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Life Blood
Life Blood, written by a renowned leukaemia physician, tells unforgettable stories of his leukaemia patients’ battles to be cured but also uniquely describes the stresses that doctors face when looking after extremely ill young people during an extraordinary time in their lives.
In reflecting on his long and illustrious career, Professor Marks’ memoir offers frank descriptions of his own medical family, some personal experiences of ill-health and his relationships with colleagues and patients in the NHS. Partly written during the Covid pandemic and as he approached retirement, Life Blood offers highly informed and compassionate views on modern medicine, from a pivotal point in both the author’s own professional life and the history of healthcare.
Uniquely, through these real-life stories, we enter the world of the leukaemia patient, to understand what it is like to be diagnosed and treated for a life-threatening yet frequently curable cancer. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia or ALL was the first cancer to be consistently cured in children and is a model for much of modern cancer therapy given that more than half of us will develop cancer in our lifetime. Looking to the future we read of Nitya, whose treatment-refractory leukaemia was cured by CAR T cells, a modern immunotherapy using genetically modified white blood cells, which is now being adapted to treat breast, lung and colon cancer.
£9.99 -
The Essence and Duke Ellington
I worked, toured, and recorded with Duke Ellington for the last two years of his life – a period that was the highlight of my career. In my memoirs, The Essence and Duke Ellington, I aim to convey the spirit within the heart of the jazz musician, particularly Duke Ellington. I want to show what drove him and other musicians, past and present, to play and compose this wonderful music. I also depict Duke Ellington’s greatness as a human being, not as some super-human being, which he may well have been. I recount stories and reflect on my own experiences, expounding on what working with and learning from him and so many other jazz greats has meant to me.
£12.99 -
Milestone
Join Hugh on his hilarious adventures in the UK haulage industry in the 1970s and 80s. From securing his truck license on a disused airfield to traversing the country on colourful escapades, Hugh recounts rollicking tales with unforgettable characters.
We follow Hugh through a whirlwind of trucking jobs, from the docks of Watchet to the remotest corners of Scotland. Laugh along as he fumbles his way as a rookie and gains wisdom from wizened veterans. Hugh sheds light on seldom-seen slices of British life, whether struggling through blizzards or protecting his virtue from overtures by an amorous Spanish policeman.
With sharp wit and captivating storytelling, Hugh chronicles the trucker’s lot: gruelling but rewarding work peppered with uproarious mishaps and camaraderie. His adventures barrel on through faltering family businesses, runaway cargoes, and navigating narrow country lanes in oversized rigs. Hugh takes it all in stride, with plenty of hijinks along the way.
Strap yourself in for a rollicking ride packed with distinctly British humour and characters so colourful you’ll never forget them. Hugh’s memoir offers a glimpse of a hard-working but light-hearted era through one intrepid trucker’s escapades on the road.
£10.99 -
Squat Toilets and Chopsticks
How many times have you stood outside your door, or looked out the window and realised that all you see is just a little piece of sky? There is so much more than what you see above where you are. Under every little piece is a different culture, a different way of life, new experiences, places to see and a world of opportunity.
Travelling is perhaps one of the greatest opportunities to live a fulfilled life.
Experiencing different cultures or moving to a different country where nobody knows who you are allows you to live and enjoy an amazing life. Breaking out of comfort zones allows you to achieve so much. Perhaps you are seeking a change of career, new challenges, more exciting adventures, or a fresh start.
In his book, Squat Toilets and Chopsticks: Experiencing Life Through Travel, Philip Bryan takes you on a journey from a life-changing trip to Jordan and other countries including Cambodia, Australia, Israel and finally to China where he works as a high school English teacher.
This book shares his experiences, struggles, views, and life-changing moments.
In life, we are faced with many problems and uncertainties both in our personal and professional lives. Travelling can provide you with an opportunity to solve those and realise there is more to life. There is a world out there. Get out and live it.
£9.99 -
In the Steps of Alan Turing: Working in the Digital Age
Computing has developed at an astonishing pace over the last 40 years and Professor Alty has been involved in most aspects from working at the bits/bytes level to higher level management. As a member of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils between 1976 and 1981, he chaired a very influential working party on microtechnology which had a major impact both in universities and in industry. One commentator wrote, “This report should be tattooed on the DTI’s backside”! In 1976, he and his team were the first to recognise that the postcode was much more important than assisting the posting of letters, and they pioneered its commercial use. He spent a great deal of effort making computers easier to use for the average person. Between 1984 and 1990, he was Executive Director of the Turing Institute for Artificial Intelligence and became very involved with artificial intelligence research around the world. Between 1990 and 2000, his research team made significant improvements to critical computer interfaces in power stations and aircraft. In the 1990s, Professor Alty examined the techniques of musical composition and showed that they could be used in computer interfaces. In 1996, he pioneered the commercial use of digital radio, producing with Roberts Radio the first successful DAB radio, one of which is on display in the British Science Museum. Finally, in 2000 he and his team performed some important research into dyslexia, which is still highly quoted even today. This book provides an interesting insight into working in the digital age.
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Back in Three Months
Join us on a true story of a seven-year cruise from Norwich to Africa aboard a 25-year-old motor cruiser. The decision to sacrifice a comfortable middle-aged life for an impractical and seemingly impossible dream led to many ups and downs, much humour, some drama, and even tragedy. This isn’t a tale of heroics or ocean crossings, but rather the story of two ordinary people who find themselves in a variety of unexpected situations, striving to cope with whatever life throws at them.
