of Anna Delvey (real name Anna Sorokin), the fake heiress whose dizzying deceit and elaborate con-artistry deceived the Soho hipster scene before her ruse was finally and dramatically exposed.

After meeting through mutual friends, the ‘Russian heiress’ Anna Delvey and Rachel DeLoache Williams soon became inseparable. Theirs was an intoxicating world of endless excess: high dining, personal trainer sessions, a luxury holiday … and Anna footed almost every bill.

But after Anna’s debit card was declined in a Moroccan medina whilst on holiday in a five-star luxury resort, Rachel began to suspect that her increasingly mysterious friend was not all she seemed.

This is the incredible story of how Anna Sorokin conned the high-rollers of the NYC social scene and convinced her close friend of an entirely concocted fantasy, the product of falsified bank documents, bad cheques and carefully edited online photos.

Written by Rachel DeLoache Williams, the Vanity Fair photography editor who believed Anna’s lies before helping the police to track her down (fittingly, deciphering Anna’s location using Instagram), this is Catch Me If You Can with Instagram filters. Between Anna, Fyre Festival’s Billy McFarland (Anna even tried to scam Billy) and Elizabeth Holmes, whose start-up app duped the high and mighty of Silicon Valley, this is the year of the scammer.

‘COMPLETELY BEGUILING AND BEAUTIFULLY TOLD’ Kate Furnival
‘A PERFECT SUMMER READ’ Rachel Hore
‘A GORGEOUS, MOUTH-WATERING DREAM OF A HOLIDAY READ’ Red
‘PERFECT HOLIDAY READING, WHEREVER YOU GO’ The Lady

The bestselling author of The Lemon Tree Hotel returns with an enchanting new summer read about family bonds and following your heart, wherever it might take you…

With her marriage in danger of falling apart, Joanna returns home to the beautiful but dilapidated Mulberry Farm Cottage in rural Dorset, where her sister Harriet is struggling to keep the Farm afloat and cope with their eccentric mother.

When Joanna discovers a bundle of love letters in the attic, written by a watercolourist named Emmy, she is intrigued and sets out to discover Emmy’s true story. Emmy’s letters take Joanna to the picturesque alleyways and bridges of Lisbon, Prague, and the most romantic place of all: Venice – where a whole new magical world seems to unfold in front of her.

Meanwhile, back at Mulberry Farm Cottage, a mysterious prowler adds to Harriet’s problems and interrupts her search for a perfect partner. Will she ever find true love? Where will Emmy’s mesmerising pathway lead? And more importantly, will Joanna and Harriet be able to rescue the cottage and finally be able to re-discover their sisterly bond?

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FROM VENICE WITH LOVE

‘Romantic and magical’ *****
‘The escapism we all need’ *****
‘A love story with a difference’ *****

“A revelatory and wholly fascinating work of history. Superbly researched and written with gripping fluency, this lost secret of World War II espionage finally has its expert chronicler.”
– WILLIAM BOYD

‘Gripping and intoxicating, it unfolds like the best screenplay.’
NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE

The gripping story of a propaganda campaign like no other: the covert British operation to manipulate American public opinion and bring the US into the Second World War.

When William Stephenson – “our man in New York” – arrived in the United States towards the end of June 1940 with instructions from the head of MI6 to ‘organise’ American public opinion, Britain was on the verge of defeat. Surveys showed that just 14% of the US population wanted to go to war against Nazi Germany. But soon that began to change…

Those campaigning against America’s entry into the war, such as legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, talked of a British-led plot to drag the US into the conflict. They feared that the British were somehow flooding the American media with ‘fake news’, infiltrating pressure groups, rigging opinion polls and meddling in US politics.

These claims were shocking and wild: they were also true.

