Search results for ""Author IAIN"

There are over ninety pieces to cut out and assemble to make this superb model of a 14th century castle. Surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge which goes up and down, the scene is crammed with accurate historical detail. The carefully designed model provides hours of model-making fun and there are around forty groups of figures and props to bring the finished castle to life, including knights and ladies and servants going about their everyday tasks. The base of the finished model measures 460 x 590mm (18 x 23in) and the castle is approximately 220mm (8in) high. Printed on stiff card, this book contains templates to cut out and construct a superb model of a 14th century castle crammed with authentic detail. The model includes miniature characters for re-creating castle life, including market stalls and jousting knights as well as a portcullis that lifts and falls. The base of the model measures 59 x 46cm.

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This newly updated illustrated guide provides a detailed insight into the origins and history of tartan, from the very earliest samples, through those worn by the warring clans in the Stuart rebellions, to the Katsushika Japanese Dancers. The first section details the story of tartan, with information on the way the fabric and weaves developed, and how it became a symbol of resistance. The main part of the book is a directory illustrating the major clan tartans followed by international and modern tartans, with a wealth of history and background to each. From the ancient Bruce family to Neil Armstrong, who took his family tartan to the moon, tartan is one of the most enduring symbols of national pride and individual reputation. It is also a peculiarly inclusive, adaptable way of proclaiming allegiance and belonging.

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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 230 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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HUNTER KILLER: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes.HUNTER KILLERS will follow the careers of four daring British submarine captains who risked their lives to keep the rest of us safe, their exploits consigned to the shadows until now. Their experiences encompass the span of the Cold War, from voyages in WW2-era submarines under Arctic ice to nuclear-powered espionage missions in Soviet-dominated seas. There are dangerous encounters with Russian spy ships in UK waters and finally, as the communist facade begins to crack, they hold the line against the Kremlin's oceanic might, playing a leading role in bringing down the Berlin Wall. It is the first time they have spoken out about their covert lives in the submarine service.This is the dramatic untold story of Britain's most-secret service.

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Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, was, by his own declaration, a Norman. Possessing, at one time or another, a Dukedom, numerous Earldoms and Viscounties on both sides of the Channel, he owned and controlled about a third of both England and Normandy. Skilled in siegecraft and loyal to a fault, Ranulf spent a lifetime at war alongside the impetuous King Richard the Lionheart and then his reviled brother King John, ably commanding their armies and earning a reputation for his offensive spirit and his tenacity in defence. Loyal to a fault, in 1215 he refused to sign Magna Carta and spent the next two years as England’s main defence against a French-backed rebel army. Offered the regency of all England, he graciously refused. His military might tipped the balance in support of the child king Henry III. Ranulf’s reputation grew further when he went on crusade, covering himself with glory and winning the admiration of Rome. He went on to use his experience of war to build spectacular castles, and his diplomacy secured economic prosperity for much of the Midlands. When he died at the height of his fame in 1232, it was said in France that the devil himself had thrown his soul out of hell – even in death he was simply too hot to handle! By Ranulf’s own declaration, his body was that of a foreigner; but surely his heart and soul belong to England. This is the story not just of one man, but of the birth pangs of the English nation.

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A little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing...Innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, the Elect of God of a small but committed Stirlingshire religious cult: Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. When her cousin Morag - Guest of Honour at the Luskentyrian's four-yearly Festival of Love - disappears after renouncing her faith, Isis is marked out to venture among the Unsaved and bring the apostate back into the fold. But the road to Babylondon (as Sister Angela puts it) is a treacherous one, particularly when Isis discovers that Morag appears to have embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon...Truth and falsehood; kinship and betrayal; 'herbal' cigarettes and compact discs - Whit is an exploration of the techno-ridden barrenness of modern Britain from a unique perspective.

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Chief Inspector Jacobson hates drug-related cases. Not least because it means he has to work with the drug squad. But there's no alternative when a local dealer turns up burnt, battered and dead. Just another hopeless, pointless sink estate incident in the middle of a grey, Crowby February. But even so Dave Carter's torched body is the stuff of bad dreams. Death doesn't get any grimmer, Jacobson thinks. But that's because Jacobson, DS Kerr and Crowby CID are still forty-eight hours away from the 'Perfect Family' killings ... five dead in a leafy suburb where bad things aren't supposed to happen. And the only witness may never speak again.

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A swashbuckling thriller, part two of THE HIGH SEAS ADVENTURES, set on the oceans of the eighteenth century – drama, horror, adventure… “Steer clear of that ship,” warns the mysterious gentleman who shares the coach to Dover with John Spencer and his father. “Death she’ll bring you. It’s the way of a ship that was christened in blood.” This is an ominous introduction to the schooner John is about to be entrusted with for a voyage north to London. But he’s too charmed by the pretty Dragon to heed the advice. The ship looks clever and quick, and John, now sixteen, can’t wait to sail her. She was a smugglers’ vessel once, but that was in the past. Now she’s the Spencers’ Dragon, and she will proudly carry wool for honest trade. But soon John will be forced to consider the gentleman’s warning. Could a ship that’s seen a smuggling run truly be spoiled for anything else? And what does John really know about his “bonny” crew of four? Alive with breathtaking action and unforgettable characters, this companion to The Wreckers is masterfully entertaining – a rousing nautical adventure full of danger and surprise.