The book traces their 1,000-mile journey through the French waterways from Dunkerque to Séte on the Mediterranean. The serene beauty of the rivers and canals was breathtaking, culminating in a winter spent with a small, quirky international boating community in Provence, where they participated in some unexpected activities.
The following spring brought their first taste of the Mediterranean Sea. Wild and unpredictable, it was far from the flat calm pond they had imagined. They encountered rough seas, thick fog, pirates, tsunamis, Spanish paratroopers, and even the French Foreign Legion. A near-death experience and abandoning ships in a marina were certainly not part of their plan. However, the variety of people they met, the places they visited, and the incredible sights of large pods of dolphins, whales, turtles, and a two-ton sunfish made it all worthwhile. The whole experience gave them the best and worst times of their lives.
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Nationality: Medicine
'Medicine transcends all barriers; it knows no frontiers, it respects all credos and, most importantly, it treats all human beings as equals. Despite the tremendous socio-economic inequalities that I encountered and experienced in each one of the four countries where I’ve lived and practised medicine (Peru, United States, Spain and the UK), I’ve always been proud to find that the Hippocratic Oath is unwavering and equally applied to all citizens. My identity never came from having a certain nationality, speaking a specific language or even from my family genealogy. It came (and still does) from the set of values that the medical profession professes and that I, as a doctor, hold close to my heart. These values are the building blocks of society; without them, everything else crumbles. My “nationality” is medicine and my allegiance is to the human race. The lives and the clinical cases in this book are all real and they tell the story of how the Hippocratic Oath prevails even in the most challenging conditions. They remind us that no matter how much adversity lies before us (poverty, socio-economic instability, lack of resources, etc.), with sufficient effort, creativity and perseverance, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. After all, altruism – the bedrock of medicine – is free of charge, independent of location and always available for anyone who’s willing to use it.'
Dr Carlo Canepa£13.99 -
Of Ships and Shoes and Scotland
The author is a Scot from the small (two shop) village of Whins of Milton, two miles south of the Royal Burgh of Stirling. He has always loved the sea and ships, and was master of the first Australian flag anchor handler, operating in offshore oilfields around Australia.
The book covers a wheen o’ topics – growing up in the Whins, then living in Australia, to which he emigrated in 1968 with his wife and family, to his wanderings in the countries of the Pacific Basin. Later, it also makes some comments on Australians, their character and contentment (and pride) as to who they are as a race of people, living under the Southern Cross.
Ships and the sea are never far away. Also part of this story is the Greek Tragedy of the demise of Alfred Holt, the author having been indentured to that heroic and exemplary Liverpool company as a deck apprentice in 1957. The note, Welcome to Country, says it all as to his worldview of Australians, an attitude almost Caledonian in its sense of directness and curiosity, particularly regarding the workings of the vast world which is all around us.
£22.99 -
Recollections
I was born a girl and to my parents, it only meant one thing; I would be a servant to my siblings, husband, dad, in-laws and any other person who crossed my path in life. The happiness of my husband, children, family and extended family was important. I would be a cook, housemaid, sexual object to my husband, a mother, a nurse and all the commitments that come from being a servant wife.
Learning respect and obeying was why I was sent to a convent for my schooling. My brothers were more important than me and when the time came I was prevented from becoming a teacher because I was a girl and that would not be my role in life. I was made to believe that my happiness was not important, only the happiness of others. My mum had been my role model and I firmly believed all that rubbish until my husband died. I was finally out of the cage and into a future of freedom and possibilities. To be able to learn who I was and what I liked. Finally, I was able to think of myself.
My life from the age of two has been a huge rollercoaster and one that I never got the chance to get off until I was 64. I have kept a lot of my experiences to myself as I believed them to be my fault. I yearned for someone to love me and not abuse me and to be my friend and my confidant. The only unconditional love I ever got was from my two boys (my dogs Max and Sam) who left me when they were 16. I cherish and feel blessed by my two wonderful children’s love but it’s not the same.
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Scallywag – My Duvet Diva
Scallywag – My Duvet Diva is a true story about a man trying to rebuild his life, and a dog in need of a second chance.
It tells of their adventures together ashore and aboard their canal boat “Bluebell”, of their developing relationship and of their deepening companionship.
Atmospheric, funny, and sometimes sad, it will make you both laugh and cry.
Keep the tissues handy!
£8.99 -
Shikari Shaitan
This book is an account of four and a half years spent hunting man-eaters in the jungles of southern India. It also mentions some of the people the author met. There is also a description of the areas mentioned in the book. Finally, the book is a plea to the world that no effort should be spared in preserving the panthers and tigers of the Indian subcontinent.
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Taxi to Broadway
“Hey, did anyone tell you look like James Dean!”
It happened once in a while. I had just lit a cigarette… (can’t resist the slice of ham). Drawing into myself; playing the dead actor behind the wheel, cigarette dangling loosely from my pouting lips; angry at life… scowling at the world!
Christy Jones was no James Dean, but he could proudly tell people in his taxi that he was an actor nonetheless. And driving wasn’t the only time he could play a character.
The author of this memoir found a passion for acting and made it to Stella Adler’s Academy for Theater in the early ’60s. But to make a decent living he drove a taxi across New York for six years. Christy never had an accident, though he had plenty of narrow escapes during his six years of driving. He preferred driving at night, so he could make the rounds of agents and producers during the day. But the streets can be treacherous... and dangerous. A cab only lasts a couple of years on New York City streets. After a long time spent dropping people off at their destinations, he finally arrived at his own: Broadway.
Taxi to Broadway is a story of fleeting conversations and adventurous nocturnal driving, but in the end, it is what all great stories should be – a tale about following your passions.
£10.99