Search results for ""Author Simon""

For many of us, the very expression Concentration Camp is inextricably linked to Nazi Germany and the horrors of the Holocaust. The idea of British concentration camps is a strange and unsettling one. It was however the British, rather than the Germans, who were the chief driving force behind the development and use of concentration camps in the Twentieth Century. The operation by the British army of concentration camps during the Boer War led to the deaths of tens of thousands of children from starvation and disease. More recently, slave-labourers confined in a nationwide network of camps played an integral role in Britains post-war prosperity. In 1947, a quarter of the countrys agricultural workforce were prisoners in labour camps. Not only did the British government run their own concentration camps, they willingly acquiesced in the setting up of such establishments in the United Kingdom by other countries. During and after the Second World War, the Polish government-in-exile maintained a number of camps in Scotland where Jews, communists and homosexuals were imprisoned and sometimes killed. This book tells the terrible story of Britains involvement in the use of concentration camps, which did not finally end until the last political prisoners being held behind barbed wire in the United Kingdom were released in 1975\. From England to Cyprus, Scotland to Malaya, Kenya to Northern Ireland; British Concentration Camps; A Brief History from 1900 to 1975 details some of the most shocking and least known events in British history.

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This book tells the fascinating story of the origin of our ideas about wizards, witches and fairies. We all have a clear mental image of the pointed hats worn by such individuals, which are based upon actual headgear dating back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age. Carefully sifting through old legends, archaeological evidence and modern research in genetics, Simon Webb shows us how our notions about fairies and elves, together with human workers of magic, have evolved over the centuries. This exploration of folklore, backed by the latest scientific findings, will present readers with the image of a lost world; the one used as the archetype for fantasy adventures from _The Lord of the Rings_ to _Game of Thrones_. In the process, the real nature of wizards will be revealed and their connection with the earliest European cultures thoroughly documented. After reading this book, nobody will ever be able to view Gandalf the wizard in the same light and even old fairy tales such as _Beauty and the Beast_ will take on a richer and deeper meaning. In short, our perception of wizards, witches and fairies will be altered forever.

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* Don't miss 'THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH' TV SERIES - now streaming on Paramount+ * Adapted from The Chemistry of Death and Written in Bone - starring Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter'A classy debut' The Times'Best thriller I've read all year' Tess GerritsenDr David Hunter hoped he might at last have put the past behind him. But then they found what was left of Sally Palmer . . .It isn't just that she was a friend that disturbs him. Once he'd been a high-profile forensic anthropologist and all too familiar with the many faces of death, before tragedy made him abandon this previous life.Now the police want his help.But to become involved will stir up memories he's long tried to forget. Then a second woman disappears, plunging the close-knit community into a maelstrom of fear and paranoia.And no one, not even Hunter, is exempt from suspicion.Gruesome and gripping, this startling new British crime thriller has an unnerving and original twist.

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'[A] gripping tale of the Great Siege of Malta...Ferocious and compelling it is a story of blood, romance and sacrifice' **** Daily ExpressSWORD AND SCIMITAR is the compelling tale of the Great Siege of Malta from Simon Scarrow, bestselling author of the Eagles of the Empire series. A must read for fans of Conn Iggulden and Robert Harris. 'This lively, absorbing novel will not disappoint' The Sunday Times1565, Malta: a vital outpost between the divided nations of Europe and the relentlessly expanding Ottoman Empire. Faced with ferocious attack by a vast Turkish fleet, the knights of the Order of St John fear annihilation. Amongst those called to assist is disgraced veteran Sir Thomas Barrett. Loyalty and instinct compel him to put the Order above all other concerns, yet his allegiance is divided. At Queen Elizabeth's command, he must search for a hidden scroll, guarded by the knights, that threatens her reign. As Sir Thomas confronts the past that cost him his honour and a secret that has long lain buried, a vast enemy army arrives to lay siege to the island...

