Search results for ""Author Charlie""

The summer of 2014--when the Islamic State seized Mosul, Iraq's second city; captured vast swathes of eastern Syria; and declared itself a latter-day Caliphate--marked a turning point in the history of photography, one that pushed its already contested relationship with reality to its very limits. Uniquely obsessed with narrative, image management and branding, the Islamic State used cameras as weapons in its formative years as a Caliphate. The tens of thousands of propaganda photographs captured during this time were used to denote policy, to navigate through defeat and, perhaps most importantly, to construct an impossible reality: a totalising image-world of Salafi-Jihadist symbols and myths. Based on a deep examination of the 20,000 photographs Charlie Winter collected from the Islamic State's covert networks online in 2017, this book explores the process by which the Caliphate shook the foundations of modern war photography. Focusing on the period in which it was at its strongest, Winter identifies the implicit value systems that underpinned the Caliphate's ideological appeal, and evaluates its uniquely malign contribution to the history of the photographic image. The Terrorist Image travels to the heart of what made the Islamic State tick during its prime, providing unique insights into its global appeal and mobilisation successes.

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Dive into this book of hilarious and relatable memes as told by the internet's favourite animal: cats!For life's every up and down, there's a meme to capture the feeling - and with their sassy personalities, their endless curiosity and their distinct capacity for being that little bit odd, who better to live these moments with us than our cuddly feline friends?You might not realize it, but some of the everyday moments in our lives are actually universal - and these cats are here to tell it like it is.Have you ever experienced:- The awkward moment someone says "Just smile naturally" and you forget what natural is?- The moment you accidentally open the front-facing camera and you're confronted with your many chins?- The flash of terror when you're home alone and you hear an odd noise?- The satisfaction of walking in time to your music?- The crushing awkwardness of saying "you too" when a waiter tells you to enjoy your meal?If you answered "yes" to any of the above, then this book is for you! Look no further and dive into this collection, which contains the most hilarious and relatable memes about life, told through the expressive brilliance of cats.

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Lambda Literary Award Finalist - LGBTQ Anthology2019 Over the Rainbow Recommended Book ListDedicated to trans women everywhere, this inspirational collection of letters written by successful trans women shares the lessons they learnt on their journeys to womanhood, celebrating their achievements and empowering the next generation to become who they truly are.Written by politicians, scientists, models, athletes, authors, actors, and activists from around the world, these letters capture the diversity of the trans experience and offer advice from make-up and dating through to fighting dysphoria and transphobia.By turns honest and heartfelt, funny and furious or beautiful and brave, these letters send a clear message of hope to their sisters: each of these women have gone through the struggles of transition and emerged the other side as accomplished, confident women; and if we made it sister, so can you!

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Dreams of Awakening is a thorough and exciting exploration of lucid dreaming theory and practice within both Western and Tibetan Buddhist contexts. It not only explores lucid dreaming practices, but also the innovative new techniques of Mindfulness of Dream and Sleep, the holistic approach to lucidity training which the author co-created. The book is based on over 12 years of personal practice and the hundreds of lucid dreaming workshops which Charlie has taught around the world, in venues as diverse as Buddhist temples and dance-music festivals. Using a three-part structure of Ground, Path and Germination the reader is given a solid grounding in: the history and benefits of lucid dreaming cutting edge research from dream and sleep scientists. entering the path of learning to do the practices prophetic dreams, lucid living, out of body experiences and quantum dreaming.Although Dreams of Awakening presents many different angles on how to make the 30 years we spend asleep more worthwhile, the fundamental aim of the book is to teach people how to lucid dream their way to psychological and spiritual growth. This book is for all those who want to wake up, both in their dreams and waking lives.

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The picture book Hello Day presents a whimsical kid’s-eye view of a day, filled with wonders big and small . . . which sometimes clashes with their parent’s more practical plans.Hello apple,hello shelfI can reach youall by myself. When a father and child finally get out of the house, the toddler says “hello” to everything from a snack to a squirrel to a sidewalk puddle. Meanwhile, Dad stays focused on getting the duo from point A to point B. But the eager and enthusiastic “hellos” from his kid remind Dad to pay attention to the here and now. Told entirely in the child’s voice, and boldly illustrated in vibrant colors and joyful lines, this picture book from Charlie Mylie celebrates gentle parenting and invites kid and adult readers alike to get curious about the small wonders hiding in everyday moments.

