Search results for ""author iain"

Running’s Strangest Tales is a fascinating collection of weird and wonderful stories from the world of running, from the earliest marathon to today’s high-tech, apped-up approach. Within these pages you’ll find the bizarre story of the Norwegian footballer forced to miss a crucial World Cup qualifier after colliding with a moose on his morning jog, the American ultra-marathoner who had all his toenails removed to improve his running, and why some runners at the 2015 Tokyo marathon were wearing GPS-enabled, edible bananas, complete with LEDs and incoming Twitter updates. Packed with tales that are so odd you’ll hardly believe them, this book makes the perfect gift for all running enthusiasts, from the seasoned marathoner to the park jogger, and those who only ever run a bath. Word count: 45,000

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A quirky collection of true stories from the stranger side of the Tube, featuring ghost stations, eccentric stationmasters and the real story of what happens under London at night. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of London's Underground, or as it is affectionately referred to, the Tube. Though this isn’t the usual side of the Tube the tourists, travellers and residents see. (Though, of course, they do see a great deal of strangeness in their daily commutes!). This is the real Underground, the strange and twisted nooks and crannies of what happens hundreds of metres below millions of London legs – from its peculiar past through to its paranormal present and looking forward to its fascinating future. Following on from the bestselling Portico Strangest titles now comes a book devoted to London's globally envied, and much loved, public transport system. Located deep beneath the heart of Greater London, the Underground is awash with more strangeness than you can shake your pre-paid Oyster card at. In 2013 the whole city will be celebrating the Underground's 150th birthday – the oldest underground in the world. So, pack up your old kit bag and travel stop-by-stop with us on this strange and fantastic journey along the Northern, Picadilly, Metropolitan, Jubilee, Hammersmith and City and District Line … and explore the Underground as you've never seen it before. London Underground's Strangest Tales is a treasure trove of the humorous, the odd and the baffling – an alternative travel guide to the Underground's best-kept secrets. Read on, if you dare! You have been warned. Word Count: 35,000

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Placenames are a constant source of debate. Who was Edwin, whose name is said to live on in that of Scotland's capital city? Are the 'drum' and 'chapel' still to be found in Drumchapel? And which 'king' had a 'seat' in Kingseat in Perthshire? The answers to these and many similar questions are often not what might be expected at first sight and have their origins in many languages – including Gaelic, Pictish, Brythonic, Norse, Anglo-Saxon, Scots and Modern English – that have been spoken in Scotland. This is the essential companion to the fascinating world of Scottish placenames. It features more than 8,000 placenames, from districts, towns and villages to rivers, lochs and mountains, and also includes a comprehensive introduction and maps.

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Printed on stiff card, this book contains templates to cut out and construct a superb model of a Roman villa crammed with authentic detail. The base of the model measures 60 x 46cm.

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Although much has been written about Scottish involvement in slavery, the contribution of Scots to the abolition of black slavery has not yet been sufficiently recognised. This book starts with a Virginian slave seeking his freedomin Scotland in 1756 and ends with the abolition of the apprenticeship scheme in the West Indian colonies in 1838. Contemporary documents and periodicals reveal a groundswell of revulsion to what was described as "the horrible traffik in humans". Petitions to Parliament came from remote islands in Shetland as well as from large public meetings in cities. In a land steeped in religion, ministers and church leaders took the lead in giving theological support to the cause of abolition. The contributions of five London Scots who were pivotal to the campaign throughout Britain are set against opposition to abolition from many Scots with commercial interests in the slave trade and the sugar plantations. Missionaries and miners, trades guilds and lawyers all played their parts in challenging slavery. Many of their struggles and frustrations are detailed for the first time in an assessment of the unique contribution made by Scotland and the Scots to the destruction of an institution whose effects are still with us today.

