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Book of Queens: The True Story of the Middle Eastern Horsewomen Who Fought the War on Terror
By Pardis Mahdavi. 2023
The untold story of generations of Middle Eastern freedom fighters—horsewomen who safeguarded an ancient breed of Caspian horse—and their efforts…
to defend their homelands from the Taliban and others seeking to destroy them."A breathtaking book that revisits nearly one hundred years of Iranian history, highlighting the power and beauty of women who refuse to be subdued.&” ―Alison Hawthorne Deming, author of A Woven WorldBook of Queens reaches back centuries to the Persian Empire and a woman disguised as a man, facing an invading army, protected only by light armor and the stallion she sat astride. Mahdavi draws a thread from past to present: from her fearless Iranian grandmother, who guided survivors of domestic violence to independent mountain colonies in Afghanistan where the women, led by a general named Mina, became their country&’s first line of defense from marauding warlords. To the female warriors who helped train and breed the horses used by US Green Berets when they touched down in October 2001, with a mission but insufficient intelligence on the ground—women whose contributions were then forgotten. Pardis Mahdavi chases the legacy of Caspian horses and the women whose lives are saved by them, drawing on decades of research, newly-discovered diaries, and exclusive military sources. Among those intersecting stories is that of American Louise Firouz, who helped bring the breed back from the brink of extinction, connecting Virginia traders to British royals to the son of the Shah. Firouz&’s life is forever changed when she meets Mahdavi&’s own family, who run an unusual smuggling operation in addition to raising horses in a wild bid for freedom.Book of Queens is an epic tale of hidden women whose communal knowledge was instrumental in saving an animal as ancient as civilization, and who were the genesis of their own liberation.Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa
By Pallavi Rebbapragada. 2024
Obliterated from the pages of history, as women often are, Odisha&’s first woman Chief Minister, Nandini Satpathy, known also as…
the Iron Lady of Orissa, was born to a family of revolutionaries and intellectuals. During her teenage years in the &‘40s, this petite girl in a starchy cotton saree was jailed for pulling down the Union Jack from atop the edifice of Ravenshaw College. Thus began the makings of a force to be reckoned with. Coming up through the ranks to ultimately reach the hallowed halls of the Rajya Sabha at the mere age of 31, this grassroots student politician went on to become the I&B minister in Indira Gandhi&’s first government, where she facilitated the working of the Free Bangla Radio that played a key role in the information war that was &’71. She hobnobbed with the likes of Raj Kapoor, Nargis, and Meena Kumari as India produced films around socialist films and warmed up to Russia. And still, in Delhi circles, she is best remembered as &‘Indira Gandhi&’s friend&’. Nandini&’s political career was as tumultuous as her friendship with Indira Gandhi. They were a close-knit duo, brought together by circumstances and kept together by a strong sense of affection and loyalty. That was until the Emergency. Where once she had enjoyed the proximity to the PMO and all the privileges that it came with, Nandini&’s opposition to the Emergency led to a fall from grace. This loss was not just the loss of a friend; it also meant the loss of her political career. During her chief-ministerial tenure, she implemented radical land reforms and tore down the tobacco trade mafia. These were actions that made her a lot of enemies. Once protected by her friendship with the prime minister, she was now subjected to brutal vendetta. In the twilight years of her life, Nandini succumbed to the deep grief of losing her husband and the ignominy of political obscurity. This is the story of Nandini Satpathy.Girls Like Us
By Rachel Lloyd. 2011
"Powerfully raw, deeply moving, and utterly authentic. Rachel Lloyd has turned a personal atrocity into triumph and is nothing less…
than a true hero.... Never again will you look at young girls on the street as one of 'those' women—you will only see little girls that are girls just like us." —Demi Moore, actress and activist With the power and verity of First They Killed My Father and A Long Way Gone, Rachel Lloyd’s riveting survivor story is the true tale of her hard-won escape from the commercial sex industry and her bold founding of GEMS, New York City’s Girls Education and Mentoring Service, to help countless other young girls escape "the life." Lloyd’s unflinchingly honest memoir is a powerful and unforgettable story of inhuman abuse, enduring hope, and the promise of redemption.Sontag: Her Life and Work
By Benjamin Moser. 2019
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZEFinalist for the Lambda Literary AwardFinalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for BiographyNamed one of…
