New Memoirs

'We can give you a start. You will need a six foot by four foot piece of canvas and blanket. If you stay for three months we will refund your fare. You will need to fly TAA out of Cloncurry and advise me your date of arrival.' And so began the adventures and misadventures of young Roland Breckwoldt. It was 1960. He was not yet sixteen, and the unworldly Roland was leaving his home on the semi-agricultural fringes of Sydney to work as a stockman on the vast cattle stations of the Gulf Country of North Queensland.

Picture a man, he’s tall, not excessively so, yet as wide as he is high. This man is a spitting and growling street brawler; a tank full of ready-to-blow, muscle-fuelled aggression. Imagine, if you will, the comic-book style Bulldog of Great British stamp. Well, there you have him! The prototypical face taken from the terraces of an ’80s football fan’s rolled-up newspaper cosh; a poster-boy of malevolence left over from Thatcher’s post-punk Britain.

Actors, musicians, TV personalities, and other public figures in the spotlight aren’t always who they appear to be. You might be surprised by just how many have led nefarious, double lives, and have become infamous criminals! Power, status, and a rich lifestyle aren’t barriers to criminal behavior. Yes, people from all walks of life commit crimes. But the people featured here are not your typical neighbors or subway passengers—they are household names and Hollywood stars.

In this gripping tale of a modern-day outlaw, Shane Dankoski meticulously recounts his time as a high-ranking member of the United Nations gang of British Columbia in the early 2000s. Under constant threat from other gangs, including the Wolfpack and Hells Angels, Shane spent a decade evading the law and building his drug empire. Shane seemed destined for gang life. He grew up in a violent home on a small block in a neighbourhood of Surrey where a nation-spanning gang war would later take root.

Grant Muller was nearly killing himself – quite literally. A desperate quest to get rich had made him a millionaire before the age of 30 but then taken him to the brink: homeless, living on drugs and hustle. If his lifestyle didn’t end him, one of the thugs he owed money to would surely do the job. So when he finally got off the streets and got clean, he knew everything had to change. He reinvented himself, and along the way came to understand that real success in sales isn’t just about the hustle, or about being top of mind. It’s about the human connections you create.

In the 1970s, Madeleine Blais's in-laws purchased a vacation house on Martha's Vineyard for the exorbitant sum of $80,000. Two-point-two miles down a poorly marked, one lane dirt road, the house was better termed a shack - it had no electricity, no modern plumbing, the roof leaked, and mice had invaded the walls. It was perfect. Sitting on Tisbury Great Pond - well-stocked with oysters and crab for foraged dinners - the house faced the ocean and the sky, and though it was eventually replaced by a sturdier structure, the ethos remained the same.

Almost half a century ago, a young reporter from Germany arrived in still-glamorous Saigon to cover the Vietnam War over a period of five years. In this memoir he now tells the story of how he fell in love with the Vietnamese people. He praises the beauty, elegance and feistiness of their women. He describes blood-curdling Communist atrocities and fierce combat scenes he had witnessed. He introduces a striking array of characters: heroes, villains, statesmen and spooks, hilarious eccentrics, street urchins and orphans herding water buffalos.

Jemima Atar first experienced the unfolding of her complex narrative when she began exploring her life with the help of her therapist. Throughout the turmoil that characterized facing up to the truth of painful childhood trauma, Jemima’s therapist was her steadfast anchor, providing safety and support. But when he suddenly had to terminate the sessions after almost two years, Jemima found herself thrown into the depths of unfamiliar, isolating, misunderstood grief.

"Neighbors in Mob: The Mafia History in Pennsylvania and New Jersey" presents an immersive exploration of two infamous crime families that have left an indelible mark on the underworld landscape of the East Coast. This comprehensive book delves deep into the histories of the Bruno-Scarfo Mafia crime family of Philadelphia and the DeCavalcante Mafia crime family of New Jersey, offering listeners an unparalleled journey into the heart of organized crime.

