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Robert Ludlum's The Janson Option
by Robert Ludlum Paul GarrisonPaul Janson returns in a new adventure...Reformed from his days of covert-operations, Paul Janson has set a new mission for himself. Working in partnership with champion sharpshooter Jessica Kincaid, he rehabilitates disenchanted agents and helps them create new lives outside of the violent intelligence sector. Janson also takes on independent assignments--for a fee, he'll use his skills to resolve international crises. But only those that he believes contribute to the greater good of all. When oil executive Kingsman Helms begs Janson to rescue his wife, Allegra, from Somali pirates, Janson and Kincaid seize the opportunity. At last they can derail American Synergy Corporation's scheme to subvert sovereign nations into wholly-owned subsidiaries. But the pirates are the least lethal threat in the violent chaos of oil-rich East Africa, and when Janson and Kincaid stumble into a bewildering storm of plots and counterplots, they begin to fear that the only way to escape would be to abandon the innocent Allegra.
Where's Boris?
by VariousSearch for Boris Johnson in this eye-boggling illustrated adventure!Greetings citizens! Can you spot Boris?In an array of crowded scenes, from zip wires and bikes to Beijing and the Bullingdon Club, search for Boris amongst the masses. Anyone for wiff-waff?With oodles of in-jokes and bonus material to find, plus cameo appearances from some old chums, this book provides hours of fun for both the lovers and loathers of the blonde-mop-topped phenomenon that is... BoJo.A classic and fun gift book, tracking Boris down around the world will be endless amusement for all the family.
Churchill and Empire: Portrait of an Imperialist
by Lawrence JamesOne of our finest narrative historians, and journalist for the SUNDAY TIMES and LITERARY REVIEW, Lawrence James, has written a genuinely new biography of Winston Churchill, set within a fully detailed historical context, but solely focusing on his relationship with the British Empire. As a young army officer in the late 19th century, Churchill's first experience of the Empire was serving in conflicts in India, South Africa and the Sudan. His attitude towards the Empire at the time was the stereotypical Victorian paternalistic approach - a combination of feeling responsible and feeling superior. Conscious even then of his political career ahead, Churchill's natural benevolence towards the Empire was occasionally overruled for political reasons, and he found himself reluctantly supporting - or at least not publicly condemning - British atrocities.As a politician he consistently relied on the Empire for support during crises, but was angered by any demands for nationalisation. He held what many would regard today as racist views, in that he felt that some nationalities were superior to others, but he didn't regard those positions as fixed. His (some might say obsequious) relationship with America reflected that view. America was a former colony where the natives had become worthy to rule themselves, but - he felt - still had that tie to Britain. Thus he overlooked the frequently expressed American view that the Empire was a hangover from a bygone era of colonisation, and reflected poorly on Britain's ability to conduct herself as a political power in the current world order.This outmoded attitude was one of the reasons the British voters rejected him after a Second World War in which - it was universally felt - he had led the country brilliantly. His attitude remained Victorian in a world that was shaping up very differently. However, it would be a mistake to consider Churchill merely as an anachronistic soldier. He grasped the problems of the Cold War immediately, believing that immature nations prematurely given independence would be more likely to be sucked into the vortex of Communism. This view chimed with American foreign policy, and made the Americans rather more pragmatic about their demands for self-governance for Empire countries.Lawrence James has written a fascinating portrait of an endlessly interesting statesman - and one that includes tantalising vignettes about his penchants for silk underwear and champagne.Read by Gareth Armstrong(p) 2014 Orion Publishing Group
City of Lies: Love, Sex, Death and the Search for Truth in Tehran
by Ramita Navai'Timely and beautifully written' SUNDAY TIMES'Phenomenal... Pacy and informative. City of Lies is an extraordinary insight into a country barely known - an often feared - by the West' VOGUE'Gripping ... utterly compelling' DAILY MAILLying in Tehran is about survival. Welcome to Tehran, a city where survival depends on a network of subterfuge. Here is a place where mullahs visit prostitutes, drug kingpins run crystal meth kitchens, surgeons restore girls' virginity and homemade porn is sold in the sprawling bazaars; a place where ordinary people are forced to lead extraordinary lives. Based on extensive interviews, CITY OF LIES chronicles the lives of eight men and women drawn from across the spectrum of Iranian society and reveals what it is to live, love and survive in one of the world's most repressive regimes.Read by Sylvia Lisle(p) 2014 Tantor, Inc
Margot at War: Love and Betrayal in Downing Street, 1912-1916
