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Big Bang: Discover how the universe began
by Marcus ChownWhat really happened in the Big Bang? Learn from the experts in the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIESThe Big Bang is an accessible, authoritative introduction for anyone looking to understand how the universe came to be.The greatest discovery in the history of science is that the universe has not existed forever but was born. There was a day without a yesterday . . .Written by award-winning writer and former astrophysicist Marcus Chown, The Big Bang details how 13.82 billion years ago all matter, energy, space - and even time - erupted into being in a titanic fireball.This mind-bending book addresses the big questions: What was the Big Bang? What drove the Big bang? And what happened before the Big Bang?Inside you'll discover:- What Einstein missed- Why the universe is expanding- The elements that made up the Big Bang- Where the universe came from- And much more . . .The evidence for the Big Bang, it turns out, is all around us...Learn about other topics in the Ladybird Experts series including Gravity, Quantum Physics, Climate Change and Evolution.Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.
Bidding to Sin
by Rosita VaronJust when everyone is depending on her to win a vital contract, Melanie Brooks, a talented manager of a creative design team suddenly finds herself pitched into a tumultuous sexual adventure that makes her head spin and her backside sting.As the games and her desires escalate, her characteristic control and competence desert her and she sinks into an explicit world that threatens to sabotage her company's future.
Bible John's Secret Daughter: Murder, Drugs and a Mother's Secret Heartbreak
by David LeslieThere was one partner the pretty young women who danced away the 1960s in Glasgow's Barrowlands were desperate to avoid: Bible John, so named because he quoted scripture to his victims. He was being hunted for three brutal unsolved sex murders, and each of his victims had been picked up after a night at the famous dance hall. Police were still investigating the first terrifying murder when Hannah Martin was raped on her way home from the Barrowlands. When Bible John struck twice more, Hannah confided to friends that his description matched that of her own attacker. The next shock came when Hannah discovered she was pregnant. Her distraught father banished her from the family home and forced her to give her child up for adoption. She would never see her daughter again, but in a bizarre twist three decades later, an investigation into the infamous World's End murder would result in Hannah's daughter discovering the identity of the mother she never knew. Tragically, the news came too late for them to be reunited, but it set her on a course to uncover the shocking secrets of her mother's life. Did Hannah know Bible John? What did Hannah Martin reveal of her baby's father? How did she then become a member of a multimillion-pound drug-smuggling gang? Why, after expecting a huge bounty, did she die in poverty? The answers are all here in Bible John's Secret Daughter.
The Bible According to Spike Milligan
by Spike MilliganSpike Milligan's legendary war memoirs are a hilarious and subversive first-hand account of the Second World War, as well as a fascinating portrait of the formative years of this towering comic genius, most famous as writer and star of The Goon Show. They have sold over 4.5 million copies.The Old Testament: but more mad, more merry, more... Milligan!"And God said, Let there be light; and there was light, but Eastern Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected."There have been many interpretations of the Old Testament over the centuries but never one quite like this. Spike Milligan has rewritten, in his own inimitable style, many of the best-known stories of the Old Testament, featuring characters like King "my brain hurts" Solomon, the great oaf of a giant Goliath and the lesser-known crossword clue, Hushai the Archite.Believers and non-believers alike will enjoy this hilarious re-working, where the jokes, jests and jibes tumble over each other from Chapter One, Verse One until kingdom come.
The Bhagavad Gita
by Laurie L. PattonPart of the ancient Hindu epic The Mahabharata, The Bhagavad Gita is one of the enduring religious texts of the worldThe Bhagavad Gita is an early poem that recounts the conversation between Arjuna the warrior and his charioteer Krishna, a manifestation of God. In the moments before a great battle, Krishna sets out the important lessons Arjuna must learn to understand his own role in the war he is about to fight. Krishna reveals to Arjuna his true cosmic form and counsels the warrior to act according to his sacred obligations. Ranging from instructions on yoga to moral discussion, the Gita has served for centuries as an everyday, practical guide to living well. Translated with an introduction by Laurie L. Patton
The Bhagavad Gita
by Juan Mascaro Simon BrodbeckThe Bhagavad Gita is an intensely spiritual work that forms the cornerstone of the Hindu faith, and is also one of the masterpieces of Sanskrit poetry. It describes how, at the beginning of a mighty battle between the Pandava and Kaurava armies, thegod Krishna gives spiritual enlightenment to the warrior Arjuna, who realizes that the true battle is for his own soul.
