Religious 15 Seder Steps, The

Sister Crazy

Read by Frieda Bier (1 Cd)

A young woman in America reflects on her past whilst struggling not to be engulfed by the present. She recounts her enchanted remarkable childhood in a sprawling, eccentric family with some wonder and bitter-sweetness. Particularly important is the relationship with her ethereal little sister - a poignant example of this young woman's abounding love for her somewhat dysfunctional family. The story is told with warmth and humour and because she is a child of a mixed marriage - a Jewish father and Catholic mother - has some very amusing and sometimes harsh memories.

No. 1441

Some Sort Of Life

Read by Anita Boston (1 Cd)

Miriam Karlin made her West End debut in 1945, having left RADA two years earlier. The book begins as a series of conversations between Miriam and her old friend, the director Jan Sargent. She is fearless, opinionated and outspoken, talking candidly and movingly about her compulsive nature her family, actors and politicians that she has known and worked with, her love affairs, her battles with eating disorders and serious illnesses. She is fondly remembered as the shop steward in the classic TV series 'The Rag Trade' This is an autobiography full of passion, wit and humour.

No. 1461

Soup Has Many Eyes, The

Read by Anita Boston (1 Cd)

At home in her Pennsylvania kitchen, Joann Leonard, the author, makes soup using her grandmother's unwritten recipe. As she does so amid the fragrant steam rising from the pot comes a stream of memories of half told tales and departed ancestors asking that their stories be told. And what stories they are, of the six strong Axelrood brothers and their families terrorised by Cossacks in their Eastern European village. Of a man hiding twenty eight days under a barn floor to avoid being murdered. Another of a tiny girl left with others for safety in the flight from savagery and lost for twelve long years. And of new lives made from old in America. As each story is added to the pot the author creates a rich and universal soup to nourish us all.

No. 1473

Sowing The Wind

Read by Jennifer Bower (1 Cd)

This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in tracing the long, drawn out and often tragic tale of how a large chunk of the Turkish empire got divided up between Britain, France and later, the US, to suit their own ends. The sad stories of king-making and king-breaking as practiced by these Western powers to suit their own Machiavellian strategic requirements, explain in no uncertain terms why we exist in a world where many in the Middle East loathe the West and all it stands for. This book paints a clear country-by- country and era-by-era picture of how we got to the sorry state that we are in now. It is very well researched and written in clear and concise language. Though the book exhibits a slight anti- Jewish/anti-Israel bias, it certainly doesn't paint many of the Arab and Palestinian leaders and movements in rosy colours either and in no uncertain terms makes clear their shortcomings especially with regard to inter-tribal and political rivalries, often pursued to the detriment of the peoples represented by these leaders and movements. If you want to know what brought us to the Iraq war, invasion of Afghanistan etc, this book will fill in all the gaps that they never fill in newspaper articles and TV news.

No. 1597

Still Untitled Autobiography, A

Read by Anita Boston (1 Cd)

Ron Moody attended the London School of Economics writing and performing in student revues. It was here that his comedic talent and ability to create a string of eccentric and original characters quickly caught the attention of West End Producers and his life was changed forever. Throughout his career he turned his hand to a variety of contrasting roles and genres. He has also written four books, three of them novels. He has become a theatrical legend and household name for his role as Fagin in the stage and screen version of Lionel Bart's musical 'Oliver'. In his memoir Ron Moody reveals the conflicts and clashes that can occur both on and off stage even in the most successful of shows. He treats his listeners to a backstage look at the working of Lionel Bart's most well loved musical one of the great classics of British theatre and cinema.

No. 1551