by Anne de CourcyMargot Asquith was perhaps the most daring and unconventional Prime Minister's wife in British history. Known for her wit, style and habit of speaking her mind, she transformed 10 Downing Street into a glittering social and intellectual salon. Yet her last five years at Number 10 were a period of intense emotional and political turmoil in her private and public life. In 1912, when Anne de Courcy's book opens, rumblings of discontent and cries for social reform were encroaching on all sides - from suffragettes, striking workers and Irish nationalists. Against this background of a government beset with troubles, the Prime Minister fell desperately in love with his daughter's best friend, Venetia Stanley; to complicate matters, so did his Private Secretary. Margot's relationship with her husband was already bedevilled by her stepdaughter's jealous, almost incestuous adoration of her father. The outbreak of the First World War only heightened these swirling tensions within Downing Street. Drawing on unpublished material from personal papers and diaries, Anne de Courcy vividly recreates this extraordinary time when the Prime Minister's residence was run like an English country house, with socialising taking precedence over politics, love letters written in the cabinet room and gossip and state secrets exchanged over the bridge table. By 1916, when Asquith was forced out of office, everything had changed. For the country as a whole, for those in power, for a whole stratum of society, but especially for the Asquiths and their circle, it was the end of an era. Life inside Downing Street would never be the same again.Read by Patricia Gallimore(p) 2015 Isis Publishing Ltd
Stiff Upper Lip: Secrets, Crimes and the Schooling of a Ruling Class
by Alex RentonThis is the story of generations of parents, Britain's richest and grandest, who believed that being miserable at school was necessary to make a good and successful citizen. Childish suffering was a price they accepted for the preservation of their class, and their entitlement. The children who were moulded by this misery and abuse went on - as they still do - to run Britain's public institutions and private companies.Confronting the truth of his own schooldays and the crimes he witnessed, Alex Renton has revealed a much bigger story. It is of a profound malaise in the British elite, shown up by tolerance of the abuse of its own children that amounts to collusion. This culture and its traditions, and the hypocrisy, cronyism and conspiracy that underpin them, are key to any explanation of the scandals over sexual abuse, violence and cover-up in child care institutions that are now shocking the nation.As Renton shows, complicity in this is the bleak secret at the heart of today's British elite.Read by David Thorpe.(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
The Romanovs: 1613-1918
by Simon Sebag MontefioreThe Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy, from Queen Victoria to Lenin. To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six tsars were murdered and all the Romanovs lived under constant threat to their lives. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband - who was murdered soon afterwards - loved her young male favourites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts, and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever written by a ruler. THE ROMANOVS climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution - and the harrowing massacre of the entire family. Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling story of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.Read by Simon Russell Beale(p) 2016 Orion Publishing Group
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution
by Mona EltahawyWritten and read by the author.In November 2011, Mona Eltahawy came to worldwide attention when she was assaulted by police during the Egyptian Revolution. She responded by writing a groundbreaking piece in FOREIGN POLICY entitled 'Why Do They Hate Us?'; 'They' being Muslim men, 'Us' being women. It sparked huge controversy. In HEADSCARVES AND HYMENS, Eltahawy takes her argument further. Drawing on her years as a campaigner and commentator on women's issues in the Middle East, she explains that since the Arab Spring began, women in the Arab world have had two revolutions to undertake: one fought with men against oppressive regimes, and another fought against an entire political and economic system that treats women as second-class citizens in countries from Yemen and Saudi Arabia to Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.Eltahawy has travelled across the Middle East and North Africa, meeting with women and listening to their stories. Her book is a plea for outrage and action on their behalf, confronting the 'toxic mix of culture and religion that few seem willing or able to disentangle lest they blaspheme or offend.' A manifesto motivated by hope and fury in equal measure, HEADSCARVES AND HYMENS is as illuminating as it is incendiary.(p) 2015 Macmillan Audio
The Best of Matt 2017: Our world today - brilliantly funny cartoons
by Matt PritchettAlways look on the bright side - the genius that is Matt proves that, no matter what is happening in the world Matt's superb cartoons can always raise a smile.THE BEST OF MATT is a wonderfully funny look at the last twelve months - from President Trump to train strikes, the confusion that is Brexit to the vagaries of the British weather - this collection manages to make looking back a much funnier pastime.A Christmas must - this year, and every year.
