LITMIR.BIZ

The moving true story of 7 young kids and their struggle to escape a life of gangs and violence.‘Eight years old. That’s when life went downhill. From eight years old nobody looked after me. I just lived on the street and made do by myself. There was no one except me and my friends.’ SimonThis is the story of Elijah (JaJa), Simon (Phat Si), ‘Bloods’, Nathan (Inch), Michael (Birdie), Byron (Ribz), and Darren (Tempman). These 7 young boys each have one thing in common – they grew up on the Angell Town estate, south London.Phat Si comes home from school one day to find his mother gone, so he takes to the streets. He’s 8 years old.JaJa looks out of his kitchen window and sees drug dealers, pimps and whores. Overwhelmed by what he sees, JaJa slowly descends from petty theft to life as a kid in a street gang.Ribz’s mother sells crack and is sent to prison. He doesn’t know who his father is but is drawn to Angell Town, knowing that his dad has an unknown number of kids living on the estate. He’s determined to find some kind of family.Street Boys tells a powerful and important true story of courage, determination and hope – of creating a family from your friends and starting again when the world seems against you.

Подробнее

The harrowing true story of the young boy who captured the heart of the nation when he testified in court, to find justice against those responsible for his brother’s death.Terry O’Neill was just ten years old when he stood up in court to testify against his brutal foster parents, accused of the manslaughter of his twelve-year-old brother, Dennis.Terry and his brother had been taken into care and moved through many foster homes until they came to live on the Shropshire farm owned by Reginald and Esther Gough in 1945. There they were to suffer brutal beatings and little care or love – they survived as best they could, looking out for each other, until the terrible morning when Terry couldn’t wake Dennis.In a time when the country was united by war and struggle, the case shocked the nation and made headlines around the world. Terry, a small figure in the courtroom, captured the hearts of mothers and families everywhere, and the public outcry against the foster services led to the instigation of the first provisions to protect other vulnerable children from neglect and cruelty.

Подробнее

Burdened with a face only a mother could love, Stan Cattermole determined to find a woman. Lugging his man-boobs along for the ride, Stan shows Bridget Jones how it's done in this hilarious, heart-wrenching and often outrageous account of his quest for love.This is no misery memoir, but a tell-it-like-it-is account of Stan's trials, tribulations and small triumphs, in and out of the bedroom. One part love story, one part family saga, eight parts outrageous, laugh-out-loud tragicomedy – and then, just for luck, another part love story – The Intimate Adventures of an Ugly Man wrenches at the heart strings and the funny bone, and will drag you screaming with laughter through the whole gamut of human emotions.CHORTLE! as Stan pops his cyber-cherry with the aid of a light sabre, a bowling ball and a large knob of butter.GASP! as Stan is blindfolded, tied to a bed and abused with an IKEA spatula.DESPAIR! as the pretty nose of yet another potential love interest wrinkles in utter, utter disgust.The story of one man overcoming his hurdles and making something wonderful of a miserable life, this ever-hopeful tale will resonate with anyone who's suffered pain and rejection, anyone who's vowed to transform their life and anyone who's ever learned to laugh in the face of adversity.http://betedejour.blogspot.com/

Подробнее

The story of a man who gives up the rock ‘n’ roll dream… to play bowls.Alex Marsh wanted to be a rock star – but it didn’t work out. Instead he toiled away in the big city – only to give up his career, move to rural Norfolk, and become a househusband. Only he isn’t a very good one. Whilst his pride won't let him admit it, he struggles with the cooking, the cleaning and the isolation. He hires a cleaner without telling his wife, his repertoire of baked potatoes exhausts quickly. He becomes hooked on daytime television and computer solitaire. He is in danger of becoming weird.So he takes up bowls. In Sex & Bowls & Rock and Roll we follow a season in the life of the village bowls team, a group of amateur sportsmen and mild eccentrics. In doing so we see this unfashionable pastime in a whole new light, and very funny it is too. But Alex hasn’t quite given up on his dreams of rock stardom. Discovering that some of his mates down the pub are a bit handy with bass and drums he makes one final stab at being in a band, with an eagerly awaited local gig. It is a complete disaster.Join Alex has he comes to terms with life as a domestic disappointment, attempts to learn the fine art of bowls and finally realises that supporting the Sultans Of Ping at the Pink Toothbrush in Rayleigh really was the highpoint of his musical career. Sex & Bowls & Rock and Roll is a hilarious account of the life of a genuinely modern man. Everyone will recognise themselves (or their husbands) and you will be hard pressed not to laugh out loud.

Подробнее

David Crane has given us the definitive biography of one of Britain’s greatest heroes and explorers.‘It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more…For God’s sake look after our people.’These were the final words written in Scott’s diary on 29 March 1912, as he lay dying in his tent with Birdie Bowers and Edward Wilson. Oates had taken himself into a blizzard a few days before, and the fifth member of the Polar party, Edgar Evans, had died some ten days previously, worn out by the cold and physical effort of the journey across Antarctica.Since then Scott has been the subject of many books – many hagiographical, others dismissive and scathing. Yet in all the pages that have been written about him, the personality behind the legend has been forgotten or distorted beyond all recognition.David Crane’s magisterial biography, based on years of close and detailed research with the original documents, redresses this completely. By reassessing Scott’s life and his substantial scientific achievements, Crane is able to provide a fresh and exciting perspective on both the Discovery expedition of 1901-4 and the Terra Nova expedition of 1910-12. The courage and tragedy of Scott’s last journey are only one part of the process, for the scientific enquiry that led up to it transformed the whole nature and ambition of Antarctic exploration.Scott’s own voice echoes through the pages. His descriptions of the monumental landscape of Antarctica in all its fatal and icy beauty are breathtaking; his honest, heartfelt letters and diaries give the reader an unforgettable account of the challenges he faced both in his personal life and as a superlative leader of men in possibly the harshest environment on the planet.Written with the full support of Scott’s surviving relatives, this definitive biography sets out to reconcile the very private struggles of the man with the very public life of extremes that he led.Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.

