Secondhand Biographies

'An incredibly personal story...sad, but unbelievably funny' - Claudia Winkleman, BBC Radio 2 Arts Show'This memoir is gasp-out-loud, offensively funny, touching and a sure thing for anyone who likes David...

Introduced by newsreader, presenter, and Barnardo's president Natasha Kaplinsky, Letters From Lockdown features 100+ letters from celebrity names, COVID heroes, and a diverse range of members of the public, all...

Tucker Max drinks to excess at inappropriate times, disregards social norms, indulges every whim, takes no responsibility for his actions, rebels against any authority, mocks idiots and posers, sleeps with...

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what Chinese parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's...

Rupert Isaacson's The Horse Boy is one family's epic journey to rescue their son.Rupert and Kirstin Isaacson were heartbroken when they learned that their two-year-old son Rowan was autistic. And...

On 17 April 1986 a British television journalist was kidnapped in Beirut. His name was John McCarthy and he was to remain a hostage for the next five years. During...

I come from a country which was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke...

'For anyone who enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy or Educated, Unfollow is an essential text' - Louis Theroux'Such a moving, redemptive, clear-eyed account of religious indoctrination' - Pandora Sykes'A nuanced portrait of...

The heartbreaking and heartwarming true story of a mother dying of a cancer and the special gift she left for her husband and two young sons - it'll have you...

The whole world knows the face of the young man with the bright black eyes. He is in the process of becoming an icon, a symbol, similar to the famous...

This is the story of Doaa, an ordinary girl from a village in Syria, who in 2015 became one of five hundred people crammed on to a fishing boat setting...

A raw and powerful memoir of Jaycee Lee Dugard's own story of being kidnapped as an 11-year-old and held captive for over 18 years On 10 June 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee...

The Hero's Body is a memoir of what it means to be a man in modern America. At just forty-seven years old, William Giraldi's father was killed in a horrific...

A young girl is perched on the cold chrome of yet another doctor's examining table, missing yet another day of school. Just twelve, she's tall, skinny, and weak. It's four...

Thirteen years ago, Moab is my Washpot, Stephen Fry's autobiography of his early years, was published to rave reviews and was a huge bestseller. In those thirteen years since, Stephen...

The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller. At just eight years old, Jodie is violent, aggressive and extremely challenging. Five carers in four months have been unable to cope, but there...

She was a beautiful blond child, a quintessential Canadian teenager: she loved Saturday film matinees, giggled at pyjama parties, ran for student president, led the cheerleading squad, went steady with...

Ed Husain's The Islamist is the shocking inside story of British Islamic fundamentalism, told by a former radical. 'When I was sixteen I became an Islamic fundamentalist. Five years later,...

With an introduction by Eimear McBrideA devastatingly powerful, moving and uplifting memoir - now a classic of its genre - that inspired others to tell their own true life stories.When...

The world needs new ideas, new products, new kinds of associations and institutions, new initiatives, new art and new designs. But these new things seldom come from established organisations. They...

Russell Brand grew up in Essex . His father left when he was three months old, he was bulimic at 12 and left school at 16 to study at the...

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As a child Susan struggled at school and spent many years dreaming of being noticed at local talent shows. The death of her mother and the strength of her faith...

When the Taliban took control of Kabul, Kamila Sidiqi and all the women of Kabul saw their lives transformed. Overnight, they were banned from schools and offices and even forbidden...

The incredible and inspirational true story of one young man's struggle to find peace during war, and the power of music to bring hope to a desperate nation. 'Ahmad has...

From the author of 'Stuart: A Life Backwards'; a warm and witty portrait of a harmless, eccentric, bona fide genius. Alexander Master's landlord, Simon, lives in the basement of their...

A unique biography of a homeless man and a complete portrait of the hidden underclass. 'So here it is, my attempt at the story of Stuart Shorter, thief, hostage taker,...

An intimate portrait of an everyday genius. As Aristotle understood it, 'there is no great genius without a mixture of madness' and he may well have had a point: Einstein...

The son of a deranged Italian immigrant, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was the most celebrated of English clowns. The first to use white-face make-up and wear outrageous coloured clothes, he completely...

This book tells the story of the Grimaldi family and their small principality of Monaco, from their 12th-century origins as Genoese pirates to the current ruler, Prince Rainier III. During...

In the early 1960s, Anne Watts was a newly qualified nurse, eager to use her skills. Her father expected her to work locally, not too far from North Wales, where...

Beautiful and charismatic, the daughter of one of Pakistan's most popular leaders -- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, hanged by General Zia in 1979 -- Benazir Bhutto is not only the first...

Bill Hicks was arguably the most influential stand-up comedian of the last 30 years. He was funny, out of hand, impossible to ignore and genuinely disturbing. His work has inspired...

It's late on Friday night when Casey's mobile starts to ring. She is expecting it to be her daughter Riley. But it isn't Riley. It's a woman from the Emergency...

Fourteen-year-old Adrianna arrives on Casey's doorstep with no possessions, no English, and no explanation. It will be a few weeks before Casey starts getting the shocking answers to her questions.......

The true story of 2 year-old Anna, abandoned by her natural parents, left alone in a neglected orphanage. Elaine and Ian had travelled half way round the world to adopt...

One forgotten street, 12 unforgettable women. ''Ang on boy, Joan's got sumfink to show yer.' She rummaged in a drawer for a moment, pulled out a piece of paper and...

One of the most photographed women in Britain, Coleen knows what it's like to live in the celebrity glare. Since she was a teenager the press have followed her every...

'The political memoir of the decade' Sunday Times The referendum on Britain's membership of the EU is one of the most controversial political events of our times. For the first...

David Lovelace, along his brother and both his parents, is bipolar. This is his extraordinary and vivid memoir of life within his memorable, maddening, loving and unique family. Full Blown...

For Patrick Melrose, `family' is more than a double-edged sword. As friends, relations and foes trickle in to pay final respects to his mother, Eleanor - an heiress who forsook...

________________'Like Eat, Pray, Love, her follow-up ... feels irresistibly confessional ... I found myself guzzling Committed, reading it in mighty chunks, far into the night. Whenever I put it down,...