Search results for ""Author Simon""

Tawcester Towers, the family seat of the Lyminster family, has suffered an unwelcome injection of distant cousins, so distant that they aren't even British! Count Igor and Count Lyudmilla Bashusky had to flee Russia after the Revolution and have spent the intervening years building up debts in the hotels of Europe's capitals and sponging off ever more exasperated (and distant) relatives.The Bashusky's arrival at Tawcester Towers causes a stir, and it's up to Blotto and Twinks, that indefatigable duo, to provide a solution to get them back to Russia. Reversing the Russian Revolution and getting a Tsar back into St Petersburg's Winter Palace is just the sort of challenge the fiercely bright Twinks relishes, though her dim-witted brother Blotto shows less aptitude for the subtleties of international politics, despite his commendable bravery.The siblings soon find themselves in Berlin to try and broker a meeting with the White Russian community, and swiftly become embroiled in a world of spies, counterspies, conspiracies and counter-conspiracies. Just when things seem to be looking up, little do Blotto and Twinks realise that their plans are being monitored by the spymaster Fyodor Vlachko, a former worker on the Bushusky's estate who has now risen to a senior post in the secret police of the newly-formed Soviet Union . . .

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Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a man fated for conquest and tied to the island of Britannia. He cut his teeth on military command during the revolt of Boudicca, later commanded a legion against the warlike Brigantes and was finally given the governorship of the province and was able to lead the armies north, incorporating into the empire the wild northern lands that had remained unclaimed for three decades. He broke the back of the Scottish tribes at Mons Graupius and achieved what no other Roman ever managed. Agricola had a settled Britannia in his hands, only to be removed and see it evaporate without him. Agricola’s biography was written by his son-in-law Tacitus, and his life has otherwise never been examined in detail. Here, using the archaeological record and contemporary accounts to compare with Tacitus, we work to uncover the truth about the man who made Roman Britain. Was Tacitus an unreliable narrator?

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Southdown Motor Services, the well-known and respected bus and coach operator based on the south coast, ran buses and coaches in a delightful green and cream livery that is still fondly remembered today. Here, Simon Stanford looks at Southdown from the sixties up to their purchase by Stagecoach in 1989, with a variety of different brandings on show, exhibiting a variety of rare looks for the company’s fleet. With a wealth of previously unpublished images, Stanford’s collection of images is both nostalgic and enlightening and will appeal to any fan of Southdown buses or the history of independent British buses.

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Roger Bushell was 'Big X', mastermind of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, immortalised in the Hollywood film The Great Escape.Very little was known about Bushell until 2011, when his family donated his private papers - a treasure trove of letters, photographs and diaries - to the Imperial War Museum. Through exclusive access to this material - as well as fascinating new research from other sources - Simon Pearson, Chief Night Editor of The Times, has now written the first biography of this iconic figure. Born in South Africa in 1910, Roger Bushell was the son of a British mining engineer. By the age of 29, this charismatic character who spoke nine languages had become a London barrister with a reputation for successfully defending those much less fortunate than him. He was also renowned as an international ski champion and fighter pilot with a string of glamorous girlfriends. On 23 May, 1940, his Spitfire was shot down during a dogfight over Boulogne after destroying two German fighters. From then on his life was governed by an unquenchable desire to escape from Occupied Europe.Over the next four years he made three escapes, coming within 100 yards of the Swiss border during his first attempt. His second escape took him to Prague where he was sheltered by the Czech resistance for eight months before he was captured. The three months of savage interrogation in Berlin by the Gestapo that followed made him even more determined. Prisoner or not, he would do his utmost to fight the Nazis. His third (and last escape) destabilised the Nazi leadership and captured the imagination of the world.He died on 29 March 1944, murdered on the explicit instructions of Adolf Hitler.Simon Pearson's revealing biography is a vivid account of war and love, triumph and tragedy - one man's attempt to challenge remorseless tyranny in the face of impossible odds.

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'Football history at its best' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY'Hugely moving... a very good book indeed' FOUR FOUR TWO'Kuper is an original, sophisticated and adventurous writer. The story he has to tell... is fascinating and pressing' SUNDAY TIMESIn FOOTBALL AGAINST THE ENEMY Simon Kuper crossed the globe in search of the links between football, politics and culture. In AJAX, THE DUTCH, THE WAR he skilfully pieces together an alternative account of World War II. He looks at the lives of the footballers who played for the Dutch club, the officials and the ordinary fans during this tumultuous period and challenges the accepted notion of the War in occupied Europe. With almost 80 per cent of Amsterdam's Jewish Corner wiped out during the war, the long-held belief that, by and large, half the Dutch population had some kind of link to the Resistance has, of late, come into question. Kuper explores this issue and looks deeper into the role of football across Europe in the years both preceding and following the War. The result is a compelling and controversial account of the War, seen through the lens of football.

