Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 11018 items
Round the Bend
By Jeremy Clarkson. 2011
Jeremy Clarkson gets REALLY riled up in Round the BendWhat's it like to drive a car that's actively trying to…
kill you?This and many other burning questions trouble Jeremy Clarkson as he sets out to explore the world from the safety of four wheels. Avoiding the legions of power-crazed traffic wombles attempting to block highway and byway, he he:- Shows how the world of performance cars may be likened to Battersea Dogs Home- Reveals why St Moritz may be the most bonkers town in all of the world- Reminds us that Switzerland is so afraid of snow that any flakes falling on the road are immediately arrested- Argues that washing a car is a waste of timeFunny, globe-trotting, irreverent and sometimes downright rude, Round the Bend is packed with curious and fascinating but otherwise hopelessly useless stories and facts about everything under the sun (and just occasionally cars). It's Jeremy Clarkson at his brilliant best.Praise for Jeremy Clarkson'Brilliant . . . laugh-out-loud' Daily Telegraph'Outrageously funny . . . will have you in stitches' Time Out'Very funny . . . I cracked up laughing on the tube' Evening StandardRonnie
By Ronnie Drew. 2009
The late great Dubliner, Ronnie Drew, was six months into writing his biography when he was diagnosed with cancer. He…
had produced warm, witty and insightful material that made it clear that he was a wonderful writer as well as a great singer and storyteller. With the encouragement of his wife Deirdre and his family, he continued to think about the book and conducted a number of interviews to keep things ticking over until he was well enough to resume work on it. But sadly, much as he wanted to, Ronnie did not get to finish his story.However, with the whole-hearted co-operation of his daughter and son, Cliodhna and Phelim, it has been possible to put together Ronnie's work on his memoir along with his other writings, interviews with Cliodhna and Phelim, a wealth of photographs and other material from the family archive, and contributions from close friends, to create a book that is a wonderful portrait of, and a fitting and loving tribute to, the man Bono called 'the king of Ireland'.'Rommel?' 'Gunner Who?': A Confrontation in the Desert (Spike Milligan War Memoirs)
By Spike Milligan. 1974
VOLUME TWO OF SPIKE MILLIGAN'S LEGENDARY MEMOIRS IS A HILARIOUS, SUBVERSIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF WW2'Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines and…
marvelous anecdotes' Daily Mail 'Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar' Sunday Times ______________'Keep talking, Milligan. I think I can get you out on Mental Grounds.' 'That's how I got in, sir.' 'Didn't we all.' The second volume of Spike Milligan's legendary recollections of life as a gunner in World War Two sees our hero into battle in North Africa - eventually. First, there is important preparation to be done: extensive periods of loitering ('We had been standing by vehicles for an hour and nothing had happened, but it happened frequently'), psychological toughening ('If a man dies when you hang him, keep hanging him until he gets used to it') and living dangerously ('no underwear!'). At last the battle for Tunis is upon them . . .______________'The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read' Sunday Express 'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese 'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie Izzard 'A totally original comedy writer' Michael Palin 'Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense' GuardianThe Rock 'N’ Roll Waitress at the Hard Rock Cafe
By Rita Gilligan. 2016
Meet Rita Gilligan, Hard Rock Cafe’s original ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ waitress and international cultural ambassador and MBE. It was 1971…
when Hard Rock first opened its doors in London, and Rita was there with her spunky, chatty, and absolutely lovable personality. Over the forty-five years she served at Hard Rock, Rita has collected quite some stories to tell, including her relationship with rock ‘n’ roll celebrities, Hard Rock’s history, and her own personal life struggles. In this book Rita tells her story from being a shy Catholic schoolgirl in Galway to becoming the best known waitress and later ambassador of one of history's most iconic American style restaurants. She also narrates how she met Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and many other famous celebrities during her time at the Hard Rock. Written with candid humour and disarming honesty, Rita serves up a brilliantly crafted story about how the Hard Rock, like herself, defied all the odds to become a global phenomenon.The Road Back Home: A Northern Childhood
