Najnovšie - Biografie - Životopisy strana 124 z 497

<p><b>THE BESTSELLING CONTROVERSIAL BIOGRAPHY</b><br><br>Britain's leading investigative writer and biographer, Tom Bower turns the full beam of his formidable powers on one of the most controversial figures of present day: <b>Mohamed Al Fayed</b>.<br><br>Owner of Harrods, bereaved father of Dodi and instigator of the 'cash for questions' sensation, this book was originally published in 1998 to wide acclaim. But with the recent heinous accusations of sexual misconduct coming to light, this <b>new and updated edition</b> will offer a new focus of Tom Bower's trademark <b>acerbic insight</b> on this <b>controversial</b> figure.<br><br><b>'[Tom Bower] is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic story-teller and a master of intricacies.' <i>Sunday Times</i></b><br><b><br>'Given the extreme difficulty of researching a subject like Fayed, Bower deserves full marks for effort and courage... his <i>Fayed</i> is a "fuggin" good read.' Lynn Barber, <i>Daily Telegraph</i></b><br><b><br>'A book that displays all the forensic skills he employed in exposing Rowland and Robert Maxwell.' <i>Sunday Times</i></b><br><b><br>'...that rare thing - a book by turns so entertaining and alarming that even reading the index is an engrossing experience'. Oliver Burkeman, <i>Guardian</i></b></p>

'A skilful, poetic and bleakly funny account of coping with a lifelong condition' – THE GUARDIAN‘Absolutely extraordinary writing.’ – JAMES O'BRIEN'So fantastic' – CHRIS EVANS'Candid and compelling. A must-read.' – BRYONY GORDON'Brilliantly readable.' – PATRICK MCGRATH My mind is full of scorpions. A cerebral itch, impossible to scratch. I know these creatures well, but they know me better. They answer to another name, this nest of scorpions, the writhing black mass that lives inside my head…For as long as Tuppence Middleton can remember, she has struggled with obsessive thoughts and compulsions. She visualises her OCD as scorpions inhabiting her mind, something to be hidden that impacts her life daily:Have I killed my ca? hen was the last time that person in front of me vomite? ow many people have touched this door handle since it was cleane? hould I tap the outside of the airplane to save my loved ones from har? ften used as a shorthand for tidiness or as the punchline of a joke, OCD is one of society’s most misunderstood disorders and it’s rarely spoken about with such honesty and openness. In this beautifully written, moving and often darkly funny memoir, Tuppence recounts what it feels like to share your mind with a nest of scorpions. 'A fantastic memoir . . . Scorpions is intensely personal, yet somehow manages to be universal' – JOHN ROBINS'There isn’t a page that won’t leave you with greater understanding and empathy' – JANET ELLIS'Brilliantly immersive, funny, and brave' – LISA OWENS

Emily Jane Brontë was born in July 1818; along with her sisters Charlotte and Anne, she is famed as a member of the greatest literary family of all time, and helped turn Haworth into a place of literary pilgrimage. Whilst Emily Brontë wrote only one novel, the mysterious and universally acclaimed Wuthering Heights, she is widely acknowledged as the best poet of the Brontë sisters – indeed as one of the greatest female poets of all time. Her poems offer insights to her relationships with her family, religion, nature, the world of work, and the shadowy and visionary powers that increasingly dominated her life.Taking twenty of her most revealing poems, Nick Holland creates a unifying impression of Emily Brontë, revealing how this terribly shy young woman could create such wild and powerful writing, and why she turned her back on the outside world for one that existed only in her own mind.