The Best of Matt 2017: Our world today - brilliantly funny cartoons
by Matt PritchettAlways look on the bright side - the genius that is Matt proves that, no matter what is happening in the world Matt's superb cartoons can always raise a smile.THE BEST OF MATT is a wonderfully funny look at the last twelve months - from President Trump to train strikes, the confusion that is Brexit to the vagaries of the British weather - this collection manages to make looking back a much funnier pastime.A Christmas must - this year, and every year.
The Best of Matt 2018
by Matt PritchettNobody does it better - award-winning cartoonist Matt gives a brilliantly funny take on the last 12 months.From politics to paparazzi, weather to the woeful rail services, health service to health scares, only Matt nails it every single time. He makes the world a far brighter place!'Captures the absurdities of a situation better than any article' Observer'Matt is a humorist who goes straight for the jocular vein ... brilliant' Kathy Lette
The Best of Matt 2018
by Matt PritchettNobody does it better - award-winning cartoonist Matt gives a brilliantly funny take on the last 12 months.From politics to paparazzi, weather to the woeful rail services, health service to health scares, only Matt nails it every single time. He makes the world a far brighter place!'Captures the absurdities of a situation better than any article' Observer'Matt is a humorist who goes straight for the jocular vein ... brilliant' Kathy Lette
The Best of Matt 2019
by Matt PritchettThe best of the best! Award-winning cartoonist Matt looks back at the last 12 months in his own hilariously entertaining style - the perfect Christmas gift for everyone!'Matt is an Adorable Genius' Jilly CooperWhether you want to laugh or cry about the last twelve months, Matt gives a brilliantly funny take on the world. From Brexit to business, Trump to transport woes, our obsession with the weather to Royal babies, Matt nails it every single time with just the right visual joke. There is no doubt: Matt definitely makes the world a happier place!'So much greater than his nearest rivals it's almost embarrassing' Stephen Fry
The Best of Matt 2019
by Matt PritchettWhether you want to laugh or cry about the last twelve months, Matt gives a brilliantly funny take on the world. From Brexit to business, Trump to transport woes, our obsession with the weather to Royal babies, Matt nails it every single time with just the right visual joke. There is no doubt: Matt definitely makes the world a happier place!
Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots
by Nancy GoldstoneIn a sweeping narrative encompassing political intrigue, illicit love affairs and even a murder mystery, Nancy Goldstone tells the riveting story of a queen who lost her throne, and of her four defiant daughters.Elizabeth Stuart's (1596-1662) marriage to a German count far below her rank was arranged with the understanding that her father, James I of England, would help his new son-in-law achieve the crown of Bohemia. The terrible betrayal of this promise would ruin 'the Winter Queen', as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved and launch a war that would last thirty years. Forced into exile, the Winter Queen found refuge for her growing family in Holland, where the glorious art and culture of the Dutch Golden Age formed the backdrop to her daughters' education. The eldest, Princess Elizabeth (1618-80), counted the philosopher René Descartes as her closest friend. Louisa (1622-1709), whose lively manner would provoke heartache and scandal, was a gifted artist. Henrietta Maria (1626-51), the beauty of the family, would achieve the dynastic ambition of marrying into royalty, although at great cost. But it was the youngest, Sophia (1630-1714), a heroine in the tradition of Jane Austen, with a ready wit and strength of character, who would fulfil the promise of her great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots, a legacy which endures to this day.Read by Laura Kirman(p) Orion Publishing Group 2018
Richard III: Brother, Protector, King
by Chris SkidmoreThe last Plantagenet king remains one of England's most famous and controversial monarchs. There are few parallels in English history that can match the drama of Richard III's reign, witnessed in its full bloody intensity. A dedicated brother and loyal stalwart to the Yorkist dynasty for most of his early life, Richard's personality was forged in the tribulation of exile and the brutality of combat. An ambitious nobleman and successful general with a loyal following, Richard was a man who could claim to have achieved every ambition in life, except one.Within months of his brother Edward IV's early death, Richard stunned the nation when he seized the throne for himself and disinherited his nephews. Having put to death his rivals, Richard's two-year reign would become one of the most tumultuous in English history, ending in treachery and with his death on the battlefield at Bosworth.Chris Skidmore's biography strips back the legends that surround Richard's life and reign, and by returning to original manuscript evidence, he rediscovers the man as contemporaries saw him. Rather than vindicate or condemn, Skidmore's compelling study presents every facet of Richard's personality as it deserves to be seen: as one of the most important figures in medieval history, whose actions and behaviour underline the true nature of power in an age of great drama, upheaval and instability.Read by Roger Davis(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