By Sid Waddell. 2013
'I had not lived in the former pit village of Lynemouth since 1961 but the winding road north from Newcastle…
will always be the same nostalgic highway, each twist charged with vivid memories and powerful emotions...'So begins a story full of wonderful humour, emotional candour and hardy tales of tough times - a quietly epic family saga set amid the pit villages of the North East . It stretches from the 1920s, before Sid's parents had even met, to the final closing of the mine and his mother's death in 1999.Sid paints a picture of a colourful, tight knit community full of good times and hard work, god-fearing women and hard-drinking men. Always dominating the skyline is Auld Betty, the pit head that took the men away each day and, with a prayer, brought them back each evening. Amongst the unforgettable cast of his extended family and friends, we follow the Waddells' attempts to stay afloat and provide a better future and possible escape for youngsters like Sid.The River: A Love Story, a New Life in the Country, and One Idyllic Year With Otters
By Philippa Forrester. 2009
When TV presenter Philippa Forrester first met Charlie, a wildlife cameraman, she thought he was a show-off - and he…
thought she was arrogant. The second time, despite being hungry, thirsty and trapped in torrential rain aboard the world's most uncomfortable boat, they fell in love. This is the story of their move out of London, deep into the heart of the English countryside. When they impulsively buy an old mill-worker's cottage, they are entranced by its river, teeming with kingfishers, mink and water fowl. But they are overjoyed when they spot an animal long thought to have abandoned the area: an otter, swimming happily past their house. Inspired, they decide to make a film about the otters on their doorstep ... at the same time as having a baby, setting up house, and pursuing their careers. Unsurprisingly, things turn out to be easier said than done.Written with endless charm and real affection, featuring a cast of memorable characters, The River is packed with hilarious stories spanning floods, chicken keeping and wildlife watching. The result is sheer delight.Rise Up: The #Merky Story So Far
By Stormzy. 2018
*A 2018 BOOK OF THE YEAR*‘An inspirational must-read.’ Evening Standard‘A very important book.’ Will Gompertz, BBC‘A motivational, inspirational oral history.’…
Nikesh Shukla, iNews‘Don’t sleep on it... the future is looking #Merky.’ Metro______________________‘It’s been a long time coming, I swear...’ In four years Stormzy has risen from one of the most promising musicians of his generation to a spokesperson for a generation. Rise Up is the story of how he got there. It’s a story about faith and the ideas worth fighting for. It’s about knowing where you’re from, and where you’re going. It’s about following your dreams without compromising who you are.Featuring never-before-seen photographs, lyrics and contributions from Team #Merky, Rise Up is the #Merky story, and the record of a journey unlike any other.______________________Edited and Co-written by Jude YawsonContributions by Team #MerkyImages by Kaylum DennisRiding the Waves: My Story
By Jane McDonald. 2019
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Everything is much easier in life when difficult situations are faced with humour and a smile. But,…
don't get me wrong, that took years to realise. What a journey...'Whether performing in an arena, presenting a number one TV show or recording a top-ten album, Jane McDonald will never forget her Northern roots. Her down-to-earth Yorkshire charm is as much a part of her as her talent for singing, and here she is telling her remarkable story with characteristic wit and warmth, in her own words. A miner's daughter from Wakefield, Jane was a shy child who struggled with anxiety, but she found the courage to overcome her fears and follow her passion for performing. Jane famously hit the big time overnight on TV show The Cruise twenty years ago, but here she talks for the first time about how she survived the dark legacy of that early success, and climbed right back up for a second bite of the cherry. It hasn't all been plain sailing, but in Jane's world tough times make the good times better, and her spirit, heart and humour sparkle from every page.Remembering Ronnie Barker
By Richard Webber. 1993
Ronnie Barker was one of our most respected and best-loved comedy actors and here, in this fascinating biography, Richard Webber…
