"The oral history of Britain’s first West Indian immigrants and their descendants
In 1948 the former troop ship Windrush made the 30-day journey across the Atlantic from Jamaica. The arrival of its 500 passengers, the first generation of Caribbean migrants in the UK, was the initial step in the formation of a new identity: the black Briton.
Fifty years later, Mike and Trevor Phillips spoke to those on the Windrush itself, as well as those who followed, to tell the story of Britain in the second half of the twentieth century through the eyes of the outsiders who became insiders.
Now updated to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the ship’s voyage and including reflections on its political and cultural legacy in 2023, Windrush is an essential record of this transformative era in British social history."
"In the 1980s, London is a melting pot of cultures, but race and class create sharp divisions.
Black British journalist Sam Dean looks for stories, not missing persons.
When and old friend asks for help tracking down a White Conservative MP’s daughter, he feels he can’t say no. Virginia’s disappearance is tangled with the fate of Roy, a young mixed-race boy who reminds Sam of his own son, and Sam becomes determined to find the truth.
A trail of secrets leads Sam into backstreets of Black British culture, to the crossroads of race and class where you’ll find seedy walk-up flats, betting parlors, and smoky nightclubs.
London’s answer to S.A. Cosby, Blood Rights is a riveting time capsule of London’s multi-cultural history wrapped up in a tense thriller."
"In 1980s London, Black political leaders who can straddle the racial divide are a rarity.
So when a rising Black politician, Aston Edwards, is murdered, the effects quickly ripple through London’s Afro-Caribbean community.
Then a young Black boy is arrested for his murder, surrounded by rumours of an affair with Aston’s wife.
Sammy Dean, journalist-turned-investigator, is determined to find the truth. When a Black activist’s death is written off as a suicide, Sam begins to think the two cases are linked. With tensions running high, can Sam find the truth before the city erupts?
The Late Candidate is a gritty and authentic representation of London’s multi-cultural history, wrapped up in a tense thriller."
"Sent from London to New York to bring a dying friend’s message to his daughter, Mary, Sam Dean arrives in Queens, steeped in a mesh of Caribbean and Hispanic culture, looking forward to reconnecting with family and old friends.
But his relaxing holiday turns dark when Mary disappears, and Sammy is caught up in a world of murder, sex, and corrupt politics that threatens to turn his world upside down.
Melded with social commentary around race, class and gentrification, Point of Darkness is a gripping thriller, still eerily relevant."
"Behind the scenes of television production journalist-turned-investigator, Sam Dean, discovers greed, ugliness and murder.
When a TV producer offers journalist Sam Dean the job of tracking down a suspect in the brutal murder of a young woman and her child, he's reluctant to get involved. But when a colleague is stabbed to death on set, it’s clear something bigger is going on.
And when threatening anonymous notes start arriving, Sam is forced to dig for the truth…
Standing astride 1980s London’s sharp racial divides, An Image to Die For is a crime thriller perfect for fans of S.A. Cosby and Walter Mosley."
"Mike Phillips is one of Welsh rugby's most decorated players. With multiple Grand Slams and Lions tours under his belt, he was revered all over the world for his aggressive, in-your-face style of play. Off the field, his early years were littered with controversy and scandal as he wrestled with the new-found fame that success brought. In this brutally honest, tell-all autobiography, Mike reveals his run-ins with the police on the streets of Cardiff, what really went on inside the Wales and Lions dressing rooms and the truth behind that fateful night outside McDonald’s, when a scrape with a bouncer saw him hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons on the eve of a World Cup training camp. He also discusses the personal turmoil that, at times, engulfed him and how he was able to block it all out to become one of the best players in the world. Phillips opens up about every aspect of his much talked about career, from the many glorious highs to struggling with fame, coping with pressure, dealing with rejection and retirement while ultimately finding personal peace and happiness. He lifts the lids on his relationship with Warren Gatland and talks about the big characters in the dressing room, from Sam Warburton to Dan Carter. Mike Phillips: Half Truths – My Triumphs, My Mistakes, My Untold Story is a no-holds barred account of a rugby life lived to the full, revealing the real man behind the legend."