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Newcastle, which lies on the north bank of the River Tyne, has been a major city in the north-east of England since the Middle Ages. The stone castle, from which it derives its name, still stands, and the city first became prosperous because of its coal trade, later developing as a centre for shipbuilding and other heavy engineering. Newcastle has retained much of its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fabric while developing itself as a modern city in recent decades. Heavy industry has declined but the city has regenerated many areas, as well as building exciting new developments, attracting many to this thriving city. For those who are proud to live in Newcastle, as well as those visiting, this book is a must. Look through these photographs and you will quickly see why this city has such enduring appeal.

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In recent years, there has been no issue that has convulsed academia and its role in society more stridently than the personal politics of its institutions: who has access to education? How does who you are change what you study and how you engage with it? How does scholarship reflect the politics of society – how should it? These new essays from one of the best-known scholars of ancient Greece offer a refreshing and provocative contribution to these discussions. What Is a Jewish Classicist? analyses how the personal voice of a scholar plays a role in scholarship, how religion and cultural identity are acted out within an academic discipline, and how translation, the heart of any engagement with the literature of antiquity, is a transformational practice. Topical, engaging, revelatory, this book opens a sharp and personal perspective on how and why the study of antiquity has become such a battlefield in contemporary culture. The first essay looks at how academics can and should talk about themselves, and how such positionality affects a scholar’s work – can anyone can tell his or her own story with enough self-consciousness, sophistication and care? The second essay, which gives the book its title, takes a more socio-anthropological approach to the discipline, and asks how its patterns of inclusion and exclusion, its strategies of identification and recognition, have contributed to the shape of the discipline of classics. This initial enquiry opens into a fascinating history of change – how Jews were excluded from the discipline for many years but gradually after the Second World war became more easily assimilated into it. This in turn raises difficult questions for the current focus on race and colour as the defining aspects of personal identification, and about how academia reflects or contributes to the broader politics of society. The third essay takes a different historical approach and looks at the infrastructure or technology of the discipline through one of its integral and time-honoured practices, namely, translation. It discusses how translation, far from being a mere technique, is a transformational activity that helps make each classicist what they are. Indeed, each generation needs its own translations as each era redefines its relation to antiquity.

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* Don't miss 'THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH' TV SERIES - now streaming on Paramount+ * Adapted from The Chemistry of Death and Written in Bone - starring Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter'Atmospheric . . . a tense, gripping read' Sunday Times It's not the dead we need to fear. . . Top forensics expert Dr David Hunter is facing an uncertain future - his career hangs in the balance and his personal life has taken a turn for the worse. So when he gets a call from Essex police, it comes at the perfect time.A badly decomposed body has been found in the mudflats and salt marshes of the Backwaters. Could it be linked to two unsolved missing-person cases?But as these desolate wetlands begin to give up their grisly secrets, more remains are discovered.With its eerie, claustrophobic sense of place, authentic forensics and explosive, heart-in-mouth moments, The Restless Dead is a masterclass in crime fiction.

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Simon Schama brings Britain to life through its portraits, as seen in the five-part BBC series The Face of Britain and the major National Portrait Gallery exhibitionChurchill and his painter locked in a struggle of stares and glares; Gainsborough watching his daughters run after a butterfly; a black Othello in the nineteenth century; the poet-artist Rossetti trying to capture on canvas what he couldn't possess in life; a surgeon-artist making studies of wounded faces brought in from the Battle of the Somme; a naked John Lennon five hours before his death.In the age of the hasty glance and the selfie, Simon Schama has written a tour de force about the long exchange of looks from which British portraits have been made over the centuries: images of the modest and the mighty; of friends and lovers; heroes and working people. Each of them - the image-maker, the subject, and the rest of us who get to look at them - are brought unforgettably to life. Together they build into a collective picture of Britain, our past and our present, a look into the mirror of our identity at a moment when we are wondering just who we are. Combining his two great passions, British history and art history, for the first time, Schama's extraordinary storytelling reveals the truth behind the nation's most famous portrayals of power, love, fame, the self, and the people. Mesmerising in its breadth and its panache, and beautifully illustrated, with more than 150 images from the National Portrait Gallery, The Face of Britain will change the way we see our past - and ourselves.

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* Don't miss 'THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH' TV SERIES - now streaming on Paramount+ * Adapted from The Chemistry of Death and Written in Bone - starring Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter'As bone-chillingly bleak as its subject . . . this doesn't disappoint' Financial TimesA serial killer is on the loose and David Hunter suddenly finds that the past is far from dead and buried. The escape of a psychotic rapist and multiple murderer brings DI Terry Connor to David Hunter's doorstep, years after their bitter rift.This unwelcome reminder of the past forces Hunter to confront the situation at hand: eight years earlier Hunter and an ill-fated Body Recovery team, has tried to find the graves of Monk's teenage victims on the bleak expanse of Dartmoor.Only one of the missing girls' bodies was ever found. Suddenly Hunter receives an appeal from Sophie Keller, a young woman who also worked on the operation, and nothing is quite as it seems. Hunter is forced to question who he can really trust.Especially when his own life depends on it.