That truth is revealed here for the first time by bestselling author Henry Hemming, using hitherto private and classified documents, including the diaries of his own grandparents, who were briefly part of Stephenson’s extraordinary influence campaign that was later described in the Washington Post as ‘arguably the most effective in history’. Stephenson – who saved the life of Hemming’s father – was a flawed maverick, full of contradictions, but one whose work changed the course of the war, and whose story can now be told in full.

THE JOURNAL TO ACCOMPANY THE AWARD-WINNING AND BESTSELLING STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

John Lennon, Gandhi, Trevor Noah, Grayson Perry, Roald Dahl, Martin Luther King… all dared to be different – and now young boys can too with this fun and enlightening guided journal.


Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different Journal is full of tips and ideas to help boys everywhere explore their dreams and release their creativity in an environment where emotions and feelings are celebrated. Thanks to an array of imaginative and thoughtful prompts, and short biographies of some real-life inspiring figures who followed their personal dreams, this journal will help boys construct their own world away from gender stereotypes and social conventions.

Activities include:

· Devising a plot for a film in which your biggest fear is quashed
· Identifying what cause you would go out and protest for
· Creating a list of characteristics about human beings for aliens
· Imagining what would make you happy a week, a month, ten years from now

It is the must-have journal for all those boys who worry about stuff and all those parents who worry about their boys who worry about stuff.

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Praise for STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT:

“This book can save lives. This book can change lives. This book can help to bring forth another generation of boys who dare to be different” – Benjamin Zephaniah

“[The stories] coalesce into a rousing symphony of against-the-odds achievement” – Financial Times

“It will help to inspire a younger generation to understand that you don’t have to be tough, strong and a dragon killer to be worthwhile” – Stylist

“Offer[s] a refreshing twist . . . and will encourage young boys to resist the gender stereotypes that can damage men as much as women” – Daily Express

The story of a personal housing crisis that led to a discovery of the true value of home.

*’You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals’ George Monbiot*

*’Incredibly moving. To find peace and a sense of home after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational’ Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path*

Aged thirty-one, Catrina Davies was renting a box-room in a house in Bristol, which she shared with four other adults and a child. Working several jobs and never knowing if she could make the rent, she felt like she was breaking apart.

Homesick for the landscape of her childhood, in the far west of Cornwall, Catrina decides to give up the box-room and face her demons. As a child, she saw her family and their security torn apart; now, she resolves to make a tiny, dilapidated shed a home of her own.

With the freedom to write, surf and make music, Catrina rebuilds the shed and, piece by piece, her own sense of self. On the border of civilisation and wilderness, between the woods and the sea, she discovers the true value of home, while trying to find her place in a fragile natural world.

This is the story of a personal housing crisis and a country-wide one, grappling with class, economics, mental health and nature. It shows how housing can trap us or set us free, and what it means to feel at home.

“This is an exquisitely interesting book. It’s a deeply serious one too and, for those like me who have little maths, it’s delightfully readable” – IAN MCEWAN

“Kit Yates is a natural storyteller. Through fascinating stories and examples, he shows how maths is the beating heart of so much of modern life. An exciting new voice in the world of science communication” – MARCUS DU SAUTOY

“Used wisely, mathematics can save your life. Used unwisely, it can ruin it. A lucid and enthralling account of why maths matters in everyone’s life. A real eye-opener.” – Prof Ian Stewart FRS, author of Do Dice Play God?
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Maths is the story of the world around us, and the wisdom it gives us can be the difference between success and disaster.

We are all doing maths all the time, from the way we communicate with each other to the way we travel, from how we work to how we relax. Many of us are aware of this. But few of us really appreciate the full power of maths – the extent to which its influence is not only in every office and every home, but also in every courtroom and hospital ward.

In this eye-opening and extraordinary book, Yates explores the true stories of life-changing events in which the application – or misapplication – of mathematics has played a critical role: patients crippled by faulty genes and entrepreneurs bankrupted by faulty algorithms; innocent victims of miscarriages of justice and the unwitting victims of software glitches. We follow stories of investors who have lost fortunes and parents who have lost children, all because of mathematical misunderstandings.

