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Kenneth Williams, star of stage, radio and Carry On, gives us, 'A Year in the Life Of...': in which he has trouble with the installation of a new 'loo, catches a cold, travels to Australia and has a wonderful time, investigates a novelty window washing device and gets into trouble over his interpretation of a recipe for gooseberry cup. Laurence Olivier, playwright Alan Bennett, Bill Kerr, Maggie Smith and even the ubiquitous Maudie 'Fun With A Frankfurter' Fittleworth make appearances, as well as many others. -
Marshall and his wife met these people - country folk from central Victoria, the Mallee and the Wimmera - real Australians. They ate with them, shared the makings with them, helped them and were helped by them, drank with them and talked with them over a nice cuppa. This is no fly-by-night collection of brief impressions - they travelled in a caravan drawn by two elderly yet stalwart horses, savouring scenes and the friendships of the road, until he had accident to his crook leg. And even in hospital he found plenty to write about - and everyone he wrote about had a story to tell him - sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes rich in courage. It's the battlers he loves - the farmer hit by drought, the woman whose husband is on the grog, the kid who never had much education, the bushman living content with only his dog for company. These are Marshall's people. -
Published by the National Martime Museum of London in association with Campbell Publishing, Sydney. Over the centuries, many men have set out from Britain's shores to fight, trade or explore. Three in particular are known the world over - Francis Drake, Lord Nelson and Captain James Cook. Few people have inspired such interest and admiration as Cook, whose courage and navigational genius determined the course of history in the Pacific region. This book covers the man, his seamanship and the life he literally gave for the British Empire. Full of colour prints, reproductions, maps and photographs. -
Julian Lennon! Mark Bego
$15.00His voice sounds hauntingly like his father's and the physical resemblance is equally chilling. But Julian Lennon went on to forge his own independence. He was born just as the Beatles first No. 1 hit exploded onto the charts but it was not until his father's death in 1980 that Julian began to inherit the legacy of John Lennon. Was he fated to be - in all things - just like his Dad? He was excluded from his father's will, however there was a trust of £100,000 established to be shared between Julian and his half-brother Sean. But he had to fight even to get that, suing his father's estate successfully in 1996. Dad could talk about peace and love out loud to the world but he could never show it to the people who supposedly meant the most to him: his wife and son. How can you talk about peace and love and have a family in bits and pieces - no communication, adultery, divorce? You can't do it, not if you're being true and honest with yourself. With black and white photographs. -
The Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) also known as Nick Cummins (Cummo or Nick) is a species of rugby player native to Queensland, Port Macquarie and Perth. Despite its size, the honey badger does not closely resemble other wingers; instead, it bears more anatomical similarities to a forward. It is well known for its extensive range of puns, analogies, mischief and general ability to adapt to any environment. It is primarily carnivorous - beef is its preference - and has few natural predators because of its thick skin, self-deprecating sense of humour and ferocious defensive abilities. Nick Cummins is writing his opus, his tome - his first book. Packed with Nick's sensational sayings, ripper yarns and pure Aussie wisdom, it's a charming collection of short stories celebrating the importance of family, mates, rugby and getting out amongst it (i.e. seeing the world). Illustrated with colour photographs. -
A collection of unique expeditions into Australia's fascinating places - mustering cattle by helicopter, crossing the great deserts by road train, crossing the straits and seas to explore Australia's islands. This is the magic of Australia - places most people never see and people who live differently from anyone else on earth. In this volume: Dreamtime Journey; Face To Face With The Devil; By Train Across Australia; Snake Attack; In Search Of The Perfect Pearl; David And The Goliaths; The Emu Lays A Golden Egg; A Day In The Life Of A Sheep Station; Miracle At Monkey Mia; Beautiful, Bountil Barossa; Riding With The Helicopter Cowboys; What Makes The Kookaburra Laugh? Australia's Icy Enchantress; The Tantalising Taste Of Australia; Phoenix Of The Forest - The Amazing Eucalypt; Spider, Spider; A Day In The Life Of A Monastery; All Aboard Australia's Road Train. Lavishly Illustrated with colour photographs. -
This is the history of a man, the electric guitar and an era of music that will never be forgotten. Murray pulls up the rug where good rock 'n' roll hides and rips through the floorboards with prose as bold and explosive as Hendrix's guitar. Here is an insightful and poignant book about the music of Jimi Hendrix and how rock culture and its influence defined an era. With fabulous archival colour and black and white photos.
