Book picks similar to
A Life in Pictures by Alasdair Gray


art
non-fiction
biography
biography-autobiography

Ethel and Ernest


Raymond Briggs - 1998
    They meet during the Depression -- she working as a chambermaid, he as a milkman -- and we follow them as they encounter, and cope with, World War II, the advent of radio and t.v., telephones and cars, the atomic bomb, the moon landing. Briggs's portrayal of his parents as they succeed, or fail, in coming to terms with their rapidly shifting world is irresistably engaging -- full of sympathy and affection, yet clear-eyed and unsentimental.The book's strip-cartoon format is deceptively simple; it possesses a wealth of detail and an emotional depth that are remarkable in such a short volume. Briggs's marvelous illustrations and succinct, true-to-life dialogue create a real sense of time and place, of what it was like to experience such enormous changes. Almost as much a social history as it is a personal account, Ethel & Ernest is a moving tribute to ordinary people living in an extraordinary time.

Edie: American Girl


Jean Stein - 1982
    Edie Sedgwick exploded into the public eye like a comet. She seemed to have it all: she was aristocratic and glamorous, vivacious and young, Andy Warhol’s superstar. But within a few years she flared out as quickly as she had appeared, and before she turned twenty-nine she was dead from a drug overdose.In a dazzling tapestry of voices—family, friends, lovers, rivals—the entire meteoric trajectory of Edie Sedgwick’s life is brilliantly captured. And so is the Pop Art world of the ‘60s: the sex, drugs, fashion, music—the mad rush for pleasure and fame. All glitter and flash on the outside, it was hollow and desperate within—like Edie herself, and like her mentor, Andy Warhol. Alternately mesmerizing, tragic, and horrifying, this book shattered many myths about the ‘60s experience in America.

Dear Olivia: An Italian Journey of Love and Courage


Mary Contini - 2014
    Sharing some of the recipes that they brought over, the tomatoes, the garlic, the sausage, the wine, this is a mouthwatering memoir of family and food. It is also a brilliant evocation of life between the wars, a triumphant story of survival against all the odds, that captures the sights and smells of Italian life and culture, at home and abroad.

The Art of Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way


Gabriella Bennett - 2018
    In The Art Of Coorie, Gabriella Bennett explores what coorie is and how it has helped nurture the astonishing creativity that Scotland is famed for, despite an often harsh and unforgiving climate.The Art of Coorie explores lifestyle, homes and interiors, traditions, and how to enjoy life despite challenging elements. It looks at how to appreciate what we have around us and how to use the best of all things Scottish to enhance life and its pleasures"It's high time the concept of coorie was more widely known. We've long valued the thought here in Scotland and now it can go out to the wider world and wrap up more folk, make them warm and well. Coorie is good for the heart and the soul." - NEIL OLIVER, presenter of BBC's Coast"Like a good malt whisky, The Art of Coorie shines Scotland in a lovely warm glow." - KIRSTY WARK, presenter of BBC's Newsnight

Call Me Sister: District Nursing Tales from the Swinging Sixties


Jane Yeadon - 2013
    Staff nursing in a ward where she's challenged by an inventory driven ward sister, she reckons it's time to swap such trivialities for life as a district nurse.Independent thinking is one thing, but Jane's about to find that the drama on district can demand instant reaction; and without hospital back up, she's usually the one having to provide it. She meets a rich cast of patients all determined to follow their own individual star, and goes to Edinburgh where Queen Victoria's Jubilee Institute's nurse training is considered the cr me de la cr me of the district nursing world.Call Me Sister recalls Jane's challenging and often hilarious route to realizing her own particular dream.

The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon


Gary Tillery - 2009
    Cynical Idealist reveals, for the first time, the spiritual odyssey of this extraordinary man. Out of a turbulent life, from his troubled, working-class childhood throughout his many roles -- Beatle, peace advocate, social activist, househusband -- Lennon managed to fashion a philosophy that elevates the human spirit and encourages people to work, individually and collectively, toward a better world. Like Socrates, Lennon wanted to stimulate people to think for themselves. "There ain't no guru who can see through your eyes," he sings in "I Found Out." Cynical Idealist beautifully articulates this and the other lessons John Lennon passed along through his songs and through the example of his life.