the Best Books of the Year by: O Magazine, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Seattle TimesThe definitive portrait of one of the American Century’s most towering intellectuals: her writing and her radical thought, her public activism and her hidden private faceNo writer is as emblematic of the American twentieth century as Susan Sontag. Mythologized and misunderstood, lauded and loathed, a girl from the suburbs who became a proud symbol of cosmopolitanism, Sontag left a legacy of writing on art and politics, feminism and homosexuality, celebrity and style, medicine and drugs, radicalism and Fascism and Freudianism and Communism and Americanism, that forms an indispensable key to modern culture. She was there when the Cuban Revolution began, and when the Berlin Wall came down; in Vietnam under American bombardment, in wartime Israel, in besieged Sarajevo. She was in New York when artists tried to resist the tug of money—and when many gave in. No writer negotiated as many worlds; no serious writer had as many glamorous lovers. Sontag tells these stories and examines the work upon which her reputation was based. It explores the agonizing insecurity behind the formidable public face: the broken relationships, the struggles with her sexuality, that animated—and undermined—her writing. And it shows her attempts to respond to the cruelties and absurdities of a country that had lost its way, and her conviction that fidelity to high culture was an activism of its own. Utilizing hundreds of interviews conducted from Maui to Stockholm and from London to Sarajevo—and featuring nearly one hundred images—Sontag is the first book based on the writer’s restricted archives, and on access to many people who have never before spoken about Sontag, including Annie Leibovitz. It is a definitive portrait—a great American novel in the form of a biography.The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them
By Wayne Pacelle. 2011
“If the animals knew about this book they would, without doubt, confer on Wayne Pacelle, their highest honor.”—Jane Goodall“The Bond…
is the best overall book on animals I have ever read. Brilliant and moving.”—John Mackey, CEO and Co-founder of Whole Foods Market“The Bond is at once heart-breaking and heart-warming. No animal escapes Wayne Pacelle’s attention; nor should his book escape any human animal’s attention.”—Alexandra Horowitz, New York Times Bestselling Author of Inside of a Dog The president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, the world’s largest animal protection organization, Wayne Pacelle brings us The Bond, a heartfelt, eye-opening exploration of the special bond between animals and humans. With the poignant insight of Animals Make Us Human and the shocking reality of Fast Food Nation—filled with history, valuable insights, and fascinating stories of the author’s experience in the field—The Bond is an important investigation into all the ways we can repair our broken bond with the animal kingdom and a thrilling chronicle of one man’s extraordinary contribution to that effort.The Southern Belle's Handbook: Sissy LeBlanc's Rules to Live By
By Loraine Despres. 2003
Learn how to navigate life with the effortless savior faire of a true daughter of the South with The Southern…
Belle's Handbook.Sissy LeBlanc's rules to live by will teach you how to hook, hold on to, and handle any man as well as conquer any personal situation with the poise and confidence of a sophisticated southern stunner.And because every woman possesses her own sassy instincts, you can also record your own rules for unstoppable fabulousness and success.Tippi: A Memoir
By Tippi Hedren. 2016
In this absorbing and surprising memoir, one of the biggest names of classic Hollywood—the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds…
and Marnie—tells her story, including never-before-revealed experiences on the set of some of the biggest cult films of all time . . . now with a foreword by Melanie GriffithFor decades, Tippi Hedren’s luminous beauty radiated from the silver screen, enchanting moviegoers and cementing her position among Hollywood’s elite—beauty and star power that continue to endure. For too long Hedren’s story has been told by others through whispered gossip and tabloid headlines. Now, Hedren sets the record straight, recalling how a young and virtuous Lutheran girl from small-town Minnesota became a worldwide legend—as one of the most famous Hitchcock girls, as an unwavering animal activist, and as the matriarch of a powerful Hollywood dynasty that includes her movie star daughter Melanie Griffith, and rising star Dakota Johnson, her granddaughter.For the first time, Hedren digs deep into her complicated relationship with the man who discovered her talent, director Alfred Hitchcock, the benefactor who would become a repulsive and controlling director who contractually controlled her every move. She speaks openly about the dark pain she endured working with him on their most famous collaborations, The Birds and Marnie, and finding the courage she needed to break away.Hedren’s incandescent spirit shines through as she talks about working with the great Charlie Chaplin, sharing the screen with some of the most esteemed actors in Hollywood, her experiences on some of the most intriguing and troubling film sets—including filming Roar, one of the most dangerous movies ever made—and the struggles of being a single mother—balancing her dedication to her work and her devotion to her daughter—and her commitment to helping animals. Filled with sixteen pages of beautiful photos, Tippi is a rare and fascinating look at a private woman’s remarkable life no celebrity aficionado can miss.Without Hope: A Childhood Ruined by the Man she should Trust the Most
By Barbara Naughton. 2010
Barbara's father was a sadistic man at the best of times - his idea of fun was to kill the…
family dog by tying it to the back of his car and driving off. Also for kicks, he took his children out on to the lake and held them under until they were gasping for their lives.He sexually assaulted Barbara from a young age, often when the rest of the family were in the house. He repeatedly threatened to kill her, and made two very serious attempts. During the final attempt, as he was raping and choking her, Barbara made a vow - if she survived, she would come forward and get justice against her father ...Without Hope is a powerful and inspiring true story of a girl who finally found the inner strength to escape her brutal childhood.What's It All About?