Discover one man’s journey to cold water swimming, and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity.At the age of 41, Rich Waters received a diagnosis that sent shockwaves through his world: early-onset Parkinson''s disease. But fate had more in store for him; shortly after this revelation, he learned that his young daughter, too, was grappling with a degenerative condition.Life, once familiar and predictable, had been upended, and Rich was forced to confront the fragility of existence in a way he had never imagined. Yet, it was in this moment of crisis that he discovered an unyielding resolve to find purpose and meaning. But Rich chose to defy the limitations of his diagnosis. Determined to make every second count, he began a courageous journey that would lead him to the unlikeliest of places: the icy, unforgiving waters of the Isle of Skye.Cold water swimming became his lifeline—a radical source of fulfilment and a wellspring of resilience. Plunging into the frigid depths, Rich found a deep connection with the natural world. The sensation of icy waters on his skin mirrored the challenges he faced in his life, and each swim was a testament to his indomitable spirit.Guided by Matt Rhodes, The Viking of Skye, Rich discovered that the biting cold, the relentless waves, and the untamed currents were more than just physical challenges: they were a metaphor for the unpredictability of life itself. In those waters, he learned to surrender control, to accept the ebb and flow of existence, and to find beauty in the chaos.Swimming with the Viking of Skye is a memoir that takes you on an inspiring journey through Rich Waters'' transformation. It is a story of one man''s battle against the relentless march of disease, a father''s unwavering commitment to his daughter, and a testament to the healing power of nature.This touching memoir covers:  Chapter one: The benefits and science behind cold water immersionChapter two: Glenbrittle Beach – finding for your inner VikingChapter three: The Climb to Coire Lagan – reconnecting with YourselfChapter four: The Healing Pools – if you don’t learn to like yourself no one else willChapter five: The Marble Pool Echo Chamber – how to stop repeating the pastChapter six: Kilt Falls – building resilienceChapter seven: Torrin Pools – stepping out of your comfort zoneChapter eight: Sea cave of Flodigarry – facing your fearChapter nine: Sligachan River – wake up! you’ll be dead soonThrough the pages of this moving memoir, you will find inspiration to confront your own challenges, a renewed appreciation for the beauty of the natural world, and a profound belief in the resilience of the human heart and the transformative power of courage, love and the unyielding spirit that resides within us all.

''A deep, personal, clever and witty book'' Michael Rosen | ''Funny, moving, wise and then very funny again'' John O''Farrell | ''clear-eyed, humane and engaging'' Observer | ''inspiring'' GuardianI feel like there’s a leopard in my house, locked in a room. I’ve contacted the leopard authorities and they assure me they are used to dealing with leopards like this, and they have a plan for removing the leopard. It will take a while, though, and once in a while I can hear it growl.And that’s all very reassuring. Even so, several times a day I think to myself: “Hang on, there’s a leopard in my house.”One morning, while shaving, the comedian Mark Steel noticed that one side of his neck seemed larger than the other. After a whistlestop tour of assorted medical professionals, a consultant delivered the ominous words that would define the next months of his life: ‘I’m afraid it’s not good news, Mr Steel’.And so began a journey into the heart of the NHS, as he embarked on the long and uncertain road to cancer recovery via a range of mildly torturous and entirely miraculous treatments. What, if anything, might he learn about himself – and our capacity for coping with life when times get tough – as he becomes part of a club that one in two British people will ultimately join?A frank and funny diary of one man’s rather trying year, this is an unforgettable and uplifting story of getting ill, getting on with it, and getting better.

‘I read this book in two sit downs! It is filled with compassion. An honest look at navigating life, marriage, family, neurodiversity and veg.’ Anna Maxwell Martin‘A truly beautiful, magical book – I urge you to give it to anyone having a midlife wobble, because Lucy is unashamed about showing her vulnerability and what it is to be human, a woman, a wife and a mum in the 21st century. Heart-breaking and heart-warming, but the ultimate message is one of hope: never give up on the one you love.’ Veronica Henry"On National Divorce Day, my husband Steve and I decide to break up. After years of depression and mood swings (him) and hope and defeat (me) enough is, quite frankly, enough.Until a chance remark triggers a chain of events leading to Steve’s diagnosis of ADHD and autism. What follows is a year of discovery, denial, medication and salvation as we, our teenagers and even our beloved Golden Retriever, Margot, set out to embrace this new reality. But will my plan to start an amateur honesty box business from our tiny Devon village be the catalyst to bring us together, or drive us further apart?This is about what it is like to try and rebuild a marriage. It is a funny, heart-wrenching, uplifting quest for truth, transformation and marrows.I guess you could call it a love story too."‘A beautiful and much needed book about what it is like to be in a relationship with someone who is neurodivergent, and the challenges it can bring! Lucy’s story highlights just how life changing a diagnosis can be, and how it can truly save relationships.’ Rich and Rox Pink, @adhd_love_

