Biographies & Memoirs

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.

Raised amid poverty and violence on the poor streets of Melbourne, Vincent Fantauzzo was just a boy when he accepted he would either die very young, become a gangster or end up behind bars...

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....

This is the incredible true story of a Galilean stonemason who changed the course of the world forever. He lived and died over 2,000 years ago, fulfilling expectations that existed long before his birth.

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 billion-dollar Hollywood producer provides a master mentorship by sharing secrets to success honed from working with the biggest stars in the world.

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!

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

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.

For anyone who's ever toiled under the unforgiving fluorescent lights of a customer service job, SERVO is a side-splitting and darkly mesmeric coming-of-age story from behind the anti-jump wire that will have you gritting your teeth, then cackling at the absurdity.

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.

"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....

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....

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....

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.

Number-one New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s shocking and empowering true-crime story of three sisters determined to survive their mother’s house of horrors....

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval’s wisdom and experience from the last 10 years, shared as a curation of his most insightful interviews and poignant reflections....

People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say....

Anyone can see the place where the children died. You take the Princes Highway past Geelong, and keep going west in the direction of Colac....

An intimate memoir from Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay, delving into everything from the origin story of the iconic show, to her struggles with fertility and pregnancy loss, and the behind-the-scenes moments that were left on the cutting room floor.

Once one of the most highly decorated police officers in New South Wales, Rogerson would brag of the crims he killed. For too long, the whispers of corruption around him were ignored. But his unholy alliances with heroin dealers and underworld figures would eventually bring about his downfall.

Shocking, eye-opening and grimly fascinating, these are the true stories, patients and cases that have characterised a career spent treating mentally disordered offenders....

Tim Booth is shocked when his first emergency call-out for someone short of breath turns out to be an adult man with a blocked nose. Far from beginner's luck, this turns out to be an omen for the rest of his paramedic career....

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.

Lucy Letby seemed like a totally ordinary young woman: fun-loving and popular. She had a happy childhood with devoted parents, and after university she landed her dream job as a nurse looking after sick babies. She even became a poster girl for the hospital where she worked.

Based on a “that can’t actually be true” story, Dead Outlaw is the darkly hilarious and wildly inventive new musical about Elmer McCurdy, an early 20th-century outlaw who became a traveling corpse and accidental celebrity. After a botched train robbery and an untimely death, Elmer’s body embarks on a decades-long postmortem adventure—through carnivals, roadside attractions, wax museums, and even a Hollywood film set. Dead Outlaw dives into the absurdity of fame, the inevitability of failure, and the meaning—or utter meaninglessness—of legacy.

When a DNA test blows apart her father’s hidden identity many years after his death, Deb finds she has a sister, Barbara, and an entirely new family she never knew. As the sisters work to unravel more of their father’s secrets, they find his connection to a dark chapter of British-Canadian history. Will the sisters finally get to the bottom of their father’s past? Or are some secrets meant to stay buried forever?

Crime Scenes takes you behind the police tape and immerses you in the stories of astonishing crimes from around the world. A town created by Disney, a luxury yacht in the Caribbean, an impenetrable Australian forest, the backstreets of Liverpool and a bungalow in Wales all provide settings for a series of sinister, and at times unbelievable, true crimes.

This is the incredible true story of a Galilean stonemason who changed the course of the world forever. He lived and died over 2,000 years ago, fulfilling expectations that existed long before his birth. His birth had been mystically foretold by astrologers for hundreds of years, yet the rulers of his day dreaded his coming. This humble builder-teacher became a magnet for the poor and down trodden, a symbol of love and mercy, who transformed the lives and restored the health and purpose in all who encountered him.

In 2014, American private contractor Alan Gross was rotting in a Cuban prison, convicted of undermining the Havana regime. At that same time, Cuban intelligence agent Gerardo Hernández was serving two life sentences in a US federal penitentiary on charges related to espionage. Then, it all changed. I Spy: The U.S., Cuba, and the Secret Deal That Ended the Cold War describes how secret negotiations to free the two men helped bring an end to half a century of hostilities between the United States and Cuba.