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IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROME!WHEN THE EAGLE HUNTS is the compelling third novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Eagles of the Empire series. For fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. 'Scarrow's [novels] rank with the best' IndependentBritannia, AD 44. Cato, a thoughtful junior officer in the Roman army, and his commanding centurion, Macro, are simply pawns in Rome's lust to conquer Britain. During the freezing winter, the two men and their legion fight the native savages in hand-to-hand battles that haunt Cato for days after.But in a place full of enemies, the most vicious are the Druids of the Dark Moon; brutal, merciless men who have captured the wife and children of General Plautius himself.So Macro and Cato are given a mission: to travel deep into enemy territory and recover the hostages. If they fail, the fate of the Roman army may just hang in the balance...

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THE FIELDS OF DEATH is the epic final novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Wellington and Napoleon Quartet. Essential reading for fans of Bernard Cornwell.1809. Viscount Wellington and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte have made their mark as military commanders. Lifelong enemies, they both believe their armies are strong enough to destroy any rival. But in war victory can never be certain.While Wellington's success continues in Spain, Napoleon feels the sting of failure. Yet despite a disastrous Russian campaign and humiliating defeat at Leipzig, he persists in fighting on.With Napoleon's power waning, the newly titled Duke of Wellington is perfectly placed to crush the tyrant. But his enemy refuses to surrender, and so the two giants must face a final reckoning on the bloody battlefield of Waterloo...

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YOUNG BLOODS is the first gripping novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Wellington and Napoleon quartet. Perfect for fans of Robert Harris.Arthur Wesley (the future Duke of Wellington) was born and bred to be a leader. With a firm belief that the nation must be led by a king, the red-coated British officer heads for battle against the French Republic, to restore the fallen monarchy.Napoleon Bonaparte joins the French military on the eve of the Revolution. He believes leadership is won by merit, not by noble birth. When anarchy explodes in Paris he's thrust into the revolutionary army poised to march against Britain.As two mighty Empires embark on a bloody duel, Wesley and Bonaparte prepare to face a sworn enemy, unaware that the fate of Europe will one day lie in their hands...

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THE GENERALS is the compelling second novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Wellington and Napoleon quartet. A must read for fans of Bernard Cornwell.In the turbulent aftermath of the French Revolution Napoleon Bonaparte stands accused of treachery and corruption. His reputation is saved by his skill in leading his men to victory in Italy and Egypt. But then he must restore order in France and find peace or victory over her enemies: England - and Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington).Wellesley is leading a vast army in India, where British interests are under threat. The campaign will result in the creation of the Raj - the jewel in the British Empire's crown. Wellesley returns to England a hardened veteran and more determined than ever to end France's domination of Europe.Both Wellesley and Napoleon intend to win - whatever the cost. Who will ultimately succeed?

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Nominated for the 2019 Kitschie Awards for best novel, Simon Ings' The Smoke is about love, loss and loneliness in an incomprehensible world. Humanity has been split into three different species. Mutual incomprehension has fractured the globe. As humans race to be the first of their kind to reach the stars, another Great War looms. For you that means returning to Yorkshire and the town of your birth, where factories churn out the parts for gigantic spaceships. You're done with the pretentions of the capital and its unfathomable architecture. You're done with the people of the Bund, their easy superiority and unstoppable spread throughout the city of London and beyond. You're done with Georgy Chernoy and his questionable defeat of death. You're done with his daughter, Fel, and losing all the time. You're done with love. But soon enough you will find yourself in the Smoke again, drawn back to the life you thought you'd left behind. You're done with love. But love's not done with you.

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After almost poisoning his whole class with arsenic gas, going on the run from a psychotic science teacher and nearly dying of radiation poisoning, life is getting back to normal for Itchingham Lofte - at least, as normal as it can be when you have a round-the-clock detail of government security guards watching your every move. But sinister forces are still hunting for Element 126 and will stop at nothing to find out where Itch has hidden the precious radioactive rocks. With the help of his sister Chloe and his tomboy cousin Jack, Itch has to put 126 beyond the reach of unscrupulous scientists and international terrorists forever.It's time to save the world. Again.The second book in the explosively exciting ITCH series. 'A great debut. You'll be itching to read more.' Anthony Horowitz

