Top list: Society and Social Sciences

Jay Dobyns, the first federal agent to infiltrate the inner circle of the outlaw Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, presents the inside story of the twenty-one-month operation that almost cost him his family, his sanity, and his life.

Since being named “London’s Lord to Land” by a popular ladies’ magazine, Nicholas St. John has been relentlessly pursued by every matrimony-minded female in the ton. So when an opportunity to escape fashionable society presentsitself, he eagerly jumps—only to land in the path of the most determined, damnably delicious woman he’s ever met!

The daughter of a titled wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend has too many secrets and too little money. Though she is used to taking care of herself quite handily, her father’s recent passing has left Isabel at sea and in need of outside help to protect her young brother’s birthright. The sinfully handsome, eminently eligible Lord Nicholas could be the very salvation she seeks.

But the lady must be wary and not do anything reckless and foolish…like falling madly, passionately in love.

An unhealthy obsession and a dark secret spell trouble for Louise in a disturbing case...

A baby is named ‘Marilyn’ after the Hollywood legend, Norma Jean.

Marilyn inherits her parents’ fascination for Marilyn Monroe and develops an obsession with her alter-ego. She wears red lipstick and emulates the curvy, platinum-blond film star from a very young age.

When her family is torn apart by tragedy, she finds herself in the care system, and systematically derails foster-carer Louise’s family holiday.

If You Want to Be Able to Read Between the Lines and Understand What’s Going On in Someone Else’s Mind, Keep Listening! The world of dark psychology holds the key to unraveling the mysteries of human behavior and acquiring the power to shape others' thoughts and actions.

However, it can be overwhelming to navigate the vast array of techniques and concepts associated with this intriguing field.

Dark Psychology Unleashed is your ultimate guide to mastering the art of human manipulation!

This comprehensive audiobook offers you a step-by-step roadmap to explore the depths of the human mind, equipping you with the essential tools to analyze people, exert influence, and ethically achieve your desired outcomes.

Discover:

How to understand unspoken words: Learn how to interpret subtle body language cues, vocal nuances, and facial expressions, enabling you to decode the hidden messages behind people's actions. Techniques to protect yourself from Manipulators: By delving into the strategies employed by master manipulators, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to identify and defend against these tactics. The fascinating realm of hypnosis: Tap into the power of the subconscious mind to shape perceptions and plant suggestions in people’s minds. How to spot red flags: Quickly crackdown on the signs of whether or not you’re being manipulated, hypnotized, or mind controlled. You’ll never be taken advantage of again. Whether you're a curious individual seeking a deeper understanding of human behavior or a professional aiming to enhance your persuasive abilities, this audiobook serves as an invaluable resource.

Unlock the Doors to Becoming a Master of Human Manipulation and Harnessing the Power of the Mind by Listening Today!

A deep-dive into the unique connections between the two titans of the British cultural psyche-the Beatles and the Bond films-and what they tell us about class, sexuality, and our aspirations over sixty dramatic years.

A heartbreaking true story of a broken family and the foster carer who wants to keep them together…

The Watsons are no strangers to sibling placements but when Casey takes the call from her supervising social worker one frosty January morning, she can instantly tell from the tone of her colleague’s voice that there’s a complicated case ahead.

And she’s right. A four-day-old baby boy called Tommy – born in prison – plus his four-year-old half-brother, the lively Seth. A month later, the very moment she gets out of prison, the boys’ mother – a 19-year-old called Jenna – also follows.

For Casey, it would it be a difficult scenario on several levels. Caring for a new born in her fifties with a pre-schooler who has spent most of his young life without boundaries tearing around her ankles, while also looking out for his drug-addicted mum who is ill-equipped to parent.

It’s an unusual situation but one that has arisen in a bid to keep the family together. Can Casey find the energy and strength needed to rise to the challenge? Casey believes she can but when baby Tommy and Seth arrive, she falters. Seth is not so much a pocket rocket as a seek and destroy missile with a whole other agenda…

Thrilling history provides a new perspective on the Viking-Anglo Saxon conflicts and brings the bloody period vividly to life, perfect for fans of Dan Jones.

In The Deadly Don, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano presents the rise and fall of Vito Genovese in this first comprehensive biography of the legendary mafioso.

“Its theme is political fanaticism, with which it deals severely and brilliantly.” —New Yorker

The famous bestseller with “concise insight into what drives the mind of the fanatic and the dynamics of a mass movement” (Wall Street Journal) by the legendary San Francisco longshoreman.