Along the way, Yates arms us with simple mathematical rules and tools that can help us make better decisions in our increasingly quantitative society. You will discover why it’s always sensible to question a statistic, often vital to ask for a second opinion and sometimes surprisingly handy to stick to the 37% rule…

Behind the most famous movie ever made is a tale of love, magic and one incredible woman

Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns that M-G-M is adapting her late husband’s masterpiece, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, for the screen, Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to visit the set.
Nineteen years after Frank’s passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book – because she’s the only one left who knows its secrets…

But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of ‘Over the Rainbow’, Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story, from her rebellious youth as a suffragette’s daughter to her coming of age as one of the first women in the Ivy League, from her blossoming romance with Frank to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired his famous work. With the young actress under pressure from the studio as well as her ambitious stage mother, Maud resolves to protect her – the way she tried so hard to protect the real Dorothy.


This richly imagined novel tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum’s intrepid wife, Maud.

The explosive true story of a gun for hire.

‘Hard eyes stare out of massive beards, their faces marked by the scars of battle. With these guys their webbing looks like it belongs to them, rather than it’s been hung on a pair of reluctant shoulders. There’s not a word been said to us, but the ante has clearly been upped. There’s a dark and sinister feeling in the air.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure it’s about to kick off.’

Former SAS soldier Big Phil Campion tells it like is in this brutally honest account of his insanely dangerous life as a private military operator. From playing chicken with a suicide bomber in backstreet Kabul, to taking on pirates with his bare hands, this is true-life action-packed drama at its best.

Triumphant and uplifting – a queer Muslim memoir about forgiveness and freedom.

‘Revolutionary’ Mona Eltahawy * ‘Exquisite, powerful and urgent’ Stacey May Fowles * ‘I fell in love with this book’ Shani Mootoo

A memoir of hope, faith and love, Samra Habib’s story starts with growing up as part of a threatened minority sect in Pakistan, and follows their arrival in Canada as a refugee, before escaping an arranged marriage at sixteen. When they realized they were queer, it was yet another way they felt like an outsider.

So begins a journey that takes them to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within them all along. It shows how Muslims can embrace queer sexuality, and families can embrace change. A triumphant story of forgiveness and freedom, We Have Always Been Here is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt alone and a testament to the power of fearlessly inhabiting one’s truest self.

The broadcast that George VI made to the nation on the outbreak of war in September 1939 – which formed the climax of the multi Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech – was the product of years of hard work with Lionel Logue, his iconoclastic Australian-born speech therapist. Yet the relationship between the two men did not end there. Far from it: in the years that followed, Logue was to play an even more important role at the monarch’s side.

The King’s War follows this relationship through the dark days of Dunkirk and the drama of D-Day to eventual victory in 1945 – and beyond. It is written by Peter Conradi, a Sunday Times journalist, and Mark Logue, Lionel’s grandson, whose previous book, The King’s Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy, was a best-seller in Britain and America and translated into more than 20 languages.

The King’s War is a fascinating portrait of two men and their respective families – the Windsors and the Logues – as they together faced up to the greatest challenge in Britain’s history.

The inside story of the world’s most notorious cults.

The strange and sinister world of cults is a source of endless fascination. Their secrets, rituals and shadowy hierarchies make for some of the most disturbing and shocking revelations in history. Most chilling of all is the fact that many of their followers forfeit all independence in order to carry out the often sadistic bidding of a mysterious master manipulator – and continue to defend their leader to this day.

From Charles Manson, who instructed his followers to murder seven people, including a heavily pregnant Sharon Tate, to Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese doomsday cult that carried out deadly terror attacks, and the People’s Temple, these cults and their leaders transfix us with their extreme ability to commit savage acts of cruelty and depravity in the name of a self-appointed higher power.

