Too Much And Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump

$37.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: very good

In this revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him, Mary L. Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and Donald's only niece, shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world 's health, economic security and social fabric.   Mary Trump spent much of her childhood in her grandparents' large, imposing house in New York, where Donald and his four siblings grew up. She describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. She explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who currently occupies the Oval Office, including the strange and harmful relationship between Fred Trump and his two oldest sons, Fred Jr. and Donald.   A first-hand witness, Mary brings an incisive wit and unexpected humour to sometimes grim, often confounding family events. She recounts in unsparing detail everything from her uncle Donald's place in the family spotlight and Ivana's penchant for regifting to her grandmother's frequent injuries and illnesses and the appalling way Donald, Fred Trump's favourite son, dismissed and derided him when he began to succumb to Alzheimer's.   Numerous pundits, armchair psychologists and journalists have sought to explain Donald Trump's lethal flaws. Mary Trump has the education, insight and intimate familiarity needed to reveal what makes Donald, and the rest of her clan, tick. She alone can recount this fascinating, unnerving saga, not just because of her insider's perspective but also because she is the only Trump willing to tell the truth about one of the world's most powerful and dysfunctional families.     ...Show more

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

$69.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: near fine

In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of th e first term of his historic presidency - a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of November 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation's highest office. Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorises Operation Neptune Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. A Promised Land is extraordinarily intimate and introspective — the story of one man's bet with history, the faith of a community organiser tested on the world stage. Obama is candid about the balancing act of running for office as a Black American, bearing the expectations of a generation buoyed by messages of hope and change and meeting the moral challenges of high-stakes decision-making. He is frank about the forces that opposed him at home and abroad, open about how living in the White House affected his wife and daughters, and unafraid to reveal self-doubt and disappointment. Yet he never wavers from his belief that inside the great, ongoing American experiment, progress is always possible. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.       ...Show more

Ralph Hotere- The Dark is Light Enough: A Biographical Portrait by Vincent O'Sullivan

$45.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Vincent O'Sullivan's compelling, nuanced portrait of the great New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere brings the man and his art to life. Ralph Hotere (Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa; 1931-2013) was one of Aotearoa's most significant modern artists. Hotere invited the poet, novelist and biographer Vincent O'Sullivan to write his life story in 2005. Now, this book - the result of years of research and many conversations with Hotere and his fellow artists, collaborators, friends and family - provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of Hotere: the man, and the artist. ...Show more

The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

$37.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you. Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed on 9 November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp. Over the next seven years, Eddie fa ced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on the Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country. Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the 'happiest man on earth'. Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.                 ...Show more

Sir Bob Charles - The Biography by Geoff Saunders

$55.00 NZD

$59.90 (8% off)

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

**For Booktrade purchases only** 'Sir Bob Charles – The Biography’ is the first comprehensive biography of Sir Bob Charles. His story begins in working-class rural New Zealand. In 1960 he embarked upon a career that no New Zealander had chosen before – that of a full-time touring professional golfer. Th e pressure was on the young Kiwi golfer as he took off around the world, with £350 in travellers’ cheques to fund his new career. If he did not play well enough his cash would run out and he would be back in Christchurch as a teller for the National Bank of New Zealand. That prospect alone spurred his success. The book is an account of his 50 years touring the world with his golf clubs. The reader will encounter the key characters in the story who supported the young golfer on his way to the very top of his sport. You will meet Ivor and Phyl Charles, his wife Verity, mentor Ian Cromb and his agent Mark McCormack. There are over 150 stunning photos in the book, many from the Charles family’s own collection. Combined with the narrative the images provide the complete picture of a notable New Zealand life. Bob Charles competed in the ‘’golden age’’ of professional golf in the 1960s and 1970s. He played with, and at times defeated, each member of the ‘’Big Three’’.The televising of golf from the early 1960s created an explosion in enthusiasm for the game. During this period, he acquired the title of the ‘’best putter in the world’’ in the eyes of both journalists and fellow competitors. His senior career delivered another 20 years of success in the game he loved. For the first 10 years on the Senior PGA Tour from 1986 he became the man to beat. The book chronicles the success of Bob Charles as a golfer - but there is more to the man than that. With his 1999 knighthood and his elevation to the Order of New Zealand in 2011 he has been honoured not only for his success as a golfer but also for the way he has lived his life. His enduring and happy marriage to Verity and the closeness of his relationship to his children and grandchildren form an important part of the story. Verity’s contribution to his career was enormous as Bob was able to travel the world, focusing solely on competing and succeeding at the highest level in his sport. Sir Bob Charles – The Biography is an in-depth study of the life and times of this great New Zealand sportsman. “Sir Bob Charles - the greatest Kiwi golfer of all. I may be accused of bias in describing the left-hander as the best New Zealand golfer of all. If we look at his record that lasted more than 50 years, I believe there is no argument.’’ Bob Glading. New Zealand Open Champion 1946, 1947. Writing for The Cut magazine, 2008. ...Show more

