Biographies & Memoirs

Hugh van Cuylenburg was a primary school teacher volunteering in northern India when he had a life-changing realisation: despite the underprivileged community the children were from, they were remarkably positive....

iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy shares her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.

The Chairman’s Lounge is the definitive account of how Qantas was brought to ground and who did it. It is a parable of our times.

Douglas Mawson, born in 1882 and knighted in 1914, was Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorer.

Matilda Boseley's adult ADHD diagnosis was a massive, earth-shattering event. She was given a prescription but had no idea what ADHD meant for her identity, her relationships or her future....

In On Xi Jinping, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd provides an authoritative account of the ideological worldview driving Chinese behaviour both domestically and on the world stage.

In this deeply personal and heartfelt memoir, Lauren Zonfrillo details her journey through grief after the sudden and public loss of her husband, Jock - chef, restaurateur and, of course, beloved MasterChef Australia judge.

Here is Trump in action—how he runs his organization and how he runs his life....

Hello to you, I am with news. I have a new book: I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You. I know – what an intriguing title!

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable–the story of a 23-year-old tradie who put his body ‘through hell and back 10 times’ to prove that anything is possible when you break past your own barriers....

Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet....

Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands....

"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up," Charles T. Munger advises in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. Originally published in 2005, this compendium of 11 talks, delivered by the legendary Berkshire Hathaway....

Embark on a gripping adventure with Mark 'Trigger' Tregellas in Backup is Three Hours Away, a true crime memoir chronicling nearly three decades of policing Victoria's remote coastal region.

The Art of Learning takes listeners through Waitzkin's unique journey to excellence....

John Ibrahim's incredible life story told in his own words. Last King of the Cross lays bare Australia's most notorious underworld figure....

This is a story of Jelena Dokic's survival. How she survived as a refugee twice. How she survived on the tennis court to become world number four. But, most importantly, how she survived her father, Damir Dokic, the tennis dad from hell....

In Jelena Dokic’s first bestselling book, Unbreakable, the former world No. 4 revealed her incredible survival story. Fearless is about how you reclaim life when all feels lost...

A victim of her mother’s Munchausen by proxy and child abuse survivor, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard’s unique and controversial case made headlines across the world. Now, she’s finally free to start living her life on her terms—and to tell her own story as only she can.

From the New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream, a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety....

Andrew Wilkinson pulls back the curtain on the lives of the ultra-rich, sharing insights into building a successful business that has been called a “Berkshire Hathaway, but for internet companies,” and a surprising first-person account of what it's actually like to become a billionaire.

'Frog', a term of endearment for intensive care paramedics, derives from the notion that everything they touch croaks. Sally Gould delivers a gripping and heartfelt memoir that dives into the unpredictable, often absurd, and sometimes heartbreaking reality of life as a paramedic.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson opens up about his amazing comeback—from tragic personal loss to massive success as cable’s highest-paid executive.

Forged in Fire takes us inside the secretive world of the Australian commandos.

In her late 20s, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat....

How can you cheat… at drinking wine? It turns out you can. And when you do, a whole world of power, ego and money will unravel. Corked is the scandalous saga in the glamorous, competitive and mysterious world of fine wines.

Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer tells the fascinating story of a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who became the beloved mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio before morphing into a symbol of cultural decline. Through dozens of intimate and revealing interviews with those who knew Springer best—from his big sister to his early political aides to the producers who shaped his show—listeners will be transported into the world of this singular figure’s rise to notoriety, and his fascinating struggle to reconcile his status as “the king of trash TV” with his lifelong dream of returning to politics.

In this deeply personal and heartfelt memoir, Lauren Zonfrillo details her journey through grief after the sudden and public loss of her husband, Jock - chef, restaurateur and, of course, beloved MasterChef Australia judge.