Beyond The Wall
by Christa LairdAn escape route through the sewers of Warsaw Ghetto has led Misha to the partisans on the other side of the wall. Yet as he tried to cheat and beat the Nazi regime, he finds his nerve-racking new existence spiked with as much fear and danger as the past. Misha is playing a deadly game, but the prize is his life...
Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Sigmund FreudA collection of some of Freud's most famous essays, including ON THE INTRODUCTION OF NARCISSISM; REMEMBERING, REPEATING AND WORKING THROUGH; BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE; THE EGO AND THE ID and INHIBITION, SYMPTOM AND FEAR.
Beyond the Corporation: Humanity Working
by David Erdal* Beyond the Corporation is a book for our times. Offering inspiration and vision in the wake of financial Armageddon, it is the story of ordinary people who share the ownership of the businesses where they work.* The enterprises come in all sizes: from companies employing just a few dozen people, to large corporations: John Lewis in the UK, employing 70,000 'partners'; Mondragon, a highly entrepreneurial group of over 100 businesses in Spain, employing more than 100,000; and many examples in the US, some employing tens of thousands. It would be hard to imagine a better informed, more involved or more enthusiastic set of employees - sharing the efforts of making their companies successful, and sharing all of the rewards. Unusually in the corporate world, they control their own destinies - a situation beyond the dreams of most working people.* Erdal takes a hard look at those who insist, in the teeth of the evidence, that shared ownership will never work - a sorry tale, he argues, of prejudice masquerading as economic thinking. The book contains detailed case studies as well as interviews with a range of people, whose inspiring stories of success fly in the face of received wisdom. These successes include: high levels of productivity; sustained rapid growth; fast-moving, innovative responses to changing worlds; high levels of investment aimed at long-term prosperity; and, above all, the sheer happiness employees experience in working together in businesses that they own together, sharing the wealth that they create. * At a time when the 'orthodox' corporate economy has been badly shaken, Beyond the Corporation makes essential reading.
Beyond the Blue Hills: A World War 2 Family Saga
by Katie FlynnLaura Collins, a widow, is struggling to make a good life for her daughters, Tess and Tina.They are living with Laura's sister Millie and her seven children so when Laura is offered a good job, with accommodation, she is delighted.Life is very different for the Brewsters, living on Manor Farm in Herefordshire.Danny and his girlfriend, Sophie, intend to marry one day so that they can run Manor Farm together but his cousin and best friend, Phil Ryland, feels differently.He longs to get away from farming and intends to escape as soon as he can.Then war comes and changes everything.Tina is evacuated and Tess joins the Land Army.She means to be true to her boyfriend, Mike, but he is far away.Danny and Phil join the RAF, Danny to pilot bombers and Phil as navigator.They end up on the same airfield and fall in love with the same girl...But Phil has a secret which could end his chance of happiness, and Danny is the only person who knows what that secret is ...
Beyond Terror: The Truth About the Real Threats to Our World
by Chris Abbott John Sloboda Paul RogersIs international terrorism really the single greatest threat to world security?Since the 9/11 attacks, many Western governments assume terrorism to be the greatest threat we face. In response, their dangerous policies attempt to maintain control and keep the status quo by using overwhelming military force. This important book shows why this approach has been such a failure, and how it distracts us from other, much greater, threats of climate change, competition over resources, marginalisation of the majority of the world and global militarisation.Unless urgent, coordinated action is taken in the next 5-10 years on all these issues it will be almost imossible to avoid the earth becoming a highly unstable place by the middle years of this century. Beyond Terror offers an alternative path for politicians, journalists and concerned citizens alike.
Beyond The Obvious: Bringing Intuition into our Awakening Consciousness
by Dr Christine PageIntuition is our wise, compassionate friend who helps us to clarify decisions, to avoid unpleasant situations and to access the deeper levels of awareness. But beyond this, the intuition awakens us to ourselves, leading us on a journey of enlightenment until we eventually merge with our essential being.The various stages of the pilgrimage are reflected in stories from the author's own life and encourage us to expand our consciousness from the state of "hoping", through the phase of "believing" until we experience the undeniable "knowing".Following many years of fulfillment in the caring professions, Dr Christine Page has become a highly respected international teacher bringing her inspirational talents to the psycho-spiritual field.
