Böcker av David Bramwell

Explore the extraordinary stories behind some of the greatest - and strangest - adventures and explorations in human history.

Funny, poetic and touching, The Haunted Moustache is the fantastical and 83% true story of a unique inheritance: a hundred-year-old moustache. Receiving this curio from an eccentric aunt, David Bramwell embarks on a ten-year journey to discover all he can about its former owner. His quest draws him into the underbelly of Brighton - its seances, spiritual churches and a seedy basement club - where he unwittingly becomes host to a modern-day freakshow. Against a backdrop of occultism, caravan parks and counter-culture icons, The Haunted Moustache is mischevious and supernatural.

'I LOVE THE BOOK... A BRILLIANT READ' Chris Evans, Radio 2 Breakfast Show'This book, that I approached with caution, turns out to be magnificent. Tested it with the Moondog entry. Passed A+' Danny Baker, Radio 5LiveA CELEBRATION OF CURIOSITY AND OBSESSIONStep into a world of gloriously unpredictable characters such as Ivor Cutler, Quentin Crisp, Joe Orton, Reginald Bray, Ken Campbell, Screaming Lord Sutch, Sun Ra, Buckminster Fuller, Timothy Leary and Ayn Rand.The Odditorium is a playful re-telling of history, told not through the lens of its victors, but through the fascinating stories of a wealth of individuals who, while lesser-known, are no less remarkable.Throughout its pages you'll learn about the antics and adventures of tricksters, eccentrics, deviants and inventors. While their stories range from heroic failures to great hoaxes, one thing unites them - they all carved their own path through life. Each protagonist exemplifies the human spirit through their dogged determination, willingness to take risks, their unflinching obsession and, often, a good dollop of eccentricity.Learn about Reginald Bray (1879-1939), a Victorian accountant who sent over 30,000 singular objects through the mail, including himself; Muriel Howorth (1886-1971), the housewife who grew giant peanuts using atomic energy; and Elaine Morgan (1920-2013), a journalist who battled a tirade of prejudice to pursue an aquatic-based theory of human evolution, which is today being championed by David Attenborough. While many of us are content to lead a conventional life, with all of its comfort and security, The Odditorium reminds us of the characters who felt compelled to carve their own path, despite risking ostracism, failure, ridicule and madness. Outsider artists, linguists, scientists, time travellers and architects all feature in The Odditorium, each of whom risked ostracism, ridicule and even madness in pursuit of carving their own esoteric path, changing the world in wonderful ways.'BRAMWELL CLEARLY HAS AN EYE FOR THE ODDBALL AND ARCANE' The Guardian

When David Bramwell's girlfriend left him for someone she described as 'younger, but more mature than you', he decided he had something to learn about giving. Taking a year off, he journeyed through Europe and America seeking out extraordinary communities that could teach him how to share. He wanted answers to a few troubling questions: Is modern life rubbish? Why do so many of us feel lonely and unfulfilled despite a high standard of living? Are there communities out there who hold the key to happiness? And if so, why do so many of their inhabitants insist on dressing in tie-dye? His quest led him to an anarchist haven in the heart of Copenhagen; some hair-raising experiences in free love communities; an epiphany in a spiritual caravan park in Scotland and an apparent paradise in a Californian community dreamed up by Aldous Huxley. Most impressive of all was Damanhur, a 1000-strong science fiction- style community in the Alps with an underground temple the size of St Paul's Cathedral, a village of tree houses and a 'fully-functioning time machine'. Inspired, he returned home with a desire to change. Not just himself but also his neighbourhood and city. Find out how he succeeded in this wry and self-deprecatingly funny spiritual journey that asks some big questions and finds the answers surprisingly simple.