By Cilla Black. 2006
Cilla Black is without doubt one of Britain's most treasured personalities. Generations have grown up with Cilla's music, TV shows,…
and performances. But how much do we really know about 'the girl with the bright red hair and the jet black voice'? What's It All About? is Cilla's own story, told for the first time ever. It's the story of a woman who has worked ceaselessly to stay at the top for forty years despite setbacks and personal tragedy; a life of incredible highs and terrible lows. In this deeply personal autobiography she tells her unique story in intimate and vivid detail for the very first time. This is the real Cilla Black.The Virgin Banker
By Jayne-Anne Gadhia. 2017
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the straight-talking CEO of Virgin Money, looks back at the events that have influenced, shaped and inspired her…
to become one of the most powerful women in banking.With anecdotes from her life before becoming a banker, including beating the bullies and experiencing racism as part of a mixed race marriage, through to building a business from scratch, working at RBS under Fred Goodwin just before the financial crash, and steering Virgin Money to become a listed business, breaking boundaries along the way, professionally and personally.Jayne-Anne shines a light on issues surrounding the role of women in banking and the alpha-male dinosaurs that dominate the industry. She draws on the relationships and deals that have shaped her career so far, including her personal experience with mental health issues, which has helped her attitude and approach to both her business and personal life. This is not a conventional biography, nor a ‘how to do it’ business book. It is a candid, fresh and fascinating insight into being a woman in business, the financial crisis and the way in which business can be conducted as a force for good.Whatever Happened to Margo?
By Margaret Durrell. 1995
In 1947, returning to the UK with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell starts a boarding house in Bournemouth.…
But any hopes of respectability are dashed as the tenants reveal themselves to be a host of eccentrics: from a painter of nudes to a pair of glamorous young nurses whose late-night shifts combined with an ever-revolving roster of gentleman callers leading to a neighbourhood rumour that Margo is running a brothel. Margo's own two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, prove to be every bit as mischievous as their famous Uncle Gerald - and he himself returns periodically with weird and wonderful animals, from marmosets to monkeys, that are quite unsuitable for life in a Bournemouth garden.What Would Beyoncé Do?!
