Yes to Life Inspite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl

$24.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Extraordinary uncovered work by the 16 million copy bestselling author of Man's Search For Meaning Just months after his liberation from Auschwitz renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl delivered a series of talks revealing the foundations of his life-affirming philosophy for which he would become world famous. Despite the unspeakable horrors in the camp, Frankl learnt from his fellow inmates that it is always possible to say 'yes to life'. This profound and timeless lesson is amongst many in this remarkable collection now publishing in English for the very first time. With a foreword by Daniel Goleman ...Show more

The Hard Way - Adapt, Survive and Win by Mark 'Billy' Billingham

$19.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

'The SAS and all it stands for is exemplified in men such as Mark 'Billy' Billingham. They are the backbone of the British military and I for one am thankful he is on our side!' - Sir Ranulph Fiennes 'Billy is inspirational and always humble. A giant of a man!' - Bear Grylls 'The most experienced Specia l Forces soldier in recent memory. The Hard Way is brutally brilliant.' - Tom Marcus, Number One bestselling author of Soldier Spy Billy Billingham grew up tough; a grim future ahead of him offering little respite from the hostile streets he walked. Leaving school at eleven years of age, the threat of borstal hanging over his head, running with gangs in Birmingham, and almost being killed in a knife fight eventually led to Billy discovering the British armed forces at sixteen years of age. It would be the making of him.   Billingham would graduate from the Royal Marine cadets to enlisting with the Parachute Regiment in 1983, where he would serve with distinction as a Patrol Commander and expert sniper. In 1991 he took on an even bigger challenge - taking the SAS course - the fearsome and secretive elite special forces unit with a well-won reputation for excellence in operating in extreme and hazardous conditions. He excelled in this life, rising to the rank of sergeant major for the regiment, and undertaking dozens of classified and extremely dangerous missions. He would ultimately serve seventeen years with the SAS, serving in countless war zones, winning a commendation for bravery and being awarded the MBE. After leaving the army he would embrace the life of a bodyguard to Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, before being recruited as one of the lead instructors on SAS - Who Dares Wins for television.   Billy is a highly-decorated veteran; with a reputation for excellence, honesty and integrity not only supporting his comrades Ant Middleton, Jason Fox and Ollie Ollerton, but equally intimidating and inspiring the contestants who take on the gruelling challenges each week. The Hard Way details Billy's story thus far, but will also educate and enthral those wishing to seek a challenge and conquer it - the SAS way. ...Show more

How I Clawed My Way to the Middle by John Wood

$34.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

'Your job is to go out there, grab the audience by the balls, and drag them up on stage with you!' I was flabbergasted. This I understood. A language that I spoke - had spoken most of my life. It was the best acting note I ever got. John Wood grew up in working-class Melbourne; when he failed out of hig h school, an employment officer told him, 'You have the mind of an artist and the body of a labourer.' And so John continued to pursue his acting dreams in amateur theatre, sustaining himself by working jobs as a bricklayer, a railway clerk and even in the same abattoir as his father. When he won a scholarship to NIDA, in Sydney, it moved John into a new and at times baffling world, full of extraordinary characters. It was the start of a decades-long acting career, most famously on shows such as Rafferty's Rules and Blue Heelers, where his charm made him beloved in households across the country. His popularity was such that he was nominated for a Gold Logie nine times in a row, finally culminating in a win in 2006. How I Clawed My Way to the Middle is a beguiling memoir from one of Australia's most cherished actors on both stage and screen. Full of humility, warmth and humour, it tells of the perilous reality of life as a professional actor and the wondrous personalities John encountered along the way. ...Show more

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

The story of a life built on sand. In the rain. In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsi ght, always with a keen sense of the absurd. From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating 'accidents', Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p - and children had little power in the face of adult motivation. Here, there are often exquisitely tender recollections of the mother he lost at six years old, of a bereaved family struggling to find its way, and the kicks and confusion of adolescence. Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies's lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.   ...Show more

Skydiver

$20.00 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Keith Murdoch: Founder of a Media Empire by R.M. Younger

$13.95 AUD

$49.99 (72% off)

Category: BIOGRAPHY

Fifty years after Keith Murdoch's death his career and influence remain the measure of the man. Founder of the Murdoch media empire Keith Murdoch came from humble beginnings as the son of a Scottish minister. He began his journalistic career on a Melbourne paper and first made a name for himself when he was responsible for reporting on the withdrawal of troops from Gallipoli after reporting the dreadful conditions and failure of the operation. A dedicated journalist brilliant editor and a remarkable entrepreneur Keith Murdoch was also passionate in his support for libraries and the visual arts. This portrait of Keith Murdoch is based on impeccable research and highlights the remarkable extent of Murdoch's influence revealing the true face of the man behind the empire. ...Show more

Finding Freedom Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family by Carolyn Durand; Omid Scobie

$34.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

When news of the budding romance between a beloved English prince and an American actress broke, it captured the world's attention and sparked an international media frenzy. But while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have continued to make headlines – from their engagement, wedding, and birth of their son Archie to their unprecedented decision to step back from their royal lives – few know the true story of Harry and Meghan. For the very first time, FINDING FREEDOM goes beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan's life together, dispelling the many rumours and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond. As members of the select group of reporters that cover the British Royal Family and their engagements, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have witnessed the young couple's lives as few outsiders can. With unique access and written with the participation of those closest to the couple, FINDING FREEDOM is an honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of a confident, influential, and forward-thinking couple who are unafraid to break with tradition, determined to create a new path away from the spotlight, and dedicated to building a humanitarian legacy that will make a profound difference in the world. ...Show more