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Shhh . Did you know there is a secret Language of Leadership: a timeless set of cues and signals that still determines who reaches the top in politics and business today. The ancient Greeks were the first to study the art of communication 2,500 years ago. It is only now, with recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, that we can say for sure what works and how. In Winning Minds, top speechwriter Simon Lancaster blends ancient rhetoric and neuroscience to create the definitive guide to the Language of Leadership. With trust in business and political leaders at record lows, there's never been a better time for a fresh perspective on communication. Winning Minds is packed with insights into the effects of metaphors, stories, and sound bites on the brain. We know what the brain looks like on heroin. This book shows the brain on Branson, Obama, and Boris.

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If the laws of nature are fine-tuned for life, can we infer other universes with different laws? How could we even test such a theory without empirical access to those distant places? Can we believe in the multiverse of the Everett interpretation of quantum theory or in the reality of other possible worlds, as advocated by philosopher David Lewis? At the intersection of physics and philosophy of science, this book outlines the philosophical challenge to theoretical physics in a measured, well-grounded manner. The origin of multiverse theories are explored within the context of the fine-tuning problem and a systematic comparison between the various different multiverse models are included. Cosmologists, high energy physicists, and philosophers including graduate students and researchers will find a systematic exploration of such questions in this important book.

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IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROME!BROTHERS IN BLOOD is the unputdownable thirteenth novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Eagles of the Empire series. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell. Praise for Simon Scarrow's compelling novels: 'Gripping and moving' The TimesThe Roman Empire's conquest of Britannia is under threat from within. A messenger on the streets of Rome has been intercepted and tortured, revealing a plot to sabotage the Roman army's campaign against Caratacus, commander of Britannia's native tribes. A treacherous agent's mission is to open a second front of attack against them and eliminate the two Roman soldiers who could stand in the way.Unwarned, Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro are with the Roman army pursuing Caratacus and his men through the mountains of Britannia. Defeating Caratacus seems within their grasp. But the plot against the two heroes threatens not only their military goals but also their lives.Includes 2 maps and Roman army organisation chart.

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A STUNNING SECOND WORLD WAR THRILLER SET IN OCCUPIED GREECE FROM THE AUTHOR OF BLACKOUT AND DEAD OF NIGHTThe fierce courage of the men and women of the Greek Resistance is brought to vivid life in Sunday Times bestseller Simon Scarrow's powerful novel. 'Gripping... [a] moving narrative of friendships broken by war and betrayal' Sunday Times* 'Compulsively readable . . . A moving tribute to Greek resistance during the Second World War' Clare Mulley* 'So startlingly good, so utterly readable . . . Simon Scarrow has done it again: another barnstorming book' Manda Scott1938. A perfect summer on the Greek island of Lefkas for three young people untroubled by the simmering politics of Europe. Peter, visiting from Germany while his father leads an archaeological dig, has become close friends with locals Andreas and Eleni. As the world slides towards conflict and Peter is forced to leave, they swear to meet again.1943. Andreas and Eleni have joined the partisan forces resisting the German invasion. Peter has returned - now a dangerously well-informed enemy intelligence officer. A friendship formed in peace will turn into a desperate battle between enemies sworn to sacrifice everything for the countries that they love . . .What readers are saying about Hearts of Stone:'I felt as though I was right there . . . in the fire fights between the andartes and their Italian and German foes''Fascinating and very enjoyable . . . Highly recommended''I couldn't put this book down''The usual blend of gripping plot with historical accuracy . . . another triumph from Scarrow''[Simon Scarrow] certainly understands the power of an action-packed narrative' Daily MailHAVE YOU READ DEAD OF NIGHT OR BLACKOUT YET? THE FIRST TWO CRIMINAL INSPECTOR SCHENKE THRILLERS, SET IN WORLD WAR II BERLIN. AVAILABLE NOW.

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FIRE AND SWORD is the unputdownable third novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Wellington and Napoleon Quartet. A must read for fans of Robert Harris.1804. Napoleon Bonaparte is Emperor of France, his ultimate aim: to rule Europe. After defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar, he wins a glorious victory against Austria at Austerlitz. He then deposes the Spanish king and places his own brother on the throne. But he is yet to triumph over his most hated enemy: Great Britain.Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington) throws himself into the British campaign in Europe. After glory in Portugal, he commands the army in a series of triumphant battles across Spain. For those living reluctantly under French rule, his victories suggest that Napoleon's progress is not inexorable: freedom can be restored...

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Thirty years ago, a social movement helped bring down one of the most powerful British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century. For the 30th anniversary of the Poll Tax rebellion, Simon Hannah looks back on those tumultuous days of resistance, telling the story of the people that beat the bailiffs, rioted for their rights and defied a government. Starting in Scotland where the 'Community Charge' was first trialled, Can't Pay, Won't Pay immerses the reader in the gritty history of the rebellion. Amidst the drama of large scale protests and blockaded estates a number of key figures and groups emerge: Neil Kinnock and Tommy Sheridan; Militant, Class War and the Metropolitan Police. Assessing this legacy today, Hannah demonstrates the centrality of the Poll Tax resistance as a key chapter in the history of British popular uprisings, Labour Party factionalism, the anti-socialist agenda and failed Tory ideology.

