'An inspiration' - Taylor Swift 'I was incredibly moved by Alex's story and her bravery is second to none' - Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur and host of 'The Diary of a CEO' LIONESS. BROADCASTER. SURVIVOR. An inspirational memoir of finding strength and resilience from the former Arsenal captain and England Lioness. From the football cages of East London to broadcasting to millions, the engine powering Alex Scott's remarkable journey has always been her resilience. But thanks to a 'push-through mentality' the world has only ever seen the 'strong' side of Alex Scott. Now the former Lioness is ready to lower the shield. In How (Not) to Be Strong, Alex shares the inspiring lessons that have shaped her, from finally confronting the legacy of a tumultuous childhood to the tarnished truth behind the gleaming football trophies. With raw honesty, Alex shows how she's tackled life's challenges and that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is show your most vulnerable side to the world. 'A real story of growth' HOLLY WILLOUGHBY 'An amazing read. What a book' ALEX JONES

"Andi Dorfman, star of ABC's The Bachelorette, became a New York Times bestseller with IT'S NOT OKAY, her story of searching for love on national TV. In her new book, readers can follow her adventures as a still-single gal living in NYC--it's Sex and the City for the reality TV generation"--

Memoirs of a Jew from Warsaw (1911-2000). He studied music in Berlin, and from 1933 worked as a pianist for the Polish radio. Describes the Nazi occupation of Warsaw and the anti-Jewish laws. In the early period of the ghetto, Szpilman worked as a pianist in one of the ghetto's cafés. In summer 1942, during the mass deportation, he was saved by a member of the Jewish police. After the abortive ghetto uprising in January 1943, he went over to the "Aryan side" and was helped by Poles, mainly prewar acquaintances. During the Warsaw uprising in summer-fall 1944, he was rescued by a German officer, Wilm Hosenfeld. Pp. 191-208 contain excerpts from Hosenfeld's diary, in which he describes the genocide of Jews in Warsaw. Pp. 209-222 contain an epilogue by Wolf Biermann, relating the story of Hosenfeld - he had saved a number of Poles and Jews even before he met Szpilman; he died in Soviet captivity.

From Pulitzer-Prize-nominated author Susan Griffin comes an unprecedented, provocative look at the dazzling world of the West’s first independent women, whose lively liaisons brought them unspoken influence, wealth, and freedom. While they charmed some of Europe’s most illustrious men honing their social skills as well as their sexual ones, the great courtesans gained riches, power, education, and sexual freedom in a time when other women were denied all of these. From Imperia of sixteenth-century Rome, who personified the Renaissance ideal of beauty; Mme. de Pompadour, the arbiter of all things fashionable in eighteenth-century Paris and Versailles; Liane de Pougy, known in France during the Belle Epoque as “Our National Courtesan”; to Sarah Bernhardt, who, following in her mother’s footsteps, supported herself in her early career with a second profession, The Book of the Courtesans tells the life stories and intricacies of the lavish lifestyles of these women. Unlike their geisha counterparts, courtesans neither lived in brothels nor bent their wills to suit their suitors. They were strong- willed, autonomous, and plucky. An open secret, their presence can be felt throughout our culture. The muses who enflamed the hearts and imaginations of our most celebrated artists, they were also artists in their own right. They wrote poetry and novels, invented the cancan at the Moulin Rouge, and presented celebrated acts at the Folies Bergères. They helped to influence and shape the sensibility of modern literature, painting, and fashion. When Greek sculptor Praxiteles wanted to depict Venus he used a famous courtesan as a model, as in later centuries Titian, Veronese, Raphael, Giorgione, and Boucher did when they painted goddesses. When Marcel Proust was a young man it was the courtesan Laure Hayman who took him under her wing, introducing him to the right people, and providing inspiration for one of literature’s greatest masterpieces. And they often had considerable political influence too. When King Louis XV needed advice on foreign affairs or appointments of state he turned to Jeanne du Barry as well as Pompadour. In her witty and insightful prose, as Griffin celebrates these alluring and fascinating women, she restores a lost legacy of women’s history. She gives us the stories of these amazing women who, starting from impoverished or unimpressive beginnings, garnered chateaux, fine coaches, fabulous collections of jewelry, and even aristocratic titles along the way. And through a brilliant exploration of their extraordinary abilities, skills, and talents which Griffin playfully categorizes as their virtues "Timing, Beauty, Cheek, Brilliance, Gaiety, Grace, and Charm" her book explains how, while helping themselves, through their often outrageous, always entertaining examples, the great courtesans not only enriched our cultural heritage but helped to liberate women from the social, sexual, and economic strictures that confined them. Intensively researched and beautifully crafted, The Book of the Courtesans delves into scintillating but often hidden worlds, telling stories gleaned from many sources, including courtesans’ memoirs, presented along with stunning rare photographs to create memorable portraits of some of the most pivotal figures in women’s history.

