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The Green Badge of Knowledge
An Oxton cockney and proud of it, Tony Davidson speaks in East End vernacular, giving the lowdown on a childhood of tough love among London's street allegiances and hard ethics. Be prepared for boxing showdowns, adventures on 'bird'-pulling holidays and Friday-night pub confrontations with the 'Oxton Mob'.Nearly barbecued while working 'on the gas', Davidson decides to strive for the 'real deal': to become a London black cab driver. He shares the pain and comradeship of that elite group working together for The Knowledge. Cabbie life depends on a network of tough mates protecting each other's backs against some dodgy characters.Hilarious and tender stories teem from the driver-passenger relationship, and between driving the frail, funny and famous, he tells of struggles with alcohol, the taxman, family life and the courts of so-called justice. Davidson's humour floods the book, and despite sobering obstacles, his strength and loyalties shine through.
£6.99 -
The Militia Boy
This is the autobiography, memories and impressions of a boy born in 1918 in the poorer district of a large, Lancashire city. His childhood and early youth were spent unaware of the awful poverty and deprivation of the hungry thirties which were coloured by the spectre of mass unemployment, social degradation and abject misery. The clouds of war had been building up from 1935 and the Spanish Civil War was a prelude to the final holocaust of 1939.On his twenty-first birthday, in July 1939, his passport into manhood was to be conscripted into the Armed Forces among the newly recruited Militia and he became a Militia Boy. For over six years these militia boys served in every theatre of war from Narvik to Dunkirk, the deserts of North Africa, Sicily, Burma, Singapore and Malaysia, India, Iraq and Syria, Crete, Italy and Germany and even witnessed the final disregard of human life in the charnel houses of the concentration camps of Europe.This story is dedicated to all those Militia Boys who were unfortunate to be born at the wrong time and who gave over six years of their manhood in the hope that the World would become a better place to live in.James PalmerJune 1980
£10.99 -
The Reality of War
Have you ever wondered what war is really like and how you would react in it? This book tells the story of what a young soldier, exposed to a full-blown war, experienced during the Gulf War, the largest conflict since World War 2. Based on a diary that the author wrote on a daily basis, the book hides nothing at all. People died, before, during and after the war. The reader is exposed to the military culture at the time, with a brief history about the author and the regiment he served in. Once deployed, you are then taken through a day-by-day account that vividly brings to life the drama of exactly what went on, including all the fighting and what life was like when a person was sent to fight in a war overseas – far from home. War is not just about fighting the enemy; that sometimes is the most straightforward and simplest part.
£12.99 -
The Sherman Farm
In The Sherman Farm, Leza Turini writes of her teenage years spent on the farm, in the town of Burrillville, which was possessed by the spirits of past occupiers. We learn of the cruel, omnipotent Sumner Sherman, who still walks the corridors of the old farmhouse, grieving for his lost love"”his daughter-in-law, Amanda. We share the haunting screams of this young, tormented woman who was finally killed on the stairs by a falling chandelier; was it an accident or was she murdered by the witch seeking revenge for her broken promise?Leza and her family witnessed terrifying paranormal activities during this time, which eventually led to the death of her beloved, hardworking father, Angelo.For those interested in the world of the supernatural or who enjoy a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat, The Sherman Farm is a compelling read and one that is not for the fainthearted.
£8.99 -
They Said I Was Misguided
The struggle to find your identity while growing up is a common experience for us all. Now, imagine that you belong to an orthodox religious community and you are gay – so your sexual identity is entirely at odds with your environment. What would you do to find acceptance? This memoir follows the very personal and lonely struggle of a young man forced to deal with this very scenario, with dramatic and moving consequences for his family, friends and most importantly, himself.
£8.99 -
Voices from the Past: The Baby
Wars, depressions and political turmoils have often tested and even destroyed many families throughout history. In the difficult years which ensued between both World Wars, London’s inhabitants were no exception. This is a story of one such family. A family named Cole, who actually lived in the 1930s. They faced several hardships, yet when Percy Cole, a Stevedore at St Katharine Docks, met with a life-changing accident, Jackie, his wife, had to use all her cunning to save the family from the poor house.With five children to feed, Mary, their youngest child, had to enter Reedham orphanage, being closely followed by her brother Roy, where they too fought their own separate battles with an alien establishment.On the death of Percy, Walter Cole, the wealthy yet estranged father-in-law, tried to blackmail Jackie. When poverty gripped even harder, he finally offered her a lifeline, a lifeline with strings attached. Dare she trust him, or should she walk away...
£7.99 -
We Were Tourists
Jim Toomey was already a successful drummer when he became a part of a new group, The Tourists, in the late seventies. He formed the group with Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart, Peet Coombes and Eddie Chin.From their early beginnings in London, finding their sound and their voice, through their success, their recordings, TV appearances, and their tours across the world, this is the story of The Tourists, told by the man sitting behind the drums.In a series of anecdotes and tales of the band's journey, we gain insight into the inner workings of a successful band; the fun and success, but also the work, the creativity, the pressures of seemingly endless tours, the good and the bad sides of the business, and the all too familiar trajectory of a band which sowed the seeds of music which endure 40 years later.
£7.99 -
Where There is Life, There REALLY is Hope
Have you just discovered that someone you know is a drug addict? Are you heartbroken? Do you feel overwhelmed? If so, you are not alone. That is what happened to me. I thought I would have to bury my daughter by Christmas 2014.Snippets of my and my daughter’s story aired on 60 Minutes and Seven Sharp in 2015—current affairs programmes in New Zealand. Now, you can read the full account of my perspective of the traumas that led to my daughter’s addiction, the impact of them on me and what I learned along the way.My daughter shares her story in a companion book. Together, we have a miraculous story that has a happy ending. The great triumph after tragedy is that it is always possible to rebuild something with more beautiful results. My daughter and I are now closer than ever and she is doing better than I could have ever imagined.Expect to feel encouraged, empowered and hopeful as you travel through the pages of this book.Where There Is Life, There REALLY Is Hope, the inside story of a mother of a P addict who survived the rigours and now wants to share the insights she learned along the way.
£8.99 -
Methadone and a Mobile Phone
In Methadone and a Mobile Phone, delve into the turbulent world of Melissa Jane, a woman ensnared by choices that lead her astray. As life’s winding path becomes a treacherous terrain, Melissa grapples with the weight of addiction, an affliction that touches countless souls globally.
While many bear the scars of this battle, the decision to heal and rise is deeply personal. Melissa, tethered to methadone’s deceptive solace, overlooks the commitment needed to truly reclaim herself, descending further into the abyss of her own making.
A poignant reflection on the fragility of human spirit, choices, and the battles we wage within, this narrative is a heart-wrenching reminder of the cost of surrendering to one’s demons.
£6.99 -
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 -
Yarns and Laughter
Imagine seeing the beauty of an outback sunrise or sunset, native desert animals doing what they do: scaring the hell out of you! While you are reading the yarns I have lived. The desert and the traditional Aboriginal people who live there won my respect and heart. The native animals were delightful to observe in their natural habitat. My favourites are the wedge tail eagles, who fly majestically in the sky, and the emus. The emu has it down pat! The female lays the eggs, and the male takes over from there with the incubating and raising the chicks. Have fun reading my yarns.
£8.99 -
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