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NOT a film novelisation, but a humorously dry account of the making of the famous Bond adventure Live and Let Die - as only Roger Moore can tell it! It's his personal diary, the frank uncensored story of what really happens in the making of a super film - the fights, jealousies, arguments, frustrations, dangers - and the fun. Illustrated with colour photographs from the sets and the film. -
Sir Winston Churchill’s paternal grandmother (the mother of Randolph) has been a background figure in many biographies but her own story has never been told until now. As the eldest daughter of 3rd Marchioness of Londonderry, Frances’s life was steeped in great historical names and occasions, from Tsar Alexander I and the Duke of Wellington (her godfather) to her childhood friendship with Queen Victoria, and ultimately her famous grandson, Sir Winston Churchill. She was an inspiring woman who transformed Blenheim Palace into not only a family home, but also a social and political focus for the life of the nation. She was a deeply caring woman who often acted as a surrogate mother to the younger members of her family, including Winston. Her crowning achievement, fully and dramatically retold in this book, was her humanity, leadership, and skill in averting the effects of the Irish potato famine of 1879. It was this most public performance which brought Frances the award of the Order of Victoria and Albert from Queen Victoria herself, normally reserved for members of the royal family. Illustrated. -
For more than forty years, Frederick Forsyth has been writing extraordinary real-world novels of intrigue, from the groundbreaking The Day of the Jackal to the prescient The Kill List . Whether writing about the murky world of arms dealers, the shadowy Nazi underground movement, or the intricacies of worldwide drug cartels, every plot has been chillingly plausible because every detail has been minutely researched. But what most people don’t know is that some of his greatest stories of intrigue have been in his own life. He was the RAF’s youngest pilot at the age of nineteen, barely escaped the wrath of an arms dealer in Hamburg, got strafed by a MiG during the Nigerian civil war, landed during a bloody coup in Guinea-Bissau (and was accused of helping fund a 1973 coup in Equatorial Guinea). The Stasi arrested him, the Israelis feted him, the IRA threatened him, and a certain attractive Czech secret police agent—well, her actions were a bit more intimate. And that’s just for starters... Illustrated with black and white photographs. -
Barcs, a correspondent for a firm of Hungarian newspapers, had just been expelled from Mussolini's Italy in 1938 when he decided to come to Australia. He arrived with his wife and eight letters from various European newspapers expressing mild interest in Australian life. These sources of income disappeared as war engulfed Europe, and Barcs was on his own. He immediately began contributing to the Sydney Daily Telegraph and was accepted as a member of the Australian Journalists' Association. He was an unusual figure in Australian journalism at that time for his university education, extensive background as a foreign correspondent and ability to speak five languages. He worked as a freelance journalist for Australian and overseas newspapers. Interned as an enemy alien in late 1941, he was called up for full-time duty in the Citizen Military Forces on 27 July, he served with the 3rd Employment Company and was asked to join the inaugural committee of the Association of Refugees (Association of New Citizens). Barcs was naturalised in 1946. It seemed that he certainly became naturalised in Australian humour: the sections of these memoirs are entitled: Nobody Owes You A Living; His Majesty's Most Loyal Internee and The Backyard of Mars. He died in 1990. -
This book is for our 'inner housewife', desperate to learn what housewives everywhere used to know instinctively - how to look after our home well and efficiently, with minimum fuss. Housewifery may be a dying vocation, but generations of wifely wisdom must not be allowed to disappear with it. We need to redefine what it means to be a housewife, for the sake of our homes and for the sake of our sanity. We have become dependent on those 5-in-1 chemical cleaners; we can't seem to wield a Hoover any more; doing the laundry takes days out of our week. We are too busy! We think housework is boring! We are at crisis point! Determined to help us to regain control, Rachel Simhon has compiled this manual on everything we need to know about looking after the home. She reveals how to descale a kettle, polish silver, get scratches off glasses, minimise ironing, store food in the fridge, protect photographs from fading and fold a fitted sheet, and explains how to choose a tumble dryer...how to run the modern home. -
Depardieu: Paul Chutkow
$12.00How did a runaway boy with a severe speech handicap become one of Europe's most acclaimed modern actors? This biography is the first one written with Depardieu's co-operation and reveals him as the most unlikely of international stars. He ran away from home when he was twelve and quickly got into trouble; when he first joined a drama course in Paris his speech handicap brought him to the point of dumbness. Acting, speech therapy and the support of his wife Elisabeth taught him to overcome his difficulties. Who can forget him as the bawdy Porthos in The Man In The Iron Mask, marching into the barn bent on suicide, clad only in his hat and boots?
