Must-ReadAdult Non-Fiction Books (3 Books)

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Choose any 3 books from this fantastic selection of best selling and favourite non-fiction titles - perfect for any season!

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• Set of 3 Books
• Paperback
• Choose Your Own!

Me - Elton john

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the film Rocketman. The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest, and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time.

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour of America, facing an astonished audience in his tight silver hotpants, bare legs, and a T-shirt with ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across it in sequins. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to set up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.

In Me, Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble, and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions, and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend.

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference - Greta Thunberg

In August 2018 a fifteen-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, decided not to go to school one day. Her actions ended up sparking a global movement for action against the climate crisis, inspiring millions of pupils to go on strike for our planet, forcing governments to listen, and earning her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

This book brings you, Greta, in her own words, for the first time. Collecting her speeches that have made history across Europe, from the UN to mass street protests, No One Is Too Small to Make A Difference is a rallying cry for why we must all wake up and fight to protect the living planet, no matter how powerless we feel. Our future depends upon it.

Lead Successful Projects - Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

Are you struggling to juggle multiple projects? Do you often lose control of your budget? Does communicating your progress to the rest of your team cause you undue stress?

Project management is an essential skill for anyone who needs to get things done in any organization and is absolutely critical for anyone leading strategic change. In Lead Successful Projects, the Penguin Business Expert guide, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez introduces a simplified but strategic approach to project management developed over the last 20 years coaching executives, managers, and MBAs.

Learn how to break down your project into manageable elements, define smart goals and meet them in this concise and practical guide to project success

We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast - Jonathan Safran Foer

Climate crisis is the single biggest threat to human survival. And it is happening right now. We all understand that time is running out - but do we truly believe it?

And, caught between the seemingly unimaginable and the apparently unthinkable, how can we take the first step towards action, to arrest our race to extinction? We can begin with our knife and fork.The link between farming animals and the climate crisis is barely discussed because giving up our meat-based diets feels like an impossible ask. But we don't have to go cold turkey.

Cutting out animal products for just part of the day is enough to change the world. The task of saving the planet will involve a great reckoning with ourselves - with our all-too-human reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future. But we have done it before and we can do it again. Collective action is the way to save our home and way of life. And it all starts with what we eat, and don't eat, for breakfast. With his distinctive wit, insight and humanity, Jonathan Safran Foer presents the essential debate of our time as no one else could, bringing it to vivid and urgent life and offering us all a much-needed way out.

Connector Manager - Jaime Roca, Sari Wilde

The best managers work smarter, not harder
After conducting a unique global study of over 9,000 people, analysts at the world-leading sales research firm Gartner identified four distinct types of managers.

Incredibly, they found one type consistently performs far better than the rest, and it wasn’t the one they were expecting. Connector Managers understand that it’s not enough for managers to just encourage and teach employees themselves and that providing constant coaching to employees can actually be detrimental to their independent development. Instead, by connecting employees to others in the team or organization, Connector Managers can help their employees develop a range of skills beyond their own areas of expertise.

Although the four types of managers are more or less evenly distributed, employees with Connector Managers perform significantly better than others. Employees with Always-on Managers who provide constant feedback and coaching perform significantly worse. Drawing on their ground-breaking data-driven research, as well as in-depth case studies and extensive interviews with thousands of managers, you’ll discover what behaviors define Connector Managers and how you can use them yourself to build brilliant, powerhouse teams.

Prison: A Survival Guide - Carl Cattermole

The cult guide to UK prisons by Carl Cattermole – now fully updated and featuring contributions from female and LGBTQI prisoners, as well as from family on the outside.
Contains: Blood – but not as much as you might imagine; Sweat – and the prisons no longer provide soap; Tears – because prison has created a mental health crisis; Humanity – and how to stop the institution destroying it

Seven Signs of Life - Aoife Abbey

All emotions we expect to encounter over our lifetime. But what if this was every day? And what if your ability to manage them was the difference between life and death?

For Aoife Abbey, a doctor in intensive care, these experiences are part of the job – from grief when you make a potentially fatal mistake to joy when the ward unexpectedly breaks into song. Seven Signs of Life is Abbey’s extraordinary account of what it means to be alive and how it feels to care for a living.

Facebook: The Inside Story - Steven Levy

n his sophomore year of college, Mark Zuckerberg created a simple website to serve as a campus social network.

The site caught on like wildfire, and soon students nationwide were on Facebook. Today, Facebook is nearly unrecognizable from Zuckerberg's first, modest iteration. It has grown into a tech giant, the largest social media platform, and one of the most gargantuan companies in the world, with a valuation of more than $576 billion and almost 3 billion users.

There is no denying the power and omnipresence of Facebook in American daily life. And in light of recent controversies surrounding election-influencing "fake news" accounts, the handling of its users' personal data, and growing discontent with the actions of its founder and CEO, never has the company been more central to the national conversation. Based on years of exclusive reporting and interviews with Facebook's key executives and employees, including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Steven Levy's sweeping narrative digs deep into the whole story of the company that has changed the world and reaped the consequences.