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From petticoat duels and lucky cats to the Stiffs Express, Lord Nelson's spare nose, the Piccadilly earthquake and the Great Beer Flood of 1814, A Curious Guide to London takes you on a captivating, wildly entertaining tour of the city you think you know, unearthing the capital's secrets and commemorating its rich, colourful and unusual history. Brimming with tales of London's forgotten past, its strangest traditions and its most eccentric inhabitants, this book celebrates the unique, the unusual and the unknown. Perfect for tourists, day-trippers, commuters and the millions of people who call London home, this alternative guidebook will make you look at the city in a whole new light.

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In Men in White Suits, Simon Hughes meets some of the most colourful characters to have played for Liverpool Football Club during the 1990s. The resulting interviews, set against the historical backdrop of both the club and the city, deliver a rich portrait of life at Anfield during a decade when on-field frustrations were symptomatic of off-the-field mismanagement and ill-discipline. After the shock resignation of Dalglish and Graeme Souness's ill-fated reign, the Reds – under the stewardship of Roy Evans – displayed a breathtaking style led by a supremely talented young group of British players whose names featured as regularly on the front pages of the tabloids as they did on the back. The Daily Mail was the first newspaper to tag Evans’s team as the Spice Boys. Yet despite their flaws, this was a rare group of individuals: mavericks, playboys, goal-scorers and luckless defenders. Wearing off-white Armani suits, their confident personalities were exemplified in their pre-match walk around Wembley before the 1996 FA Cup final (a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United).In stark contrast to the media-coached, on-message interviews given by today’s top stars, the blunt, ribald and sometimes cutting recollections of the footballers featured in Men in White Suits provide a rare insight into this fascinating era in Liverpool’s long and illustrious history.

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Haykin and Van Veen have designed Signals and Systems to be appropriate for both one- and two-semester sophomore-junior versions of the Signals and Systems course. The book's integrated, balanced treatment of continuous- and discrete-time forms of signals and systems is both a reflection of the topics' real roles in engineering practice and a clear, practical way of introducing the large range of topics covered by the course. Already known for its extensive example and problem sets, the Second Edition has added even more examples and problems. All chapters have been revised to improve clarity and organization.

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Summerskill on Laytime , a key and established title in this specialist field, comprehensively covers laytime and demurrage under English law. Ideal for practitioners in the field, this title presents the principles behind laytime, the standard clauses, interruptions, suspensions, demurrage, detention and dispatch. The seventh edition updates the text to take account of key case law, including: The Court of Appeal decisions in Limbungan v Classic Maritime and in K Line v Priminds (The Eternal Bliss) At first instance, in The Aconcagua Bay the “always accessible” clause has been held to cover leaving a berth as well as entering it, contrary to what had previously been decided by the tribunal in London Arbitration 11/97.

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Amongst the ancient papyri of the Dead Sea, a remarkable scroll is discovered. Written in the first century AD, it purports to be the true account of the life of Jesus, as told by Youdas the sicarios - Judas Iscariot: the missing Gospel of Judas. If authentic, it will be one of the most incendiary documents in the history of humankind. The task of proving - or disproving - its validity falls to Father Leo Newman, one of the world's leading experts in Koine, the demotic Greek of the Roman Empire, and a man the newspapers like to call a 'renegade priest'. But as Leo absorbs himself in Judas' testimony, the stories of his own life haunt him. The story of his forbidden yet irresistible love for a married woman. The story of his mother's passionate and tragic affair amidst the war-time ruins of Rome. They are stories of love and betrayal that may threaten his faith just as deeply as the Gospel of Judas...With a dramatic narrative that spans from the Europe of the Second World War to Jerusalem two thousand years after Jesus' birth, THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS is a compelling and erudite thriller.

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'A proper heartpounding thriller' Sun, Book of the Week'Compelling and infused with a simmering tension' Sarah Pearse, The Sanatorium 'A taut pacy murder mystery' Imran Mahmood, You Don't Know Me FOUR FRIENDS. ONE MURDER. A GAME THEY CAN'T ESCAPE----------'It was only a game'... Until a boy went missing. 'No one was meant to get hurt'... But a body has been found. 'Just some innocent fun'... Except one of them is a killer. Ready or not, here I come. It's time to play hide and seek again. THE WHISPER MAN meets THE GUEST LIST in this gripping story; DI Fleet is up against some of the most powerful people in the country as he attempts to discover the truth about what happened on the day of the game... ---------- Praise for The Hiding Place 'A terrifyingly tense thriller that takes you to the darkest places of the human heart' Elly Griffiths, The Locked Room 'This book delivers on its premise and then some... both compelling and beautifully written and infused with a simmering tension - I couldn't stop turning the pages!' SARAH PEARSE, The Sanatorium 'A great police procedural . . . a gripping, breathless denouement' HARRIET TYCE, Blood Orange 'Another totally thrilling page-turner. Masterful writing about teenage insecurity again, with a plot that twists and turns in to such a dramatic conclusion' ARAMINTA HALL, Hidden Depths 'Tense, full of misdirection & beautifully written' GILLY MACMILLAN, The Nanny 'A dark and disturbing thriller right up to the heart-stopping finale. A must read' MICHAEL WOOD author of Survivor's Guilt 'Lelic's best yet. As beautifully crafted as ever, and builds layer upon layer of tension' CARA HUNTER, The Whole Truth 'A gripping crime thriller with a countdown to murder' STEVE CAVANAGH, Fifty Fifty Praise for Simon Lelic 'What a read! It's proper clever. Loved it' STUART TURTON, The Devil and the Dark Water 'A bloody good read and the very definition of unpredictable. Twisty, creepy, brilliantly paced and with a denouement I never saw coming' JOHN MARRS, What Lies Between Us 'Clever and atmospheric' MARK EDWARDS, The Hollows