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Moving through shades of darkness and light, Charlie Smith captures a refracted view of a disturbed, disintegrating world. Demo explores landscapes both natural and urban, probing the spaces where the two overlap. Its narrator is at once wanderer and witness, living among streets where flowers are covered with dust and smells of Mexican food and Chinese cooking fill the air. The poet finds a resurgence of life in the ruins, reminding us once again “that we don’t really know what beauty is until we’ve looked hard at the horror that throws beauty into bright relief” (The New York Times). In Demo, Smith conveys a kinetic expression of hope that transcends human vagaries and machinations.

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One must-have reversible cover. Worn four different ways. You decide.A poetry book like no other, with beautiful endpapers and a reversible cover jacket that allows you to choose your preferred pronoun from HE, SHE, THEY and US and four different colours: yellow, blue, green and pink. The perfect gift book or statement piece for any shelf.He, She, They, Us pulls together poems from queer poets both old and new – from Oscar Wilde, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes to the likes of Jay Hulme, Dean Atta, Harry Josephine Giles, Nikita Gill, Theo Parish and Travis Alabanza. This anthology celebrates queerness in all its forms and takes us through the experiences that make us who we are today.Collected and introduced by editor, writer and anthologist Charlie Castelletti, He, She, They, Us: Queer Poems contains an inclusive array of voices, from modern and contemporary poets to those who came before.

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A slow drive in the family Ford truck lulls a baby to sleep as the day comes to an end in a small town.

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Would you like to eat whatever you want and still lose weight?Who wouldn't? Keep dreaming, imbecile. In the meantime, if you'd like to read something that alternates between laugh-out-loud-funny and apocalyptically angry, keep holding this book. Steal it if necessary.In his latest collection of rants, raves, hastily spluttered articles and scarcely literate scrawl, Charlie Brooker proves that there is almost nothing in this universe, big or small, that can't reduce a human being to a state of pure blind hatred.It won't help you lose weight, feel smarter, sleep more soundly, or feel happier about yourself. It WILL provide you with literally hours of distraction and merriment. It can also be used to stun an intruder, if you hit him with it correctly (hint: strike hard, using the spine, on the bridge of the nose).

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Polite, pensive, mature, reserved ... Charlie Brooker is none of these things and less. Picking up where his hilarious Screen Burn left off, Dawn of the Dumb collects the best of Charlie Brooker's recent TV writing, together with uproarious spleen-venting diatribes on a range of non-televisual subjects - tackling everything from David Cameron to human hair. Rude, unhinged, outrageous, and above all funny, Dawn of the Dumb is essential reading for anyone with a brain and a spinal cord. And hands for turning the pages.

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Charlie Nelms had audaciously big dreams. Growing up black in the Deep South in the 1950s and 1960s, working in cotton fields, and living in poverty, Nelms dared to dream that he could do more with his life than work for white plantation owners sun-up to sun-down. Inspired by his parents, who first dared to dream that they could own their own land and have the right to vote, Nelms chose education as his weapon of choice for fighting racism and inequality.With hard work, determination, and the critical assistance of mentors who counseled him along the way, he found his way from the cotton fields of Arkansas to university leadership roles. Becoming the youngest and the first African American chancellor of a predominately white institution in Indiana, he faced tectonic changes in higher education during those ensuing decades of globalization, growing economic disparity, and political divisiveness. From Cotton Fields to University Leadership is an uplifting story about the power of education, the impact of community and mentorship, and the importance of dreaming big.

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''He makes us see a subject we thought we knew so well from a completely different angle; in writing that is deeply researched, but inviting, warm, and full of personality'' Katy Hessel''Charlie Porter is a magician'' Olivia Laing Why do we wear what we wear? To answer this question, we must go back and unlock the wardrobes of the early twentieth century, when fashion as we know it was born.In Bring No Clothes, acclaimed fashion writer Charlie Porter brings us face to face with six members of the Bloomsbury Group-the collective of creatives and thinkers who were in the vanguard of a social and sartorial revolution. Each of them offers fresh insight into the constraints and possibilities of fashion today: from the stifling repression of E. M. Forster''s top buttons to the creativity of Vanessa Bell''s wayward hems; from the sheer pleasure of Ottoline Morrell''s lavish dresses to the clashing self-consciousness of Virginia Woolf''s orange stockin

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Why do some people have no problem shouting about themselves to get business, yet you find it so difficult? You're great at what you do. You deliver an amazing product, a top-notch service and your clients and customers seem to love what you do. So why aren't you getting the opportunities that your rich talents deserve? Why do other people get all the breaks, even though they're not as good as you? The answer is simple â you're not blowing your own trumpet. In this enjoyable, engaging and highly practical book, self-confessed unnatural promoter Charlie Lawson shows you exactly how he overcame his own doubts and awkwardness to move beyond the negativity that's so often associated with self-promotion. Learning from his own hard-won experience, he'll empower you with the skills, confidence and mindset you need to: Promote your business by shouting about what you do. Talk effortlessly about why you're so good at it. Feel positive and proud to promote and sell yourself. Use smart self-promotion tactics that will attract new business. Persuade others to rave and shout about you, so you don't have to! Bigger business comes from better conversations, so make promoting yourself a little less nerve-wracking and a lot more rewarding as you unlock the power and potential of blowing your own trumpet.

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A bulwark against invasion, a conduit for exchange and a challenge to be conquered, the English Channel has always been many things to many people. Today it''s the busiest shipping lane in the world and hosts more than 30 million passenger crossings every year but this sliver of choppy brine, just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, represents much more than a conductor of goods and people. Criss-crossing the Channel - not to mention regularly throwing himself into it for a bracing swim - Charlie Connelly collects its stories and brings them vividly to life, from tailing Oscar Wilde''s shadow through the dark streets of Dieppe to unearthing Britain''s first beauty pageant at the end of Folkestone pier (it was won by a bloke called Wally). We learn that Louis Bleriot was actually a terrible pilot, the tragic fate of the first successful Channel swimmer, and that if a man with a buttered head and pigs'' bladders attached to his trousers hadn''t fought off an attack by dogfish w

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In 1982, ownership of Matchbox die cast toys, the most popular metal vehicles in the world, passed from Lesney to Universal. The toys produced under Universal's ownership are documented in this thorough text. It includes the vehicles and a wide variety of other toys manufactured under the Matchbox logo, including infants' educational toys, dolls, and puzzles. This is the third in a series (preceded by Lesney's Matchbox Toys: The Superfast years, 1969-1982 and Lesney's Matchbox toys, Regular Wheel Years, 1947-1969, published by Schiffer Publishing) of marvelous Matchbox books by Charlie Mack. In this revised edition, he has gathered fine color photographs of all the vehicles, their variations, and the other toys produced by Universal. Additional materials include lists of places of interest for the collector to visit and mail order sources.

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In 1982, ownership of Matchbox die cast toys, the most popular metal vehicles in the world, passed from Lesney to Universal. The toys produced under Universal's ownership are documented in this thorough text. It includes the vehicles and a wide variety of other toys manufactured under the Matchbox logo, including infants' educational toys, dolls, and puzzles. This is the third in a series (preceded by Lesney's Matchbox Toys: The Superfast years, 1969-1982 and Lesney's Matchbox toys, Regular Wheel Years, 1947-1969, published by Schiffer Publishing) of marvelous Matchbox books by Charlie Mack. In this revised edition, he has gathered fine color photographs of all the vehicles, their variations, and the other toys produced by Universal. Additional materials include lists of places of interest for the collector to visit and mail order sources.

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It''s time to CHOOSE.This laugh-out-loud book puts the power in your hands as you build your very own sloth squad. Which sloth would you choose to play hide and seek with?Which sloth would you choose to go camping with?Which sloth would you choose to read you a bedtime story?With five sloths to choose from on each page, each with their own individual style and personality, this is a hilarious, wacky and wonderful opportunity to promote discussion and decision-making skills. Also coming soon: Choose Llamas 9780241392706

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'Take a view', the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition, is the brainchild of Charlie Waite, one of today's most respected landscape photographers. Together with AA Publishing, he created this prestigious competition and award with a total prize fund exceeding GBP20,000, plus an eight-week exhibition at the National Theatre. Britain's heritage is celebrated by people around the world and entries are welcome from everyone, whether resident in the UK or simply visiting, as long as the image is from the British Isles. This book showcases the best pictures from amateur and professional photographers alike, from the sixth annual competition. Following the recent announcement by Take A View that that the winner of the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2012, David Byrne, has been disqualified, a decision based on the extent of the digital manipulation techniques used in his entry, AA Publishing would like to reassure readers of their commitment to responsible and quality publishing. The book: Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 6, which contains the winning entries from the 2012 awards, was published by AA Publishing on October 31st in the best of faith. Prepared by the publishers long before the winners were announced to the public, the book is produced to the highest quality standards. Due to the book being printed and distributed before the decision to change the overall winner was made by the judges, the current version of the hardback book on sale contains the former winning image by David Byrne, while the newly announced winning image by Simon Butterfield appears on page 127. The next print run of the hardback copy of Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 6 will include Simon Butterfield's image at the start of the book, replacing David Byrne's disqualified image. The eBook version of the book has already been corrected to include the new winning image. AA Publishing have posted information on both Amazon and on the AA Publishing website to inform buyers of the changes to this year's awards that has affected the content of the book as well as alerting the companies who handle the distribution of the books.