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_________'WE ARE LIVERPOOL - THIS MEANS MORE.' JÜRGEN KLOPPAllez Allez Allez is the inside account of Liverpool FC during the Klopp era, including the 2018/19 campaign which saw the club compete in the most gripping Premier League title race in history and become Champions of Europe for the sixth time.Featuring access to management, players and staff, Allez Allez Allez explains how Liverpool have emerged from what Jürgen Klopp described as the “depression” of 2015 to achieve feats that have eluded an entire generation of supporters.Through original research and exclusive interviews, Simon Hughes takes readers into Melwood, the club’s training ground, and behind the dressing room door. He takes them to Chapel Street, where the club’s business is determined, and to America, where it is owned. He takes them into Anfield, where many of the most important moments are defined, and he takes them on to the pitches of the Premier League and the Champions League, as we revisit how Liverpool stormed their way to the top of the Premier League this season.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZEThe inspiration for the major motion picture The Affair, now available on demand.Cool. Balanced. Modern. The precisions of science, the wild variance of lust, the catharsis of confession and the fear of failure - these are things that happen in the Glass Room.High on a Czechoslovak hill, the Landauer House shines as a wonder of steel and glass and onyx built specially for newlyweds Viktor and Liesel Landauer, a Jew married to a gentile. But the radiant honesty of 1930 that the house, with its unique Glass Room, seems to engender quickly tarnishes as the storm clouds of WW2 gather, and eventually the family must flee, accompanied by Viktor's lover and her child. But the house's story is far from over, and as it passes from hand to hand, from Czech to Russian, both the best and the worst of the history of Eastern Europe becomes somehow embodied and perhaps emboldened within the beautiful and austere surfaces and planes so carefully designed, until events become full-circle.

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On her deathbed, Dee Denham, at one time the toast of colonial Cyprus, tells her son Thomas that her illness is a punishment. Compelled by grief and a confused childhood memory of betrayal, Thomas finds himself searching for the meaning of her last words. He searches through faded photographs and love letters, seeks out survivors and examines his own imperfect recollections. A vanished world comes to life: the restless, seductive island of Cyprus at the end of Empire, a place of oleander and carob trees, cocktails at the Harbour Club and adultery in shuttered bedrooms, peopled by ghostly admirers and conspirators, lovers and spies. Dee's story, an intimate history of violence and tenderness for which Thomas finds himself quite unprepared, gathers momentum, against, in the background, the ominous roar of approaching disaster. A vivid evocation of the past and a deft examination of the dangerous power of memory, SWIMMING TO ITHACA sets fragile human relationships against the unstoppable force of history and sheds new light on both.

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The definitive story of The Stone Roses by Simon Spence, with an updated final chapter covering the reunion rollercoaster ride. From the Manchester backwaters to the worldwide 2012 tour, War and Peace lays bare the irresistible tale of the last of the great bands..Based on 400 hours of interviews with over seventy of The Stone Roses' closest associates, including six former band members, War and Peace is the first major biography of the band that defined a generation.Originally planned in collaboration with Reni, the reclusive drummer, this book had been a year in the making when the Roses, against all odds, announced their re-formation. It is a remarkable coda to an astonishing story. In 1989 their debut album and the single 'Fools Gold' made them the most exciting British export since the Sex Pistols. With their incendiary aura the Roses became figureheads of the 'Madchester' movement.War and Peace traces the band's genesis, studded with violent gigs and abandoned recordings, and shaped by their infamous manager Gareth Evans. The Roses' legendary gigs culminated in the era-defining Spike Island show in 1990. From this pinnacle the unravelling was spectacular.But the true story behind their rise and fall - and resurrection - has never been told. Until now. * With 40 unseen photos, including from renowned rock photographer Dennis Morris'This is the one. It's the definitive biography of the band, stuffed with photos that have never been seen before. The writing feels really fresh and definitive. It's a classic' Alex Heminsley BBC 6 Music Book of the Month'A comprehensive, no-holds-barred account... details with steely, forensic precision the story of the group's ascent, heyday and spectacular implosion. All the triumphs and disasters are here' The Sunday Times'An era-defining, definitive biography' QSimon Spence collaborated with Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham on the acclaimed memoirs Stoned and 2Stoned. He has written for the NME, i-D, Dazed & Confused and the Independent. He was at the Stone Roses' legendary Blackpool and Alexandra Palace shows in 1989 and covered their era-defining Spike Island show for The Face.

