Search results for ""daylight""
Pan Macmillan Riccardino
The twenty-eighth and final novel in the thrilling, wickedly funny Inspector Montalbano Mysteries series by bestselling author Andrea Camilleri.‘Contrary to what you think, I’m carrying out this investigation as best I can. But let’s do this: if I get stuck, if I find I can’t go forward or back, then I’ll let you know, and you can step in. And offer me a way out. You’ve gained a bit of detective work through me, haven’t you? What do you say?’‘I’m game,’ said the Author . . .When Inspector Montalbano receives an early-morning phone call it proves to be the start of a very trying day. For the caller expects Montalbano to arrive imminently at a rendezvous with some friends. But before he can reply the caller announces himself as someone called Riccardino and hangs up.Later that day news comes in of a brutal slaying in broad daylight by an unknown assassin who makes his getaway on a motorbike. And when the Inspector learns of the victim’s identity – a man called Riccardino – his troubles are only just beginning. For soon he must contend with the involvement of a local bishop and a fortune teller who reports some strange goings-on in her neighbourhood.All roads soon lead to a local salt mine but the case proves stubbornly intractable until Montalbano receives another unexpected call . . .
£16.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Long Spring: Tracking the Arrival of Spring Through Europe
One man tracks the arrival of spring north through Europe from southern Spain to the Arctic Circle. Exploring Europe’s remarkable heritage of exceptional places and the wildlife, traditions and people associated with them, in February 2016 Laurence Rose crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa and set off on a series of journeys northwards towards the Arctic coast of Norway, all the while keeping pace with the arrival of spring. Like a modern-day pilgrimage, he is accompanied by fellow wayfarers, migrating swallows and cranes and later, wild swans and eagles. He witnesses the awakening of a continent from its winter slumber and encounters new behaviours, such as storks that no longer migrate, exploring how they link to climate change. From Spain, Laurence headed north through France and Britain. Crossing over to Sweden, Finland and Norway, he ended his travels four months later as the long Arctic days stretched into continuous daylight. In The Long Spring, Laurence evokes the landscapes, sounds and colours of the continent at its most vibrant. And as a lifelong naturalist, his journeys tracking the world’s most significant and beautiful phenomenon – spring – were a chance to explore the past, present and future of our connections to nature, reflecting on three decades of work and travel in Europe and his own long relationship with wildlife.
£16.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC F4U Corsair versus A6M Zero-sen: Rabaul and the Solomons 1943–44
The aerial clashes between the iconic Corsair and Zero-sen translated into a contest of speed and altitude for the former, versus the latter’s outstanding agility and range. Whilst the F4U Corsair eventually proved to be a superior fighter in Pacific operations, its introduction into combat in this theatre initially demonstrated its weaknesses. Indeed, the ‘Saint Valentine's Day Massacre’ debacle showcased exemplary Zero-sen fighter tactics, and American losses were of sufficient magnitude that further daylight missions toward Bougainville were discontinued until Allied fighter tactics could be improved. As a result, for the next two months the Corsair’s combat results were much subdued. Indeed, the F4U only became a superb fighter when both its pilots and their commanders worked out how to deploy the gull-wing design effectively. Optimum circumstances for effective engagement did not always occur, and the Zero-sen remained effective against the Corsair until February 1944 in the South Pacific, after which all IJNAF fighter units vacated Rabaul. This book closely examines these two different fighters in the Solomons/Rabaul theatre, and the unique geographic conditions which shaped their deployment and effectiveness. It contains rare photographs and digital artwork that accurately showcases and aligns combats of both types in-theatre with unprecedented accuracy. Both sides vastly over-claimed. With full access to IJNAF and US Navy/US Marine Corps records, these numbers will be presented accurately.
£14.99
Princeton University Press Religions of China in Practice
This third volume of Princeton Readings in Religions demonstrates that the "three religions" of China--Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism (with a fourth, folk religion, sometimes added)--are not mutually exclusive: they overlap and interact with each other in a rich variety of ways. The volume also illustrates some of the many interactions between Han culture and the cultures designated by the current government as "minorities." Selections from minority cultures here, for instance, are the folktale of Ny Dan the Manchu Shamaness and a funeral chant of the Yi nationality collected by local researchers in the early 1980s. Each of the forty unusual selections, from ancient oracle bones to stirring accounts of mystic visions, is preceded by a substantial introduction. As with the other volumes, most of the selections here have never been translated before. Stephen Teiser provides a general introduction in which the major themes and categories of the religions of China are analyzed. The book represents an attempt to move from one conception of the "Chinese spirit" to a picture of many spirits, including a Laozi who acquires magical powers and eventually ascends to heaven in broad daylight; the white-robed Guanyin, one of the most beloved Buddhist deities in China; and the burning-mouth hungry ghost. The book concludes with a section on "earthly conduct."
£46.80
Peepal Tree Press Ltd Where There Are Monsters
Breanne Mc Ivor is a bold new voice in Caribbean fiction. The Trinidad of her stories is utterly contemporary but also a place defined by its folk mythologies and its cultural creations, its traditions of masking and disguises. Her stories confront the increasing economic and cultural divisions between rich and poor, the alarming rise in crime, murders and an alternative economy based on drug trafficking. Their daring is that they look both within the human psyche and back in time to make sense of this reality. The figure of the loup-garou, the violent rhetoric of the Midnight Robber – or even cannibalism lurking far off the beaten track – have become almost comic tropes of a dusty folklore. In Mc Ivor’s stories they become real and terrifying daylight presences, monsters who pass among us. Her great gift as a writer is to take us to unexpected places, both to seduce us into a kind of sympathy for her monsters of greater and lesser kinds, and sometimes to reveal a capacity for redemption amongst characters we are tempted to dismiss as shallow, unlikable human beings. The problem, in a world of masks and disguises, is how to tell the difference.In these carefully crafted stories, with room for humour, though of a distinctly gothic kind, Breanne Mc Ivor reaches deep into the roots of Trinidad folk narratives to present us with very modern versions of our troubled selves.
£9.99
Hachette Australia How Decent Folk Behave
we are all just one small disasteraway from sinking, and sometimes you only realisewhen you're gasping for airOn a daylight street in Minneapolis Minnesota, a Black man is asphyxiated - by callous knee of an officer, by cruel might of state, and under crushing weight of colony. In Melbourne the body of another woman has been found - this time, after catching a late tram home.The Atlantic has run out of the English alphabet, when christening hurricanes this season. The earth is on fire - from the redwoods of California, to Australia's east coast. The sea draws back, and tsunamis lash out in Samoa and Sumatra. Water rises in Sulawesi and Nagasaki. Bloated cod are surfacing, all along the Murray Darling.The virus arrives, and the virus thrives. Authorities seal the public housing towers up, and truck in one cop to every five residents. Notre Dame is ablaze - the cathedral spire blackened, and teetering.Out in Biloela, the deportation vans have arrived. Every Friday, in cities all across the world, children are walking out of school. The wolves are circling. The wolves are circling.These poems speak of the world that is, and sing for a world that may one day be.'One of the most compelling voices in Australian poetry this decade' Overland Literary Journal'a powerful and fearless storyteller' Dave Eggers'Readers are left with the sense they have been seen, heard and understood' Books + Publishing
£19.56
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Oil Campaign 1944–45: Draining the Wehrmacht's lifeblood
A new illustrated history of one of the key air campaigns of late World War II – the American effort to cripple Germany's oil production, and grind its armed forces to a halt. With retreating German forces losing their oilfields on the Eastern Front, Germany was reliant on its own facilities, particularly for producing synthetic oil from coal. However, these were within range of the increasingly mighty Allied air forces. In 1944 the head of the US Strategic Air Forces, General Carl Spaatz was intent on a new campaign that aimed to cripple the German war machine by depriving it of fuel. The USAAF’s Oil Campaign built up momentum during the summer of 1944 and targeted these refineries and plants with its daylight heavy bombers. Decrypted German communications made it clear that the Oil Campaign was having an effect against the Wehrmacht. Fuel shortages in the autumn of 1944 forced the Luftwaffe to ground most of its combat units except for fighters involved in the defense of the Reich. Fuel shortages also forced the Kriegsmarine to place most of its warships in harbor except for the U-boats and greatly hampered German army campaigns such as the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944–45. This fascinating book packed with key photos and illustrations examines the controversies and debates over the focus of the US bombing campaign in the final year of the war, and the impact it had on the war effort overall.
