Search results for ""macmillan""

The Spectacular Science of Planet Earth is guaranteed to answer all those tricky science questions that children ask about earthquakes and volcanoes, weather and geology – and that parents often struggle to answer.Did you know what causes an Ice Age? Or how a diamond forms? And where can you stand in a dinosaur footprint? Answers to all of these questions and many, many more are explained in The Spectacular Science of Planet Earth.The bright, busy artworks will encourage science-hungry children to pore over every detail and truly get to grips with the science that underpins everything around us. The fascinating text by Rob Colson is delivered on multiple levels, allowing readers to dip in and out at speed, or take a deep dive into their favourite subjects.Don't miss the other books in the Spectacular Science series!The Spectacular Science of BuildingsThe Spectacular Science of SpaceThe Spectacular Science of the Human Body

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The Spectacular Science of the Living World is guaranteed to answer all those tricky science questions that children ask about animals, plants, habitats and ecosystemsQuestions include when and how did life first appear on Earth? How do trees communicate with each other? What are the Great Extinctions? And answers to many, many more!The bright, busy artworks will encourage science-hungry children to pore over every detail and truly get to grips with the science that underpins everything around us. Information is delivered on multiple levels by expert author Rob Colson, allowing readers to dip in and out at speed, or take a deep dive into their favourite subjects.

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The bestselling I Wonder Why series has the answers to all the questions you’ve ever wanted to ask about the natural world, history, space and more!What do all birds have in common? Why do leopards have spots? Which fish can climb trees? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this fascinating question-and-answer book all about animals.Colourful and charming illustrations bring the facts to life and capture the attention of young readers. Information is presented in bite-sized nuggets, making it ideal for reading aloud.Other titles in the I Wonder Why series include The Sea Is Salty, Triceratops Had Horns, The Sun Rises and Stars Twinkle.

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Jump, grab and fling, but try not to fall – learn how to master the levels and be the last one standing in this strategy-packed unofficial guide to the smash-hit game Fall Guys. This book covers all the hints and tips you need to stumble your way to victory, or at least outlast your opponents, so that you can collect that sweet, sweet Kudos and even some Crowns.This book has everything you need to win for each type of game – race, survival, team and the all-important final – from popular tactics for specific levels to hidden shortcuts that when executed correctly will be sure to secure you a victory. Plus, it includes a handy guide to the rarest collectable skins, because it’s important that your Fall Guy looks the best, even when flailing about.If you’ve had trouble with being eliminated early and want to conquer the chaos, then look no further as this book will help you eliminate obstacles so that you can become a winner!With Fall Guys now available on both Switch and Xbox, this globally popular game has got even bigger!

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Things are hotting up, but not in a good way! Every year, millions of people across the globe find themselves at the mercy of Heat Wave, Drought or Flood – they’re friends of Climate Change, who is wreaking havoc on our planet.Step inside to learn more about these extreme characters. But first, let Weather System, Seasons and Climate tell you how weather works. Find out just what it is about Climate Change that is making things more intense. And whatever you do, don’t panic! Just as there are troublemakers in this turbulent world, there are heroes who want to calm things down: Flood Defences and Firefighting will bring you up to speed.Basher Science Mini: Extreme Weather gives kids the lowdown on one of the most pressing problems that we face: extreme weather. Basher's unique illustrations combine with chatty, first-person text by expert author Tom Jackson to hook even the most reluctant readers and help them to understand the science behind the headlines.Perfect for home or school, Basher's highly original books make difficult concepts tangible, understandable and even lovable. With sales of over 3 million copies around the world, they are a brilliant way to communicate science, history and geography.

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- Which member of the Piece Patrol is the most powerful?- Can you tell a pin from a fork?- Who is the greatest chess player of all time?Basher’s Chess has the answers to these questions and more. Get to know the major players on the chessboard and find out the different moves they make to try and capture King. See how a game of chess unfolds from Opening to Endgame and pick up some top tips and strategies along the way. Meet the world’s greatest chess players – including Abhimanyu Mishra, Magnus Carlsen and Judit Polgár – and discover how you, too, can become a master of the game!Perfect for home or school, Basher's highly original books make difficult concepts tangible, understandable and even lovable. Chatty first-person text and stylish, contemporary character illustrations give a voice, personality and story to each topic – a brilliant way to communicate science, history and geography.

