Browse Results

Select your format based upon: 1) how you want to read your book, and 2) compatibility with your reading tool. To learn more about using Bookshare with your device, visit the Help Center.

Here is an overview of the specialized formats that Bookshare offers its members with links that go to the Help Center for more information.

• Bookshare Web Reader - A customized reading tool for Bookshare members offering all the features of DAISY with a single click of the "Read Now" link.
• DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) - A digital book file format. DAISY books from Bookshare are DAISY 3.0 text files that work with just about every type of access technology that reads text. Books that contain images will have the download option of ‘DAISY Text with Images’.
• BRF (Braille Refreshable Format) - Digital Braille for use with refreshable Braille devices and Braille embossers.
• MP3 (MPEG audio layer 3) - Provides audio only with no text. These books are created with a text-to-speech engine and spoken by Kendra, a high quality synthetic voice from Ivona. Any device that supports MP3 playback is compatible.
• DAISY Audio - Similar to the DAISY option above; however, this option uses MP3 files created with our text-to-speech engine that utilizes Ivonas Kendra voice. This format will work with Daisy Audio compatible players such as Victor Reader Stream and Read2Go.
• EPUB - A standard e-book format that can be read on many tools, such as iBooks, Readium or others.
• Word - Accessible Word output, which can be unzipped and opened in any tool that allows .docx files

My Life On the Plains

My Life on the Road

Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. Every fall, her father would pack the family into the car and they would drive across the country, in search of their next adventure. The seeds were planted: Steinem would spend much of her life on the road, as a journalist, organizer, activist, and speaker. In vivid stories that span an entire career, Steinem writes about her time on the campaign trail, from Bobby Kennedy to Hillary Clinton; her early exposure to social activism in India; organizing ground-up movements in America; the taxi drivers who were "vectors of modern myths" and the airline stewardesses who embraced feminism; and the infinite contrasts, the "surrealism in everyday life" that Steinem encountered as she travelled back and forth across the country. With the unique perspective of one of the greatest feminist icons of the 20th and 21st centuries, here is an inspiring, profound, enlightening memoir of one woman's life-long journey.

My Life on the Road

<P>Gloria Steinem--writer, activist, organizer, and inspiring leader--now tells a story she has never told before, a candid account of her life as a traveler, a listener, and a catalyst for change. <P>When people ask me why I still have hope and energy after all these years, I always say: Because I travel. Taking to the road--by which I mean letting the road take you--changed who I thought I was. The road is messy in the way that real life is messy. It leads us out of denial and into reality, out of theory and into practice, out of caution and into action, out of statistics and into stories--in short, out of our heads and into our hearts. <P>Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. When she was a young girl, her father would pack the family in the car every fall and drive across country searching for adventure and trying to make a living. The seeds were planted: Gloria realized that growing up didn't have to mean settling down. And so began a lifetime of travel, of activism and leadership, of listening to people whose voices and ideas would inspire change and revolution. <P> My Life on the Road is the moving, funny, and profound story of Gloria's growth and also the growth of a revolutionary movement for equality--and the story of how surprising encounters on the road shaped both. <P>From her first experience of social activism among women in India to her work as a journalist in the 1960s; from the whirlwind of political campaigns to the founding of Ms. magazine; from the historic 1977 National Women's Conference to her travels through Indian Country--a lifetime spent on the road allowed Gloria to listen and connect deeply with people, to understand that context is everything, and to become part of a movement that would change the world. <P> In prose that is revealing and rich, Gloria reminds us that living in an open, observant, and "on the road" state of mind can make a difference in how we learn, what we do, and how we understand each other.

My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon

With My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso--an icon of one of the most enduringly popular recreational sports in the United States--offers a touching and humorous memoir about the rewards and challenges of running. Recounting his adventures in locales like Antarctica, Africa, and Chitwan National Park in Nepal (where he was chased by an angry rhino), Yasso recommends the best marathons on foreign terrain and tells runners what they need to know to navigate the logistics of running in an unfamiliar country. He also offers practical guidance for beginning, intermediate, and advanced runners, such as 5-K, half marathon, and marathon training schedules, as well as advice on how to become a runner for life, ever-ready to draw joy from the sport and embrace the adventure that each race may offer

My Life on Wheels: A Young Woman's Inspiring Journey of Faith, Courage, Hope, and Happiness

Breindy H. is a severely disabled young woman, who must rely on others for her every need. Yet her mind is sharp, intelligent, witty and even humorous. In this book she describes the challenges of life on wheels, her surprising social life, the personal growth of herself and others around her. One should read this book for a boost, a smile, an understanding of life.