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Discover the architectural gems that are Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations in this Sunday Times top 10 bestseller'This is a cracker . . . a beautiful book' Chris EvansIt is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station.Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best railway stations. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences - including his founding the Railway Heritage Trust - the foremost expert on our national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of our social history shows the station's role in the national imagination; champions the engineers, architects and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the triumphs and follies of these very British creations. These are the marvellous, often undersung places that link our nation, celebrated like never before.'However spectacular the book's photographs, it's the author's prowess as a phrase-maker that keeps you turning the pages' The Times'An uplifting exploration of our social history' Guardian

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With Jedi Master Yoda as your guide, visit the incredible planets of a brick-built galaxy far, far away. Take a tour of 25 fascinating worlds, from desert planet Tatooine to remote ice world Hoth. Head off the familiar tourist track to Crait, or explore Yoda's own swamp hideout on Dagobah.Discover the must sees. Check out reviews and what to pack. Find out who you might bump into along the way!The exclusive Yoda minifigure comes with four accessories - a staff, a backpack, a camera, and a map of the galaxy - everything Yoda needs for his adventures!©2021 The LEGO Group. © & ™ 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd.

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Get to grips with set texts and be fully prepared for the AS/A Level exam with the Modern Languages Oxford Literature Companions. The Companions are written by experienced lecturers, teachers and examiners and provide comprehensive coverage of characters, themes, plot, language and context with activities in French to consolidate your knowledge of the text. There are also extensive sections on exam preparation and response planning, with a bank of annotated sample answers and practice questions. This guide covers L'étranger by Albert Camus. Modern Languages Oxford Literature Companions are also available for selected Spanish and German set texts.

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This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them. Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important. Simon Blackburn begins by putting forward a convincing case for the study of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein have approached its central themes. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that philosophers have studied. The large scope of topics covered range from scepticism, the self, mond and body, and freedom to ethics and the arguments surrounding the existence of God. Lively and approachable, this book is ideal for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our existence.

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It is not only in our dark hours that scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism dog ethics. Whether it is a matter of giving to charity, or sticking to duty, or insisting on our rights, we can be confused, or be paralysed by the fear that our principles are groundless. Many are afraid that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive. Simon Blackburn, author of the best-selling Think, structures this short introduction around these and other threats to ethics. Confronting seven different objections to our self-image as moral, well-behaved creatures, he charts a course through the philosophical quicksands that often engulf us. Then, turning to problems of life and death, he shows how we should think about the meaning of life, and how we should mistrust the sound-bite sized absolutes that often dominate moral debates. Finally he offers a critical tour of the ways the philosophical tradition has tried to provide foundations for ethics, from Plato and Aristotle through to contemporary debates.

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In his best-selling Strictly English Simon Heffer explained how to write and speak our language well. In Simply English he offers an entertaining and supremely useful A–Z guide to frequent errors, common misunderstandings and stylistic howlers. What is the difference between amend and emend, between imply and infer, and between uninterested and disinterested? When should one put owing to rather than due to? Why should the temptation to write actually, basically or at this moment in time always be strenuously resisted? How does one use an apostrophe correctly, ensure that one understands what alibi really means, and avoid the perils of the double negative?With articles on everything from punctuation to tabloid English to adverbs and adjectives, Simply English is the essential companion for anyone who cares about the language and wants to use it correctly.

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In One-Man Band, the third volume in his epic survey of Orson Welles’ life and work, Simon Callow again probes in comprehensive and penetrating detail into one of the most complex artists of the twentieth century, looking closely at the triumphs and failures of an ambitious one-man assault on one medium after another – theatre, radio, film, television, even, at one point, ballet – in each of which his radical and original approach opened up new directions and hitherto unglimpsed possibilities.The book begins with Welles’ self-exile from America, and his realisation that he could only function happily as an independent film-maker, a one-man band; by 1964, he had filmed Othello, which took three years to complete, Mr Arkadin, the biggest conundrum in his output, and his masterpiece Chimes at Midnight, as well as Touch of Evil, his sole return to Hollywood and, like all too many of his films, wrested from his grasp and re-edited. Along the way he made inroads into the fledgling medium of television and a number of stage plays, including Moby-Dick, considered by theatre historians to be one of the seminal productions of the century. Meanwhile, his private life was as dramatic as his professional life. The book shows what it was like to be around Welles, and, with a precision rarely attempted before, what it was like to be him, in which lies the answer to the old riddle: whatever happened to Orson Welles?

