Biografier

From one of America's iconic writers, a portrait of a marriage and a life - in good times and bad - that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child. A stunning book of electric honesty and passion.Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana, fall ill. At first they thought it was flu, then pneumonia, then complete sceptic shock. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later - the night before New Year's Eve -the Dunnes were just sitting down to dinner after visiting the hospital when John suffered a massive and fatal coronary. In a second, this close, symbiotic partnership of 40 years was over. Four weeks later, their daughter pulled through. Two months after that, arriving at LA airport, she collapsed and underwent six hours of brain surgery at UCLA Medical Centre to relieve a massive hematoma.This powerful book is Didion's 'attempt to make sense of the weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness ... about marriage and children and memory ... about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself'. The result is an exploration of an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage, and a life, in good times and bad.

The true story of a teenage punk from Yorkshire, seemingly existing on a diet of cider, parties and loud music, rose to the top in the toughest sports.

Back on the earth after three spaceflights, Chris Hadfield's captivating memoir An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth reveals extraordinary stories from his life as an astronaut, and shows how to make the impossible a reality.Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' in space. The secret to Chris Hadfield's success - and survival - is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst - and enjoy every moment of it.In his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Chris Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement - and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counter-intuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Colonel Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights in this book will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth - especially your own.

The autobiography of one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.

A fascinating deep-dive into the minds of killers and criminals from the creators of the UK's number one true crime podcast, Redhanded.

The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the UK's number one true crime podcast, RedHanded!What is it about killers, cults, and cannibals that capture our imaginations even as they terrify and disturb us? How do we carefully consume these cases and what can they teach us about what makes victims and their murderers our collective responsibility?RedHanded rejects the outdated narrative of killers as monsters and that a victim 'was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.' Instead, it dissects the stories of killers in a way that challenges perceptions and asks the hard questions about society, gender, poverty, culture, and even our politics.With Bala and Maguire's trademark humour, research on real-life cases, and unflinching analysis of what makes a criminal, the authors take you through the societal, behavioural, and cultural drivers of the most extreme of human behaviour to find out once and for all: what makes a killer tick?

A deeply honest investigation of what it means to be a woman and a commodity from Emily Ratajkowski, the archetypal, multi-hyphenate celebrity of our time.

Read this book as the ultimate Beatles' fantasy tour of their magickal mystery! This book (for those who do not already have these chapters of the Memoirs of Billy Shears) sets you on your journey through their alternate reality that runs parallel to traditional thinking. It is your initiation into the Beatles' magickal world, as told from Billy's perspective, bringing you into the circle of those who know the mystery of how he obtained McCartney's role and estate, and of how he took the creative control of John's world-famous band.

A stylish reissue of the bestselling contemporary classic, winner of the 2004 Samuel Johnson Prize.

"A dynamic group biography studded with design history and high-society dash . . . [This] elegantly wrought narrative bears the Cartier hallmark."-The EconomistThe "astounding" (André Leon Talley) story of the family behind the Cartier empire and the three brothers who turned their grandfather's humble Parisian jewelry store into a global luxury icon-as told by a great-granddaughter with exclusive access to long-lost family archives"Ms. Cartier Brickell has done her grandfather proud."-The Wall Street Journal The Cartiers is the revealing tale of a jewelry dynasty-four generations, from revolutionary France to the 1970s. At its heart are the three Cartier brothers whose motto was "Never copy, only create" and who made their family firm internationally famous in the early days of the twentieth century, thanks to their unique and complementary talents: Louis, the visionary designer who created the first men's wristwatch to help an aviator friend tell the time without taking his hands off the controls of his flying machine; Pierre, the master dealmaker who bought the New York headquarters on Fifth Avenue for a double-stranded natural pearl necklace; and Jacques, the globe-trotting gemstone expert whose travels to India gave Cartier access to the world's best rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, inspiring the celebrated Tutti Frutti jewelry. Francesca Cartier Brickell, whose great-grandfather was the youngest of the brothers, has traveled the world researching her family's history, tracking down those connected with her ancestors and discovering long-lost pieces of the puzzle along the way. Now she reveals never-before-told dramas, romances, intrigues, betrayals, and more. The Cartiers also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the firm's most iconic jewelry-the notoriously cursed Hope Diamond, the Romanov emeralds, the classic panther pieces-and the long line of stars from the worlds of fashion, film, and royalty who wore them, from Indian maharajas and Russian grand duchesses to Wallis Simpson, Coco Chanel, and Elizabeth Taylor. Published in the two-hundredth anniversary year of the birth of the dynasty's founder, Louis-François Cartier, this book is a magnificent, definitive, epic social history shown through the deeply personal lens of one legendary family.

