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  Jack London - An American Life

  Earle Labor

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  Jack London was born a working class, fatherless Californian in 1876. In his youth, he was a boundlessly energetic adventurer on the bustling West Coast—an oyster pirate, a hobo, a sailor, and a prospector by turns. He spent his brief life rapidly accumulating the experiences that would inform his acclaimed bestselling books The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea-Wolf.The bare outlines of his story suggest a classic rags-to-riches tale, but London the man was plagued by contradictions. He chronicled nature at its most savage but wept helplessly at the deaths of his favorite animals. At his peak the highest paid writer in the United States, he was nevertheless forced to work under constant pressure for money. An irrepressibly optimistic crusader for social justice and a lover of humanity, he was also subject to spells of bitter invective, especially as his health declined. Branded by shortsighted critics as little more than a hack who produced a couple of memorable dog stories, he left behind a voluminous literary legacy, much of it ripe for rediscovery.In Jack London: An American Life, the noted Jack London scholar Earle Labor explores the brilliant and complicated novelist lost behind the myth—at once a hard-living globe-trotter and a man alive with ideas whose passion for seeking new worlds to explore never waned until the day he died. Returning London to his proper place in the American pantheon, Labor resurrects a major American novelist in his full fire and glory.

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  The Rainbow Comes and Goes - A...

  Anderson Cooper, Gloria Vanderbilt

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  A touching and intimate correspondence between Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, offering timeless wisdom and a revealing glimpse into their lives 
  Though Anderson Cooper has always considered himself close to his mother, his intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS affords him little time to spend with her. After she suffers a brief but serious illness at the age of ninety-one, they resolve to change their relationship by beginning a year-long conversation unlike any they had ever had before. The result is a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discuss their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other. 
  Both a son’s love letter to his mother and an unconventional mom’s life lessons for her grown son, The Rainbow Comes and Goes offers a rare window into their close relationship and fascinating life stories, including their tragedies and triumphs. In these often humorous and moving exchanges, they share their most private thoughts and the hard-earned truths they’ve learned along the way. In their words their distinctive personalities shine through—Anderson’s journalistic outlook on the world is a sharp contrast to his mother’s idealism and unwavering optimism. 
   An appealing memoir with inspirational advice, The Rainbow Comes and Goes is a beautiful and affectionate celebration of the universal bond between a parent and a child, and a thoughtful reflection on life, reminding us of the precious insight that remains to be shared, no matter our age.

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  The Last Living Slut

  Roxana Shirazi

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  Raw, Unvarnished, provocative, and poetically written, "The Last Living Slut: Born in Iran, Bred Backstage" is the memoir of Roxana Shirazi, who was raised during Iran's revolution within a politically active family and sent to England by her family aged ten during the Iran/Iraq war,  and led far astray by the sound - and the sex appeal - of rock and roll. Alone in England and feeling a loss of identity, she found a new 'home' in the world of rock 'n' roll with bands like Guns 'n' Roses, Motley Crue and Velvet Revolver and discovered that there is no such things as rock 'n' roll: a place where only men are allowed to be transgressive, and sexually wild. A place where women are demonised for doing what men do.  With heart-breaking accounts of child abuse, abortion and domestic violence, TLLS reads like an Iranian female Bukowski: raw, working class and poetic.

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  Out Of The Shadow Of The Sun

  Peter J. Venison

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  The international hotelier, Peter Venison, shares some of his exciting experiences over fifty years and three continents. From revolutions, coups d'etat, air high-jackings, the fall of apartheid, the charisma of Nelson Mandela, the machinations of Wall Street, to the glamorous world of show business, fashion, and professional sport. Venison describes real events that read like a novel. This is his journey from London's youngest luxury hotel manager, into and out of the shadow of the late Sol Kerzner, the world's most flamboyant hotel magnate, to finally being honoured by Her Majesty, the Queen, for his contribution to charity.

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  A Spy in the Sky - A...

  Kenneth B. Johnson

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  “An enjoyable ramble . . . the memoir of an unassuming, self-doubting aviator who, despite himself, proved to be pretty bloody good.” —Aircrew Book Review   Many stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF’s young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners—the aerial photographers.   Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old. In this lighthearted reminiscence, he relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavored to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective.   As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy.  The Spy in the Sky fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War.   “The sorties he flew are nothing less than heroic . . . his writing style is very good, and very humorous at that!” —Flyin’ and Ridin’ Blog

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  Doctors Get Cancer Too - A...

  Philippa Kaye

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  "It's cancer." Dr Philippa Kaye was 39 years old when she heard those dreaded words. The diagnosis of bowel cancer would change her life and mean crossing the divide from being a doctor to being a patient. She soon discovered that her years of training and experience had not prepared her for the realities of actually living with cancer. Doctors Get Cancer Too tells Dr Kaye's moving story of being on both sides of the desk, and shares the insights she gained not only through the diagnosis and treatment but in surviving and thriving through cancer and beyond. Filled with practical advice, this book aims to make patients and their loved ones feel better understood, more prepared and less alone, and to provide solace for anyone navigating their way through hard times.

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