Brought to you by media veterans Scott Orgera and Sports Phone alum Howie Karpin, 976-1313: How Sports Phone Launched Careers and Broke New Ground features never-before-told tales of triumph and tragedy, a mix of hilarity, inspiration, and regret from the broadcasting hopefuls and sports junkies that comprised the brains and voices behind the pioneering operation.

Am 20. Mai 1999 wurde die südaustralische Polizei gerufen, um eine stillgelegte Bank in der bescheidenen Stadt Snowtown im Zusammenhang mit dem Verschwinden mehrerer vermisster Personen zu untersuchen. Die Beamten waren nicht auf die schreckliche Szene vorbereitet, die sie erwartete.

Humphrey Bogart spent some 40 weekends a year sailing his Olin Stephens designed yacht Santana, and earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most accomplished racers and skippers in Southern California. Be it a long race around the islands or at anchor off some pebbled beach, Bogie felt at ease amongst sailors, whose respect he had earned both on and off the waters.

In The Mysterious Murder of JFK's Mistress, Ron Rosenbaum investigates the murder of Mary Pinochet Meyer, whose affair with President John F. Kennedy became tabloid fodder, and who was found shot to death on October 12, 1964. Immediately after her death, one of the CIA's top priorities was finding the diary in which Meyer chronicled her relationship with the late president and the secrets they shared.

From an early age, Margaret Fuller provoked and dazzled New England’s intellectual elite. Her famous Conversations changed women’s sense of how they could think and live; her editorship of the Transcendentalist literary journal the Dial shaped American Romanticism. Now, Megan Marshall, whose acclaimed The Peabody Sisters "discovered" three fascinating women, has done it again: No biography of Fuller has made her ideas so alive or her life so moving.

Exploring themes from her career in politics, her life as a hockey mom, and her strongly held Christian faith, author Joe Hilley's biographical leadership study of Sarah Palin explores the leadership principles that have catapulted her into the national spotlight and explains how she models a fresh paradigm of leadership that will guide our nation through the 21st century.

Piper Kerman lebt glücklich mit ihrem Verlobten in Manhattan, als ihr eine Jugendsünde zum Verhängnis wird. Das Gericht verurteilt sie zu einer 15-monatigen Haftstrafe. Über die Zeit im Frauengefängnis, über Schikanen, bösartige Attacken, aber auch über Freundschaften und vor allem ihre toughen und warmherzigen Mitgefangenen schreibt sie ohne Selbstmitleid, humorvoll und sehr unterhaltsam.

Sal Maggio dropped out of college, and joined the NJ Army National Guard. Then he entered the New Jersey State Police Academy, graduated, and started his police career in central New Jersey as a general road trooper. After numerous transfers (none for disciplinary reasons), Maggio spent 19 years on the "road" as a trooper and road sergeant. He recalls many incidents encountered, while working the highways and policing the towns and townships that do not have a local police department.

On the 14th of August 1941, a Polish monk named Maximilian Maria Kolbe was murdered in Auschwitz. Kolbe's life had been remarkable. Fiercely intelligent and driven, he founded a movement of Catholicism and spent several years in Nagasaki, ministering to the 'hidden Christians' who had emerged after centuries of oppression. A Polish nationalist as well as a monk, he gave sanctuary to fleeing refugees and his death was no less remarkable: he volunteered to die, saving the life of a fellow prisoner. It was an act that profoundly transformed the lives of two Japanese men.

In While I Have Your Attention, an updated memoir, Lucille shares her struggles, disappointments, memories, and proudest accomplishments. Lucille's remarkable life is the story of a woman who prevailed despite enduring a host of obstacles and trials. And as she shares her incredible story of stepping from poverty and loss into hope and a renewed faith, she will inspire you to keep moving forward even when you come up against seemingly insurmountable challenges in life.

The Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the city of London. It was originally located at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century and demolished in 1904. The prison was extended and rebuilt many times, and remained in use for over 700 years, from 1188 to 1902.