Buy used & second hand Biography & Memoir

Critic and bestselling author Joe Queenan had made a career of being vicious -- then he decided to be nice. The result is a biting, hilarious tale of a very bad man's attempts to be good.Years upon years of being unspeakably nasty to icons as diverse as Jimmy Carter, Barbra Streisand, and even Mothe...

In a memoir hailed for its searing candor and wit, Alice Sebold reveals how her life was utterly transformed when, as an eighteen-year-old college freshman, she was brutally raped ad beaten in a park near campus. What propels this chronicle of her recovery is Sebold's indomitable spirit - as she str...

Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and The Yiddish Policeman's Union, offers his first major work of nonfiction, an autobiographical narrative as inventive, beautiful and powerful as his novels. A shy manifesto; an impractical handbook; the true ...

An autobiographical portrait of Stephen King's home life, his family and his traumatic recent accident. He offers an insight into his world as well as analysis, advice and instruction on writing. Find out what books and films influenced the young writer, his first idea for a story, the true life tal...

Jimi Hendrix continues to fascinate, and sell huge quantities of albums, even 35 years after his death. Quite apart from his influence on musicians and fans, a large part of the appeal of his sensational life story lies in the thrill of the era whose values he came to stand for. The Sixties still ex...

Neil Young is one of rock and roll's most important, influential and enigmatic figures, an intensely reticent artist who has granted no writer access to his inner sanctum - until now. Shakey is the whole story of Young's incredible life and career: from his childhood in Canada to the founding of fol...

A riotous collection of memoirs which explores the absurd hilarity of modern life and creates a wickedly incisive portrait of an all-too-familiar world. It takes Sedaris from his humiliating bout with obsessive behaviour in 'A Plague of Tics' to the title story, where he is finally forced to face hi...

""When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood...

"I didn't decide to become anorexic. It snuck up on me disguised as a healthy diet, a professional attitude. Although there was a certain glamour to anorexics, I didn't want to be one. I just wanted to excel in dieting. And weighing in at 80 pounds on 300 calories a day, I was the best little die...

Peter Leitch, aka The Mad Butcher, is a legend in his own lifetime - a larger-than-life character who left school at 15 and went on to build a nationwide chain of successful butchers shops and a reputation as a foul-mouthed league supporter with a heart of gold. Behind the scenes he contributed time...

You don't have to win the Tour de France to live life like a champion What drives someone like Lance Armstrong to consistent and phenomenal success? Is it something you're born with, or is it something you can acquire, develop, and perfect? Lance Armstrong's longtime friend Brad Kearns has spent yea...

On 2 March 1989 ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was snatched off the street by a stranger and bundled into a white van. Hours later she found herself in a dark cellar, wrapped in a blanket. When she emerged eight years later, her childhood had gone. In "3,096 Days" Natascha tells her incredible story...

In September 2007, a packed courtroom in St. George, Utah, sat hushed as Elissa Wall, the star witness against polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs, gave captivating testimony of how Jeffs forced her to marry her first cousin at age fourteen. This harrowing and vivid account proved to be the most com...

From one of the greatest rock guitarists of our era comes a memoir that redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. The long-awaited, never-before-told, no-holds-barred memoir from the legendary Guns N' Roses guitarist. Finally, all the lurid tales of sex, drugs and rock n' roll are revealed as Slas...

Duane 'Dog' Chapman entertains and inspires millions on Dog the Bounty Hunter, his top-rated TV show, but there is more to his story. From troubled beginnings and tragedy, to triumph and transformation, he reveals all in this no-holds-barred memoir. Dog spent the early years of his life on the wrong...

Dark Sun is the remarkable story of self-confessed 'vagabond' George Dibbern. Following internment on Somes Island in Wellington Harbour in World War I, 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...

The wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of a very brave and clever TV presenter, Arctic Explorer and general drawer of the Short Straw. Moving quickly on from the devastating crash that nearly killed him he ranges widely over his life and times: a visit to Glastonbury with James May reminds o...

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they bought home Marley, a wiggly yellow fur ball of a puppy. Life would never be the same. Marley quickly grew into a barrelling, ninety-seven pound ste...

"Plenty of thrills for the armchair traveller...captivating". -- PeopleMany people go to the sea in boats, but few of them write as movingly about the experience as Peter Nichols does in this enthralling meditation on the wonders of sailing, the mystery of the sea, and the ebbs and flows of love. Wi...

