Consisting of forty of Cook's finest pieces, this book includes his first writings from school and university, the Pete & Dud and Derek & Clive dialogues, selections of his satirical journalism for Private Eye and his last ever interview.

'Bitter Crop' is an unconventional portrait of arguably America's most eminent jazz singer. Acclaimed biographer Paul Alexander shrewdly focuses on the last year of Billie Holiday's life - with relevant flashbacks to provide context - to evoke and examine the persistent magnificence of her artistry when it was supposed to have declined, in the wake of her drug abuse, relationships with violent men, and run-ins with the law. During her lifetime and...

This biography of Marilyn Monroe based on her personal archive of over 35,000 documents - including letters, diaries, billets doux and suicide notes - aims to reveal the truth about Monroe's death and names the names. It overturns many myths about Marilyn and contains several revelations about Marilyn's life. The author interviewed over 150 friends and colleagues.

Sir Ken Dodd was a national institution. He worked tirelessly as one of Britain's most popular comedians for a staggering seven decades. His five hour stage shows were legendary, and he was still performing these hilarious theatrical marathons right up to the age of 90. Ken was the comedian's comedian. Fellow pros idolised him and looked up to him as the guv'nor. He was also a talented ballad singer, and enjoyed a hugely successful chart-topping career...

Explores the life and work of Paul Gauguin, one of the leading lights of Post-Impressionism. Gauguin's vision of a tropical arcadia in the South Seas has beguiled generations of gallery goers, but a close look at his life and art reveals a complex man in constant search for a primitive paradise that was elusive. Caroline Bugler explores Gauguin's extensive travels and artistic experiments, many of them driven by a strong desire to explore the unknown,...

April Ashley was a trailblazing figure in the history of transgender rights and advocacy. Born in 1935 in Liverpool, Ashley was assigned male at birth, but knew from a young age that she identified as a woman. At the age of sixteen, April left home and began her journey of self-discovery, eventually transitioning and undergoing gender-reassignment surgery in 1960. She became one of the first British people to undergo the procedure, which was illegal...

Picture a man, he's tall, not excessively so, yet as wide as he is high. This man is a spitting and growling street brawler; a tank full of ready to blow, muscle-fuelled aggression. Imagine, if you will, the comic book style Bulldog of Great British stamp. Well, there you have him! The prototypical face taken from the terraces of an '80s football fan's rolled-up newspaper cosh; a poster-boy of malevolence left over from Thatcher's post-punk Britain....

The wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of TV presenter Richard Hammond. Moving quickly on from the devastating crash that nearly killed him he ranges widely over his life and times, from the stunts and other perils that come his way to a visit to Africa where he falls in love with and repatriates a stray car.

As a society, there is a tendency to elevate romantic love. But what about friendships? Aren't they just as - if not more - important? So why is it hard to find the right words to express what these uniquely complex bonds mean to us? In 'Friendaholic', Elizabeth Day embarks on a journey to answer these questions.

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, Spike Milligan talks about his life and career as one of the foremost comedy writers and performers of the 20th century.