My Life, Our Times

This revelatory memoir from Britain's former Prime Minister offers vital insights into our extraordinary times.Former Prime Minister and the country's longest-serving Chancellor, Gordon Brown has been a guiding force for Britain and the world over three decades. This is his candid, poignant and deeply relevant story.In describing his upbringing in Scotland as the son of a minister, the near loss of his eyesight as a student and the death of his daughter within days of her birth, he shares the passionately-held principles that have shaped and driven him, reminding us that politics can and should be a calling to serve. Reflecting on the personal and ideological tensions within Labour and its successes and failures in power, he describes how to meet the challenge of pursuing a radical agenda within a credible party of government.From the invasion of Iraq to the tragedy of Afghanistan, from the coalition negotiations of 2010 to the referendums on Scottish independence and Europe, Gordon Brown draws on his unique experiences to explain Britain's current fractured condition. By showing us what progressive politics has achieved in recent decades, he inspires us with a vision of what it might yet achieve.Riveting, expert and highly personal, this historic memoir is an invaluable insight into our times.

My Life Outside the Ring: A Memoir

In My Life Outside the Ring, Hulk Hogan, legendary wrestler come reality star, reflects on his life, family, and career, and shares how he has found inspiration during difficult times.Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea, burst onto the professional wrestling scene in the late seventies and went on to become a world wrestling champion many times over. From humble beginnings, this giant of a man escaped a pre-ordained life of dock and construction work in Port Tampa, Florida, to become one of the most recognizable celebrities on the planet. He did it through sheer will, grit, determination, and a drive to always go over the top and do more than what others thought possible. From the outside, his story was one of a charmed life—he was at the top of his career, had a wonderful and loving family, and a lifelong fan base who worshiped him. Of course he had his up and downs—including hints of steroid abuse and his falling out with WWE and Vince McMahon—but two years tested Hogan more than any other in his lifetime. In 2007, while riding the massive success of his VH1 reality show, Hogan Knows Best, his son Nick was involved in a tragic car accident that left his best friend in critical condition. Then Linda, his wife, left him after 23 years of marriage, his beloved daughter Brooke blamed him for the breakup, and his son went to jail. The tabloid media had a field day. When unflattering jailhouse conversations between him and his son were released to the press the tabloids were in a frenzy. The sudden turmoil and tragedy surrounding Hogan took its toll. He fell into a deep depression, seeing no way out, until one fateful phone call. In My Life Outside the Ring, Hogan will unabashedly recount these events, revealing how his newfound clarity steadied him during the most difficult match of his life—and how he emerged from the battle feeling stronger than ever before. I was right there leaning on the side of the car with my hands when I finally saw Nick—my only son—folded up like an accordion with his head down by the gas pedal. "Nick!" I yelled. I could see he was alive. He turned his head, he stuck his hand out, and gave me a thumbs-up. For a second I was relieved. Then the chaos set in. The noise of engines. Sirens. A saw. Paramedics pulling John from the passenger seat. So much blood. I can't even describe to you how panicked I was. The police and firefighters surrounding us seemed panicked, too. The firefighters started cutting the side of the car open to try to get Nick out, and I'm still standing right there when I hear my boy screaming, "No, no, no, stop! Stop! You're gonna cut my legs off. Dad! Just unbuckle the seatbelt. I can get out!" So I reach in and I push the button on his seat belt, and Nick just crawls right out. His wrist was broken. His ribs were cracked. None of that mattered. He was gonna be okay. But not John. John wasn't moving. —from MY LIFE OUTSIDE THE RING

My Life (Revised and Updated)

A remarkable account of a wildly artistic life, finally restored to its unexpurgated form, with a revealing new introduction by Joan Acocella. The visionary choreographer and dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) not only revolutionized dance in the twentieth century but blazed a path for other visionaries who would follow in her wake. While many biographies have explored Duncan's crucial role as one of the founders of modern dance, no other book has proved as critical--as both historical record and vivid evocation of a riveting life--as her autobiography. From her early enchantment with classical music and poetry to her great successes abroad, to her sensational love affairs and headline-grabbing personal tragedies, Duncan's story is a dramatic one. My Life still stands alone as "a great document, revealing the truth of her life as she understood it, without reticence or apology or compromise" (New York Herald Tribune). Now, in this fully restored edition, with its risqué recollections and fervent idealism, My Life can be appreciated by a new generation.