Catherine Paiz grew up far from the spotlight, in the vibrant multicultural city of Montreal, Canada, where her dreams began. When her path led her to Los Angeles, she built a life that seemed like a fairy tale: love, children, and a pioneering YouTube career that influenced millions. As part of The ACE Family, she became a familiar face around the globe. But behind the scenes, Catherine was carrying heartbreak, facing betrayal, navigating intense public scrutiny, and slowly losing herself.

Juristin Laura Karasek ergründet rätselhafte Kriminalfälle, die selbst erfahrene Ermittler:innen an ihre Grenzen brachten. Was auf den ersten Blick unentwirrbar erscheint, löst sich durch winzige Details – das entscheidende Indiz, die übersehene Zeugenaussage, die revolutionäre Analysetechnik. Karasek entschlüsselt die Gedankengänge brillanter Kriminalist:innen und legt ihre cleversten Methoden offen. Folge für Folge bewegt sie sich durch internationale Verbrechensgeschichten und rekonstruiert den Weg von der Tat bis zur Wahrheit.

Tim Pocock was a born performer. At ten, he took to the stage as a professional opera singer. At twenty-two, he launched his acting career in the blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine and went on to star in the beloved series Dance Academy. But Tim's biggest role was one he never auditioned for - the role he played at home as a devout, straight son. Raised in a conservative Catholic family and attending a school with links to Opus Dei, Tim always knew that being gay was out of the question.

Es geschieht am helllichten Tag, in tiefster Nacht, am Rande der Gesellschaft und mitten unter uns - das Verbrechen. Es kommt über uns wie eine Naturgewalt oder wie ein grausamer Witz. Die Tat teilt uns in Opfer, Täter, Unschuldige, Monster und Menschen. Und wir alle fragen uns: Wie konnte das geschehen? Und was passiert jetzt?

On 29 August 2016, devastating news hit the headlines that an entire family was found dead in a rural community. For Jacqueline Connolly, this was a deeply personal and life-shattering tragedy, as she discovered her sister Clodagh, along with her nephews Liam, Niall and Ryan, were killed by their husband and father Alan Hawe. Here, Jacqueline discloses the circumstances leading up to these tragic events, including Hawe's manipulation and coercive control of her unsuspecting sister.

As a member of Big in Japan, The Slits and, most famously, Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Creatures, 'Budgie' became one of the era-defining drummers in the much-mythologised post punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. A man and musician whose creativity and singular style came to define the goth-pop 1980s as much as any other individual, Budgie's life is both fabulously glamorous and a tawdry cautionary tale. For the first time the story of this most exalted and mysterious of bands has been told by one who survived inside the belly of the beast.

Born in Manchester in 1977, Anthony Kavanagh's rise to fame was stratospheric, scoring a record deal at the age of just eighteen and winning the much-coveted Smash Hits Male Artist of the Year Award in 1997, all the while achieving top ten hits, appearing on countless magazine covers, performing on Top of the Pops and gigging alongside the Spice Girls. The stuff that dreams are made of. But Anthony - or Kavana as he came to be known - was also trying to keep his sexuality a secret while navigating his way through an industry where image was everything.

At twenty-five years old, Parvati Shallow was plunged into fame and fortune after becoming the million-dollar winner of the reality television series Survivor. But despite her success, the ghosts of her traumatic past, coupled with the harsh glare of the public eye, kept her locked in a survival cycle of fear and shame that sabotaged her self-confidence and eroded her self-trust.

Felicia Djamirze is a counsellor, an advocate for women's justice, a three-time Miss Australia winner and a convicted drug dealer. Growing up surrounded by drug abuse and crime in a rough Sydney neighbourhood, she had little hope of escaping the cycle of violence and poverty. So when her looks seemed to offer her a way out, she took it—even if it involved attracting men on the wrong side of the law.

When Covid lockdowns hit Melbourne, metropolitan midlife couple Kate and Chris decide to make a sea change and move to a small coastal town to ease financial pressures and live out the beach lifestyle many of us dream of. But they didn't give much thought to just how different it would be. With late night drinking sessions in Melbourne's coolest suburbs replaced by the disconcerting peace of a summer destination largely quiet for the rest of the year, they're suddenly rattling around in their beautiful new home without kids, friends or a real community.