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Charlie Higson's The Enemy is the first in a jaw-dropping zombie horror series for teens. Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive. When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive.Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait.But can they make it there - alive?'Higson has got the balance of blood and gore just right' Daily Mirror'Clever...fast-paced...inventive' GuardianCharlie Higson is the author of the bestselling Young Bond series of novels for young readers, including Silverfin and Double or Die, and the spine-tingling, teen zombie-horror series The Enemy.Can't wait for the next instalment? This edition contains the first chapter of the mind-blowing first chapter of the second book The Dead.Check out www.the-enemy.co.uk for more blood, more zombies and more terror.

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The bold and boundlessly original debut novel from the Oscar®-winning screenwriter of Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Synecdoche, New York. ‘Riotously funny’ New York Times ‘Just as loopy and clever as his movies’ Washington Post B. Rosenberger Rosenberg, neurotic and underappreciated film critic (failed academic, filmmaker, paramour, shoe salesman who sleeps in a sock drawer), stumbles upon a hitherto unseen film by an enigmatic outsider – a three-month-long stop-motion masterpiece that took its reclusive auteur ninety years to complete. Convinced that the film will change his career trajectory and rock the world of cinema to its core, that it might possibly be the greatest movie ever made, B. knows that it is his mission to show it to the rest of humanity. The only problem: the film is destroyed, leaving him the sole witness to its inadvertently ephemeral genius. All that’s left is a single frame from which B. must somehow attempt to recall the work of art that just might be the last great hope of civilization. Thus begins a mind-boggling journey through the hilarious nightmarescape of a psyche as lushly Kafkaesque as it is atrophied by the relentless spew of Twitter. Desperate to impose order on an increasingly nonsensical existence, trapped in a self-imposed prison of aspirational victimhood and degeneratively inclusive language, B. scrambles to re-create the lost masterwork while attempting to keep pace with an ever-fracturing culture of “likes” and arbitrary denunciations that are simultaneously his bête noire and his raison d’être. A searing indictment of the modern world, Antkind is a richly layered meditation on art, time, memory, identity, comedy, and the very nature of existence itself – the grain of truth at the heart of every joke.

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When you're living a lie, can you trust anything?Ten years ago, Alexandra Quinlan was the prime suspect in the massacre of her entire family. Her face was on every television show and front page, and she was given a nickname by the media: Empty Eyes.Now, Alex Armstrong has reinvented herself and devotes herself to securing justice for others. But when Laura McAllister, a young student journalist, disappears just as she's about to break a major story about sexual assault and cover-ups on her college campus, Alex is drawn into a new case that will threaten the life she's built.As Alex digs into Laura's disappearance, she realises that there are unexpected connections to the murder of her own family. As different as the crimes may appear, they each hinge on one sinister truth: no one is quite who they seem to be…An explosive and unputdownable crime thriller you won't be able to put down. Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben, Mary Kubica and Karin Slaughter.Praise for Those Empty Eyes 'Draws readers in from the first heart-stopping pages and doesn't let go until the end' Mary Kubica‘Thrilling, complex story that will leave your jaw on the floor!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Truly, a perfect book. I will never stop recommending books by Charlie Donlea.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘So twisty. I think I just found a new author to binge.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Well-written and fast-paced… with so many strong female characters. An outstanding, suspenseful thriller.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Those Empty Eyes had me turning pages late into the night, then getting up early to get back to the story. I found myself racing to finish only to be sad that it was over.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘I was hooked from the start until the very end. Loved the characters, story and writing style.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘Speechless! This has to be my favorite read of the year so far. Charlie Donlea is my new favorite author. I really got into this book and lost all track of time.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘This book was phenomenal! If you are looking for an extremely intense, adrenaline rush of a story that will have you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages at lightning speed, then you NEED to read this!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘WOW! I didn’t see the ending coming. This was by far the best book I’ve read in quite awhile. Really caught me off guard.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review‘The book that helped me get my reading mojo back. Read it cover to cover in a day and loved every page.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