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Take an exciting journey around the world and explore every country on Earth. Beautifully illustrated by award-winning artist Anthony Lewis, the colourful maps combine with lively and informative text to make this an essential atlas for younger readers. Jet off to South America and discover the Amazon rainforest, journey to Scandinavia and visit a mermaid, then wrap up warm as you head south to Antarctica - the coldest place on Earth. Pictograms show where to find animals and places of interest: can you find the sunbathing walrus in Alaska? And the Tasmanian devil in Australia? This atlas is the perfect first geography reference book for both home and school.

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This is a coral reef. A living, limestone necklace beneath the sea ­– multi-coloured, ever-changing and full of animals. A Coral Reef Story brings together a spellbinding narrative, breathtaking illustrations and fascinating facts about the astonishing creatures that live in one of our planet’s most precious environments. Travelling through the seasons over the course of one year, we meet great white sharks, bright parrotfish, graceful green turtles and more amazing animals as they hunt for food and play. See the stripy clown fish fiercely guarding his babies, the eel spitting out a spiky porcupinefish, and a queue of hermit crabs jostling to move into their new shells. With lyrical text by Jane Burnard combining with Kendra Binney's evocative illustrations to show readers the magical beauty of the coral reef, this is a story sure to inspire wonder in the natural world.

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The perfect introduction to AI for kids, Basher Science Mini: Artificial Intelligence explains what AI is and how computers are aiding humans in everyday tasks.Come and meet the smartest artificial intelligences of the past, present and future. This cutting-edge book introduces pioneering AI machines such as Watson and Sophia, and lifts the lid on how they work. Meet machines that look like humans, pit your wits against AlphaGo and Deep Blue, and seek advice from Recommendation Engine. With The Code Room, there is even a chance to imagine what it is like to be an AI yourself. There’s nothing smarter than that!Artificial intelligence is already shaping the world and computers will be taking on more and more human-type tasks in the future. But there’s no need to be afraid of AI. It is here to help, not takeover, despite what you might see in sci-fi films.Perfect for home or school, Basher's highly original books make difficult concepts tangible, understandable and even lovable. Chatty first-person text and stylish, contemporary character illustrations give a voice, personality and story to each topic – a brilliant way to communicate science.

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Discover how maths is part of our daily lives with Everyday STEM Maths – Amazing Maths.Mathematics is not just working out sums and equations for school – it's all around us and used in everyday situations. From photography and cooking to ballet and fashion design, maths is the building block of everything! Discover how watching rabbits and bees developed into a famous sequence, see the ancient Egyptians apply maths to pyramid building, and meet the inspirational mathematicians who brought numbers and symbols to life, including Marjorie Lee Browne, Archimedes and Maryam Mirzakhani. A "try this at home" section shows readers how maths helps you to read minds and how a sequence can turn you into an artist.With easy-to-understand text written by maths expert Lou Abercrombie, and lots of colourful artworks, photos and diagrams, readers can best explore where we encounter maths and why it’s even important at all.The Everyday STEM series makes science relevant to tweens. Instead of telling kids STEM is important and is the key to their future success, these books show readers how we use science, technology, engineering and maths in our everyday lives. While the topics sound high-level and complex, this series makes these concepts age-appropriate and accessible. So, while we can’t promise to teach 9 to 11-year-olds quantum physics, we can explain in the simplest terms the practical applications of STEM.

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Ready to take your Animal Crossing island to the next level? Animal Crossing New Horizons Pro Island Designer shows you how to master your creativity and build your dream island paradise!Create inspiring interiors and exciting outdoor areas, including an ice cream parlour and DJ dancefloor with step-by-step guides. Plus, learn how to master Custom Designs and make your own stylish outfits, awesome accessories and unique finishing touches.Here is everything you need to get the most out of the game!

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Discover how science affects our daily lives with Everyday STEM — Chemical Engineering, filled with inventions, stories and experiments to try at home.Engineering is all around you! From raising agents in bread to life-saving medicine and eco-friendly fuel, chemical engineering has transformed our lives. Discover the animal inspiration behind running blades, watch DNA technology in action, and see how engineering can help to feed the world. Plus, meet the engineers and scientists whose discoveries are changing our lives for the better, including Tu Youyou, Markus Rehm and Jamie Garcia. Then put your engineering skills to the test with the cool at-home experiments. With easy-to-understand text written by science communicator Jenny Jacoby, and lots of colourful artworks, photos and diagrams, readers can best explore where we encounter chemical engineering and why it’s even important at all.The Everyday STEM series makes science relevant to tweens. Instead of telling kids STEM is important and is the key to their future success, these books show readers how we use science, technology, engineering and maths in our everyday lives. While the topics sound high-level and complex, this series makes these concepts age-appropriate and accessible. So, while we can’t promise to teach 9 to 11-year-olds quantum physics, we can explain in the simplest terms the practical applications of STEM.

