Autobiography/Bio/Non-Fiction

//Autobiography/Bio/Non-Fiction
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  • Lobsang Rampa was preordained to be a Tibetan priest, a sign from the stars that could not be ignored. When he left his wealthy home to enter the monastery, his heart was filled with trepidation, with only a slight knowledge of the rigorous spiritual training and physical ordeal that awaited him. This is his story, a hauntingly beautiful and deeply inspiring journey of awakening within Chakpori Lamasery, the temple of Tibetan medicine. It is a moving tale of passage through the mystic arts of astral projection, crystal gazing, aura deciphering, meditation and more, a spiritual guide of enlightenment and discovery. 
  • George Burns, born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.  His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century. Sprightly, cheeky and irreverent, George declared his intention of living to 100 - and he did. He was one of the first to observe that if someone is hurt, then it isn't funny6.   Here is his memoir, from the days of vaudeville to the beginning of popular radio and onto the heyday of Hollywood. Illustrated with archival black and white photographs.
  • A valuable  resource for anyone interested in the early rail/tram networks of Australia from the first horse-drawn trams to the steamers to the modern electrical cars. Filled with fabulous archival black and white photos, this book is divided into chapters of places, from Adelaide to Sydney and all stops in between.  It also covers such things as the companies, the employees and some interesting snippets of Australian history.

  • Margaret Powell scored an immense hit with her autobiographical work,  Below Stairs which detailed her life 'in service' to a wealthy family.  It was so popular and the demand so great for this window on a forgotten world that it was followed by Climbing the Stairs and this, The Treasure Upstairs - meaning the best of servants. Now married, Margaret takes a series of jobs as a "daily" -  chores and a few days a week cooking. She also gives her opinion on a variety of social issues of the day and reveals  how she came to write Below Stairs. She writes as she speaks - with dry English wit and pithy observations on life and social issues of the day.
  • Ward was a leading player in the Profumo scandal which brought down the Conservative Government 1962. An osteopath and accomplished artist, he was a mover, mixer, stirrer and shaker in upper class circles, mixing with peers and prostitutes singly and together. He was a great name dropper. He had a plausible manner and tons of charm. He was friendly with Captain Ivanov, the Russian Naval attache who was conducting an affair with model Christine Keeler, a friend of Ward's, at the time she was involved in an affair with John Profumo, Minister for War. News of this potentially dangerous tangled involvement reached the ears of the Cabinet Secretary, who had a word with Profumo and the affair ended. The matter may have concluded there, but for Ward's continued association with Ivanov - and his love of playing at politics which brought about his own destruction. Illustrated with black and white photographs. The author was refused a copy of a full or partial  transcript by the Court of Criminal Appeal but was able to obtain a transcript through the Press Association.

  • Cats and dogs are both domestic pets, but cats are infinitely more mysterious. What do they want? What are they thinking? How do they see us? This is all about house cats and their wild siblings, big and small - and the bonds they form with each other and with us. Beautiful illustrations throughout by Jared Taylor Williams

  • Was Joan's life so enigmatic as legend would have it? Made use of by the royal court as someone who could be passed off - to the rank and file - as divinely inspired, Joan soon become a headstrong nuisance.  And there is nothing more mysterious than her trial and execution.  This book is about Joan the girl - not beautiful or mad;  nor a liar... but witty, shrewd, fiery and energetic.

  • Born in Meklong, Bangkok, on May 11, 1811, they were the original Siamese Twins, inseparably joined.  Chang and Eng became world celebrities, American citizens, married two sisters (fathering 21 children between them) and acquired respectable status as land owners and farmers.  They could swim, perform gymnastic feats and lead 'normal' lives.  Eng was quiet, even-tempered and contemplative; Chang was hot-headed and quarrelsome.  As they grew older each dreamed of a separate life but feared the risky operation and whether the death of one would mean the death of the other. Their fascinating story is told here with insight and warmth so that the reader understands how bizarre, heroic, tragic and human their lives were. With excellent historic black and white photgraphs.
  • Charles I, king of England, waged a civil war (1642-9) that cost the lives of one in ten Englishmen, but in 1649 Parliament was hard put to find a lawyer with the skill and daring to prosecute the defeated King, who claimed to be above the law. The man they briefed was the radical lawyer John Cooke. His Puritan conscience, political vision, and love of civil liberties gave him the courage to bring the King's trial to its dramatic conclusion: the creation of the English Republic. Cooke would pay dearly for role in the trial. Charles I was found guilty and beheaded, but eleven years later Cooke himself was arrested, tried, and brutally executed at the hands of Charles II. Robertson, an internationally renowned human rights lawyer, provides a vivid new reading of the tumultuous Civil War years, exposing long-hidden truths: that the King was guilty as charged, that his execution was necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament, that the regicide trials were rigged and their victims should be seen as national heroes. John Cooke sacrificed his own life to make tyranny a crime. His trial of Charles I, the first trial of a head of state for waging war on his own people, became a forerunner of the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein.