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Guns Piranha Lions No Visa No Problem!
A jet fight over Syria. A Cold War listening post in Turkey. An overland trek from Denmark to Thailand. A thriving weapons marketplace in remote Pakistan. An exotic Maasai Star Wars-style saloon in Kenya. Ultra-luxury casinos in Macau. Only in Miami idiosyncrasies. University polemics. The 1980 Moscow Olympics. Memorable World Series, Super Bowls, NBA and college gridiron contests. Civil rights activism. Challenging the Klan. Confronting FBI activities in 1960s Memphis. Encounters with the Clintons. A hurricane at sea. Giant turtles in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. A Miami-bound plane commandeered by a heavily armed Haitian general.
Erroneously suspected of being a spy, Ken Lipner promises all this and more in his intriguing, serendipitous, eclectic life as a sports-loving, peace-promoting, justice-seeking, pet-rescuing public policy advisor and economics professor with a wanderlust that took him to 120 countries.
Vicariously accompany Ken as he makes his way on rust buckets, old buses, slow trains, and small planes, befriending people of widely diverse backgrounds, cultures, vocations, and interests.
Detained at the Bulgaria-Danube border crossing. Nearly arrested in Chile and Suriname. Just missing a terrorist attack in Tunisia and the Six-Day War in Israel.
For Kenny’s 6th birthday, his first Phillies game. A sports insider for a nanosecond, though as an aspiring athlete, he could never hit a high fastball.
Holy Moley!
£13.99 -
Into Africa – The Adventures of a Nobody
How I escaped death on numerous occasions remains a mystery to me.
Encountering famous personalities unexpectedly was astonishing, and some of the experiences I’ve had are still unbelievable.
Throughout my life, finding joy in helping others and sharing moments with them has brought me immense fulfilment.
£9.99 -
The Governor General Cleaned My Shoes
“Even before I was born, I was trying to do things my own way. I made life difficult for my mother, Jess, who was confined to bed for the last trimester of her pregnancy. I had disappointed my father, Geoff, by insisting that I be born a day earlier than his birthday, and I had mercifully waylaid their plans to call me Elizabeth.”
So begins my story that has me watching rockets going up at the Woomera Rocket Range, beating the boys at marbles (and winning the prized milky white marble with coloured orange waves), nearly being run over in a toilet, swimming with a snake on my way to inspect a very dead horse, setting tongues wagging in Canberra in a Commonwealth car and eliminating plastic bananas from Australia’s entire eastern seaboard. And yes, the Governor General did clean my shoes.
£11.99 -
A Moment in Time: Childhood Memories
Melinda’s journey begins in the bustling streets of Bristol, where childhood memories of candy-filled visits to Sid’s shop and daring paper rounds paint a vivid picture of innocence and adventure. As she navigates the challenges of growing up in a tight-knit community, Melinda’s life is a testament to resilience and the enduring spirit of youth. Her story is a nostalgic exploration of simpler times, filled with the sweet taste of frozen Mars bars and the camaraderie of schoolyard friendships.
From the lively streets of Totterdown to the serene landscapes of South Wales, Melinda’s tale is one of love, loss, and the indomitable human spirit. She faces the trials of adulthood with the same determination that saw her through childhood adventures, finding strength in family, work, and the occasional act of kindness. A Moment in Time: Childhood Memories is a heartfelt memoir that captures the essence of a life lived fully, marked by the highs and lows that make us who we are. Join Melinda as she reflects on her past, embraces the present, and looks forward to the future with hope and grace.
£8.99 -
Mimi’s Memoirs
Having been inundated with fan-mail and questions for nearly three decades, actress and director Sue Hodge decided it was time for everyone to know the truth behind the making of the internationally known hit comedy series ’Allo ’Allo!
Told with heart and honesty through the eyes of that madcap, pocket dynamo character Mimi Labonq, Sue gives a hilarious and no-holds-barred insight into things you would only know about if you’d been there. How did she fly across a cornfield as the flying nun? (Or maybe she didn’t.) Did she really get inside a grandfather clock? What was her true relationship with René? What did he really do to her when he was pushing her along as a baby in the pram?
To find out the answers to these questions plus much much more, read Mimi’s Memoirs, and you will understand why ’Allo ’Allo! became one of the biggest BBC smash-hits of all time.
£14.99 -
Mongrels versus Pedigrees
There is no such thing as endings—only new beginnings. Life is all about perspective: the positive, the negative and how we respond to the challenges that life throws at us. Being diagnosed with cancer can really change your perspective on things! Cancer is a test of your patience, your strength, your courage and your faith.