A third and final volume in the best-selling memoirs of one of the century's most influential political thinkers begins with Nixon's resignation and discusses his "shuttle" diplomacy in the Mideast, offering clear-eyed portrayals of figures such as Mao and Brezhnev. 150,000 first printing. Tour.

"Paul Auster has spent his fifty-year writing career examining what it means to be truly alive. And now, for the first time ever, in this newly self-curated collection, Auster stitches together various autobiographical writings to lay bare the trajectory of both his personal life and sense of self. From his breakout memoir, The Invention of Solitude, which solidified Auster's reputation as a canonical voice in American letters, to excerpts from his later memoirs, Winter Journal and Report from the Interior, readers are ushered into the inner workings of Auster's self-development. His sweeping recollection winds through the halls of Columbia University during the turbulent 1960s and into life as a young poet-turned-novelist, then dives headfirst into the realities that accompany aging today. Along the way, Auster continually challenges the notion of what autobiography can be, inverting the form through fragmentation and, ultimately, illustrating firsthand the brilliance behind "one of the great writers of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle)"--

"When Ernest Hemingway died on July 2, 1961, Mary Hemingway asked the Hemingway's good friend, journalist Leonard Lyons, to announce the death of the Nobel Prize-winner to stunned readers and admirer everywhere. Both Hemingways admired Lyons for his fidelity to the truth, that "he would get the story right." (As it turns out the "truth" was not quite what it seemed, since Mary initially denied that her husband's death was suicide.) This memoir recounts the quarter-century long friendship between Hemingway and Leonard Lyons, which eventually came to include Lyons's wife and three sons. In this short book Jeffrey Lyons recounts visits to Hemingway in Cuba (where "Papa" first taught him how to shoot a gun) as well as nights out with the great writer at such popular New York watering holes as the Stork Club and Toots Shor's. Throughout the book Hemingway comes across as a hard-working, generous, and thoughtful man of letters, and not the gruff, hard drinking beast perpetually looking for a fight that he was often perceived as. This is a book about friendship, loyalty, and trust between a famed novelist and a working journalist and his family"--

Memoirs of a Jew born in Warsaw in 1928. Describes the German occupation and life in the Warsaw ghetto. Anna and her sister, Esther (Estusia) Wacjblum, joined Hashomer Hatzair and later participated in the ghetto uprising. They escaped from the ghetto and joined their parents on the "Aryan side". The family was deported in May 1943 to Majdanek, where the parents were killed. The two sisters were sent to Auschwitz, where they worked at the Weichsel-Metall-Union munitions factory and were active in the resistance. They participated in preparations for the October 1944 uprising in Auschwitz, smuggling gunpowder from the factory to members of the Sonderkommando. In January 1945 Esther and three other women were executed for their role in the uprising. Anna was sent on a death march in January 1945; she was liberated in Neustadt in May. After the war she immigrated to Israel, and then to Canada. In June 1991 she and her sister Sabina, who had escaped the Holocaust, participated in the dedication at Yad Vashem of a memorial to the four women who were hanged at Auschwitz for their resistance activities.

"In Roman Year, André Aciman captures the period of his adolescence that began when he and his family first set foot in Rome, after being expelled from Egypt. Though Aciman's family had been well-off in Alexandria, all vestiges of their status vanished when they fled, and the author, his younger brother, and his deaf mother moved into a rented apartment (eventually revealed to be a recently vacated brothel) on Via Clelia. Though dejected, Aciman's mother and brother found their way into life in Rome, while Aciman burrowed into his bedroom. The world of novels eventually allowed him to open up to the city and, through them, discover the beating heart of the Eternal City.Aciman's time in Rome did not last long before he and his family moved across the ocean, but by the time they did, he was leaving behind a city he loved. In this memoir, the author, a genius of "the poetry of the place" (John Domini, The Boston Globe), conjures the sights, smells, tastes, and people of Rome as only he can. Aciman captures, as if in amber, a living portrait of himself on the brink of adulthood and the city he worshipped at that pivotal moment. Roman Year is a treasure, unearthed by one of our greatest prose stylists" --Amazon.com.