Many shocking and international cults are brought to life, including:

– The Manson Family
– People’s Temple
– Colonia Dignidad
– Thuggees
– Aum Shinrikyo
– Skopsty
– Raëlism
– Heaven’s Gate

FBI Special Agent Jeff Rinek had a gift for getting child predators to confess. All he had to do was share a piece of his soul . . .

In the Name of the Children gives an unflinching look at what it’s like to fight a never-ending battle against an enemy far more insidious than terrorists: the predators, lurking amongst us, who seek to harm our children.

During his 30-year career with the FBI, Jeff Rinek worked hundreds of investigations involving crimes against children: from stranger abduction to serial homicide to ritualized sexual abuse. Those who do this kind of work are required to plumb the depths of human depravity, to see things no one should ever have to see – and once seen can never forget. There is no more important – or more brutal – job in law enforcement, and few have been more successful than Rinek at solving these sort of cases.

Most famously, Rinek got Cary Stayner to confess to all four of the killings known as the Yosemite Park Murders, an accomplishment made more extraordinary by the fact that the FBI nearly pinned the crimes on the wrong suspects. Rinek’s recounting of the confession and what he learned about Stayner provides perhaps the most revelatory look ever inside the psyche of a serial killer and a privileged glimpse into the art of interrogation.

In the Name of the Children takes readers into the trenches of real-time investigations where every second counts and any wrong decision or overlooked fact can have tragic repercussions. Rinek offers an insider’s perspective of the actual case agents and street detectives who are the boots on the ground in this war at home. By placing us inside the heart and mind of a rigorously honest and remarkably self-reflective investigator, we will see with our own eyes what it takes-and what it costs – to try to keep our children safe and to bring to justice those who prey on society’s most vulnerable victims.

With each chapter dedicated to a real case he worked, In the Name of the Children also explores the evolution of Rinek as a Special Agent – whose unorthodox, empathy-based approach to interviewing suspects made him extraordinarily successful in obtaining confessions – and the toll it took to have such intimate contact with child molesters and murderers. Beyond exploring the devastating impact of these unthinkable crimes on the victims and their families, this book offers an unprecedented look at how investigators and their loved ones cope while living in the spectre of so much suffering.

‘This is a gripping memoir from one of our country’s greatest jury advocates, offering a fascinating, no-holds-barred tour behind the scenes of some of the most famous criminal cases of modern times’ The Secret Barrister

‘Gripping’ – The Times

‘Mixes the excitement of the courtroom and some practical tips on the advocacy with the more mundane life of the working lawyer’ – Sunday Times

‘Between such serious case studies, his jovial memoir reflects on the challenges and satisfactions of life as a barrister.’ – Daily Mail

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How can you speak up for someone accused of a savage murder? Or sway a jury? Or get a judge to drop a case?

In this memoir, murder case lawyer William Clegg revisits his most intriguing trials, from the acquittal of Colin Stagg to the shooting of Jill Dando, to the man given life because of an earprint.

All the while he lays bare the secrets of his profession, from the rivalry among barristers to the nervous moments before a verdict comes back, and how our right to a fair trial is now at risk.

Under the Wig is for anyone who wants to know the reality of a murder trial. It has been praised as “gripping” by The Times, “riveting” by the Sunday Express and “fascinating” by the Secret Barrister, who described the author as “one of our country’s greatest jury advocates.”

Several prominent barristers, including Matthew Scott and Bob Marshall-Andrews QC, have said Under the Wig is a “must read” for anyone with an interest in the criminal law. Switch off the TV dramas and see real criminal law in action.

Well-known cases featured:

The Murder of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common
The Chillenden Murders (Dr Lin and Megan Russell)
The Trial of Private Lee Clegg
The Murder of Jill Dando
The first Nazi war crimes prosecution in the UK
The Murder of Joanna Yeates
The Rebekah Brooks Phone Hacking Trial

NOW A MAJOR FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

Determined to cover the Syrian regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent and the devastating impact of the war on Syria’s civilians, veteran photographer Paul Conroy and Marie Colvin,one of the foremost war correspondents of her generation, decided to smuggle themselves across enemy lines and into the blood and terror of Homs.