The Reacher Guy - The Authorised Biography of Lee Child by Heather Martin

$37.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

The Reacher Guy is a life of bestselling superstar Lee Child, a portrait of the artist as a young man, refracted through the life of his fictional avatar, Jack Reacher. It tells the story of how the boy from Birmingham reinvented himself to become the strongest brand in publishing, selling over one hund red million books in more than forty different languages across the globe. Heather Martin interviews friends, teachers, colleagues and neighbours, including agents and editors. Based primarily on her conversations with the author over a period of years, together with readings of his books and research in his archive, this authorised biography reveals the man behind the myth, tracing his origins back through the generations to Northern Ireland and County Durham, and following the trajectory of his extraordinary career via New York and Hollywood until the climactic moment when, in 2020, having written a continuous series of twenty-four books, he finally floats free of his fictional creation. ...Show more

More Than a Woman by Caitlin Moran

$35.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

How to be an older woman? Who knows. Being a young woman can be challenging. But it turns out not even a fraction of the bullshit has happened to you by the time you turn thirty. Because your thirties, forties and beyond see you dealing with Real Life, the stuff you never thought would happen to you- gr ey hair; bereavement; hangovers that last for days; having sex with the same person for years and years and still saying 'thank you afterwards'; balancing career with motherhood - or not - and dealing with your ageing parents. If anything, it gets worse. But you get more amazing. Ten years after the modern classic How to Be a Woman redefined modern feminism, Caitlin Moran explores the art of becoming an older woman. Singing the praises of their no-nonsense wisdom and their almost supernatural ability to simply get shit done, More Than A Woman is a joyous celebration of mothers, daughters, female friendship and life beyond your thirties. ...Show more

Kamala's Way by Dan Morain

$37.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Synopsis coming soon.......

Like Father Like Son by Michael Parkinson

$34.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

A look at the life and times of the man Sir Michael most looked up to. It started in the shadow of the pithead in a South Yorkshire mining village and ended up in tears before an audience of millions. Michael Parkinson's relationship with his late father John William was, and remains, a family love stor y overflowing with tenderness and tall tales of sporting valour, usually involving Yorkshire cricket or Barnsley FC. However, it was the overwhelming grief which poured out of Michael when Piers Morgan pressed him about John William in a television interview - four decades after the death of the father he encapsulated as 'Yorkshireman, miner, humorist and fast bowler' - that convinced one of the outstanding broadcasters and journalists of our time to delve deeper into the dynamics of their lives together. Co-written with his son Mike, this affectionate and revealing memoir explores the influences which shaped John William, Michael and succeeding generations of Parkinsons. The journey leads them from the depths of a Yorkshire coal mine, via the chapel, pub and picture-house, to a spot behind the bowler's arm at Lord's and the sands at Scarborough. While Like Father, Like Son conveys a powerful sense of time and place, it is wit, insight and, above all, enduring love which shine through its pages.     ...Show more

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

$34.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: near fine

The story of a life built on sand. In the rain. In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsi ght, always with a keen sense of the absurd. From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating 'accidents', Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p - and children had little power in the face of adult motivation. Here, there are often exquisitely tender recollections of the mother he lost at six years old, of a bereaved family struggling to find its way, and the kicks and confusion of adolescence. Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies's lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.   ...Show more

Becoming: Michelle Obama by Michelle Obama

$55.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: very good

An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States   In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America--the first African American to serve in that role--she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.   In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her--from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it--in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations--and whose story inspires us to do the same. ...Show more

Prince Andrew: Epstein and the Palace by Nigel Cawthorne

$45.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Buckingham Palace’s greatest fear came true when the FBI arrested Prince Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein on charges of under-age sex trafficking. Just before the marriage of Kate and Wills, a snapshot of Andrew with his arm around the naked midriff of the billionaire’s most articulate victim had surface d. Despite sending stringent defamation warnings, the palace had been powerless to prevent headlines on the controversial friendship from moving in its direction like a hurricane. Prince Andrew: The End of the Monarchy and Epstein investigates the story of the key players and allegations and counter-allegations in this unique, high-stakes royal drama. It provides a gripping and uncommon insight into the hidden privileges enjoyed by global power brokers, royalty and billionaires. Transcending the life of one man, it characterises a whole institution and a way of life — the monarchy as we know it today. Prince Andrew’s official involvement with UK trade came to an abrupt end in 2010 when the prince was overheard discussing Saudi bribery and bribery in Kyrgyzstan, arguing that ‘people should be allowed to get on with their jobs’. And that was only the beginning of Buckingham Palaces headaches. ...Show more