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Recommendations

New non-fiction for July 2021

by Brandon King

Take a look at our latest non-fiction picks for July 2021.

Adam Andrusier spent his childhood in pursuit of autographs. After writing to every famous person he could think of, from Frank Sinatra to Colonel Gaddafi, he soon jostled with the paparazzi at stage doors and came face-to-face with the most famous people on the planet. For young Adam, autographs were a backstage pass to a world beyond his chaotic family home in Pinner, and his Holocaust-obsessed father. They provided a special connection to a world of glamour and significance lying just beyond his reach.But as Adam turned from collector to dealer, learning how to spot a fake from the real deal, he discovered that in life, as in autographs, not everything is as it first appears. When your obsession is a search for the authentic, what happens when you discover fraudulence in your own family? This book is both a hilarious and moving account of discovering that idols are mortals.

From the volcanoes that stained it, to the Romans who occupied it, to Tudors who traded it, to the bombs that fell on it, John Lewis-Stempel charts an affectionate history of Woodston Farm - the quintessential English farm. Combining the skill of the farmer and the historian with an instinctive love of the land, Lewis-Stempel mines the memories of his relatives and written records to provide a deep and thoughtful interrogation of the land that his family have been bound to for millennia.

'The Comfort Book' is a collection of little islands of hope. It gathers consolations and stories that give new ways of seeing ourselves and the world. Matt Haig's mix of philosophy, memoir and self-reflection builds on the wisdom of philosophers and survivors through the ages, from Marcus Aurelius to Nellie Bly, Emily Dickinson to James Baldwin. This is the book to pick up when you need the wisdom of a friend, the comfort of a hug or just to celebrate the messy miracle of being alive.

Twelve bytes. Twelve eye-opening, mind-expanding, funny and provocative essays on the implications of artificial intelligence for the way we live and the way we love - from Sunday Times-bestselling author Jeanette Winterson.

On 1 January 2020, Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, read an article about four people in China with a strange pneumonia. Within two weeks, she had designed a vaccine against a pathogen that no one had ever seen before. 12 months later, vaccination is being rolled out across the world to save millions of lives from Covid-19. In this book, we hear directly from Professor Gilbert and her colleague Dr Cath Green as they reveal the inside story of making the Oxford vaccine and the cutting-edge science behind it. This is their story of trying to fight a pandemic as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Sarah and Cath share the heart-stopping moments in the eye of the storm; they separate fact from fiction; they explain how they made a safe vaccine in record time with the eyes of the world watching; and they give us hope for the future.

Lucy Lewis reveals the hidden world of bomb disposal training and how she came to be the UK's first female bomb disposal expert. From joining Sandhurst to rushing to her first bomb disposal call-out, Lucy's story is full of high stakes and tense situations that for most of us, are beyond comprehension. Lucy's story however is also a deeply inspirational one - joining the military in the 1980s just as women were taking on more dangerous roles, Lucy's every move was watched and scrutinised. This didn't hold her back however, and this is how she broke through the ceiling, fought against sexism and achieved something no woman had ever done before. An eye-opening memoir, that reveals the hidden world of being a woman in the military and how a young woman with an ordinary background, made history - not just once, but twice.

Leigh Pickett has seen it all. He's battled blazing fires and pulled people from the wreckage of terrible accidents but the closest he ever came to death was the time an Essex hen do mistook him for the stripper. Now he's here to tell us the funniest, saddest most exciting stories from a life amongst the smoke. From fires started by sex toys, to what to do when you find yourself in the middle of an enormous fire at a cannabis farm and, yes, there will be cats up trees. Above everything else, Leigh wants us to understand what it's like when every day when you leave for work you know you might not be coming home. As a third-generation firefighter he's proud to do his duty, but he's experienced the mental and emotional toll that the job can take and he wants us to celebrate our fire service as we do other public services. Because when you need them you'll be really glad when that flashing blue light appears.

The writer and broadcaster Paul Heiney set sail from the east coast of England bound for Iceland, propelled by a desire to breathe the cool, clear air of the high latitudes, and to follow in the wake of generations of sailors who have made this often treacherous journey since the 13th century. In almost every harbour he tripped over maritime history and anecdote, and came face to face with his own past as he sailed north along his childhood coastline of east Yorkshire towards the Arctic Circle. But there was one major thing missing from this voyage - the sight of puffins. With inspiring travel writing, social and maritime history, and good-humoured reflections on his sailing journey, Heiney brings us this book - a love letter to the puffin, to Iceland and the north, and to the pure pleasure of being at sea.

Lucy Kellaway had a comfortable life. For years she had the same prestigious job, the same husband, and the same home. To the casual observer, she was both happy and successful. But one day, Lucy began to realise that the life she had built for herself no longer suited her. Was it too late to start again? The answer was no - so she proceeded to tear down both marriage and career, and went back to school. Retraining as a teacher, Lucy discovers there is a world of new possibilities awaiting her - and learns that you can teach an old dog new tricks (providing they are willing to un-learn a few old ones along the way). A witty and moving story of one woman's pursuit of a new life, 'Re-educated' is a celebration of education's power to transform our lives at any age, and an essential companion for anyone facing the joy - and pain - of starting again.