Samsung Rising: Inside The Secretive Company Conquering Tech - Geoffrey Cain

Shines an incisive and entertaining light into the secretive world of the South Korean technology giant shaping our digital lives in ways we probably can't imagine' -- Brad Stone

Can the Asian giant beat Apple? Based on years of reporting on Samsung for the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and Time from his base in South Korea, and his countless sources inside and outside the company, Geoffrey Cain offers the first deep look behind the curtains of the biggest company nobody knows. How has this happened? Forty years ago, Samsung was a rickety Korean agricultural conglomerate that produced sugar, paper, and fertilizer. But with the rise of the PC revolution, Chairman Lee Byung-Chul came up with an incredibly risky multimillion-dollar plan to make Samsung a major supplier of computer chips. Lee had been wowed by a young Steve Jobs who sat down with the chairman to offer his advice, and Lee quickly became obsessed with creating a tech empire.

Today, Samsung employs over 350,000 people – over four times as many as Apple – and their revenues have grown 40 times their 1987 level. Samsung alone now make up more than 20% of South Korea’s exports and sells more smartphones than any other company in the world. And furthermore, they don’t just make their own phones, but are one of Apple’s chief supplier on technology critical to the iPhone. Yet their disastrous recall of the Galaxy Note 7, with numerous reports of phones spontaneously bursting into flames, reveals the dangers of the company's headlong attempt to overtake Apple at any cost. A sweeping, insider account of the Korean's company's ongoing war against the likes of Google and Apple, Samsung Rising shows how a determined and fearless Asian competitor is poised to take on the giants of the tech world.

Accidental Mayor - Michael Beaumont

In August 2016, well-known South African businessman Herman Mashaba became mayor of Johannesburg, heading a razor-thin DA-led coalition in the city. Three years later, in October 2019, he resigned from the party and from his position as mayor. At the time, Mashaba’s approval rating stood at almost 70 percent and there were calls in overwhelming numbers for him to stay. In this explosive tell-all, his chief of staff, Michael Beaumont, reveals the real story behind these events.

The Accidental Mayor considers the achievements, challenges, and controversies of Mashaba’s time in office, and describes what went on behind the scenes in the city and in the multiparty coalition. What was discovered about the previous government’s looting of Johannesburg? How did the ANC take to being in opposition? How challenging was it to work with the EFF? Which party proved the most difficult coalition partner? All these questions and more are explored in detail.

At a time when the DA’s popularity is in decline, The Accidental Mayor highlights the infighting and factionalism within the party and questions whether South Africa’s official opposition has reached the end of the road. Can Herman Mashaba, arguably one of South Africa’s most popular former mayors, offer an alternative for the future?

Asian Aspiration - Greg Mills, Olusegun Obasanjo, Hailemariam Desalegn, Emily van der Merwe

In 1960, the GDP per capita in South East Asian countries was nearly half of that of Africa. By 1986, the gap had closed and today the trend is reversed, with more than half of the world’s poorest now living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Why has Asia developed while Africa lagged? The Asian Aspiration chronicles the untold stories of explosive growth and changing fortunes: the leaders, events and policy choices that lifted a billion people out of abject poverty within a single generation, the largest such shift in human history.

The relevance of Asia’s example comes as Africa is facing a population boom, which can either lead to crisis or prosperity; and as Asia is again transforming, this time out of low-cost manufacturing into high-tech, leaving a void that is Africa’s for the taking. But far from the determinism of ‘Africa Rising’, this book calls for unprecedented pragmatism in the pursuit of African success.

Beast - Tendai Mtawarira, Andy Capostagno

Tendai Mtawarira is known throughout the rugby world simply as Beast. Or, more often than not, ‘Beeeaaassssttt!’, as crowds from Durban to London, Buenos Aires to Auckland cry whenever he gets the ball. In 2018 he became the most capped prop in Springbok history, earning his 100th Test cap for the Springboks, and in 2019 he became the most capped Super Rugby player in South Africa.

Due to play in his third World Cup in September 2019, Beast has been in a winning series against the British and Irish Lions, contested two Super Rugby finals, and won three Currie Cups with his beloved Sharks. Along the way, he has been moved from back row to front row, bullied by xenophobic politicians, and undergone three bouts of heart surgery.
Beast is the story of how a humble man from Zimbabwe has become a rugby icon.

Finding Common Ground - Wandile Sihlobo

My hope is that people can grow to appreciate this sector – its challenges and opportunities, but most importantly, the role agriculture can play in improving South Africa’s rural economy, creating jobs and bringing about much-needed transformation (or inclusive growth).’