£14.99
Countryside Books Berkshire Airfields in the Second World War
Berkshire began the Second World War in 1939 with virtually no military airfields. However, this quickly changed and a massive building programme was soon underway, initially intended to provide training facilities for bomber crews. As the newly built airfields became operational, some were taken over by the USAAF including Greenham Common, Membury and Welford and they were involved in the planning and eventual execution of operation Overlord, the Allied D-Day assault upon Fortress Europe. White Waltham near Maidenhead will always be remembered as the headquarters of the legendary Air Transport Auxiliary, whose male and then increasingly female pilots - including Amy Johnson - ferried every type of aircraft from the factories to the front line airfields. Not only did the ATA prove that girls had excellent flying skills, but also that they were capable of piloting solo the largest bombers. This book describes the history of each airfield, highlights some of the major operations carried out from them, and marks their overall contribution to the great war effort. The effects of the war on the daily lives of the people living in Berkshire are also described. Reading and Newbury in particular realised the constant dangers they faced from random daylight attacks by German planes. Robin Brook's action-packed account will bring back vivid memories for many. It is a sharp reminder of the time when the skies never ceased to throb with the drone of departing and returning aircraft.
£9.65
Headline Publishing Group Blind Spot: A unputdownable new thriller to keep you reading all night!
'An endlessly ingenious writer of compelling, brilliantly crafted thrillers' Peter JamesNew York Times bestseller Brenda Novak's fourth novel in the Evelyn Talbot series sees the return of psychiatrist Dr Evelyn Talbot. When you're studying America's most terrifying psychopaths, can you ever really be safe? This is SILENCE OF THE LAMBS meets Karen Rose...SOMETIMES THE DARKEST DEEDS HAPPEN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT With her tortured past finally behind her - and her tormentor, Jasper Moore, locked up, where she can study him along with the other psychopaths at Hanover House - psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot is looking to the future. She's about to have a baby and marry her long-time love, Amarok, the only police presence in Hilltop, Alaska. But when she's snatched from her own driveway, she can only guess at who's taken her captive...and why. Struggling to survive in a tiny, airless cell, Evelyn is relying on Amarok to find her. But he won't have much to go on, a point that becomes even more alarming when her captor reveals a clue to the mastermind behind her abduction. Not only does she know him, she knows he has a particularly gruesome method of disabling his victims. So unless she manages to escape, neither she nor her baby will survive...Look for the other gripping novels in the Evelyn Talbot series - Her Darkest Nightmare, Hello Again, Face Off, and the prequel novella, Hanover House, available now.
£9.99
HarperCollins Publishers Bodies from the Library 4: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection
This annual anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a short novel by Christianna Brand. Mystery stories have been around for centuries—there are whodunits, whydunits and howdunits, including locked-room puzzles, detective stories without detectives, and crimes with a limited choice of suspects. Countless volumes of such stories have been published, but some are still impossible to find: stories that appeared in a newspaper, magazine or an anthology that has long been out of print; ephemeral works such as plays not aired, staged or screened for decades; and unpublished stories that were absorbed into an author’s archive when they died . . . Here for the first time are three never-before-published mysteries by Edmund Crispin, Ngaio Marsh and Leo Bruce, and two pieces written for radio by Gladys Mitchell and H. C. Bailey—the latter featuring Reggie Fortune. Together with a newly unearthed short story by Ethel Lina White that inspired Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, and a complete short novel by Christianna Brand, this diverse mix of tales by some of the world’s most popular classic crime writers contains something for everyone. Complete with indispensable biographies by Tony Medawar of all the featured authors, the fourth volume in the series Bodies from the Library once again brings into the daylight the forgotten, the lost and the unknown.
£9.99
Skira Emilio Ambasz: Casa de Retiro Espiritual
Dedicated entirely to the legendary Casa de Retiro Espiritual, this book accompanies the MoMA exhibition of Ambasz's award-winning project. Considered a minimalist idea for some and a deconstructionist fable for others, Emilio Ambasz's Casa de Retiro Espiritual in Spain is instead an unclassifiable statement about architectural essentials. Situated close to Seville, this vacation home reinterprets in a non-vernacular manner the prototype of the Andalusian house, with a central patio which all the rooms look out on, where the earth is also used as an insulation system against the heat of the sun. Seen from afar, the house disappears like an optical mirage, leaving a view on the horizon of only the two empty backdrops arranged at right angles resembling an open book. Designed in 1975, the house has won innumerable architectural awards including the Progressive Architecture First Award and an AIA award. It foretold of Ambasz's pioneering work seeking to reconcile architecture with nature. Faithful to his conviction that "a building should return to the community in the form of garden, accessible to the community, all the land the building has covered," Ambasz's "green buildings," integrating garden and building into one inseparable entity, have been the precursors of a whole movement towards an energy efficient architecture. The fully illustrated volume includes an essay by Peter Buchanan, over 60 stunning full-color photographs of the house and an interactive CD Rom including aerial views, exterior and interior shots taken in daylight and at night.
£35.96
Schiffer Publishing Ltd Squadron of Deception: The 36th Bomb Squadron in World War II
Here at last is the exciting, detailed story of the U.S. Eighth Air Force's only Radar Countermeasure squadron that flew from England duing World War II. This book tells of the men of the elite 36th Bomb Squadron and the special operations they flew in modified B-24s to jam the German radar which controlled the fighter and flak batteries. Here too is the story of the men behind the scenes who sought to develop an extension of modern air warfare into the electronic arena and keep ahead of German scientists in the "War in the Ether." This chronological account gathered from secret records, personal diaries, and interviews with the "Old Crows" describes the night missions with the Royal Air Force and the daylight missions with the Eighth. The first jamming mission on the morning of D-Day "contributed materially to the success of the landings on the beachhead." Later missions during the Battle of the Bulge involved trickery, ingenious deception, spoofs, and tank communications jamming. This squadron flew on bad weather days, when the rest of the Eighth Air Force stood down, and paid its price in blood. Before the war in Europe ended the 36th Bomb Squadron screened Eighth Air Force radio transmissions to stop the enemy from learning important mission details. Here now is the story of how this secret squadron saved many Allied lives during World War II. Included are over 330 rare photographs and illustrations never before published.