In the six lectures of Margaret Atwood: A Modern Myth-Maker, Dr. Jennifer Cognard-Black will take you on a thorough exploration of Atwood’s most celebrated novel to examine the many ways this book has transcended its dystopian roots to become something more than a tale of, “What if?” Over the course of these lectures, you’ll examine the social, political, cultural, and spiritual impact of the novel—and of Atwood herself—as you dive deep into the text to unravel its themes and inspirations.

In this chilling true crime series, we tell the stories of pillars of the community who betrayed the trust of those around them and challenged what we all think about the people we’ve come to rely on. Police officers, teachers, doctors and nurses, we believe these people are here to protect us from harm, not cause it. This series looks at some of the most heinous crimes perpetrated by people in positions of trust and examines the ripples their actions left on their community.

Life as a paramedic, writes Sally Gould in this candid, witty memoir, can be traumatic, gross, dull, hilarious, magical. To make the cut, you need to be able to think outside the square, keep calm in the midst of chaos, be in possession of a strong stomach, and simply brush it off when patients die. That’s on top of having a profound understanding of the human body, plus the skills to counter its failings. It also helps to have a highly developed and oftentimes dark sense of humour.

When Niall came across a dog shackled to a short chain and in a poor state of health, something reminded him and his personal battle with addiction. He knew he had to rescue her immediately – golden retrievers are rare in Thailand but there was just something about this one in particular that told him she was special. He just didn't know how special she was going to be. He named her Tina and what she did next is an incredible tale of survival, hope and love.

Na cama com um hacker revela os bastidores de uma das violações de dados mais chocantes da era da internet: o hack do Ashley Madison. Da noite para o dia, milhões de cônjuges infiéis tiveram seus nomes reais, endereços e preferências sexuais expostos em um banco de dados acessível a qualquer pessoa com acesso à internet.

In 1974, a twenty-year-old Christie Brinkley was “discovered” outside a Paris phone booth, which set off a meteoric modeling career that would land her on the covers of hundreds of magazines and cement her legacy as an All-American icon. Although she’s lived more than fifty years in the public eye, the full story of her roller-coaster life has never been told. Now, for the first time, Christie shares what life has been like, both in front of and behind the cameras

With over 55,000 disappearances annually in Australia, each story is a heart-wrenching account of unanswered questions and shattered lives. The narrative spans decades, from the 1980s to present-day mysteries, including the puzzling case of a gentle Greenpeace worker vanishing amidst inner-city Melbourne, the suspicious disappearance of a 21-year-old, and the grim discovery of scattered remains in Queensland, unravelling a harrowing tale of violence and tragedy. And then there is the perplexing case of a man who went missing over and over again.

Growing up, Kumi Taguchi thought her father was merely distant: reserved, obsessively frugal and–after her parents’ divorce–almost entirely missing. When he died, Kumi’s feelings about him and the Japanese heritage he had given her remained tangled. But just because a parent has gone doesn’t mean they’re absent. Over time Kumi came to understand more about what made her father as he was, including his experiences as a child in wartime Japan and, above all, the culture she both loved and felt burdened by.

Writing in his own singular voice, Barry Diller delivers both an astute and entertaining business memoir and a surprisingly frank coming-of-age story. After starting his career in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency, Diller went on to have one of the most extraordinary ascents in show business history, inventing the TV Movie of the Week for ABC at age twenty-seven, becoming CEO of Paramount Pictures at age thirty-two, and launching the Fox TV network at age forty-four.

In The Optimist, the Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey presents the most detailed account yet of Altman’s rise, from his precocious childhood in St. Louis to his first, failed startup experience; his time as legendary entrepreneur Paul Graham’s protégé and successor as head of Y Combinator, the start-up accelerator where Altman became the premier power broker in Silicon Valley; the founding of OpenAI and his recruitment of a small yet superior team; and his struggle to keep his company at the cutting edge while fending off determined rivals, including Elon Musk.