A kaleidoscopic investigation of Dickens’s imagination and the world he created.See Dickens as never before in this creative biography, which delves into his novels, journalistic essays and letters to reveal his strange, hilarious but obsessive personal character and the audacity of a mind that set out, as he said, to rearrange the universe. Peter Conrad’s bold rediscovery of Dickens suggests that he alone rivals Shakespeare and in some ways betters him. As well as re-examining the great novels, Conrad’s book probes the journalism in which Dickens reports on his risky ventures into the urban underworld. It also describes the celebrated but dangerously over-intense public readings in which, as at a seance, he allowed his most terrifying characters to take possession of him. Ultimately itreveals how the forces of creation and destruction come together in Dickens, who despite his reputation for jollity and effusive sentiment found it increasingly hard to control the madness and violence of his own self-destructive genius.Dickens the Enchanter takes us deep into an imagination whose power and originality struck some contemporaries as godlike while others thought it demonic. If you already love Dickens, it will renew your understanding of him; if you have yet to read him, it will lure you into his astonishing, alarming, enchanted world.

The top ten Sunday Times BestsellerHeartfelt and honest, A Life Reimagined is an emotional memoir of love, loss and life after tragedy from beloved actress Jill Halfpenny.When Jill was four, her father died. He went to play his weekly game of five-a-side football, had a heart attack and never came home. In 2017, in cruelly similar circumstances, Jill’s partner Matt went to a gym class, suffered a cardiac arrest and never came home.These two tragic events frame Jill’s story in A Life Reimagined, as she explores how she dealt with profound grief as a child, as a teenager and then, later, as a partner and mother. With vulnerability and honesty, Jill shares the invaluable lessons she has learned from grief – and how these lessons have helped her find a path back to joy.''Profoundly moving'' – Woman''s Weekly

The Inspirational No.1 Sunday Times BestsellerThe life-affirming memoir of Lindsey Burrow, the working mother of three young children who has inspired the nation through her selfless commitment to husband Rob Burrow (CBE), the rugby league legend she cared for throughout his heroic battle with motor neurone disease (MND). _____________________________________________________________________‘A story of compassion, perseverance and love. By sharing her story, Lindsey is shining a light on those who are dealing with incredibly difficult situations, putting other’s needs before their own and making great personal sacrifices every day. I hope this book provides all those going through their own challenges with some comfort and optimism, and that it inspires us all to look out for one another’ Prince William ''A tender, powerful and life affirming book by one of the bravest people I know. The story of Lindsey, Rob and their amazing children will make you want to live every day to the fullest'' Kevin Sinfield, CBE''Deeply moving and inspiring'' Clare Balding*Foreword by HRH Prince William* *A Pride of Britain Award Winner*‘Take Care is a heart-opening book that gives light and hope when we need it.'' Julia Samuel, Author of Grief Works‘(Lindsey''s) modest memoir is humbling but also rousing, its title as much a call to action as a valediction, urging us to do more for those who give their all: society’s unpaid carers.'' Guardian''Moving'' Sunday Times ‘Lindsey is inspirational’ BBC Breakfast ‘Superwoman’ Daily Mail_____________________________________________________________________ Take Care: A Memoir of Love, Family & Never Giving Up explores the deepest reserves of resilience, personal sacrifice and hope that Lindsey Burrow exhibited on a daily basis when her family’s life was upended by the terminal MND diagnosis. Juggling her day job for the NHS as a physiotherapist, with round-the-clock care for Rob, who couldn’t move or talk, and could only eat with Lindsey’s assistance, she simultaneously raised her brilliant young family and helped to raise awareness for MND. The efforts of Rob, Lindsey and Kevin Sinfield have raised over L15 million for charity. In 2024, Lindsey presented her debut ITV1 documentary, ‘Who Cares for Our Carers?’ which highlighted the emotional and practical hardships faced by thousands of her fellow unpaid carers, whose hidden work is worth an estimated L162bn a year in the UK, the equivalent of another NHS. Told in Lindsey’s characteristically humble, charming and inspirational style, Take Care explores her life and shares her honest experiences of finding strength in the good and the bad times, in order to offer readers and families hope to overcome challenges in their own lives. The book sheds a light on the many families across the UK who care for their loved ones with little support. Finally, the book is a rousing call to action, for us all as a society to take better care of one another.__________________________________________________________________________ ‘Thank you for what you are teaching us, about what it is to fight, what it is to love, and what it is possible for us to do and to be as human beings’ Michael Sheen, Pride of Britain Awards 2023, to Rob and Lindsey Burrow ‘Lindsey’s strength and love shines through’ Lorraine, ITV ‘You are an inspirational couple’ Loose Women ITV ‘Lindsey and Rob Burrow''s moving love story from teenage sweethearts to ''superhero'' wife’ has stood the test of time - overcoming the hardest and most heartbreaking of challenges. MirrorA No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller - March 2025

