This is Somerset --Bonkers by Jennifer Saunders
Viking, £20
Jennifer Saunders' brilliant comic creations have brought joy to millions for three decades. From Comic Strip to Comic Relief, from Bolly-swilling Edina in Absolutely Fabulous to Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, her characters are household names. But it is Jennifer herself who has a place in all our hearts. This is her funny, touching and disarmingly honest memoir, filled with stories of friends, laughter and occasional heartache – but never misery. From her childhood on RAF bases, where her father was a pilot, to her life-changing encounter with a young Dawn French, on to success and family, the book charts her extraordinary story, including the slip-ups and battles along the way. Prepare to chuckle, cry, and whoop with delight.
How Did All This Happen? By John Bishop
HarperCollins, £20
This is the story of how a boy who, growing up on a council estate dreaming of ousting Kenny Dalglish from Liverpool FC's starting line-up, suddenly found himself on stage in front of thousands of people nationwide, at an age when he should have known better. In his own inimitable style, John guides us through his life from leaving the estate and travelling the globe on a shoestring, to marriage, children and the split that led him to being on a stage complaining to strangers one night – the night that changed his life and started his journey to stardom. Wonderfully entertaining and packed with colourful reminiscences and comical anecdotes, this is a heart-warming, life-affirming and ultimately very, very funny memoir from one of the nation's greatest comedians.
Becoming Johnny Vegas by Johnny Vegas
HarperCollins, £20
From BBC Dickens adaptations to Benidorm and Ideal to the PG Tips ads, Johnny Vegas has become one of Britain's best-loved comic actors. But before he had ever drunk tea with a knitted monkey or made himself the exception that proves the rule in terms of the predictability of TV panel game regulars, Johnny Vegas was perhaps the most fearlessly confessional stand-up comedian this country has ever produced.
How did an 11-year-old Catholic trainee priest from St Helens grow up to become the North West of England's answer to Lenny Bruce? That is just one of the many questions answered by this eye-poppingly frank memoir. Once you have finished this darkly hilarious tale of family, faith and the creative application of alcohol dependency, you will never look at a copy of the Catholic Men's Society newsletter the same way again.
Faster Than Lightning by Usain Bolt
HarperSport, £20
The autobiography of the fastest man of all time and a superstar whose talent and charisma have made him one of the most famous people on the planet. Usain Bolt has won the hearts of people everywhere with his mind-blowing performances and his infectious charisma – uniting supporters around the world. In this, his full autobiography, Usain tells his story in his own words: from humble beginnings in Jamaica, to international stardom at Beijing and on to the new heights of superstardom he has reached since lighting up London 2012. Full of the charm and charisma that has made him the most popular sporting figure of our time and a universal celebrity, this is a book that Usain's millions of fans will love.
Alex Ferguson: The Autobiography
Hodder & Stoughton, £25
Sir Alex announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United after 27 years in the role. He went out in a blaze of glory, with United winning the Premier League for the 13th time, and he is widely considered to be the greatest manager in the history of British football.
Sir Alex saw Manchester United change from a conventional football club to what is now a major business enterprise, and he never failed to move with the times. It was directly due to his vision, energy and ability that he was able to build teams both on and off the pitch. He was a man-manager of phenomenal skill, and increasingly he had to deal with global stars.
Sir Alex has been reflecting on and jotting down the highlights of his extraordinary career and in his new book he will reveal his amazing story as it unfolded, from his very early days in the tough shipyard areas of Govan.
Appetite for Wonder by Richard Dawkins
Bantam Press, £20
Born to parents who were enthusiastic naturalists, and linked through his wider family to a clutch of accomplished scientists, Richard Dawkins was bound to have biology in his genes.
But what were the influences that shaped his life and intellectual development? And who inspired him to become the pioneering scientist and public thinker now famous (and infamous to some) around the world? In An Appetite for Wonder, we join him on a personal journey back to an enchanting childhood in colonial Africa. There the exotic natural world was his constant companion. Boarding school in England at the age of eight, and, later, public school at Oundle introduce Richard, and the reader, to strange rules and eccentric schoolmasters, vividly described with both humorous affection and some reservation. Oxford, however, is the catalyst to his life.
Vigorous debate in the dynamic Zoology Department unleashes his innate intellectual curiosity, and inspirational mentors together with his own creative thinking ignite the spark that results in his radical new vision of Darwinism, The Selfish Gene. From innocent child to charismatic world-famous scientist, Richard Dawkins paints a colourful, richly textured canvas of his early life.
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Weidenfeld & Nicholson, £18.99
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price. Shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in Northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At 16, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, and of Malala's parents' fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
David Jason: My Life
Century, £20
This is the long-awaited autobiography of one of Britain's most-loved actors. Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason's early life was spent dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. Giving up on an unloved career as an electrician, he turned his attention to acting and soon, through a natural talent for making people laugh, found himself working with the leading lights of British comedy in the 1960s and 70s: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Barker.
It was not until 1981, kitted out with a sheepskin jacket, a flat cap, and a clapped-out Reliant Regal, that David found the part that would capture the nation's hearts: the beloved Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in Only Fools and Horses. Never a one-trick pony, he had an award-winning spell as TV's favourite detective Jack Frost, took a country jaunt as Pop Larkin in the Darling Buds of May, and even voiced a crime-fighting cartoon rodent in the much-loved children's show, Danger Mouse.
David's is a touching, funny and warm-hearted story, which charts the course of his incredible five decades at the top of the entertainment business.
Morrissey: The Autobiography by Morrissey
Penguin, £8.99
It has been said: "Most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status that Morrissey has reached in his lifetime." Born in Manchester on May 22nd 1959, the influential singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Smiths (1982-1987) publishes his eagerly anticipated autobiography. Offering a unique insight into the mind of one of the most fascinating and often controversial characters to emerge from the British music scene in the last thirty years, this memoir tells Morrisey's personal story of The Smiths and also of his life as a successful and enduring solo artist.
David Beckham Autobiography by David Beckham
Headline, £25
David Beckham is the world's most famous football icon. In May he brought down the curtain on a hugely successful playing career that spanned two decades, during which he proudly wore the shirts of Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and England.
He captained his country on 58 occasions, winning 115 caps in total, an English record for an outfield player. His colourful and stellar career has been characterised by the emotional highs of great goals and remarkable trophy successes around the world, as well as by more than the occasional moment of set-back, disappointment and despair, but through it all Beckham has emerged as a universally adored figure.
Here, intimately talking us through 150 of his favourite images which define his playing days, he invites us behind the scenes of an incredible 20-year footballing journey.
Harry by Marcia Moody
Michael O'Mara, £20
Prince Harry is arguably one of the most recognised faces in the world today, and over the years has attracted both criticism and praise. In his 29 years he has served on the frontline in Afghanistan and taken lives there, he has set up his own charities, undertaken his first solo tour representing his grandmother The Queen, has been a figure of controversy, and has won a humanitarian award.
Equally at home in military uniform, black tie or jeans and baseball cap, Prince Harry certainly grabs life with both hands and rides it at 100 miles an hour. Harry: A Biography sets out to document the full, true story behind the popular prince as he steps out of the shadow of his older brother Prince William. Covering his early years, the breakdown of his parents' marriage, the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, his relationship with his father and Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, his time at Sandhurst and serving in Afghanistan, his charity walk to the North Pole, the women in his life, his partying, and his first solo tour.
Comprehensive yet entirely accessible, Harry: A Biography paints a revelatory portrait of the "coolest" member of the royal family.
All books are available from your local Waterstones bookshop and online at waterstones.com. Reported by This is 1 day ago.
