Biography genre books (521)
421.
The Jive Talker : Or, how to Get a British Passport by Samson Kambalu EN
MalawiDescription:
Samson Kambalu's father wore three-piece, London-made suits from the Sixties. He'd planned to be a doctor but settled for hospital administration and a peripatetic lifestyle with his ever expanding family in tow. He is 'the Jive Talker' of this extraordinary memoir - a man of thwarted ambition, boundless optimism and manic philosophising, he died of AIDS in 1995, bequeathing his son 'the Diptych' - an eclectic library of science, philosophy and English language classics a passion for words and a boundless imagination. In this completely original, often subversive, book, Samson Kambalu writes o... continue
422.
The Journey by Abdul Musa Adam EN
SudanDescription:
Abdul is just 7 years old when his parents are killed before his eyes.
As a brutal war sweeps Sudan, Abdul and his 3-year-old brother are forced to flee.
Their gruelling journey across the Sahara to a refugee camp in Chad is fraught with danger, and every day is a struggle against hunger and disease.
Until one day Abdul is offered a chance to escape. A chance that could save him, but will force him to make the most heartbreaking decision of his life.
Abdul's death-defying flight leaves deep scars. But his affinity with animals provides a lifeline, when he is offered the chance... continue
423.
The Killing Fields of Cambodia by Sokphal Din EN
CambodiaDescription:
'The Killing Fields of Cambodia' is a tale of survival through generosity, resourcefulness, and the strength of family. Harrowing, yet always hopeful, Sokphal's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.
424.
The King's Speech : How One Man Saved the British Monarchy by Mark Logue, Peter Conradi EN
EnglandDescription:
One man saved the British Royal Family in the first decades of the 20th century - he wasn't a prime minister or an archbishop of Canterbury. He was an almost unknown, and self-taught, speech therapist named Lionel Logue, whom one newspaper in the 1930s famously dubbed 'The Quack who saved a King'. Logue wasn't a British aristocrat or even an Englishman - he was a commoner and an Australian to boot. Nevertheless it was the outgoing, amiable Logue who single-handedly turned the famously nervous, tongue-tied Duke of York into one of Britain's greatest kings after his brother, Edward VIII, abdicat... continue
425.
The Knowing by Tanya Talaga EN
Country: North America / 
Canada
Canada
Description:
From Tanya Talaga, the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Seven Fallen Feathers, comes a riveting exploration of her family's story and a retelling of the history of the country we now call Canada For generations, Indigenous People have known that their family members disappeared, many of them after being sent to residential schools, "Indian hospitals" and asylums through a coordinated system designed to destroy who the First Nations, Métis and Inuit people are. This is one of Canada's greatest open secrets, an unhealed wound that until recently lay hidden by shame and abandonmen... continue
426.
The Last Nomad: Coming of Age in the Somali Desert by Shugri Said Salh EN
SomaliaDescription:
A remarkable and inspiring true story that "stuns with raw beauty" about one woman's resilience, her courageous journey to America, and her family's lost way of life. Born in Somalia, a spare daughter in a large family, Shugri Said Salh was sent at age six to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. The last of her family to learn this once-common way of life, Salh found herself chasing warthogs, climbing termite hills, herding goats, and moving constantly in search of water and grazing lands with her nomadic family. For Salh, though the desert was a harsh place threatened by drought, ... continue
427.
The Lemon Tree : An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan EN
Country: North America / 
United States of America
United States of America
Description:
Describes how a simple act of faith and the relationship between two families--one Israeli, one Palestinian--represents a personal microcosm of decades of Israeli-Palestinian history and symbolizes the hope for peace in the Middle East. Reader's Guide available. Reprint.
Dominica429.
The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh by Vincent Van Gogh EN
Country: Europe / 
Netherlands
Netherlands
Description:
A new selection of Vincent Van Gough's letters, based on an entirely new translation, revealing his religious struggles, his fascination with the French Revolution, his search for love and his involvement in humanitarian causes.
430.
The Life and Times of Michael K by J. M. Coetzee EN
Country: Africa / 
South Africa
South Africa
Description:
From author of Waiting for the Barbarians and Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee. J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, is now available from Viking. Late Essays: 2006-2016 will be available January 2018. In a South Africa turned by war, Michael K. sets out to take his ailing mother back to her rural home. On the way there she dies, leaving him alone in an anarchic world of brutal roving armies. Imprisoned, Michael is unable to bear confinement and escapes, determined to live with dignity. This life affirming novel goes to the center of human experience—the need for an interior, s... continue