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  Motorcycles Minotaurs & Banjos -...

  Steven Sherrill

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  This book is about twenty-one days, and sixty years. A motorcycle ride down the spine of Appalachia, with a little banjo  and big myth for company, to play and sing at the graves of dead banjo heroes. About making a life about making work. This book is about outsiders. Interlopers. Class migrants. Death. Awakening. Creative Process. Growth through risk-taking. It’s a book about ghosts. Music. Writing. Not writing. What’s this book not about? “Finding myself.” I know who I am.  
  Steven Sherrill is a high school dropout, a nearly retired professor, a family man, a ne'er-do-well banjo player, a motorcyclist, an aquarist, a sonic/video muckraker, and a novelist with five books in the world, one of which (The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break) is a cult classic. 

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  Great and Horrible News: Murder...

  Blessin Adams

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  ‘Grimly fascinating … engrossing’ Daily Mail  
  NINE HISTORIC CRIMES. ONE FAMILIAR OBSESSION. 
  In early modern England, murder truly was most foul. Trials were gossipy events packed to the rafters with noisome spectators. Executions were public proceedings which promised not only gore, but desperate confessions and the grandest, most righteous human drama. Bookshops saw grisly stories of crime and death sell like hot cakes. 
  This history unfolds the true stories of murder, criminal investigation, early forensic techniques, high court trials and so much more. 
  In thrilling narrative, we follow a fugitive killer through the streets of London, citizen detectives clamouring to help officials close the net. We untangle the mystery of a suspected staged suicide through the newly emerging science of forensic pathology. We see a mother trying to clear her dead daughter’s name while other women faced the accusations – sometimes true and sometimes not – of murdering their own children. 
  These stories are pieced together from original research using coroner’s inquests, court records, parish archives, letters, diaries and the cheap street pamphlets that proliferated to satisfy a voracious public. 
  These intensely personal stories portray the lives of real people as they confronted the extraordinary crises of murder, infanticide, miscarriage and suicide. Many historical laws and attitudes concerning death and murder may strike us as exceptionally cruel, and yet many still remind us that some things never change: we are still fascinated by narratives of murder and true crime, murder trials today continue to be grand public spectacles, female killers are frequently cast as aberrant objects of public hatred and sexual desire, and suicide remains a sin within many religious organisations and was a crime in England until the 1960s. 
  Great and Horrible News! explores the strange history of death and murder in early modern England, yet the stories within may appear shockingly familiar. 
  Great and Horrible News by Blessin Adams is a riveting biography of the most notorious criminals of the Stuart and Elizabethan eras. This latest bestseller offers a new perspective on the period from 1485-1603, making it a top choice for those interested in European history. 
  For fans of Michelle Morgan (The Book of Hope), Kate Summerscale (The Peepshow), Tom Holland (The Rest is History), David Wilson (A History Of British Serial Killing), and Christopher Clark (Kaiser Wilhelm II). 
  HarperCollins 2023

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  Jim Kaat - Good As Gold: My...

  Jim Kaat, Douglas Lyons, Bob Costas

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  An unforgettable look at a lifetime of baseball packed with humor and passion for the game 
   
   
   
  With a career that has now touched eight decades, Jim Kaat has had a prime front row seat for baseball's continuing evolution. 
   
   
   
  Not only was he a major-league pitcher for twenty-five seasons, but his time as a pitching coach and his many years as a broadcaster have given him a singular long view of the game. 
   
   
   
  In Good as Gold, Kaat weaves the tale of a lifetime, taking fans on the field, into the clubhouse, and behind the mic as only he can. 
   
   
   
  Full of priceless stories from New York, Minnesota, and across the major leagues, this honest and engaging autobiography gives fans a rare seat alongside Kaat on a tour of baseball history.

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  Patrice Motsepe - An appetite...

  Janet Smith

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  Business tycoon Patrice Motsepe is never shy to shake up the status quo. He has always followed his instincts to stay ahead of the curve. An icon of corporate South Africa, he is as much known for his leadership in the world of football as for his philanthropy.
  He was a top lawyer when he pursued his dream of being an entrepreneur, making a deal with Anglo American in the late 1990s that marked the beginning of a series of unique relationships which today define his African Rainbow Minerals empire.
  As the owner of Mamelodi Sundowns, he led it to becoming one of the most accomplished clubs in Africa. Then came the powerful seats of president at the Confederation of African Football and vice-president of FIFA, football's global governing body, in 2021.
  Yet questions linger about his political ambitions because of his close links to the ANC and particularly his brothers-in-law, Cyril Ramaphosa and Jeff Radebe.
  In this unauthorised biography, best-selling author and journalist Janet Smith mines public archives, academic papers and international media to find what lies behind this hugely successful, intensely private man, and what may lie ahead.

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  Pushed Out of the Closet Without...

  Gunther Allen

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  Discover a deeply personal, powerful memoir that unveils the untold story of a unique friendship and its profound impact on two lives. Gunther Allen’s Pushed Out of the Closet Without a Parachute, published by Audiobook Publishing Services and narrated by the author himself, takes listeners on an unforgettable journey through the glittering yet secretive world of 1980s Hollywood. 
  Set against a backdrop of fame, secrecy, and societal stigma, Gunther Allen recounts his life-changing bond with the legendary Rock Hudson. A chance meeting propels Gunther into Hudson’s inner circle, where he performs at the star’s exclusive parties and forges a connection that would test the limits of trust, loyalty, and authenticity. 
  This audiobook offers unparalleled insight into Rock Hudson’s private struggles, including his devastating AIDS diagnosis—a secret he kept hidden from both his partner, Marc Christian, and Gunther Allen. The revelation thrusts Gunther into an intricate web of deception, as Marc Christian manipulates their shared grief for personal gain. Through Gunther’s eyes, listeners gain a rare glimpse into Hudson’s life as he navigated the harsh realities of maintaining a public persona while privately battling unimaginable challenges. 
  Narrated by Gunther Allen in his own voice, this gripping account captures the humor, vulnerability, and resilience of a man coming to terms with his identity. 
  Published by Audiobook Publishing Services, Pushed Out of the Closet Without a Parachute is more than just a memoir—it’s a testament to the human spirit. Gunther Allen’s evocative storytelling provides a heartfelt tribute to an era when sexuality was silenced and the devastating impact of AIDS was only beginning to emerge.

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  The Radical Potter - The Life...

  Tristram Hunt

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  From one of Britain's leading historians and the director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, a scintillating biography of Josiah Wedgwood, the celebrated eighteenth-century potter, entrepreneur, and abolitionist 
   
   
   
  Wedgwood's pottery, such as his celebrated light-blue jasperware, is famous worldwide. Jane Austen bought it and wrote of it in her novels; Empress Catherine II of Russia ordered hundreds of pieces for her palace. But the life of Josiah Wedgwood is far richer than just his accomplishments in ceramics. He was a leader of the Industrial Revolution, a pioneering businessman, a cultural tastemaker, and a tireless scientific experimenter whose inventions made him a fellow of the Royal Society. He was also an ardent abolitionist, whose Emancipation Badge medallion—depicting an enslaved African and inscribed "Am I Not a Man and a Brother?"—became the most popular symbol of the antislavery movement on both sides of the Atlantic. And he did it all in the face of chronic disability and relentless pain: a childhood bout with smallpox eventually led to the amputation of his right leg. 
   
   
   
  Drawing on a rich array of letters, journals, and historical documents, The Radical Potter brings us the story of a singular man, his dazzling contributions to design and innovation, and his remarkable global impact.

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