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When Fred Dibnah debuted on TV in 1979, British audiences immediately embraced a new cultural icon; a steeplejack from Bolton whose charm and wit was matched only by his down-to-earth manner. This look back at the life of Fred Dibnah collects the best of the stories, colourful tales recounting key moments in his life, his experiences as a steeplejack, his fascination with machinery, his work as an engineer, craftsman, inventor and steam enthusiast, and his forthright views on life in general, all told in his own words.

In January 1952, two young men from Buenos Aires set out to explore South America on a motorbike. One of them was 23-year-old Che Guevara. These are his diaries, full of disaster and discovery, high drama and low comedy. These extraordinary journals recount Che’s transformation into one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century and tell his tale, from the laddish improvisations of his youth to a final entry the day before his capture and execution.

Benazir Bhutto was seen as vital to Pakistan’s future. In exile for years, in late 2007 she felt the time had come to actively re-engage and return to the country she loved. Part of that process was a clear assessment of where Pakistan was, and of its relationship with the West, with Islam, and with extremism. In this important new book, completed just before her assassination, Ms Bhutto presents a convincing prescription for the country at the heart of the so-called ‘clash of civilizations’.

Richard Attenborough and Diana Hawkins have been friends and colleagues for nearly 50 years. They have now teamed up to write this frank and funny account of their unlikely partnership and his extraordinary life. Attenborough is the octogenarian celebrity peer, happily married since 1945, describing a lifetime of ceaseless activity as film star, director, producer, company chairman and indefatigable campaigner. Hawkins, 70, a twice divorced author and single parent who lived for a time on benefits, went on to become Attenborough’s publicist, business partner and, ultimately, his co-producer.

John’s childhood was a nightmare of neglect and beatings and when only nine, he was sold into prostitution on the streets. But a determination to escape his past gave John the courage to make a better life for himself and after training as a lawyer, he built a reputation for defending the criminals of Limerick when nobody else would. This is the extraordinary story of the hard choices one man made in his fight to recover himself.

What kind of a woman would sell her own child? A monster. Tess was just eleven years old when her mother sold her to a rich elderly man. Grace ran a brothel in Croydon and she plunged her young daughter into a terrifying world of sex and depravity. Grace was absolutely ruthless in her pursuit of money and had a toxic mix of low cunning and high ambition. Dangerous criminals visited the brothel every day, and Tess was exposed to things no little girl should see.

Sheila Hancock continues her story in this moving, honest and charming account of life without husband John Thaw. In this latest chapter of her life she faces down burglars and EasyJet staff, makes friends with waiters and taxi drivers, unearths secrets in Budapest and gets arrested in Thailand. Just Me is a book about moving on, but it is also about looking back, and looking anew. Honest, insightful and wonderfully down-to-earth this is the story of a woman seizing the future with wit, gusto and curiosity.

From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series presents pocket-sized biographies of Britain’s most fascinating and important characters. Following each life from childhood to death and exploring what it was that made them famous, the text includes up-to-date bibliographic references for further reading. Written by expert authors, these concise and authoritative biographies offer essential information as well as a fresh insight into those luminaries who have enlightened and enriched history, making the world what it is today.

This collection of Russell Brand’s columns for The Guardian not only follows the drama and tumult of the domestic and international football season but also a year in the life of one of our most celebrated comic talents. Russell chronicles events both on and off the pitch as he travels between Upton park and Hollywood as matches are won and lost and his faith in his beloved West Ham is tested, while the palette of company he keeps stretches from Morrissey to Gallagher to Gascoigne and back again. The Departure of Mourinho sparks reminiscences of the shapely bottom of a previous girlfriend while the fate of West Ham is seen in parallel with the workings of his legendary libido… A laugh-out-loud read for footie fans or Russell maniacs.

There’s more to chef James Martin than three-egg omelettes! For the first time, James talks frankly about life, love and learning to foxtrot for live TV. Highly ambitious and relentlessly motivated, it hasn’t all been a smooth ride and here James tells his remarkable story, looking back to his working class childhood in Yorkshire, relating the highs and lows of a career in the kitchen and revealing some of the astonishing events that have come with fame and fortune.