By Luisa Omielan. 2016
You know when you find yourself approaching thirty and your dreams are broken? You've got a temping career going nowhere,…
a student debt that’s mounting and you've just had to move back into your mum’s house.Then to top it all off, you get absolutely annihilated with heartbreak because of an ex, who is just ‘not ready’ but then manages to be ready, a week later, with someone else. And it is here, at your lowest point, that one of your best friends decides to remind you that you are the same age as Beyoncé.FML.Luisa Omielan is a stand-up comedian who turned her life around after she answered the mantra every person needs in their life: What Would Beyoncé Do?!Hilariously funny, wonderfully uplifting and brutally honest, Luisa's memoir shows us all that there is no situation in which Bey can’t save the day.14 COUNTRIES, 42 WOMEN - FROM PERIODS TO ORGASMS TO FGM. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OVERSHARING. 'Nimko's book…
is going to shift the conversation around women's bodies. Our bodies, and everything they do, make us who we are' - Amika George, founder of Free Periods Campaign______________________What do you do when you're homeless and on your period? What does it feel like to have a poo following childbirth? How do we learn to love our bodies again after they've been abused? It's rude. It's improper. It's disgusting. All justifications that leave women's questions about their bodies unanswered. And activist Nimko Ali has had enough of it.Following her own experience of FGM and rebuilding her relationship with her body, this important book contains the true stories of women sharing what they've always been told is secret and shameful - from east London to Ethiopia, from pregnancy to menopause. This is a call to arms. This is a cry to reclaim the narrative around our fannies and to refuse the taboos that silent us. ______________________ 'A beautiful book with such a wide range of uplifting but often heart-breaking stories. Made us cry and think in equal measure' - Pandora Sykes, co-host of The High Low'Nimko has blown apart all taboos, blown apart the echo chamber and included all women in the feminist conversation.' - Scarlett Curtis, author of Feminists Don't Wear Pink'There is no subject too taboo for her to tackle. We should all be talking about our vaginas and she is leading the way' - Bryony Gordon, author of Mad Girl'Nimko Ali is heroine for our time, she destroys the notion of things being too rude to discuss' - Caitlin Moran, author of How to Be a WomanWhat Have I Done?: An honest memoir about surviving postpartum psychosis
By Laura Dockrill. 2020
'Such a raw, honest and important book' Giovanna FletcherLike any new mum, Laura Dockrill felt rather overwhelmed after the birth…
of her son. But a slow recovery, sleep deprivation and anxiety quickly escalated into postpartum psychosis, and she had to spend a fortnight in a psych ward, separated from her family. It was only when Laura began to put her ordeal into words that she began to find herself again, and recovery seemed within reach.This is Laura's raw, honest and life-affirming story of how she made it through one of the most frightening experiences a mother can face. Now, she wants to break down the silence around postnatal mental health, shatter the idealised expectations of perfect motherhood, and show all new struggling parents that they are not alone.'A book to save a whole generation of women' AdeleA pleasure to read...I didn't want to put it down. If anyone is going through a similar experience it will make them feel less alone' Philippa Perry'A humbingly honest and human war report from the front lines of mothering psychosis and recovery; there is no other book like it' Caitlin Moran'An incredibly powerful book' Jessie Ware'This book will give women and their families confidence that the brain and body will heal' Dr Jessica Heron, CEO of Action on Postpartum Psychosis'An amazing read' Fiona Telford, postpartum psychosis survivorWhat Daddy Did: The shocking true story of a little girl betrayed
By Donna Ford. 2008
In this haunting and frank account, Donna Ford, bestselling author of The Step Child, returns to the horrific abuse she…
suffered at the hands of her stepmother. As a tiny girl of five, and for six long years, Donna was physically, mentally and sexually abused. She was starved, beaten and 'loaned out' to neighbours who raped and molested her ... and throughout her father stood by and did nothing. When her stepmother finally left the family home, Donna dreamed of a normal childhood in which she would be taken care of by the man who had, up until this point, failed her. But it was not to be. By telling the whole story of her Edinburgh childhood, Donna tries to understand why the man who should have loved her the most - her own father - was the one who deceived her the most, by continuing to allow men to abuse her. Instead of finding a future of love and happiness, Donna was once again thrust into a living nightmare of exploitation and betrayal by those who should have wrapped her up in their love. While this is a true story of appalling child abuse, it is also a tale of how exhilaration, tenderness and self-development can flourish despite childhood horrors. We take a journey with Donna to discover the woman she has become: a devoted mother of three and a talented artist and writer.'I squeezed through the narrow gap and out into the hallway and I stood for a moment, unable to decide…