delves deep in to the heart of Barker's life and career, peppering his narrative with original and incisive memories from some of Barker's closest contemporaries, including Ronnie Corbett, Michael Palin and Barry Cryer. Star of the much-adored comedy classics Porridge, The Two Ronnies - one of the most successful and long-running television comedy shows ever on British television - and Open All Hours, Ronnie Barker was universally admired by the public and industry insiders alike. From his early days writing for and performing skits on The Frost Report right up to his retirement in 1988, he lit up television screens across the country with his wonderful gift for comedy and his remarkable skill for character acting. Beyond his performances on the stage and screen, Barker was also an accomplished comedy writer, providing many of the sketches and songs for The Two Ronnies and contributing material to a number of other television and radio shows. And despite his retirement he retained pole position in the public's affection, returning to the screen in 1999 to team up with his erstwhile comedy partner and great friend Ronnie Corbett for a Two Ronnies night on BBC1, followed by a BAFTA tribute in 2004 and a final appearance on television in 2005 on The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook. Effortlessly funny, universally adored and an actor and writer responsible for some of Britain's best-loved and most-respected comedy, Ronnie Barker was a true comedy legend. Here he's brought to the page in winning style as he's remembered by those who best loved and knew him.Reflections: The Sunday Times bestselling book of life lessons from superstar presenter Holly Willoughby
By Holly Willoughby. 2017
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'From the heart. It feels so authentic . . . Encompassing and inclusive . . . Reads…
beautifully and fluidly and feels like having a chat with your best friend' - Elizabeth Day on HOW TO FAIL'The book is a triumph...an accessible insight into the woman behind the brand' Grazia________________________Have you ever found yourself in that moment where you just wonder - what's next? I could carry on as I am but there's a yearning for something else. That's where this book started for me...Presenter. Fashion icon. Wife. Mother. Holly Willoughby lights up the nation's TV screens every day but, like all of us, she has struggled with moments of self-doubt, feelings of guilt, anger and detachment. Here she shares how she has learned to reconnect with herself in order to face her fears head on. With her trademark warmth, Holly shows how listening to her inner voice and celebrating life's little moments of beauty and joy - like looking up at the moon or finding the perfect red lipstick - helped her feel whole again. Reflections is an empathetic, encouraging book that will inspire you to live your most beautiful, authentic life.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:-'I rarely read and read this book in two days! Much of what Holly wrote about resonated with me and I've taken so much practical advice away with me.'-'Like little snippets of therapy'-'This book is brilliant. Holly addresses many things that we all face in life and gives her best advice on how to overcome them. Fantastic for anyone but mostly anyone who suffers any kind of anxieties or self consciousness. -'Amazing . . . Holly is just fabulous and I can't put it down, so nice to know we aren't in this journey alone' -'So beautifully written and relatable in lots of ways. It will be a book that I am sure I will keep taking off of my book shelf to keep going back to read for a long time'Really?: The World According To Clarkson
By Jeremy Clarkson. 2013
JEREMY CLARKSON'S LATEST - AND MOST OUTRAGEOUS - TAKE ON THE WORLDCLARKSON'S BACK - AND THIS TIME HE'S PUTTING HIS…
FOOT DOWNFrom his first job as a travelling sales rep selling Paddington Bears to his latest wheeze as a gentleman farmer, Jeremy Clarkson's love of cars has just about kept him out of trouble.But in a persistently infuriating world, sometimes you have to race full-throttle at the speed-bumps.Because there's still plenty to get cross about, including:· Why nothing good ever came out of a meeting· Muesli's unmentionable side effects · Navigating London when every single road is being dug up at once· People who read online reviews of dishwashers· ****ing driverless carsBuckle up for a bumpy ride - you're holding the only book in history to require seatbelts . . .Praise for Jeremy Clarkson: Brilliant . . . Laugh-out-loud' Daily Telegraph'Outrageously funny . . . Will have you in stitches' Time Out 'Very funny . . . I cracked up laughing on the tube' Evening StandardThe Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragons' Den
By James Caan. 2008