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Find out everything you ever wanted to know about bricks and minifigures with stacks of LEGO® facts!Did you know that 68,000 LEGO® pieces are created every minute? Or that The LEGO Group is one of the biggest manufacturers of tyres in the world? This must-have guide for LEGO fans of every age is crammed full of fascinating LEGO trivia. From the first brick to the latest record-breaking build, discover everything there is to know about the LEGO world.©2022 The LEGO Group.

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With X-wing pilot Poe as your guide, check out the most amazing brick-built vehicles in the LEGO® Star Wars™ galaxy! Which vehicle in the LEGO® Star Wars™ galaxy is the one for you? Join Poe Dameron, the best X-wing pilot in the Resistance, and take a look at 25 out-of-this-world vehicles, from Poe's zippy X-wing to the moon-sized Death Star. Take a peek inside an AT-AT and discover what it's really like to drive the Millennium Falcon.Get top tips from pilots, including Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Check out driver reviews and find out what you need to know about taking the controls of a vehicle in the LEGO Star Wars galaxy. Let Poe show you each vehicle's amazing features and then decide which one you would like to take out for a test drive!©2022 The LEGO Group. © & ™ 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd

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READERS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY WILL LOVE THIS BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED BOOK!"Simon Jenkins has provided a feast for both eyes and mind in this sumptuously illustrated guide to Europe's greatest cathedrals" John Barton, author of A History of the Bible"As ever, Simon Jenkins is here the best sort of guide to some of Europe's greatest buildings and their settings: well-informed, elegantly opinionated and passionate" Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years__________________________Europe's cathedrals are magnificent. They outstrip palaces and castles. They are the most sensational group of structures anywhere in the world - which everyone should 'see before they die'. They are also hugely popular, most of them absolutely packed. They are humankind's greatest creations.In Europe's 100 Best Cathedrals, Simon Jenkins has travelled the continent - from Chartres to York, Cologne to Florence, Toledo to Moscow and Stockholm to Seville - to illuminate old favourites and highlight new discoveries. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of Europe's history tells the stories behind these wonders, showing the cathedral's central role in the European imagination. Readers will be inspired to make their own pilgrimage to all one hundred of them.

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Find the droids you know and love and discover new favourites along the way.This Star Wars guide with a twist showcases a world of droids in close-up detail. Arranged from smallest to biggest, more than 50 droids of the galaxy are revealed with stunning photography and gorgeous artwork. The evocative descriptions will delight children and let them discover amazing droid facts, such as what tools R2-D2 uses and why GNK droids make a "gonk gonk" noise! Each page features fun droid facts and detailed close-up photographs for children to pore over, including firm favourites such as C-3PO and BB-8 as well as more unusual ones such as Professor Huyang, police droids, tiny probe droids, and new The Rise of Skywalker droid D-O. Star Wars Extraordinary Droids is a perfect gift for children who can't get enough of a galaxy far, far away. The book covers droids small (quiet, little mouse droids) and big (vulture droid starfighters), kind (memoir-writing PZ-4CO) and scary (droidekas), and will be a treasured favourite book to keep.© & TM 2020 LUCASFILM LTD.

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Discover the history of Europe - from the Dark Ages to present day - by the author of the bestselling A Short History of EnglandEurope is an astonishingly successful place. But it would take volumes to tell its story, right? Wrong. From warring peoples to peace, wealth and freedom, Andrew Jenkins distils its evolution into this short, single-volume history.From Greece and Rome, through the French Revolution to the Second World War and modern times. Taking in leaders such as Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Wellington and Angela Merkel.Sharing stories of cultural figures like Aristotle, Shakespeare and Picasso.Jenkins brings together the transformative forces and dominant eras into one chronological tale - all with his insight, colour and authority.

