Biografier

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER'Chris Broad explores Japan in all its quirky glory..Endlessly fascinating!'Will Ferguson, author of Hokkaido Highway Blues'Carves a unique path across Japan bringing him into contact with far too many cats, heartening renewal in Tohoku, and even pizza with Ken Watanabe.'Iain Maloney, author of The Only Gaijin in the Village'Fascinating, fact-packed and very funny..An excellent and enjoyable read for the Japan-curious. I loved it and learned a lot.'Sam Baldwin, author of For Fukui's Sake: Two years in rural JapanWhen Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history?Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that came with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most complex cultures.Spanning ten years and all forty-seven prefectures, Chris takes us from the lush rice fields of the countryside to the frenetic neon-lit streets of Tokyo. With blockbuster moments such as a terrifying North Korean missile incident, a mortifying experience at a love hotel and a week spent with Japan's biggest movie star, Abroad in Japan is an extraordinary and informative journey through the Land of the Rising Sun.Number one Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023. Cover may vary.

Beyond the Story is an intriguing novel written by the acclaimed author, Bts. Published by MACMILLAN USA in 2023, this book takes readers on a journey that transcends the traditional narrative. The genre of the book is hard to pin down, as it seamlessly blends elements of mystery, adventure, and drama in a way that is both refreshing and captivating. As the title suggests, Beyond the Story goes beyond the surface, delving deep into the complexities of life and human nature. The author, Bts, has a knack for creating vivid, relatable characters that readers can't help but root for. Despite being a relatively new release, the book has already garnered a significant amount of attention and praise. If you're looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you think, Beyond the Story is a must-read. Published by the reputable MACMILLAN USA, this book is a testament to Bts's storytelling prowess and creative genius.

The definitive biography that unlocks the remarkable story of Vivian Maier, the nanny who lived secretly as a world-class photographer, featuring nearly 400 of her images, many never seen before, placed for the first time in the context of her life.

From established sports journalist Ben Hunt, the very first biography of the up-and-coming British driver Lando Norris, published on the brink of the British Grand Prix.As the youngest ever British Formula 1 driver, Lando Norris is trailblazing his way through the world of motor racing. After signing as a junior driver for McLaren in 2017, he has since asserted himself as the team''s brightest talent and an aspiring world champion.Born to British and Belgian parents and raised in the idylls of south-west England, Lando''s childhood reflects how even the calmest of upbringings can create an adrenaline junkie. As one of a new cohort of young drivers seeking to assert their dominance in the sport, Lando is a uniquely modern sportsman, who celebrates learning and personal development, but who nonetheless has the killer instinct required to take him to the very pinnacle of F1.In Lando Norris, motor sport aficionado and journalist Ben Hunt draws on his extensive driver and paddock access to seek to understand what makes Lando tick and examines how this young British driver has been well and truly raised in the mould of a champion.

Getting Lost is the diary kept by Annie Ernaux during the year and a half she had a secret love affair with a younger, married man, an attache to the Soviet embassy in Paris. Her novel, Simple Passion, was based on this affair, but here her writing is immediate and unfiltered. In these diaries it is 1989 and Annie is divorced with two grown sons, living in the suburbs of Paris and nearing fifty. Her lover escapes the city to see her there and Ernaux seems to survive only in expectation of these encounters. She cannot write, she trudges distractedly through her various other commitments in the world, she awaits his next call; she lives merely to feel desire and for the next rendezvous. When he is gone and the moment of desire has faded, she feels that she is a step closer to death.Lauded for her spare prose, Ernaux here removes all artifice, her writing pared down to its most naked and vulnerable. Translated brilliantly for the first time by Alison L. Strayer,Getting Lostis a haunting record of a woman in the grips of love, desire and despair.

A guided journal filled with prompts, quotes, exercises, and plenty of space to write as you tap into your inner power to manifest your desires and create the life of your dreams. "Nothing merely shows up in your experience. You attract it--all of it. No exceptions."-Abraham-Hicks With the power of positive thinking, your thoughts become your reality. Use the ideas and exercises in this book to practice sending out and attracting more positive energy into your life. Deepen your awareness of the power within you using the inspiring prompts on these pages. Harness the Law of Attraction to understand what it is that you truly desire.Recognize your inner power to make your dreams a reality.Learn to increase your positive energy by practicing gratitude.Set a specific intention for what you want to bring into your life.Practice techniques to release negative energy and fear.Learn to craft positive affirmations for positive outcomes.

