Biografier

Everyone knows Steve Madden's name and his shoes, but few are familiar with his story. Over the past thirty years Steve Madden has taken his eponymous shoe company from the fledgling start up he founded with a mere $1,100 to a global, multi-billion dollar brand. But Madden's mistakes, from his battle with addiction to the financial shortcuts that landed him in prison, are as important to his story as his most iconic shoes. In this raw, intimate, and ultimately inspiring book, Madden holds nothing back as he shares what it took to get here and the lessons he's learned along the way. From his unconventional hiring strategies to his slavish devotion to product, Madden offers a business perspective that is as unique as his styles. In The Cobbler, readers are treated to the wild ride though his rise, fall, and comeback. But they will also walk away uplifted by a man who has owned up to his mistakes and come back determined to give back and use his hard-won platform to create positive change.

An intimate new biography of Joni Mitchell, one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century

Robert Maudsley casually walked into the cell of another inmate, who was sleeping on his bunk facedown. A savage rage quickly took over, and Maudsley started stabbing the back of the man''s head. There was blood, pieces of brain, and chunks of hair flying in a fury. After the man went limp, Maudsley grabbed the man''s head and held it in both palms and started to smash it against the walls of the cell, so hard that the plaster began to fall off the ceiling.Nurses and guards had to watch on, not being able to get into the cell, hearing the victim''s head crack each time it was smashed against the wall. After Maudsley finished with the attack, he sat the limp body up against the bed, got down on his knees, and started to eat chunks of the brain with his home-made knife.Robert Maudsley was dubbed "Hannibal the Cannibal'' on account of his thirst for eating the brains of his victims. He is one of the most interesting and thought-provoking murderers in prison. He will be housed in a bulletproof cage, in the basement of Wakefield Prison, England, where Britain hold its most savage, high-profile convicts. He is known to be such a danger to others, even inmates, he lives in a specially designed cell that doesn''t allow him any contact with anybody, except for guards that will slide his food through a small hole at the bottom of one of his cells.Robert Maudsley is deemed to be the ''Most Dangerous Prisoner in Britain.'' Even though he only killed one person outside of prison, his remaining victims were claimed while incarcerated. This book reviews Maudsley''s life from his tormented childhood, his rage-filled murder outside of prison, and the planned torturous murders of three convicted pedophiles.In the basement of Wakefield, you might be surprised who else has been housed beside him, and what kind of relationship they have.

A history of historians that demonstrates how the telling of history is inevitably influenced by the life and beliefs of the storyteller - 'Grave and witty, suave yet pointed - erudite yet engaging and full of energy' Hilary Mantel

Timed for the 50th anniversary of his legendary Super Bowl "Guarantee," the NFL icon who first brought show business to sports is finally ready to tell the story of his spectacular rise and reign as "Broadway Joe," to his struggles with alcoholism, to the redemption he found in god later in life

A moving and intimate portrait of nature during the lockdown spring of 2020 - the first book to document the environmental impact of this world-historical event.

A life-affirming, shockingly candid memoir of how he survived depression, alcoholism and pyschosis -- and what helped save his life and sanity

What is it like to be a wife of a politician in modern-day Britain? Sasha Swire finally lifts the lid. For more than twenty years she has kept a secret diary detailing the trials and tribulations of being a political plus-one, and gives us a ringside seat at the seismic political events of the last decade. A professional partner and loyal spouse, Swire has strong political opinions herself - sometimes more 'No, Minister' than 'Yes'. She detonates the stereotype of the dutiful wife. From shenanigans in Budleigh Salterton to state banquets at Buckingham Palace, gun-toting terrorist busters in pizza restaurants to dinners in Downing Street sitting next to Boris Johnson, Devon hedges to partying with City hedgies, she observes the great and the not-so-great at the closest of quarters. The results are painfully revealing and often hilariously funny. Here are the friendships and the fall-outs, the general elections and the leadership contests, the scandals and the rivalries. Swire showed up, shored up and rarely shut up. She also wrote it all down. Diary of an MP's Wife is a searingly honest, wildly indiscreet and often uproarious account of what life is like in the thick of it.

A brilliant combination of lyrical memoir and guide to living and dying, comparable to Kathryn Mannix's With the End in Mind and Julia Samuel's Grief Works, from the author of Your Life in My Hands.

The hilarious and eye-opening new book from one of Britain's best-loved figures.

The stunningly candid autobiography of one of cycling's great names and the man who rode alongside Lance Armstrong for each of his now infamous seven Tour victoriesGeorge Hincapie has always personified more than the sport in which he chose to compete, cycling, and his legacy will be more than the sum of his accomplishments on the road. It is also intertwined with the team-mates he helped to achieve success.As Lance Armstrong's trusted sidekick, he helped re-write the record books of the greatest cycling event in the world, the Tour de France. No other team-mate was with Lance for all seven of his wins. No one was closer to him as a friend or confidante and no one was closer to the scandal which would ultimately bring down Armstrong and so many of those around him.Told with stunning candour, 'The Loyal Lietenant' offers the most transparent and engaging account yet of the now infamous years of cycling's modern history.It is a book that will once again change our perceptions of what it means to be a sporting great.