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WINNER OF THE CRICKET SOCIETY AND MCC BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2016SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD'I doubt there will be a better book written about this period in West Indies cricket history.' Clive LloydCricket had never been played like this. Cricket had never meant so much. The West Indies had always had brilliant cricketers; it hadn’t always had brilliant cricket teams. But in 1974, a man called Clive Lloyd began to lead a side which would at last throw off the shackles that had hindered the region for centuries. Nowhere else had a game been so closely connected to a people’s past and their future hopes; nowhere else did cricket liberate a people like it did in the Caribbean.For almost two decades, Clive Lloyd and then Vivian Richards led the batsmen and bowlers who changed the way cricket was played and changed the way a whole nation – which existed only on a cricket pitch - saw itself. With their pace like fire and their scorching batting, these sons of cane-cutters and fishermen brought pride to a people which had been stifled by 300 years of slavery, empire and colonialism. Their cricket roused the Caribbean and antagonised the game’s traditionalists. Told by the men who made it happen and the people who watched it unfold, Fire in Babylon is the definitive story of the greatest team that sport has known.

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The idea of saints and sainthood are familiar to all, irrelevant of religious faith. In this Very Short Introduction, Simon Yarrow looks at the origins, ideas, and definitions of sainthood, sanctity, and saints in the early Church, tracing their development in history and explaining the social roles saints played in the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds. Along the way Yarrow considers the treatment of saints as objects of literary and artistic expression and interpretation, and as examples of idealised male and female heroism, and compares Christian saints and holy figures to venerated figures in other religious cultures, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. He concludes by considering the experiences of devotees to saints, and looking at how saints continue to be a powerful presence in our modern world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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Where do our everyday words come from? The bagel you eat for breakfast, the bumf you have to wade through at the office, and the bus that takes you home again: we use these words without thinking about their origins or how their meanings have changed over time. Simon Horobin takes the reader on a journey through a typical day, showing how the words we use to describe routine activities - getting up, going to work, eating meals - have surprisingly fascinating histories.

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Since their composition almost 3,000 years ago the Homeric epics have lost none of their power to grip audiences and fire the imagination: with their stories of life and death, love and loss, war and peace they continue to speak to us at the deepest level about who we are across the span of generations. That being said, the world of Homer is in many ways distant from that in which we live today, with fundamental differences not only in language, social order, and religion, but in basic assumptions about the world and human nature. This volume offers a detailed yet accessible introduction to ancient Greek culture through the lens of Book One of the Odyssey, covering all of these aspects and more in a comprehensive Introduction designed to orient students in their studies of Greek literature and history. The full Greek text is included alongside a facing English translation which aims to reproduce as far as feasible the word order and sound play of the Greek original and is supplemented by a Glossary of Technical Terms and a full vocabulary keyed to the specific ways that words are used in Odyssey I. At the heart of the volume is a full-length line-by-line commentary, the first in English since the 1980s and updated to bring the latest scholarship to bear on the text: focusing on philological and linguistic issues, its close engagement with the original Greek yields insights that will be of use to scholars and advanced students as well as to those coming to the text for the first time.

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The English language is spoken by more than a billion people throughout the world. But where did English come from? And how has it evolved into the language used today? In this Very Short Introduction Simon Horobin investigates how we have arrived at the English we know today, and celebrates the way new speakers and new uses mean that it continues to adapt. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements, or evidence of slipping standards. What is the future for the English language? Will Standard English continue to hold sway, or we are witnessing its replacement by newly emerging Englishes? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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He is the world's most famous magician: but before his name became legend, who was young Harry Houdini? London, 1886. Lady Flora Cusp, devoted to funding libraries for the poor, has been shot in her room. Who could possibly have wanted to harm her? It is up to Harry, Billie, and Artie to find out who did it, and to stop the gunman from striking again. But as they delve deeper the case takes a deadly turn. Harry may be an incredible escape artist, but with the assassin now on his tail, how will he get out alive?