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Sam Hunt is a confused modern male in his very late twenties. A work-shy, commitment-phobic would-be actor, he is beginning to worry that turning thirty might just be the last straw. Flatmate Alan, the sensible one, has just been proposed to by his girlfriend Jess, with his femme fatale boss looking on with a saucy gleam in her eye. Newly-dumped Ed spends his time tearfully watching 'Sex and the City' in a pile of his ex-girlfriend's pyjamas and plotting his revenge. Meanwhile unemployed doctor Matt embarks on a dubious bet with Sam to see who can be the first to ensnare a rich wife and enjoy a life of leisure... Are your carefree twenties a retreating memory? Are your friends discussing children and fixed-rate mortgages while you clutch your Xbox, sobbing? You're not the only one. Beta Male is a riotously funny and painfully honest chronicle about friendship, masculinity, marriage and the beginning of adulthood. PRAISE FOR TWENTY SOMETHING: ‘Funny, rude and entertaining... Will strike a chord with anyone who is, was, or will be a twenty something’ Danny Wallace ‘Wonderful… Hollingshead writes with the cynicism of many clever young men, but the passion of very few’ Matthew Parris, columnist for The Times 'A tasty dollop of British wit' Boston Globe ‘Excellent… a very entertaining romp’ Evening Standard 'Pure comic gold' Booklist ‘Sharp. Exceptionally observant and consistently amusing' Independent on Sunday ‘More than enough laughs for Hollingshead to stake a claim to being Tony Parsons for SW-something twenty-somethings’ Literary Review ‘Wildly entertaining and well-written – five stars’ Zoo

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'Twenty Something' introduces us to Jack Lancaster, who, at only 25 is far too young to be having a mid-life crisis, but who's going to have a pretty good shot at it anyway.

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Edinburgh, 1920. Three children are missing, abducted from the poorhouses of the city.When a body is found near the town of Liberton, Dr Thomas Stevenson, still suffering from the trauma of the First World War, finds himself drawn into the police investigation. But suspicion falls on the woman with the mysterious past who lives with Thomas. Could she be guilty of the brutal murder?With time running out and lives at stake, Thomas must prove her innocence, but to do that he has to find the real killer and unlock the truth about her secret past. A past that casts a long, dark shadow.

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‘Sometimes I wonder, if I had known that it was going to take me fourteen years to paint this painting of the Crucifixion with Douglas as Jesus, and what it would take for me to paint this painting, would I have been as happy as I was then?’ Susan Alison MacLeod, a Glasgow School of Art graduate with a dark sense of humour, first lays eyes on Douglas MacDougal at a party in 1988, and resolves to put him on the cross in the Crucifixion painting she’s been sketching out, but her desire to create ‘good’ art and a powerful, beautiful portrayal means that a final painting doesn’t see the light of day for fourteen years. Over the same years, Douglas’s ever-more elaborately designed urine-based installations bring him increasing fame, prizes and commissions, while his modelling for Susan Alison, who continues to work pain and suffering on to the canvas, takes place mostly in the shadows. This Good Book is a wickedly funny, brilliantly observed novel that spins the moral compass and plays with notions of creating art.

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This remarkable book, edited by one of the UK's leading political commentators, takes us on a deep dive through nearly 200 years of British political history in its most dramatic expression, the general election.

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Take your watercolor painting beyond the studio—learn how to effectively use color and light to capture mood, create atmosphere, and convey emotion on location. Geared for beginning artists, En Plein Air: Light & Color introduces a variety of techniques for on-location watercolor painting. Following a brief introduction to the basics of painting en plein air and an overview of the necessary tools and materials, you will learn how to choose a subject and paint a compelling outdoor composition using the subtleties of watercolor to create beautifully expressive subjects and themes. Other important topics include perspective, rendering the background and foreground, capturing both urban and pastoral landscapes, mastering color to convey weather and time of day, and much more. From choosing just the right subject to awaiting the perfect time of day, let En Plein Air: Light & Color guide you in your artistic travels as you explore this daring and expressive medium. Painting outdoors is a rewarding, peaceful experience full of joy, adventure, and persistence. Let the En Plein Air Series guide you in your artistic travels as you explore this daring and expressive method of painting, wherever you may be.

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Printed on stiff card, this book contains templates to cut out and construct a model of a Viking settlement crammed with authentic detail. The base of the completed model measures 61 x 46cm, and includes 16 houses with doors and windows that open to reveal the details inside, and two Viking trading ships. With over 40 cut-out figures including merchants, traders and townspeople to recreate scenes of everyday life in a bustling riverside settlement.