£33.29
Oxford University Press Sayings and Anecdotes: with Other Popular Moralists
'many men compete in digging and kicking but no one at all in the pursuit of human excellence.' Diogenes the Cynic is best remembered today for having lived in a storage-jar, and walking the streets with a lamp in daylight, looking for an honest man. Such stories formed part of a rich tradition of sayings and anecdotes; his biting wit and eccentric behaviour were legendary, and it was by means of these oft-repeated and embellished aphorisms that his moral teachings were transmitted. He scorned the conventions of civilized life, and his ascetic lifestyle and caustic opinions gave expression to the Cynic philosophy that in turn influenced Stoicism. This unique edition also covers Diogenes' immediate successors, such as Crates, his wife Hipparchia, and the witty moral preacher Bion. The contrasting teachings of the Cyrenaic school, founded by Aristippos, a pleasure-loving friend of Socrates, complete the volume, together with a selection of apocryphal letters. An ideal compendium of Socratic moral philosophy, this entertaining volume opens a window on to some surprisingly modern attitudes. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
£9.99
Adams Media Corporation How to Kill an Earworm: And 500+ Other Psychology Facts You Need to Know
Discover why you were always afraid of a monster under your childhood bed, why people truly believe in their “lucky” lotto numbers, and more with hundreds of quick facts, research-based explanations, and challenging quiz questions on everything from the psychology of our ancient ancestors to the dark side of the world of psychology.Did you know: -The fear of losing your cell phone is real…and there’s even a name for it. -The way you kiss might actually be based in science? -That gaslighting actually has a psychological “cousin” known as “moonwalking”? Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior, which means there’s a lot of ground to cover. But this isn’t your average “intro to psychology” book. Instead, How to Kill an Earworm is here to help you learn those little-known trivia facts you really want to know. This must-have guide features hundreds of fun facts and challenging quiz questions about psychology, covering everything from influential historical figures who impacted the study of psychology as we know it today to learning psychological principles you might not realize are at work right now in your everyday life. Did you know about the dark side of daylight savings time? What about the way kids’ cereal boxes are intentionally designed to manipulate the child’s emotions? From “zombie behaviors” to the “doorway effect”, it’s time to dive into over 500 psychological facts you definitely didn’t know before picking up this book!
£10.99
Casemate Publishers Hell'S Highway: A Chronicle of the 101st Airborne Division in the Holland Campaign, September – November 1944
September 17, 1944; thousands of 101st Airborne Division paratroopers, known as the Screaming Eagles, descend from the sky over Holland, dropping deep behind German lines in a daring daylight mission to seize and secure the road leading north to Arnhem and the Rhine. Their success would allow the Allied army to advance swiftly into Germany. The Screaming Eagles accomplish their initial objectives within hours, but keeping their sections of “Hell’s Highway” open takes another 72 days of fierce round-the-clock fighting against crack German troops and tank divisions. Hell's Highway is the dramatic name given to the vital stretch of road that the British 3rd Guards Armoured Division had to advance down rapidly on their route to relieve the American Paras (82nd Airborne) at Nijmegen and the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem. Drawing on interviews with more than 600 paratroopers, George E. Koskimaki chronicles, with vivid firsthand accounts, the dramatic, never-before-told story of the Screaming Eagles’valiant struggle. Hell’s Highway also tells of the Dutch citizens and members of the underground who were liberated after five years of Nazi oppression and who never forgot America’s airborne heroes. This renowned force risked their lives for the freedom of a small country . . . and the world. About the Author George Koskimaki is a noted historian of the 101st Airborne Division. His other books include D-Day With The Screaming Eagles and The Battered Bastards of Bastogne. He lives in Northville, MI, USA.
£25.00
HarperCollins Publishers Bodies from the Library 4: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection
This annual anthology of rare stories of crime and suspense brings together tales from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction for the first time in book form, including a short novel by Christianna Brand. Mystery stories have been around for centuries—there are whodunits, whydunits and howdunits, including locked-room puzzles, detective stories without detectives, and crimes with a limited choice of suspects. Countless volumes of such stories have been published, but some are still impossible to find: stories that appeared in a newspaper, magazine or an anthology that has long been out of print; ephemeral works such as plays not aired, staged or screened for decades; and unpublished stories that were absorbed into an author’s archive when they died . . . Here for the first time are three never-before-published mysteries by Edmund Crispin, Ngaio Marsh and Leo Bruce, and two pieces written for radio by Gladys Mitchell and H. C. Bailey—the latter featuring Reggie Fortune. Together with a newly unearthed short story by Ethel Lina White that inspired Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes, and a complete short novel by Christianna Brand, this diverse mix of tales by some of the world’s most popular classic crime writers contains something for everyone. Complete with indispensable biographies by Tony Medawar of all the featured authors, the fourth volume in the series Bodies from the Library once again brings into the daylight the forgotten, the lost and the unknown.
£13.49
Mondadori Electa West Kowloon Station: Andrew Bromberg at Aedas
The is the first book to document the highly innovative Terminal in Hong Kong, completed in 2018, with a rare glimpse at all stages of plans, design, and construction. Located centrally in Hong Kong, this is the largest below ground station in the world. The high-speed rail terminus station will connect Hong Kong to Beijing with the largest rail network in history, expected to strengthen the city s strategic position as the southern gateway of China. West Kowloon Station enjoys a spectacular location with a panoramic view of the Hong Kong skyline, but when Bromberg s team entered the competition to design it, they encountered a problem the station is mostly 100 feet belowground. His solution was to ensure the station was civic-minded and to create a large volume capped by a shell-like dome that rises from the earth, capturing daylight and sending it deep underground. Even as they stand on the subterranean concourse, passengers can catch a glimpse of Victoria Peak and the city s tallest buildings. In order to keep the space open and airy, Bromberg minimized the number of columns needed to support the vast atrium. His team devised a system that branches out, giving the organic appearance that complements the sweep of the station roof. This book contains never-before-seen sketches, models, renderings, drawings, and all-new photography of the building as well as an interview with the architect.
£65.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC With My Shield: An Army Ranger in Somalia
This is the inside story of an Army Ranger, surrounded and outnumbered, fighting a desperate action on the ground during the Black Hawk Down raid in Somalia in 1993. In 1993 Lieutenant James Lechner, a member of the 3rd Ranger Battalion, was selected for a top secret special operations task force being sent to Mogadishu, Somalia, to capture the insurgent leader Mohamed Farah Aideed. In early October, after weeks on the ground and conducting a number of raids in the city, the Task Force is called upon to conduct a daring daylight mission into the heart of Aideed’s territory. During the raid, following the initial dangerous fast rope insertion and subsequent capture of a group of Aideed’s lieutenants, one of the Task Force Black Hawk helicopters is shot down and Lechner and his comrades are soon caught up in the fiercest combat involving US forces since the Vietnam War. In the middle of the hostile city, deep in the enemy’s stronghold, the small group of Rangers and special operators now find themselves fighting not only to rescue the downed helicopter’s crewmen, but also to save their own lives. This first-hand account tells the story of how these elite warriors were able to stand together and prevail against incredible odds. It gives the reader the perspective of an Army Ranger fighting on the ground, combined with professional military analysis, in a groundbreaking book that tells the complete story with never-before-revealed details.
