Other books that might interest you

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  A Year in the Merde

  Stephen Clarke

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  A Year in the Merde is the almost-true account of the author's  
  adventures as an expat in Paris. Based on his own experiences and with  
  names changed to "avoid embarrassment, possible legal action-and to  
  prevent the author's legs being broken by someone in a Yves Saint  
  Laurent suit", the book is narrated by Paul West, a  
  twenty-seven-year-old Brit who is brought to Paris by a French company  
  to open a chain of British "tea rooms." He must manage of a group of  
  lazy, grumbling French employees, maneuver around a treacherous Parisian 
   boss, while lucking into a succession of lusty girlfriends (one of whom 
   happens to be the boss's morally challenged daughter). He soon becomes  
  immersed in the contradictions of French culture: the French are not all 
   cheese-eating surrender monkeys, though they do eat a lot of smelly  
  cheese, and they are still in shock at being stupid enough to sell  
  Louisiana, thus losing the chance to make French the global language.  
  The book will also tell you how to get the best out of the grumpiest  
  Parisian waiter, how to survive a French business meeting, and how not  
  to buy a house in the French countryside. 
   
  The author originally  
  wrote A Year in the Merde just for fun and self-published it in France  
  in an English-language edition. Weeks later, it had become a  
  word-of-mouth hit for expats and the French alike. With translation  
  rights now sold in eleven countries and already a bestseller in the UK  
  and France, Stephen Clarke is clearly a Bill Bryson (or a Peter  
  Mayle...) for a whole new generation of readers who can never quite  
  decide whether they love-or love to hate-the French.

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  The Scourge of Soho - The...

  Dick Kirby

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  The Scourge of Soho describes the dramatic and eventful life of Detective Sergeant Harry Challenor MM and at the same time lifts the lid on front-line policing and the murky world of Soho criminals in the 1950s and 1960s.Born into grinding poverty in 1922, Challenor fought with the Special Air Service during the Second World War, being parachuted behind enemy lines, captured twice, escaping twice. He was awarded the Military Medal.Joining the post-war Metropolitan Police, challenor spent four years with the elite Flying Squad, before being sent to clear up crime in Soho. Pimps, racketeers and crooks were rounded-up and often found themselves in possession of a bewildering assortment of armaments of which they denied all knowledge. More sensible gangsters, like Reg and Ron Kray, took off as soon as his name was mentioned.Challenor could not be frightened or bought-off, so the gang leaders put up a 1,000 reward to anyone who could frame him. In the end, it was not needed. During a political demonstration in 1963, half-bricks were planted on innocent protesters and three young policemen were imprisoned and Challenor certified as a paranoid schizophrenic and sent to a succession of psychiatric hospitals and care homes. Policeman-turned-author, Dick Kirby has interviewed former friends and colleagues of this determined but flawed character and has meticulously studied court records and official documents. The result is a sensational and gripping account of the man who became The Scourge of Soho.As featured in the East Anglian Daily Times, Bury Mercury and Wolverhampton Magazine.

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  The Voyage Home

  Richard Church

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  With uncompromising frankness and the disciplined simplicity of a poet, Richard Church records his own striving – his own voyage home – towards maturity of understanding and fulfilment. Startling in its depth and insight, yet never without an infectious humour, this book ranges far beyond the daily events of the author's life. 
  For twenty-four years Richard Church led the double life of hard-working Civil Servant and an artist with a growing compulsion to give literary form to his glimpses of the truth. Eventually, the shattering climax of nervous strain, induced by the incompatibility of office work, forced Church to retire from the Civil Service and become a full-time author. 
  First published in 1964, The Voyage Home is an inspiring personal story of a true artist, and a lively and entertaining appraisal of the author's many celebrated friends and contemporaries. Not only the fascination of journey and the beauty of the writing make this a remarkable work; but also Richard Church's manifold insistence on the importance of individual genius is a warm reassurance in the present time.

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  Albert Kesselring

  Pier Paolo Battistelli

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  Although he is mostly remembered for his part in the campaign in Italy from 1943 to 1945, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring was also chief of staff of the Luftwaffe in 1936–37, playing a crucial role in the shaping of the service for the coming war. As commander of Luftflotte 1 in Poland and Luftflotte 2 in France and the Low Countries, he was responsible for supporting the armoured spearheads of the German Army as they undertook their Blitzkrieg campaigns. With the Fall of France, the Battle of Britain began and Luftlotte 2 was the main force in the air attack against the British air defences, with Kesselring planning many raids. Following the war Kesselring was tried and convicted of war crimes following a number of massacres of civilians in Italy. He was sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment before being released on the grounds of ill health in October 1952. Here Pier Paolo Battistelli provides a detailed study of one of the most famous German commanders of World War II.

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  Census: Extreme Poverty

  PBS NewsHour

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  New Census data out Thursday show that one in 15 Americans now lives in extreme poverty and earns less than half of the official poverty line. Jeffrey Brown discusses the spread of poverty and the implications for families and communities with Elizabeth Kneebone of the Brookings Institution.

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  Babes Booze & Biceps

  Paul C Slayback

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  An impressive follow-up to Slayback’s (Boys, Bumps & Blood, 2013) debut memoir. 
  The author picks up right where his first autobiography left off, in the fall of 1952. At the age of 14, he was shuttled from Duluth, Minnesota, to Lansing, Michigan, while his father headed to Florida. Such trips had been part of their regular routine ever since the author’s mother died; this time, he was left in the care of his married older sister, Lorna. Yet as heartbreaking as it was for the author to hear his father abruptly tell him to “learn to be happy on your own,” it hardly sets the tone for the remainder of the memoir. Instead, the author was resilient, throwing himself into a quest for happiness and contentment; he immersed himself in archery, bodybuilding, and bow-hunting, among other things. His diligence with schoolwork eventually allowed him to go to college. There, he enjoyed, for a short time, pole vaulting, spent productive time on a horse ranch, and met a steady procession of women. 
   This improved effort is sure to delight listeners of heartfelt, folksy autobiographies. Slayback writes with sincerity, imparting vignettes from his life with urgency, as if committing them to paper might relieve the pain or sorrow he encountered in his early youth. His love of Michigan particularly shines through (“Fall in Michigan is football season... In every city, town, or village, it’s in the air, the fresh, brisk, warm, sunny air of day, coupled with the slight bite of cool air in the evening.”). He just as clearly describes his time spent learning to rope calves in a rodeo as he does a spicy boat trip to Cuba. The memoir’s cheeky title, though, belies the emotional, introspective landscape of the author’s life. Overall, Slayback relates his adventuresome life with gusto and reflection. 
  A delightful second memoir that’s more engaging and contemplative than the first.

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