Ralph Hotere- The Dark is Light Enough: A Biographical Portrait by Vincent O'Sullivan

$45.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Vincent O'Sullivan's compelling, nuanced portrait of the great New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere brings the man and his art to life. Ralph Hotere (Te Aupouri and Te Rarawa; 1931-2013) was one of Aotearoa's most significant modern artists. Hotere invited the poet, novelist and biographer Vincent O'Sullivan to write his life story in 2005. Now, this book - the result of years of research and many conversations with Hotere and his fellow artists, collaborators, friends and family - provides a nuanced, compelling portrait of Hotere: the man, and the artist. ...Show more

Bella: My Life in Food by Annabel Langbein

$39.99 NZD

$49.99 (20% off)

Category: Cooking & Food | Reading Level: near fine

Bursting with tender and funny anecdotes and gorgeous recipes, Bella is Annabel Langbein's must-read memoir. For the first time, Annabel Langbein, New Zealand's most popular cookbook author, writes about her remarkable life and how food has shaped it, highlighting some of the recipes that have resonated most strongly with her over the years. From her childhood fascination with cooking to a teenage flirtation as a Maoist hippie, to possum trapping and living off the land as a hunter and forager, to travelling and starting her own croissant business in Brazil, Annabel's life has always been centred on food and nature. Out of this came an obsession with creating cookbooks, introducing a generation of cooks to her simple recipes for delicious, stylish meals. Annabel has lived a huge and varied life, and she writes vividly about her many adventures. From throughout this rich life in food she has chosen 60 key recipes, created with her signature style and flair that make cooking easy for everyone, sharing them in this beautifully photographed book. ...Show more

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld

$49.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

The first book in twenty-five years from Jerry Seinfeld features his best work across five decades in comedy. Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub Catch a Rising Star as a twenty-one-year-old student in autumn of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved eve rything. 'Whenever I came up with a funny bit, whether it happened on a stage, in a conversation, or working it out on my preferred canvas - the big yellow legal pad - I kept it in one of those old-school accordion folders,' Seinfeld writes. 'So I have everything I thought was worth saving from forty-five years of hacking away at this for all I was worth.' For this book, Jerry Seinfeld has selected his favourite material, organised decade by decade. In page after hilarious page, one brilliantly crafted observation after another, readers will witness the evolution of one of the great comedians of our time and gain new insights into the thrilling but unforgiving art of writing stand-up comedy.   ...Show more

Wild at Heart - The Dangers and Delights of a Nomadic Life by Miriam Lancewood

$36.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

  Gripping sequel to the international bestseller Woman in the Wilderness, Miriam Lancewood's story of the quest for a simple life, unfettered by society's norms. Miriam Lancewood's first book Woman in the Wilderness told her story of living for seven years in the wilderness of New Zealand with her husb and, hunting and gathering, and roaming the mountains like nomads. Miriam and Peter left New Zealand to explore other wild places. They walked 2000 km through the forests of Europe and along the coast of Turkey, mostly camping under trees and cooking by fire. They lived on the edge, embracing insecurity, and found the unexpected: sometimes it was pure bliss, sometimes it was terrifying. But when they moved on to the Australian desert, they met with disaster. This gripping story is about life and death, courage and the power of love ...Show more

A Life of Extremes - The Life and Times of a Polar Filmmaker by Max Quinn

$49.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: near fine

Max Quinn's filmmaking career has taken him to the ends of the earth; from his native New Zealand to Alaska; Antarctica to the Arctic. A Life of Extremes is a personal account of his travel and work in these remote locations. It focuses on Max's polar filmmaking experiences, which started in 1991 when h e spent 11 months filming the wildlife of Antarctica. The illuminating text and stunning images illustrate 20 years of subsequent adventures in polar climates. The stories in this book capture experiences that can only be had in the most extreme places on earth. Whether it be travelling 80 kilometres over crevassed ice to a lonely colony of Emperor penguins who have evolved to live and breed in temperatures as low as -50 degrees, or figuring out how to keep bodies and cameras warm in the coldest places on earth, Max Quinn has a story to tell about it. The historical background given to the tales will enthral any natural history buff, while filmmaking enthusiasts will wonder at the methods behind capturing life on the edge. Become inspired to leave the tourist trail behind with this unique book about what life is like behind the camera, beyond public transport and even human inhabitation. Learn about dog sled racing, the last great ice age, penguin colonies, and everything else that happens in the immensely beautiful landscapes where the temperature is permanently below freezing.   ...Show more

The Reacher Guy - The Authorised Biography of Lee Child by Heather Martin

$37.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

The Reacher Guy is a life of bestselling superstar Lee Child, a portrait of the artist as a young man, refracted through the life of his fictional avatar, Jack Reacher. It tells the story of how the boy from Birmingham reinvented himself to become the strongest brand in publishing, selling over one hund red million books in more than forty different languages across the globe. Heather Martin interviews friends, teachers, colleagues and neighbours, including agents and editors. Based primarily on her conversations with the author over a period of years, together with readings of his books and research in his archive, this authorised biography reveals the man behind the myth, tracing his origins back through the generations to Northern Ireland and County Durham, and following the trajectory of his extraordinary career via New York and Hollywood until the climactic moment when, in 2020, having written a continuous series of twenty-four books, he finally floats free of his fictional creation. ...Show more

This Is Not How It Ends: How Rewriting your Story can Save Your Life by Jehan Casinader