£22.50
Simon & Schuster Christmas in Plains: Memories
Jimmy Carter remembers Christmas in Plains, Georgia, the source of spiritual strength, respite, friendship, and vacation fun in this charming portrait.In a beautifully rendered portrait, Jimmy Carter remembers the Christmas days of his Plains boyhood—the simplicity of family and community gift-giving, his father’s eggnog, the children’s house decorations, the school Nativity pageant, the fireworks, Luke’s story of the birth of Christ, and the poignancy of his black neighbors’ poverty. Later, away at Annapolis, he always went home to Plains, and during his Navy years, when he and Rosalynn were raising their young family, they spent their Christmases together recreating for their children the holiday festivities of their youth. Since the Carters returned home to Plains for good, they have always been there on Christmas Day, with only one exception in forty-eight years: In 1980, with Americans held hostage in Iran, Jimmy, Rosalynn, and Amy went by themselves to Camp David, where they felt lonely. Amy suggested that they invite the White House staff and their families to join them and to celebrate. Nowadays the Carters’ large family is still together at Christmastime, offering each other the gifts and the lifelong rituals that mark this day for them. With the novelist’s eye that enchanted readers of his memoir An Hour Before Daylight, Jimmy Carter has written another American classic, in the tradition of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory and Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
£10.84
Orion Publishing Co What Lies Buried
'Shadow Man is a harrowing and horrific game of consequences' Val McDermid THE BRILLIANTLY COMPELLING SECOND NOVEL IN THE DI LUKAS MAHLER SERIESA missing child. A seventy-year-old murder. And a killer who's still on the loose.Ten year-old Erin is missing; taken in broad daylight during a friend's birthday party. With no witnesses and no leads, DI Lukas Mahler races against time to find her. But is it already too late for Erin - and will her abductor stop at one stolen child?And the discovery of human remains on a construction site near Inverness confronts Mahler's team with a cold case from the 1940s. Was Aeneas Grant's murder linked to a nearby POW camp, or is there an even darker story to be uncovered?With his team stretched to the limit, Mahler's hunt for Erin's abductor takes him from Inverness to the Lake District. And decades-old family secrets link both casesin a shocking final twist.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT MARGARET KIRK'S DEBUT NOVEL SHADOW MAN:'Gripping''Kept me on my toes right to the end''Another great detective is born''Shadow Man has a taut plot, maintains suspense cleverly and is crisply written''The city of Inverness is almost a character in its own right''A top-notch crime thriller, full of intricate twists with a disturbing insight into the mind of a cold blooded killer''Dark and atmospheric, I just couldn't put it down'
£8.99
Abbeville Press Inc.,U.S. How Raven Stole the Sun
A long time ago, Raven was pure white, like fresh snow in winter. This was so long ago that the only light came from campfires, because a greedy chief kept the stars, moon, and sun locked up in elaborately carved boxes. Determined to free them, the shape-shifting Raven resourcefully transformed himself into the chief's baby grandson and cleverly tricked him into opening the boxes and releasing the starlight and moonlight. Though tired of being stuck in human form, Raven maintained his disguise until he got the chief to open the box with the sun and flood the world with daylight, at which point he gleefully transformed himself back into a raven. When the furious chief locked him in the house, Raven was forced to escape through the small smokehole at the top - and that's why ravens are now black as smoke instead of white as snow. This engaging Tlingit story is brought to life in painterly illustrations that convey a sense of the traditional life of the Northwest Coast peoples. Created with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), Tales of the People is a series of children's books celebrating Native American culture with illustrations and stories by Indian artists and writers. In addition to the tales themselves, each book also offers four pages filled with information and photographs exploring various aspects of Native culture, including a glossary of words in different Indian languages.
£12.02
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There
The Allied bombing of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive against one target in the Second World War. The Berlin Blitz By Those Who Were There is a compelling, gripping and thought-provoking story of the Allied bombing forces and the ordinary people on the ground, told in their own tongue and with meticulous attention to detail. The result is a coherent, single story which unfolds in a straightforward and incisive narrative. This work draws attention in some detail to the major raids on the Reich capital by RAF Bomber Command from the late summer of 1940 to September 1943. It begins with the reliable but largely ineffective twin-engined Blenheims, Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys, through to the introduction into front-line service of the four-engined heavies' - the Stirling, Manchester and Halifax, which bore the brunt of the bomber offensive until the advent of the incomparable Avro Lancaster in 1942 and the superlative Mosquito. On 30 January 1943, on the tenth anniversary of Hitler's usurpation of power, two formations (each of three Mosquitoes) appeared over Berlin in daylight and interrupted large rallies being addressed by Goering and Goebbels. Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief, RAF Bomber Command, hoped to wreck Berlin from end to end' and produce a state of devastation in which German surrender is inevitable'. But the Big City', as it was known to his faithful old lags', was never completely destroyed.
£22.50
Princeton University Press The Godfather Doctrine: A Foreign Policy Parable
The Godfather Doctrine draws clear and essential lessons from perhaps the greatest Hollywood movie ever made to illustrate America's changing geopolitical place in the world and how our country can best meet the momentous strategic challenges it faces. In the movie The Godfather, Don Corleone, head of New York's most powerful organized-crime family, is shockingly gunned down in broad daylight, leaving his sons Sonny and Michael, along with his adopted son, consigliere Tom Hagen, to chart a new course for the family. In The Godfather Doctrine, John Hulsman and Wess Mitchell show how the aging and wounded don is emblematic of cold-war American power on the decline in a new world where our enemies play by unfamiliar rules, and how the don's heirs uncannily exemplify the three leading schools of American foreign policy today. Tom, the left-of-center liberal institutionalist, thinks the old rules still apply and that negotiation is the answer. Sonny is the Bush-era neocon who shoots first and asks questions later, proving an easy target for his enemies. Only Michael, the realist, has a sure feel for the changing scene, recognizing the need for flexible combinations of soft and hard power to keep the family strong and maintain its influence and security in a dangerous and rapidly changing world. Based on Hulsman and Mitchell's groundbreaking and widely debated article, "Pax Corleone," The Godfather Doctrine explains for everyone why Francis Ford Coppola's epic story about a Mafia dynasty holds key insights for ensuring America's survival in the twenty-first century.
£8.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Reich Intruders: RAF Light Bomber Raids in World War II
This is the story of 2 Group RAF during World War II. Much of it is told by the men who flew the Blenheim, Boston, Mitchell and Mosquito aircraft that carried out many daring daylight and night-time raids on vitally important targets in Nazi-occupied Europe and Germany. These were not the famous 1,000 bomber raids that hit the wartime headlines, but low-level, fast-moving surprise attacks flown by small formations of fleet-footed and skilfully piloted twin-engine light bombers. Their targets were usually difficult to locate and heavily defended because of their strategic importance to the enemy. From the very start of the war, the men and machines of 2 Group were at the forefront of the RAF's offensive. On 3 September 1939, the day war broke out, a Blenheim from 2 Group carried out the first British operational sortie to cross the German frontier in the Second World War. The following day saw the Group's Blenheims make the first British bombing attack of the war. No.2 Group also played a vital part in the invasion of Europe both before and after D-Day. Often, its crews would fly at wave-top height across the English Channel or North Sea to avoid detection and then hedge-hop deep into enemy territory to deliver their precision attack. Enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire were a constant risk. This is a remarkable story of skill and bravery by a little-known branch of the RAF.
£14.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Krithia: Gallipoli
Krithia was a key objective in the land offensives; a killing ground greater than Anzac or Suvla. This book adds to the Gallipoli story and the preceding Battleground books on that campaign by recounting not only the landings at Helles of 25 April 1915, but also the subsequent bitter battles that followed in an attempt to capture the village and the vital high ground of Achi Baba. General Hunter-Weston's weakened 29th Division achieved little during the first two bloody battles of Krithia, even when reinforced by the Anzacs, 42nd Division, Royal Naval Division and the French. The allies had little to show from their costly daylight frontal attacks, apart from a slightly firmer footing ashore and a growing casualty list. As the military situation looked to degenerate into a Western Front style stalemate, General Sir Ian Hamilton pushed for a final battle of Krithia. Using Hunter-Weston's newly formed VIII Corps, and General Gouraud's French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient, the Third Battle of Krithia launched on 6 June 1915. Despite a promising start, the attack soon collapsed against a stubborn Turkish defence, and although some lessons had been learnt from earlier failures; underestimation of the enemy was not one of them. This is the true story, told using a rich mix of letters, diaries, photographs and maps, of Gallipoli's most costly battles. Gallipoli today is an exquisitely beautiful and tranquil place, with its turquoise waters, stretches of sandy beaches, wild flower covered meadows and pine forested heights, such a contrast to what occurred here over a hundred years ago.