My Life So Far: On-line Retail

'There are always regrets in life, among them things we've done that we wish we could take back and erase. I have significant ones that will haunt me forever and which I hope I have been brave enough to confront in this book. 'So says Jane Fonda in the preface to My Life So Far, a powerful account of an extraordinary woman. Oscar winner, controversial political activist, groundbreaking fitness guru, wife, mother, lover, philanthropist - just some of the roles Fonda is known for. Born into Hollywood ar...

My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves

From the Emmy-winning creator and writer of All My Children and One Life to Live, a memoir of her trailblazing rise to the top of the television industry, including behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most beloved soaps of all time Before there was Erica Kane, Adam Chandler, or Victoria Lord, there was Agnes Nixon, a young girl who dreamed up stories for paper dolls. Those tales she imagined--ones filled with ambitions, rivalries, and romances--would soon parallel her own path to success. In a memoir filled with as much drama as the soaps she penned, Nixon shares her journey from Nashville to New York City, as she overcomes the loss of her fiancé in World War II, a father intent on crushing her writing dreams, and the jealousy of her male colleagues on her way to becoming one of the most successful names in television.While fans will delight in Nixon’s own incredible life, they will also love her behind-the-scenes insight into her most popular shows. Inside, she shares the inspiration for Erica Kane and how she cast Susan Lucci in the role; an excerpt from the never-before-seen All My Children story bible; entertaining anecdotes about her shows’ beloved casts and special guests, including Carol Burnett, Kelly Ripa, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett; and more. But My Life to Live is also a portrait of a pioneer. Driven to use her ratings power for good, Nixon fought and broke network taboos by wrestling with controversial social issues ranging from women’s health, interracial relationships, and the Vietnam War to drug addiction, LGBT rights, and AIDS. By infusing her characters with sensitivity, humor, and humanity, she enabled millions to examine an opposite point of view. And long before Shonda Rhimes launched a golden age of female showrunners, Agnes Nixon positioned ABC to become the media giant it is today. She is a true television legend, and her candid and inspiring glimpse behind the curtain of the television industry will charm soap fans and story lovers alike.

My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues

People Pick • O Magazine Title to Pick Up Now • Vanity Fair Hot Type • Glamour New Book You’re Guaranteed to Love This Summer • LitHub.com Best Book about Books • Buzzfeed Book You Need to Read This Summer •Seattle Times Book for Summer Reading • Warby Parker Blog Book Pick• Google Talks • Harper’s Bazaar • Vogue •The Washington Post • TheEconomist • The Christian Science Monitor • Salon • The AtlanticImagine keeping a record of every book you’ve ever read. What would this reading trajectory say about you? With passion, humor, and insight, the editor of The New York Times Book Review shares the stories that have shaped her life.Pamela Paul has kept a single book by her side for twenty-eight years – carried throughout high school and college, hauled from Paris to London to Thailand, from job to job, safely packed away and then carefully removed from apartment to house to its current perch on a shelf over her desk – reliable if frayed, anonymous-looking yet deeply personal. This book has a name: Bob.Bob is Paul’s Book of Books, a journal that records every book she’s ever read, from Sweet Valley High to Anna Karenina, from Catch-22 to Swimming to Cambodia, a journey in reading that reflects her inner life – her fantasies and hopes, her mistakes and missteps, her dreams and her ideas, both half-baked and wholehearted. Her life, in turn, influences the books she chooses, whether for solace or escape, information or sheer entertainment. But My Life with Bob isn’t really about those books. It’s about the deep and powerful relationship between book and reader. It’s about the way books provide each of us the perspective, courage, companionship, and imperfect self-knowledge to forge our own path. It’s about why we read what we read and how those choices make us who we are. It’s about how we make our own stories.