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Politics Home: Parliamentarians' Top Books for Christmas 2021'A must read for political geeks' - Saqib BhattiThere was a huge upsurge of global interest in US politics during the Trump presidency, culminating in the November 2020 election, the victory of the Democrat candidate Joe Biden and the subsequent, horrifying response in the storming of the US capitol. American politics is likely to remain deeply divided during the coming years, and also the focus of global attention - with Trump mobilising his base for 2024. But the transatlantic fascination with the role and office of the US President isn't new at all, and in fact reaches all the way back to the birth of the United States itself.The Presidents features essays, written by a range of academics, historians, political journalists and serving politicians, on all 46 American Presidents who have held the office over the last 250 years - from George Washington to Joe Biden. Each contributor has been carefully chosen based on expert knowledge of their subjects and personal connections, providing analysis of their subject's successes, failures and influence. Any hagiographical writing is shunned in favour of a 'warts and all' perspective on each President and the impact they've had on US politics - past, present and future.

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When the British Prime Minister announced a new warship was to be christened HMS London in 2018 it revived a name that is covered not only in glory but also tinged with controversy. In this vividly told narrative we voyage in the company of those whose fates have been intertwined with Londons in peace, war and even during mutiny. For the ship's companies of fighting vessels named HMS London have witnessed the highs and lows of British naval history spanning centuries. The epic story includes: an ill-fated encounter between wooden wall battleships off Chesapeake in 1781 - whose result arguably lost Britain its American colonies; the hell of the Gallipoli landings in the First World War; the disastrous PQ17 convoy of the Second World War; a valiant foray into the teeth of communist Chinese fire during the 1940s Yangtze Incident; leading the British naval task group in Operation Desert Storm; sailing into the Arctic on a mission to end the Cold War at sea as the 1991 hard-liners' coup in Moscow collapsed. This new edition offers enhanced and new imagery in addition to other fresh material, including a young officer's part in the climactic events of the Second World War in East Asia. We also learn how the London of Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II is offering up treasures from the murky waters of the Thames. A new final chapter looks at the next HMS London, which will be a futuristic City Class (Type 26) submarine hunter. It also considers the missions the new London will face amid great power rivalry on the oceans that sees an increasingly volatile face-off between the West and Russia with China.

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John Stone, a man so wealthy that in the years before World War One he was able to manipulate markets, industries and indeed whole countries and continents, has been found dead in mysterious circumstances. His beautiful young widow commissions a journalist to carry out an unusual bequest in his will but as he begins his research he soon discovers a story far more complex than he could have ever imagined... As the story moves backwards through time, from London in 1909 to Paris in 1809, before concluding in Venice in 1867, the mystery of John Stone's life and loves begins to unravel. The result is a spellbinding novel that is both a quest for the truth, a love story that spans decades and a compelling murder mystery.

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The definitive history of Manchester United's rise from being an 'ordinary' side in the 30s to a force in post-war English football. Discover the story of Matt Busby, Jimmy Murphy and the birth of the 'Babes' - the players, the games, the Building of the Dynasty. Having had the foresight to appoint an untried manager in Busby, the former Manchester City star overcame the challenge of having no home ground and cobbled together a United side to win the league and FA Cup. A lack of financial power saw the club embark on a youth development scheme under Murphy. Crowned First Division champions again in 1956, Busby took his youngsters to compete against the great sides in the fledgling European Cup; but it was a determination that was to prove fatal in Munich in 1958, on the homeward journey from a quarter-final tie in Belgrade. The unfulfilled dream had become a nightmare.

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Telegraph letter writers, that most astute body of political commentators, are probably not alone in thinking that politics has taken some strange turns in recent years. The first coalition government since 1945 has led the country from the subprime to the ridiculous, lumbering from Leveson to Libya, riots to referendums, pasty-gate to pleb-gate, Brooks to Bercow, the Bullingdon Club to the Big Society.Five years is a long time in politics. Fortunately for us, it has also been a most fertile period for the Telegraph's legion of witty and erudite letter writers, who have their own therapeutic way of dealing with the pain. An institution in their own right, theirs is a welcome voice of sanity in a world in which the lunatics appear finally to have taken over the asylum.