Prize-winning novelist and short-story writer Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse’s harrowing, urgent memoir documents and reconstructs her escape, at the age of fifteen, from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.   “A moving and powerful account of the violence of the genocide in Rwanda and of the aftermath for the survivors. Its descriptions of the terror of the days in hiding are unforgettable”Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature   “This book is a precious thing. A telling of essential truths, an act of generosity and of courage. Out of great tragedy Beata has fashioned a testament of enduring love”Fergal Keane   “A superb act of defiance and an unexpected gift to the world. It reclaims the right to individualise the genocide against the Tutsi and offers a powerful alternative to resilience stories”Olivette Otele, author of African Europeans: An Untold History    ––––––   The author was fifteen at the height of the genocide inflicted on the Tutsi people in Rwanda. She and her mother had spent weeks moving from one insecure shelter to another amid scenes of petrifying violence. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsi were killed in a period of only three months.   The lives of Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse and her mother were a sleepless nightmare – until, eventually, a place was eventually found for them on a convoy to safety.    More than a decade later, after rebuilding her life in France, Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse was ready to begin the process of reconstructing her incomplete memories of the escape and establishing community with other survivors. She is now a poet and a prize-winning novelist, but until now she never written about her own history.    Beginning by making contact with the BBC team which filmed the convoy, then by tracking down aid workers, journalists and fellow escapees and scouring archives in a search for photographs of her crossing of the border, the author pieces together records and personal accounts to try to comprehend the chaos that overtook Rwanda at the time of the genocide.   ––––––––––––  **Winner of the Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro, the Prix Montluc Résistance et Liberté, the Prix France Télévisions and the Prix du Roman Métis des Lecteurs. Finalist for the Prix du Livre Inter**   “An extraordinarily powerful book, a journey of memory and investigation and discovery; original, humane, and beautifully written”Philippe Sands   “The Convoy is a genocide survivor's determined quest to find out more details about her past. But in Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse’s gifted hands, this moving and profound book expands to become a meditation on what it means to remember and what we can still salvage from all those things that remain unknown. The Convoy is a deeply intimate story and a generous, capacious examination of survival and healing. It is an affirmation of love’s ability to forge new paths across terrain that hatred and violence once tried to destroy. This is a necessary book for our times” Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, finalist for the Booker Prize   “The Convoy is a literary detective novel which, as Seamus Heaney would say, allows hope and history to rhyme. Told in clear, concise prose, this is a brave story that comes at a perfect time, and allows us to know that nothing ever truly ends” Colum McCann   “The Convoy is a tour de force, giving equal weight to individual and collective experience with unparalleled clarity, dignity, and lightness of touch. But I believe that it does more, and better, than that. The Convoy represents literature at its finest from the first sentence to the last” Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, winner of t

THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF HOW ONE YOUNG GIRL ESCAPED THE HOLOCAUST''It holds you with the same intensity as The Diary of Anne Frank and leaves you heart-broken, illuminated, and amazed at the capacity for courage'' GUARDIAN***''I never realised that there could be such suffering in the world, and that anyone could live through it'' - from Edith''s diary, 1st July 1945After Germany occupied the Netherlands in 1940, fourteen-year-old Edith was still filling her diary with carefree stories of school, parties and boys. But her entries soon record a darkening world. By 1942, as the Nazis escalated their persecution of the Jewish population, Edith began a bitter struggle to survive.Hidden in plain sight but a courageous Christian family, with a German officer billeted in the next room, Edith faced the horrors of war under constant threat of discovery and betrayal. Weaving together Edith''s diaries with letters smuggled between family members and her own memories, this extraordinary memoir of ''the Anne Frank who lived'' is a profoundly moving account of grief, loss, courage - and one girl''s remarkable belief in humanity in the face of despair.WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY ESTHER FREUD ''One of the best and most moving memoirs I have ever read'' RUTH RENDELL''It''s impossible to get through this inspiring and great-hearted volume dry-eyed'' WASHINGTON POST''Both memoir and meditation, it is moving and wise . . . neither sanguine nor sentimental about the Holocaust and man''s capacity for evil'' LINDA HOLT, INDEPENDENT''Truly moving . . . leaving one with great hope in humanity'' THE TIMESA VIRAGO MODERN CLASSIC

From the stylist behind David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust look, an electrifying peek behind the curtains during a legendary chapter of pop culture history.''Suzi Ronson was there as Bowie transitioned from suburban folkie to world superstar and genius. Few can offer such insight, and tell this fascinating story with such verve.''HANIF KUREISHI''It’s still hard to accept that Ziggy didn’t fall from the stars in full makeup to blow our minds. Yes, other people helped create him. One of them was Suzi Ronson.''DEBORAH LEVY, LITERARY REVIEW‘Electrifying’. MAIL ON SUNDAY‘Refreshing . . . pulls few punches.’ i‘An engrossing, raucous read.’ SALON***Suzi Ronson was working in a Beckenham hair salon in the early seventies when Mrs Jones came in for her weekly shampoo and set. After being introduced to her son David and his wife Angie, Suzi finds herself at the Bowies’ bohemian apartment and is soon embroiled in their raucous world.Having crafted his iconic Ziggy Stardust hairstyle, Suzi becomes the only working woman in David’s touring party and joins the Spiders from Mars as they perform around the globe. Amid the costume blunders, parties and groupies she meets her husband-to-be, Mick Ronson, and together they traverse the absurdities of life in show business, falling in with the likes of Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed along the way.Dazzling and intimate, Me and Mr Jones provides not only a unique perspective on one of the most beguiling stars of our time but also a world on the cusp of cultural transformation, charting the highs and lows of life as one of the only women in the room as it happened.***''This candid memoir by the stylist who helped create the singer’s Ziggy look offers a vivid snapshot of his golden years . . . As his dresser, Suzi gets as close to him as anyone.''OBSERVER''Considering the vast number of books published every year about David Bowie, a new one had better have either fresh info or fresh insights. Thankfully, Me and Mr Jones delivers on both counts . . . A first-hand view of the glory and brutality that comes with a rapid rise to stardom.'' VARIETY

There was only one man Sammy could turn to… With his young mother in and out of prison, Sammy has been in care since he was nine years old. Left feeling entirely alone, he has never had a proper safe haven. There is one person looking out for Sammy: his neighbour, ‘Uncle Kenny’. But while Sammy may turn to Kenny for comfort, alarm bells soon start to ring for experienced foster carer Casey Watson… Will Casey be able to save Sammy before it’s too late? Perfect for readers who were moved by Casey's previous titles Little Girl Lost, I Want My Daddy, and I Just Want to Be Loved – powerful true stories of vulnerable children, resilience, and the life-changing impact of foster care.