Alcune storie sono troppo assurde per non essere raccontate, come l'epico scontro Alessandro Volta VS Luigi Galvani, tra rane morte ed energia elettrica che ha ispirato la nascita del mostro di Frankenstein. O ancora Stephen Hawking e quella sua fissa per i buchi neri, Margherita Hack che pedalava verso l'osservatorio tra le bombe della seconda guerra mondiale, Richard Feynman che scassinava casseforti durante il progetto Manhattan, Lord Kelvin il barone della morte termica dell'Universo, Enrico Fermi che ha scisso l'atomo e dato il via all'era nucleare.

Imaginez une scène de crime où les indices les plus révélateurs ne sont ni les empreintes digitales, ni les témoins humains, mais des asticots drogués, des coléoptères nécrophiles ou des moucherons spécialistes des cercueils ! Bienvenue dans le monde de l'entomologie médico-légale. De l'ancienne Chine, où un meurtre fut résolu grâce à des mouches attirées par l'arme du crime, jusqu'à des affaires criminelles récentes, Damien Charabidzé, expert en entomologie médico-légale, nous embarque à travers plus de 200 enquêtes réelles et 15 ans de recherches.

Es un ejercicio de honestidad conmigo misma. Un volver la vista atrás para contemplar todo cuanto me ha sucedido. Al mirarme al espejo, puedo decir: he vivido. He superado los obstáculos que han aparecido en mi camino. Aún sigo superando otros muchos. He sido capaz de reinventarme muchas veces, de tirar para adelante. Soy positiva por naturaleza, y el mensaje que quiero transmitir es que casi todo merece la pena.

Stephen King es el más importante creador de best-sellers de terror, misterio y ciencia-ficción de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Como consecuencia de todo ello, Stephen King ha conformado un imaginario extremadamente rico que fascina a sus muy numerosos seguidores. Tony Jiménez es uno de ellos, pero también uno de los principales estudiosos de la ingente obra de King y un erudito sobre su misteriosa figura.

Victoria Vanstone thought she'd be the kind of mum who would spend her days ironing names onto school shirts and who knew the best chocolate-chip cookie recipe off by heart. But as the years have ticked by, she's got the feeling that woman isn't going to show up. Instead, she's the kind of mum who shouts a lot and throws plastic cups at walls. So Vanstone decides to become the mum she's always wanted to be.

アメリカ現地を取材した迫真のルポの数々 ネットのフェイクニュースなどにより分断化が進むアメリカ。はたしてトランプVSハリスの戦いとなった大統領選挙のゆくえは？

From the author of bestselling Sisters in Captivity, seven remarkable stories of men who served from WWI to Korea–their wartime exploits and achievements through aviation.

Texto da peça teatral que estreou em março de 2015, acrescido de relatos e informações que não couberam na montagem, “Autobiografia Autorizada” é uma narrativa em primeira pessoa, em que o ator, diretor e produtor de cinema e televisão Paulo Betti recorda acontecimentos que marcaram sua infância e juventude em Sorocaba, no interior de São Paulo. Mais novo de quinze irmãos (dos quais oito morreram antes do parto), filho de mãe benzedeira, Paulo Betti reconstrói, por meio de histórias e personagens, o universo místico e culturalmente diversificado de sua “Macondo” particular.

In The Hemlock Cup, award-winning historian Bettany Hughes brings to vivid life one of the most influential thinkers the world has ever known: Socrates of Athens. A maverick philosopher who philosophised in squares and public arenas rather than the courts of kings, Socrates left his indelible mark on the entirety of Western civilisation - yet the life of the man himself is shrouded in mystery.

To tell Larry Charles's life story is to tell the story of modern American comedy. Over the last 40 years, few comedians have been a part of so many iconic, beloved projects. Larry was one of the original writers and producers on the first five seasons of Seinfeld, directed over 20 episodes each of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage, and served as the showrunner for Mad About You. His film directing credits include Borat, Bruno, and The Dictator, Bill Maher’s Religulous, and Bob Dylan’s Masked and Anonymous. In Comedy Samurai, Charles pulls back the curtain.