Showing results by publisher "HarperCollins" in Biographies & Memoirs

One of the most flamboyant women of the late 18th century, Mary Robinson's life was marked by reversals of fortune. After being raised by a middle-class father, Mary was married, at age 14, to Thomas Robinson. His dissipated lifestyle landed the couple and their baby in debtors' prison, where Mary wrote her first book of poetry and met lifelong friend Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. On her release, Mary quickly became one of the most popular actresses of the day, famously playing Perdita in The Winter’s Tale for a rapt audience that included the Prince of Wales.

Magic is my life. The world of a magician is an unusual one. Between the first and last words of this little volume, you will find stories, confessions and secrets that I hope will convince you that anything is possible. If you can keep a secret, I’ll even share magic tricks you can perform yourself. Inside, you’ll learn how to read minds, predict the future, make cards levitate and jewellery vanish. I’ll teach you how to perform to an audience and amaze your family and friends. 

On 13th June 2020, Patrick Hutchinson, a Black man, was photographed carrying a White injured man to safety during a confrontation in London between Black Lives Matter demonstrators and counter-protesters. The powerful image was shared and discussed all around the world. Everyone Versus Racism is a poignant letter from Patrick to his children and grandchildren. Writing from the heart, he describes the realities of life as a Black man today and why we must unite to inspire change for generations to come. 

When Francisco Garcia was just seven years old, his father, Christobal, left his family. Unemployed, addicted to drink and drugs and adrift in life, Christobal decided he would rather disappear altogether than carry on dealing with the problems in front of him. So that’s what he did, leaving his young wife and child in the dead of night. He has been missing ever since. Twenty years on, Francisco is ready to take up the search for answers.

This audiobook wryly tracks Peter’s varied career moves, from flogging tickets for one of The Beatles' first major concerts, to getting inadvertently caught up in a New York family turf war while trying to buy a treated wood company. However, at the book’s heart is a serious mission to present a clear and galvanising case for strategic philanthropy, crucially with the founding of educational charity The Sutton Trust.

A heart-warming collection of first-hand accounts from RNLI volunteers, this remarkable book shines a light on the bravery of the volunteers and the necessity of these rescues—not only to save animals at risk of drowning, but to prevent people putting themselves in danger when trying to save a cherished furry friend.

Web Summit has been touted as one of the biggest Irish business success stories of the last decade, growing from a 150-person meet-up into an over 70,000-person gathering of industry leaders. Paddy Cosgrave, its charismatic co-founder cozied up to Silicon Valley elite, read Chomsky at the weekends, raised his family on a farm in Donegal, and attended Wimbledon with the wealthy. He had the world at his feet. That world, however, came at a cost.

Having suffered the unimaginable loss of her first husband and child, Lindsay Nicholson worked her way up to become the most successful lifestyle magazine editor in Britain. But when a would-be suicide ran in front of her car, the pages of her picture-perfect life fell apart once more. In just one year, Lindsay lost her marriage, job and home, and was even arrested. Suicidal and suffering from profound PTSD, she tried medication, therapy and New Age courses – until she found the answers she was looking for in the pages of her former magazine.

Born and raised in Baghdad, Nadhim Zahawi arrived in the UK aged 11, having been forced to flee Iraq with his family, under threat from Saddam Hussein’s regime. In this candid and poignant memoir, Nadhim vividly recalls his upbringing in the Middle East, his family’s adjustment to their new life in Britain and his rise to Second Lord of the Treasury, one of the highest offices in his adoptive homeland. The Boy from Baghdad is the full and fascinating story of Nadhim’s personal, professional and political journey from Waziriyah to Westminster.