'A fascinating exposé on the history and crazy controversies' MARK TIGHEFrom Feis fixing to false allegations, why are the dance halls across this island such a hotbed for rumour and controversy?Irish dancing may sparkle on the stage – glittering costumes, perfect smiles, flawless footwork – but behind the polished performances lies a world far less picture perfect.When an explosive whistleblower email lands in the inbox of...

'This isn't a Catholic country anymore,' someone proudly declared in a pub where Ellen Coyne was sitting. Ellen had left the Church long ago, like many her age. But she had never stopped talking to God. Now, about to turn 30, she realised she wasn't quite ready for this declaration to be true. Abandoning the Church had been an act of protest. However, Ellen began to wonder: who had really lost the most? Why should those who damaged the Church get to keep all its good bits, like the rituals...

‘This isn’t a Catholic country anymore,’ someone proudly declared in a pub where Ellen Coyne was sitting. Ellen had left the Church long ago, like many her age. But she had never stopped talking to God. Now, about to turn 30, she realised she wasn’t quite ready for this declaration to be true. Abandoning the Church had been an act of protest. However, Ellen began to wonder: who had really lost the most? Why should those who damaged the Church get to keep all its good bits, like the rituals...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Atmosphere and Daisy Jones & the Six—an entrancing and “wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet” (PopSugar) as she reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.**“**Fascinating, emotiona...

This is the life story of Father Bob Maguire - a rare behind-the-scenes look at the much-loved 'people's priest'. The enigmatic champion of the down-and-out was shaped by a lonely childhood in poor circumstances, an early priesthood that collided with the upheaval of Vatican 11 and working with the army during the Vietnam War. This is a lively portrait of the man behind the resilient social activist and popular media performer who refuses to be defeated by enforced retirement from the pari...

The leading Catholic in the nation and spiritual adviser to Tony Abbott, Cardinal George Pell has played a key role in the greatest challenge to face his church for centuries: the scandal of child sex abuse by priests.In The Prince, David Marr investigates the man and his career: how did he rise through the ranks? What does he stand for? How does he wield his authority? How much has he shaped his church and Australia? How has he handled the scandal?

Alain de Botton meets Russell Brand in this glorious rant about everything that drives you mad about the modern world.How did everything get so dumb?How did we become hostages to idiocy?What must we do to be freed from a captor whose ransom note simply reads, 'D'oh'?The deteriorating quality of our public debate and the dwindling of common sense in media, politics and culture can drive you to despair and rage. It certainly drove writers Helen ...

DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE WEEKMen must be the worst oppressors in history - we pay the most taxes, get the least support and play longer matches at Wimbledon for no extra money. We're also more likely to be homeless, circumcised, attacked, jailed, drafted, under-educated, short-changed in parenthood and shafted by divorce. Oh, and to top it all, we die sooner. Despite this, feminists still assert we live in a patriarchy and give us a hard time.Fortunately, Pet...

With a sharp eye for the magnificently absurd, Rod Liddle sets light to modern-day Britain.‘One of Britain’s funniest, most daring columnists. If he weren’t so offensive you’d almost call him a national treasure’ Mail on Sunday‘I, and my generation, seem feckless and irresponsible, endlessly selfish, whining, avaricious, self-deluding, self-obsessed, spoiled and corrupt and ill.’What is it that has transformed the British who in living memory were admired for their ...

In the modern, democratic twenty-first century, the notion of an unelected, dynastic monarchy is not easy to defend.This new book argues that the current monarchy is by far the best system for choosing a Head of State - providing that it is understood that we are not subjects and that the monarchy are not our superiors. They are, in actual fact, our pets.In this original eBook, John Higgs, author of the The 20th Century: An Alternative History, makes an argument in favour ...

Half a century after the publication of The Feminine Mystique, have women really exchanged purity and maternity to become desiring machines inspired only by variations of sex, shopping and masochism - all coloured a brilliant neuro-pink?In this volume, fifty women young and old - writers, politicians, actors, scientists, mothers - reflect on the shades that inspired them and what being woman means to them today.Contributors include: Margaret Atwood, Joan Bakewell, ...

'Fabulously smart and entertaining . . . If virtue-signalling wokery drives you as nuts as it drives me, you will love it' Piers Morgan'Required reading for anyone needing an antidote to the mass hysteria of humanity's latest religion' Entertainment FocusAfter the success of her debut Woke: A Guide to Social Justice, radical slam poet and intersectional feminist Titania McGrath has turned her talents to the realm of childr...