A terrifically engaging and original biography about one of England's greatest novelists, and the glamorous, eccentric, debauched and ultimately tragic family that provided him with the most significant friendships of his life and inspired his masterpiece, 'Brideshead Revisited'.Evelyn Waugh was already famous when 'Brideshead Revisited' was published in 1945. Written at the height of the war, the novel was, he admitted, of no 'immediate propaganda value'. Instead, it was the story of a household, a family and a journey of religious faith - an elegy, in many ways, for a vanishing world and a testimony to a family he had fallen in love with a decade earlier.The Lygons of Madresfield were every bit as glamorous, eccentric and compelling as their counterparts in 'Brideshead Revisited'. In this engrossing biography, Paula Byrne takes an innovative approach to her subject, setting out to capture Waugh through those friendships that mattered most to him. Far from the snobbish misanthropist of popular caricature, she uncovers a man as loving and complex as the family that inspired him - a family deeply traumatised when their father was revealed as a homosexual and forced to flee the country.This brilliantly original biography unlocks for the first time the extent to which Waugh's great novel encoded and transformed his own experiences. In so doing, it illuminates the loves and obsessions that shaped his life, and brings us inevitably to a secret that dared not speak its name.

A deeply affecting memoir of a childhood in Africa and the continent's horrendous wars, which Hartley witnessed at first hand as a journalist in the 1990s. Shortlisted for the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction, this is a masterpiece of autobiographical journalism.Aidan Hartley, a foreign correspondent, burned-out from the horror of covering the terrifying micro wars of the 1990s, from Rwanda to Bosnia, seeks solace and solitude in the remote mountains and deserts of southern Arabia and the Yemen, following his father's death. While there, he finds himself on the trail of the tragic story of an old friend of his father's, who fell in love and was murdered in southern Arabia fifty years ago. As the terrible events of the past unfold, Hartley finds his own kind of deliverance.'The Zanzibar Chest' is a powerful story about a man witnessing and confronting extreme violence and being broken down by it, and of a son trying to come to terms with the death of a father whom he also saw as his best friend. It charts not only a love affair between two people, but also the British love affair with Arabia and the vast emptinesses of the desert, which become a fitting metaphor for the emotional and spiritual condition in which Hartley finds himself.

A powerful account of the life of Tamerlane the Great (1336-1405), the last master nomadic power, one of history's most extreme tyrants, and the subject of Marlowe's famous play. Marozzi travelled in the footsteps of the great Mogul Emperor of Samarkland to write this wonderful combination of history and travelogue.The name of the last great warlord conjures up images of mystery and romance: medieval warfare on desert plains; the clash of swords on snow-clad mountains; the charge of elephants across the steppes of Asia; the legendary opulence and cruelty of the illiterate, chess-playing nemesis of Asia. He ranks alongside Alexander as one of the world's great conquerors, yet the details of his life are scarcely known in the West.He was not born to a distinguished family, nor did he find his apprenticeship easy - at one point his mobile army consisted only of himself, his wife, seven companions and four horses - but his dominion grew with astonishing rapidity. In the last two decades of the fourteenth century and the beginning of the fifteenth, he blazed through Asia. Cities were razed to the ground, inhabitants tortured without mercy, sometimes enemies were buried alive - more commonly they were decapitated. On the ruins of Baghdad, Tamerlane had his princes erect a pyramid of 90,000 heads.During his lifetime he sought to foster a personal myth, exaggerating the difficulties of his youth, laying claim to supernatural powers and a connection to Genghis Khan. This myth was maintained after his death in legend, folklore, poetry, drama and even opera, nowhere more powerfully than in Marlowe's play - he is now as much a literary construct as a historical figure. Justin Marozzi follows in his path and evokes his legacy in telling the tale of this fabulously cruel, magnificent and romantic warrior.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER PERFECT FOR FANS OF OUTLANDERThe true story of one of Scotland's most notorious and romantic heroes.He was a spy, a clan-chief, a traitor. A polyglot, a deserter and a man of philosophy.Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, was the last of the great Scottish chiefs - and the last nobleman executed for treason. In life, his wit, ambition and dubious sense of morality kept him in the thick of political intrigue. With a taste for risk and determined to make his fortune, Lovat made pacts with Catholics and Protestants, Scots and Englishmen.Lovat found his famous end a turncoat and a martyr: he threw himself in with the '45 rebellion and fought for Prince Charles against the crown. His execution in Tower Hill, at the age of 80, was the last of its kind.Lovat was one of Scotland's most notorious and romantic figures: a man whose loyalty had no home, whose sword had a price. This is the swashbuckling account of his life, and a brilliant portrayal of nation in revolt.

