Book picks similar to
Skinhead... The Life I Chose: Memoirs of a Real Skin by Spike Pitt
music
skinhead
biography
memoirs
Never Said Nothing
Liz Phair - 2021
In Never Said Nothing, the latest in Audible’s Words + Music series, Phair charts her unlikely journey from making her first record—one that’s now ensconced on Rolling Stone’s "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"—to a trial by fire (she’d never set foot on stage before its release), to even more improbably, a second and a third, maybe fourth act, depending on how one counts these things.In this honest and disarming look inside her unique career, Phair talks of how her meteoric rise was accompanied by an equally intense case of the dreaded imposter syndrome, discovering music’s strange magic, and her possibly unique ability to chart her future through songs. Although she includes herself in the class of ‘ordinary people doing extraordinary things,’ listening to Never Said Nothing, along with her performances—which include "‘6’1," "Polyester Bride," and "Stars and Planets,"—one can’t help but feel that ‘fearless person doing extraordinary things’ is the better description.
Leah Remini: My Escape from Scientology
Johnny Dodd - 2016
Ron Hubbard—begins in Brooklyn's working-class Bensonhurst neighborhood, where she was introduced to the religion by her mom. More than three decades later, Leah summoned the courage to leave the church—something few celebrities at her level of fame have ever done before and almost none have ever talked about. This People Spotlight Story explores Leah Remini and her escape from Scientology.
Crate Digger: An Obsession with Punk Records
Bob Suren - 2015
His new passion causes him to form a band, track down out-of-print records that he loves and begin to reissue them, open a record store, begin a record distribution operation as a public service, mentor a host of young musicians, and befriend all manner of punk luminaries along the way. Slowly, his life’s pursuit pushes him to the point of personal ruination and ultimately redemption.
Candace Owens: An Unauthorized Biography of the Conservative Thinker and Founder of Blexit
Richard West - 2020
Owens launched the Blexit movement to encourage black voters to leave the Democrat plantation.Today, the mainstream media calls her a white nationalist, even though she is the black granddaughter of a Southern sharecropper. Some conservatives, on the other hand, believe she will one day be President.In this biography, Richard West provides Candace Owens’ life story, showing how she evolved from a victim-mentality liberal to a victor-mentality conservative. She went from being “a girl who started with nothing” to a true American success.
Honor Few, Fear None: The Life and Times of a Mongol
Ruben Cavazos - 2008
He becomes the man known—and, in a few special cases, feared—as Doc, international president of the Mongols, the fastest-growing and most closely watched organization of its kind in the United States.In reality, the Mongols are a tightly knit band of brothers devoted in equal measure to the club, their fellow Mongols, and their freedom. They live to enjoy life, party, and travel the open road. Above all, they demand respect. When pushed too far, Mongols join together to push back. Just ask the Hells Angels, the Ukrainian mafia, the Mexican mafia, and the U.S. government. All have tested the Mongols' resolve.In Honor Few, Fear None, Doc is ready, for the first time, to share the stories of the Mongols' battle to survive and thrive against incredible odds and sometimes terrible violence.Doc takes you to the streets and into the bars, the secret meetings, the brawls, and the shoot-outs, all proof that if you live like a Mongol does, you must honor few, fear none.
Nothing of Importance: A Record of Eight Months at the Front with a Welsh Battalion, October 1915 to June 1916
John Bernard Pye Adams - 1916
Nothing could have prepared him for the reality he ended up facing. Placing his focus on the day to day existence of the soldiers in the trenches, Adams presents a grim picture of mud-coated billets, relentless artillery barrages, working parties, training and the art of military sniping. Just as it would have been for the soldiers’ lives, Adams heightens his work with an emotive account of his first night patrol, the detonation of mines, battlefield duels and being wounded whilst out wiring in No Man’s Land. Understated and striving for truth over melodrama, Nothing of Importance is the original memoir of the First World War — the only record published while the conflict was still being fought — and the definitive account of trench warfare. Bernard Adams (1890-1917) was a British Army officer, joining 1 Royal Welsh Fusiliers as a Lieutenant in November 1914. He was the first of a triumvirate of authors who, for a time, served simultaneously in the same battalion: the second was Siegfried Sassoon, the third Robert Graves. Written whilst convalescing in 1916, he did not live to see it published.