"It's all devastatingly true - except the bits that are lies. - Douglas AdamsDon't Panic celebrates the life of an ape-descended human called Douglas Adams who, in a field in Innsbruck in 1971, had an idea.This is also the story of what that idea became: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - the or...

In an exhilarating tale of historic adventure, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Confederates in the Attic" retraces the voyages of Captain James Cook, the Yorkshire farm boy who drew the map of the modern world Captain James Cook's three epic journeys in the 18th century were the last great vo...

If you want an Herm's Birkin bag, be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. After more than twenty years, the iconic Birkin remains the ultimate status symbol and probably the most coveted accessory of all time. The supposed 'wait list' is two years long, and when Herm's calls, they may not even offe...

Imprint. A humorous and poignant collection of essays on life, love, marriage, child-rearing, show business, having parents, being a parent, spouse rage, surviving fame, success - and the shame of underarm flab! The co-star of Everybody Loves Raymond pours out her heart and minces no words.

James Dean died on 30th September 1955, aged 24. At the time of his fatal accident he had just completed "Giant", his third film after "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause". Yet from this meagre career a legend was born that shows no sign of abating. He is a classic American icon, surpassed onl...

A timely collection of inspiring tales, "The Kindness of Strangers" explores the unexpected human connections that so often transform the experience of travel, and celebrates the gift of kindness around the world.

'Branson bares his soul - and everything else - in a non-fiction blockbuster…a must read' Business Age Compelling. Brilliant. Revealing. Funny. Inspirational. Extraordinary. Sir Richard Branson's amazing memoir is now updated to include the effect on the Virgin Group of 11 September, his v...

On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in history when Captain Chelsley 'Sully' Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the surface of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers and crew aboard. His cool actions not onl...

Whether he's administering a double knee face breaker (a.k.a. The Codebreaker) or telling the story of some of his favorite matches, you can't ignore Chris Jericho. The controversial former WWE intercontinental champion obviously enjoys being the center of attention and in this standalone sequel to ...

A book for chicks of all ages who sometimes get it wrong but keep on trying anyway . . . When celebrity broadcaster and columnist Kerre Woodham became the Short Fat Chick who runs marathons, she changed lives. Hugely successful, her first book is now followed by a funny, inspiring and devastating...

A harrowing memoir of life with manic depression. All In My Head reveals the terrible reality of the condition and it's devastating impact on the life of a young woman. 'When I'm manic all I remember is the moment. When I'm depressed all I remember is the pain.' Terri Cheney Terri Cheney's story s...

A strange, beautiful account of a woman's intimate encounters with the people, places and politics of a rich yet crumbling culture.Table of Contents1. Hell and its prospects2. The enchanted forest3. Letter from St Petersburg4. Man with a video camera5. Museum of my dreams6. Raskolnikov on a white ni...

"He just gets right the fuck in there. . . . Every drop of sweat, every molecule of saliva, every out-of-place nose hair, it all gets captured cuz he's just fucking there."—Lars Ulrich Legendary music photographer Ross Halfin has documented Metallica for nearly 25 years, from the...

One of the key bands of the Seattle-based grunge movement of the 1990s, Pearl Jam broke on to the world stage with their album, Ten, which went on to become an alternative rock classic. For over two decades Pearl Jam have been one of the most influential and popular bands on the planet, but have mai...

One of pioneers of modern music in New Zealand, Ray Columbus began his career in 1959 at the tender age of 17. After more than four decades at the top of the New Zealand entertainment industry as a singer, songwriter, bandleader and TV star, and having penned such classics such as 'She's a Mod' and ...

Robert Long and his family - wife Catherine, and children Christan (17) and Robyn (14) - live in complete isolation, in a hut two days' walk south of Haast in South Westland. Robert has lived there for nearly 30 years; Catherine for 20 and the kids all their lives. Their only contact with the outsid...

One of the world's greatest footballers finally tells his story in his own words Sometimes I think that my whole life is on film, that my whole life is in print. But it's not like that, there are things which are only in my heart - that no one knows. At last I have decided to tell everything Diego A...

Tiger Woods has won the US Amateur title three times in a row, three USPGA tournaments within six years of turning professional, and the US Masters by a record margin. Here his father, Earl Woods, offers a personal look at the philosophy, instruction and training that went into raising Tiger.

A lavishly illustrated tribute to the greatest entertainer of a generation. 'The world has lost one of the greats but his music will live on forever' - Madonna. Michael Jackson was the undisputed King of Pop and his untimely death has provoked tributes from around the world. With a colourful life sp...