Memoirs
*Andre Agassi Open
He is one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court - but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game. Now, Agassi tells the story of a life framed by such conflicts until the time he finally became the oldest man ever ranked number one. A treat for tennis fans, it will also captivate readers who know nothing about tennis.
Allan Ahlberg The Boyhood of Burglar Bill
In this book, described by the publisher as part fiction, part autobiographical, the famous children’s author recounts his excitement, as a 10 year old, of putting together a football team to compete in the Coronation Cup in 1953. The unlikely team defies the odds to progress through the tournament, while Ahlberg’s descriptions bring to life the vivid sights and smells of a place and time marked by poverty.
Bill Bryson The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
This is a very funny memoir of the author’s childhood in mid-1950s Iowa. Though some of his experiences are unfamiliar to someone born in another decade and another continent, the book relates what growing up is like for an average boy in an average family: making friends, going to school, imagining yourself to be a superhero…
Roald Dahl Boy: Tales of Childhood
This wonderful memoir by a master storyteller recounts the story of his childhood – the funny stories and the tragedies, the glorious holidays and the grisly days at boarding school. His later experiences as a fighter pilot in World War II are told with equal brilliance in Going Solo.
Gerald Durrell My Family and Other Animals
Followed by Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods
This ever-popular classic contains the amusing memoirs of an English boy growing up on Corfu. Gerald collects all kinds of animals and insects and brings them back to the house, much to his family's dismay.
*Ann Frank Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank kept a diary from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944 whilst hiding from the Nazis. This diary has now become one of the most famous memoirs every published, and a living testimony to the senseless slaughter that took place in the Nazi concentration camps.
Jamila Gavin Out of India
Followed by Walking on My Hands
The popular children’s author Jamila Gavin had an Indian father and an English mother, so her childhood was divided between two worlds. This vivid and personal recollection has a backdrop of world-shaking events, from the Blitz of World War II to the struggle for Indian independence.
Steven Gerrard Steven Gerrard: My Story
Steven Gerrard is known to millions as a world class football player. His bestselling autobiography, Gerrard, published in September 2006, is an honest and fascinating account of his life-long obsession with football and the tensions and thrills of playing at the top level. Now the book is available in this abridged version that is perfect for younger readers.
Bear Grylls Facing Up
At the age of 23, Bear Grylls became the youngest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This astounding story tells how only two years after breaking his back in a parachuting accident, Bear overcame severe weather conditions, dehydration and last-minute sickness to stand on top of the world's highest mountain.
Alastair Humphreys Moods of Future Joys
Followed by Thunder and Sunshine
After leaving university, and with nothing better to do, the author decided to cycle around the world. This book covers the first leg of his epic journey, through Europe and Africa. He faces loneliness and harsh conditions on the road, but his experience is ultimately one of joy and triumph. For younger readers, he has also drawn on his experience for the wonderful book: The Boy Who Biked the World.
Judith Kerr When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Followed by The Other Way Round and Small Person Far Away.
This largely autobiographical trilogy is also one of the best books written about World War II. It is a touching story of how a child’s innocence was stolen by Hitler and the Nazis – along with her pink rabbit.
*Laurie Lee Cider with Rosie
This wonderfully vivid account of the author’s childhood in rural Gloucestershire during and after the First World War is the first in an autobiographical trilogy which defines a particular time and place in English history.
Adeline Yen Mah Chinese Cinderella
Followed by Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
The author grew up in a relatively wealthy Chinese family in the 40s and 50s, yet the privileges that money would normally give such a child passed her by as she grew up in a family who simply did not love her.
*Andy McNab Immediate Action
From the day he was found in a carrier bag on the steps of Guy's Hospital to the day he went to fight in the Gulf War, this is the gripping tale of how a young delinquent ended up in the world's most highly-trained Special Forces unit.
*Barack Obama Dreams from My Father
Obama’s remarkable life story was, of course, written before his destiny was irrevocably changed by his success in the US presidential election, and it is a striking account of a young man coming to terms with the problem of his identity and issues of belonging in a racially-divided country.
Eva Schloss The Promise
The remarkable true story of a young Jewish girl and her brother growing up during the Second World War, caught in a world turned upside down by the Nazis. Written especially for children, Eva describes how her happy early childhood in Vienna was shattered when the Nazis marched into Austria, but she was always guided by her father’s memorable words: “Children, I promise you this; everything you do leaves something behind; nothing gets lost”.
*Joe Simpson Touching the Void
During an ascent of the 21,000ft Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes, Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had achieved the summit before the first disaster struck. What happened next is the subject of this riveting book.