CATALOGUES - Biography - Biography

Join Truffles, a little chocolate poodle with a huge heart, as he goes from being an awkward puppy in a pen to a very special dog. Along the way, we meet his friends and share in his ups and downs as he discovers his big purpose. This is one tale you don’t want to miss!

He's faced his own execution, been fingered as an assassin, and had guns jammed to his stomach and head. John Scully's remarkable career as a television journalist has taken him to seventy countries and enabled him to create award-winning news stories and documentaries for such giants as the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Dramatic, deeply insightful, and often hilarious, Am I Dead Yet? A Journalist's Perspective on Terrorism points out just how little Americans have learned from history.

"This book is a must for those concerned about the state of the media and the world. When it comes to revealing the history, players, and complexities of the history behind the news, Scully has carved out his own special brand of c, a].vvvvvvvvvoverage that sets the bar high for journalists."
-- "Foreword Magazine"

"An astonishing personal record of war reporting, especially war reporting, in "the free world" a..read more

Examining his roles as warrior, scholar, spy master, and diplomat, this chronicle of Colonel Bill Eddy's life details the origin and early development of the U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relationship and its implications on present-day Middle East policy. From his birth in the Presbyterian missionary community in Lebanon to his service in intelligence operations in World Wars I and II to his involvement in academia and his close friendship with Abdul Aziz ibn Saud--the founding king of Saudi Arabia--this narrative traces the unheralded Ma... read more

Capturing the essence of this exceptional individual through his original writings and hands-on activities from his era, this resource tells the rich story of one of America's most celebrated Founding Fathers. Beginning with his time as a young printer, this engaging narrative details how Benjamin Franklin became a celebrity with the publication of "Poor Richard: An Almanack" and how he founded the colonies' first lending library, volunteer fire company, and postal service. Additionally, his life in science is also highlighted, fro... read more

Gr 6-8-A good introduction to the history of the civil rights movement. In a clear, objective style, Taylor covers the early life, education, and accomplishments of seven black leaders, emphasizing the various social movements each spearheaded. The author also includes peripheral information about other influential players in the battle for equality. The chapter on Malcolm X, for example, has brief introductions to Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammed, John F. Kennedy, and the Ku Klux Klan. While all of this is helpful, it could prove co... read more

Bob Dylan turns 70 in May 2011. The man himself may pay it little heed - 'age don't carry weight', he sings in a recent song - but a lot of other people will mark the occasion. One place that's sure to see some parties is New York City, where 50 winters ago a scruffy kid called Bobby Zimmerman blew into town. During the subsequent decade or two, New York returned the favour, inspiring, provoking, and liberating the kid to become what he could not have become anywhere else. As detailed in this book, Dylan created sounds and words th... read more

"The city influenced the man and the man helped shape the city in the early '60s, and you can read about all of that in this informative and fanciful book." --www.curledup.com "Sawyers' compact book is a primer for those who are unfamiliar with Bob Dylan and a cherry atop a hot fudge sundae for those who can recite every lyric to every song." —www.examiner.com (May 24, 2011) "Good for basic armchair amusement and for adding factoids to your Dylan-lore; as a Dylan fan . . . you'll absolutely adore Bob Dylan New York." —www.antimusic.com (May 11, 2011) "A must-read..read more

Updated 2nd Edition In the two and a half years since the first edition appeared, events have unfolded as predicted. In 2005 the consensus among forecasters was that the boom in house prices would cool to an annual 2 or 3% rise over the following years. In fact, in keeping with the 'winner's curse' phase of the cycle described by the author, prices have risen by more than 10% per annum. The author reveals that the government's monetary policy only has a marginal impact on land speculation, but as the Bank of England raises in... read more

A powerful, true story and inspirational guide. Within the context of an extremely aggressive disease, the author blossomed. This book is her effort to share her lessons with readers, whether they are well or ill.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, and the other books in C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles are among the most beloved in children's literature. In a strong and moving narrative, Narnia's readers are introduced to "Plain Jack" Lewis and are able to explore his life as a scholar, his friendships with writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, the Christianity that underlies his writing, and the great love story of his final years. Lewis's personal story is as fascinating as the books with which he has delighted genera... read more