"Forget being an actor. You don't have the look, you don't have the talent, and your name is ridiculous. You are the last guy I would ever pick to be a movie star." This was the first piece of advice Steve Guttenberg ever received from an agent. Like many other times in his life, he didn't listen. In this honest, charming memoir, Guttenberg tells the unique story of his first decade in Hollywood, as he went from being a complete unknown to starring in some of the most successful blockbusters of all time. He spent his early days sneaking onto the Paramount lot and meeting more actors and casting agents than most aspiring actors ever would. Even before the hit Police Academy ---which his manager said would be a flop---he had already worked with such luminaries as Lord Laurence Olivier, Richard Widmark, and Gregory Peck. Later he shared the screen with actors such as Mickey Rourke and Sharon Stone long before they became household names. Guttenberg has lived through the addictive pull of show business and worldwide celebrity (you're no one until you have a stalker, he learns). With a clear-eyed appreciation for the one-of-a-kind experiences that the celebrity lifestyle has to offer, he knew that his family would keep him grounded throughout it all. And his self-awareness and sense of humor about the ups and downs of fame make The Guttenberg Bible one of the most candid Hollywood stories to date.

"A classic memoir of self-invention in a strange land : Ian Buruma's unflinching account of his amazing journey into the heart of Tokyo's underground culture as a young man in the 1970's When Ian Buruma arrived in Tokyo in 1975, Japan was little more than an idea in his mind, a fantasy of a distant land. A sensitive misfit in the world of his upper middleclass youth, what he longed for wasn't so much the exotic as the raw, unfiltered humanity he had experienced in Japanese theater performances and films, witnessed in Amsterdam and Paris. One particular theater troupe, directed by a poet of runaways, outsiders, and eccentrics, was especially alluring, more than a little frightening, and completely unforgettable. If Tokyo was anything like his plays, Buruma knew that he had to join the circus as soon as possible"--

**A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR SELECTION** As heard on The Tim Ferriss Show! 'Captivating' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'The book Shukman was born to write' NATALIE GOLDBERG, author of WRITING DOWN THE BONES 'A wonderful and generous book' DAVID HINTON, author of THE WILDS OF POETRY *** One Blade of Grass is award-winning novelist and poet Henry Shukman's account of his journey through the world of Zen Buddhism. Raised in a rationalist household in Oxford during the spiritual heyday of the Sixties and Seventies, an unexpected spiritual awakening would prompt a lifelong quest to integrate the experience into his life, leading him eventually to Zen Buddhism. As Shukman gets to grips with meditative practice and struggles with anxiety, depression and the chronic eczema he had had since childhoods, he discovers in surprising ways the emotional, spiritual and even physical healing that he has been searching for all along. By turns humorous and moving, this beautifully written memoir demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language, and takes the reader on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures of life that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.

During three decades covering wars, revolutions, and natural disasters, Martin Fletcher worked his way from news agency cameraman to Tel Aviv bureau chief for NBC News, facing down his own fears while facing up to mass killers, warlords, and murderers. These extraordinary, real-life adventure stories, told with humor and elegance, describe Fletcher's growth from clueless adventurer to grizzled veteran of the world's trouble spots. Can you eat the food of a warlord who stole it from the starving? Do you listen politely to a terrorist threatening to blow up your children? Do you ask the tough questions of a Khmer Rouge killer, knowing he is your only ticket out of the Cambodian jungle?

A brilliantly observed memoir of an unprecedented and remarkable spiritual journey. While religion has fuelled the often violent conflict plaguing the Holy Land, Yossi Klein Halevi wondered whether it could be a source of unity as well. To find the answer, this religious Israeli Jew began a two–year exploration to discover a common language with his Christian and Muslim neighbours. He followed their holiday cycles, befriended Christian monastics and Islamic mystics, and joined them in prayer in monasteries and mosques in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden traces that remarkable spiritual journey. Halevi candidly reveals how he fought to reconcile his own fears and anger as a Jew to relate to Christians and Muslims as fellow spiritual seekers. He chronicles the difficulty of overcoming multiple obstacles注eological, political, historical, and psychological注at separate believers of the three monotheistic faiths. And he introduces a diverse range of people attempting to reconcile the dichotomous heart of this sacred place柠struggle central to Israel, but which resonates for us all.

Ruth Kluger is one of the child-survivors of the Holocaust. In 1942, at the age of eleven, she was deported to the Nazi "family camp" Theresienstadt with her mother. They would move to two other camps (including Auschwitz-Birkenau) before the war ended. 'Landscapes of memory' is the story of Ruth's life. Of a childhood spent in the Nazi camps and her refusal to forget the past as an adult in America. 'It is not in our power to forgive: memory does that for us,' says Kluger. Not erasing a single detail, not even the inconvenient ones, she writes frankly about the troubled relationship with her mother even through their years of internment, and of her determination not to forgive and absolve the past. It is this memory, pure and harsh, this anger, savage and profound, that makes Kluger's memoir so unforgettable. A gripping narrative and a superb meditation on the relationship between private memory and history, on forgiveness and redemption, 'Landscapes of memory' will become a classic of our times.

