Other books that might interest you

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  Never Forget Our People Were...

  Benjamin Todd Jealous

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  “One of the nation’s most prominent civil rights leaders” (Washington Post), a New York Times bestselling author, community organizer, investigative journalist, Ivy League professor, and former head of the NAACP, Ben Jealous draws from a life lived on America’s racial fault line to deliver a series of gripping and lively parables that call on each of us to reconcile, heal, and work fearlessly to make America one nation. 
  Never Forget Our People Were Always Free illuminates for each of us how the path to healing America’s broken heart starts with each of us having the courage to heal our own.The son of parents who had to leave Maryland because their cross-racial marriage was illegal, Ben Jealous’ lively, courageous and empathetic storytelling calls on every American to look past deeply-cut divisions and recognize we are all in the same boat now. Along the way Jealous grapples with hidden American mysteries, including:Why do white men die from suicide more often than black men die from murder?How did racial profiling kill an American president?What happens when a Ku Klux Klansman wrestles with what Jesus actually said? How did Dave Chappelle know the DC Snipers were Black? Why shouldn't the civil rights movement give up on rednecks?When is what we have collectively forgotten about race more important than what we actually know?What do the most indecipherable things our elders say tell us about ourselves? 
   Told as a series of parables, Never Forget Our People Were Always Free features intimate glimpses of political, and faith leaders as different as Jack Kemp, Stacey Abrams, and the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and heroes as unlikely as a retired constable, a female pirate from Madagascar, a long lost Irishman, a death row inmate, and a man with a confederate flag over his heart. 
  More than anything, Never Forget Our People Were Always Free offers readers hope America’s oldest wounds can heal and her oldest divisions be overcome. 
  Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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  Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard...

  Charles River Editors

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  Laying next to the tomb effigy of King Henry II of England in France's Fontevraud Abbey is a curious coffin chiseled in the shape of a young woman in repose. The once vibrant paint on the effigy is flaking, and several areas of the centuries-old tombs are chipped, but her general features are still somewhat recognizable. The beautiful, crowned queen, depicted with a soft smile on her face, was dressed in a simple, but elegant gown in white and blue, and an open book in her arms. The effigy is for none other than Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. 
  	Over the years, this mysterious 12th century figure has been portrayed in countless ways, from a valiant warrior queen and resourceful politician to a control-obsessed and manipulative siren whose only objective in life was power. What is clear is that during her long life, Eleanor she played an outsized role in both French and English history, and she also had an impact on the course of the Crusades, not just with her first husband, France’s King Louis VII, but also through her offspring with her second husband, Henry II.  
  	The enduring figure of the Middle Ages is the chivalrous knight who served as a hero across much of Europe, and nobody played a more defining role in casting the popular image of medieval knights than Eleanor’s son Richard the Lionheart, one of the most famous English kings and crusaders. In many respects, it was ironic that Richard became one of the central characters of the Middle Ages, and his very popular legacy today belies centuries of controversy. Richard I Plantagenet, better known by his nickname “Coeur de Lion” (Lionheart), eventually became King of England, Grand Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Poitou, and Duke of Anjou, but as the third son in a large family, he did not expect to or even want to rule England. Nevertheless, it was he who eventually came to the throne upon his father's death, assisted in great measure by his statesmanlike mother Eleanor.

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  The Secret Heart

  Suleika Dawson

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  A Telegraph Book to Read for Autumn 2022A Times Best Non-fiction Book for Autumn 2022A Daily Mail Book of the Year 2022A Waterstones Best Book of 2022: Biography 
  The astonishing new portrait of the master of spy fiction, by the woman he kept secret for almost half his life 
  John le Carré led a life entirely constructed of secrets. First as a British ‘spook’ during the Cold War, then as a world-renowned writer of espionage fiction, but also in his personal involvements. He guarded his private life with fierce determination, so that even when he finally permitted his life story to be written, there was still one element he insisted be excluded: the women. 
  Married with children for virtually all his adult life, le Carré – David Cornwell – had a number of secret affairs, usually conducted abroad with women encountered by chance on his travels. These relationships were always intense, dramatic, even tragic, yet each was destined to last no more than a few months. But there was one love affair that withstood the test of time; just one woman in all his life whom he took into the innermost sanctum of his writing and his heart. 
  The Secret Heart is the account of Suleika Dawson’s unique and enduring love affair with John le Carré. Written with fearless honesty and insight, the book sheds a bold new light on one of the foremost British writers of the 20th century and offers an alternative measure of the man over the literary legend. 
  Suleika Dawson's The Secret Heart is a riveting exploration of the hidden facets of a celebrated author's life, revealing a tale of enduring love that was as captivating as his award-winning crime narratives. This top-rated autobiography, a prize-winning entry among this year's collections, is a testament to the power of love and the allure of secrecy. 
  For fans of Robert D. Kaplan (In Europe's Shadow), Oliver Soden (Jeoffry), Anne Glenconner (Whatever Next?), David Fleming (Hellfire), and Thomas Harding (Legacy). 
  HarperCollins 2022

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  The Gambler - A Brilliant...