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What am I? What is consciousness? What is the difference between past and future? Does the world presuppose a creator? Do we always act out of self-interest? This is a book about the big questions in life: knowledge, consciousness, fate, God, truth, goodness, justice. It is for anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them. Written by the author of the bestselling Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Think sets out to explain what they are and why they are important. Simon Blackburn begins by putting forward a convincing case for the study of philosophy and goes on to give the reader a sense of how the great historical figures such as Plato, Hume, Kant, and Descartes have approached its central themes. Each chapter explains a major issue, and gives the reader a self-contained guide through the problems that philosophers have studied. The large range of topics covered range from scepticism, the self, mind and body, and freedom to ethics and the arguments surrounding the existence of God. Written in a lively and approachable manner, this book is ideal for all those who want to learn how the basic techniques of thinking shape our existence.

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'It is settled. The boy is in your charge. You will train him to fight.He must be able to use the dagger, throwing-knife, staves and his bare hands.One day young Marcus may well become a gladiator in the arena.But you must also teach him the ways of the street.'Now a member of Julius Caesar's palace, Marcus's training continues in the city of Rome. The streets are plagued by vicious gang war attacks, and Caesar must employ his own gang leader, who learns of a plot to murder him. Only Marcus can go in undercover. But he's in terrible danger. If the rival gang discover him the price will be fatal. Julius Caesar's isn't the only life at risk . . .

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'Extremely funny' Sunday Telegraph _____________________________A poet is a rock star without the sex'n'drugs, or the rock'n'roll. But that never stopped Simon Armitage dreaming, and in Gig, he explores how music and the muse intertwine in work and in life. Crammed with stories, anecdotes, jokes, absurdities, the odd informal homily, pitfalls and pratfalls (not all the author's own), Yorkshire life and death, Gig is about the dream and reality of what you are, and what you might have been._____________________________'One of our most entertaining authors' Independent'Very, very funny' GQ'Witty, terrific, stupendously funny' Daily Telegraph

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'Bracingly apocalyptic stuff: atmospheric, chock-full of information and with a constantly escalating sense of pace and tension' Sunday TelegraphSimon Winchester's brilliant chronicle of the destruction of the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in 1883 charts the birth of our modern world. He tells the story of the unrecognized genius who beat Darwin to the discovery of evolution; of Samuel Morse, his code and how rubber allowed the world to talk; of Alfred Wegener, the crack-pot German explorer and father of geology. In breathtaking detail he describes how one island and its inhabitants were blasted out of existence and how colonial society was turned upside-down in a cataclysm whose echoes are still felt to this day.

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The creator of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Henry VIII and Captain Bligh, Charles Laughton's career spans 50 films and 40 stage roles. This entralling biography follows him from his parents' hotel in Scarborough to his climactic assumption of the role of King Lear in Statford at the end of his life. Along the way we meet a galaxy of Hollywood greats - from Korda, Hitchcock and Billy WIlder to Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. We also discover a hugely talented and complex man - a legend in his own lifetime who nonetheless counted himself a failure.

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A gripping Quick Read from the master of the race against time thriller.Have you ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time?You are hiking in the Scottish highlands with three friends when you come across a girl.She is half-naked, has been badly beaten, and she can’t speak English.She is clearly running away from someone.Do you stop to help her? Even if it means putting your friends’ lives – and your own - in terrible danger?

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'Brisk, bawdy and reckless' Evening Standard'A freak writer, he defies classification. In wilder moments he suggests a loose, lunatic collaboration of Trollope, Ouida and Waugh' ObserverThe Alms for Oblivion sequence - an extraordinary series of murders, suicides, affairs, fighting, fires and at least one explosion, blackmail, gambling, illness, madness, lots of parties and plenty of sex - draws to a close with two novels about death and retribution. But Simon Raven's achievement and the conflicted, colourful or uniquely vile characters he created are not easily forgotten after the last page is turned. Volume III includes Bring Forth the Body and The Survivors'There are some people who consider the greatest cycle of twentieth-century novels to be Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. These people are wrong. Widmerpool and his joyless accomplices are as nothing compared to the characters in Simon Raven's majestic, scurrilous and scabrous Alms for Oblivion cycle' Guardian

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They had just a few hundred pounds, one band missing a drummer, a sock drawer for an office, more dreams than sense and not a clue between them how to run a record company. But when Alan Horne and Edwyn Collins decided to start their own label from a shabby Glasgow flat in 1979, nobody was going to stand in their way.Postcard Records was the mad, makeshift and quite preposterous result. Launching the careers of Orange Juice, Aztec Camera and cult heroes Josef K, the self-styled ‘Sound of Young Scotland’ stuck it to the London music biz and, quite by accident, kickstarted the 1980s indie music revolution.Simon Goddard has interviewed everyone involved in the making of the Postcard legend to tell this thrilling rock’n’roll story of punk audacity, knickerbocker glories, broken windscreens, raccoon-fur hats, comedy, violence and creating something beautiful from nothing, against all the odds.