Sociopath: A Memoir is the astoundingly honest true story of a life lived on the edge of the law, and a fascinating account of one woman's battle to understand her diagnosis. Moving and illuminating, it will challenge everything you thought you knew about sociopathy. "Empathy, guilt, shame, remorse, jealousy, even love-these are considered social emotions," she said. "We're not born with them. They're learned." From stabbing elementary school classmates with pencils to stealing car keys from fellow frat party guests and joyriding around her college town, to breaking and entering, even stalking, Patric Gagne doesn't hold back when it comes to describing the behaviour that, eventually, made her realize she is a sociopath. But her discovery forced her to question the official descriptions of sociopathy. While her darker impulses warred against her attempts to live a settled, loving life with her partner, Patric began to wonder - was there a way for sociopaths to integrate happily into society? And could she find it before her own behaviour went a step too far?

In a BBC poll in 2002, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was voted the second-greatest Briton of all time, only eclipsed by Winston Churchill.In the soaring ambitions of the Victorian age, nobody thought bigger than Brunel; indeed, it’s often claimed that that, through his ships, bridges, tunnels and railways, he played a critical role in creating the modern world. Never tied to a dusty office, he crammed enough work, adventure and danger into a single year to last a lesser person a lifetime. He was also a brilliant showman, a flamboyant personality and a charmer.Brunel’s influence is seen all over the landscape of England and in the practices of modern civil engineering. He may have made plenty of mistakes, but he also designed and built several structures which are still with us to this day. In this concise yet informative biography, learn about the man famously described to be ‘in love with the impossible’.

'I was 12 weeks old when my mother, Mags, died.I was eight years old when my father was killed by Molly and Thomas Martens. The Martens made me an orphan. They took away my father, my only constant, the only loving parent I had.'From the Victim Impact Statement of Sarah Corbett Lynch, given in North Carolina Superior Court in 2023 On 2 August 2015, Irishman Jason Corbett was killed in his North Carolina home by his American wife Molly Martens and her father Tom. Sarah, Jason's eight-year-old daughter, and her brother Jack were also in the house that fateful night, asleep upstairs. Now eighteen years old, Sarah Corbett Lynch tells her story for the first time. She shares her earliest memories of her beloved dad and her life with him, Jack and Molly Martens in their home in North Carolina, and gives her account of the events leading up to the night that changed everything. She remembers the aftermath of her father's death, and how her words were weaponised amidst lies and deception during her family's gruelling nine year battle for justice - and the devastation they shared when Molly and Tom Martens were released from prison in 2024, after serving just three and a half years. Using entries from the diary she has kept since she was eight, Sarah also writes about her journey of grief and recovery from trauma, as she and Jack were welcomed into the safe, loving home of her aunt Tracey, her father's sister, in Ireland. And she looks to the future, determined to honour her mother's and her father's memory and to do what she can to change the world for the better. Raw, powerful and inspirational, A Time for Truth is an unforgettable story of heartbreak and loss, but also of strength, love and courage as this remarkable young woman has survived, healed and thrived - against the odds.

Foreword by Bob StanleyOn a sunny Saturday morning in May 1956, a fifteen-year-old, then called Harry Webb, was mooching down Waltham Cross High Street. He heard some music blaring out of a parked car. It stopped him in his tracks.The song was ''Heartbreak Hotel'' by Elvis Presley. It sounded like nothing he had ever heard before. In that instant, the schoolboy who was destined to take the hit parade by storm as Cliff Richard fell in love with rock and roll. It gave him the thrill, the purpose and the mission that has shaped his life ever since.Cliff lives in and for music. And with 65 years as a hitmaker, the music filling his head is a broad category. His soundtrack begins by blasting us all back into that first life-changing explosion of rock and also includes great soul soul stars such as Aretha Franklin, longtime colleagues like Elton John, and much-missed close friends Cilla Black and Olivia Newton-John.This book is meaningful to Cliff on many levels. The 30 or so songs here that make up the soundtrack to his life have each moved him deeply, but it''s also about the legendary artists he met, and often got to know. He shares those stories and memories with you, too.A Head Full of Music is a vibrant personal journey for Cliff, and it''s a joy to accompany him on it. Get wired for sound with him and read on.