£22.73
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Clean Sweep: VIII Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45
A vivid narrative history, packed with first-hand accounts, of the US Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command from its foundation in 1942 through to its victory in the skies over Nazi Germany. On August 7, 1942, two events of major military importance occurred on separate sides of the planet. In the South Pacific, the United States went on the offensive, landing the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal. In England, 12 B-17 bombers of the new Eighth Air Force’s 97th Bombardment Group bombed the Rouen–Sotteville railroad marshalling yards in France. While the mission was small, the aerial struggle that began that day would ultimately cost the United States more men killed and wounded by the end of the war in Europe than the Marines would lose in the Pacific War. Clean Sweep is the story of the creation, development and operation of the Eighth Air Force Fighter Command and the battle to establish daylight air superiority over the Luftwaffe so that the invasion of Europe could be successful. Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has had a lifelong interest in the history of the fighter force that defeated the Luftwaffe over Germany. He has collected many first-hand accounts from participants over the past 50 years, getting to know pilots such as the legendary “Hub” Zemke, Don Blakeslee and Chuck Yeager, as well as meeting and interviewing leading Luftwaffe pilots Adolf Galland, Gunther Rall and Walter “Count Punski” Krupinski. This story is told through accounts gathered from both sides.
£27.00
Penguin Books Ltd My Friends: From the Pulitzer-prize winning author of THE RETURN
'The first Booker contender of 2024... a deeply touching, beautifully composed book' Sunday TimesAn intensely moving novel about three friends living in political exile and the emotional homeland that deep friendships can provide - from the Booker-shortlisted, Pulitzer prize-winning author of THE RETURNKhaled and Mustafa meet at university in Edinburgh: two Libyan eighteen-year-olds expecting to return home after their studies. In a moment of recklessness and courage, they travel to London to join a demonstration in front of the Libyan embassy. When government officials open fire on protestors in broad daylight, both friends are wounded, and their lives forever changed.Over the years that follow, Khaled, Mustafa and their friend Hosam, a writer, are bound together by their shared history. If friendship is a space to inhabit, theirs becomes small and inhospitable when a revolution in Libya forces them to choose between the lives they have created in London and the lives they left behind.'MY FRIENDS is a brilliant novel about innocence and experience, about friendship, family and exile. It makes clear, once more, that Hisham Matar is a supremely talented novelist.' COLM TOIBIN'I have always admired Matar's tender and compassionate but equally strong and compelling voice' ELIF SHAFAK'It is impossible to describe the profound depth and beauty of this book. MY FRIENDS is a breathtaking novel, every page a miracle and an affirmation. Hisham is one of our greatest writers, how lucky we are to be in his midst.' MAAZA MENGISTE, author of THE SHADOW KING
£14.99
Amber Books Ltd American Bomber Aircraft of World War II
The United States built the best strategic bombers of World War II, and by the end of the conflict America’s bombers dominated the skies in both Europe and the Pacific. American Bomber Aircraft of World War II is a detailed guide to all the bombers deployed by the USAAF and US Navy from 1941 to 1945. Organised chronologically, this book includes all the great types of the era, such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, which led the daylight bombing campaign against German industrial targets; the B-24 Liberator, which carried out the famous raid on the Ploesti oil refinery in Romania in 1943; the rugged Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber, flown by US Navy pilots at the Battle Midway in that key turning point in the Pacific War; and the B-29 Superfortress, the aircraft most responsible for degrading Japan’s ability to wage war with their constant aerial attacks throughout 1944 and 1945. The guide is illustrated with profile artworks and three-views, as well as two-page dynamic artworks of some of the more famous aircraft in service, such as the highly- adaptable B-25 Mitchell, which served in every theatre in a variety of roles, the Douglas Dauntless SBD naval scout plane, and the Martin B-26 Marauder, one of the fastest medium bombers of its era. Illustrated with more than 100 authentic artworks with accurate markings and camouflage, American Bomber Aircraft of World War II is an essential reference guide for modellers and military aviation enthusiasts.
£16.19
Penguin Books Ltd My Friends: From the Pulitzer-prize winning author of THE RETURN
'The first Booker contender of 2024... a deeply touching, beautifully composed book' Sunday TimesAn intensely moving novel about three friends living in political exile and the emotional homeland that deep friendships can provide - from the Booker-shortlisted, Pulitzer prize-winning author of THE RETURNKhaled and Mustafa meet at university in Edinburgh: two Libyan eighteen-year-olds expecting to return home after their studies. In a moment of recklessness and courage, they travel to London to join a demonstration in front of the Libyan embassy. When government officials open fire on protestors in broad daylight, both friends are wounded, and their lives forever changed.Over the years that follow, Khaled, Mustafa and their friend Hosam, a writer, are bound together by their shared history. If friendship is a space to inhabit, theirs becomes small and inhospitable when a revolution in Libya forces them to choose between the lives they have created in London and the lives they left behind.'MY FRIENDS is a brilliant novel about innocence and experience, about friendship, family and exile. It makes clear, once more, that Hisham Matar is a supremely talented novelist.' COLM TOIBIN'I have always admired Matar's tender and compassionate but equally strong and compelling voice' ELIF SHAFAK'It is impossible to describe the profound depth and beauty of this book. MY FRIENDS is a breathtaking novel, every page a miracle and an affirmation. Hisham is one of our greatest writers, how lucky we are to be in his midst.' MAAZA MENGISTE, author of THE SHADOW KING
£18.99
Pushkin Press DO NOT DETONATE Without Presidential Approval: A Portfolio on the Subjects of Mid-century Cinema, the Broadway Stage and the American West
Writings on people and places, theater and film, in a portfolio of essays and photographs informing Wes Anderson's film Asteroid City. Featuring 8 newly commissioned pieces alongside more than 20 classic essays from the likes of François Truffaut and Jonas Mekas, DO NOT DETONATE explores key influences on celebrated director Wes Anderson's new film Asteroid City. Together they form a detailed, captivating portrait of the mid-century film world and the enduring myths of the American West. Contents: A Conversation Between Wes Anderson and Jake Perlin A Life excerpt - Elia Kazan The Celluloid Brassière - Andy Logan Rainy Day - Lillian Ross The Outskirts: Other Men's Women - Gina Telaroli The Petrified Forest - Jorge Luis Borges Ace in the Hole: Noir in Broad Daylight - Molly Haskell What Makes a Sad Heart Sing: Some Came Running - Michael Koresky One False Start, Never Wear the Same Dress Twice - Durga Chew-Bose Maigret at the Coroner's excerpt - Georges Simenon Sunbelt Noir: Desert Fury - Imogen Sara Smith The Voyage Down and Out: Inferno - Kent Jones Bad Day Near The River's Edge - Nicolas Saada Watching Fail Safe at the End of the World - K. Austin Collins Black Desert, White Desert - Serge Toubiana Marilyn Monroe and the Loveless World - Jonas Mekas Beyond the Stars - Jeremy Bernstein Coming: Nashville - Pauline Kael Coming Around the Mountain: Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Matt Zoller Seitz Selections from Close Encounters of the Third Kind Diary - Bob Balaban Introduction to Small Change: A Film Novel - François Truffaut By The Time I Get to Phoenix - Thora Siemsen My Guy - Hilton Als Wild to the Wild - Sam Shepard
£10.99
Pan Macmillan Riccardino
The Sunday Times bestselling, twenty-eighth and final novel in the thrilling, wickedly funny Inspector Montalbano Mysteries series by Andrea Camilleri.‘Contrary to what you think, I’m carrying out this investigation as best I can. But let’s do this: if I get stuck, if I find I can’t go forward or back, then I’ll let you know, and you can step in. And offer me a way out. You’ve gained a bit of detective work through me, haven’t you? What do you say?’‘I’m game,’ said the Author . . .When Inspector Montalbano receives an early-morning phone call it proves to be the start of a very trying day. For the caller expects Montalbano to arrive imminently at a rendezvous with some friends. But before he can reply the caller announces himself as someone called Riccardino and hangs up.Later that day news comes in of a brutal slaying in broad daylight by an unknown assassin who makes his getaway on a motorbike. And when the Inspector learns of the victim’s identity – a man called Riccardino – his troubles are only just beginning. For soon he must contend with the involvement of a local bishop and a fortune teller who reports some strange goings-on in her neighbourhood.All roads soon lead to a local salt mine but the case proves stubbornly intractable until Montalbano receives another unexpected call . . .'Camilleri has contrived a fitting goodbye to a dear old friend who operates, to the very last, on his own terms' - Guardian
£8.99
Quarto Publishing PLC Illuminature: Discover 180 animals with your magic three colour lens
Explore ten of the world's most diverse environments and reveal their hidden secrets with a magic coloured lens that illuminates each page in a kaleidoscope of colour. Discover the dark and mysterious creatures of the night, whose super-sensory powers allow them to live and survive in the shadows, then switch the lens to step into daylight, where the heat of the sun supercharges the secret lives of creatures big and small. Finally, use the third lens to reveal the luscious plant life of every habitat as you travel through a jungle, a reef, grasslands, woodland and uncover a world that never sleeps. This is an animal book like no other, allowing you to view the natural world in full technicolour.With three layers of artwork to discover hidden within every image, this book can be revisited again and again, providing hours of independent learning and entertainment about the wonders of the natural world. See 3 images in 1 with the eye-boggling Illumi series, featuring magic-lens artwork from creative design duo Carnovsky. Dinosaurs, animals, the human body, and even ghosts are envisioned like never before in this groundbreaking series. The explosions of colour on each page are in fact three distinct layers of illustrations, each exploring a different aspect of a fascinating subject. Use the three-colour lens to reveal the hidden details on each one, then read all about the topic on in-depth fact pages. There’s always something new to discover in Illumi! Also available from the Illumi series: Illuminatlas, Illumanatomy, Illuminightmare and Illumisaurus.