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A brilliant biography of the young Orson Welles, from his prodigious childhood and youth, his triumphs with the Mercury Theatre, to the making of Citizen Kane. Vivid, vastly entertaining, this is the definitive Welles biography.

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Little bigger than a fingernail, Celtic Coins are one of the richest sources of Celtic art in the world, and yet few people are even aware that they exist. With their strange otherworldly designs they evoke a forgotten time of magical beasts, amulets, druids and spirit helpers. In this extraordinary pocket volume, incredibly the first of its kind, Celtic coin artist and researcher Simon Lilly unveils the amazing lost world of early European art hidden in museums and private collections across the planet. With hundreds of original drawings by the author. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

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From the acclaimed author of Rewild Yourself comes a brilliant book that reveals the natural joys to be discovered on your doorstep. In the autumn of 2020, Simon Barnes should have been leading a safari in Zambia, but Covid restrictions meant his plans had to be put on hold. Instead, he embarked on the only voyage of discovery that was still open to him. He walked to a folding chair at the bottom of his garden, and sat down. His itinerary: to sit in that very same spot every day for a year and to see - and hear - what happened all around him. It would be a stationary garden safari; his year of sitting dangerously had begun. For the next twelve months, he would watch as the world around him changed day by day. Gradually, he began to see his surroundings in a new way; by restricting himself, he opened up new horizons, growing even closer to a world he thought he already knew so well.The Year of Sitting Dangerously is a wond

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An explosive, fast-paced espionage thriller for fans of Frank Gardner and Mick Herron.Dark and twisted, A Time to Lie is a tense and timely novel' Adam HamdyA pulse-pounding thrill-ride' Chris WhitakerA LONG-BURIED BODY.On the morning of the Tory Party conference, the bones of a young woman's hand are discovered in a London building site.A DIVISIVE PRIME MINISTER. Prime Minister Robin Sandford is accused of killer her. With his career on the brink of ruin, he enlists the unofficial help of MI5. A decision which leads him into a new world of espionage, mass executions and murder.A PLOT TO BRING HIM DOWNThe deeper he goes, the more treacherous the game becomes. And if he fails to expose the truth, the whole country will pay the priceA pulse-pounding thrill-ride' Chris WhitakerDark and twisted, a tense and timely novel' Adam HamdyMasterful I was completely absorbed' Daily RecordBrims with tension' Sunday Post

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*Now available as a full-length novel! Originally published in five ebook parts*AD 18, Britannia.The Roman Empire rules much of the known world. Beyond the northern frontier lies Britannia, where ceaseless feuding amongst the Celts leaves the island vulnerable to Rome's ambitions.Caratacus, son of a powerful king, has no premonition of destiny when he is dispatched to train with the Druids. A brutal regime transforms the young prince into a warrior with unparalleled military skills - and the strategic cunning essential to outwit a stronger enemy.Nothing can prepare a man for the vicious reality of war. When Caratacus's father takes a stand against aggressive neighbouring tribes, the combat exercises are over; this is a fight to the death. Only the most ruthless of tactics offer any hope of victory. But Caratacus, and the loyal comrades willing to ride with him into hostile terrain, are ready to do whatever it takes - and endure any hardship - to defeat those set on destroying their kingdom . . .As mayhem and carnage spread across the land, everywhere can be felt the malign influence of Rome. Even if the battle is won, conflict with the Empire lies ahead.Warrior: first in the brand new Warlord of Britannia series from the Sunday Times bestselling authors of Invader and Pirata - the story of Britannia's barbarian warlord Caratacus.Originally published in 5 ebook novellas

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‘This splendid and often moving work of history… Schama has a gift for combining novelistically colourful detail, serious analysis and wryly amusing asides’ Daily Telegraph ‘Superb’ Observer ‘Extraordinary… A meticulous retelling of a terrible yet scientifically innovative period… Makes an urgent case for building a better future on our toxic past’ Guardian ‘This is history of the best sort – humanly engaged but never sentimental’ Mail on Sunday Cities and countries engulfed by panic and death, desperate for vaccines but fearful of what inoculation may bring. This is what the world has just gone through with Covid-19. But as Simon Schama shows in his epic history of vulnerable humanity caught between the terror of contagion and the ingenuity of science, it has happened before. Characteristically, with Schama the message is delivered through gripping, page-turning stories set in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: smallpox strikes London; cholera hits Paris; plague comes to India. Threading through the scenes of terror, suffering and hope – in hospitals and prisons, palaces and slums – are an unforgettable cast of characters: a philosopher-playwright burning up with smallpox in a country chateau; a vaccinating doctor paying house calls in Halifax; a woman doctor in south India driving her inoculator-carriage through the stricken streets as dead monkeys drop from the trees. But we are also in the labs when great, life-saving breakthroughs happen, in Paris, Hong Kong and Mumbai. At the heart of it all, an unsung hero: Waldemar Haffkine. A gun-toting Jewish student in Odesa turned microbiologist at the Pasteur Institute, hailed in England as ‘the saviour of mankind’ for vaccinating millions against cholera and bubonic plague in British India while being cold-shouldered by the medical establishment of the Raj. Creator of the world’s first mass production line of vaccines in Mumbai, he is tragically brought down in an act of shocking injustice. Foreign Bodies crosses borders between east and west, Asia and Europe, the worlds of rich and poor, politics and science. Its thrilling story carries with it the credo of its author on the interconnectedness of humanity and nature; of the powerful and the people. Ultimately, Schama says, as we face the challenges of our times together, ‘there are no foreigners, only familiars’.