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A very comprehensive farming 'Bible' written to assist those keen to confront the challenges and who are determined to play to win. A sensible, economic base for farm management decision-making for the twenty-first century. The central theme underpinning this text is that the farm management context is most usefully and reliably managed by the application of economic ways of thinking. In this text, the practice of farm management is approached in an integrated way, leaving no significant issues about management uncovered. Finance, investment, decision analysis, management, economic thinking, growth, risk and marketing are critical and exciting domains of interest that are brought together to give the reader a thorough and comprehensive understanding of how the farming situation is best analysed and managed. The text is essential reading for those who seek to manage agricultural businesses well and for those with interest throughout agricultural supply chains who need to understand the character of farms as the core of agribusiness systems. -
In its 4.5 billion–year history, life on Earth has been almost erased at least half a dozen times: shattered by asteroid impacts, entombed in ice, smothered by methane, and torn apart by unfathomably powerful mega volcanoes. And we know that another global disaster is eventually headed our way. Can we survive it? How? As a species, Homo sapiens is at a crossroads. Study of our planet’s turbulent past suggests that we are overdue for a catastrophic disaster, whether caused by nature or by human interference. It’s a frightening prospect, as each of the Earth’s past major disasters - from meteor strikes to bombardment by cosmic radiation - resulted in a mass extinction, where more than 75 percent of the planet’s species died out. Newitz explains that although global disaster is all but inevitable, our chances of long-term species survival are better than ever. Life on Earth has come close to annihilation—humans have, more than once, narrowly avoided extinction just during the last million years - but every single time a few creatures survived, evolving to adapt to the harshest of conditions. -
Author Phillip Norman, whose previous bestseller, John Lennon: The Life, was praised as a “haunting, mammoth, terrific piece of work” and whose classic Shout! is widely considered to be the definitive biography of the Beatles, now turns his attention to the iconic front man of the Rolling Stones. This is an extraordinarily detailed and in-depth account of the life and career of one of the most complex superstars of rock music. A must-read for Stones fans. With colour and black and white photos. -
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No-one ever dreamed that her first voyage would be her last. To the elegantly dressed passengers who swept down the Grand Staircase on their way to dinner, the Titanic seemed to the ultimate in comfort and security. But only hours later the greatest ship ever built would lie on the bottom of the ocean. This is the complete story of the 'unsinkable' Titanic - from her construction and launch to her sinking and rediscovery - is told in words and pictures in one lavishly illustrated volume. Art by Ken Marschall; includes numerous black and white archival photographs. -
Higham alleges that "Errol Flyn could have been tried for treason. The world-famous star could have ended his life on a hangman's noose." Dramatic? Definitely. He also alleges that he has seen documents, now declassified and therefore available to the public, that prove the star of Robin Hood, They Died With Their Boots On, Captain Blood and many other films was in fact a spy for the Gestapo, working together with Dr. Hermann Erben, leading SS man, and that the film industry was involved in the cover up. And yet more - Higham also claims Flynn the Infamous Womaniser also had affairs with Howard Hughes, fellow heart throb actor Tyrone Power and Truman Capote. Manslaughter, drug running and gold smuggling are also alleged. The declassified documents that Higham claims are not reproduced in this book - only listed. -
Raconteur, playwright, producer, wit...Alan Melville (1910 - 1983) had an abundance of talents that brought him into contact with the greats of the entertainment world of his day - luminaries such as Ivor Novello, Hermione Gingold, Beatrice Lillie and Jack Buchanan, to name only a few. This autobiography is not only about his successes but his many flops which he described as 'frequent and sensational'. This is not just another collection of theatrical reminiscences, but touches Melville's life away from the stage and TV. -
Ziegfeld: Charles Higham