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Simon is a man who has dedicated his life to searching out the very best recipes. In Simon Hopkinson Cooks, he has created 12 menus offering dishes that not only taste good, but also complement each other perfectly. For Simon, cooking is about care, precision and love, and combining his professional skills with his understanding of home cooking, once again, he has created delicious recipes you will enjoy making - and eating.From the author of the number 1 best-selling book, The Good Cook, here are some more seriously good recipes.

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Steven Patrick Morrissey is one of the most original and controversial voices in the history of popular music. With The Smiths, he led the most influential British guitar group of the 1980s, his enigmatic wit and style defining a generation. As a solo artist, he has continued to broach subjects no other singer would dare.Worshipped by some, vilified by others, Morrissey is a unique rock and roll creation. The 300,000 words of Mozipedia make this the most intimate and in-depth biographical portrait of the man and his music yet. Bringing together every song, album, collaborator, key location, every hero, book, film and record to have influenced his art, it is the summation of years of meticulous research. Morrissey authority Simon Goddard has interviewed almost everybody of any importance, making Mozipedia the last word on Morrissey and The Smiths.

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Simon Carter is an Australian rock climber and photographer. He began working as a professional photographer, and established Onsight Photography in 1994. Since then, he has travelled widely and built up an extensive body of work encompassing many of the world's best climbing destinations. Carter is the recipient of several photography accolades and the author of four previous coffee-table books, including Images from the Edge (2005), which won the Mountain Image award at the Banff Mountain Book Festival.

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The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace. But that god cannot be contained forever. With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined. Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water

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Following on from &i>Danubia&/i> and the bestselling &i>Germania&/i>, &i>Lotharingia &/i>is the final instalment in Simon Winders hilarious and informative personal exploration of European history.

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A wise, witty, alternative history of humanity, DOG'S BEST FRIEND reflects on how our relationship with dogs has changed over the centuries, and explores the universal desire for non-human companionship

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This pocket guide allows the identification of all species of orchid in the British Isles. The orchid family is one of the largest plant families in the world, reaching its highest diversity in the tropics where their exotic and colourful flowers are often truly breathtaking. Britain and Ireland have just 52 species of wild orchid, some of which are rare or scarce, whilst others are surprisingly inconspicuous. Yet, whether large or small, all orchids share flamboyant flower structures and incredible beauty. It has concise text highlighting ID criteria as well as notes on biology, habitat and conservation, along with stunning colour photographs and accurate range maps based on maps compiled by the Biological Record Centre. This book provides the perfect guide to these beautiful and evocative plants, and is a must for any field naturalist.

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It's 1890. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson return to Baker Street after a night pursuing a vicious criminal. Inspector Lestrade is waiting for Holmes with a proposition of national importance. Lestrade tells Holmes that a school of detection has been formed to train a new breed of modern investigators that will serve in Great Britain and the Empire. Most students will become police officers. Some, however, will become bodyguards and spies. Holmes begins instructing his decidedly curious assortment of students from home and abroad. He does so with his customary gusto and inventiveness.Scotland Yard, in the main, allocates crimes to solve and Holmes mentors his students. Occasionally, he shadows them in disguise in order to assess or even directly test their abilities with creative scenarios he devises. Certain crimes investigated by the students might appear trivial, such as the re-positioning of an ornament atop a garden wall, yet it will transpire an assassin has moved the ornament to create good sightlines in order to commit murder with a sniper's rifle. Other mysteries are considered outside the domain of the police. For example, the inexplicable disappearance of a stone gargoyle, which is linked to an ancient family curse. Or a man suffering from amnesia who discovers that not only has he acquired a secret life but also gained an implacable enemy, too. Holmes, with the ever- trustworthy Doctor Watson in his wake, is kept busy with his students' cases, ranging from minor to serious, sometimes rectifying their mistakes and saving them from a variety of disasters.These eleven wonderful new adventures and intrigues include tales such as 'The Gargoyles of Killfellen House', 'Sherlock Holmes and the Four Kings of Sweden' and 'The Case of the Cannibal Club'.