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Welcome to Kyrzbekistan, winner of Most Corrupt Country 2011 and 2012. A place where anyone can be happy - as long they aren't poor, ill, foreign, a pedestrian, or in any way interested in the truth. A country that takes fake news and false promises to new levels. Expelled from school, Ellis Dau has been forced to help his father out at the Chronicle, the last bastion of free speech in this strange world. But when the country's power supply fails and dark voices threaten the Chronicle's future, Ellis finds himself in an unlikely fight for freedom.'I loved this rollercoaster of a ride into a corrupt, fictitious country that feels only too hideously real' Deborah Moggach, author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

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WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO SAVE YOUR LOVED ONE?AND DO YOU KNOW WHO SHE REALLY IS?'Great plots, great characters, great action' LEE CHILD'Simon Kernick writes with his foot pressed hard on the pedal' HARLAN COBENThey took your fiancée.They framed you for murder.You're given one chance to save her. To clear your name.You must kill someone for them.They give you the time and place.The weapon. The target.You have less than 24 hours.You only know that no-one can be trusted...and nothing is what it seems.'A fast, furious and unpredictable read' The Sun Book of the Week'That thud you hear is Kernick whipping the rug from under your feet again.' The Times Best thrillers of the month'An absolute master of the adrenaline-fuelled ride' PETER JAMES'One of Britain's top thriller writers' The Sun

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A quick trip to the capital goes horribly wrong when Blotto and Twinks get accidentally involved in London's criminal underworld . . .It starts innocently enough at the intimate review 'absolutely everyone is talking about', Light and Frothy, where its glamorous star, Frou Frou Gavotte, has rather taken the fancy of Blotto's school friend Giles 'Whiffler' Trumpington. But while Blotto and Whiffler wait for the star outside the theatre to take her to dinner, Whiffler is seized and manhandled into the back of a cab which then drives off into the night . . . Leaving Blotto with the problem of how to rescue his kidnapped schoolmate.Naturally, he enlists Twinks's help and the two of them encounter actors, singers, impresarios, revue writers, cockney showgirls and Scotland Yard's finest - and white slave traders, who succeed in abducting Twinks - leaving it up to Blotto and his trusty chauffeur, Corky Froggett, to rescue her before she's shipped off to foreign parts forever . . .Praise for Simon Brett'A new Simon Brett is an event for mystery fans' P. D. James'Murder most enjoyable' Colin Dexter'One of British crime's most assured craftsmen . . . Crime writing just like in the good old days, and perfect entertainment' Guardian'Few crime writers are so enchantingly gifted' Sunday Times'Simon Brett writes stunning detective stories. I would recommend them to anyone' Jilly Cooper

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The assassination of a Treadstone agent leads two Blackbriar operatives down a rabbit hole of deceit and betrayal in this explosive new series from the world of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne. A car explodes on a quiet Prague side street – and among the dead is an undercover Treadstone agent. It's not unusual for such men to meet their fates on an operation, but in this case there's one catch: none of the agent's superiors knows why he was there. Two Blackbriar operatives, Helen Jouvert and Donovan Wade, are sent to investigate. Their search for answers will take them deeper into the world of conspiracy and fake news than they ever expected. Treadstone and Blackbriar, intelligence and counter-intelligence, may be two sides of the same coin, but they have one thing in common: answers can be the deadliest commodity of all. Reviewers on Simon Gervais: 'Thriller writing at its level best' Providence Journal 'Non-stop action meets relentless suspense' The Real Book Spy

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Maps fascinate us. They chart our understanding of the world and they log our progress, but above all they tell our stories. From the early sketches of philosophers and explorers through to Google Maps and beyond, Simon Garfield examines how maps both relate and realign our history. With a historical sweep ranging from Ptolemy to Twitter, Garfield explores the legendary, impassable (and non-existent) mountains of Kong, the role of cartography in combatting cholera, the 17th-century Dutch craze for Atlases, the Norse discovery of America, how a Venetian monk mapped the world from his cell and the Muppets' knack of instant map-travel. Along the way are pocket maps of dragons, Mars, murders and more, with plenty of illustrations and prints to signpost the route. From the bestselling and widely-adored author of Just My Type, On The Map is a witty and irrepressible examination of where we've been, how we got there and where we're going.

