Other books that might interest you

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  Better Dead - From their pens to...

  J M Barrie

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  Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM, was born in Kirriemuir, Angus on 9th May, 1860.  
  Barrie knew from an early age that he wished to be an author. His family wished otherwise. The compromise was that he would attend university to study literature at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated with an M.A. in April, 1882. 
  His first job was as a staff journalist for the Nottingham Journal. The London editor of the St. James's Gazette "liked that Scotch thing" in Barrie’s work and he wrote several stories for them and later several novels based on his mother’s early life.  
  Barrie though was increasingly drawn to working in the theatre.  His first plays achieved little attention but in 1901 and 1902, Barrie had back-to-back theatre successes with Quality Street and The Admirable Crichton. 
  The character of ‘Peter Pan’ first appeared in The Little White Bird in 1902. This most famous and enduring of his works; Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up had its first stage performance on December 27th, 1904.  
  Peter Pan would overshadow all his other works.  But his short stories cannot be overlooked.  Indeed, from today’s vantage point they are excellent gems of social manners, of class and the way characters, sometimes in the most mundane of circumstances, react in the most surprising of ways.

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  The Inner Game

  Dominic Lawson

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  The 1993 World Chess Championship was one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes in the game's rich history. 
   
   
   
  On one side was Garri Kasparov, the greatest in a long line of Russian World Champions and a player whose remorseless aggression both in play and in person seemed to terrify his opponents. 
   
   
   
  Across the board was Nigel Short, a bespectacled, guitar-playing twenty-eight-year-old Lancastrian who had earned his place in the contest over a grueling three-year qualification campaign. 
   
   
   
  Their epic duel of the intellect was fought out in the full glare of the world's media and the intricacies of the battle captivated observers around the world—chess experts and novices alike. 
   
   
   
  The Inner Game is an intimate and gripping insider's account of this unique sporting contest. It reveals the secrets of chess at the highest level, from dirty tricks behind the scenes to bugged conversations, stolen tapes and sexual intrigue, and opens up the strange inner world of the Chess Grandmasters, men of a narrow but all-consuming passion.

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  Striving for Justice - A Black...

  Nathaniel Glover

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  On a sweltering day in August 1960, in the segregated Deep South city of Jacksonville, Florida, a seventeen-year-old Black boy finished his dishwashing job at Morrison’s Cafeteria, walked out the back door, and found himself in the middle of a nightmare. 
   
  Hundreds of white men with ax handles and baseball bats were attacking Black sit-in protestors in Hemming Park. Suddenly surrounded, the young man endured menacing blows and racist taunts. He called for help from a white police officer standing nearby, but no help came.  
  And he felt an unwarranted shame he determined never to feel again. 
   
  His name was Nat Glover. 
   
  Nat’s life could have ended that day, but instead, the ordeal reinforced his plans to become a police officer. His belief in a better world could have faded to cynicism, but instead, it took root in his spirit. His desire to overcome the poverty and racism of his youth could have given in  
  to shame, but instead, Nat resolved to dedicate his life to honoring the dignity of all people. 
   
  Nat Glover went on to serve in law enforcement for thirty-seven years, became the first Black sheriff in Jacksonville and the state of Florida since Reconstruction, and chose—again and again—to do the right thing at the right time for the sake of justice, compassion, and truth. 
   
  In Striving for Justice, Nat recounts his history-making years in police reformation,the values that fuel him as a leader and American citizen, and what he believes will move this country forward toward hope and healing just as he once rose again … against all odds. 
   
  Features an exclusive interview with Florida's first Black sheriff

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  Where I Was: A memoir about...

  Constance Singam

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  Where I Was: A Memoir About Forgetting and Remembering is a rich, entertaining and compelling account of the life of an extraordinary woman. In a land of many cultures, many races, many religions; in a state where politics and public policies impinge, sometimes callously, on the daily lives of its denizens, Constance Singam is an individual marginalised many times over by her status as a woman, an Indian, a widow and a civil society activist. 
   
  Through humorous and moving accounts, Constance captures in words the images of the people, places and events that are the source of her most powerful memories. These images are connected to key turning points in her personal journey, set against or within the context of important historical events. In this reissue of her 2013 memoir, Constance reflects on current advocacy movements and on the events that led to the AWARE saga that would shape the rest of her life.

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  Know about "jan hus" - a czech...

  Saurabh Singh Chauhan

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  This is small copy of the introduction of the book: Welcome to the remarkable journey through the life and times of Jan Hus, a name that resonates through the annals of history as a symbol of courage, conviction, and religious reform. In this captivating biography, we delve deep into the extraordinary life of Jan Hus, a Czech theologian, philosopher, and the first church reformer. 
  Our journey begins in the heart of Bohemia, in the small village of Husinec, where Jan Hus was born around the year 1369. Little did the world know that this unassuming child would grow up to challenge the mighty Catholic Church and ignite a movement that would forever alter the course of European history. 
  As we progress through these pages, we will unravel the story of Hus's early education and his academic pursuits at the University of Prague. Here, in the hallowed halls of learning, he laid the foundation for his future endeavors, setting the stage for his role as a master of arts in 1396. But it was his appointment as a university preacher in 1401 that truly marked the inception of his remarkable journey. The Bethlehem Chapel in Prague became the pulpit from which Hus would not only disseminate religious teachings but also nurture the seeds of reform.

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  Finding Hester - The Incredible...

  Jack Lawrence, Greg Callus,...

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  Finding Hester explores the untold story of Hester Leggatt, a woman who helped trick the Nazis, and is a fascinating read for fans of West End musical Operation Mincemeat and anyone with an interest in women’s war stories 
   
  Operation Mincemeat is one of the stranger tales to come out of the Second World War. A corpse dressed as a British pilot was dropped in the ocean near Spain, with the forged documents he carried landing in the hands of the Germans to convince them to move their troops to the advantage of the allied forces. 
   
  It is an event perhaps most popularly told in Ben Macintyre’s 2010 book Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II, but it has recently been retold in a 2021 film and is currently the plot of an Olivier-winning West End musical. Operation Mincemeat has never been more familiar to the public. 
   
  To sell the ruse of the corpse, MI5 had to create a credible backstory for their fictitious pilot. They filled his briefcase with receipts, cigarettes, a photograph, and, importantly, two fabricated love letters. 
   
  An interview with MI5 secretary Jean Leslie, conducted by Macintyre for his book, revealed the name of the woman behind those letters to be a ‘Hester Leggett’. This has been repeated ever since, including in both the film and the musical. 
   
  Hester Leggett does not exist. 
   
  The false identity was discovered by a group of fans of the musical. While we know much about the other key figures portrayed in the musical, Hester was always more of a mystery and once the group started to research her, they discovered she was actually Hester Leggatt. 
   
  This misplaced vowel made all the difference and we uncovered a huge amount about the real Hester. This book tells the story of how the musical fanbase found her school records, her family, her real love letters from the Second World War, and definitive confirmation from MI5 that they had the right person.

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