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Do you know what happens when Virus goes viral? How does Immune System fight infection when it strikes? And why do masks matter?Kids need real science information about the Covid-19 pandemic that has kept them away from school, kept their parents away from work, and may even have harmed people they know and love. And they want information about how to deal with their feelings, too. The Basher mix of science and humour makes these difficult times less frightening by providing approachable and easily understandable information in a format kids know and love.From Smallpox to Social Distancing, this book is crammed with bad actors from the world of pandemics. Find out about history’s nastiest diseases, then discover how Vaccine, Treatment and Clinical Trial help to beat back today’s viruses. And turn to Hygiene, Face Mask, Lockdown and Resourcefulness for advice on keepingsafe physically – and mentally.Basher’s distinctive, colourful illustrations and Tom Jackson’s lively, engaging text will demystify pandemics, while informing kids about the coronavirus that has changed their lives.

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Discover it Yourself: Plants and Flowers is packed with scientific facts, experiments and activities linked to the world of plants. It brings a lively, hands-on approach to practical STEM experiments.Children can find almost everything they need for the experiments around the home, and the materials and instructions are simply, safely and clearly presented. Written by Sally Morgan, this STEM-focused book will show readers how to take a leaf rubbing, calculate a tree's age, grow their own pumpkin and much more. Kids will learn, explore and discover STEM in the world around them with the Discover It Yourself series.

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Discover it Yourself: Animals In Action is packed with scientific facts, experiments and activities linked to the world of animals.It brings a lively, hands-on approach to practical experiments. Children can find almost everything they need for the experiments around the home, and the materials and instructions are simply, safely and clearly presented. Written by Sally Morgan, this STEM-focused book will show readers how to test a hamster’s IQ with a home-made maze, observe nocturnal animals, keep a diary of the changing seasons and much more.Kids will learn, explore and discover STEM in the world around them with the Discover It Yourself series.

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It's All About... Slithering Snakes tells you everything you want to know about snakes: how they use their senses, which is the most deadly, why snakes shed their skin and so much more! Packed with all-action photography, the latest bite-size facts, and a bonus audio download, this book has everything a snake-crazed kid could need.It’s All About… is a collectable series filled with up-to-date stats and facts about a wide range of hot topics, including animals, history, technology and vehicles. Each book comes with a bonus audio download so children can take their book wherever they go, as well as a glossary that’s perfect for teaching and learning.Check out the other titles in the It’s All About… series, including Speedy Trains, Dangerous Dinosaurs and Wild Weather, and see if you can collect them all!

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Do you want to know about eight of the world’s deadliest snakes, forty-nine countries without a coastline and five fearless female warriors?Then look no further because Lists for Curious Kid by Tracey Turner is absolutely bursting with eye-popping and informative lists from around the world, guaranteed to keep you entertained and increase your general knowledge at the same time! Discover Ancient Greek monsters, presidential pets, dizzying mountain peaks, super-fast animals … and what not to mention at a donkey’s house.With quirky, colourful illustrations by Caroline Selmes, this is a great gift purchase but also a book to buy for yourself!

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It’s All About… Cool Cars gives young readers everything they want to know about about cars, from the earliest automobiles to speedy supercars, rally racers and even cars that fly. Packed with detailed photography, the latest bite-size facts, and a bonus audio download, this book has everything a car-crazy kid could need.It’s All About… is a collectable series filled with up-to-date stats and facts about a wide range of hot topics, including animals, history, technology, and vehicles. Each book comes with a bonus audio download so children can take their book wherever they go, as well as a glossary that’s perfect for teaching and learning.Check out the other titles in the It’s All About… series, including Speedy Trains, Dangerous Dinosaurs and wild Weather, and see if you can collect them all!

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Do you want to know twelve egg-laying animals that aren't birds, nine animals without brains, and how to say woof in sixteen different languages?Then look no further because Lists for Curious Kids: Animals is absolutely bursting with 206 interesting and informative lists, guaranteed to keep you entertained and increase your animal knowledge at the same time!Discover animal invaders, the top 10 most popular pets, fish that light up the ocean, very long snakes . . . and a slam-dunking, basketball-playing rabbit!With quirky, colourful illustrations by Caroline Selmes, this is a great gift purchase but also a book to buy for yourself!