Lenin the Dictator
by Victor SebestyenVictor Sebestyen's intimate biography is the first major work in English for nearly two decades on one of the most significant figures of the twentieth century. In Russia to this day Lenin inspires adulation. Everywhere, he continues to fascinate as a man who made history, and who created a new kind of state that would later be imitated by nearly half the countries in the world.Lenin believed that the 'the political is the personal', and while in no way ignoring his political life, Sebestyen's focus will be on Lenin the man - a man who loved nature almost as much as he loved making revolution, and whose closest ties and friendships were with women. The long-suppressed story of his ménage a trois with his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and his mistress and comrade, Inessa Armand, reveals a different character to the coldly one-dimensional figure of legend.Told through the prism of Lenin's key relationships, Sebestyen's lively biography casts a new light the Russian Revolution, one of the great turning points of modern history.Read by Jonathan Aris(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group Ltd
The Three Secret Cities (Jack West Series)
by Matthew ReillyJoin one of the world's greatest adventure writers on a non-stop thrill-ride. * * * * *A SHADOW WORLD BEHIND THE REAL WORLDWhen Jack West Jr won the Great Games, he threw the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil.A WORLD WITH ITS OWN HISTORY, RULES AND PRISONSNow these dark forces are coming after Jack... in ruthless fashion.THAT IS REACHING INTO OUR WORLD ... EXPLOSIVELYWith the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack must find the Three Secret Cities, three incredible lost cities of legend.It's an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while he is being hunted... * * * * *JACK'S BACK. Catch up with him in the rest of the international bestselling series.SEVEN ANCIENT WONDERSTHE SIX SACRED STONESTHE FIVE GREATEST WARRIORSTHE FOUR LEGENDARY KINGDOMS
The Three Secret Cities: ‘The hottest action writer around’ Evening Telegraph (Jack West Series)
by Matthew ReillyJoin one of the world's greatest adventure writers on a non-stop thrill-ride. * * * * *A SHADOW WORLD BEHIND THE REAL WORLDWhen Jack West Jr won the Great Games, he threw the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil.A WORLD WITH ITS OWN HISTORY, RULES AND PRISONSNow these dark forces are coming after Jack... in ruthless fashion.THAT IS REACHING INTO OUR WORLD ... EXPLOSIVELYWith the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack must find the Three Secret Cities, three incredible lost cities of legend.It's an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while he is being hunted... * * * * *JACK'S BACK. Catch up with him in the rest of the international bestselling series.SEVEN ANCIENT WONDERSTHE SIX SACRED STONESTHE FIVE GREATEST WARRIORSTHE FOUR LEGENDARY KINGDOMS
All The World's A Stage: Erast Fandorin 11 (Erast Fandorin Mysteries)
by Boris AkuninEliza Altairsky-Lointaine is the toast of Moscow society, a beautiful actress in an infamous theatre troupe. Her love life is as colourful as the parts she plays. She is the estranged wife of a descendant of Genghis Khan. And her ex-husband has threatened to kill anyone who courts her.He appears to be making good on his promise.Fandorin is contacted by concerned friend - the widowed wife of Chekhov - who asks him to investigate an alarming incident involving Eliza. But when he watches Eliza on stage for the first time, he falls desperately in love . . . Can he solve the case - and win over Eliza - without attracting the attentions of the murderer he is trying to find?Read by Jonathan Coote(p) Orion Publishing Group 2017
Trump Cats: The (Lack of) Wit and Wisdom of Donald Trump. As Told by Cats
by Hugh Janus"You all know it really doesn't matter what the media write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass.""The beauty of me is that I'm very rich.""My IQ is one of the highest - and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure; it's not your fault." Donald J. Trump tells it straight. You can rely on him to wheel out the kind of polarising, xenophobic, offensive rhetoric that is guaranteed to rile millions of people. Nay, even the Pope has expressed concern. This book is a superb collection of Trump's most outrageous public utterances. From the ridiculous and bizarre to shocking and hate-fuelled, these are the most quotable sound bites from one of the world's most unavoidable political billionaire juggernauts. Buy it, moron!