£18.00
Scholastic The Honeys
A twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the splendour of a secluded summer retreat. 'Gripping... the narrative's lush prose crafts both deliciously creepy horror scenes and a nuanced, self-assured protagonist consumed by grief and longing for acceptance.' Publishers Weekly When Mars Matthias loses his sister Caroline under horrific circumstances, it propels him to learn all he can about the once-inseparable sibling who'd grown tragically distant. Mars's gender-fluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions - and expectations - of his politically-connected family, including attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister devoted so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place. The setting may be pristine and sun-drenched, but there's an undercurrent of tension buzzing ominously. Mars seeks out his sister's old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying - and Mars is certain they're connected to Caroline's death. But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars's memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can't find it soon, it will eat him alive... Heathers meets Midsommar, exploring the corruption that lies just under the surface of the perfect lives of the uber-rich Perfect for fans of Kathryn Foxfield and Ace of Spades Highly original, brilliantly written, queer YA horror
£8.99
Headline Publishing Group The Little Book of John Lennon: In His Own Words
Imagine a world with no John Lennon. Born 9 October 1940 in Liverpool, John Lennon was a walking, talking, quote machine. Every time he opened his mouth, genius fell out. To celebrate this simple, glorious truth, The Little Book of John Lennon is here to remind you what a legend sounds like. From his days down in the dumps as a Liverpudlian scamp to his tenure in the world's greatest beat combo to his post-Beatles bed-ins and living for peace, love and understanding, The Little Book of John Lennon speaks the truth as Lennon himself lived it. Imagine a world with no John Lennon - it's easy if you try. But, why in the world would you want to? This is John Lennon at his best, and in his own words. 'If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.' John talking about materialism and peace. As seen on Independent.co.uk, December 8, 2016, by Clarisse Loughrey. 'We live in a world we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight.' John talking about the 1970s and the Vietnam War. As seen on Irish Post, October 2009, by Jack Beresford. 'I've always considered my work one piece and I consider that my work won't be finished until I am dead and buried and I hope that's a long, long time.' John discussing his legacy while being interviewed on RKO Radio, December 8, 1980 (the day he was murdered). As seen on Beatles Archive.net, December 21, 2013.
£7.15
Amberley Publishing The Merlin: The Engine That Won the Second World War
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is the most recognisable aero engine in the world. It powered the Battle of Britain aircraft, the Spitfire and Hurricane, as they defended the shores of Britain against the Luftwaffe, foiling Hitler's plans to invade in summer 1940. It also powered the Lancasters and Halifaxes of Bomber Command as they went on their missions of destruction to the German heartland. And the ‘wooden wonder’, the Mosquito, was powered by the Merlin, its pinpoint bombing accuracy and reconnaissance work proving vital to the war effort. For the Americans, the Merlin was the power plant of the Mustang escort fighter that protected the US Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Super Fortress bombers on their daylight raids to the enemy. The P-51 was also used in the North African, Mediterranean and Pacific theatres. So the Merlin worked day and night to secure the eventual Allied victory. It has rightfully been described as the most significant aircraft piston engine in history and in the twenty-first century its distinctive ‘drone’ can still be heard over England as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight take to the air on special occasions – most recently on the centenary of the RAF – with its Lancaster leading the Merlin-powered Spitfires and Hurricanes in formation. Retired military and commercial pilot Gordon Wilson tells the human story of the development of the engine and its operational use during the war, featuring the voices of air crew who relied on this technological tour de force.
£10.99
CSIRO Publishing Sprinter and Sprummer: Australia's Changing Seasons
Sprinter and Sprummer challenges the traditional four seasons, and encourages us to think about how we view changes in our natural world.Since 1788, Australia has carried the yoke of four European seasons that make no sense in most parts of the country. We may like them for historical or cultural reasons, or because they are the same throughout the world, but they tell us nothing of our natural environment. It's time to reject those seasons and to adopt a system that brings us more in tune with our plants and animals – a system that helps us to notice and respond to climate change.Using examples from his 25 years working in botanic gardens, author Timothy Entwisle illustrates how our natural world really responds to seasonal changes in temperature, rainfall and daylight, and why it would be better to divide up the year based on what Australian plants do rather than ancient rites of the Northern Hemisphere.Sprinter and Sprummer opens with the origins and theory of the traditional seasonal system, and goes on to review the Aboriginal seasonal classifications used across Australia. Entwisle then proposes a new five-season approach, explaining the characteristics of each season, along with the biological changes that define them. The book uses seasons to describe the fascinating triggers in the life of a plant (and plant-like creatures), using charismatic flora such as carnivorous plants, the Wollemi Pine and orchids, as well as often overlooked organisms such as fungi. The final chapter considers climate change and how the seasons are shifting whether we like it or not.
£28.27
Little, Brown Book Group 1942: Britain at the Brink
'Taylor Downing vividly brings to life a terrible year' Max Hastings, Sunday Times'Taylor Downing is a wonderful historian and a wonderful history communicator.' Dan Snow, History HitEighty years ago, Britain stood at the brink of defeat. In 1942, a string of military disasters engulfed Britain in rapid succession : the collapse in Malaya; the biggest surrender in British history at Singapore; the passing of three large German warships through the Straits of Dover in broad daylight; the longest ever retreat through Burma to the gates of India; serious losses to Rommel's forces in North Africa; the siege of Malta and the surrender at Tobruk. All of this occurred against the backdrop of catastrophic sinkings in the Atlantic and the Arctic convoys. People began to claim that Churchill was not up to the job and his leadership was failing badly. Public morale reached a new low. 1942 Britain At the Brink explores the story of frustration and despair in that year prompting the Prime Minister to demand of his army chief 'Have you not got a single general who can win battles?' Using new archival material, historian Taylor Downing shows just how unpopular Churchill became in 1942 with two votes attacking his leadership in the Commons and the emergence of a serious political rival. Most people think that Britain's worst moment of the war was in 1940 when the nation stood up against the threat of German invasion. In 1942 Britain at the Brink, Taylor Downing describes in nail-biting detail what was really Britain's darkest hour .