How Cav Won the Green Jersey: Short Dispatches from the 2011 Tour de France


Ned Boulting - 2012
    This is not the story of Cadel Evans. This is not the story of Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, or Bradley Wiggins. And it's not even the story of Mark Cavendish. (Although he is in it quite a lot.) This is the story of the lesser-known heroes; the Johnny Hoogerlands, the Thomas Voecklers, the hitchhikers, the maniac press drivers, Norbert Dentressangle and the greatest ever Tour de France*. I was there. And this is what I saw. That is all. In this 20,000-word digital short, ITV's Ned Boulting, author of How I Won the Yellow Jumper, takes an honest and idiosyncratic look at the unforgettable 2011 Tour de France, when Mark Cavendish won the Green Jersey. *probably

The Bloomsbury Group


Frances Spalding - 2006
    This circle of artists, writers and intellectuals, who met for discussion in London in the early twentieth century, challenged Victorian conventions and presented new models of behaviour. They recorded one another continually in both words and images, and Frances Spalding explores these portraits against a background of biographies, including Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Vanessa and Clive Bell, Duncan Grant and Dora Carrington.

Fashion is Spinach


Elizabeth Hawes - 1938
    Miss Hawes' story is an adventure into every phase of the women's clothing industry, the second largest business in the United States. Her early struggles for recognition and her final leadership in helping to shift the center of the fashion industry from Paris to New York make a story that will appeal not only to the initiate, but to the thousands besides - and to their husbands."Consumers attention!" Elizabeth Hawes tells us that 'the deformed thief Fashion' steals the real value out of what we buy. She suggests a remedy. She makes a plea for functional and durable merchandise. Consumers want that too. "Although Fashion is Spinach deals exclusively with the clothing industry it has a wider application"Aline Davis HaysPresident, League of Women Shoppers

Why Orwell Matters


Christopher Hitchens - 2002
    In true emulative and contrarian style, Hitchens is both admiring and aggressive, sympathetic yet critical, taking true measure of his subject as hero and problem. Answering both the detractors and the false claimants, Hitchens tears down the façade of sainthood erected by the hagiographers and rebuts the critics point by point. He examines Orwell and his perspectives on fascism, empire, feminism, and Englishness, as well as his outlook on America, a country and culture towards which he exhibited much ambivalence. Whether thinking about empires or dictators, race or class, nationalism or popular culture, Orwell's moral outlook remains indispensable in a world that has undergone vast changes in the fifty years since his death. Combining the best of Hitchens's polemical punch and intellectual elegance in a tightly woven and subtle argument, this book addresses not only why Orwell matters today, but how he will continue to matter in a future, uncertain world. Christopher Hitchens, one of the most incisive minds of our own age, meets Orwell on the page in this provocative encounter of wit, contention and moral truth.

Lee and Grant


Gene Smith - 1984
    Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. Here are the two charismatic figures in their early years, in their roles as adversaries, and in their post-war lives.

The Bikeriders


Danny Lyon - 1997
    A seminal work of modern photojournalism, this landmark collection of photographs and interviews documents the abandon and risk implied in the name of the gang Lyon belonged to: the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club. With images and interviews that are as raw, alive, and dramatic today as they were three decades ago, this new edition includes startling new images: 15 additional black-and-white photographs and 14 color prints--long thought missing--of works originally published in black-and-white. With a new introduction by the author, The Bikeriders rides again, capturing like never before the dawn of the counterculture era.

In Search of Duncan Ferguson: The Life and Crimes of a Footballing Enigma


Alan Pattullo - 2013
    A tall, lean striker with the world at his feet, Ferguson seemed destined to develop into one of Scotland's most successful exports, but anger, and a number of injuries, hampered his progress. Ferguson has scored the most goals of any Scot in the Premiership but also shares the record for Premiership red cards. In 1995, he became the first professional footballer to be jailed for an offence committed on the pitch. It earned him a three-month sentence in Glasgow's infamous Barlinnie Prison and a twelve-match ban from the SFA. Bruised by the experience, he walked away from the Scotland team and blanked the media from then on. Featuring contributions from numerous top players, this explosive biography uncovers the real Duncan Ferguson. The author delves into Ferguson's personal and professional life and reveals that there is more to him than the media portrayal of a Scottish hard man.

Forever Frida: A Celebration of the Life, Art, Loves, Words, and Style of Frida Kahlo


Kathy Cano-Murillo - 2019
    Forever Frida celebrates all things Frida, so you can enjoy her art, her words, her style, and her badass attitude every day. Viva Frida!

Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram


Iain Banks - 2003
    A tour of Scottish distilleries explores the history, personality and mystery of the water of life.As a native of Scotland, bestselling author Ian Banks has decided to undertake a tour of the distilleries of his homeland in a bid to uncover the unique spirit of the single malt.Visiting world-famous distilleries and also the small and obscure ones, Iain Banks embarks on a journey of discovery which educates him about the places, people and products surrounding the centuries-old tradition of whisky production.Using various modes of transport -- island ferries, cars across the highlands and even bicycles -- Banks’ tour of Scotland combines history, literature and landscape in an entertaining and informative account of an exploration in which the arrival is by no means the most important part of the journey.