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'See the UK at its most earth-shatteringly beautiful' The Mail on Sunday'Britain at its best' The Telegraph Foreword by Ray MearsFrom rural countryside to striking urban cityscapes, discover the best of British landscapes from the latest edition of the Landscape Photography of the Year competition. Now in its 15th year, this highly prestigious annual showcase was devised by award-winning photographer, Charlie Waite, and attracts thousands of visitors each year to its Central London exhibition. This edition features winning and highly commended entries across a range of categories.'From rolling hills to electrifying night skies, the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards celebrate extraordinary urban, rural and coastal scenes from around the UK.' The Sunday Times'If you needed any convincing how beautiful this country can be, take a look at the winners of the annual Landscape Photographer of the Year awards' Time Out

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'This unsparing debut novel portrays the unromantic side of Cornwall few visitors see and which so many novelists choose to overlook. Charlie Carroll inhabits his damaged heroine completely' Patrick Gale 'A moving and affecting novel about life on the edge, with a very special flavour of wild and rugged Cornwall.' Emma Stonex, author of THE LAMPLIGHTERSAway from the hotels and holiday lets, there is an unseen side of Cornwall, where the shifting uncertainties of the future breed resentment and mistrust. Melody Janie is hidden. She lives alone in a caravan in Bones Break: a small cliff-top on Cornwall's north coast. She spends her time roaming her territory, spying on passing tourists and ramblers, and remembering. She sees everything and yet remains unseen. However, when a stranger enters her life, she is forced to confront not only him but the terrible tragedies of her past. The Lip is a novel about childhood, isolation and mental health, told in the unique and unforgettable voice of Melody Janie. 'All of this is Bones Break. All of this is mine. I know every inch of it; I know it as intimately as the seagulls. I stand at dead-centre, my feet teetering on the edge of the lip. Below, the thundering tattoo of waves on rock. Wind catches the tips of my hair, lifting them above my ribs: less force than it takes to knock me down; enough to make me right myself with a step to the left, and then another back again. Here on the lip, it is vital to know where my feet are.'

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It all comes to an end in the final book in The Enemy seriesThe sickness struck everyone over fourteen.First it twisted their minds.Next it ravaged their bodies.Now they roam the streets -Crazed and hungry.Sickos swarm the streets of London. Gathered in the centre of the city, they lie in wait. The survivors have one final epic battle to overcome. Together they must work out a plan of attack and end the grown-ups reign of terror before it's too late.The end is coming.

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Young Bond: Blood Fever is the second book in Charlie Higson's high-impact, explosive Young Bond series.James Bond has discovered danger. Now it's come looking for him.An Eton boy's family disappears at sea.James uncovers a shadowy society operating in a hidden corner of the school.And far from England, in the bandit-infested interior of Sardinia, a sinister Italian count has built himself a mountain fortress. Is there a connection?Young Bond is about to find out - and face a lethal group of villains beneath the burning Mediterranean sun.'Action-packed and not for the faint-hearted' Daily Mail'Double-oh so good' Sunday Times***www.youngbond.com***

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Young Bond: SilverFin is the first explosive book in Charlie Higson's bestselling Young Bond series.Before the name became a legend. Before the boy became a man. Meet Bond. James Bond.There's something in the water at Loch Silverfin. Something deadly. Something that must be kept secret...It's James Bond's first day at Eton, and he's already met his first enemy. This is the start of an adventure that will take him from the school playing fields to the remote shores of Loch Silverfin and a terrifying discovery that threatens to unleash a new breed of warfare.'Good, gritty and funny . . . Very clever, Bond, very clever indeed' Daily Mail'a page-turning adventure that will get the hairs standing up on the back of your neck' Sunday Express***www.youngbond.com***

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Charlie Richardson, one of Britain's most notorious gangland bosses, sheds light on his extraordinary life story completed just weeks before his death in September 2012.Notorious Charlie Richardson was the most feared gangster in 1960s London. Boss of the Richardson Gang and rival of the Krays, to cross him would result in brutal repercussions. Famously arrested on the day England won the World Cup in 1966, his trial heard he allegedly used iron bars, bolt cutters and electric shocks on his enemies.The Last Gangster is Richardson’s frank account of his largely untold life story, finished just before his death in September 2012. He shares the truth behind the rumours and tells of his feuds with the Krays for supremacy, undercover missions involving politicians, many lost years banged up in prison and reveals shocking secrets about royalty, phone hacking, bent coppers and the infamous black box.Straight up, shocking and downright gripping, this is the ultimate exposé on this legendary gangster and his extraordinary life.

