The lively memoir of one of New Zealand's wittiest art, urbanism and social commentators. Legendary art commentator Hamish Keith returned to much-deserved national attention when his television series and accompanying book The Big Picture seized the imagination of New Zealanders. The high-rating show and bestselling book rekindled fresh enthusiasm for the complex and fascinating story of our art heritage and cemented Keith's stature as one of our most engaging, co...

Michael Palin's bestselling diaries of the 1980s.After a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, The Pythons made their last performance together in 1983 in the hugely successful MONTY PYTHON'S MEANING OF LIFE. Writing and acting in films and television then took over much of Michael's life, culminating in the smash hit A FISH CALLED WANDA (for which he won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor), and the first of his seven celebrated television journeys for the BBC. He...

The third volume of Michael Palin's celebrated diaries.TRAVELLING TO WORK is a roller-coaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of curiosity and sense of adventure. Michael was not the BBC's first choice for the travel series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, but after its success, the public naturally wanted more.Palin, however, had other plans. There was his film AMERICAN FRIENDS, a role in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama GBH, the staging of his West End...

'Enlightening … Funny, smart, original and provocative ... It is hard to imagine the stalwarts of Mock the Weekrecognising the Druze militia leader Walid Jumblatt in a London cinema' NEW STATESMAN'Few standups have come close to capturing a fraction of this creative energy in a book … Alexei Sayle is an exception' GUARDIAN"What I brou...

'Retiring in 1975, Fred Daly liked to tell the story of the new Member who sat next to him in the House. Turning to Fred, he said, 'I like to sit here and look across at the enemy.''Son,' said Fred, 'you are looking at the Opposition. The enemy is behind you.' 'Phillip Adams has been close to governments of various persuasions for over fifty years. Having been a confidant – or a fierce opponent – of many of Australia's most influential figure...

From the author of BETWEEN THE STOPS and TOKSVIG'S ALMANACSandi Toksvig - broadcaster, writer, actor and seeker of all things whimsical - has turned her probing mind to many of the most intriguing questions of our times in the pages of the Sunday Telegraph for many years. Now, for the very first time, these musings have been collected in one hilarious collection.In The Chain of Curiosity, Sandi takes the reader on a side-splitting journey ...

Like his talk show, this autobiography delivers more than the everyday - it's honest, informative and insightful - and is in Leighton's trademark style.For nearly 30 years, one voice has dominated the airwaves of New Zealand morning radio, sometimes infuriating his audience but always challenging it to embrace the concepts of individual responsibility, high standards and opinion based on sound knowledge.Now, for the first time, the previously private Leighton Smith unveils the perso...

The British on holiday: how can four simple words evoke so many vivid images, images of raw sunburn and relentless rain, of John Bull's Pub (in Lanzarote) and Antonio's Tapas Bar (in Torquay), of endless queues to get through security at Manchester Airport, or Gatwick, or Glasgow, or Luton, and endless tailbacks on the M5, or M6, or M25, but also images of carefree sploshing in Portuguese swimming-pools and lazy lunches in the Provencal sun?In this funny, acutely observed and engag...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERThe definitive autobiography from the nation's best-loved broadcaster.Written in the style familiar to his millions of listeners, rich with warmth and irony, Mustn't Grumble is Terry's definitive autobiography. Not only does he introduce the reader to his life in Ireland, his chain-smoking maiden aunts, his quick-witted mother and hard-working father and the (not so) Christian Fathers who tried to knock h...

Louis Nowra burrows beneath the sensationalist Underbelly 'sex and sin' narrative, revealing stories and a cast of characters – some household names others little-known - that not even a writer could conjure up.Kings Cross is a no-holds barred place, where backpackers, prostitutes, strippers, chefs, mad men, poets, beggars, booksellers, doctors, gangsters, sailors, musicians, drug traffickers, eccentrics, judges and artists live side by side. Part flaneur, part hi...

Where do you call home?Performer Jane Clifton had a classic army brat upbringing, constantly on the move as the family followed the postings of her English officer father from Gibraltar to England, Germany to Malaysia and eventually to Australia. Always the new kid in town, Jane became adept at fitting in anywhere.As an adult, living in the fast-moving worlds of anti-war demos, women's lib, experimental theatre, rock 'n' roll, and TV, she kept up the...

Amazing bastard (colloquial), n: a bloke who does stuff that other bastards wouldn't try in a month of SundaysWe've all met them, or at least read about them - men who drive faster, climb higher, build and invent and triumph over impossible odds.Journalist Lawrence Money has assembled a collection of Amazing Aussie Bastards who truly stand out from the crowd. Immune to critics and disbelievers, undaunted by illness or financial setback, they have done what writer S...