Biography & Memoir

This is published to coincide with Leonard Cohen's exclusive show at London's The O2 on Friday 21 June 2013. This book contains exclusive material and interviews making it the biography to buy on Leonard Cohen - singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist. The genius behind such classic songs as Suzanne, Bird on the Wire ... read more

The definitive biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader. Until she was released in November 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi had been under house arrest in Burma for fourteen of the previous twenty years. She was already confined to her home when the party she co-founded and led, the National League for Democracy, wo... read more

In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit", was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival. This book ... read more

Grace Coddington's extraordinary life revealed in her own words, drawings and photographs. Exquisite! Grace Coddington, the passionate and flame-haired doyenne of fashion. It is said that she has the knack of being in the right place at the right time; that she can predict a trend; turn a piece of clothing into a best-seller ... read more

In the tradition of The Bell Jar and Girl, Interrupted comes a stunning autobiographical account from a 29-year-old New Zealander. A creative, intelligent young woman with a loving family, in her first year of university MaryJane starts to experience nightmarish delusions and hallucinations. Her journey into madness has begun... read more

As American astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, television cameras focused on the brave smiles of their wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from shy military spouses to American royalty: having tea with Jackie Kennedy, attending high society galas, and being featured on the cover of Life magazine. T... read more

When Vladimir Putin, an unimportant, low-level KGB operative, was rushed to power by a group of Oligarchs in 1999, he was a man without a history. Within a few brief years, Putin had dismantled the country's media, wrested control and wealth from the country's burgeoning business class, and decimated the fragile mechanisms o... read more

The history of a family through 264 objects - set against a turbulent century - from an acclaimed writer and potter.
264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: Potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when... read more

Helen Brown wasn't a cat person, but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard a woman telling his mum that her cat had just had kittens, he pleaded to go and see them. Helen's heart melted as Sam held one of the kittens in his hands, with a look of total adoration. In a trice the deal was done - the kitten would be de... read more

Before I Forget is the second volume of memoirs by well-known painter, feminist and writer Jacqueline Fahey. In her first volume, Something for the Birds (AUP, 2006), Fahey described her childhood in Timaru and bohemian life as an art student. 'With this richly detailed and warm-toned memoir, Fahey looks set to be Timaru's Tu... read more

Shortlisted for the Political Book Awards 2013 Political Book of the Year The first woman President of Ireland, who became UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson has spent her life in pursuit of a fairer world. Now, for the first time, she reveals what lies behind the vision, strength and determination that has ... read more

From one of America's greatest and most iconic writers: an honest and courageous portrait of age and motherhood. Several days before Christmas 2003, Joan Didion's only daughter, Quintana, fell seriously ill. In 2010, Didion marked the sixth anniversary of her daughter's death. 'Blue Nights' is a shatteringly honest examinati... read more

The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a 'book club' that brings them together as her life comes to a close. For fans of Tuesdays With Morrie and The Last Lecture.
Mary Anne Schwalbe is waiting for her chemotherapy treatments when Will casually asks her what she's reading. The conversation they have... read more

Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life tells the story of the life, loves and work of Leonard Cohen, the poet, songwriter and singer 'born with the gift of a golden voice.' As the man himself once dryly put it.Anthony Reynolds' fascinating and detailed biography draws on scores of new interviews conducted with Cohen's band members ... read more

Although Paul Auster and J.M. Coetzee had been reading each other's books for years, the two writers did not meet until February 2008. Not long after, Auster received a letter from Coetzee, suggesting they begin exchanging letters on a regular basis and, "God willing, strike sparks off each other". "Here and Now" is the resul... read more

"Ridiculously funny and astonishingly candid, Rod Stewart's memoir is the rock autobiography of the decade". ("Daily Mail"). "One of the most entertaining, revealing, captivating books of the year". ("Independent"). Rod Stewart was born the working-class son of a Scottish plumber in North London. Despite some early close shav... read more

In 1994, Anchee Min published Red Azalea, a memoir of growing up during the violent trauma of the Cultural Revolution. It became an international bestseller. Twenty years later, Anchee Min returns to give us the next chapter, as she moves from the shocking deprivations of her homeland to the sudden bounty of the promised land... read more

This is a gripping biography of six extraordinary women who, in their very different ways, epitomise the decade they came of age - the 1920s. Glamorized, mythologized and demonized - the women of the 1920s prefigured the 1960s in their determination to reinvent the way they lived. Flappers is in part a biography of that restl... read more

When a love story becomes a carer’s anguish They first met when Helene was 18 years old. Together for nearly 40 years, this is the story of their relationship through Peter’s intense last four years involving 24/7 care, the impact of a horrible illness and a shameful and ad hoc health system. It aims to give a v... read more

Walking With A Fragile Heart is the third book published by Refugee Trauma Recovery. It has seven young people, all former refugees, sharing their stories not just about their journey to Aotearoa New Zealand, but also their experiences settling in NZ. A special and extra feature of the book is the addition of poems composed ... read more