But tragedy struck before the pair could finish documenting the slaughter. A rocket killed Colvin and ripped a hole in Conroy’s leg. As Syrian ground forces closed in on his position,Conroy was forced to make a terrifying last-ditch attempt to escape from a regime that appeared determined to murder him.

Under the Wire is the epic, untold account of Conroy and Colvin’s last, tragic assignment together. A rare and touching portrait of an extraordinary woman driven by an unquenchable desire to ‘bear witness’, it is as much a tale of courage and survival as it is the poignant account of a friendship forged amid the carnage of war.

Arctic explorer, survival expert and naturalist Freddy Spencer Chapman was trapped behind enemy lines when the Japanese overran Malaya in 1942. His response was to begin a commando campaign of such lethal effectiveness that the Japanese deployed an entire regiment to hunt him down, believing that a 200-strong guerrilla army was responsible for the wholesale destruction of their convoys.

He was wounded, and racked by tropical disease. His companions were killed, or captured and then beheaded. Cut off from friendly forces, his only shelter the deep jungle, Chapman held out for three years and five months. Jungle Soldier recounts the thrilling and unforgettable adventures of the North country orphan who survived against all odds to become a legend of guerrilla warfare.

‘A humbling, inspiring account of some of the real founders of modern day Special Forces soldiering’ Bear Grylls


Praise for Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author Damien Lewis’ SAS mission series:

‘One of the great untold stories of WWII’ – Bear Grylls on SAS Ghost Patrol

‘A tale of bravery against desperate odds’ – Sunday Times on Churchill’s Secret Warriors

‘True adventures laced with staggering bravery and sacrifice’ – Sun on Hunting the Nazi Bomb

SAS Nazi Hunters is the incredible, hitherto untold story of the most secret chapter in the SAS’s history. Officially, the world’s most elite special forces unit was dissolved at the end of the Second World War, and not reactivated until the 1950s. Among their last actions was a disastrous commando raid into occupied France in 1944, which ended in the capture,torture and execution of 31 soldiers.

It can now be revealed that the SAS never was dissolved: it lived on, commanded personally by Churchill and hidden even from the British government. They were tasked with hunting through the ruins of the Reich for the SS commanders responsible for the murder of their comrades, including many who had escaped the failed justice of the Nuremberg trials. Along the way, they discovered before anyone else the full horror of Hitler’s regime, and the growing threat from Stalin’s Russia.

Still studied by the SAS today and a central part of their founding myth, the story of the Nazi hunters is now told by bestselling author Damien Lewis.

“In our evermore hectic and overwhelming world, Stories for Kids Who Dare to be Different is refreshing proof that dreams do come true and that it is ok to be different. An inspiring read for any young person, particularly those struggling to find their place in the world.” Megan Hine

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Björk, Dr Seuss, Whoopi Goldberg, Andy Warhol, Ellen MacArthur, Greta Gerwig, Andrea Bocelli, Hua Mulan … these are men and women who all dared to be different.

Boys will be boys and girls will be girls – or so the meaningless saying goes. Because what if you’re a girl and you like cage fighting? Or you’re a boy and you love ballet? And what if you’ve always dreamed of being a scientist but you can’t see anyone who looks or sounds like you, and who has left a legacy – in the form of microscopes and Bunsen burners – for you to follow?

This is the book for children who want to know about the lives of those heroes who have led the way, changing the world for the better as they go.

Following the runaway success of Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different, parents asked for a celebration of role models of both genders for boys and girls within the same book. Stories for Kids Who Dare to Be Different is the answer. These are the extraordinary stories of 100 famous and not-so-famous men and women, every single one of them an inspiring pioneer and creative genius in their own way, who broke the mould and made their dreams come true.