Notes From a Very Small Island
Anthony Stancomb - 2015
Full of acute observation, uncontrollable humour and a rousing climax.’ - Country Life ‘To his credit Stancomb resists the stereotype of the closed-minded British expatriate.’ - Independent on Sunday - Pick of the paperbacks ‘A thoroughly good read ---An endearing tale of a roller coaster ride.’ - Croatia Online ‘This is not a tale of your usual English couple. This is such a fantastic read ... both humorous and thought provoking.’ - Travellingbookjunkie ‘The author presents this quirky little tale in an honest way, even when he is on the receiving end of a joke. You don’t need to make a break with your past to enjoy this book. It is a fascinating, humorous and totally believable read.’ - Robin’s Reviews ‘A good read. I enjoyed best the humorous bits.’ Tony Rossiter (author of It’s Only a Bloody Game) ‘A good read.’ - Tariq Ali Notes From a Very Small Island is the follow-up to the bestselling ‘Under a Croatian Sun’, which tells the story of a couple upping sticks and leaving their humdrum life in London for blue skies and café life on an island in Croatia. In this second book, the couple continue their attempts to fit in with the village community, but it’s not always easy, and more often than not their endeavours involve them in in hilarious disasters. They also now try to start some projects up, but they have to battle with maddening ex-communist authorities and highly suspicious locals. However, through this, they get to see the crippling legacies that communism and the recent war have left in the lives of their new neighbours. Although largely a light hearted tale, the book is also a heartfelt insight into a community trying to adjust to being members of the EU and the ways of the Western World.
Flight Path: A Search for Roots beneath the World's Busiest Airport
Hannah Palmer - 2017
Having uprooted herself from a promising career in publishing in her adopted Brooklyn, Palmer embarks on a quest to determine the fate of her lost homes—and of a community that has been erased by unchecked Southern progress. Palmer's journey takes her from the ruins of kudzu-covered, airport-owned ghost towns to carefully preserved cemeteries wedged between the runways; into awkward confrontations with airport planners, developers, and even her own parents. Along the way, Palmer becomes an amateur detective, an urban historian, and a mother. Lyrically chronicling the overlooked devastation and beauty along the airport’s fringe communities in the tradition of John Jeremiah Sullivan and Leslie Jamison, Palmer unearths the startling narratives about race, power, and place that continue to shape American cities. Part memoir, part urban history, Flight Path: A Search for My Roots beneath the World's Busiest Airport is a riveting account of one young mother's attempt at making a home where there’s little home left.
Shadow of My Father
John Gotti - 2015
But now in "Shadow of My Father," the real story of the King of the Volcano is revealed for the first time. John A. Gotti, who survived four trials and a parole violation hearing, in four years, without a guilty verdict, now takes up his pen to tell the story of his father’s unwavering dedication to the street, and how, as his son, he entered that life, and then, with his father’s permission, left the life of crime, and put the “Family” behind him to live a legitimate life with his real family. It is a saga of betrayal and redemption, and an insider’s view of how, at times, those who are tasked with upholding the law readily broke it to further their careers.
The Crime Factory: The Shocking True Story of a Front-Line CID Detective
Officer 'A' - 2012
. .
The Crime Factory.
Where they perform life-saving medical care in the street, comfort people as they die, deal with gruesome suicides and murders as first-on-scene, attend cot-death post-mortems, examine rotting dead junkies for signs of murder, watch guilty rapists and paedophiles walk free, fight drunk soldiers, gypsies and various psychotic individuals, go undercover to catch scumbags who force-feed them crack, find missing children, arrest thieves, muggers, dealers, rapists and murderers . . .
The Crime Factory.
It's enough to drive anyone insane.
The first book of its kind, this is the unforgettable and explosive true story of what life is really like as a police detective in the twenty-first century.
The Dean: The Best Seat in the House, from FDR to Obama
John David Dingell - 2018
House of Representatives for fifty-nine consecutive years, from December 13, 1955 to January 3, 2015—the longest tenure of anyone in Congressional history. The son of a Congressman, Dingell worked in his father’s office from childhood and became a house page in 1938, when he was just eleven years old. Retiring from Congress at eighty-nine, he has witnessed some of the most significant events that have shaped our nation and the world.In The Dean, Dingell looks back at his life at the center of American government and considers the currents that have reshaped our Congress and America itself, from his childhood memories of wartime Washington during the FDR administration, through the Reagan Revolution, to the election of the first black president, Barack Obama.Rife with a wisdom that literally only Dingell can possess, The Dean is the inspiring story of some of the greatest congressional achievements, of which Dingell was an integral part, and of the tough fights that made them possible. Dingell offers a persuasive defense for government, explaining how it once worked honorably and well—in defeating Hitler, sending us to the moon, ending segregation, and providing for the common good of all our citizens. He argues that to secure our future and continue our progress, we must work together once again—lessons desperately needed today.