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Wings takes readers on a fact-packed flight over a fascinating subject. Written by Tracey Turner, Wings offers a bird’s-eye view of the first aeroplanes, the fastest jet planes, beetles, birds, winged horses, flying dragons – even winged unicorns. There's fun, easy-to-read information on wings of all kinds, including plenty of STEM material, presented in a mixture of text and speech bubbles that's perfect for readers aged 7 plus.With Fatti Burke’s stylish and colourful illustrations, Wings is a wonderful journey of discovery. And don't miss Wheels - the other title in this fantastically fascinating series!

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This delightfully illustrated gift book contains more than seventy-five of the best-loved rhymes and songs of childhood, from soothing lullabies to schoolyard chants. Popular classics such as "Pat a Cake," "Humpty Dumpty" and "Jack and Jill" are joined by lesser-known rhymes and ditties from many different cultures. Kady MacDonald Denton's illustrations add liveliness and humour. Together, parents and children will enjoy sharing A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes.75 songs are available to download from www.panmacmillan.com

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How do you measure an animal’s intelligence? Can animals learn a language? Which animals use tools? In Focus: Intelligent Animals has the answers! In Focus is a cool, new information series that's perfect for curious kids. These fun books feature modern, magazine-style pages, including top 10 lists, fast facts, quickfire quizzes and more! With pages packed with vivid photography and fun facts, kids will have fun learning about the world around them! Each In Focus book features a contents page, glossary, and index.

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Each bright, vibrant Explorers title features a series of beautiful, child-friendly, story-based scenes - easy to read but with a wealth of detail and plenty to look for - partnered by photographic spreads giving more in-depth information. There's a fun extra element: coloured buttons throughout the book allow readers to jump about through the book and find connections between topics -connections that are neatly summarised at the end of each book.

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Which moon in the solar system has more water than Earth? How are black holes made? What's our full address in the Universe? In Focus: Space by Raman Prinja has the answers!In Focus is a cool information series that's perfect for curious kids. These fun books feature modern, magazine-style pages, including top 10 lists, fast facts, quickfire quizzes and more! With pages packed with vivid photography and fun facts, kids will have fun learning about the world around them!Each In Focus book features a contents page, glossary, and index, plus front and end gatefold flaps on the cover.

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What goes "VROOM," "BEEP" and "SCREECH"?For fans of the bestselling Amazing Machines series, this is a perfect way for young children to learn all about sounds in a colourful, engaging way, with their favourite machines!

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How were fossils formed? What did dinosaurs look like? Which was the smallest dinosaur?Step back in time and unearth some of the most awesome dinosaur specimens yet discovered.Fast Facts is a new series of high-interest, lower reading ability books aimed at fact-hungry children who enjoy information books but may be less confident readers or have difficulty with the usual quantity and level of text aimed at their age group.

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This irresistible reading series is sure to fire the imagination of young readers with its exciting range of high-interest topics and its great-looking, easy-to-follow design.Developed with literacy experts, this five-level graded reading series will guide young readers as they build confidence and fluency in their literacy skills and progress towards reading alone.Astronaut introduces children who are reading alone with some help to the life of a space astronaut, from the suits they wear to the food they eat in the International Space Station and the way they train for their space missions. It looks at some famous astronauts in the history of space exploration, including the first man in space and the first man to walk on the Moon.See www.kingfisherreaders.com for series information and free audiobooks.

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So what is a bullet journal? It’s a planner, to-do list and diary that will help you get your life together!This fun, practical guide shows you how to start and keep a bullet journal: a single notebook in which you write down all the things that you want to remember, or need to do, or you’ve already done – from every aspect of your life: work, home, relationships and hobbies.With colourful illustrations and easy tips to get you started, early adopter Rachel Wilkerson Miller explains how to make a bullet journal work for you – whether you want to create something simple or elaborate. Ideas for content include:- Lists of your to-dos and to-don’ts- Symbols that will make your lists efficient and effective- Calendars to plan your day, week, month or year- Trackers for your habits and goals (think health, money, travel)- Stationery such as washi tape, book darts and more!The phenomenon that is bullet journaling has led to thousands of journalers sharing their work on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. In How to Bullet Plan, Buzzfeed editor Rachel Wilkerson Miller tells you everything you need to know to start your own.