As a self-proclaimed “good girl,” Tiffany was a people pleaser and straight A student, fitting into roles that were prescribed by her Chinese-American family. As a lifelong overachiever, she accomplished a thriving career as an anesthesiologist. Yet Tiffany felt unfulfilled. She spent more time at work than at home with her loving husband and twin girls, didn’t know how to say no to anyone, and was governed by the external pressures of being “perfect” by standards set by society. In Joy Prescriptions, Tiffany shares the journey of how she reconnected with herself.

A transformative 300-mile walk along Japan’s ancient pilgrimage routes and through depopulating villages inspires a heartrending remembrance of a long-lost friend, documented in poignant, imaginative prose and remarkable photography.

In the early 1980s, when Erna Walraven decided to follow her dreams and become one of the first female zookeepers in Australia, she thought her biggest challenges would be feeding big cats and subduing irate gorillas. In fact, it was her male colleagues who made work miserable, harassing and humiliating her for doing a 'man's job'. So, she looked to the animals under her care to prove them wrong.

This book is about the batters who see what mortals don’t. Javed Miandad purposefully makes errors to manipulate the field, Sachin Tendulkar dug up a pitch to take on Warne, Shivnarine Chanderpaul practised non-stop on a beach with tennis balls until he mastered technique and Joe Root’s great play against spin is known to be a confluence of three random events. Others, such as Smith, Pietersen and Richards, carried on the work of a man 100 years before their time, and Ranji changed cricket with a bucket.

We all know that at some point in life, we will experience pain, uncertainty and loss. Widowhood, redundancy, a life-changing diagnosis, pregnancy loss, or a global pandemic. So how can we weather the storms, and cope with whatever comes next? No one can answer this better than Lucy Easthope, an emergency planner whose job is to support survivors of major disasters. She has been there after countless earthquakes, fires and floods. Time and again she has watched how people rebuild: the work, the pitfalls and the fragile joy.

When Besha Rodell moved from Australia to the United States with her mother at fourteen, she was a foreigner in a new land, missing her friends, her father, and the food she grew up eating. In the years that followed, Rodell began waitressing and discovered the buzz of the restaurant world, immersing herself in the lifestyle and community while struggling with the industry’s shortcomings. As she built a family, Rodell realized her dream, though only a handful of women before her had done it: to make a career as a restaurant critic.

The sport of surfing has a mystique and allure that has transformed many of these icons into mythical figures. Surfer Stories brings them together in one definitive collection that will appeal to those who surf and those who don’t!

In Waterfront, investigative journalist and former police detective Duncan McNab chronicles the larger-than-life characters who have populated Australia’s docks, wharves and ports – and lifts the lid on the crime, politics, violence and corruption that has always been present on Australia’s waterfront.

If you have not discovered your why, this book is a must-listen. It takes you on an experiential journey through ten chapters of stories, examples, and exercises to find your why, visualize it, and put it into words that will springboard you into the life of your dreams.

When the cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar escaped his lavish, custom built prison in Colombia, the fallout drove the nation to the brink of chaos. In Killing Pablo, acclaimed journalist Mark Bowden tells the story of the US military’s fifteen-month mission to find him. Drawing on unprecedented access to the soldiers, field agents, and officials involved in the chase, as well as hundreds of pages of top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar’s intercepted phone conversations, Bowden creates a narrative that reads as if it were torn from the pages of a Tom Clancy thriller.

A book for psychotherapists and their clients — and for anyone who wants to make the journey from shame to unshame. Carolyn Spring, author of ‘Recovery is my best revenge: my experience of trauma, abuse and dissociative identity disorder’, documents in this, her second book, her journey through psychotherapy to heal and resolve trauma-based shame, which had resulted in a catastrophic mental breakdown in her early thirties and an eventual diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (DID).

For many, it can feel like change takes too long, and it might seem that we have not moved very far. But political activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar believes that public protest is a vital part of affecting change, even if that change doesn’t come “right now.” In We All Want to Change the World, he examines the activism of people of all ages, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds that helped change America, documenting events from the Free Speech Movement through the movement for civil rights, the fight for women’s and LGBTQ rights, and, of course, the protests against the Vietnam War.