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In The Picture With is an introduction to the lives and works of great painters. Along with telling the life story of these artists, it examines the techniques behind their paintings, from the best-known to the less familiar works of art.

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This major textbook offers both an introduction to and key readings in twenty core political concepts. It blends original essays that survey debates and contact with up-to-date primary literature to provide students with an ideal collection for use on a wide range of courses in political studies. It reflects the broad nature of politics generally and political philosophy in particular from a perspective that highlights current debates and new trends surrounding many of the concepts we use to orient ourselves in the political world. The original essays and key readings together form an unparalleled introduction to the most dynamic and contested aspects of political studies that will be of interest to all who wish to engage with the issues animating current political life. The following concepts are introduced: Justice Civil Society Liberty Power Equality Human Nature Rights Community Democracy The Nation Representation Globalisation Toleration Ideology Multiculturalism Discourse The State Difference The Rule of Law The Body Politic Key Features * Only Reader and Guide in one volume on the subject of Political Concepts * Covers the core concepts taught on Politics courses * Each section includes a 5000-word introduction to the subject and two key texts - includes 40 of the most influential primary readings in contemporary political studies * An original contribution from the editor on the multidimensional nature of political concepts * An extensive bibliography and selected further reading to guide the student towards more in-depth research * Introductions to each Part designed to help students connect different sections together

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Three interlocking worlds. Four people looking for answers.April, 1960: In the cellar of a professor's house in Oxford, fifteen-year-old Rosie goes in search of a missing cat -- and instead finds herself in a different world.Anterwold is a sun-drenched land of storytellers and prophecies. But is this world real -- and what happens if Rosie decides to stay?Meanwhile, a rebellious scientist is trying to prove that time does not even exist -- with potentially devastating consequences.As the three worlds come together, one question arises: who controls the future -- or the past...?

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Explore the fascinating story of England's emergence as a major maritime trading power, from 1400 to 1540.

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This guide describes some of the best scrambles and easy rock climbs to be found in Scotland (excepting Skye and the Northern Highlands which are described in separate SMC guides). It covers the Cairngorms, Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, as well as the islands of Rum, Mull and Arran. All kinds of outings are described; from short routes on the gabbro crags of Ardnamurchan to major undertakings on the ridges of Ben Nevis. A number of the outings are described for the very first time.Highland Scrambles South completes the Scottish Mountaineering Club's three volume coverage of scrambling and easy climbs among the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.The guide describes 215 routes in The Cairngorms, Lochnagar, Ben Nevis & The Mamores, Glen Coe & Glen Etive, Knoydart, Ardgour & Ardnamurchan, Creag Meagaidh & Ben Alder, Southern Highlands, Southern Uplands and on the islands of Mull, Rum and Arran.

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An introduction to great painters, looking at their life story, techniques and collections, from well-known to unfamiliar works of art.

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This newly delineated guide describes some of the best scrambles and easy rock climbs in the North-West Highlands of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides and Rum. With 200 routes stretching from Sutherland in the north to Glenfinnan in the south, and from Uist in the west to Caithness in the east, its scope and range offer scrambling options across all levels and rock types. Keen hillwalkers can build their confidence on straightforward itineraries with a bit of exposure, and there's plenty to whet the appetites of those who already have some experience and want to explore new territory on sustained, technical journeys requiring greater commitment. From the elegant bands of Lewisian gneiss that comprise much of the Outer Hebrides and the northern hinterland of Ben Stack and Foinaven to Torridon's terraced sandstone cliffs and the pinnacled ridges of An Teallach, there are many hidden gems to discover. You'll also find updates of well-established and much-loved classics, including the Forcan Ridge, Stac Pollaidh and the Rum Cuillin. Presented in our new contemporary style, Highland Scrambles North includes high-resolution photo diagrams and beautifully rendered maps for greater clarity and accessibility. With venue and route information accompanied by advice on conditions, this guidebook has everything you need for a superb day out in the Scottish mountains

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