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The New York Times bestseller.A delightfully quirky compendium of the Animal Kingdom's more unfortunate truths, with over 150 hand-drawn illustrations to make you laugh and cry. Have you ever wondered how expensive a jar of honey would be if a minimum wage for bees applied, or whether a dog cares what's on television when they sit next to you? Once you enter Brooke Barker's world, you'll never see animals in the same way again. This melancholy menagerie pairs the sweet and sad facts of animal life with their hilarious thoughts and reactions. Sneakily informative, and beautifully illustrated, Sad Animal Facts by Brooke Barker is the perfect book for animal lovers (and haters) everywhere.

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While Banjo opens with a clutch of fine lyrics, elegies and set-pieces, at the heart of Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch’s new book is a remarkable tale of darkness and light, music and silence. Celebrating the centenary of Captain Scott’s arrival at the South Pole in 1912, Banjo gives us new psychological insight into the lives of the early Antarctic pioneers, as well as an extraordinary account of the role played by music in surviving the long Antarctic winters. Banjo is Wynne-Rhydderch’s most accomplished collection to date, and further evidence of a writer of great imaginative versatility. 'Everything is close to the nerve, everything under cool emotional pressure. The cuts blossom into freshness and colour. And delight, the delight borne out of precision of sound and an exquisite command of register’ George Szirtes ‘Lines full of beauty, sometimes gorgeous, sometimes stark . . . implicating us in the essential human situations, life, death and survival, she explores’ Philip Gross

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Arriving at the great houses of 1920s London, fifteen-year-old Margaret’s life in service was about to begin… As a kitchen maid – the lowest of the low – she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and even bootlaces to be ironed. Work started at 5.30am and went on until after dark. It was a far cry from her childhood on the beaches of Hove, where money and food were scarce, but warmth and laughter never were. Yet from the gentleman with a penchant for stroking the housemaids’ curlers, to raucous tea-dances with errand boys, to the heartbreaking story of Agnes the pregnant under-parlourmaid, fired for being seduced by her mistress’s nephew, Margaret’s tales of her time in service are told with wit, warmth, and a sharp eye for the prejudices of her situation. Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Below Stairs is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman, who, though her position was lowly, never stopped aiming high. 'Enormous gusto, salty humour, wisdom' Evening Standard 'Shrewd, unabashed, wickedly funny, a unique front-line report of her life's experiences' Jack De Manio, BBC

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The novels of the American writer, Cormac McCarthy, have received a number of literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.

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'Sacks is rightly renowned for his empathy . . . anyone with a taste for the exotic will find this beautifully written book highly engaging' – Sunday Times Always fascinated by islands, Oliver Sacks is drawn to the Pacific by reports of the tiny atoll of Pingelap, with its isolated community of islanders born totally colour-blind; and to Guam, where he investigates a puzzling paralysis endemic there for a century. Along the way, he re-encounters the beautiful, primitive island cycad trees – and these become the starting point for a meditation on time and evolution, disease and adaptation, and islands both real and metaphorical in The Island of the Colour-Blind.

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In a gorgeous pocket-sized hardback, Another Night Before Christmas is Carol Ann Duffy's magical contemporary reworking of the famous poem by Clement C. Moore. Beautifully presented, this wonderful festive poem, illustrated with Rob Ryan's paper cut artwork, is the perfect Christmas gift. On the night before Christmas, A child in a house, As the whole family slept, Behaved just like a mouse . . . It's the night before Christmas and a young girl creeps down the stairs, determined to find out for certain whether Santa is real . . . But try as she might, she can't keep awake and is soon fast asleep. She doesn't stir, even when Santa and his reindeer land on her roof-top - but then, when he bursts out of her fireplace, she wakes to a room filled with magic. As she watches him fly off into the night, she knows that she will never forget this sight because, at Christmas, the best gift of all is belief.