The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: a deliriously entertaining, wickedly intelligent cinema book as unique and creative as anything by Quentin Tarantino.In addition to being among the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive. For years he has touted in interviews his eventual turn to writing books about films. Now, with Cinema Speculation, the time has come, and the results are everything his passionate fans?and all movie lovers?could have hoped for. Organized around key American films from the 1970s, all of which he first saw as a young moviegoer at the time, this book is as intellectually rigorous and insightful as it is rollicking and entertaining. At once film criticism, film theory, a feat of reporting, and wonderful personal history, it is all written in the singular voice recognizable immediately as QT's and with the rare perspective about cinema possible only from one of the greatest practitioners of the artform ever.

Set against the backdrop of the Beatles splintering over both business and creative issues, The McCartney Legacy: Volume 1: 1969-73 covers a period in which Paul McCartney recreated himself, both as a man and as a musician. This is an in-depth and revealing exploration of his creative life beyond the Beatles?featuring hundreds of interviews with fellow musicians, tour managers, recording engineers, producers, filmmakers, and more.The story of the Beatles has been told many times, covering all periods and perspectives. Paul McCartney's work in the 50 years since the Fab Four's breakup has been extraordinarily successful and enduringly popular?his 26 post-Beatles albums have sold upwards of 86.5 million copies; McCartney's 2019 Freshen Up tour was the highest grossing tour ever, in the entire world; and his last solo album McCartney III debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number two on Billboard 200. Beside his extraordinary, creative solo output, he has collaborated with the most influential artists of his generation and the next: from Elvis Costello to Stevie Wonder, from Michael Jackson to Dave Grohl, even with Johnny Cash and Kanye West. McCartney, too, has explored new poetry styles with Allen Ginsburg and teamed up with Peter Martins and the NYC Ballet to create Ocean's Kingdom. The list goes on from there. And he has done all this post-Beatles and while maintaining a mostly normal family life. Paul McCartney has lived ten lifetimes in the span of one and become increasingly more relevant, yet curiously, his creative output since the Beatles has never had the full exploration such a life and body of work demands.The McCartney Legacy gives McCartney's post-Beatles life and work the kind of in-depth treatment that Mark Lewisohn has given the Beatles, and Philip Norman has given John Lennon. It is the first truly comprehensive biography, and the most finely detailed exploration of McCartney's creative life beyond the Beatles, ever undertaken.

A powerful meditation on ageing and familial love, I Remain in Darkness recounts Annie Ernaux's attempts to help her mother recover from Alzheimer's disease, and then, when that proves futile, to bear witness to the older woman's gradual decline and her own experience as a daughter losing a beloved parent. Haunting and devastatingly poignant, I Remain in Darkness showcases Ernaux's unique talent for evoking life's darkest and most bewildering episodes.

Brought to you by Penguin. The remarkable untold story of the mercurial cycling prodigy Frank Vandenbroucke, written by William Hill award-winning author Andy McGrath. They called him God. For his grace on a bicycle, for his divine talent, for his heavenly looks. Frank Vandenbroucke had it all, and in the late Nineties he raced with dazzling speed and lived even faster. The Belgian won several of cycling's most illustrious races, including Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Paris-Nice and Ghent-Wevelgem. He was a mix of poise and panache who enthralled a generation of cycling fans. Off the bike, he only had one enemy - himself. Vandenbroucke dabbled in nocturnal party sessions mixing sleeping pills and alcohol and regularly fell out with team managers. By 1999 his team had suspended him and this proved to be the start of a long, eventful fall from grace. Depression, a drug ban, addiction, car crashes, divorce and countless court appearances subsumed his life. He threatened his wife with a gun. He tried to commit suicide twice. And when police found performance-enhancing drugs at his house, Vandenbroucke said they were for his dog. It seemed he had finally learned from his mistakes. Then, on 12 October 2009, aged just 34, Vandenbroucke was found dead in a hotel room in Senegal. Guided by exclusive contributions from his family, friends and team-mates, William Hill award-winning author Andy McGrath lays bare Vandenbroucke's chaotic, complicated life and times. God is Dead is the remarkable biography of this mercurial cycling prodigy. (c) Andy McGrath 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

The first biography of rapper Mac Miller, the Pittsburgh cult favorite¿turned¿rap superstar who touched the lives of millions before tragically passing away at the age of 26¿now in paperbackMalcolm James McCormick was born on January 19, 1992. He began making music at a young age and by 15 was already releasing mixtapes. One of the first true viral superstars, his early records earned him a rabid legion of die-hard fans¿as well as a few noteworthy detractors. But despite his undeniable success, Miller was plagued by struggles with substance abuse and depression, both of which fueled his raw and genre-defying music, yet ultimately led to his demise. Through detailed reporting and interviews with dozens of Miller¿s confidants, Paul Cantor brings you to leafy Pittsburgh, seductive Los Angeles, and frenzied New York, where you will meet Miller¿s collaborators, producers, business partners, best friends, and even his roommates. Traveling deep into Miller¿s inner circle, behind the curtain, the velvet ropes, and studio doors, Most Dope tells the story of a passionate, gifted young man who achieved his life¿s ambition, only to be undone by his personal demons.Most Dope is part love letter, part cautionary tale, never shying away from the raw, visceral way Mac Miller lived his life. Praise for Most Dope"A tender, studious remembrance." ¿The New York Times"An insightful exploration of his life . . . painstakingly reported by Cantor, who interviewed more than 100 people during a three-year process." ¿USA Today "An inside look at Miller's life through the eyes of his friends and industry peers, tracking the musician's life journey as he quickly ascended the ranks." ¿Daily Beast