This book is one woman’s reflections on her own diagnosis and her own personal outlook on her fight against cancer. From diagnosis, through to treatment with chemotherapy and targeted therapies, to the possibility of surgery, this book is an honest account of the experiences of an individual determined to fight and survive, and the positive changes that her diagnosis brought.
What could have been the beginning of the end, was actually the start of a new beginning.
£8.99 -
My Kaleidoscopic Life
My Kaleidoscopic Life is an account of the life during a century of upheaval and social change. It is a record of adaptation to circumstances and potential opportunities, rather than any burning ambition to become rich or famous.
However, the frequent changes in direction and necessary adaptation are certainly unusual. They provide unique and intimate glimpses into rarely described aspects of social history from before World War Two to post-Brexit Britain.
£10.99 -
No Room to Breathe
This is the personal story of a psychologist living with an emotionally abusive partner and her struggles, both personal and institutional, in leaving. No Room to Breathe: A Memoir of Emotional Abuse, Motherhood, and Resilience is a cautionary tale that reveals the often publicly unseen and underestimated dynamics and patterns of emotionally-abusive relationships. It also highlights their potentially far-reaching consequences, particularly when attempts are made to leave the relationship, and children are used as pawns.
As a licensed therapist for more than 30 years, Dr Coha worked with many challenging people. When it came to her personal life however, her professional credentials as a clinical psychologist and clinical social worker did not help her to avoid entering into an emotionally-controlling relationship. Loretta’s experience speaks to many people’s lives. Her story covers many complicating factors and powerful forces, such as health, children, the involvement of the judicial system, and the fact that her partner was a public figure. Although her significant other was a woman, the life-impacting results are the same for anyone who has ever been involved with a controlling partner. No Room to Breathe is ultimately an inspiring account of a woman using her personal strength to break away and create a new, healthy life for herself and her children.
£8.99 -
One Tear at a Time
When Natalie’s mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of just 54, she didn’t realise the devastation it was going to cause and the changes she was going to face. She faced numerous challenges; from memory loss, incontinence, confusion and accusations to paranoia, relationship breakdowns, a loss of physical capabilities and being sectioned. Her journey with her mum was anything but easy and she reveals her struggles and challenges when faced with caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.
This book is a real eye opener but also very informative for those facing an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. One Tear at a Time will most certainly make you understand the heartache caused by Alzheimer’s and the devastating consequences it has on family and friends. It aims to raise awareness, help people understand and inform those who need answers about their journey after their loved one is given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Follow Natalie’s journey from early symptoms, diagnosis and the heartache she endured while caring for her mum. Join the emotional rollercoaster and brace yourself for this tear-jerking page turner.
£10.99 -
Only a Yorkshire Lass
Only a Yorkshire Lass is an account of a woman born in South Yorkshire in the 1950s. It follows her life from birth to her late fifties, events which occur in her hometown and in many other countries of the world. It details the high and low points of her life, the people she has met and the people who shaped her destiny for better or worse. It is a story full of emotion, joy, happiness, sadness, anger, hope and despair. It keeps the reader wondering and waiting for the next chapter and what will the outcome be. It also forces the reader to look at their own life and both sympathise and empathise with the writer’s different situations.
In parts, it is humorous and will bring a smile to the reader’s face and in others, one can’t help but shed a tear for the writer.
It is a book that will appeal as there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
£8.99 -
Red, Autobiography of Ou Chaoquan
Pride and prejudice, war and peace, crime and punishment all feature in this autobiography of an ordinary person in China. The account spans eight turbulent decades, with love struggling through a torrent of change.
The author’s boyhood name was Red. He grew up in a Dong-minority village in remote southwestern mountains, where most people were rice farmers.
Red supported the 1949 transition to communist rule, accompanied research expeditions into minority areas, and in 1959 completed his Beijing-based research studies. In 1965, he was sentenced to re-education through labour.
On being rehabilitated in 1979, Red spent 16 more years as a university lecturer, becoming professor of anthropology. After retirement in 1995, he kept writing, and over the following 16 years, he published several academic books.
Red has lived by the slogan ‘study to death, die to study, die studying’. This book documents Chinese society in the period 1930–2011 from his personal perspective.
£12.99 -
Rose's Children
When a young woman promises her dying mammie that she will keep her seven siblings together in the family home, she has no idea of the huge responsibility this would become. 1940s' Ireland was a cruel and unforgiving country to abandoned and orphaned children. Notoriously run by Religious Orders of Nuns and Brothers, orphanages and church homes were a final bitter resort. Devoutly religious, Rose McGorry's one obsession as she approached her death was praying to her Heavenly Father that her beloved children never suffer the pain of being separated or the shame of succumbing to the poverty that surrounded them. How these eight young people managed to stay close and survive is a tribute to the mother who loved them and the strength with which she imbued all her children.
£8.99