From Cholera to Ebola

"We've been invited to witness a bonfire of marijuana by the Taliban. Anyone interested?" Amid the missionaries, mercenaries and misfits drawn to the world's most dangerous and volatile hotspots stands Dr John Parker. From Cholera to Ebola is a captivating collection of true stories 25 years in the making. Whether challenging the bureaucracy of refugee camps to cradling children as they died, Dr Parker operated far from his comfort zone, from the norms of medical practice and from the decencies of humanity. His is a life that swung from heartbreaking hopelessness to sheer ecstasy as he battled PTSD to chase his next 'fix' over increasingly dangerous missions. "There are some things you cannot be taught; you have to live them."

From a Little Neighbourhood

Nothing could be any better in the world, apart from a self-discovery of fulfilling his dream, just a young man from a little neighbourhood finally living his dream. Focus directed on embarking on the way of life past all adversity and truly finding where you belong in the world. Further sharing information to the world that would not only entertain them but also aspire them to a greater life experience and enjoy it.

Free Radical

A fascinating account of life in a period of great social and political change. Gabrielle Walsh discusses her personal experiences of pursuing feminism and gay rights amidst the stigma and tradition of a patriarchal society. Traversing the period from the beginning of the 1950s until the present, it is the story of an activist who also honours those who contributed to the great social and political movements aimed at freeing our world. The discussion of sexual liberation and race relations are equally thought-provoking. The anecdotes and details of family life, set against the backdrop of pivotal historical events, provides an insight into the personal inherent in every political situation. This work shares a progressive political tradition with a cheeky storytelling genre found in Anglo-Irish literature. It is exuberant, lively and amusing. Written with warmth and compassion, this work provides a platform for important conversations still necessary for our society today.

Freaks Like Me

Georgie was just a typical teenager when it happened; she was studying hard for a place at her dream university and having fun with her friends on weekends. She always knew what was coming next. She had her entire life planned, until one night and one event turned her whole world upside down. In an instant, everything had changed, and it was never to be the same again.

“Freaks Like Me” is a touching memoir about invisible illness, mental health and the prejudice that sadly comes alongside it. It’s the true story of how one girl and her loved ones finally learnt to accept the hand they had been dealt…

Flutter Until You Fly

When he was six years old, he declared to the hearing of some friends: “I want to be a pilot when I grow up,” and it generated mocking laughter from them. The laughter became louder when at the end of sixth grade, his father lost his job and life went further downhill. From his family couch surfing in the neighbourhood for about seven years to having to cook and hawk kenkey, gari, and bake bread as a secondary school student, he kept going. He took the A Levels twice and performed poorly, disqualifying him from joining the air force even though he passed the army’s assessments twice. In Flutter Until You Fly, Captain Solomon Quainoo shares how he overcame these stumbling blocks and more, worked 17-hour days as a labourer, cleaner, pizza delivery guy, and traffic warden, to still become a captain of the world’s biggest passenger aircraft.

Firefighting: Better than Working for a Living

Tom is a firefighter. He loves going to work. For him, encountering the intense, prickly heat of a building fire is to experience the euphoria of fear. He loves the adrenaline rush when the bells drop and the anticipation of what may lie ahead. But there is more, so much more! The best part of his job is the mischief he finds himself involved in, the antics and the camaraderie.It’s the early 80s and life was very different; Tom and his ‘brothers’ split their time between the pub and the fire station, although it is not always clear whether they are on duty or at a party. The fire engine, which they call ‘The Machine’, doesn’t always want to play and sometimes they forget to climb aboard. This is a tale of frolics, of trauma, of nurses, and even villainy. It is an exposure. Are Tom and his compadres heroes? Well, that’s for you to decide.

Fastovski's Tales of Hampstead

Imagine that Isaac Babel’s Cossacks wassail together with Runyonesque Liverpool Jews outside the plate-glass window of a Hampstead café where a Klezmer band is playing to a packed and tea-drinking congregation of jazzmen, Hasidic scholars, surrealists, old soldiers, and retired strippers; and you have the tone and temperature of this unique and unclassifiable memoir – no, not memoir, more a stream-of-consciousness novella – no, not a novella but a piece of autobiographical fiction – no, not autobiography but a picaresque drama conquered from the unreliable and fertile brain of the eponymous Fastovski.