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Charlie Castle holds a BA in English Language and Literature from King's College, London, and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge. He is an editor of children's books at one of the big five publishers, as well as being a poetry anthologist and an author of books for both adults and children including My Hair is as Long as a River. He loves cheese, cake and afternoon tea (preferably all three). He lives in Cambridgeshire.Born in the tropical island of the Philippines, Emma Farrarons studied illustration at The Edinburgh College of Art. After graduating, she worked over 16 years as a picture book designer at one of the big five publishers. She is now living her dream as an illustrator. Emma finds inspiration and ideas from her location drawing sketchbooks where she loves capturing everyday life and people interacting. She lives in leafy South London with her family.

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'The best piece of nature writing since H is for Hawk, and the most powerful work of biography I have read in years' Neil Gaiman'Wonderful - I can't recommend it too highly' Helen Macdonald'One of those rare, enchanted books' Isabella Tree'Beautiful - it made me cry' Simon Amstell'I was entranced' Cathy RentzenbrinkThis is a story about birds and fathers.About the young magpie that fell from its nest in a Bermondsey junkyard into Charlie Gilmour's life - and swiftly changed it. Demanding worms around the clock, riffling through his wallet, sharing his baths and roosting in his hair... About the jackdaw kept at a Cornish stately home by Heathcote Williams, anarchist, poet, magician, stealer of Christmas, and Charlie's biological father who vanished from his life in the dead of night. It is a story about repetition across generations and birds that run in the blood; about a terror of repeating the sins of the father and a desire to build a nest of one's own. It is a story about change - from wild to tame; from sanity to madness; from life to death to birth; from freedom to captivity and back again, via an insane asylum, a prison and a magpie's nest. And ultimately, it is the story of a love affair between a man and a magpie.

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A Book Lover’s Guide to the Zodiac marries astrology and literature by connecting both writers and fictional characters to the twelve different star signs and their particular traits.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library, a series of stunning pocket-sized classics. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.Astrology and literature have so much in common: our star signs help us to understand ourselves, our motivations and our behaviour, whilst reading enables us to make sense of the world, our own characters and those around us. Read how the passionate and overly idealistic Madame Bovary from Flaubert’s masterpiece exhibits all the traits of a Gemini, whilst the unconventional Virginia Woolf and Lewis Carroll, with his groundbreaking stories, are typical Aquarians.With a chapter devoted to each star sign, and featuring entertaining extracts and poetry by classic writers, there’s much to learn and entertain here about books, poetry and astrology, guided by Charlie Castelletti’s witty and expert commentary running through the book.

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Did you know that Beethoven made every cup of coffee with exactly 60 beans?Or that Shirley Temple always had precisely 56 curls in her hair?Or that the young Frank Sinatra practised underwater swimming as a way of developing his ability to hold long breaths?In Secrets of Success, Charlie Croker brings his proven blend of gripping trivia and incisive humour to the question of how famous high achievers reached those heights. We’ll see Chopin sleeping with wedges between his fingers to increase their span, learn how P.G. Wodehouse reminded himself which pages of a manuscript still needed work, and find out why Thomas Edison chose his research assistants on the basis of their soup-eating habits.This revealing and entertaining book provides countless glimpses into the methods – and sometimes madness – of the world’s most famous figures. From ancient Egypt to the modern day, you’re about to learn the secrets of their success . . .

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From the author of the latest official James Bond novel'Charlie Higson's thrillers are major events' Mark Billingham'Very funny and utterly unstoppable' The Times'A sizzlingly paced modern thriller' NMEA man kills a prospective buyer for his car. On the verge of becoming a name in the interior design world, he can't afford a scandal and must discreetly dispose of the body - not an easy job when the whole of London seems to be conspiring against him.Action, consequence, retribution: Getting Rid of Mister Kitchen is a sustained nightmare of thwarted ambition, a Dante-esque tour of a world at home with Tarantino and temazepam, where motive is meaningless and justice is just another victim.