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A Turn in the South is a reflective journey by V. S. Naipaul in the late 1980s through the American South. Naipaul writes of his encounters with politicians, rednecks, farmers, writers and ordinary men and women, both black and white, with the insight and originality we expect from one of our best travel writers. Fascinating and poetic, this is a remarkable book on race, culture and country. ‘Naipaul’s writing is supple and fluid, meticulously crafted, adventurous and quick to surprise. And, as usual, there’s the freshness and originality of his way of looking at things’ Sunday Times ‘Naipaul writes as if a modern oracle has chosen to speak through him. It is a tissue of brilliantly recorded hearsay, of intense listening by a man with a remarkable ear’ New York Times Review of Books ‘This is a journey below the Mason–Dixon line into a society riven by too many defeats; the broken cause of the old Confederacy, and the frustrated anger of Southern blacks whose power is circumscribed . . . It is the best thing outside fiction that I have read on the Old South pregnant with the new since W. J. Cash’s The Mind of the South published over fifty years ago’ Sunday Telegraph

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In 1950, V. S. Naipaul travelled from Trinidad to England to take up a place at Oxford University. Over the next few years, letters passed back and forth between Naipaul and his family – particularly his beloved father Seepersad, but also his mother and siblings. The result is a fascinating chronicle of Naipaul’s time at university; the love of writing that he shared with his father and their mutual nurturing of literary ambition; the triumphs and depressions of Oxford life; and the travails of his family back at home. Letters Between a Father and Son is an engrossing collection continuing into the early years of V. S. Naipaul’s literary career, touching time and again on the craft of writing, and revealing the relationships and experiences that formed and influenced one of the greatest and most enigmatic literary figures of our age. ‘Rare and precious . . . if any modern writer was going to breathe a last gasp into the epistolary tradition, it was always likely to be V. S. Naipaul’ New Statesman

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A Way in the World is a vastly innovative novel exploring colonial inheritance through a series of narratives that span continents, swing back and forth between past and present and delve into both autobiography and fiction. V. S. Naipaul offers a personal choice of examples of Spanish and British imperial history in the Caribbean, including an imagined vision of Raleigh’s last expedition and an introduction to Francisco de Miranda, a would-be liberator and precursor to Bolívar, which are placed within a context of echoing modernity and framed by two more personal, heavily autobiographical sections sketching the narrator – an eloquent yet humble man of Indian descent who grew up in Trinidad but spent much of his adult life in England and Africa. Meditative and dramatic, these historical reconstructions, imbued with Naipaul’s acute perception, drawn with his deft and sensitive touch, and told in his beautifully wrought prose, are transmuted into an astonishing novel exploring the profound and mysterious effect of history on the individual.

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From Yorkshire to Afghanistan, Ours are the Streets is a poignant and powerful story of political radicalization by Sunjeev Sahota, author of Man Booker Prize shortlisted The Year of the Runaways.When Imtiaz Raina leaves England for the first time, to bury his father on his family’s land near Lahore, he exchanges his uncertain life in Sheffield for a road that leads to the mountains of Kashmir and Afghanistan. Once back in Yorkshire, he writes through the night to his young wife Becka and baby daughter Noor, and tries to explain, in a story full of affection and yearning, what has happened to him – and why he has a devastating new sense of home.'What Sahota creates is not an exploration of the psyche of a suicide bomber, but an exploration of a man.' – Yorkshire Post'What is most chilling, and most successful, is that it all seems so familiar, so close and so easy.' – Sunday Times

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The women of Reality, Reality are mesmerizing, whether in love or in solitude. Full of compassion, generosity, sorrow and joy, their fifteen unforgettable stories explore the power of the imagination to make things real, and celebrate, most of all, those who dare to dream.

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Rachael Boast’s first collection is dominated by astral influence and divine chance, by unseen or remote causes; but despite its celestial title, Sidereal is full of terrestrial concerns, the traffic and chaos of the human and natural worlds. Ultimately, however, it is the work of a poet who believes that we must also turn our gaze skywards to make sense of who we are, and these poems pursue their elliptical but inevitable orbits through a world where the earthly and transcendent are thoroughly interfused. Above all, Sidereal impresses through Boast’s lyric faith, which through even the worst pain and despair can still offer its clarities and revelations, and announces an important new voice in British poetry.Sidereal is winner of the Seamus Heaney Centre Prize for Poetry 2012.

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The original India Pale Ale was pure gold in a glass; a semi-mythical beer specially invented, in the 19th century, to travel halfway around the world, through storms and tropical sunshine, and arrive in perfect condition for a long, cold drink on an Indian verandah. But although you can still buy beers with ‘IPA’ on the label they are, to be frank, a pale imitation of the original. For the first time in 140 years, a keg of Burton IPA has been brewed with the original recipe for a voyage to India by canal and tall ship, around the Cape of Good Hope; and the man carrying it is the award-winning Pete Brown, Britain’s best beer write. Brazilian pirates and Iranian customs officials lie ahead, but will he even make it that far, have fallen in the canal just a few miles out of Burton? And if Pete does make it to the other side of the world with ‘Barry’ the barrel, one question remains: what will the real IPA taste like? Weaving first-class travel writing with assured comedy, Hops and Glory is both a rollicking, raucous history of the Raj and a wonderfully entertaining, groundbreaking experiment to recreate the finest beer ever produced.