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From the acclaimed author of Rewild Yourself comes a brilliant new book that reveals the natural joys to be discovered on your doorstep. In the autumn of 2020, Simon Barnes should have been leading a safari in Zambia, but Covid restrictions meant his plans had to be put on hold. Instead, he embarked on the only voyage of discovery that was still open to him. He walked to a folding chair at the bottom of his garden, and sat down. His itinerary: to sit in that very same spot every day for a year and to see - and hear - what happened all around him. It would be a stationary garden safari; his year of sitting dangerously had begun. For the next twelve months, he would watch as the world around him changed day by day. Gradually, he began to see his surroundings in a new way; by restricting himself, he opened up new horizons, growing even closer to a world he thought he already knew so well.The Year of Sitting Dangerously is a wonderfully evocative read; it inspires the reader to pay closer attention to the marvels that surround us all, and is packed with handy tips to help bring nature even closer to us.

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IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROME!THE EAGLE'S PREY is the thrilling fifth novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Eagles of the Empire series. A must read for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. Praise for Simon Scarrow's gripping historical novels: 'Ferocious and compelling' Daily ExpressBritannia, AD 44. The time has come to claim Britain for the Empire. Centurions Cato and Macro are preparing for what their leaders say will be the final battle against those natives refusing to accept the civilising force of Rome. The British savages will surely stand no chance against the might of the unstoppable Roman army.But young Cato is more concerned about hot-headed cohort commander, Maximius, than about the enemy, and with Roman troops being brutally slaughtered, even grizzled veteran Macro is having doubts about the promised ease of their success. Will they be victorious - or will the battle cost both of them more than they could ever imagine?

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One summer, Simon Armitage decided to walk the Pennine Way - a challenging 256-mile route usually approached from south to north, with the sun, wind and rain at your back. However, he resolved to tackle it back to front, walking home towards the Yorkshire village where he was born, travelling as a 'modern troubadour', without a penny in his pockets and singing for his supper with poetry readings in village halls, churches, pubs and living rooms. Walking Home describes his extraordinary, yet ordinary, journey of human endeavour, unexpected kindnesses and terrible blisters.The companion volume, Walking Away, is published in June 2015.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION'Utterly absorbing, cleverly constructed and beautifully written' The Times'Moving and exhilarating' Spectator 'Evokes the messiness and fragility of everyday life in the nineteenth century' Daily MailAlmost two hundred years ago, Abraham, an illiterate urchin, scavenges on a Suffolk beach and dreams of running away to sea ... Naomi, a seventeen-year-old seamstress, imagines a new life in the big city ... George, a private soldier of the 50th Regiment of Food, marries his Irish bride, Annie, in the cathedral in Manchester and together they face married life under arms. Now these people exist only in the bare bones of registers and census lists but they were once real enough.Simon Mawer puts flesh on our ancestors' bones to bring them to life and give them voice. There is birth and death; there is love, both open and legal but also hidden and illicit. Yet the thread that connects these disparate figures is something that they cannot have known - the unbreakable bond of family.

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'Hugely gripping' Mark Billingham, Rabbit Hole 'Heart-stopping Elly Griffiths, The Locked Room 'What a read!' Stuart Turton, The Devil and the Dark Water----------16-year-old Sadie Saunders is missing. Five friends set out into the woods to find her. But they're not just friends... THEY'RE SUSPECTS. You see, this was never a search party. It's a witch hunt. And not everyone will make it home alive... THE CHALK MAN meets THE HUNTING PARTY in this Observer, Thriller of the Month; witness four suspects as, alongside DI Fleet, you attempt to discover the truth about what happened to Sadie...---------- 'A bloody good read and the very definition of unpredictable ' John Marrs, Keep it in the Family 'Clever and atmospheric' Mark Edwards, No Place to Run 'A brilliantly tense tale' Araminta Hall, Hidden Depths 'A marvel: intricate, complex and utterly gripping' Alex Lake, Ready or Not 'Simon Lelic just gets better and better' Dervla Mctiernan, The Murder Rule 'A chillingly complex, well-crafted web' Jane Corry, We All Have Our Secrets 'A skilfully-woven mystery that oozes with tension' T M Logan, The Holiday 'Atmospheric and chilling. Fantastic read!' Carla Kovach, One Girl Missing

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Irresistible feasts to share and remember with family and friends from the ocean, fields and clifftops of Cornwall. Simon Stallard set up The Hidden Hut to huge critical acclaim in 2011. An outdoor restaurant in Cornwall, tucked down on a remote sandy beach with no road access and completely off grid. He cooks up huge atmospheric open-air feasts for their diners throughout the year. In 2017, over 22,000 people applied for just 600 covers over their summer season, with tickets selling out within minutes of release each month, making it the hottest restaurant ticket in the UK. Simon’s cooking techniques have become iconic in Cornwall – from fire pits in the sand to wind-chime fish smokers and wood-fired rotisseries – his feasts are influenced by the smouldering fires and field-to-fork Cornish produce that fill his outdoor beach kitchen. The Hidden Hut cookbook showcases inspiration for creating magical and memorable feasts. The recipes are adapted for the home cook and include delicious, achievable dishes for both small family meals and larger gatherings. Many of the recipes have the option to be cooked indoors conventionally or outdoors over fire. As well as sharing the feasts that made them so famous, there are further favourite Hidden Hut recipes for filling your flask with soups, chowders and spiced dhals, alfresco summer salads, warming winter braises and homely Cornish treats.

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