Showing results by publisher "Simon & Schuster Audio UK" in Biographies & Memoirs

In 1939, Jonathan Lichtenstein’s father, Hans, escaped Nazi-occupied Berlin as a child refugee on the Kindertransport. Almost every member of his family died after Kristallnacht and, arriving in England to make his way in the world alone, Hans turned his back on his German Jewish culture. Growing up in post-war rural Wales, where the conflict was never spoken of, Jonathan and his siblings were at a loss to understand their father’s relentless drive and sometimes eccentric behaviour.

Known for her viral make-up videos, Avani Gregg is social media phenomenon. But how did a regular girl in small-town Indiana become TikToker of the Year? In this eye-opening memoir, she shares the ups and down of her remarkable life, including the back injury that forced her to retire from gymnastics and her move to Los Angeles. Spanning topics like mental health, relationships, bullying and more, this is the revealing and deeply inspiring Backstory of a girl with big dreams and how she worked to achieve them.

Born in Somalia and raised in a valley among nomads, Boyah Farah grew up with a code of male bravado that helped him survive deprivation, disease and civil war. Arriving in America, he believed that the code that had saved him would help him succeed in this new country. But instead of safety and freedom, Boyah found systemic racism, police brutality and intense prejudice in all areas of life, including the workplace. He learned first-hand not only what it meant to be an African in America, but what it means to be African American. 

Georges Salines lost his daughter, Lola, in the attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris on 13th November 2015. Azdyne Amimour lost his son. Both were aged 28. Lola was one of the 90 victims, Amimour's son one of the attackers. From his meeting with Azdyne Amimour, an unprecedented dialogue emerged. Georges Salines carries the memory of his daughter and many other victims, while Azdyne Amimour seeks to understand how his son was able to commit acts which he condemns without appeal. Driven by mutual curiosity, the two tell their stories and unfold the story of 'their' 13th November. 

After spending a decade restlessly globetrotting in search of a way of life that worked for him, journalist Kieran Cunningham alighted on Sondrio, a small town in Lombardy, Italy. A stone’s throw from the Alps, there he found the perfect combination of fresh mountain air, a strong network of local friends and lots of climbing. Finally he was able to accept and manage his diagnosis of bipolar I. And then Lombardy found itself the European epicentre of COVID-19 and subject to the strictest of lockdowns.

Born in London, the young Peter moved to Northamptonshire where his father was a chauffeur and butler at the local manor house. Always a show-off, when he joined the local ladies for pantomime, it was hard to get him off stage....

Anna-Maria van der Vaart is 104, remarkably independent despite her failing eyesight, living on the south coast of England. During the darkest days of the war, in her home country of Holland, she sheltered Allied pilots, gave refuge to persecuted Jews and stood up to the Nazis by participating in audacious acts of resistance. The Dutch turned more Jews over to the Nazis than any other nation. There were traitors in every Resistance cell, the juxtaposition of valour and treachery poignant and tragic. A chance meeting with Anna-Maria led to her telling him her story.

Ayesha's Gift is the true story of a young woman, born in Pakistan, living in Britain, whose life is thrown into desperate turmoil by the violent death of her father. The Pakistani authorities talk of suicide, but why would Ayesha’s happy, gentle father kill himself? Ayesha’s quest to find the truth takes her away from her safe English existence and into Pakistan, where she is met with threats, violence and smiling perjurers. She is warned that her life is in danger; powerful, ruthless men have reasons to want her silenced. But there are things she needs to know, that compel her to press on.

Aziz's story is a story that is common to many but one that is rarely told. It is the story of growing up the child of immigrants and trying to progress in a society where the realities of racism and xenophobia are all too obvious. It gives voice to the experience of finding oneself caught between worlds and the concomitant feelings of shame, insecurity and powerlessness that this can engender. As he describes it, he found himself ‘a hyphenated man’ struggling to create an identity that fused East and West.

Franz Beckenbauer is Germany's greatest-ever football player and one of the game's biggest icons of all time, a World Cup winner as player and manager. The Three Lives of the Kaiser is the first English-language account of a truly remarkable existence. Known everywhere as 'the Kaiser', Beckenbauer's compatriots even referred to him as 'the Shining Light'. Not anymore, though. Because what is often described as a blessed life has really been an emotional roller-coaster ride with stunning highs and bitter lows.

Biographer and acclaimed historian Charlotte Gray breathes new life into Sara and Jennie, two famous women whose sons, Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt, would change the course of the 20th century. Impeccably researched and filled with intriguing social insights, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons offers a fascinating and fulsome portrait of how leaders are not just born but made.