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Gathering Moss
An atmospheric, mainly biographical story set in the 1930s-1950s, of a British Naval Officer's determination to foil the enemy's wartime dive bombing of our fleet. Hundreds of lives were saved by his suggested adaptation of the big, anti-aircraft barrage balloons which were flown above cities and other land based targets, to be specially tailored for the defence of shipping as well.
Combined with this moving story is a colourful account of family life at that time, and it was not very long after the ending of the Second World War that Commander "Basher" Boorman began to find himself involved in certain minor skirmishes on his own home front.
Commander's daughters do not always obey orders, even if their father has the appropriate rank, and this teenager certainly had a mind of her own. Determined to pursue a career not approved by her father, Basher's daughter found herself to be out-manoeuvred. But battles sometimes resolve themselves in unexpected ways, as was eventually the way with this particular one.
'Gathering Moss' is a fast moving, evocative story which covers a variety of events, backgrounds, and human emotions.
£10.99 -
Gas Meter Knees
“It wasn’t until I was 13 that I realised pressing 50 pence pieces into Plasticine sheets and filling the impressions with water, freezing overnight and quickly using the ice coins in the electric meter slots wasn’t normal behaviour.” From raiding the bins of London fashion labels, to being asked to bury dead bodies in a flyover, being beaten unconscious twice in one day, to regularly driving my inebriated maths teacher back to school for a fee, finding my boss dead in a mysterious suicide and dragging a teetering motorcyclist to safety on a busy A3 flyover to avoid certain death, the weekly war with the bailiffs doggedly trying to repossess my TV, and finally an attempt to emulate Evel Knievel by jumping a pickup truck in Wimbledon Stadium. I learned the hard way that nobody was going to save me except myself – all this before the age of 16. A real-life rags-to-relative-affluence story which takes us from humble SW17 origins to the bustling streets of Singapore and Tokyo. The story is as diverse and delightfully absurd as it gets. If I hadn’t lived every moment, I wouldn’t believe it either.
£12.99 -
Full Circle: Memoir of A Vietnamese-Canadian Librarian
In Full Circle: Memoir of A Vietnamese-Canadian Librarian, Vinh-The Lam tells the story of his journey from American-trained librarian in South Vietnam to Librarian Emeritus in Canada. After becoming the first US-educated President of the Vietnamese Library Association (VLA) in 1974, Lam worked alongside a team of fellow American-trained librarians to modernize and expand the South Vietnamese library system. He even founded the country’s first library science department at Vạn Hạnh University. But after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975, the VLA and all of Lam’s achievements were lost. He spent the next six years in poverty, before emigrating to Canada in 1981 and rebuilding his life and career. With a new start in North America, Lam made valuable contributions to the library community, eventually retiring as Librarian Emeritus from the University of Saskatchewan in 2006. When Vietnam appealed to overseas intellectuals to return and help the country move forward in the aftermath of the collapse of the Communist system, Lam and his former VLA team answered the call, ready to help Vietnam thrive in a new era of innovation and progress. This is the personal memoir of Lam’s full journey, from Vietnam to Canada and back again.
£16.99 -
From Where I Stand
When two or more people find sufficient in common to call themselves ‘us’, they will strengthen their togetherness by looking for a ‘them’ to dislike.
Indarjit’s law
It’s fashionable to talk of ‘hate crime’ as if a small minority of people are infected with a virus of hate against those they see as different. It is not like that. Prejudice and fear of difference affects us all.
I learnt about my Sikh religion almost as an outsider looking in to find surprising teachings on justice, compassion and a need to stand up for others.
Discrimination in employment in the ’60s, normal and lawful at the time, led to my turning down a well-paid job to go to India, where writing under the pen name of Victor Pendry, I became a local hero to the Sikh community suffering majority persecution. This standing up to injustice through writing, speaking and importantly, humour, is the story of this book.
You cannot choose your battlefield
God does that for you
But you can plant a standard
Where a standard never flew.
Nathalia Crane
£15.99 -
From Fire to Ice
I stood on the rock, in Antarctica, wearing nothing but a swimming costume, goggles and a cap, ready to dive into the ice. The water was 0°C so was the air. I have never done this before, and I had no idea what the outcome will be. Will I panic? Cardiac reaction? Have I come all this way, trained and invested so much money to dive in and flop with fear or incompetence? It was time, I counted to three and dived in and started swimming. I was alive, more alive than I have ever been in my life. Stroking up and down the little channel we made in the frozen glacial lake. “I am swimming in Antarctica.” I smiled to myself while focusing on the extreme sensation in my fingers and toes. I was fine, more than fine, I was alive! I never expected life to turn out as it did. I am still looking forward wondering what will happen next. Growing up in a small Kibbutz by the Sea of Galilei, with the paradox of tranquil sea and farming life together with the constant shelling from neighbouring Syria and Jordan, straight into our fields, homes and life, was just normal. One minute you play in the field or swim in the sea and next minute you run for your life, heading towards the nearest bunker, hearing the deafening sound of explosions around you.
Life was never meant to be easy for me, I am an uncompromising stubborn and strong-minded person. I spot bullshit from a mile and I like things simple, clear and honest. Things never are. I don’t give up easily, I don’t get scared easily and I don’t stop when I believe I am right. Life for me was and probably still is, at 63 years old, a journey of unexpected extremes. Regrets, I have a few, we all do. Would I do it all over again the same? Certainly not, I am not stupid, and I hope I would learn from my mistakes. Yet, I wake up every day, looking forward, appreciating the sea, the wave, the smell, the sound and feeling of water on my skin.
£23.99 -
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."
£12.99 -
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.
£10.99 -
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.
£13.99 -
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…
£11.99 -
For You...with Love
Love is beautiful, and being in love is indescribable. Memories of a love that touches the core of your hearts are priceless flashbacks that remind you that you are present. Many are worth your weight in gold. A loss of love is inexplicably painful. Everyone has a story to tell about love…this is mine.
£13.99 -
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.
£15.99 -
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.
£16.99