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We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. But we can make hidden things visible, and this book features 23 spellbinding ways to bring the magic of nature much closer to home.Mammals you never knew existed will enter your world. Birds hidden in treetops will shed their cloak of anonymity. With a single movement of your hand you can make reptiles appear before you. Butterflies you never saw before will bring joy to every sunny day. Creatures of the darkness will enter your consciousness. And as you take on new techniques and a little new equipment, you will discover new creatures and, with them, new areas of yourself that had gone dormant. Once put to use, they wake up and start working again. You become wilder in your mind and in your heart. Once you know the tricks, the wild world begins to appear before you. For anyone who wants to get closer to the nature all around them and bring it back into focus, this is the perfect read. 'Barnes describes the wonders of nature with an infectious enthusiasm' Guardian'Such a good idea' Chris Packham 'Barnes, a passionate writer on wildlife...is an endearingly boisterous guide' Daily Mail

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In the Nightside, that nightmarish realm hidden deep beneath London, it is forever 3 a.m. Here inhuman creatures walk beside mythic gods. And John Taylor, private detective with a difference, is back, working this secret supernatural heart of London to find an item of inestimable value.The Unholy Grail is missing . . . and everyone wants its corrosive power.This time he must use his unique gifts to locate the cup from which Judas drank at the Last Supper; before it falls into the wrong hands. Anyone who touches the cup will gain tremendous power - but they will also be corrupted.Angels, demons, sinners and saints are all determined to find the Unholy Grail, no matter what the cost. And it isn't long before they realise exactly who can lead them to it . . .Agents of Light and Darkness is the sequel to Something From the Nightside and the second title in Simon R. Green's New York Times bestselling Nightside series.

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One day, your son disappears from the playground. Ten years later, will you finally get the truth? The disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley's young son almost destroyed him. A phone call from an old friend leads Jonah to the warehouse Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies, with a link to his son's case. Attacked and left for dead in the dark, Jonah is the only survivor. Under suspicion himself for what happened at Slaughter Quay, Jonah uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people closest to him - forcing him to question what really happened to his son all those years ago... 'A terrific thriller from one of our finest crime writers at the top of his game.' Peter James 'A roaring, full-throated thriller.' Daily Mail 'First in a new series, this is a tense and twisty tale.' The Sun

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Simon Tolkien’s gripping Oxford-based thriller which sees Inspector Trave in a race for justice against deception, conspiracy and the long shadow of the past. When an eminent art historian is found dead in his study, all the evidence points to his estranged son, Stephen. With his fingerprints on the murder weapon, Stephen’s guilt seems undeniable. As the police begin to question five other people who were in the house at the time, it is revealed that Stephen’s father was involved at the end of World War II in a deadly hunt for a priceless relic in northern France, and the case begins to unravel. As Stephen’s trial unfolds at the Old Bailey, Inspector Trave of the Oxford police decides he must go to France and find out what really happened in 1944. What artefact could be so valuable it would be worth killing for? But Trave has very little time – the race is on to save Stephen from the gallows.

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At a moment of cultural and political crisis, with forces of reaction seemingly ascendant throughout the West, it's fair to ask what use does anyone have for America, God, or any other similar fictions? What use does theological language have for the radical facing the apocalypse? Among the subjects considered: the need for an Augustinian left, legacies of American violence, speaking in tongues, the humanities facing climate change, the maturity of realizing that you will die, how to sail towards Utopia, and witches. 'Ed Simon’s essays help readers to understand how we got to this complicated moment in American religious history. Deft, thoughtful, and creatively told.' Kaya Oakes, author of Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture

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