£18.00
Little, Brown Book Group The First Rule Of Survival
Seven years ago in Cape Town three young white South African schoolboys were abducted in broad daylight on three consecutive days. They were never heard of again.Now, a new case for the unpredictable Colonel Vaughn de Vries casts a light on the original enquiry; for him, a personal failure which has haunted him for those seven years and has cost him his marriage and peace of mind.A former British government agent, friend to De Vries, provides intelligence on this new case, but is any of it admissible? Struggling in a mire of departmental and racial rivalry, De Vries seeks the whole truth and unravels a complex history of abuse, deception and murder. Challenging friends, colleagues and enemies, De Vries comes to realise he doesn't know who is which.Set against the background of Cape Town and the endless, rolling South African veld, this chilling thriller reveals layer after layer of abuse - physical, political and psychological.Shortlisted for the Crime Writer's Association Gold Dagger 2014 (Crime Novel of the Year)Praise for Paul Mendelson:'An excellent, uncompromising crime thriller made even better by its setting ... the story is two journeys in one, and I'm glad I took both' Lee Child'A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine The Killing moved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld' Philip Glenister'The First Rule of Survival is an incredibly atmospheric, complex and dazzling debut from a thrilling and authentic new voice in crime fiction' Brian McGilloway'An impressive debut' The Times
£9.99
John Murray Press The Secret Hours: The Instant Sunday Times Bestselling Thriller from the Author of Slow Horses
An Instant Sunday Times Bestseller*A gripping standalone thriller with a riveting reveal about a disastrous MI5 mission in Cold War Berlin - a dazzling entry-point to Mick Herron's writing and an unmissable read for Slough House fans.*A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime'I doubt I'll read a more enjoyable novel all year' Paula Hawkins'Pitch-perfect' Lee Child'Terrific' The Times'Never has a work of popular fiction delighted me more' The Spectator'A modern rival to Ian Fleming and John le Carré' Sunday Times'One of his best books yet' Daily TelegraphTwo years ago, the Monochrome inquiry was set up to investigate the British secret service. Monochrome's mission was to ferret out misconduct, allowing the civil servants seconded to the inquiry, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, unfettered access to confidential information in the service archives.But with progress blocked at every turn, Monochrome is circling the drain . . . Until the OTIS file appears out of nowhere.What classified secrets does OTIS hold that see a long-redundant spy being chased through Devon's green lanes in the dark? What happened in a newly reunified Berlin that someone is desperate to keep under wraps? And who will win the battle for the soul of the secret service - or was that decided a long time ago?Spies and pen-pushers, politicians and PAs, high-flyers, time-servers and burn-outs . . . They all have jobs to do in the daylight. But what they do in the secret hours reveals who they really are.
£16.99
Stackpole Books Danger Close!: A Vietnam Memoir
Phil Gioia grew up an army brat during the decades after World War II. Drawn to the military, he attended the Virginia Military Institute, then was commissioned in the U.S. Army, where he completed Jump School and Ranger School. Not even a year after college graduation, he landed in Vietnam in early 1968—in the first weeks of the Tet offensive, which marked a major escalation of the war. Commanding a company in the 82nd Airborne Division, Gioia led his paratroopers into the city of Hue for intense fighting—danger was always just around the corner —and the grisly discovery of mass graves. Wounded, he was sent home in May but returned with the 1st Cavalry Division a year later, this time leading a rucksack company of light infantry. Inserted into far-flung landing zones, Gioia and his men patrolled the jungles and rubber plantations along the Cambodian border, looking for a furtive enemy who preferred ambushes to set-piece battles and nighttime raids to daylight attacks.Danger Close! recounts the Vietnam War from the unique boots-on-the-ground perspective of a young officer who served two tours in two different divisions. He tells his story thoughtfully, straightforwardly, and always vividly, from the raw emotions of unearthing massacred human beings to the terrors of fighting in the dark, with red and green tracers slicing the air. Hard to put down and hard to forget, Danger Close! will remind readers of the best Vietnam memoirs, like Guns Up! and Baptism.
£22.50
John Murray Press The Secret Hours: The Instant Sunday Times Bestselling Thriller from the Author of Slow Horses
An Instant Sunday Times Bestseller* and a gripping standalone thriller with a riveting reveal about a disastrous MI5 mission in Cold War Berlin. A dazzling entry-point to Mick Herron's writing and an unmissable read for Slough House fans'Pure class' Ian Rankin'I doubt I'll read a more enjoyable novel all year' Paula Hawkins'Pitch-perfect' Lee Child'Terrific' The Times'Never has a work of popular fiction delighted me more' The Spectator'A thriller of immense brilliance' Sunday TimesTwo years ago, the Monochrome inquiry was set up to investigate the British secret service. Monochrome's mission was to ferret out misconduct, allowing the civil servants seconded to the inquiry, Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, unfettered access to confidential information in the service archives. But with progress blocked at every turn, Monochrome is circling the drain . . . Until the OTIS file appears out of nowhere. What classified secrets does OTIS hold that see a long-redundant spy being chased through Devon's green lanes in the dark? What happened in a newly reunified Berlin that someone is desperate to keep under wraps? And who will win the battle for the soul of the secret service - or was that decided a long time ago? Spies and pen-pushers, politicians and PAs, high-flyers, time-servers and burn-outs . . . They all have jobs to do in the daylight. But what they do in the secret hours reveals who they really are.*Mick Herron's The Secret Hours was a Sunday Times Number Four bestseller in hardback in the second week of September 2023
£19.80
Fonthill Media LLc Dallas 50 Years On: The Murder of John F. Kennedy
JFK had won the Presidency in 1960 by a razor thin majority, and his re-election campaign for 1964 was expected to be as close. He began it in November 1963 with a kick-off multi-city, four-day swing across the important state of Texas. It was going unexpectedly well when shots were fired into his triumphant motorcade in downtown Dallas that ripped history apart, changing it forever The assassination of American President John F. Kennedy in 1963 came at the very height of both the Cold War following the Second World War and the Pax Americana that was thought to exist at the war's conclusion in 1945. The United States and its allies possessed a far greater number of nuclear weapons than their Soviet adversaries, but the latter could unleash World War 3 and a nuclear Armageddon that would destroy them all. The sudden and totally unexpected murder in broad daylight in an American city of one of the most popular presidents in history was the murder mystery of the 20th century. The Cold War could have become hot and nuclear within minutes. The murderer had to be found and vital questions had to be answered quickly. Who did it, why and who ordered Kennedy's assassination? Was the deed part of a conspiracy: foreign, domestic or both? Were none of the these questions part of the bloody puzzle and was it entirely possible that only one man was responsible? The questions remain to this very day and Dallas Fifty Years On: The Murder of John F. Kennedy reveals sensational new evidence, eyewitness accounts and top secret documentation.
