BBC London speak to Janie Hampton, author of 'The Austerity Olympics'

Find it hard to believe that the 1948 London Olympics was hosted on a budget of just £760? So did we...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/elms

Janie's book is out now in paperback priced at £8.99

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6541515

Coming Soon at Aurum Press...

The result of five years of meticulous research, Murray Engleheart and Arnaud Derieux’s AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll is widely recognised as the most comprehensive book ever written about the world’s number one rock band, AC/DC. Charting everything from their rise to fame to the sudden death of the legendary Bon Scott to the making of the landmark Back In Black album, this unrivalled biography reveals why Australia’s loudest rock and roll export are still able to blast their way through sell-out tours 30 years after their first appearance.

AC/DC Maximum Rock & Roll is coming soon in paperback priced at £16.99


Journalist for the Sunday Telegraph and the Guardian, Byron Rogers lived happy in the assumption that he knew all that was worth knowing about Byron Rogers. Until, that is, he started receiving steamy, passionate love letters from female readers. What was really baffling was that, despite these women’s claims to the contrary, he’d never actually met any of them. Determined to get to the bottom of these mysterious goings-on, Rogers turns detective in this strange and witty memoir, Me: The Authorised Biography, only to find himself struggling to reclaim centre stage of his own life.

Me: The Authorised Biography is coming soon in hardback priced at £16.99

How to Take a Spiderman/Peter Parker Approach to Wikipedia, Andrew Lih Explains

With millions of users every day, Wikipedia has fast become a phenomenon. But, can we really trust the quality of articles written by a bunch of nobodies? Find out in this recent interview with Andrew Lih, editor/administrator of Wikipedia and author of the book The Wikipedia Revolution:

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/by-a-bunch-of-nobodies-a-qa-with-the-author-of-the-wikipedia-revolution/

The Wikipedia Revolution by Andrew Lih is out now in paperback at £14.99 and is available at: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6493063

Paddy Ashdown: A Different Side of Politics?

Released this April, Paddy Ashdown’s autobiography A Fortunate Life tells the no-nonsense story of the rather unconventional politician critics have been describing as ‘a man driven not by a wish to accumulate power or money but by compassion, decency and principle’. As reports of MPs' gross expense claims continue to pour out by the day, Paddy’s memoir seems to raise the hope that there can be room in politics for those wanting to give rather than get after all.

“very entertaining, clear and wise” says The Times

Please click here to read Rod Liddle’s full review of A Fortunate Life:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article6105183.ece

Tennis Superstar Pete Sampras talks about his recent autobiography 'A Champion's Mind' on 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno

Christine Adams Visits The Holt Bookshop

On Friday, June 19th, The Holt Bookshop welcomes you to join Christine Adams, from 6:30 p.m. onwards, as she talks about her fascinating new book A Lifetime in the Building: The Extraordinary Story of May Savidge and The House She Moved.

Tickets cost £5 and are redeemable against the cost of any book in stock on the night.


The Holt Bookshop is situated at 10 Appleyard, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 6AR. For more information, please call 01263 715858 or visit: http://holtbookshoponline.tbpcontrol.co.uk/tbp.direct/customeraccesscontrol/home.aspx?d=holtbookshoponline&s=C&r=10000334&ui=0&bc=0

A Book Depository Interview with Alwyn W. Turner

Click on this link to find out why Alwyn W. Turner felt compelled to write his most recent book Crisis? What Crisis? Britain in the 1970s:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/interview/with/author/alwyn-turner

The Sunday Times gives Janie Hampton's 'The Austerity Olympics' a glowing review

As described by Andrew Holgate of The Sunday Times, Janie Hampton's book on the 1948 Olympics is a 'delightfully brisk and impressively researched jog through the history of the London tournament'.

To read his review in full, please click here: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article3900666.ece

Janie Hampton: The Austerity Olympics: 1948/2012?: A Talk

On Saturday, June 20th, we invite you to join Janie Hampton, author of The Austerity Olympics, as she takes a look at the greatly successful 1948 ‘Ration Book Olympics’, hosted by post-war London in the midst of economic crisis. With the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching and many of us asking whether big budget plans really will prove to be money well spent, this talk promises to raise some interesting debate.

Tickets are priced at £9.50 and the talk is set to start at 10 a.m. at Kings Place, York Way, N1 9AG.

For more information, please call 0844 264 0321 or visit: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/events/show-23611236-details/Janie+Hampton%3A+The+Austerity+Olympics%3A+1948/2012/%3A+Talk/showReview.do

June Releases

First on our list this month…

A distinct original, Audrey Hepburn is perhaps best loved for her incomparable elegance, luminous beauty and inimitable sense of style. Out now in paperback, Pamela Clarke Keogh’s Audrey Style celebrates the life of this captivating star, whose trademark boyish figure, cropped hair and ballet slippers resonate still through the fashion world of today. Complete with first time interviews from those closest to her, this style biography features original sketches from leading fashion designers, such as Vera Wang, Manolo Blahnik and Alexander McQueen and over 90 colour and black-and-white photographs, many of which have never before been published. From the struggles of her early life to the complex relationship she shared with her mother, from her weight to her loves, Audrey Style reveals all that contributed towards Audrey’s transformation into one of the most memorable women of the 20th century.

Audrey Style is issued in paperback at £11.99 and is available at:
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6690562 [Also available in hardback.]


Next, we have a tale of triumph from first-time author Christine Adams…


A Lifetime in the Building is the remarkable story of May Savidge, her compulsive hoarding and the home she single-handedly demolished and rebuilt at the age of 60. Inheriting the sadly dilapidated house upon Auntie May’s death 23 years later, Christine Adams and her family soon discover that, throughout her life, this extraordinary woman had carefully stored away every bus ticket, every sweet wrapper, every glamorous dress ever worn. Faced with the daunting task of having to rummage through this strange wealth of belongings piece by piece, Christine quickly finds herself plunged into a bygone world filled with heartbreak, heroism and hard-fought battles with bureaucracy. With an introduction by Paul Atterbury of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, this is the intriguing book of a woman’s quest to lay the ghost of her Auntie May and the house she built to rest.

A Lifetime in the Building is issued in hardback at £16.99 and is available at: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6541510


And finally, our music titles for this month include…


Passionate, intelligent and hard-hitting, Pat Gilbert’s Passion is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash offers the first real behind-the-scenes glimpse into the complex history of a band that shaped a generation of disillusioned youth with their ferocious mix of politics and punk rock. Written by the former editor of the internationally acclaimed music magazine Mojo, this book examines the early lives of the Clash’s classic line up, the tensions arising from their particularly gruelling and chaotic touring, the tragic death of Joe Strummer and more. Drawing on over 70 original interviews with key contributors to the band’s success, such as Kosmo Vinyl, Don Letts and Caroline Coon, as well as the band members themselves, Passion is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash sheds new light on those areas of the story all too often overlooked.

Passion is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash is issued in paperback at £7.99 and is available at:
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6541473 [Also available in hardback.]