Book picks similar to
Ferg's World by Fergus O'Connell


autobiographical
motorcycle
short-stories-anthology

Saga of a Wayward Sailor


Tristan Jones - 1979
    Jones survives storms, dismastings, arrest by the Soviet Navy, being sunk by whales, and the smuggling of Edam cheese and Barbary apes. Through his eyes we get to meet an intriguing cast of dockside characters: Karl, the German fish-canning salesman; Pete, the Australian smuggler; Sissie, the Englishwoman who wheedles her way permanently aboard; and Nelson, Jones' three-legged dog.

Hunter


John A. Hunter - 1952
    Hunter, a professional big-game hunter and former chairman of Tanganyika National Parks. J A. Hunter led a life of adventure, but, perhaps, the most astonishing tale in this book is his incredible adventures while hunting rhino. As a game ranger, he was ordered by the Tanganyikan government to clear out dozens of rogue rhinos from the area around Makueni, and the accounts of his experiences are spine-tingling. Hunter hunted throughout East Africa-for bongo in the Ituri rain forest (former Zaire), lion in Masailand (Kenya), and the man-killing buffalo near Thomson's Falls with his favorite dog (Kenya).

The Best of Benn: Speeches, Diaries, Letters, and Other Writings


Tony Benn - 2014
    The Best of Benn showcases his powers of original thinking and communication over seven decades.From 'the baby of the house' to a retired widower, he was a consistently radical campaigning voice on issues such as the death penalty, the case against the European Union, opposition to war and support of workers' rights.This volume brings together Tony Benn's electrifying speeches, thoughtful journalism and passionate advocacy of often unconventional causes.

Mr. Pizza


J.F. Pandolfi - 2018
    Tony Piza (long "i", my friends) is no exception. It’s 1973, and Tony decides he needs a carefree year off after college . . . with pay.To the shock of his tight-knit family and closest friends, he postpones law school and talks his way into a job teaching sixth grade at a Catholic school in Staten Island, N. Y.A paid vacation if ever there was one! Yeah, right.Say hi to the Moby Dick of miscalculations. His pathetic effort is making him look bad, especially compared to the other sixth-grade instructor, Sister Theresa, an energetic young nun whose sunny disposition could have turned Attila the Hun into a daisy-picking philanthropist.It’s also crimping his efforts to enchant Colleen O’Brien, a stunning, straight-talking teacher who sees right through him.To make matters worse, his inability to curb his snarky and irreverent sense of humor antagonizes the powers-that-be: the alpha-male president of the school board, and the pastor who’s more interested in single malt scotch than saving souls.Does he have the ability—or the desire—to turn things around to try to save his job? And will he ever realize that his students deserve a lot more than they’ve been getting from him? Scroll to the top and get “Mr. Pizza” now. You’ll be glad you did.

Mama Tina


Christina Noble - 1994
    Against extraordinary odds she opened the Christina Noble Children's Foundation, a haven of food, beds, medical aid and schooling where the street children of Saigon can find safety and new beginnings under the protection of "Mama Tina".In this vivid and moving book, Christina's compelling story continues with the amazing tale of what she and her Foundation have achieved. She takes us from the streets of Saigon to the Children's Prisons of Mongolia. A staunch campaigner for children's rights, for her there are no frontiers, only a world filled with children reaching out.

Double Exposure: A Twin Autobiography


Gloria Vanderbilt - 1958
    The whole world followed with bated breath the searing custody trial over young Gloria that pitted mother against daughter and shook the Vanderbilts and society. While much has been written from the outside about all of this, the two principals have never before disclosed the real truth behind the rumors and the headlines. And exciting as are their personal adventures and escapades, their story is also a portrait of an era.In every age there have been certain women who through a combination of beauty and personality have attracted the love and admiration of rich or famous men, and who seem to be the embodiments of the feminine charm of the period. The Edwardian era had its Lily Langtry, the Napoleonic its Josephine, the eighteenth century its Du Barry and its Lady Hamilton—and so on back to antiquity. In our time, among those women who have come close to fitting this role are Lady Furness and Gloria Vanderbilt.From childhood each had the elusive qualities that characterize the femme fatale. Both knew the love of many men, both suffered deeply, and now both have happily risen above the vicissitudes of their checkered careers and face the future with gallantry, humor, and without rancor or bitterness over the past. In this spirit, and with all sincerity, they have set down the story of their lives.In Double Exposure, we are given a matchless picture of life among the great—and the near-great—in the now-vanished world between the two wars. Above all, we come to know the minds and hearts and philosophy of life and love of two fascinating women, and something of the nature of fascination itself.

Underestimated: An Autism Miracle


J.B. Handley - 2021
    In Underestimated: An Autism Miracle, Generation Rescue’s cofounder J.B. Handley and his teenage son Jamison tell the remarkable story of Jamison’s journey to find a method of communication that allowed him to show the world that he was a brilliant, wise, generous, and complex individual who had been misunderstood and underestimated by everyone in his life. Jamison’s emergence at the age of seventeen from his self-described “prison of silence” took place over a profoundly emotional and dramatic twelve-month period that is retold from his father’s perspective. The book reads like a spy thriller while allowing the reader to share in the complex emotions of both exhilaration and anguish that accompany Jamison’s journey for him and his family. Once Jamison’s extraordinary story has been told, Jamison takes over the narrative to share the story from his perspective, allowing the world to hear from someone who many had dismissed and cast aside as incapable. Jamison’s remarkable transformation challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding autism, a disability impacting 1 in 36 Americans. Many scientists still consider nonspeakers with autism—a full 40 percent of those on the autism spectrum—to be “mentally retarded.” Is it possible that the experts are wrong about several million people? Are all the nonspeakers like Jamison?Underestimated: An Autism Miracle will touch your heart, inspire you, remind you of the power of love, and ultimately leave you asking tough questions about how many more Jamisons might be waiting for their chance to be freed from their prison of silence, too. And, for the millions of parents of children with autism, the book offers a detailed description of a communication method that may give millions of people with autism back their voice.