Father of the Lost Boys by Yuot A. Alaak

$29.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

During the Second Sudanese Civil war, thousands of South Sudanese boys were displaced from their villages or orphaned in attacks from northern government troops. Many became refugees in Ethiopia. There, in 1989, teacher and community leader Mecak Ajang Alaak assumed care of the Lost Boys in a bid to pro tect them from becoming child soldiers. So began a four year journey from Ethiopia to Sudan and on to the safety of a Kenyan refugee camp. Together they endured starvation, animal attacks and the horrors of land mines and aerial bombardments. This eyewitness account by Mecak Ajang Alaak's son, Yuot, is the extraordinary true story of a man who never ceased to believe that the pen is mightier than the gun. ...Show more

The Court of Miracles (#1) by Kester Grant

$29.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY | Series: The\Court of Miracles Trilogy Ser.

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris's criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution. In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is d ivided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina's life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father's fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger - the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh - Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city's dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice - protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.   ...Show more

Tall Tales and Wee Stories: The Best of Billy Connolly by Billy Connolly

$22.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Connolly's raucous run through his life is as furious, funny and foul-mouthed as you'd expect' Sunday Times In December 2018, after fifty years of belly-laughs, energy and outrage, Billy Connolly announced his retirement from live stand-up comedy. It had been an extraordinar y career. When he first started out in the late sixties, Billy played the banjo in the folk clubs of Scotland. Between songs, he would improvise a bit, telling anecdotes from the Clyde shipyard where he'd worked. In the process, he made all kinds of discoveries about what audiences found funny, from his own brilliant mimes to the power of speaking irreverently about politics or explicitly about sex. He began to understand the craft of great storytelling. Soon the songs became shorter and the monologues longer, and Billy quickly became recognised as one of the most exciting comedians of his generation. Billy's routines always felt spontaneous. He never wrote scripts, always creating his comedy freshly on stage in the presence of a live audience. A brilliant comic story might be subsequently discarded, adapted or embellished. A quick observation or short anecdote one night, could become a twenty-minute segment by the next night of a tour. Billy always brought a beautiful sense of the absurd to his shows as he riffed on his family, hecklers, swimming in the North Sea or naked bungee jumping. But his comedy can be laced with anger too. He hates pretentiousness and calls out hypocrisy wherever he sees it. His insights about the human condition have shocked many people, while his unique talent and startling appearance on stage gave him license to say anything he damn well pleased about sex, politics or religion. Billy got away with it because he has always had the popular touch. His comedy spans generations and different social tribes in a way that few others have ever managed. Tall Tales and Wee Stories brings together the very best of Billy's storytelling for the first time and includes his most famous routines including, The Last Supper, Jojoba Shampoo, Incontinence Pants and Shouting at Wildebeest. With an introduction and original illustrations by Billy throughout, it is an inspirational, energetic and riotously funny read, and a fitting celebration of our greatest ever comedian. ...Show more

The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

The darkly funny memoir of Sarah Ramey's years-long battle with a mysterious illness that doctors thought was all in her head--but wasn't. A revelation and an inspiration for millions of women whose legitimate health complaints are ignored. In her harrowing, defiant, and unforgettable memoir, Sarah Ram ey recounts the decade-long saga of how a seemingly minor illness in her senior year of college turned into a prolonged and elusive condition that destroyed her health but that doctors couldn't diagnose or treat. Worse, as they failed to cure her, they hinted that her devastating symptoms were psychological. The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness is a memoir with a mission, to help the millions of (mostly) women who suffer from unnamed or misunderstood conditions: autoimmune illnesses like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, chronic pain, and many more. Ramey's pursuit of a diagnosis and cure for her own mysterious illness becomes a page-turning medical mystery that reveals a new understanding of today's chronic illnesses as ecological in nature, driven by modern changes to the basic foundations of health, from the quality of our sleep, diet, and social connection to the state of our microbiomes. Her book will open eyes, change lives, and ultimately change medicine. ...Show more

Where the Past Begins A Writer's Memoir by Amy Tan

$32.99 AUD

Category: BIOGRAPHY

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Tan, a memoir about finding meaning in life through acts of creativity and imagination In Where the Past Begins, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and The Valley of Amazement Amy Tan reveals the ways that our memories and personal experiences can inform our creative work. Drawing on her vivid impressions of her upbringing, Tan investigates the truths and inspirations behind her writing while illuminating how we all explore, confront, and process complex memories, especially half-forgotten ones from childhood. With candor, empathy, and humor, Tan sheds light on her own writing process, sharing her hard-won insights on the nature of creativity and inspiration while exploring the universal urge to examine truth through the workings of imagination--and what that imaginative world tells us about our own lives. Where the Past Begins is both a unique look into the mind of an extraordinary storyteller and an indispensable guide for writers, artists, and other creative thinkers.   ...Show more