My Life with Charlie Brown

While best known as the creator of Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) was also a thoughtful and precise prose writer who knew how to explain his craft in clear and engaging ways. My Life with Charlie Brown brings together his major prose writings, many published here for the first time. Schulz's autobiographical articles, book introductions, magazine pieces, lectures, and commentary elucidate his life and his art, and clarify themes of modern life, philosophy, and religion that are interwoven into his beloved, groundbreaking comic strip. Edited and with an introduction by comics scholar M. Thomas Inge, this volume will serve as the touchstone for Schulz's thoughts and convictions and as a wide-ranging, unique autobiography in the absence of a traditional, extended memoir. Inge and the Schulz estate have chosen a number of illustrations to include. With the approval and cooperation of the Schulz family, Inge draws on the cartoonist's entire archives, papers, and correspondence to allow Schulz full voice to speak his mind. The project includes his comics criticism, his introductions to Peanuts volumes, his essays about philanthropy, his commentary on Christianity, his newspaper articles about the creation of his characters, and more. My Life with Charlie Brown will reveal new dimensions of this legendary cartoonist.

My Life with Cleopatra

Cleopatra faced countless problems during its filming and production: passionate casting disputes, broken contracts, a costly re-location from London to Rome, an emergency tracheotomy for its star, Elizabeth Taylor, scandal-ridden gossip surrounding relationships on set, and a budget of $2 million that ballooned to final costs of $44 million. Legendary producer Walter Wanger recalls the drama that occurred both on and off the set, including the incredible obstacles he had to overcome and the exhilaration of producing a cinematic triumph. A revealing story about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's tempestuous romance and an insightful filmmaker's journal, now back in print for the 50th anniversary of Cleopatra's release, My Life with Cleopatra shares the true story of the relationship and film that enthralled the world.

My Life with Deth

One of the hardest headbangers of heavy metal shares his uplifting and empowering memoir about overcoming addiction and dedicating his life to God.Since 1983, the celebrated metal band Megadeth has sold more than 20 million albums, received eleven Grammy nominations, and built a fan base of millions. Still going strong, they recently toured the world with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer. Now, in My Life with Deth, the band's cofounder and bassist David Ellefson tells the whole behind-the-scenes story of the band and his personal journey from suffering to salvation. At first glance, Ellefson's history reads like a how-to manual of excess, from hardcore drugs to x-rated debauchery. But Ellefson goes much deeper, taking us on a gripping journey from his Lutheran upbringing as a Minnesota farm boy, through the culture shock he experienced when he arrived in Los Angeles and entered the music industry, to his drug-fueled Megadeth days, and finally how he beat his addictions and embarked on a path of sobriety and faith, entering a new life of Christian devotion. Today, studying to become a Lutheran pastor, Ellefson presides over MEGA Life! Ministries, a foundation that reaches hundreds of churchgoers every week. Including exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in American music and filled with life lessons for everyone, My Life with Deth is an inspiring and uplifting profile in courage.

My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire

With an introduction by Steve Harvey and a foreword by David Foster The Grammy-winning founder of the legendary pop/R&B/soul/funk/disco group tells his story and charts the rise of his legendary band in this sincere memoir that captures the heart and soul of an artist whose groundbreaking sound continues to influence music today. With its dynamic horns, contrasting vocals, and vivid stage shows, Earth, Wind & Fire was one of the most popular acts of the late twentieth century—the band &“that changed the sound of black pop&” (Rolling Stone)—and its music continues to inspire modern artists including Usher, Jay-Z, Cee-Lo Green, and Outkast. At last, the band&’s founder, Maurice White, shares the story of his success. Now in his seventies, White reflects on the great blessings music has brought to his life and the struggles he&’s endured: his mother leaving him behind in Memphis when he was four; learning to play the drums with Booker T. Jones; moving to Chicago at eighteen and later Los Angeles after leaving the Ramsey Lewis Trio; forming EWF, only to have the original group fall apart; working with Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond; his diagnosis of Parkinson&’s; and his final public performance with the group at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Through it all, White credits his faith for his amazing success and guidance in overcoming his many challenges. Keep Your Head to the Sky is an intimate, moving, and beautiful memoir from a man whose creativity and determination carried him to great success, and whose faith enabled him to savor every moment.