The life of this iconic New Zealand artist and the influence he had on those he worked with and those he taught. First published July 1997

Confessions of a Las Vegas Motor Cop is an outrageous, fun, funny and entertaining romp through the experience of a NHP Motor Trooper. Everything you could ever imagine that is supposed ‘to stay in Vegas’ comes pouring out in this incredible and often stunning confessional straight from the experiences of a Vegas motor cop. You will not be able to put this page-turner down, as you read stories from a stripper who lacks modesty to crazy criminals who flirt with gun play, and from just stupid people who do dumb things to... read more

Filled with the shocking and private details known only to massage parlor workers, this confessional tale offers a voyeuristic look inside a quickly growing industry. Humor is provided by personal recountings of every type of customer and request imaginable, from CEOs to the local janitor, while stories of the dysfunctional family created by the women who work there together give depth and a bit of reality to life in this shadowy, subversive, surreal world.

Dark Sun is the remarkable story of self-confessed "vagabond", George Dibbern. Following internment on Soames Islamd, Wellington Harbour in World War 1, he returned to his native Germany where for ten years he struggled unsuccessfully to find employment and to adapt to the role of husband and father. In 1930, with his 32ft ketch, Te Rapunga, he broke free from the impending scourge of Nazism, and the conventions and constraints of society. He was to roam the pacific for the next thirty years - interrupted only by a second internme... read more

The fascinating professional and personal life of one of today’s most talented actresses is revealed in this biography of Diana Rigg, one of the sexiest women ever to grace the television screen. Rigg’s high-profile roles are detailed—from the brilliant and seductive British agent Emma Peel in The Avengers to one of the most intelligent and impressive of James Bond’s women (and the only one who actually gets to marry him) in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Rigg’s time with the Royal Shakespeare Compan... read more

Going far beyond the standard imagery of Rasta—ganja, reggae, and dreadlocks—this cultural history offers an uncensored vision of a movement with complex roots and the exceptional journey of a man who taught an enslaved people how to be proud and impose their culture on the world. In the 1920s Leonard Percival Howell and the First Rastas had a revelation concerning the divinity of Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia, that established the vision for the most popular mystical movement of the 20th century, Rastafarianism. Altho... read more

From Age to Age is the first translation, into any language, of a memoir that has been passed from hand to hand for generations. Written in Hindi by an attorney of northern India, initially published half a century ago, From Age to Age is Mishra’s record “meticulous, matter-of-fact, brief and erudite” of the ravishing presence of the figure first introduced to the West in the now-classic Autobiography of a Yogi. There, He was Mahavatar Babaji, the Yogi-Christ of Modern India; here, we follow the author on jour... read more

Jack Clyde was born in Glasgow in the early fifties. His father was a cab-driver and, in time, a fleet owner, so he was born into the trade and from an early age was enlisted to help clean the cabs. As he grew he too became a cab-driver, and this is his account of a working lifetime spent driving the citizens of Glasgow from place to place.

Dop 2001 Biography of Nga Puhi: warrior chief in the unsettled 1840's.A captivating account of the life of Hone Heke, first to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, then feller of the flagpole who at one stage seemed to hold the future of the young colony in his hand. First published 2001.

A unique blend of memoir and literary portraiture, I Wish You Love: Conversations with Marlene Dietrich is a moving account of the author''s remarkable friendship with one of Hollywood''s greatest legends. As a young man living in Paris in the 1980s, Eryk Hanut on a whim wrote the by-then reclusive Dietrich after seeing her films and hearing her songs. To his surprise, she telephoned him a few days later, ushering in a surprisingly intimate friendship that encompassed the last years of her life. In their frequent conversations, Die... read more

J. R. R. Tolkien, the beloved author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is consistently voted the finest writer in the English language. In this lavishly illustrated biography, author Michael Coren tells the story of the man behind the books. From his early days in South Africa and the untimely death of his parents, to his Oxford years and his long, loving years with his wife and children, Tolkien's life was coloured by his extra-ordinary imagination. Tolkien continues to inspire generation after generation of readers... read more