And who is Fastovski? Is he real or invented? Is he perhaps the alter-ego of real-life jazz pianist, Klezmer swinger, big band leader and flaneur, Wallace Fields, who stares at us from the book’s frontispiece in shades, Diaghilev coat and moustache, over a cup of strong black coffee? Fastovski’s not telling and anyway, who cares.

This is a book to be devoured, disseminated, denounced, and delighted in. It belongs to all who think art and life are one and that the Arch-Savant of Canterbury, Issy Bonn, Rashid the Manic Berber Chef of NW3, and Mrs Karl Popper, have an equal claim on history. I haven’t had such a good time since I shared Sir Ralph Richardson’s motorbike with a parrot and a striking grandmother clock.

Piers Plowright
August 2008

Exploitation

In Exploitation, readers are taken on a heart-wrenching journey through the mind and experiences of a frontline soldier. Through intense and extreme pressure, the soldier must navigate their way through the challenges of combat and emerge on the other side. With raw and emotional storytelling, this book offers a unique insight into the thoughts and actions of those on the front lines, leaving readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and sacrifices of military service.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was born on January 8th, 1935, in a shack in Tupelo, Mississippi. Though he was born a twin, his brother – who had been named Jess Garon – was tragically stillborn. Elvis died on August 16th, 1977, at the age of just 42, in his Graceland mansion. His death marked something significant in the collective mind, like the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, or Martin Luther King.Conspiracy theories took off about the circumstances surrounding his death: Was Elvis murdered by the mob? Was his death faked? Did Elvis commit suicide? Is he still alive? This book sheds new light on many of these questions, while also celebrating his music and legacy.Elvis Presley played a central and vital role in the development of Rockabilly music, drawing as he did on a vast range of styles, from the Gospel music of his southern youth to the country music of the Midwest. This book is dedicated to Elvis: the artist, the human being, and The King.

Elephant on Main Street

This is this story of Eamon, a little boy growing up in Northern Ireland in the sixties, before he succumbed to Leukaemia, a few months short of his seventh birthday. The book describes specific aspects of his short but remarkable life, all written from his perspective. Each chapter has a footnote which charts the history of the conquest of childhood leukaemia which commenced during his lifetime. The book is based around actual events and things which Eamon said and did which have been passed down. Eamon has the benefit of perspective, so he can describe events that have yet to happen which have a bearing on the life of his family.

Edward Jenner – the Original Vaccinator

Dr. Edward Jenner was a man who has saved millions of lives due to his discovery of cowpox as the most effective treatment for the killer disease of smallpox.

Born in 1749, he was orphaned at the age of five years, his parents both dying within two months of each other in 1754. He was sent away to boarding school at the age of eight years, and whilst there was subjected to be inoculated with a small amount of smallpox which was the standard treatment of the day, although it was a matter of luck as to whether the patient survived or not. He suffered side effects that haunted him to his dying day.

 Luckily for us, he survived his ordeal, and as an adult, he dedicated his life to finding a more effective and much safer cure for smallpox and despite a great deal of opposition from some of his medical colleagues, found the cure and in 1980, the World Health Organisation officially announced that smallpox had finally been eliminated.

There is a statue of him in Gloucester Cathedral and sadly visitors to the cathedral know little or nothing about him. As the 200th anniversary of his death in 1823 approaches, this book attempts to show the reader how much we owe him.

Disability & Me

“Never give up, raise your voice, so it’s heard and if you want something, go and get it. Define your own odds. And remember – “it’s not how long it takes you to get there – it’s about getting there in the end!””

Tyler’s Story is one of strength and resilience. Diagnosed at a young age with dyscalculia, dyslexia and hard of hearing, she faced bullies and unsupportive learning environments.

When she started work, despite all her achievements, people continued to try and bring her down. However, Tyler has come through the other side stronger than ever. Whatever life throws at her, she prevails, and her story will make you think twice about putting her in a box.