Here Comes Trouble: Shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction
by Simon WroeFollowing his expulsion from school, seventeen-year-old dreamer Ellis Dau is sent to work with his father. His father is editor of The Chronicle, the last bastion of free speech in their strange, strange land. And it is under threat: from heavy-handed policemen, mysterious revolutionaries, and the resident Russian billionaire. As Ellis navigates his collapsing, blacked-out city - and his feelings for the oligarch's beautiful daughter - he realises that some things are worth fighting for. But can he save his family and the newspaper fuelled only by youth, grain spirit and unrequited love?Read by Max Dowler(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5's Secret Nazi Hunter
by Robert HuttonJune 1940. Britain is Europe's final bastion of freedom - and Hitler's next target. But not everyone fears a Nazi invasion. In factories, offices and suburban homes are men and women determined to do all they can to hasten it.Throughout the Second World War, Britain's defence against the enemy within was Eric Roberts, a former bank clerk from Epsom. Equipped with an extraordinary ability to make people trust him, he was recruited into the shadowy world of espionage by the great spymaster Maxwell Knight. Roberts penetrated first the Communist Party and then the British Union of Fascists, before playing his greatest role for MI5 - as Hitler's man in London. Codenamed Jack King, he single-handedly built a network of hundreds of British Nazi sympathisers, with many passing secrets to him in the mistaken belief that he was a Gestapo officer. Operation Fifth Column, run by a brilliant woman scientist and a Jewish aristocrat with a sideline in bomb disposal, was kept so secret it was omitted from the reports MI5 sent to Winston Churchill. In a narrative that grips like a thriller, Robert Hutton tells the fascinating story of an operation whose existence has only recently come to light. Drawing on newly declassified documents and private family archives, Agent Jack shatters the comfortable notion that Britain could never have succumbed to fascism, and celebrates - at last - the courage of individuals who protected the country they loved at great personal risk.Read by Roger Davis(P) Orion Publishing Group 2018
Hons and Rebels: The Mitford Family Memoir (W&N Essentials)
by Jessica Mitford'This book is just about my favourite book of all time ... I'm not entirely convinced I could like somebody who didn't like this book ... it's funny and moving and gives you an insight into this extraordinary moment as the war is about to begin ... it's so vivid, and what's more, it's incredibly current' Robert Rinder, BBC Radio 4'Wonderfully funny and very poignant' Philip Toynbee'More than an extremely amusing autobiography ... she has evoked a whole generation. Her book is full of the music of time' SUNDAY TIMES'Whenever I read the words "Peer's Daughter" in a headline,' Lady Redesdale once sadly remarked, 'I know it's going to be something about one of you children.' The Mitford family is one of the century's most enigmatic, made notorious by Nancy's novels, Diana's marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley, Unity's infatuation with Hitler, Debo's marriage to a duke and Jessica's passionate commitment to communism. Hons and Rebels is an enchanting and deeply absorbing memoir of an isolated and eccentric upbringing which conceals beneath its witty, light-hearted surface much wisdom and depth of feeling.
Saturday Bloody Saturday
by Alastair Campbell Paul FletcherFootball manager Charlie Gordon is struggling with one defeat after another at the club he loves. Only a decent Cup run is keeping him in work, but tensions are running close to the surface ahead of the next round: Chelsea away. Footballers fall into two categories: artists or assassins. Soon Charlie is going to find out which players can deliver - and just how much pressure they can all stand.Meanwhile, as the country prepares for a general election, one of the most dangerous political assassinations in the IRA's history is being planned in London. An active service unit await the critical signal to proceed...Both sides will converge on the capital for a result that will shake everyone's lives, with consequences far beyond football.