Richard Ben-Veniste hates being lied to. He especially hates it when the American people are lied to. Widely respected as a trial lawyer, Ben-Veniste delivers a fascinating insider’s tale in his memoir of a career spent fighting hypocrisy and seeking accountability among the highest ranks of government. A legal wunderkind, Ben-Veniste was hired at age thirty by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox to investigate the Watergate cover-up. As chief of the Watergate Task Force at the time of the infamous “Saturday Night Massacre,” the author played an important role in prosecuting the case and revealed the extent of Richard Nixon’s involvement with his top lieutenants in a conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury. Prior to Watergate, Ben-Veniste had investigated and prosecuted corruption in the office of Speaker of the House John W. McCormack. In 1980 the author served as a defense lawyer in the controversial Abscam case, delving into a flawed sting operation that pushed the boundaries of legality and tested due process of law. In the Senate Whitewater hearings, Ben-Veniste helped expose the partisan agenda behind the effort to take down President Clinton. The author gained further national prominence as a member of the 9/11 Commission, in which his artful questioning of Condoleeza Rice revealed how ill-prepared the Bush Administration had been in the weeks leading up to 9/11. A lifelong devotee to the principles of an open democracy, the author argues that the pursuit of truth is not one that should depend on party affiliations—that we should all seek to be partisans for the truth. Ben-Veniste recounts a remarkable career spent at the center of the most poignant public investigations of the last half century, fighting the abuse of power by those who wielded it most.

In her latest work of personal criticism, Nancy K. Miller tells the story of how a girl who grew up in the 1950s and got lost in the 1960s became a feminist critic in the 1970s. As in her previous books, Miller interweaves pieces of her autobiography with the memoirs of contemporaries in order to explore the unexpected ways that the stories of other people's lives give meaning to our own. The evolution she chronicles was lived by a generation of literary girls who came of age in the midst of profound social change and, buoyed by the energy of second-wave feminism, became writers, academics, and activists. Miller's recollections form one woman's installment in a collective memoir that is still unfolding, an intimate page of a group portrait in process.

1. Big Poker Celebrity: The super popular and always entertaining Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is a huge fan favorite from his many implosions, explosions, and huge successes at the poker table on national TV. 2. Fascinating Memoir: This book has it all: high stakes gambling, drugs, jail, psychotic episodes and debilitating depression and mental illness, plus the depths of despair and heights of victory. 3. Very High Profile: Mike Matusow is one of the most recognizable and followed players in poker today. Yahoo's online search engine identifies over 1.1 million websites that provide content about Mike Matusow. His weekly online video show "The Mouthpiece" at CardPlayer.com, averages over 2,000 viewers per day. 4. Super Popular Subject: Poker is the third most watched sport on cable television, behind auto racing and football. 5. Secondary Market Possibilities: The National Institute of Mental Health estimates there are 5.7 million people in the U.S. that have bipolar disorder and the CDC estimates 1.6 million elementary school children have been diagnosed ADHD. Get Ready for a Wild Ride… Hang on tight as Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, poker player extraordinaire, takes you with him on a breathtaking, true-life roller coaster ride from his humble beginnings in a trailer park to a rock and roll lifestyle full of hot women, sex, wild drug-filled parties and million-dollar wins and losses. Yet behind the glamour and glory of his high-stakes poker career lurked the flip side: a person torn between two debilitating mental illnesses?—?bipolar disorder and ADHD. To dig himself out of depression and suicidal despair, Matusow turned to dangerous street drugs to self-medicate a problem he didn’t understand, and spiraled deeper into the darker world of addiction, police narcotic stings, and jail time. In this revealing and tumultuous autobiography, the combustible Matusow holds nothing back. You’ll get a mouthful of the man behind the infamous Matusow Meltdowns seen on national TV. Riveting, exhilarating, sexy, sometimes shocking and always fascinating, this voyeur’s look into the world of high-stakes poker, mental illness, and ultimately, Matusow’s inspiring redemption, will keep you glued to your seat until the very last page!

"A frank and funny-because-it's-true memoir from New York Times bestselling author Michael Ian Black, about confronting his genetic legacy as he hits his 40s--the alt-comedy answer to Brad Garrett's WHEN THE BALLS DROP"--