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Visions of the Roman North: Art and Identity in Northern Roman Britain is the first book to present an analysis of art from the northern frontier zones of Roman Britain and to interpret the meaning and significance of this art in terms of the formation of a regional identity at this time. It argues that a distinct and vibrant visual culture flourished in the north during the Roman period, primarily due to its status as a heavily militarized frontier zone. Artworks from forts and the frontier-works of Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, along with funerary monuments from military and civilian cemeteries, are analysed and discussed. The book also explores religious sculpture depicting classical deities, Romano-British gods and goddesses and eastern deities such as Mithras in terms of the use of imagery in various belief systems and in terms of the establishment of individual and group identities.

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The follow-up to the #1 bestseller, I Wrote This for YouI Wrote This For You: Just The Words presents twice the number of entries with over 400 works from the internationally acclaimed poetry and photography project; including several new and never before seen poems. While focusing on the words from the project, new photography launches each section which speaks to the reader's journey through the world: Love Found, Being In Love, Love Lost, Hope, Despair, Living and Dying.

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A fully up-to-date guide to transformative consumer technologies Video compression or video coding has been at the centre of a revolution in the way video is produced, delivered, and consumed. It has made the switch from analogue to digital video possible and has enabled fundamental shifts in the way we now watch video. New video compression standards, together with adaptive streaming protocols, are used to deliver high-quality video to homes and workplaces around the world. Coding Video provides a practical and comprehensive guide to the new landscape of video coding and video streaming. This book explains the core technologies with a wealth of practical examples and illustrations, covers key standards such as H.265/HEVC and includes an introduction to the new H.266/VVC standard. Coding Video will appeal to engineers, application developers, product designers and digital video professionals, as well as to graduate students and researchers in Engineering, Computer Science and related

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This anthology of essays by a group of distinguished scholars investigates post-1945 city planning in Britain; not from a technical viewpoint, but as a polemical, visual and educational phenomenon, shifting the focus of scholarly interest towards the often-neglected emotional and aesthetic aspects of post-war planning.Each essay is grounded in original archival research and sheds new light on this critical era in the development of modern town planning. This collection is a valuable resource for architectural, social and urban historians, as well as students and researchers offering new insights into the development of the mid-twentieth century city.

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Remarkable Golf Courses encompasses the extremes of the sport – from the highest golf course in La Paz, Bolivia, to the lowest, in Death Valley, USA; from the most northerly in the Arctic Circle to the most southerly in Tierra del Fuego. The many quirks of the golfing world are covered, such as the 18th green the other side of the River Lea which is serviced by an electric ferry, or the LA golf course that has its own funicular railway, or the floating golf hole in Idaho, where it’s not just the pin position that’s changed every day, it’s the distance from the shore! Golf courses that feature neolithic standing stones (Scotland), Roman roads (England), and ruined medieval castles (Wales) take their place alongside the old temples of Delhi or a UNESCO World Heritage bridge that is used to link the 9th and 10th at Angkor Wat. There are the beloved classic courses of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Royal St. George and Westward Ho!. There are spectacular golf courses hewn out of the Nevada and Arizona desert, green oases in a cactus-strewn, rocky landscape, along with Hawaiian courses fringed by barren black lava flows. But nothing can beat the thrill in Guatemala of lining up your drive on an active volcano at the Fuego Maya course. In comparison there are the traditional wind-blown Scottish links, such as the Machrie Hotel on the island of Islay which has the most blind greens on any course, or the remote Isle of Barra where greens are only accessible via a kissing gate. Fancy swapping countries mid-round? You can at the Llanmymynech club in Wales. At the fourth hole golfers tee off in Wales and putt out on the green in England. Remarkable Golf Courses brings together some astonishing stories with some extraordinary photography.

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The NIV Application Commentary helps readers with the vital task of bringing the ancient message of the Bible into a contemporary context. It gives preachers and teachers the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God’s Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

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Behind the normal door of a normal house, in a normal street, two men are slowly driving each other insane. One of them is a psychopath. The father: Mr Todd is at his wits' end. He's been robbed of his job as a tax inspector and is now stuck at home... with him. Frustrated. Lonely. Angry. Really angry. The son: Adrian has no job, no friends. He is at home all day, obsessively chopping vegetables and tap-tap-tapping on his computer. And he's getting worse, disappearing for hours at a time, sneaking off to who-knows-where? The unholy spirit: in the safety of suburbia, one man has developed a taste for killing. And he'll kill again.

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A hilarious assortment of the weirdest and wackiest tales ever to come out of the classroom – and they’re all true. Featuring the flamboyant swimming teacher who spent his spare time fighting bears, the story of how a fight with his teacher paved the way for Al Capone’s infamous crime empire, and the bizarre tale of the American teacher who sued her own pupils for not paying attention in her lesson, this book is a real education. An ideal end-of-year teacher gift, this fascinating book is also a must-read for anyone who’s ever been to school. So stop talking at the back, pay attention and start reading! Word count: 45,000

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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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