The amazing true story of how London became home to the Russian super-rich - told for the first time ever. A dazzling tale of incredible wealth, ferocious disputes, beautiful women, private jets, mega-yachts, the world's best footballers - and chauffeur-driven Range Rovers with tinted windows.A group of buccaneering Russian oligarchs made colossal fortunes after the collapse of communism - and many of them came to London to enjoy their new-found wealth. Londongrad tells for the first time the true story of their journeys from Moscow and St Petersburg to mansions in Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Surrey - and takes you into a shimmering world of audacious multi-billion pound deals, outrageous spending and rancorous feuds.But while London's flashiest restaurants echoed to Russian laughter and Bond Street shop-owners totted up their profits, darker events also played themselves out. The killing of ex-KGB man Alexander Litvinenko in London to the death - in a helicopter crash he all but predicted - of Stephen Curtis, the lawyer to many of Britain's richest Russians, chilled London's Russians and many of those who know them.This is the story of how Russia's wealth was harvested and brought to London - some of it spent by Roman Abramovich on his beloved Chelsea Football Club, some of it spent by Boris Berezovsky in his battles with Russia's all-powerful Vladimir Putin. Londongrad is a must-read for anyone interested in how vast wealth is created, the luxury it can buy, and the power and intrigue it produces.

This inspiring book contains incredible events experienced by doug willis that testify to god’s providence, provision and protection during his 60 years of missionary and evangelistic ministry.The things shared in this book took place during his ministry in Australia and 40 other nations around the world. Each story is intricately woven around a lifetime passion of seeking to win the lost to Christ.What makes these accounts more amazing is the fact that his crusades, seminars and world tours were all paid for from unsolicited funds freely given by God’s children. In declining to receive a salary, God provided for Doug’s family; for his ministry expenses and for his personal needs—for this reason many know him as a faith missionary.The author has compiled this book as an anthology, with the hope that the collection of distinct and remarkable stories will give a little ‘faith lift’ to those who need encouragement in their walk with God.

The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is the most comprehensive set of its kind in the history of true crime publishing. Written and compiled by Susan Hall, the four-volume set has more than 1600 entries of male and female serial killers from around the world.Defined by the FBI as a person who murders 3 or more people over a period of time with a hiatus of weeks or months between murders, serial killers have walked among us from the dawn of time as these books will demonstrate. While the entries to these volumes will continue to grow-the FBI estimates that there are at least fifty serial killers operating in the United States at any given time-The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is as complete as possible through the end of 2017.In June 2020, the set begins with Volume One, Letters A-D. The entries include Ted Bundy, the Candyman Dean Corll, Angel of Death killer Donald Harvey, the ABC Killer, and the Bodies in the Barrels Murders. You will find these killers and approximately 500 others in this first book in the series of The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers.

A beautifully illustrated compendium of plant discovery and exploration - where horticulture and adventure collide.

The Secret Barrister returns to debunk the biggest legal lies of our time. Taking you from your own home to the halls of Westminster, this is the truth about justice in an age of fake law.

Provocative, funny and brilliantly reported, join Jenny Kleeman as she meets the strange people who are creating our future and changing what it means to be human today.

Of all the games mountaineers play, the hardest - and cruellest - is climbing the fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres in winter. Award-winning author Bernadette McDonald tells how Poland's ice warriors made winter their own, perfecting what they dubbed 'the art of suffering'. Winter 8000 is the story of true adventure at its most demanding.

Prince Albert Victor is heir presumptive to the British throne. Handsome and good-hearted, he is regarded as disastrously inadequate to be the king. By contrast, a renowned intellectual, Jem Stephen is a golden boy worshipped by all. He is appointed as Prince Albert's tutor - the relationship that will change both of their lives.

A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science.Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford. Barres recounts his early life—his interest in science, first manifested as a fascination with the mad scientist in Superman; his academic successes; and his gender confusion. Barres felt even as a very young child that he was assigned the wrong gender. After years of being acutely uncomfortable in his own skin, Barres transitioned from female to male. He reports he felt nothing but relief on becoming his true self. He was proud to be a role model for transgender scientists.As an undergraduate at MIT, Barres experienced discrimination, but it was after transitioning that he realized how differently male and female scientists are treated. He became an advocate for gender equality in science, and later in life responded pointedly to Larry Summers''s speculation that women were innately unsuited to be scientists. Privileged white men, Barres writes, “miss the basic point that in the face of negative stereotyping, talented women will not be recognized.” At Stanford, Barres made important discoveries about glia, the most numerous cells in the brain, and he describes some of his work. “The most rewarding part of his job,” however, was mentoring young scientists. That, and his advocacy for women and transgender scientists, ensures his legacy.