Biographies & True Stories

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21st-Century Yokel is not quite nature writing, not quite a family memoir, not quite a book about walking, not quite a collection of humorous essays, but a bit of all five.Thick with owls and badgers, oak trees and wood piles, scarecrows and ghosts, and...

This is the never-before-told story of George Orwell's first wife, Eileen, a woman who shaped, supported, and even saved the life of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.In 1934, Eileen O'Shaughnessy's futuristic poem, 'End of the Century,...

Henry at Work invites readers to rethink how we work today by exploring an aspect of Henry David Thoreau that has often been overlooked: Thoreau the worker. John Kaag and Jonathan van Belle overturn the popular misconception of Thoreau as a navel-gazing...

A sweeping biography of the visionary behind bone marrow transplantation and the story of the diseases cured by Don Thomas's discovery.In the last half of the twentieth century, Thomas himself discovered a cure for every marrow-based disease-like...

An anthology of the greatest stories by modern Japanese masters (including previously overlooked women writers)!Fourteen distinct voices are assembled in this one-of-a-kind anthology tracing a nation's changing social landscapes. Internationally...

Get to know the inhabitants of a tiny Japanese island - and their unusual stories and secrets - through this fascinating, intimate collection of portraits.When American journalist Amy Chavez moved to the tiny island of Shiraishi (population 430), she...

Zen monk Santoka Taneda (18821940) is one of Japan's most beloved modern poets, famous for his "free-verse" haiku, the dominant style today. This book tells the fascinating story of his life, liberally sprinkled with more than...

Modern Japanese Short Stories is a remarkable collection of Japanese stories from the pioneers of contemporary Japanese literature. This volume's twenty-five stories by as many authors display a wide range of style and subject matter - offering a...

Japanese Legends and Folklore invites English speakers into the intriguing world of Japanese folktales, ghost stories and historical eyewitness accounts. With a fascinating selection of stories about Japanese culture and people, A.B. Mitford - who lived...

From the author of Threading My Prayer Rug, an eye-opening view of life in Saudi Arabia.It's Not What You Think is a wry, incisive account of working in Saudi Arabia that offers insight into that insular patriarchal society, what is so attractive to...

A child who feels like an outsider in a world that's set against him. A boy who sings on the playground instead of playing soccer, who likes Barbies, and whose secretly favorite car is the one called Tutti Frutti. Gabriel Ebensperger shares with us his...

'Bob Batchelor writes with great eloquence and insight about the Doors, the greatest hard-rock band we have ever had, and through this book, we plunge deeply into the mystery that surrounds Jim Morrison. It is Batchelor's warmth and...

A documentary-style collection of stories, poems, essays, and interviews by Southeastern Native American women.Upon Her Shouldersis a collection of stories, poems, and prose by Southeastern Native American women whose narratives attest to the hard work...

The highly anticipated, first full-length essay collection from acclaimed poet Kiki Petrosino.Bright: A Memoir, the first full-length essay collection from acclaimed poet Kiki Petrosino, is a work of lyric nonfiction, offering glimpses of a life lived...

A harrowing and heartfelt essay collection weaving narratives about family, gun violence, art, and the American Dream.Two weeks before her grandfather purchased a gun, Ashley Marie Farmer's grandmother tripped as she walked across their living room. It...

The Mausoleum of Lovers comprises Guibert's journals, kept from 19761991. Functioning as an atelier, it forecasts the writing of a novel, which does not materialize as such; the journal itself - a mausoleum of lovers - comes to take its place. The...

Inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and featuring outstanding Indigenous writers, First Things First is an urgent, nuanced and robust call to listen, hear and respond to questions of constitutional recognition. Published in partnership with...

'I always thought I would get into painting, but I got waylaid by rock 'n' roll...' - Chrissie HyndeFeaturing oil paintings by Chrissie Hynde, Adding The Blue presents nearly 200 original artworks for the very first...

Over more than four decades J.R.R. Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, published some twenty-four volumes of his father's work, much more than his father had succeeded in publishing during his own lifetime. Standing on the mountain...

Linda shares her journey through almost every possible venue for theatre. From auspicious beginnings to regional theatre to Broadway, she has created a successful and fulfilling career. In this sensitive and beautifully written memoir, Linda reveals the...

An elegant, revealing portrait of a remarkable family that helped to shape the politics, arts and sciences of modern Britain.The Times hailed Richard Burdon Haldane as 'one of the most powerful ... intellects' British statesmanship had ever seen. His...

A vivid, richly informative biography of the medieval entrepreneur, social reformer and 'influencer' at court.The extraordinary story of Richard Whittington, from his arrival in London as a young boy to his death in 1423, against a backdrop of plague,...

After the 1993 Oslo Accords, a handful of Palestinians were allowed to return to their hometowns in Israel. Fida Jiryis and her family were among them.This beautifully written memoir tells the story of their journey, which is also the story of Palestine,...