My Life with Hatti: Six Years With A Dog Who Does Everything

Lying at the very heart of Libby Clegg's life and achievements is the relationship with her Labrador Retriever cross guide dog, Hatti. A relationship primarily based on trust, with a healthy dose of respect and adoration.Libby Clegg is one of the UK's most popular, recognisable and respected Paralympic athletes, having won ten major gold medals, including two at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. As a sprinter who has only peripheral vision in her left eye, Libby runs with a guide runner while wearing a blindfold and, in 2021, she will defend her 100m and 200m titles at the Tokyo Paralympics.Libby is also well-known to the public from her ground-breaking appearance in Dancing on Ice where, in addition to her being the first registered blind person ever appear on the show, she managed to reach the final, winning her millions of new fans and making her a national hero all over again.From the moment Libby wakes up until the moment she goes to bed, Hatti will either be lying at her feet, sitting by her side or guiding Libby to wherever she needs to be. Hatti is there for Libby through both the highs and the lows and they have shared countless adventures together, from spending the day in the Royal Box at Wimbledon where Hatti overdid it on strawberries and cream to Libby trying to overcome a severe bout depression after the Rio Paralympic Games.Theirs is a partnership that works on every single level and, while its circumstances may be unique, its story will be reassuring and familiar to any dog lover. Libby and Hatti are a devoted couple helping each other through life.

My Life with Hatti: Six Years With A Dog Who Does Everything

The life-affirming story of Libby Clegg MBE and her guide dog Hatti.Libby Clegg is one of the UK's most popular, recognisable and respected Paralympic athletes, having won ten major gold medals, including two at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. As a sprinter who has only peripheral vision in her left eye, Libby runs with a guide runner while wearing a blindfold and, in 2021, she will defend her 100m and 200m titles at the Tokyo Paralympics.Libby is also well-known to the public from her ground-breaking appearance in Dancing on Ice where, in addition to her being the first registered blind person ever appear on the show, she managed to reach the final, winning her millions of new fans and making her a national hero all over again.Lying at the very heart of Libby's life and achievements is the relationship with her Labrador Retriever cross guide dog, Hatti. A relationship primarily based on trust, with a healthy dose of respect and adoration.From the moment Libby wakes up until the moment she goes to bed, Hatti will either be lying at her feet, sitting by her side or guiding Libby to wherever she needs to be. Hatti is there for Libby through both the highs and the lows and they have shared countless adventures together, from spending the day in the Royal Box at Wimbledon where Hatti overdid it on strawberries and cream to Libby trying to overcome a severe bout depression after the Rio Paralympic Games.Theirs is a partnership that works on every single level and, while its circumstances may be unique, its story will be reassuring and familiar to any dog lover. Libby and Hatti are a devoted couple helping each other through life.(P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited

My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World's Most Violent Men

BE THE FIRST TO READ DAVID WILSON'S NEW TRUE CRIME BOOK "A PLOT TO KILL" BY PRE-ORDERING NOW 'Hugely insightful and thought provoking . . . I read it from cover to cover in one go' - Emilia Fox'With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes' - Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of CriminologyProfessor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK's youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath.Some of these men became David's friends; others would still love to kill him. My Life with Murderers tells the story of David's journey from idealistic prison governor to expert criminologist and professor. With experience unlike any other, David's story is a fascinating and compelling study of human nature.

My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World's Most Violent Men

'Hugely insightful and thought provoking . . . I read it from cover to cover in one go' - Emilia Fox'With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes' - Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of CriminologyProfessor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK's youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath.Some of these men became David's friends; others would still love to kill him. My Life with Murderers tells the story of David's journey from idealistic prison governor to expert criminologist and professor. With experience unlike any other, David's story is a fascinating and compelling study of human nature.

My Life with the Saints

These holy people can be admired by Christians and non-Christians alike. They can teach us all how to live, how to learn and grow into better human beings. They are worthy of respect rather than adoration. Here are people living as well as they can rather than plaster saints. The author's humor and writing style make both his life and theirs all too human.

My Life with Trains: Memoir of a Railroader (Railroads Past and Present)

&“A vivid memoir&” of a long career in the industry, packed with color photos (Classic Trains). Named one of the &“75 People You Should Know&” by Trains Magazine, Jim McClellan was a railroading legend and one of the railroad industry&’s titans. An iconic and innovative executive, McClellan participated in the creation of both Amtrak and Conrail and worked for the Norfolk Southern, the New York Central, US Railway Association, and the Federal Railroad Administration. My Life with Trains combines a world-class photographer&’s love of railroading with the insights of a government and railroad official. The book provides a short historical overview of the changes in the industry, recounts McClellan&’s experience at various railroads, and offers personal reflections on a lifetime of working with and chasing trains. Expertly detailed with over 250 stunning color photographs, My Life with Trains covers sixty years as observed by a legendary railroad strategist.