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‘A stunner. I am heartbroken to have finished it’ Ali Smith In Jackie Kay’s first collection of stories, ordinary lives are transformed by secrets. Her world might seem familiar – sex, death and family cast long shadows – but the roles of mothers, daughters and lovers are imagined and revealed in the most surprising of ways. Sometimes it is the things that we choose to hide within ourselves which can transform us – and that has never been more true than in Jackie Kay’s warm, exuberant storytelling. She sees the extraordinary in everyday life, and lights it up with humour and generosity in a way that is uniquely her own. ‘If stories like these can still be written, the short story form must still be alive, not to say kicking’ Irish Times

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Absolute War tells the story of the greatest and most terrible land-air conflict of all time: the war between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. There have been many individual accounts of particular moments in the vicious war between the Nazi regime and the Sovet behemoth, but none which sets out to tell the full and dreadful story of that absolute war: absolute because both sides aimed to 'exterminate the opponent, to destroy his political existence' and total because it was fought by all elements of society, not simply the armed forces, but civilians - men, women, children - too. Chris Bellamy, Profesor of Military Science at Cranfield University, is one of the wolrd's leading experts on this subject and has been working on this book for almost a decade. It benefits from his remarkable insight into strategic issues as well as exhaustive research in hitherto unopened Russian archives. It is the definitive study of what the Soviets called - and what their fifteen successor states still call - the Great Patriotic War.

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Early this morning, several hours before my arrest, I was woken by an earth tremor. I mention the incident not to suggest that there was a connection – that somehow the fault lines in my life came crashing together in a form of a couple of policemen – for in Tokyo we have a quake like this every month. I am simply relating the sequence of events as it happened. It has been an unusual day and I would hate to forget anything . . . So begins The Earthquake Bird, a haunting novel set in Japan which reveals a murder on its first page and takes its readers into the mind of the chief suspect, Lucy Fly – a young, vulnerable English girl living and working in Tokyo as a translator. As Lucy is interrogated by the police she reveals her past to the reader, and it is a past which is dangerously ambiguous and compromising . . . Why did Lucy leave England for the foreign anonymity of Japan ten years before, and what exactly had prompted her to sever all links with her family back home? She was the last person to see the murdered girl alive, so why was she not more forthcoming about the circumstances of their last meeting? As Lucy’s story unfolds, it emerges that secrets, both past and present, obsess her waking life . . . Winner of the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize

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There is only one way in and there is only one way out: the river. One stifling afternoon, a mysterious supply boat docks at a research station deep in the jungle. To Dr Forle and his team of naturalists, its passengers are unwelcome. Ruthless, uninvited, and bringing corruption to the life of the forest, they force Forle, already a fugitive from his past, to confront his darkest impulses . . . ‘An unusually intelligent thriller that refuses to take sides’ Metro ‘As full of intellectual provocations as it is of suspenseful turns’ Giles Foden, Guardian ‘Reminiscent of J. M. Coetzee or Damon Galgut . . . This poisoned Eden throbs with intensity and delivers a gut punch that leaves you reeling’ Independent on Sunday ‘Docx is a master of disquiet’ Spectator ‘A confident and compelling novel, a riveting Conradian page-turner’ Dazed and Confused

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‘A gorgeous ruin in the shape of a hardboiled noir thriller . . . What a glorious sunset song’ – The GuardianIt is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips the jacket of his wetsuit and plunges from the boat deck into darkness. His divelight illuminates a sunken jet, nine bodies still buckled in their seats. Missing from the crash site are the plane’s black box, and the tenth passenger. But how?A collateral witness to machinations that can only bring him harm, Western is shadowed in body and spirit – by men with badges; by the ghost of his father, inventor of the atom bomb; and by his sister, the love and ruin of his soul.From the bar rooms of New Orleans to an abandoned oil rig off the Florida coast, The Passenger is a breathtaking novel of morality and science, the legacy of sin, and the madness that is human consciousness, and one of the final works by Cormac McCarthy, a true American master.

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