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

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  Would you risk everything for the hope of a single win? 
  In The Gambler, Fyodor Dostoevsky delivers a riveting psychological novel that explores the dark allure of chance, fortune, and self-destruction. Alexei Ivanovich, a passionate and impulsive young man, finds himself in the grip of an uncontrollable addiction—gambling. Trapped in a web of manipulation, romance, and desperation, he gambles not just for money but for love, power, and his very future. 
  Drawing from his own experiences with gambling, Dostoevsky paints a hauntingly realistic portrait of human psychology—the exhilaration of risk, the devastation of loss, and the relentless cycle of hope and despair. As Alexei’s obsession deepens, the novel exposes the dangerous intersection of greed, desire, and the unpredictable forces of luck. 
  What You’ll Discover in This Modern Translation:A Gripping Tale of Obsession and Risk – Experience the rush of gambling, the thrill of uncertainty, and the weight of consequences.A Deep Exploration of Human Psychology – Delve into Dostoevsky’s insights on addiction, self-control, and the power of desire.A Masterpiece in a Fresh, Readable Style – This adaptation preserves the depth of Dostoevsky’s writing while making it more accessible for today’s readers.A Love Story Fueled by Passion and Desperation – Witness Alexei’s struggle between love, money, and the pursuit of control. 
  Will fortune favor Alexei, or will his addiction consume him? 
  Get your copy today and discover one of Dostoevsky’s most captivating and personal works

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  Arch Rascal An - From their pens...

  Knut Hamsun

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  Knud Pedersen was born in Lom in the Gudbrandsdal valley of Norway on the 4th of August, 1859 in what was then the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.  He was the fourth son of seven children born to poor parents who, when he was three, were invited to an uncle’s farm to work his land. 
  When he was nine he moved away from his family to help another uncle who ran a post office.  Whilst with him he was beaten and starved which manifested in a series of chronic nervous difficulties.  The treatment endured for six years until he managed to escape back to Lom. 
  For some time he now took any job that was available to him, including store clerk, peddler, shoemaker's apprentice, sheriff's assistant, elementary-school teacher and ropemaker's apprentice.  At about the same time, with the wealth of these gained experiences, he began to explore his literary talents. 
  In 1877 he published his first book ‘The Enigmatic Man: A Love Story from Northern Norway’, others soon followed but real success only came in 1890 with ‘Hunger’, an influential work for later novelists with its internal monologue and bizarre logic.  His work is often associated with Pantheism; where nature and mankind are unified in a strong and often mystical bond.   
  His work was so influential that in 1920 he was awarded the Novel Prize for Literature. 
  Shortly after this point his works became fewer and his interests darker.  During World War II he became a fervent admirer of the Nazi’s, even meeting Hitler, even though German armies had overrun Norway.  With the war’s end he was detained on charges of treason.  His old age was apparently the primary reason given for Hamsun receiving only a fine.  Other reasons also sought to excuse his abhorrent behaviour but it was clear that whilst he was loved for his literature he was detested for his politics and morals. 
  His literary canon includes more than 20 novels, a poetry collection, short stories, plays, a travelogue, other works of non-fiction and essays. 
  Knut Hamsun died on the 19th February 1952 in Grimstad. He was 92.

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  Curveballs - How to Keep It...

  Emma Markezic

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  Because sometimes, life is going to suck, and you’re going to have to know how to handle it… 
    
  What happens when you step on one of the great Lego pieces of life? When you get blind-sided? Thrown a curveball? When you get divorced? Or someone dies? You're going to need something more than the diarrhoea-like progression of motivational quotes we get fed on Instagram - you're going to need real-world ways to deal with a big, fat let-down.  
    
    
  Because one will come for you, eventually. And when one came for comedian and journalist Emma Markezic in the form of a nasty cancer, despite the fact she found herself bald, broke and living alone, she felt more alive than ever. So she wanted to know why... Why does trauma affect us in such different ways? Why are some people more resilient than others? Why was she handling cancer better than other people handle a paper cut and, more importantly, was it a skill she could teach? When she wrote an article about how learning she might die made her the happiest she'd ever been, it became a media sensation and she knew she was onto something.  
    
    
  With dozens of expert brain morsels and more than a little humour, Curveballs is a memoir-meets-self-help manual for how to keep it together when life tries to tear you a new one. Because you'll want to be more resilient than a tardigrade in outer space when it does*.  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  *Microscopic eight-legged animals that can withstand 1000 times more radiation than humans, live for 100 years without water and literally just hang out in space like freeloaders at a Vegas buffet. See... you learned something already!  
     
  HarperCollins Australia 2022

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