Other books that might interest you

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  The Three Lives of Dylan Thomas

  Hilly Janes

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  Dylan Thomas was one of the most extraordinary poetic talents of the twentieth century. Poems such as 'Do not go gentle into that good night' regularly top polls of the nation's favourites and his much-loved play Under Milk Wood has never been out of print. Thomas lived a life that was rarely without incident and died a death that has gone down in legend as the epitome of Bohemian dissoluteness. In The Three Lives of Dylan Thomas, journalist Hilly Janes explores that life and its extraordinary legacy through the eyes of her father, the artist Alfred Janes, who was a member of Thomas's inner circle and painted the poet at three key moments: in 1934, 1953 and, posthumously, 1964. Using these portraits as focal points, and drawing on a personal archive that includes drawings, diaries, letters and new interviews with omas's friends and descendants, The Three Lives of Dylan Thomas plots the poet's tempestuous journey from his birthplace in Swansea to his early death in a New York hospital in 1953. In this innovative and powerful narrative, Hilly Janes paints her own portrait: one that ventures beneath Thomas's reputation as a feckless, disloyal, boozy Welsh bard to reveal a much more complex character.

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  I Don't Need Therapy - and other...

  Toni Lodge

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  A hilarious memoir of home truths and whatever the opposite of 'that girl energy' is, from one half of the hit podcast Toni amp; Ryan.Like most of us, Toni Lodge tells little white lies all the time. Whether it's 'I'm five minutes away' or 'It must have gone to my spam folder', most of these innocent fibs are harmless. But what if you realised that you weren't just lying about the little things, but the big 'life' stuff too? When Toni sat down to write this memoir, she realised that the lies she was telling herself were hiding some pretty important home truths—about her work, her identity and her mental health. In her dogged pursuit of these truths, she brazenly explores everything from gastro, fame and Twilight to funerals, the Dalai Lama and Brazilian waxes. In this hilarious warm hug of a book, Toni exposes the lies she has told herself about who she is and what she is capable of, inviting us on a riotous romp that will make you laugh, cringe, cry and utterly rethink the truth behind the stories we tell ourselves.

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  Loyal Dissent - Brief Lives of...

  A. C. Grayling, James Campbell,...

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  With origins as far back as the 14th Century, Westminster School is one of the oldest in the country with a long tradition of scholarship - and outstanding results, both in academic and public life. 
  Over the centuries, Westminster has stood apart from other prominent schools. Firmly grounded between Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, it has remained curiously unswayed by the influence and ethos of figures such as Thomas Arnold and the Victorian public school tradition, combining a distinctive evolution with the retention of much of its unique character. 
  A great many of the school's former pupils are famous names. At one time, some of those pupils were uncontrolled outside school hours and notoriously unruly about town, but always encouraged to question, challenge and debate - and above all to respect genuine scholarship. They rank among this country's most distinguished thinkers, writers, theologians, scientists, politicians, artists and musicians. 
  Ben Jonson, George Herbert, Richard Busby, John Locke, Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Lord Mansfield, Charles Wesley, Warren Hastings, Jeremy Bentham, Henry Mayhew, A. A. Milne, John Spedan Lewis, Richard Doll and Tony Benn are the individuals the authors recognise as 'loyal dissenters', at once respectful of peers, staff and principles, yet unafraid to forge their own direction.

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  The Way of Baseball - Finding...

  Shawn Green, Gordon McAlpine

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  Shawn Green’s career statistics can be found on the backs of baseball cards in shoe boxes across America: 328 home runs, 1,071 RBIs, .282 career batting average, All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger. . . . But numbers tell only part of the story.His path to success was as grounded in philosophical study as in ballpark wisdom. Striving to find stillness within the rip-roaring scene of Major League Baseball—from screaming fans to national scandals— Green learned to approach the sport with a clear mind. In the tradition of Phil Jackson’s Sacred Hoops,Green shares the secrets to remaining focused both on and off the field, shedding light on a signature approach to living by using his remarkable baseball experiences to exemplify how one can find full awareness, presence, and, ultimately, fulfillment in any endeavor. Following his development from inconsistent rookie to established All-Star to aging veteran,The Way of Baseball illustrates the spiritual practices that enabled him to “bring stillness into the flow of life.” Requiring mastery of perspective and continual management of ego, the game of baseball afforded Green the opportunity to explore his potential as more than just a ballplayer. A treasure of practical wisdom and an intimate look at what it really means to “let go,” The Way of Baseball illuminates the creative possibilities within us all.

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  The Prince and the Pauper

  Mark Twain

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  This treasured historical satire, played out in two very different socioeconomic worlds of 16th-century England, centers around the lives of two boys born in London on the same day: Edward, Prince of Wales and Tom Canty, a street beggar. During a chance encounter, the two realize they are identical and, as a lark, decide to exchange clothes and roles—a situation that briefly, but drastically, alters the lives of both youngsters. The Prince, dressed in rags, wanders about the city's boisterous neighborhoods among the lower classes and endures a series of hardships; meanwhile, poor Tom, now living with the royals, is constantly filled with the dread of being discovered for who and what he really is.

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  Summary Judgment - A Lawyer's...

  Jr. Donald Cameron Clark

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  Everyone leaves death row. Few leave it alive. 
  During the summer of 1984 twenty-year-old Tommy Hamilton, the product of a deprived childhood in rural Alabama, shoots and kills his boss. Convicted of murder, Tommy is sentenced to death. Before facing the electric chair, one final appeal offers the chance to save Tommy's life, if only his two Chicago-based lawyers and a nun from Alabama can prove he is not legally guilty...even if he is not truly innocent. 
  Tommy fears an incarcerated life more than the electric chair. As limited as his intellect is, he realizes that even a reduced life sentence without the possibility of parole is-like electrocution-a death-in-prison sentence. If his lawyers are unable to get him out, Tommy professes a willingness to be executed. 
  Despite a material witness allegedly committing suicide and their client escaping from jail during the court proceedings, the lawyers present evidence that perjury tainted both Tommy's conviction and death sentence. Nevertheless, the judge assigned to determine Tommy's fate maintains that "Hamilton may deserve the death penalty and he may yet receive it." 
  Summary Judgment is the fascinating true crime story told by one of Tommy's lawyers that reveals how this life-and-death case unfolded in real time.

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