After dropping out of school at just sixteen, James Caan started his business life in a broom cupboard with no…
qualifications and two pieces of fatherly wisdom: 'observe the masses and do the opposite' and 'always look for opportunities where both parties benefit'. Armed with this advice, natural charm and the Yellow Pages, he built a market-leading business with a turnover of £130 million and swiftly became one of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs.From Caan's childhood as a Pakistani immigrant to the phenomenal success of his first company and beyond, The Real Deal traces both his financial and personal achievements. It offers a frank account of what success at thirty really signifies and brings us right up to the present, including his impact on Dragons' Den and what his charity work, from saving a hospital in London to building a school in Lahore, means to him. Ultimately, it is a story of learning what money is really worth, told by one the country's most insightful businessmen.THE PERFECT, THOUGHTFUL GIFT FOR THE MUM IN YOUR LIFE!This isn't a parenting book.This isn't a guide to being a…
perfect parent (spoiler: they don't exist)This is a book about you.We can only anchor, nurture, nourish and instill confidence in our children when we extend the same support to ourselves. After all, how can we effectively tend to our children's needs when our energy reserves are depleted? How can we lead by example and teach our children the importance of healthy self-esteem if we are struggling with these things ourselves? There are a thousand and one ways to parent, and only one way that's authentic for you.Drawing on her work as a psychotherapist, alongside her own experiences as a mother, Anna shows that caring with our children begins with caring for ourselves, and it's time to replace exhaustion with empowerment. Far from being selfish, self-care is an essential quality of a happier mother good parent. The greatest gift you can give to to yourself and your children, is to give yourself permission to thrive.The Rainbow Comes and Goes
By Diana Cooper. 1958
Lady Diana Cooper was a star of the early twentieth stage, screen and social scene. This first instalment of her…
sparkling autobiography tells of her upbringing, her beautiful artistic mother and aristocratic father, her debut into high society and the glittering parties - 'dancing and extravagance and lashing of wine, and charades and moonlit balconies and kisses' - which were interrupted with the outbreak of the First World War. This volume ends with Diana's marriage to the 'love of her life', diplomat and politician Duff Cooper.R.E.M. Fiction: An Alternative Biography
By David Buckley. 2011
R.E.M.'s public image has always been tightly controlled. Icons of anti-celebrity rock, who bacame huge celebrity rock stars, they were,…
according to the story, the first U.S. post new-wave band who were both commercially successful and cool. Drawing on exclusive interviews with Mike Mills, Peter Buck and other members of R.E.M.'s nuclear family, Fiction re-evaluates the music and career of a group who sold almost no records for the first half of their existence, then became 'the biggest rock group in the world' in the second half.A Preparation for Death
By Greg Baxter. 2010
In his early thirties, Greg Baxter found himself in a strange place. He hated his job, he was drinking excessively,…
he was sabotaging his most important relationships, and he was no longer doing the thing he cared about most: writing. Strangest of all, at this time he started teaching evening classes in creative writing - and his life changed utterly.A Preparation for Death is a document of the chaos and discovery of that time and of the experiences that led Greg Baxter to that strange place - an extraordinarily intimate account of literary failure (and its consequences), personal decay, and redemption through reading, writing, and truth-telling. 'Brilliant and wonderfully original ... Yes, this is a book about drinking and shagging. But rarely have these things been written about so well' William Leith, Literary Review'Baxter is a serious, thoughtful writer, bend on emotional truth and artistry. He has written an unusual, provocative book' Suzi Feay, Financial Times'Brave, honest and propulsive' Metro'The triumph is the steely courage it takes to put a life down with such uncompromising clarity' Hugo Hamilton, Irish Times'This is an occasionally infuriating and completely wonderful book. I read it in one sitting, unsettled and delighted by its ferocity' Anne EnrightThe Powerful and the Damned: Private Diaries in Turbulent Times
By Lionel Barber. 2020