$20.00Florenz Ziegfeld was without question the most flamboyant showman the American theatre has produced. His glorification of the American girl in glittering glamorous settings packed theatres for years and made him a legend in his own time. Higham's exploration of the life and loves of Florenz Ziegfeld show the man backstage - the demonic, driving, ruthless but utterly charming genius who private life was as agonising as his public life was dazzling. The son of the founder of the Chicago Musical College, Ziegfeld broke with family tradition early and launched his career as an extraordinary showman in 1893. Sent to Europe by his father to book classical music ensembles, he instead imported vaudeville acts, the most notable being Eugene Sandow, the famous strong-man, whose nationwide tour launched Ziegfeld's career, which reached its pinnacle with the lavish revue the Ziegfeld Follies, which enthralled audiences for over two decades. His extraordinary 'fake marriage' to Anna Held, his tempestuous romance with ravishing showgirl Lillian Lorraine, his marriage to Billie Burke and affair with Marilyn Miller are all highlighted, as his is move to musical comedy, producing memorable Broadway shows such as Kid Boots, Show Boat and Whoopee. Based on interviews with almost every living person who knew or worked with Ziegfeld: his daughter; his private secretary Goldie; and the stars who passed ascross the stage of Ziegfeld's life. Illustrated with black and white photographs. -
Sir Michael Parkinson occupies a unique place in the public consciousness. For many he is the chronicler of a generation. Through his onscreen work and his intelligent, thought provking journalism, he has introduced millions of people to the major names of sport of showbiz over the past five decades. In Parky's People, Parkinson gives us an intimate insight into the lives of great celebrities from all around the world. Now an international celebrity himself, the man from a humble but colourful Yorkshire mining family who can tease out the secrets of even the most reticent star guest. Those featured include Muhammad Ali, David Attenborough, Judi Dench, David Beckham, and many more. -
Moving into an unfurnished house, John uses the ads in newsagents' windows to buy things like a bed and a settee. On impulse, one day, he replies to an advert for a psychic masseur named Lucy, who tells him some home truths as he sits on her settee in his underpants. So begins a year of self-discovery and an obsession with newsagents' windows, taking John to a shoe-exhibition, an Ayckbourn play, to a wrestling match. He becomes the owner of a man's entire video collection, a clapped-out Ford Escort - and discovers a community of a bygone age. Looking to improve his German, he meets a pretty German girl named Leni... -
Peter Fitzsimon's account of growing up on the rural outskirts of Sydney in the 1960s is first and foremost a tribute to family. It's also a salute to times and generations past, when praise was understated and love unstinting; work was hard and values were clear; when people stood by each other in adversity. Days were for doing. Here is a childhood full of mischief, camaraderie, eccentric characters, drama, love, loss and billy-carts.
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Clarke looks back at the early days of the science fiction field, offering some humorous anecdotes and insightful observations of the Golden Age notables of the genre. He reminisces on Astounding Science Fiction (now Analog) and its effect on him as a schoolboy; it's half Clarke's two-pronged memoirs and half chronicle of his scientific/engineering career. Told with humor and humility and throughout, his lifelong love of learning shines through. Cover art by Chris Consani. -
Magonius Sucatus Patricius was a wild, carefree undisciplined Romano-British boy living in south-west Britain toward the end of the fourth century. The legions had been recalled to Rome; Christianity, the official religion of the Empire was in the ascendancy and the Empire itself was breaking apart. When he was sixteen, Patricius visited his family's seaside estate and was carried off by Irish sea raiders to endure six years as a slave, shepherd and swineherd in the pagan wilderness of Northern Ireland . He escaped and after many adventures in France made his way home to Britain. Thirty years later - now a Bishop - Patricius again braved the hostile shores of Ireland to begin the most courageous conversion in the history of Christianity: that of a nation devoted to Celtic Gods and Druidism. Gallico presents the reader with St. Patrick with reason backed with evidence, without recourse to the more dramatic myths that surround him and weaving in excerpts from two extant sources: Confession and Letter to Coroticus to separate fact from legend. A balanced portrait of the extraordinary Saint. -
A fabulously in-depth work by a highly esteemed historian, this history covers England's epic, colourful history from the conquest of the Saxons, A.D. 449 up to 829, when Ecgberht unites England under one ruler. So much is covered: the original independent kingdoms, Romanisation, topography and geography, the many roles that Christianity played in politics, Church and customs and much more. With illustrated maps.