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From the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician Series comes the enthralling climax of a cataclysmic war between monstrous creatures. Sandis has finally freed herself from her master and his plans to use her as a vessel for the ancient beast Kolosos. But her master has found a new, impossible vessel: Sandis’s brother, Anon—a brother she long thought dead. Kolosos is ancient, massive, and seemingly unbeatable. Fortunately, Sandis has her own monster—an ethereal fire horse that she can summon at will. In addition, she and Rone may have discovered the secret to defeating Kolosos: ancient lore that details the creation of magic. It could be the key to victory and the key to saving Anon. The price is steep, and Sandis is willing to pay it. Rone is not, and his attempt to save her only pulls them apart. As both are tested in ways they never expected, Sandis and Rone will need to determine the sacrifices they are willing to make. If their efforts are not enough, their city will fall…just as the ancient city beneath it already has.

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“Charlie is a vibrant writer with an excellent voice and great world building.” —Brandon Sanderson, author of Mistborn and The Way of Kings Seventeen-year-old Smitha’s wealth, status, and beauty make her the envy of her town—until she rejects a strange man’s marriage proposal and disastrous consequences follow. Smitha becomes cursed, and frost begins to encompass everything she touches. Banished to the hills, hunted by villagers, and chilled to the very core of her soul, she finds companionship with Death, who longs to coax her into his isolated world. But Smitha’s desire for life proves stronger than despair, and a newfound purpose gives her hope. Will regrets over the past and an unexpected desire for a man she cannot touch be enough to warm Smitha’s heart, or will Death forever still it?

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"If you control our sleep, then you can own our dreams... And from there, it's easy to control our entire lives." From the brilliant mind of Charlie Jane Anders ("A master absurdist"-New York Times; "Virtuoso"-NPR) comes a new novel of Kafkaesque futurism. Set on a planet that has fully definitive, never-changing zones of day and night, with ensuing extreme climates of endless, frigid darkness and blinding, relentless light, humankind has somehow continued apace-though the perils outside the built cities are rife with danger as much as the streets below. But in a world where time means only what the ruling government proclaims, and the levels of light available are artificially imposed to great consequence, lost souls and disappeared bodies are shadow-bound and savage, and as common as grains of sand. And one such pariah, sacrificed to the night, but borne up by time and a mysterious bond with an enigmatic beast, will rise to take on the entire planet--before it can crumble beneath the weight of human existence.

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In Dreadful Desires Charlie Yi Zhang examines how the Chinese state deploys affective notions of love to regulate the population and secure China’s place in the global economy. Zhang shows how the state frames love as a set of desires that encompass heteronormative intimacy, familial and communal attachment, upward mobility, and private property ownership. These desires—as circulated in performance in the nationalistic ceremony, same-sex romantic fan fiction, the wildly popular reality television dating show If You Are the One, and the cult of patriarchal personality around Xi Jinping—are explicitly based in oppressive systems of gender, class, and sexuality. Zhang contends that such desires connect love to economic survival and gender normativity in ways that underwrite Chinese neoliberalism at the expense of individual flourishing. By outlining how state-framed forms of love create desires that cannot be fulfilled, Zhang places China at the forefront of using affective attachments to nation, leader, and family in the global shifts toward exploitation and authoritarianism.

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A dynamic re-envisioning of the tarot, including tarot card imagery, that describes how the tarot is queer, that the archetypes are alive, and that tarot doesn’t tell the future; it creates it.Radical Tarot meets the tarot in a space of evolution, deconstruction, and creation, using the historical and common meanings of the cards as a launchpad for digging into limiting beliefs and societal conditioning and unlocking the personal truths beneath.The Fool’s Journey is re-envisioned as a journey to non-binary thinking, the gender essentialism is ousted from the Major Arcana and the Court Cards—and all the cards—are reframed through a non-hierarchical, anti-capitalist, and intersectional lens. The archetypes are re-imagined in modern, progressive, and queered contexts. For example:– The Empress and the body positivity movement– Justice, not in the legal sense, but as ethical discernment and accountability– Temperance and transcending the gender binary– The Devil and anti-capitalism– Judgement and revolutionRadical Tarot also touches on Charlie’s personal story of how tarot helped them embrace their queerness, leave their marriage, and radically change their life. It speaks to their queer awakening and how tarot became, for them, a tool for social justice and conscious awareness of the world around them. Their words and experience will help anyone who wishes to be closer to their own authentic selves.

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