Wandile Sihlobo is perfectly positioned to provide a well-rounded, accessible view of agriculture in South Africa. He spent his school holidays in the rural Eastern Cape, studied agricultural economics at university, has worked in private-sector agriculture, consulting with farmers across the country, and has been an adviser to the government as part of South African policymaking bodies. Finding Common Ground is a selection of key articles from Sihlobo’s regular Business Day column, framed with insightful commentary and context. The book covers the broad themes that have marked current discussions and outlines the challenges and opportunities faced by South Africa’s agricultural sector, including:

The contentious and complex issue of land reform; The potential for new leadership to revive the sector; How agriculture can drive development and job creation; Cannabis as an exportable commodity; The urgent need for agricultural policy to address gender equity and youth involvement; Technological developments and megatrends that are underpinning agricultural development; The importance of trade in growing South Africa’s agriculture; and Key lessons that South Africa and other African countries can learn from one another.

Our Blood Is Green - Gavin Rich

In Our Blood Is Green, more than 40 Springbok rugby players talk about their careers: how they made it to the top of their profession, what it was like to face the pressures of playing for South Africa’s national team, how they dealt with the media, the officials, and yes, the coaches who didn’t know what they were doing!

They answer questions like: is there still a divide between English- and Afrikaans-speaking players, does the ‘quota’ system work, is Bok rugby all about playing for the jersey, or is it, as former All Black coach Graham Henry once said, the nationalism that drives the South African team? And what is it like to play against the British & Irish Lions, or to face the haka, or sing our national anthem before an international Test …?

Joy At Work - Marie Kondo, Scott Sonenshein

If you properly simplify and organize your work life once, you’ll never have to do it again.

Marie Kondo's first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, sparked a new genre of publishing and became an international bestseller. Now, for the first time, you will be guided through the process of tidying up your work life.

In Joy at Work, KonMari method pioneer Marie Kondo and organizational psychologist Scott Sonenshein will help you to refocus your mind on what's important at work, and as their examples show, the results can be truly life-changing. With advice on how to improve the way you work, the book features advice on problem areas including fundamentals like how to organize your desk, finally get through your emails and find what sparks joy in an open-plan office. Like how the key to successful tidying in the home is by tackling clutter in the correct order, Joy at Work adapts the inspirational KonMari Method for the workplace, taking you step-by-step through your professional environment so that you can identify the most joyful way to work for you.

Once you’ve found order in your work life, you can feel empowered to find confidence, energy, and motivation to create the career you want and move on from negative working practices.

The Body - Bill Bryson

Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body- A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup. A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this book will have you marveling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again.

Dalai Lama - Alexander Norman

The definitive biography One of the best-known and respected public figures of modern times, The Dalai Lama's message of peace and compassion resonates with people of all faiths and none. And yet, for all his worldwide fame, he remains personally elusive.

Alexander Norman, the acclaimed Oxford-trained scholar of the history of Tibet and the Dalai Lamas, draws on his thirty years of special access to His Holiness to deliver the definitive biography - unique, revelatory, controversial. Norman gives unparalleled insights into the Dalai Lama's life, from being chosen as a young boy, his exile from Tibet, and his involvement in political negotiations, to the present day. He confronts a dark history, revealing the spiritual and political leader as never seen before.

You're Not Listening - Kate Murphy

As a society, we’ve forgotten how to listen. Modern life is noisy and frenetic, and technology provides a constant distraction. So we tune things out or listen selectively – even to those we love most. We’ve become scared of other people’s points of view, and of silence. Now more than ever, we need to listen to those around us. New York Times contributor Kate Murphy draws on countless conversations she has had with everyone from priests to CIA interrogators, focus group moderators to bartenders, her great-great-aunt to her friend's toddler, to show how only by listening well can we truly connect with others.

Listening is about curiosity and patience – about asking the right questions in the right way. Improvisational comedians and con men are much better at it than most of us. And the cleverest people can be the worst at it. Listening has the potential to transform our relationships and our working lives, improve our self-knowledge, and increase our creativity and happiness. While it may take some effort, it's a skill that can be learned and perfected.

Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s - Nikki Bush, Graeme Codrington

‘Mommy, Daddy, what should I be when I grow up?’ This is the question every child asks when they begin to develop a sense of the future, and it’s never been harder for parents to answer it than now.

This century is characterized by the disruptive change that is turning our world upside down. Jobs aren’t just changing, but whole industries are ceasing to exist. The scripts for success and failure are being rewritten on a daily basis in our families, at work, and in life. Do parents know who and what their children need to be, let alone what they might be able to do, in the future world of work? This book doesn’t just paint a picture of what the future might hold but provides frameworks and practical advice for what parents can do today in order to build solid foundations for their children so as to maximize their chances of success. Children who are equipped with the right sets of skills, attitudes, and world views will remain relevant and able to take advantage of future opportunities. Future-proof Your Child for the 2020s and Beyond is an invaluable guide for parents who wish to create realistic and relevant parenting goals that will set their children up to thrive, no matter what awaits them in the future.