Like Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different, this is a beautifully illustrated, evocative and inspirational book of amazing stories of amazing people, that will delight sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, and give them the courage to be themselves.

*For tales of even more brilliant people who have dared to be different, STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT 2 is out now!*

***THE FOLLOW UP TO THE AWARD-WINNING AND BESTSELLING STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT***

Tom Daley, Oliver Sacks, the Jamaican Bobsled team, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Carlos Acosta… all dared to be different.



This is the follow-up to the much loved and hugely successful Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different, the bestselling book that changed countless boys’ lives around the world and gave them the confidence to be themselves.

What have the footballer Kylian Mbappé, the philosopher Socrates and the singer Ed Sheeran all got in common? All three of them defied expectations – going against the grain and pursuing their dreams – despite a seemingly impossible barrage of obstacles and difficulties. Their stories are incredible, as are those of the tap-dancer Evan Ruggiero, the Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, and the other inspirational boys who fill the pages of this extraordinary book.

It’s books like these that can make a huge difference to parents and their children’s lives. In this day and age, any publication that shows how we can triumph in the face of adversity and prejudice deserves to be read over and over again.

Everyone loves Toff and she has come a long way since bursting onto our screens on E4’s Made in Chelsea in 2014. As the runaway winner of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here 2017, Toff surprised us all, not least herself, with her positive, happy-go-lucky attitude and kindness to others, no matter what challenge came her way in the jungle.

In ALWAYS SMILING, Toff is here to share her experiences, some funny, some sad, some that make her cringe with embarrassment. So whether it is friendships, family dramas, heartbreak and relationships, or how she coped with living her life in front of millions of viewers of Made in Chelsea, Toff reveals how she has learnt to keep a smile on her face, whatever life throws at her.

Told with her trademark honesty, humour and endless sense of fun, ALWAYS SMILING is a must-have for any fan.

Sex. Drugs. Danger. Death.

FROM THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF BESTSELLERS HOTEL KEROBOKAN AND SNOWING IN BALI

This is the adrenaline-pumping story of the world’s most audacious drug runners and the police hunt, ‘Operation Playboy’, to track them down.

These drug-running playboys travel the globe: they ski in Europe, surf in Bali, hook up with celebrity models and live in five-star hotels. They are 24/7 party boys with brass balls, steely nerves and reckless ambitions. They pay for their high-risk, hedonistic lifestyle by trafficking cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana on international flights and through the world’s biggest airports.

But to ride the wave you have to roll the dice. And in this game a bust means prison – or even a firing squad. A Brazilian cop is watching closely, determined to close the net. With a small team, he battles corrupt colleagues and bent judges to learn the secrets of the playboys and bring about their downfall.

Celebrated true-crime writer and journalist Kathryn Bonella has travelled the world to collect first-person testimony from an international network of mules and their bosses, as well as from the elite cops who are hot on their trail.

The result is a page-turning, white-knuckle thriller – the true story of a manhunt codenamed OPERATION PLAYBOY.

From number one bestselling author and creator of Sookie Stackhouse Charlaine Harris and bestselling co-creator of Baltimore Christopher Golden comes a brand new graphic novel series. This omnibus edition includes Cemetery Girl, Inheritance and Haunted.

Calexa Rose Dunhill was just fourteen when she woke in a cemetery. Bruised, bloody and left for dead, with no memory of her previous life, she took a new name from the headstones that surrounded her.

Now, three years on, Calexa still lives in Dunhill Cemetery, struggling with the desire to know her true identity – and the all-consuming fear of what she might discover when she does.

Then, when she witnesses a gang of teenagers staging a stunt that goes horribly, fatally wrong, Calexa Rose Dunhill discovers she has a unique ability. One she cannot control . . .

‘Cemetery Girl has a power all of its own’ – Fantasy Book Review