Philosophy of Sailing: Offshore in Search of the Universe
Christian Williams - 2018
The Happiness of Pursuit: A Father's Courage, a Son's Love and Life's Steepest Climb
Davis Phinney - 2011
He won two stages at the Tour de France and an Olympic medal. But after years of feeling off, he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s. The body that had been his ally was now something else: a prison. The Happiness of Pursuit is the story of how Davis sought to overcome his Parkinson’s by reaching back to what had made him so successful on the bike and adjusting his perspective on what counted as a win. The news of his diagnosis began a dark period for this vibrant athlete, but there was also light. His son Taylor’s own bike-racing career was taking off. Determined to beat the Body Snatcher, Davis underwent a procedure called deep brain stimulation. Although not cured, his symptoms abated enough for him to see Taylor compete in the Beijing Olympics. Davis Phinney had won another stage. But the joy, he discovered, was in the pursuit. With humor and grace, Phinney weaves the narrative of his battle with Parkinson’s with tales from his cycling career and from his son’s emerging career. The Happiness of Pursuit is a remarkable story of fathers and sons and bikes, of victories large and small.
Finding Your Harmony: Dream Big, Have Faith, and Achieve More Than You Can Imagine
Ally Brooke - 2020
Featuring sixteen pages of never-before-seen photos, Finding Your Harmony takes readers behind-the-scenes of her proudest musical accomplishments, solo success, and her time on Dancing with the Stars.Ally Brooke burst onto the music scene as a member of Fifth Harmony, and quickly became a fan favorite with her infectious positivity and approachable attitude – not to mention her incredible voice. Following the band’s meteoric rise to fame, she embarked on a solo career, releasing her own hit singles, joining the twenty-eighth season of Dancing with the Stars, and showing people everywhere the rewards of hard work and faith.Now in this moving and inspirational memoir, Ally opens up about the experiences that led her to the spotlight, offering lessons from the heart and revealing how her tight-knit, Mexican-American family have helped her to live fearlessly since she was first catapulted into stardom. Tracing her success from its beginnings in San Antonio, Texas, Ally details the passion for music that took hold of her at a young age, and how with the help of her family she pushed herself to achieve her dreams, no matter how impossible they seemed. While her rise to fame was rapid, it wasn’t always smooth, and Ally candidly discusses the challenges she faced along the way, sharing how she navigated tough moments by staying true to herself and her beliefs. Opening up about her journey since Fifth Harmony disbanded, Ally recalls her tireless efforts to make music on her terms, charting back to back singles in the top 40 and amassing over 200 million collective worldwide streams. She also delves into her time on Dancing with the Stars, demonstrating how she conquered her fears and insecurities on her way to a top three finish and further established herself as a role model for young people the world over.Infused with the positive approach to life and spiritual openness that have fueled Ally’s journey, Finding Your Harmony uses her stories to help others follow their inner voices—even when the outside world makes it hard. Wise, grounded, and filled with sixteen pages of never-before-seen photos, Finding Your Harmony is a fascinating glimpse into the life and heart of one of popular music’s rising stars.
Eddie: The Life and Times of America's Preeminent Bad Boy
Ken Osmond - 2014
When child actor Ken Osmond stepped onto the set of Leave it to Beaver in 1957, he not only entered our living rooms, he homesteaded a permanent place in the American pop culture. The poster child for sneaky, rotten kids everywhere, he was the reference point for cautious mothers to warn their children about. And everyone in America knew an Eddie Haskell at some point in his or her lives. The amazing phenomenon of Ken Osmond’s character is still going strong, over half a century after the show’s cancellation. Even today, the name Eddie Haskell remains firmly entrenched in the American lexicon. Political foes from both sides of the ideological spectrum love to accuse their opponents of, “acting like Eddie Haskell,” and when Kobi Bryant argues a referee’s call, tweets go out labeling him as an “Eddie Haskell.” Psychology Today Magazine has published articles about recognizing and treating “Eddie Haskell Syndrome” and Matt Groening created Bart Simpson as his own version of “the son of Eddie Haskell.” Now it’s time to meet Ken Osmond, the man behind America’s preeminent bad boy. A man who, as co-star Jerry Mathers said, “Was the best actor on the program, because he was so diametrically opposed to the character he played.” A devoted husband, father and patriot, he’s a man who’s been forever shadowed by Eddie Haskell, but whose own life, was even more amazing than the character he portrayed.