'Oates takes you on an extraordinary journey from teenage rebellion, through the fight for African rights, to the top ranks of the British government. It's all the more extraordinary because the story is true his is a life lesson that...

This riveting work of narrative history vividly brings to life five charismatic and idiosyncratic men who, living within ninety miles of one another, changed the course of history through the invention and refinement of the repeating firearm - the...

Traitor or hero? Discover the truth behind the legendary Tokyo Rose.Tokyo Rose: Zero Hour tells the true story of Iva Toguri, a Japanese-American woman who was visiting her relatives in Tokyo shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor--and became caught...

A world of dew And within every dewdrop A world of struggleThe iconic three-line haiku form is increasingly popular today as people embrace its simplicity and grace-and its connections to the Japanese ethos of mindfulness and minimalism. Say more with...

A classic tale that will captivate lovers of Japan, history, and epic adventure alike.Japan's most celebrated tale of chivalry, loyalty and revenge and the basis for a Hollywood feature film starring Keanu Reaves 47 Ronin is the epic tale of a...

Japanese Folktales is Yei Theodora Ozaki's classic collection of twenty-two traditional Japanese stories. The book introduces the reader to the rich world of the Japanese imagination, a world of ghouls, goblins and ogres; sea serpents and sea kings;...

You might think you know what happened in the tragic shooting of Breonna Taylor, but no one knows that better than the lead officer on the scene, Sergeant John Mattingly.However, with the full support of the mainstream media, Black Lives Matter activists...

Quiet your mind, and the silence will help you hear your inner voice-the one that says,"Stay strong enough to forgive, to heal, and to have hope."In her stirring, vulnerable new memoir, Karena Dawn reveals what it was like to grow up with a mother...

Built-in audience eager for more content: The author's YouTube channel, MEPearlA, has 124,000 subscribers, with some videos amassing hundreds of thousands of views. The author will tap into this built-in, adoring audience to drive sales of her book,...

The first publication to catalog the complete works of architect and arts advocate Alfred Preis, a Viennese modernist who fled Nazi-occupied Austria and transformed regional Hawaiian architecture, with his best-known project being the USS ArizonaMemorial...

"Funny and whimsical. There are wonderful asides ... It is also poignant." -The New York TimesAn utterly charming book by beloved Parisian artist Pierre Le-Tan, filled with dazzling illustrations and intriguing tales about often eccentric art collectors...

Finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for NonfictionWinner of the 2022 Asian/Pacific American Award in LiteratureA TIME and NPR Best Book of the Year in 2021This evocative memoir of food and family history is "somehow both mouthwatering and...

The enormously entertaining memoir by One of the Great Artists of Our Time - Now a New York Times,USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller.In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and...

Winner of the Big Other Award in Translation Winner of MLA's 17th Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work Formally audacious and remarkably compelling, Yi Sang's works were uniquely situated amid the literary experiments of...

"The Duke is a harrowing tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, and a gripping read. Don't miss it."-T. J. English, New York Times bestselling author ofHavana NocturneAn American Gothic...In the early 1990s, Tommy Morrison, a young roughneck from Jay,...

In 1958, Michel Foucault arrived in Poland to work on his thesis-a work that eventually came to be published as The History of Madness. While he was there, he became involved with a number of members of the gay community, including a certain "Jurek," who...

THE RENOWNED TEACHER AND AUTHOR'S SPIRITUAL MEMOIR, AS TOLD THROUGH HIS LIFELONG ENCOUNTERS WITH ANIMALS AND NATUREThis book of sutras - wisdoms - provides spiritual and practical teachings on the importance of humanity's relationship with animals and...

The father of modern-day electricity and considered by some to be the ultimate "mad scientist," Nikola Tesla filed nearly 300 patents in his lifetime. Many of these patents resulted in functioning inventions; others were little more than wide-eyed...

Food is more than a matter of taste. From the comfort of the kitchen to the theatre of the restaurant, the glamour of the TV studio to the gloss of the cookbook page, the ways we frame and consume stories about food shape our cultural histories as much...

What can we learn about learning?Australians have one of the highest levels of educational attainment in the world, but not every Australian has access to a world-class education. What represents a 'good' education in a country with an...

A collection of letters discovered by chance in an old trunk, accompanied by cartoons and news clippings: the great historical interest of this collection gradually became apparent. The letters provide a vivid, first-hand account of life in the office of...

Age range 9 to 11These three short mystery tales from a collection of the greatest literary minds of all time Conan Doyle, Poe, and Maupassant make for an enjoyable yet spine chilling read. This volume includes Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of...

My Bloody Roots is the brutally honest story of life in two of the world's best-known heavy metal bands, Sepultura and Soulfly, by one of the global metal scene's most respected musicians. Max Cavalera has a unique and extraordinary story to tell, and My...

'The closest we'll ever get to a straight up Bowie autobiography - but who'd ever want anything straight-up from Bowie?' Rolling StoneIn 2002, David Bowie and Mick Rock created Moonage Daydream, the defining document of the life and times of Ziggy...