where to go. Should I make a dash for the kitchen, where my mother would be swigging from a bottle? Or should I run upstairs and try to find somewhere to hide? It was a choice I didn't really need to make, because there was no escape'Anna Lowe grows up on the doorsteps of pubs, waiting for her mum to come out. Having to give up her bedroom to her mother's drunken friends. And regularly calling out the ambulance, after finding her mother unconscious and covered in vomit. But it is when they move in with her mother's boyfriend Carl that things take the ugliest turn. Not only is he violent with her mother, but he also sexually abuses Anna from the age of six - destroying any semblance of normal childhood she had left. Wake Up, Mummy is the heartbreaking true story of a little girl who eventually found the courage to break free from the past.Two Children Behind A Wall
By Catherine Laylle. 2011
In 1984, Catherine Laylle, a Frenchwomen living in London, met and married a German medical student, Dieter. The couple had…
two sons, Alexander and Constantin. When, however, at Dieter's insistence, they moved back to his home town in Germany, the marriage began to fall apart. Dieter refused to get a job, Catherine found living with his family oppressive and eventually, she returned to London with the children. The boys spent term time with their mother, holidays with their father - until the summer of 1994, when Dieter decided that his sons should be raised as Germans and, with the support of the local judge, defied the London court ruling that gave Catherine custody. Catherine went to the courts in London, Germany and the Hague - but it seemed that no court outside the jurisdiction of Lower Saxony would overrule the decision. Today, Alexander is eleven and Constantin is nine. Catherine has barely seen them in the two years since Dieter kidnapped them - and then only under the supervision of one of his friends. This is the harrowing story of a mother's attempts to regain her children, and of her desperate struggle against a tyrannical family and the blind injustice of the courts in Europe.Torn Apart: How Two Sisters Found Each Other After Sixty-Five Years
By Blanche Le Fleur, Derek Flory, Sybil Le Fleur. 2008
When Sybil and Blanche Le Fleur were growing up in idyllic Burma in the 1920s and '30s, little did they…
realise the changes and challenges that they would face during their lives. With the death of first their mother and then their father, they had to cope with enormous personal tragedy, including the loss of all their family wealth. Then the Japanese bombed Rangoon on 23 December 1941. Sybil managed to get out of the city, but there was no way for her to return to her sister, or even to know if Blanche was still alive, as the death toll was so high.While Sybil escaped from Burma and settled in Scotland after marrying a Scottish soldier, Blanche lived for over three years under Japanese occupation. After leaving for India in 1958, Blanche made a new life while still thinking of and praying for her sister. Decades later, a chance set of circumstances led to the discovery by Sybil's son that Blanche was alive and living in India. Torn Apart is the heart-rending, inspirational account of how the Le Fleur sisters lived separate lives for more than 65 years before an emotional reunion brought them together again in 2007.Margaret Thatcher: The Autobiography
By Margaret Thatcher. 2010
Published in a single volume for the first time, Margaret Thatcher is the story of her remarkable life told in her own…
words--the definitive account of an extraordinary woman and consummate politician, bringing together her bestselling memoirs The Downing Street Years and The Path to Power. Margaret Thatcher is the towering political figure of late-twentieth-century Great Britain. No other prime minister in modern times sought to change the British nation and its place in the world as radically as she did.Writing candidly about her upbringing and early years and the formation of her character and values, she details the experiences that propelled her to the very top in a man's world. She offers a riveting firsthand history of the major events, the crises and triumphs, during her eleven years as prime minister, including the Falklands War, the Brighton hotel bombing, the Westland affair, the final years of the Cold War, and her unprecedented three election victories. Thatcher's judgments of the men and women she encountered during her time in power-from statesmen, premiers, and presidents to Cabinet colleagues-are astonishingly frank, and she recalls her dramatic final days in office with a gripping, hour-by-hour description from inside 10 Downing Street. Powerful, candid, and compelling, Margaret Thatcher stands as a testament to a great leader's significant legacy.She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth
By Helen Castor. 2011
“Helen Castor has an exhilarating narrative gift. . . . Readers will love this book, finding it wholly absorbing and rewarding.” —Hilary Mantel, Booker…
Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall In the tradition of Antonia Fraser, David Starkey, and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds—and one who never got the chance. With the death of Edward VI in 1553, England, for the first time, would have a reigning queen. The question was: Who?Four women stood upon the crest of history: Katherine of Aragon’s daughter, Mary; Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth; Mary, Queen of Scots; and Lady Jane Grey. But over the centuries, other exceptional women had struggled to push the boundaries of their authority and influence—and been vilified as “she-wolves” for their ambitions. Revealed in vivid detail, the stories of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and the Empress Matilda expose the paradox that England’s next female leaders would confront as the Tudor throne lay before them—man ruled woman, but these women sought to rule a nation.