'Extraordinary' TONY BLAIR'Riveting' - PHILIPPE SANDS'Brutal, brilliant and scurrilously funny' - MISHA GLENNYThe real scoop isn't on the front page'As…
FT editor, I was a privileged interlocutor to people in power around the world, each offering unique insights into high-level decision-making and political calculation, often in moments of crisis. These diaries offer snapshots of leadership in an age of upheaval...'Lionel Barber was Editor of the Financial Times for the tech boom, the global financial crisis, the rise of China, Brexit, and mainstream media's fight for survival in the age of fake news.In this unparalleled, no-holds-barred diary of life behind the headlines, he reveals the private meetings and exchanges with political leaders on the eve of referendums, the conversations with billionaire bankers facing economic meltdown, exchanges with Silicon Valley tech gurus and pleas from foreign emissaries desperate for inside knowledge, all against the backdrop of a wildly shifting media landscape.The result is a fascinating - and at times scathing - portrait of power in our modern age; who has it, what it takes and what drives the men and women with the world at their feet. Featuring close encounters with Trump, Cameron, Blair, Putin, Merkel and Mohammed Bin Salman and many more, this is a rare portrait of the people who continue to shape our world and who quite literally, make the news.A Portrait Of Leni Riefenstahl
By Audrey Salkeld. 2011
Leni Riefenstahl will always be remembered for her brilliant film of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin - still rated…
as one of the best documentaries ever made. Before that she was acclaimed for her roles in silent feature films, when German cinema was in its artistic heyday in the 1920s. She pioneered the box office success of such classic mountaineering dramas as The White Hell of Piz Palu and then began to direct her own films. The Blue Light was admired by Hitler and led to her filming the Wagnerian Nuremberg Rally of 1934. After the war she was shunned by the film industry, despite a court in 1952 proclaiming her not guilty of supporting the Nazis in a punishable way. Her undoubted charisma led to many affairs and grandiose schemes - deep sea diving in her seventies and still filming wildlife in her nineties. Audrey Salkeld has sifted the fact from the legend and gives us a moving portrait of the great movie `star' who suffered more in the `wilderness' than her enduring fame suggests.Plain Words
By Rebecca Gowers, Ernest Gowers. 2014
'Be short, be simple, be human.'When Sir Ernest Gowers first wrote Plain Words, it was intended simply as a guide…
to the proper use of English for the Civil Service. Within a year, however, its humour, charm and authority had made it a bestseller. Since then it has never been out of print.Six decades on, writer Rebecca Gowers has created a new edition of this now-classic work that both revises and celebrates her great-grandfather's original. Plain Words has been updated to reflect numerous changes in English usage, yet Sir Ernest's distinctive, witty voice is undimmed. And his message remains vital: our writing should be as clear and comprehensible as possible, avoiding superfluous words and clichés - from the jargon of 'commercialese' to the murky euphemisms of politicians.In a new preface, this edition draws on an extensive private archive, previously hidden away in family cupboards and attics, to tell the story behind a book that has become an institution: the essential guide to making yourself understood.Pippa: Simple Tips to Live Beautifully
By Pippa O'Connor Ormond. 2016
Pippa O'Connor's easy style and approachability have won her a huge and loyal following. Now Pippa shares her top tips…
and insights for how to live well, look good and feel great.'The older I've become, the more confident I am in my own skin. I don't follow trends that I know won't suit me and I've learned to make the best of what I have.'This book is about sharing everything I've learned along the way. It's full of useful information - such as how to put on a face in ten minutes, the essential items every woman needs in her wardrobe, what to wear to a wedding, how to travel in style (and with kids!), easy ways to create a beautiful home and how to be the perfect hostess.'To me, anybody can be stylish, regardless of money, age or body shape. You don't need to spend a fortune to look and feel fabulous - far from it. Style is about using your imagination and feeling confident.'Pippa - Simple Tips to Live Beautifully is stuffed with practical tips and inspirational advice and is the book for everyone, aged 16 or 60, who wants to discover their own personal style and to build the confidence to celebrate it.