By 1969, the Sikorski H-34 was an older helicopter with severe limitations for combat duty in Vietnam. For pilots like US Marine Lieutenant Rick Gehweiler, the good news was it could still take significant damage and keep flying. His vivid memoir narrates his harrowing, at times deadly flight missions under fire.

Drawing on seldom-analysed French and Russian sources, this biography covers previously-neglected aspects of Ka'ahumanu's life. The many spouses and lovers she and Kamehameha had, the roles played by Central Europeans, African-Americans, Catholics and Unitarians in her realm, and struggles with religious pluralism are all included.

Finnish figure skater Kiira Korpi's career included triumphal championships and bitter disappointments. With interviews and quotes from family, friends, coaches and competitors, Korpi's candid memoir describes the making and eventual undoing of a champion, and reveals a darker side to the 'ice princess' image of women's figure skating.

Sir Nigel Thompson walked to school around the bomb craters of the London Blitz-it made him want to build things, rather than knock them down. Thompson's memoir details his long career in architectural design and construction, and in restorative development.

During World War II, an eccentric band of barnstormers, stunt flyers and commercial pilots joined military recruits to form the Pan American Air Ferries. W. Gordon Schmitt's engaging, often amusing memoir recounts the close calls and indelible characters he encountered as navigator in the PAAF, from Brazil to Africa to the Middle East and beyond.

George Gordienko (1928-2002) may be the greatest wrestler you've never heard of. From humble, Ukrainian immigrant roots on the Canadian Prairies, he endured a tough childhood during the Great Depression to emerge as a leading 'shooter' and one-of-a-kind artist on the mat. This first full-length biography traces his remarkable career.

What happens when a career Marine officer stops believing in the doctrine of the Corps and the official pretexts for war? This hard-hitting memoir depicts the brutal realities of the conflict in Iraq at street level, while giving a clear-eyed treatise on the immorality of war and the catastrophe of America's failures in the Middle East.