A stevedore on the San Francisco docks in the 1940s, Eric Hoffer wrote philosophical treatises in his spare time while living in the railroad yards. The True Believer—the first and most famous of his books—was made into a bestseller when President Eisenhower cited it during one of the earliest television press conferences.

Called a “brilliant and original inquiry” and “a genuine contribution to our social thought” by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., this landmark in the field of social psychology is completely relevant and essential for understanding the world today as it delivers a visionary, highly provocative look into the mind of the fanatic and a penetrating study of how an individual becomes one.

A convent children's home run by monsters. A heartbreaking family secret that haunted us for 50 years.

Suzanne suffered five heart attacks and made it through open heart surgery. But even that pales in comparison to the horrors she faced as a young girl.

Her childhood became the 'stuff of nightmares' after her father passed away and her mother, unable to get a job in Ireland, had to seek work in London. So 'Mammy' was forced into the heartbreaking decision to put Suzanne and her five siblings into church-run orphanages in Dublin while she worked away. It was just meant to be temporary.

Her life soon became a daily struggle to avoid beatings with canes and rosary beads. Suzanne and the other children worked from dawn until midnight, living on disgusting scraps of food, while the nuns dined on fresh fruit, meat and cakes that the 'orphans' had cooked for them. Suzanne tried her best to shield her younger sisters from the terror of these hateful 'women of God'. But it was only the beginning of their troubles...

Eventually, their mother returned from London, after four years, with enough money to take her children out and the family was reunited. However, too scared to speak out, the children vowed to take the horrors they had experienced at the orphanages to their graves.

What really happened behind those church doors? This is Suzanne's heartbreaking and touching story.

Kristin Neff, Ph.D., says that it’s time to “stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind.” Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind offers expert advice on how to limit self-criticism and offset its negative effects, enabling you to achieve your highest potential and a more contented, fulfilled life.

More and more, psychologists are turning away from an emphasis on self-esteem and moving toward self-compassion in the treatment of their patients—and Dr. Neff’s extraordinary book offers exercises and action plans for dealing with every emotionally debilitating struggle, be it parenting, weight loss, or any of the numerous trials of everyday living.

The novel Jonny Appleseed established Joshua Whitehead as one of the most exciting and important new literary voices on Turtle Island, winning both a Lambda Literary Award and Canada Reads 2021. In Making Love with the Land, his first nonfiction book, Whitehead explores the relationships between body, language, and land through creative essay, memoir, and confession.

Angie, 6, and sister Polly, 4, are utterly distraught when they arrive to stay with foster carer Cathy Glass. Their older half-sister Ashleigh has accused their father of something horrible, and the two young sisters have been removed from home to keep them safe.

Cathy tries to comfort the girls, but they are inconsolable. They just want their mummy and daddy, whom they love dearly.

The girls appear to have been well looked after, but as they settle and start to talk of life at home, it becomes clear something is badly wrong. Then a chance remark sets in motion a chain of events that eventually changes everything.

Christina O’Connor is the main prosecution witness from the Huddersfield Grooming scandal. In 2017, 11 men were convicted of a staggering 43 offences against her, including 22 counts of rape.

In this memoir, Christina will describe how, from being a happy child with a loving family, she fell into the clutches of a grooming gang whose abuse of children earned them a total of 221 years in prison. Christina’s helpless parents tried desperately to save their 13 year old daughter as she began playing truant, and was lured into sexual activities with complete strangers, in exchange for pizza, vodka and cannabis.

After five years of almost daily rape, Christina committed robberies under duress from the grooming gang and was jailed. She made a complaint to police about the abuse, but no action was taken.

She sees the prison term as her salvation; from this moment she turned her life around. Two years after her release, her police statement was found at the back of a filing cabinet, and Operation Tendersea, the investigation into the grooming gang was launched.

This is the first time Christina has spoken out. She has waived her right to anonymity and wants the world to hear her voice

“The Life We Chose—an unforgettable story. A really great read.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy and Casino and screenwriter of Goodfellas

From Matt Birkbeck—investigative journalist and executive producer of Netflix’s #1 movie Girl in the Picture—a revelatory father/surrogate son story that takes readers deep inside the inner workings of the mob through the eyes of William “Big Billy” D’Elia, the right-hand man to legendary mafia kingpin Russell Bufalino, who ran organized crime in the US for more than fifty years.