My Life with Wagner: Exploring Opera's Most Enigmatic Composer

One of today's most outstanding conductors, Christian Thielemann, composes a brilliant account of the great--and controversial--Richard Wagner. Over a distinguished career conducting some of the world's finest orchestras, Christian Thielemann has earned a reputation as the leading modern interpreter of Richard Wagner. My Life with Wagner chronicles his ardent personal and professional engagement with the great composer, whose work has shaped his thinking and feeling from early childhood. Thielemann retraces his journey around the world with Wagner--from Berlin to Bayreuth via Venice, Hamburg, and Chicago--and combines his analysis with revealing insights drawn from his many years of experience as a Wagner conductor. Thielemann discusses each of Wagner's operas in turn, and his appraisal is illuminated by a deep affinity for the music, an intimate knowledge of the scores, and the inside perspective of a world-class practitioner. And yet for all the adulation Wagner's art inspires, Thielemann does not shy away from unpalatable truths about the man himself, explaining why today Wagner is venerated and reviled in equal measure.My Life with Wagner is a richly rewarding read for admirers of a composer who continues to fascinate long after his death.

My Life with Wagner: Fairies, Rings, And Redemption: Exploring Opera's Most Enigmatic Composer

'Idiosyncratic, humorous, enlightening and written by one of the finest conductors alive ... This is the book to buy if you are going to see Wagner or listen to him at home' LITERARY REVIEWOver a distinguished career conducting some of the world's finest orchestras, Christian Thielemann has earned a reputation as the leading modern interpreter of Richard Wagner. MY LIFE WITH WAGNER chronicles his ardent personal and professional engagement with the composer whose work has shaped his thinking and feeling from early childhood.Thielemann retraces his journey with Wagner - from Berlin to Bayreuth via Venice, Hamburg and Chicago. Next he takes each opera in turn, his appraisal illuminated by a deep affinity for the music, an intimate knowledge of the scores and the inside perspective of an outstanding practitioner. And yet for all the adulation Wagner's art inspires in him, Thielemann does not shy away from unpalatable truths about the man himself, explaining why today he is venerated and reviled in equal measure. The result is a richly rewarding read for admirers of a composer who continues to fascinate long after his death.

My Life with Wagner: Fairies, Rings, And Redemption: Exploring Opera's Most Enigmatic Composer

'Idiosyncratic, humorous, enlightening and written by one of the finest conductors alive ... This is the book to buy if you are going to see Wagner or listen to him at home' LITERARY REVIEWOver a distinguished career conducting some of the world's finest orchestras, Christian Thielemann has earned a reputation as the leading modern interpreter of Richard Wagner. MY LIFE WITH WAGNER chronicles his ardent personal and professional engagement with the composer whose work has shaped his thinking and feeling from early childhood.Thielemann retraces his journey with Wagner - from Berlin to Bayreuth via Venice, Hamburg and Chicago. Next he takes each opera in turn, his appraisal illuminated by a deep affinity for the music, an intimate knowledge of the scores and the inside perspective of an outstanding practitioner. And yet for all the adulation Wagner's art inspires in him, Thielemann does not shy away from unpalatable truths about the man himself, explaining why today he is venerated and reviled in equal measure. The result is a richly rewarding read for admirers of a composer who continues to fascinate long after his death.

My Lifey

Get the kettle on, the biscuits out and settle in for a belting read.Let Paddy McGuinness take you back, far, far away from celebrity land, to a two-up, two-down terrace in 1970s Bolton, where he grew up. They were happy times, but money was tight. Paddy slept on a mattress he dragged in from the street, and at 17 he struggled severely with the stress of juggling a college course and two jobs to support his beloved mum.But while cash may have been short, grit and wit were in over-supply, and this is the improbable true story of the lad who went from kipping in abandoned cars in Bolton to racing supercars on Top Gear, via laying concrete floors in prisons, a lively career in a leisure centre, a showbiz intervention by school pal Peter Kay and eye-popping adventures in the world of teledom.There has been mischief and misadventure, joy and sorry, huge success and unexpected challenges. It's a lifey well lived, and an unforgettable personal memoir written from the heart.