£14.99
Hachette Children's Group Leila and the Blue Fox: Winner of the Wainwright Children’s Prize 2023
*Winner of the 2023 Wainwright Prize for Children's Writing on Nature & Conservation!*'A captivating tale that glistens with wonder. Leila and Fox will always have a home in my heart' Sophie Anderson'This is an extraordinary book - wild and beautiful and perfect' Katya BalenCome with an Arctic fox on a breathtaking journey ... an enthralling story from the bestselling, award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark. With dazzling blue and black illustrations, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of The Last Bear and A Wolf Called Wander.Fox wakes, and begins to walk. She crosses ice and snow, over mountains and across frozen oceans, encountering bears and birds beneath the endless daylight of an Arctic summer, navigating a world that is vast, wild and wondrous. Meanwhile, Leila embarks on a journey of her own - finding her way to the mother who left her. On a breathtaking journey across the sea, Leila rediscovers herself and the mother she thought she'd lost, with help from a determined little fox.Based on the true story of an Arctic fox who walked from Norway to Canada in seventy-six days, a distance of two thousand miles, this compelling, emotional and beautifully illustrated story is the perfect gift for 9+ readers.Praise for Julia and the Shark:'A tale of courage, understanding and compassion' The Observer'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer'A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!' Jacqueline Wilson
£8.71
Book*hug The Lightning of Possible Storms
Winner of the 2021 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction Aleya's world starts to unravel after a cafÉ customer leaves behind a collection of short stories. Surprised and disturbed to discover that it has been dedicated to her, Aleya delves into the strange book...A mad scientist seeks to steal his son's dreams. A struggling writer, skilled only at destruction, finds himself courted by Hollywood. A woman seeks to escape her body and live inside her dreams. Citizens panic when a new city block manifests out of nowhere. The personification of capitalism strives to impress his cutthroat boss.The more Aleya reads, the deeper she sinks into the mysterious writer's work, and the less real the world around her seems. Soon, she's overwhelmed as a new, more terrifying existence takes hold.The Lightning of Possible Storms blends humour and horror, doom and daylight, offering myriad possible storms.Praise for Jonathan Ball:"Cheerfully horrifying, and full of the unexpected, The Lightning of Possible Storms is an entertaining Borgesian foray into the existential dread of writing itself." —Saleema Nawaz, author of Songs for the End of the World"This collection is so beautifully written and expertly composed—it is rich, layered, and complex. In every story, characters are forced to confront their secret, subterranean selves, their suppressed longings and anxieties, and the stories will linger with you long after you’ve finished them, much like the last strains of a beloved song. Witty, sad, sardonic, each story is its own masterpiece. This collection confirms Jonathan Ball as one of Canada’s very best writers." —Suzette Mayr, author of Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall
£17.95
Anvil Press Publishers Inc Black Rabbit: & Other Stories
'Black Rabbit & Other Stories' is a debut collection of great intensity and versatility. The stories range from the fantastic to the gritty, from urban dystopias to worlds of dreamlike possibility. Even in their frequent explorations of brutality, the author remains honest and true to the motivations of his characters and the machinations of the worlds in which they find themselves. These are sure-footed narratives that move with a pre-destined deliberation into a universe that is oftenfraught with desperation and apparent hopelessness; but, ultimately, we find ourselves on a path to redemption, an acceptance of what is, in the final analysis, an incomprehensible matrix. Existential and reflective, brutal and honest, these are stories that will leave you questioning the essence of existence, your own humanity, and the humanity of those around you. This is deft storytelling from a talented new voice. "Difalco is at his strongest when writing about relationships - focusing upon the inherent drama of tight-knit Italian families, couples on the rock, or even corpulent characters' relationships to food and their own bodies. Let's continue to hope he continues to mine the strange lives of his particular brand of disenfranchised heros. In all that roughness, there are diamonds." - Quill & Quire "These are thoughtful, enigmatic stories drawing the reader in with sharp detail, poetic phrasing and recognizable characters. Though we're dealing with thugs, prostitutes and crack heads, they are all folks you'll feel uncomfortably at home with. That's Difalco's magic: scrape characters from the bottom of society's bowl and reveal them in literary daylight as powerless dreamers, failed mothers, caged creatures." - Front & Centre
£11.99
Princeton Architectural Press The Architecture of Trees
"Any landscape architect worth their soil should pick up The Architecture of Trees, an all-encompassing atlas of all things tree-related."—The Architect's Newspaper A 2019 Oprah's Favorite Things Pick A gorgeous, large format volume that shows each hand-drawn illustration in stunning detail. The Architecture of Trees is the result of over twenty years of dedicated study by landscape architects Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi. This new edition preserves the original magnificent illustrations and text, translated into English for the first time. Features more than 550 exquisite quill-pen drawings of trees. Each of the 212 tree species are drawn to a scale of 1:100, with and without foliage. Complete with tables of seasonal color variation and projections of shadows cast during the hours of daylight and season by season, no other tree book contains such detailed and scientific drawings. A legendary and unsurpassed botanical masterwork. Considered a standard in many landscape architecture firms, the drawings, essays, and detailed charts are essential for large scale landscaping projects and a helpful tool for backyard renovations. Landscape designers will think in new ways about the effect of seasons and the time of day on trees, and anyone interested in nature and trees will be captivated by the stunning illustrations. "This book could be considered the Bible for tree lovers."—Western Art & Architecture An incredible book for anyone interested in trees: • An oversized, captivating coffee table book for lovers of art and nature illustrations • A helpful tree identification book with accurate drawings of trees and detailed looks at branches, leaves, and fruit • A reference for students of landscape architecture, botany, dendrology, architecture, and illustration
£90.00
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission: The American Raids on 17 August 1943
On 17 August 1943, the entire strength of the American heavy bomber forces in England set out to raid two major industrial complexes deep in southern Germany, the vast Messerschmitt aircraft factory and the vital KGF ballbearing plant. For American commanders it was the culmination of years of planning and hope, the day when their self-defending formations of the famous Flying Fortress could at last perform their true role and reach out by daylight to strike at targets in the deepest corners of industrial Germany. The day ended in disaster for the Americans. Thanks to the courage of the aircrews the bombers won through to the targets and caused heavy damage, but sixty were shot down and the hopes of the American commanders were shattered. Historically, it was probably the most important day for the American air forces during the Second World War.While researching this catastrophic raid the Author interviewed hundreds of the airmen involved, German defenders, 'slave workers' and eye witnesses. This took him twice to both the USA and Germany.The result is a mass of fresh, previously unused material with which the author finally provides the full story of this famous day's operations. Not only is the American side described in far greater depth than before but the previously vague German side of the story - both the Luftwaffe action and the civilian experiences in Schweinfurt and Regensburg, are now presented clearly and in detail for the first time. The important question of why the RAF did not support the American effort and follow up the raid on Schweinfurt as planned is also fully covered.
£15.99
Troubador Publishing The Bombing of London 1940-41: The Blitz and its impact on the capital
This is the story of the London Blitz of 1940-41 and is a combination of social and military history of this time. The title emphasises bombing over blitz as the word 'Blitz' has now taken on a much more general meaning associated with Britain's wartime spirit. This book describes how the Blitz progressed from the daylight attacks of the summer of 1940 through to the major raids of the spring of 1941, and looks at exactly what happened in the metropolis in those years. During the course of these attacks thousands of bombs fell on London, many triggering an ‘incident, a bland word that on hundreds of occasions effectively resulted in a disaster which in peacetime would have made national headlines. A chronology of the London Blitz forms the centrepiece of this account, exploring the progress of the aerial attack, what happened in each raid, the human cost and material destruction, the buildings destroyed or damaged and the people killed and injured. These major bombing incidents and bomb-related events have remained little-known since the War. The Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour and the London Gazette – sources of which only limited use has been previously made – are used to investigate these events. The damage to London’s buildings has also seldom been fully explored. The book covers all the major losses suffered during the war, what happened to the damaged buildings after it and how that destruction has influenced today’s townscape. It will help readers appreciate what happened in the capital in the grim years 1940-41, and celebrate and recognise those Londoners who endured it.
£13.99