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER From Michael Dell, renowned founder and chief executive of one of America’s largest technology companies, the inside story of the battles that defined him as a leaderIn 1984, soon-to-be college dropout Michael Dell hid signs of his fledgling PC business in the bathroom of his University of Texas dorm room. Almost 30 years later, at the pinnacle of his success as founder and leader of Dell Technologies, he found himself embroiled in a battle for his company’s survival. What he’d do next could ensure its legacy—or destroy it completely. Play Nice But Win is a riveting account of the three battles waged for Dell Technologies: one to launch it, one to keep it, and one to transform it. For the first time, Dell reveals the highs and lows of the company''s evolution amidst a rapidly changing industry—and his own, as he matured into the CEO it needed. With humor and humility, he recalls the mentors who showed him how to turn his passion into a business; the competitors who became friends, foes, or both; and the sharks that circled, looking for weakness. What emerges is the long-term vision underpinning his success: that technology is ultimately about people and their potential. More than an honest portrait of a leader at a crossroads, Play Nice But Win is a survival story proving that while anyone with technological insight and entrepreneurial zeal might build something great—it takes a leader to build something that lasts. 

A funny, charming autobiography by one of our biggest and best-loved comedians, Michael McIntyre.

‿These guitars have been really good tools; they‿re not just museum pieces. They all have a soul and they all come alive.‿ ‿ Eric Clapton‿In his own words, Clapton tells his story through the history of his instruments.‿ ‿ Rolling StoneIn Six-String Stories Eric Clapton reflects on a legendary career as told through the tools of his trade: his guitars. Collected together here for the first time are the instruments Clapton sold in three record-breaking auctions between 1999 and 2011 to benefit the Crossroads treatment centre he founded in 1998. Featuring some of the most famous guitars ever played, Clapton guides the reader through nearly 300 instruments as he discusses their provenance, reveals insights about his own playing, and shares anecdotes from each chapter of his spectacular life in music. ‿One by one these guitars were the chapters of my life. They belong to a very well-loved family.‿ ‿ Eric ClaptonSix-String Stories presents a ‿family tree‿ that makes connections between iconic instruments, such as Clapton‿s famous ‿Blackie‿ Stratocaster, and previously unknown rarities, placing them in the chronology of his career. Clapton recalls the instruments he bought to emulate his heroes, the guitars with unknown origins that became their own legend, the ones that never left his side, and the legacy they left behind. Every piece has been individually photographed, revealing every curve, detail and scratch, while the work of over 80 of the world‿s best rock photographers shows the instruments in play. See Clapton‿s evolution from the psychedelic Sixties, through the stripped-back Seventies, electric Eighties, and unplugged Nineties, right up to the sale of the last guitar. ‿As an avid rock or blues fan, I would look at all the pictures in this book.‿ ‿ Eric ClaptonHistorical and technical information for each piece in the collection ‿ including playlists and concert dates for those instruments used on records and at public appearances ‿ completes the story behind each guitar. ‿The guitars are things of great beauty.‿ ‿ Eric ClaptonÂ

Already winning acclaim as one of the best accounts of combat ever written, Black Hawk Down is a minute-by-minute, heart-stopping account of the 1993 raid on Mogadishu, Somalia.

An intensive-care doctor reveals the long-term problems caused by ICUs, and how these can be prevented.Thousands of people are admitted to intensive-care units (ICUs) every day, and this is only increasing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of these admissions will be sudden, unexpected, and harrowing ¿ an experience that can alter patients and their families in physical, emotional, and spiritual ways, with effects that endure for years. But there is hope.Dr Ely is a leading ICU doctor. His unconventional methods minimise patients being harmed by the cutting-edge technologies that are saving their lives; post¿intensive care syndrome (PICS) is a well-established complication that millions of ICU survivors battle, which Dr Ely aims to eradicate. His cutting-edge studies have convinced doctors around the world to change their ICU practices for the better.Through captivating stories, Dr Ely shows how he and colleagues from around the world have re-introduced humanity into the ICU, creating pathways that bring hope and healing to healthcare. This is the future of medicine, and is a must-read for healthcare professionals, patients, and their families.

A charming and heartfelt story about war, art, and the lengths a woman will go to to find the truth about her family.'As devourable as a thriller... Incredibly moving' Elle'Pauline Baer de Perignon is a natural storyteller - refreshingly honest, curious and open' Menachem KaiserIt all started with a list of paintings. There, scribbled by a cousin she hadn't seen for years, were the names of the masters whose works once belonged to her great-grandfather, Jules Strauss: Renoir, Monet, Degas, Tiepolo and more. Pauline Baer de Perignon knew little to nothing about Strauss, or about his vanished, precious art collection.But the list drove her on a frenzied trail of research in the archives of the Louvre and the Dresden museums, through Gestapo records, and to consult with Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano. What happened in 1942? And what became of the collection after Nazis seized her great-grandparents' elegant Parisian apartment?The quest takes Pauline Baer de Perignon from the Occupation of France to the present day as she breaks the silence around the wrenching experiences her family never fully transmitted, and asks what art itself is capable of conveying over time.

The international literary icon opens his eclectic closet: Here are photographs of Murakami's extensive and personal T-shirt collection, accompanied by essays that reveal a side of the writer rarely seen by the public.

Record of Wilberforce's spiritual life