Publisher: Aeneas Press
Sims travels - Spain, Algiers, Monte Carlo, Italy, Vienna and Budapest - and reports back in the persona that made him the best-read columnist in London. Behind the joking is the same eye that produced his slum reporting. This edition 56 plates of paintings by Turner, Fortuny, Sorolla and others, dating from 1600 to 1925.
‘There is something very special about finding a spectacular objective, looking forward to it for a long time and then achieving exactly what one has set out to do.’ Newly retired and immersed in the logistical and bureaucratic maze of planning an expedition to Chombu – an unclimbed Himalayan peak in the Indian state of Sikkim – Mick Fowler’s life is turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis. In Eternal Alpinist, his fourth volume of climbing memoirs following Vertical Pleasure, On Thin Ice and No Easy Way, Mick describes – with his trademark dry wit – his determined and at times frustrating attempts to regain ‘mountain fitness’ and return to the places he loves most. Reaching Chombu with his climbing partner Victor Saunders becomes a constant focus during treatment and recovery. Known for seeking out mountaineering challenges that are remote, eye catching and unclimbed, Mick continues to pursue objectives far from the ordinary. Along with Chombu, he takes us to sea stacks in County Kerry, Spitzkoppe in Namibia, Yawash Sar in Pakistan and Patkhor in Tajikistan. Follow Mick, one of mountaineering’s most engaging storytellers, as he adapts to new limitations while continuing to pursue the challenges and adventures that have shaped his life.Show book
A passionate memoir about identity, resilience, and the healing power of forgiveness From her earliest memories, Minu felt like an outsider. It wasn't just her peculiar name, but also her light skin and cinnamon-swirl hair—so unlike the dark features of her Mexican family—that drew comments from neighbors and strangers. No one took her questions seriously, leaving her yearning for answers. Meanwhile, she had to endure her father's violence, her mother's negligence, and the poverty and drugs in Cashion, Arizona. Determined to carve out her own destiny, Minu embarked on a journey to uncover the mysteries of her past. After years of lies and mistreatment, she finally found the strength to confront the one person who knew the truth—the one person who could give her the peace she so desperately longed for. Written with passion and grit, The Painted Pink Dress is an extraordinary true story about overcoming trauma and forging a path forward. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and resilience in the face of hardship. Contains mature themes.Show book
Few participants in World War I are more famous than Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron. A German known for victories in a war that his country lost, a cavalry officer made famous as mounted combat disappeared, and an aristocratic hero in a century dominated by democracy; Richthofen’s celebrity stands in stark contrast to the era. For the handful of men fighting in the air, it was a different matter, because World War I brought about the emergence of full-blooded aerial combat for the first time. In fact, airplanes were so foreign to past examples of warfare that few military officers were sure of how to utilize them at the start of the war. As a result, amazing new machines capable of carrying men at great speed and height were used first for reconnaissance, and it was only later that they actually became fighter planes, with each side fighting for dominance of the air and the advantage this provided. By the time he died at the age of 25, Richthofen was a living legend, celebrated by his fellow countrymen and feared by his enemies. Ironically, he had managed to become a celebrity soldier in an era of anonymous death. Participating in both world wars was not nearly enough time in the air for the ambitious Eddie Rickenbacker. When he was not setting new records in the air, he was setting new speed records on the ground, most notably as a first generation race car driver who not only drove cars but designed them. He also served for decades as the president of one of the world’s first major commercial passenger aviation companies, Eastern Air Lines, seeing it through the ups and downs of the financial and technological boom and bust in America between the wars.Show book
Winifred Holtby was born on 23rd June 1898 to a prosperous farming family in the village of Rudston in Yorkshire. A governess provided her early education before she went to Queen Margaret's School in Scarborough. After passing the entrance exam for Somerville College, Oxford in 1917, she decided to join the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in early 1918. However, soon after her arrival in France, the War ended. She returned to study at Oxford and met fellow student Vera Brittain. After graduating from Oxford, in 1921, Winifred and Vera moved to London, hoping to establish themselves as authors. Her early novels met with only moderate success but as a journalist she was both prolific and increasingly well-known. Her articles graced more than 20 newspapers and magazines, including the Manchester Guardian newspaper. Winifred was a committed feminist, socialist and pacifist. She gave many lectures for the League of Nations Union. She was also active in the Independent Labour Party and was a campaigner for the unionisation of black workers in South Africa. In 1931 the symptoms of high blood pressure, recurrent headaches and bouts of lassitude brought forth a diagnosis of Bright's disease. She was given two years to live and now put all her efforts into what was to become her crowning achievement: South Riding. Released posthumously it received lavish praise and enormous sales. Her canon of works tackle difficult subjects head on, many in unusual ways, brimming with verve and usually strong female protagonists. Winifred Holtby died on 29th September 1935 in London. She was 37.Show book
'A brilliant insight into Liam's life in football' - Kevin Moran'Insightful, often joyous, and hugely entertaining. I loved it' - Roddy Doyle'One of our country's great footballers, and definitely our most beautiful' - John GilesBeing a footballer was my destiny.After being expelled from school for playing football for his country, fifteen-year-old Liam Brady travelled to London to join Arsenal, and soon became an indispensable part of their glorious 1970s team. Rightly considered one of the Republic of Ireland's best-ever footballers, he went on to enjoy successes with Juventus, Sampdoria and West Ham, as well as managing Celtic and Brighton and Hove, and becoming assistant manager of his national team. Today he is best known for his much-respected TV punditry and searingly intelligent insights into the game he adores. Full of honest insights, amusing anecdotes and recollections of extraordinary times, with Born to be a Footballer Brady delivers a compelling story of a fifty-year career that is unparalleled in Irish sport.Show book
Michael Bergin's account of the years he and Carolyn Bessette shared—revisiting the years dramatized in FX's Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette Would she be alive today? Would we be together? Would we have been happy? Before she was Mrs. John F. Kennedy Jr. — before the wedding dress, the cameras, the mythology — Carolyn Bessette was a woman of remarkable presence. Independent, stylish, and far more complex than the tabloids ever allowed her to be. She was also, for a time, deeply in love with someone other than America's most eligible bachelor. Michael Bergin was a small-town kid from Connecticut who came to New York with nothing and became one of the most recognizable faces in the world. When he and Carolyn found each other in 1992, it was immediate and intense — a connection neither of them could fully let go of, even as their lives pulled them in different directions. Then John Kennedy walked in. But this is not a story that ends with a wedding. In The Other Man, Bergin breaks his silence on one of the most talked-about relationships of the 1990s, offering an intimate glimpse into the private Carolyn so few people were permitted to see — her warmth, her restlessness, her contradictions — and the passion the two of them shared long after the world had written its own version of her story. Honest, tender, and at times devastating, The Other Man is a testament to the pull of a love that doesn't follow the script — and a portrait of a woman who deserved to be known on her own terms.Show book