Подробнее

The definitive account of Barack Obama’s life before he became the 44th president of the United States – the formative years, confluence of forces, and influential figures who helped shaped an extraordinary leader and his rise – from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘Bearing the Cross’.Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention instantly catapulted the little-known state senator from Illinois into the national spotlight. Three months later, Obama would win election to the U.S. Senate; four years later he would make history as America’s first black president. Now, at the end of his second presidential term, David J. Garrow delivers the most compelling and comprehensive Obama biography – as epic in vision and rigorous in detail as Robert Caro’s ‘The Power Broker’.Moving around the globe, from Hawaii to Indonesia to the American Northeast and Midwest, ‘Rising Star’ meticulously unpacks Obama’s life, from his tumultuous upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, to his formative time as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side, working in some of the roughest neighborhoods, to Cambridge, where he excelled at Harvard Law School, and finally back to Chicago, where he pursued his political destiny. In voluminous detail, drawn from more than 1,000 interviews and encyclopedic documentary research, Garrow reveals as never before the ambition, the dreams, and the all-too-human struggles of an iconic president in a sure to be news-making biography that will stand as the most authoritative account of Obama’s pre-presidential life for decades to come.

Подробнее

The definitive account of Whitney Houston’s astonishing life, ground-breaking career and tragic death – complete with never-before-seen photographs – from the only one who truly knows the story behind the headlines: her mother, Cissy Houston.Cissy has said little publicly about Whitney’s heart-breaking death. Now, for the first time, she opens up and shares the unbelievable story of her daughter’s life, as well as her own, and addresses Whitney’s brightest and darkest moments.A legendary Grammy Award-winning gospel singer in her own right, Cissy Houston shows how the lessons from her own musical journey helped to shape Whitney’s career – from teaching Whitney to use her voice, to keeping her level-headed throughout her meteoric rise to fame.With candour and respect, she sets the record straight about Whitney, exploring both her turbulent marriage and her misunderstood struggles with drug abuse. Cissy goes behind the tabloid headlines to show fans around the world the true, human side of a strong, successful – yet flawed – musical icon who died much too young.Includes a Foreword by Dionne Warwick.

Подробнее

The dramatic true-life story of George Hogg, a young Oxford graduate who is caught up in the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the Chinese Civil war, and who leads a group of Chinese children hundreds of miles across 15,000-foot mountains to safety – only to die tragically in early 1945.The author, James MacManus, was working as a reporter in Shanghai in 1980s when he heard talk of a statue being up in the remote town of Shandon on the Mongolian border in memory of an Englishman called George Hogg. This book is the result of his investigations – and the basis for a major feature film called 'The Children of Huang Shi', directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Jonathan Rhys Myers, to be released in spring 2008.One westerner who lived in China throughout the Cultural Revolution described Hogg as «an outstanding young Englishman who fell in love with foreign people and devoted his life to their betterment. What he did made him deeply and widely loved.»MacManus has been back to China to interview the surviving old boys of Hogg's school. Hogg's reputation is kept alive by their loyalty to this day.The dramatic trajectory of Hogg's life took him within a few months from a privileged existence at Oxford to life on the run from Japanese secret police in China.

Подробнее

Just when Judy thought the nightmare was over her past came back to haunt her.Judy was only 11 years old when she was forced to live on the streets. Beaten, half-starved and horrifically abused, she finally escaped to a life in the circus. But the charming man who said he loved her had a dark and sinister side. If she wanted to survive she had to get away.Judy fled to South Africa, taking with her her two young children. But the streets of South Africa were just as cruel. One day they took her daughter and her past was replayed in front of her eyes.Judy's incredible story of courage and determination will inspire as it will amaze.

Подробнее

Comedian Iain Stirling is best known as the brilliantly funny voice of the BAFTA-award winning smash hit Love Island. Despite his many accolades, and his mum telling him he’s her ‘special little soldier’ every day, Iain still struggles with everyday adult life. What a textbook millennial.Looking back at his journey to adulthood, Iain explores why millennials are the way they are – and whether that makes us self-obsessed, work-shy, mollycoddled, egomaniacs; or just a misunderstood generation with a crippling fear of failure.Millennials have been celebrated and scorned; they’re the envy, fascination and disgrace of the world. But is there more to this #selfie and avocado-obsessed generation that can’t grow up than meets the eye?Throughout life millennials have been taught that they are perfect and should live a perfect life. They’ve been told, whatever happens, don’t fuck up. And then they enter the real world. And failure quickly rears its ugly head. A head millennials weren’t warned about and definitely aren’t ready for.Iain knows a lot about fucking up. And he’s ready to share.Funny, provocative and full of his trademark razor-sharp wit, this is Iain’s guide to what life is really like for millennials and how they can navigate it better.

Подробнее