William “Big Billy” D’Elia is Mafia royalty.

The “adopted” son of legendary organized crime boss Russell Bufalino, for decades D’Elia had unequaled access to the man the FBI and US Justice Department considered one of the leading organized crime figures in the United States. But the government had no real idea as to the breadth of Bufalino’s power and influence—or that it was Bufalino, from his bucolic home base in Pittston, Pennsylvania, who reigned over the five families in New York and other organized crime families throughout the country.

For nearly thirty years, D’Elia was at Bufalino’s side, and “Russ’s son” was a witness and participant to major historical events that have stymied law enforcement, perplexed journalists, and produced false and wild narratives in books and movies—not the least of which being the infamous disappearance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa. In addition, their reach was illustrated by their relationships with Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Michael Jackson, Suge Knight, and many other celebrities and personalities.

D’Elia became the de facto leader of the Bufalino family upon Russell Bufalino’s imprisonment in 1979, and he officially took control upon Bufalino’s death in 1994 until his arrest in 2006, when he was charged with money laundering and the attempted murder of a witness. He pled guilty to money laundering and witness tampering and was released from federal prison in 2012.

Candid and unapologetic, D’Elia is finally ready to reveal the real story behind the myths and in so doing paints a complicated, compelling, and stunning portrait of crime, power, money, and finally, family.

From the bestselling author Toni Maguire comes a new true story of abuse and survival. Contains mature themes.

Louise gets a frantic call to take in a damaged and destructive young girl. Separated from her siblings, Sparkle is hostile and angry.

A short while after settling in, Sparkle begins to identify as pansexual. A revolution is underway in the Allen household, with Sparkle’s transition motivating all of the young people to explore what becoming an adult means for them.

But it’s Sparkle’s escalating behaviour that causes concern.

Discovering a dark fact about Sparkle’s birth and the shocking events that the children in her house were part of, Louise is desperate for more help – and not just for the child in her care. As Sparkle’s erratic and violent behaviour increases, Louise finds herself and her homelife under serious threat.

A shocking true story that reveals how one woman was tormented to the very depths of despair by her husband through coercive control and continual physical and sexual abuse.

Broken in mind, body and spirit and completely isolated from the rest of the world, Hannah thinks she’ll never find the strength to escape, until one day an opportunity arrives…

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY: Time, USA Today, People, AARP, Today.com, BookRiot, Bustle, LitHub, BookPage, Our Culture, and Vulture

A surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue—and its fascinating role in Black history and culture—from National Book Award winner Imani Perry

Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong’s question, “What did I do to be so Black and blue?” In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world’s favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey—an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology.

Perry traces both blue and Blackness from their earliest roots to their many embodiments of contemporary culture, drawing deeply from her own life as well as art and history: The dyed indigo cloths of West Africa that were traded for human life in the 16th century. The mixture of awe and aversion in the old-fashioned characterization of dark-skinned people as “Blue Black.” The fundamentally American art form of blues music, sitting at the crossroads of pain and pleasure. The blue flowers Perry plants to honor a loved one gone too soon.

Poignant, spellbinding, and utterly original, Black in Blues is a brilliant new work that could only have come from the mind of one of our greatest writers and thinkers. Attuned to the harrowing and the sublime aspects of the human experience, it is every bit as vivid, rich, and striking as blue itself.

The first new book from beloved therapist and writer Torey Hayden in almost fifteen years—an inspiring, uplifting tale of a troubled child and the remarkable woman who made a difference.

In a forgotten corner of Wales, a young girl languishes in a home for troubled children. Abandoned by her parents because of her violent streak, Jessie—at the age of ten—is at risk of becoming just another lost soul in the foster system.

Precocious and bold, Jessie is convinced she is possessed by the devil and utterly unprepared for the arrival of therapist Torey Hayden. Armed with patience, compassion, and unconditional love, Hayden begins working with Jessie once a week. But when Jessie makes a stunning accusation against one of Hayden’s colleagues – a man Hayden implicitly trusts – Hayden’s work doubles: now she must not only get to the root of Jessie’s troubles, but also find out if what the girl alleges is true.

A moving, compelling, and inspiring account, Lost Child is a powerful testament once again of Torey Hayden’s extraordinary ability to reach children who many have given up on—and a reminder of how patience and love can ultimately prevail.