Dear Lumpy: Letters to a Disobedient Daughter


Roger Mortimer - 2013
    Your mother bashed her car yesterday and chooses to believe it was not her fault...'Roger Mortimer's witty dressing-downs and affectionate advice were not only directed at his wayward son, Lupin. Though better behaved than her mischievous older brother, Louise (aka 'Lumpy') still caused her father to reach for his typewriter.The trials and tribulations of Louise's days at boarding school, her eventful wedding to Hot¬Hand-Henry and the birth of his grandchildren are all accompanied by a sometimes chiding, but always loving letter.Between these milestones, Roger gives updates on the family, pets and the local gossip, holds forth on the weather, road safety, and even suggests the best way to make a gravy soup, all in his own inimitable style.With the same unique charm and often snort-inducing humour that made Dear Lupin a bestseller, Roger Mortimer guides and supports his daughter through every scrape she found herself in. Hilarious and instantly familiar, Dear Lumpy is a perfect example of the glorious art of letter writing, and the timeless relationship between father and daughter.

Postcards from the Ledge


Greg Child - 1998
    With clever wit, sharp observations, and insightful reflections, Child's writing covers the full spectrum of the mountaineering experience.Entertaining even to those who have never been above sea level, Child's stories reveal climbing's other face. His description of the daily habits of mountaineers on expedition (who don't bathe for months) is both disgusting and horrifyingly funny. A post-climb fiasco in the offices of petty Pakistani bureaucrats proves that not all epics take place on high mountain faces. Falling of a rock climb in front of his mother is an exercise in humility.Child takes up climbing controversy with the same keen insight. His investigation of Tomo Cesen's claimed first ascent of Lhotse's south wall is considered the definitive report on this controversial event. A hard look at the media frenzy around the death of Alison Hargreaves on K2 evolves into a brilliant, impassioned defense of a friend. He also speaks out on the money- and media-driven expeditions that now crowd Everest.But Child never preaches. Whether contrasting his clumsy performance with Lynn Hill's elegant moves on a climb in the remote mountains of Kyrgyzstan or reflecting upon artifacts (from crucifixes to pink flamingos) that decorate the world's highest peaks, he writes it as he sees it, with a dose of wit. A true insider, Greg Child draws us deep into the world of climbing but never denies its dark side.

Take a Seat: One Man, One Tandem and Twenty Thousand Miles of Possibilities


Dominic Gill - 2010
    A highly personal account of a remarkable journey that pushed the author to the brink

Papa: A Personal Memoir


Gregory H. Hemingway - 1976
    Love, anger, danger, estrangement, and emptiness are revealed in the author's recollections of his relationship with his world-famous father, Ernest Hemingway.

RoadKill


K.L. Ramsey - 2020
    I’m a bottom feeder of society; at least that’s what I’m told. Sure, I’ve made some mistakes but I’ve paid for them. I’m free and ready to prove that I’m not who everyone thought I was. I want things I never thought were possible until now—until her. Vivian Ward is my salvation and I won’t let her go.Cillian James walked into my life and turned my boring little world on its ass. Everyone deserves a second chance to make things right and God, I want to be his. I know who he is; who everyone claims him to be but he’s not a killer. They might have given him the nickname “Kill” but those assholes don’t know him like I do. He’s so much more than what they’ve made him.RoadKill is the first book of the Savage Hell MC Series by K.L. Ramsey. This series is a spin-off from Savage Heat (Royal Bastards MC Book 1).

Beast (VII Knights)


Hilary Storm - 2021
    He has no tolerance for annoyances and is the first to eliminate any that arise. His scars line the depth of his soul, and the memories keep him living in the past.She's not prepared to go face to face with anger and hatred, but that's all he knows. Will he tear her heart to shreds or will she find a way into his?

If at First: A Season With the Mets


Keith Hernandez - 1986
    

Daughter of Dust: Growing up an Outcast in the Desert of Sudan


Wendy Wallace - 2009
    Her parents are unable to care for her, so she is banished to a strict orphanage, along with children born outside marriage. At school, Leila and her best friend Amal are called 'daughters of sin'. Her pretty sister, Zulima, is married off to a much older man, while the nannies say an abandoned girl is lucky to get an offer of marriage at all. At the age of ten, both Leila and Amal endure female circumcision. Suffering appalling prejudice, and thought to bring the 'evil eye', Leila remains outgoing and brave and manages to get an education. She goes on to marry, have four children, and divorce, yet even grown up she continues to know the stigma of being abandoned. Undaunted, Leila founds her own charity to help those shunned as outcasts and she continues to work tirelessly to dispel prejudice. This beautifully written, graceful memoir perfectly evokes the heat and colour of the North African desert and tells of the true friendships that are born out of adversity.