The brilliant autobiography from the ‘saviour of Nike’ If you’re a sneaker head, you know him as the Savior of Nike. If you’ve watched Air you saw Matt Damon’s portrayal of the man who discovered Michael Jordan and how he revolutionized the payment structure of endorsements for athletes. Legends and Soles tells Sonny’s story – his blind-sided firing by Nike Chairman Phil Knight, the landmark 2021 Supreme Court decision that upended big-time college sports, the countless days and nights of watching athletes compete, and so much more that only Sonny can retell.Written in collaboration with six-time New York Times bestselling author Armen Keteyian, Legends and Soles provides truth to storylines and headlines including:· Vaccaro’s pivotal role in the never-before-told story of the courting and signing of Michael Jordan· How Nike, at the behest of an embittered Knight, went as far as having the Portland FBI investigate Vaccaro who was working for archival Adidas on a RICO charge of corporate espionage· His close relationships with NBA superstars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady and Hall of Fame coaches Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV and John Thompson of Georgetown· The high stakes drama behind the O’Bannon lawsuit that changed the entire landscape in college sports· Filled with in-depth stories and photos illuminating some of Sonny’s most treasured career memories, Legends and Soles is the long-awaited memoir of a giant in the story of American sports.

''Jamaica''s narration of his activities in life is quite interesting. He had achieved such a gigantic work in his life time. In this book the way he has accounted his life history is quite fascinating and many people including posterity will enjoy it in the future. The Appendix on ''Overview of The Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict'' has added some zest to the book. For me it is really a seminal contribution of Jamaica which has got relevance even to the current situation. It has also some facts that go to annals of history. I am very pleased to have it read and confident that many others will enjoy it as well.'' - Gebru Asrat, Author of Democracy and the Ethiopian state. ''The core of the book lies in the chapters where Yemane recounts his foray into politics, detailing his participation in the Eritrean People''s Liberation Forces and later in the Tigray People''s Liberation Front, with the challenges he encountered along the way. He presents a compelling narrative of the internal struggles he faced when confronted with ethical dilemmas that frequently plague political movements. His willingness to scrutinize the actions of both his colleagues and his own choices underscores his moral strength. His fervour for positive change and his unwavering commitment to his principles permeate the pages. Clearly, he is a person of integrity and honesty, and these virtues are the driving forces behind his actions and decisions throughout his political career. This book transcends one man''s experiences; it serves as a reflection on the universal struggle for a better world through political avenues.'' - Semere Solomon, Senior International Development Expert. ''Within the pages of the memoir, I find a vivid portrayal of my friend, a kaleidoscope of multiple identities and a true citizen of the world. As I read, his colourful personality leaps of the pages, seamlessly weaving through various interactions with both simplicity and profound impact. Even in the grit and determination of a fighter, I glimpse the chic demeanour that was typical of him - a touch of style amid the most challenging circumstance. Each chapter paints a dynamic portrait of a man whose life was testament to the enduring power of authenticity, commitment, and deep abiding love for humanity.'' - Salome Taddesse, Social activist, First Female General Manager of the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency. ''It celebrates a life lived in the true sense of the word. His family history, recounted from the arrival of his great grandfather to Asmara from Tigray as a commander in the army of Ras Alula, twinkles reflecting the complex and rich history of Tigray and Eritrea of the twentieth century. These first-hand accounts will likely become a treasure trove to historians for years to come. The rare insight provided by Jamaica''s authenticity is matched by his impassioned reporting of events fraught with highly partisan perspectives. Like many figures in history before him he embraced his choice with joy and passion, there is no hint of regret in his path. His humanity lingers through all the pages, from his distress at the fall of his comrades in the pitch of the battle, to the longing of his father who was jailed for being the parent of a rebel, to his tenderness for his wife, children and grandchild. Like his life, Jamaica''s recollections will leave the readers wanting more.'' - Dr. Isaias Irgau, MD, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS)