. . For the first time, a blistering, highly charged account from the man known as 'Marine A' who was at the centre of the controversial murder of a wounded Taliban fighter. His case led to an unprecedented wave of public support which raised over £800,000 to fund his appeal. The nerve-shredding situations Sgt Blackman operated within, under sustained attack for long periods, living in the unrelenting horror of a theatre of war, took their toll mentally and physically. 'This book chronicles my young life, my recruitment and training, my first deployments, and then my experiences in the Middle East, where I fought first in Iraq, and later completed two tours of duty in Helmand, Afghanistan - before finally confronting the final moment of my 2011 tour, and the killing of the Afghan insurgent which led to my conviction for murder. 'I confront this moment in a spirit of total honesty, chronicling the weeks and months of a hellish tour that led up to it, the mental frailties the tour exposed - and, without seeking to make excuses, reclaim at least some of that experience for myself. 'This is a searingly honest look at the brutal realities of life in the military.' - Sgt Alexander Blackman (Marine A)

    It includes tales of living through a lifetime of dysfunction, violence and terror at the hands of both her father and other nefarious individuals who would seek to perpetuate the cycle. More importantly though, it is also a story of how they did not succeed in this hateful quest, as Jvonne struggled on and through to the other side to embrace love, laughter and the pursuit of personal happiness. Part of this amazing transformation even led to her adoption of a biracial infant, an event that served both as a healing elixir to her soul and a grandiose “!#%& you” to all the ugliness that hate brings.

    One of the world’s longest-lived religious rites, having continued without break for fourteen hundred years, it is, like all things Islamic, shrouded in mystery for Westerners. In The Hadj, Michael Wolfe, an American who converted to Islam, recounts his own journey a pilgrim, and in doing so brings readers close to the heart of what the pilgrimage means to a member of the religion that claims one-sixth of the world’s population. Not since Sir Richard Burton’s account of the pilgrimage to Mecca over one hundred years ago has a Western writer described the Hadj in such fascinating detail.

    It begins with her shock at hearing about her son's illness and then goes on to recount his fight for survival together with his music, and tumultuous life.

    His natural gift for entertaining and his penchant for hobnobbing with the very rich earned him entry to the powerful circle of the New York and Newport social elite, where Harry clowned his way to a position of prominence. One of his admirers and patrons, Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish, introduced him to a young widow, Elizabeth Wharton Drexel. Elizabeth was smitten with young Harry, his elegant dress, and outrageous behavior. They were soon married. But King Lehr had a secret-he was not what he seemed. (He was very gay). On their wedding night he dictated to his new bride the rules of their "special" alliance. For twenty-three years, Mrs. Lehr protected his secret and remained in a sexless marriage. But Harry gave her a lot of fun. After Harry's death, Elizabeth remarried, to the Baron Decies. Lady Decies wrote down her secret story in 1938, incorporating Harry's most intimate diaries, and told all in this scandalous tale of power, desire, and deception.

    "Because all levels of society hated us we created a new society of hatred symbolised by the bulldog. Its ferocious habits were engraved on our hearts," Tuhoe says, "If you weren't a mobster you weren't worth knowing." He lived this way for 17 years.However, constantly living for the bash, beer, prison and the possibility of dying in a pool of blood eventually saw Tuhoe search for another way of doing life. Leaving the Mob was hard. Not only did he face the rejection of his own and the fierce judgemental prejudices of mainstream society, but with the awakening of his conscience came the realisation of a past filled with inflicting pain on others besides himself, and of a life devoid of any sense of love or hope. This led him down a path of confession, forgiveness and reconciliation.True Red is the essential biography of one man's fascinating journey from the realm of darkness into the world of light.

    But you don't know the truth. A religious zealot put a $250,000 bounty on my head, urging that I be tortured before I'm killed. I was condemned by the President of the United States, the majority leaders of the House and Senate, the governor of Florida, the Pope, Jesse Jackson, and the right-wing media. My two babies were threatened with death to teach me a lesson. On the night my wife died, snipers had to be posted on the roof of the hospice because of death threats." Michael Schiavo's memoir may not change your mind about the Terri Schiavo issue, but it will help you realize at what stakes it was waged.

    

    It meant nearly freezing when sleeping outside in 50-below-zero weather. It meant canoeing upstream for hundreds of miles to reach remote Indian villages. It meant eating wild cat and other stranger things, or eating nothing for days at a time. But it also meant you were privileged to present the good news of the true Great Spirit to those who were often misunderstood and mistreated. The adventures in this book are rivaled only by the incredible conversions of those who saw the Creator in nature and then worshipped Him too. You will be challenged and inspired by the results of one man who went where the Lord led, with little regard for himself. About the Author Egerton Ryerson Young was a teacher, pastor, author, and a brave missionary to remote Canadian Indians. Young’s mother died in 1842, and consequently he was raised by his stepmother, Maria Farley. After a brief stint as a school teacher, Young was ordained and called to a pastorate of the First Methodist Church in Hamilton. In 1868, however, he was invited to become a missionary to the natives of Rupert’s Land. After praying over this with his new wife, Elizabeth, he asked her what she thought about this call. “I think it is from God and we will go,” was her reply. What happens next is the compelling story of this book.

    It was time for a change of career. So he wrote two best-selling books, became a sports writer and travel writer, stood as a parliamentary candidate in Norwich North, Norwich South, Southampton Test and Neath, applied to become the country's Drug Czar, and embarked on a long-running sell-out series of one man shows.While performing in his home town of Kenfig Hill, he fell among old friends who made extraordinary claims for Welsh culture (Was Elvis really Welsh? Was there really a tribe of Welsh-speaking Native Americans?) At the same time his elderly aunt told him of his outlaw ancestry: William Owen, the legendary Welsh smuggler (who had operated for some time in South America) and his great-great-grandfather Patrick McCarty, the half brother of Billy the Kid, who had joined Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in Patagonia. He decided to explore South America.His travels took him to Jamaica and Panama in the footsteps of the Welsh buccaneer Henry Morgan; he went to Brazil looking for groups of Welsh settlers so obscure he never found them (although he did succeed in finding his musical idol Jimmy Page); and he searched among the thriving Welsh community in Patagonia for signs of Billy the Kid's half brother. Richly comic and charged with the sense of adventure that would induce an Oxford graduate to become the world's most notorious marijuana smuggler, Señor Nice is the hugely entertaining sequel to Mr Nice.

    It takes unbelievable grace and humility to love others well. This book offers grace, ideas, practical help and a story of one broken mama fighting to live well with her children.

    Who Speaks for Islam? is about this silenced majority. This book is the product of the Gallup World Poll’s massive, multiyear research study. As part of this groundbreaking project, Gallup conducted tens of thousands of interviews with residents of more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have significant Muslim populations. Gallup posed questions that are on the minds of millions: Is Islam to blame for terrorism? Why is there so much anti-Americanism in the Muslim world? Who are the extremists? Where are the moderates? What do Muslim women really want? Grounded in Gallup World Poll data, not in contentious rhetoric, Who Speaks for Islam? brings data-driven evidence — the voices of a billion Muslims, not those of individual “experts” or “extremists”— to one of the most heated and consequential debates of our time.

    and unicycles by the founders of the LOVE YOUR SISTER charity, Connie and Samuel Johnson, that will inspire and they hope get people talking about boobs! Born a year apart, Connie and Samuel Johnson have always been close. Faced with the devastating news that they would soon be separated forever, they made a decision.After already surviving cancer twice in her young life, at 33 Connie was diagnosed with breast cancer. But this time it was a whole different ball game. This time she was told she will die, leaving behind her two sons. As a young mum faced with her own death, Connie wanted to make it all less meaningless, and she knew just the way to do it - send her brother, Sam, on a one-wheeled odyssey around Australia.The aims: to break the world record for the longest distance travelled on a unicycle. To raise $1 million for the Garvan Research Foundation. And, most importantly, to remind women to be breast aware and stop others having to say goodbye to those they love.Their message is simple: 'Don't fall into the booby trap.' Samuel has travelled through every state and ridden more than 150,000 kilometres to raise awareness and raise research dollars.But Connie had a secret fourth aim: to fix Samuel. And it worked. Sam cleared his diary, cleaned himself up and tenaciously kept his promise to his dying sister.For them the job isn't over. They are determined to raise more money for research. Connie vows to fight until her dying day and Sam says the fight will go on long after that.These two remarkable Australians share their tale, from childhood through to the finish line and beyond in this truly unique story. Part memoir, part travel diary, part conversation, LOVE YOUR SISTER is an inspiring and unforgettable story that shows just how far one man will go for his sister.

    Raped by her father from age six and pregnant at eleven and again at thirteen, he kidnapped her and went on the run as the net eventually closed in around him. Shannon's story is not an easy read; she goes into graphic detail about her sexual, physical and mental abuse, which included being burned with an iron, hit with a hammer and even stabbed. Her father told her "it was something all fathers do with their daughters," and for a time she believed him. Shannon wrote this book to start making sense of her childhood and is currently studying towards a degree in Forensic Psychology to help understand what makes people evil. "It was a painful journey," she explains, “but it was worth it because I want to help others who have been through similar experiences."

    One day he would arrive on my North London doorstep, fall madly in love with me and ask me to marry him. Then he would convert to Islam and become a devoted Muslim.Shelina is keeping a very surprising secret under her headscarf - she wants to fall in love and find her faith. Torn between the Buxom Aunties, romantic comedies and mosque Imams, she decides to follow the arranged-marriage route to finding Mr Right, Muslim-style. Shelina's captivating journey begins as a search for the one, but along the way she also discovers herself and her faith.