The definitive biography of guitar icon and Grammy Award-winning artist Bill Frisell.FEATURING EXCLUSIVE LISTENING SESSIONS WITH: Paul Simon; Justin Vernon of Bon Iver; Gus Van Sant; Rhiannon Giddens; The Bad Plus; Gavin Bryars; Van Dyke Parks; Sam Amidon; Hal Willner; Jim Woodring; Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill'A beautiful and long overdue portrait of one of America's true living cultural treasures . . . a brilliant book.'JOHN ZORN'Wonderful. It captures exactly the Bill I know.'GAVIN BRYARS'The perfect companion-piece to the music of its subject.'MOJOOver a period of forty-five years, Bill Frisell has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential musicians at work today.Growing up playing clarinet in orchestras and marching bands, Frisell has progressed through a remarkable range of musical personas - from devotee of jazz master Jim Hall to 'house guitarist' of estimable German label ECM, from edgy New York downtown experimentalist to plaintive country and bluegrass picker. He has been a pioneering bandleader and collaborator, a prolific composer and arranger and a celebrated Grammy Award winner.A quietly revolutionary guitar hero who has synthesised many disparate musical elements into one compellingly singular sound, Frisell connects to a diverse range of artists and admirers, including Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Gus Van Sant, Marianne Faithfull and Justin Vernon, many of whom feature in this book.Through unprecedented access to the guitarist and interviews with his close family, friends and associates, Philip Watson tells Frisell's story for the first time.'A revelatory, roots and branches portrait of one of America's greatest synthesisers of musical ideas.'IAN PATTERSON, ALL ABOUT JAZZ

THE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERAN IRISH INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR'A gripping story in which Justine Picardie brilliantly contrasts the cruel Old World of wartime France with the hopeful New World epitomised by Christian Dior's New Look.'ANTONIA FRASER'An incredible story of courage, endurance and passion.'MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI, Creative Director of Dior'An extraordinary biography.'SUNDAY TIMES'Exceptional . . . Miss Dior is so much more than a biography.'DAILY TELEGRAPHMiss Dior is a story of freedom and fascism, beauty and betrayal, roses and repression, and how the polished surface of fashion conceals hidden depths. It paints a portrait of the enigmatic woman behind the designer Christian Dior: his beloved younger sister Catherine, who inspired his most famous perfume and shaped his vision of femininity. Justine Picardie's journey takes her to Occupied Paris, where Christian honed his couture skills while Catherine dedicated herself to the French Resistance, until she was captured by the Gestapo and deported to the German concentration camp of Ravensbruck.With unparalleled access to the Dior family homes and archives, Picardie's research into Catherine's courageous life shines a new light on Christian Dior's legendary work, and reveals how his enchanting 'New Look' emerged out of the shadows of his sister's suffering.Tracing the wartime paths of the Dior siblings leads Picardie deep into other hidden histories, and different forms of resistance and sisterhood. She explores what it means to believe in beauty and hope, despite our knowledge of darkness and despair, and discovers the timeless solace of the natural world in the aftermath of devastation and destruction. The result is an exquisite and unforgettably moving book.*A beautiful, full colour illustrated book featuring exclusive images from the Dior archives*'Catherine's story is beautifully, hauntingly told in spare and elegant prose by Picardie . . . moving and evocative.'THE TIMES'The juxtaposition of the terrible shadows and dazzling light is one of the great strengths of this book . . . A very personal, very passionate book.'ARTEMIS COOPER, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT'Picardie writes: 'The vestiges of Catherine's presence remain as a powerful reminder of the importance of freedom, and why it is worth fighting for.' There are few truer words.'THE SPECTATOR'Picardie's book is of the moment, celebrating an unsung hero at a time when female influences are earning new acclaim.'VOGUE'Miss Dior ensures the bravery of the women at Ravensbruck is not merely a distant echo.'i'Beautiful.' OBSERVER'Moving and beautifully illustrated.' NEW STATESMAN'Stunning.' RED'Not just beautifully written, this is also a stunningly beautiful book.' NOON