Biographies & Memoirs

Growing up in London and Melbourne, music was always part of John Farnham's world. But the young John never dreamed of what was to come. Pop stardom in the 1960s. The release of Whispering Jack, the critically acclaimed and highest-selling Australian album of all time.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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....

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.

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!

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.

"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....

When Niall came across a dog shackled to a 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 that told him she was special.

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....

A mysterious disappearance, a brazen murderer and the police who hunted him down. In March 2020 secret lovers Russell Hill and Carol Clay disappeared in Victoria's remote Wonnangatta Valley.

Discover the classic behind-the-scenes chronicle of John E. Douglas’ 25-year career in the FBI Investigative Support Unit, where he used psychological profiling....

Award-winning comedian Zarna Garg turns her astonishing life story into a hilarious memoir, spilling all the chai on her wild ride from escaping an arranged marriage and homelessness in India to carving her own path in America and launching a dazzling second act in midlife.

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

'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.

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....

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

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...

The long-awaited first autobiography by national treasure Bob Mortimer....

Letting you into areas of his life he’s never talked about before, in Zero Negativity, Ant will show you how to embrace failure and use it to your advantage....

We are the people our parents warned us about" is the motto of the Bandidos, one of the world's most feared outlaw motorcycle gangs....

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.

From the age of twelve, Alison Mau wanted to be a journalist like her father. He was a beer-swilling, straight-talking Aussie who was rough around the edges but could quote passages of Hamlet at will. He taught Ali everything—from how to skin a rabbit and throw a punch to how to craft a sharp sentence—and she craved his validation as she navigated the sexist badlands of Australian print and television journalism through the 1980s and '90s.

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.

Throughout his 40-year career, Admiral McRaven has experienced every manner of calamity imaginable. From managing failed hostage rescues to responding to student unrest, McRaven has learned how to successfully navigate crises—those moments that push the limits of your experience and challenge your confidence, when leadership skills alone may not be enough.

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.

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.

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.

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

Karen by Kelsey Grammer delves into the deeply personal and tragic story of the author's sister, Karen, who was brutally murdered at the age of 18. Kelsey was just 20 years old and studying theater at Juilliard in New York when his younger sister, a recent high school graduate, moved to Colorado Springs, where she was kidnapped by several men who had intended to rob the Red Lobster where she worked. They instead kidnapped Karen, raped her repeatedly, and ultimately stabbed her to death.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Comment se sent-on lorsque les chansons qu’on aime, les films qui nous font rêver, les artistes qu’on admire sont jugés et moqués ? Qu’éprouve-t-on lorsqu’on réalise que ce mépris est la face visible d’un continuum de domination bien plus grand ? Revenant sur son histoire, Rose Lamy raconte le coût d’une existence déterminée par la classe sociale. La mort prématurée, les emplois aliénants, les déserts sociaux et médicaux... Elle montre tout ce que la figure du beauf et ses avatars permettent d’invisibiliser.

Maria Theresa was the single most powerful woman in eighteenth-century Europe. At the age of just twenty-three she succeeded to the Habsburg domains only to find them contested by almost every power in Europe. In this engrossing biography, Richard Bassett traces Maria Theresa's life and complex legacy. Drawing on hitherto unpublished sources, Bassett reveals her keen sense of moderation and tolerance, innovative ideas on free trade and finance, and studied reluctance to resort to policies of territorial expansion.

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.

An American Hero: One Man’s Legacy of Fatherhood and Faith is a poignant and inspiring journey through four generations, revealing how one World War II survivor’s resilience, integrity, and unwavering faith forged a life-giving legacy that transformed not only his family but also countless lives around him.

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.

The Balance is coach Aimee Boorman’s inside account of the growth of a transcendent athlete and the tumultuous events—from the dictatorial coaching of Martha Karolyi to the sexual abuse by Larry Nassar—that upended the lives of many girls, including Biles. Simone Biles is one of the greatest athletes of all time. She’s won six all-around world championships and eleven Olympic medals (seven gold).

¿Hay vida más allá de Les Luthiers? Uno de sus fundadores (Carlitos) nos cuenta su vida fuera del escenario, tanto o más fascinante que las desplegada sobre las tablas... Poco imaginaban los incondicionales fans de Les Luthiers y entusiastas exégetas (Màrius Serra y Álex Grijelmo) cuyas loas adornan la solapa que, en paralelo a sus labores de archivero mayor del grupo, trabajaba ya Carlitos en la redacción de sus propias memorias.

Desde sus humildes comienzos hasta convertirse en un reconocido cantante, actor, productor, político y activista, Mayer comparte sus experiencias, desafíos y triunfos con una gran honestidad. Explora los momentos de duda y superación, las lecciones aprendidas y las decisiones valientes que lo llevaron a reinventarse una y otra vez.

At sixteen years old, Lily Arthur was caught between the women's liberation movement of the ‘swinging sixties and the draconian ideology that young women should be punished for deviating from society's 'moral codes'. For the 'crime' of being pregnant, Lily was forcibly taken from the man she planned to marry and incarcerated in the notorious Holy Cross Home for ‘wayward' girls in Wooloowin, Brisbane as a ‘prisoner' of the state. Lily spent her entire pregnancy performing unpaid labour its infamous Magdalene Laundry.

In Love and Math, renowned mathematician Edward Frenkel reveals a side of math we've never seen, suffused with all the beauty and elegance of a work of art. In this heartfelt and passionate book, Frenkel shows that mathematics, far from occupying a specialist niche, goes to the heart of all matter, uniting us across cultures, time, and space.

24歳にして「世界のMAO」に――規格外の天才ピアニスト、待望の初著作　このピアノに、世界が恋をした。