$35.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

A BOOK OF HEALING AND HOPE BY NEW ZEALAND TV JOURNALIST JEHAN CASINADER As an award-winning TV journalist, Jehan Casinader told other people's stories - until he lost control of his own. Severely depressed, he tried everything - from mindfulness to massage; Prozac to Pilates. Was something missing? Th is Is Not How It Ends chronicles Jehan's four-year battle with depression, and how the power of storytelling helped him to survive. He argues that many of us think our brains are broken, but in fact, our stories are broken. Jehan began an experiment on himself. Could he rewrite his past? Could he reinvent his character? Could he create a whole new plot? This gritty, vulnerable book will challenge readers' understanding of mental distress, and give them the tools to reshape their own life stories. ...Show more

Stephen Hawking by Leonard Mlodinow

$35.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

An icon of the last fifty years, Stephen Hawking seems to encapsulate genius- not since Albert Einstein has a scientific figure held such a position in popular consciousness. In this enthralling memoir, writer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow tells the story of his friend and their friendship, offering an intimate account of this giant of science. The two met in 2003, when Stephen asked Leonard if he would consider writing a book with him, the follow up to the bestselling A Brief History of Time. As they spent years working on a second book, The Grand Design, they forged a deep connection and Leonard gained a much better understanding of Stephen's daily life and struggles - as well as his compassion and good humour. Together they obsessed over the perfect sentence, debated the physics, and occasionally punted on Cambridge's waterways with champagne and strawberries. In time, Leonard was able to finish Stephen's jokes, chide his sporadic mischief, and learn how the hardships of his illness helped forge that unique perspective on the universe. By weaving together their shared story with a clear-sighted portrayal of Hawking's scientific achievements, Mlodinow creates a beautiful portrait of Stephen Hawking as a brilliant, impish and generous man whose life was not only exceptional but also genuinely inspiring. ...Show more

Oscar Garden: An Tale of One Man's Love of Flying by Annamaria Garden

$45.00 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: near fine

One day in 1930, a man walked into a department store in London and bought an aeroplane. Having just learned to fly, Oscar Garden dreamed of flying to Australia. In his newly purchased aeroplane, he did just that. This adventure and myriad others this risk-taker embarked on are recounted in this book. O scar's love of flying saw him joy riding to many places in the world, including New Zealand, South Africa, and up through Africa to Palestine. While based in London, he joined British Airways and Imperial Airways flying flying boats across the Empire. Finally, he came to rest in Auckland, New Zealand, after delivering the Awarua, the second of New Zealand's flying boats, used during World War II for communication and travel, reducing New Zealand's isolation. He became Chief Pilot of TEAL, the New Zealand airline, for half of the war years and beyond, and eventually resigned due to serious disagreement over management and political agendas. This biography describes Oscar Garden's fascinating journey through these episodes. ...Show more

Eleven Bats: A Story of Combat, Cricket and the SAS by Anthony 'Harry' Moffitt

$39.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Anthony 'Harry' Moffitt spent more than twenty years in the SAS. His decades of service and his multiple tours in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan made him one of the regiment's most experienced and recognised figures.   Alongside the SAS, Harry's other lifetime love is cricket. An improvised game of c ricket was often the circuit-breaker Harry and his team needed after the tension of operations. He began a tradition of organising matches wherever he was sent, whether it was in the mountains of East Timor with a fugitive rebel leader, or on the dusty streets of Baghdad, or in exposed Forward Operating Bases in the hills of Afghanistan. Soldiers, locals and even visiting politicians played in these spontaneous yet often bridge-building games. As part of the tradition, Harry also started to take a cricket bat with him on operational tours, eleven of them in total. They'd often go outside the wire with him and end up signed by those he met or fought alongside. These eleven bats form the basis for Harry's extraordinary memoir. It's a book about combat, and what it takes to serve in one of the world's most elite formations. It's a book about the toll that war takes on soldiers and their loved ones. And it's a book about the healing power of cricket, and how a game can break down borders in even the most desperate of circumstances. ...Show more

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

$34.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs | Reading Level: near fine

The story of a life built on sand. In the rain. In this compelling memoir, comedian and actor Alan Davies recalls his boyhood with vivid insight and devastating humour. Shifting between his 1970s upbringing and his life today, Davies moves poignantly from innocence to experience to the clarity of hindsi ght, always with a keen sense of the absurd. From sibling dynamics, to his voiceless, misunderstood progression through school, sexuality and humiliating 'accidents', Davies inhabits his younger mind with spectacular accuracy, sharply evoking an era when Green Shield Stamps, Bob-a-Job week and Whizzer & Chips loomed large, a bus fare was 2p - and children had little power in the face of adult motivation. Here, there are often exquisitely tender recollections of the mother he lost at six years old, of a bereaved family struggling to find its way, and the kicks and confusion of adolescence. Through even the joyous and innocent memories, the pain of Davies's lifelong grief and profound betrayal is unfiltered, searing and beautifully articulated. Just Ignore Him is not only an autobiography, it is a testament to a survivor's resilience and courage.   ...Show more

Stories of Hope: Finding Inspiration in Everyday Lives by Heather Morris

$32.99 NZD

Category: Biographies & Memoirs

Heather Morris, author of the internationally bestselling novels The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, grew up on a farm in rural New Zealand. On her way back across the paddocks from school, Heather would visit her great-grandfather and listen to his experiences of war - stories he told only Heather. From a young age Heather discovered that people would tell her their stories if she stopped and listened. In Stories of Hope, Heather Morris will explore the art of listening - a skill she employed when she met Lale Sokolov, the Tattooist of Auschwitz. It was her ability to listen that led him to entrust her with his story. Stories of Hope will examine Heather's extraordinary journey, in the form of a series of beautifully rendered tales of the people she has met, the remarkable stories they have shared with her, and the lessons they hold for us all.   ...Show more