Beyond Human Nature: How Culture and Experience Shape Our Lives
by Jesse J PrinzIn this provocative, revelatory tour de force, Jesse Prinz reveals how the cultures we live in - not biology - determine how we think and feel. He examines all aspects of our behaviour, looking at everything from our intellects and emotions, to love and sex, morality and even madness. This book seeks to go beyond traditional debates of nature and nurture. He is not interested in finding universal laws but, rather, in understanding, explaining and celebrating our differences. Why do people raised in Western countries tend to see the trees before the forest, while people from East Asia see the forest before the trees? Why, in South East Asia, is there a common form of mental illness, unheard of in the West, in which people go into a trancelike state after being startled? Compared to Northerners, why are people in the American South more than twice as likely to kill someone over an argument? And, above all, just how malleable are we?Prinz shows that the vast diversity of our behaviour is not engrained. He picks up where biological explanations leave off. He tells us the human story.
Beyond Good and Evil
by Friedrich Nietzsche'One of the greatest books of a very great thinker' Michael TannerBeyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche's position as the towering European philosopher of his age. The work dramatically rejects traditional Western thought with its notions of truth and God, good and evil. Nietzsche seeks to demonstrate that the Christian world is steeped in a false piety and infected with a 'slave morality'. With wit and energy, he turns from this critique to a philosophy that celebrates the present and demands that the individual impose their own 'will to power' upon the world.Translated by R. J. HOLLINGDALE With an Introduction by MICHAEL TANNER
Beyond Certainty: The Changing Worlds of Organisations
by Charles HandyOver the last decade, change has accelerated violently. The Thatcher/Regan years were a time of certainty, when greed was good, more meant better, and the Western world rejoiced to see George Orwell's dismal prophecy for 1984 confounded. But there is a curvilinear logic in the universe. Prosperity cannot last forever.Empires and organisations must flounder. The world must be reinvented. We can now be certain only of uncertainty, and to plan for the future we must think differently. Compromise may be the way forward, and organisations must give more freedom to individuals to preserve commitment and creativity.In this challenging and exhilarating collection of pieces, Charles Handy, Britain's foremost business guru, takes us on an intellectual journey through a changing world, in order to see how we must adapt to make our future work.
Beyond a Joke: Inside the Dark World of Stand-up Comedy
by Bruce DessauBeyond a Joke is a celebration of comedy - one of the modern world's most dominant and compelling art forms - but it is also the story of comedy's dark side, homing in on the scandals that have surrounded some of light entertainment's biggest stars, and telling it as it is, featuring insight from one who was there at the time. While Beyond a Joke explores the extremes of this world it also addresses another question. Are comedians naturally dysfunctional, or does the stress and pressure of the job make them dysfunctional? Ruby Wax once told the author that she had builders in her house who were just as emotionally unstable as most stand-up comedians she had worked with. But they don't want to go on stage and plead with an audience to love them. Bruce Dessau is the only person who could write this book. From Russell Brand slashing his chest onstage to Jo Brand trashing a friend's car on the motorway, he has heard it all. Bruce Dessau knows where the bodies are buried.
Between the Covers: Jilly Cooper on sex, socialising and survival
by Jilly Cooper OBE'No one else can make me laugh and cry quite like Jilly Cooper.' Gill Sims'Jilly Cooper's non-fiction is just as entertaining as her novels.' Pandora Sykes____________________'One truth I have learnt, as middle age enmeshes me like Virginia creeper, is that I shall never change-because my capacity for self-improvement is absolutely nil.'Jilly Cooper's observations from her days as a much-loved newspaper columnist cover everything to do with sex, socialising and survival - from marriage, friendship and the minutiae of family life, to the tedium of going to visit people for the weekend, the stress of hosting dinner parties and the descent of middle age. Entertaining and full of heart, this classic collection of journalism from the legendary author explores the highs and lows of everyday life with wit, wisdom and warmth.Praise for Jilly Cooper:'Joyful and mischievous' Jojo Moyes'Fun, sexy and unputdownable' Marian Keyes'Flawlessly entertaining' Helen Fielding
The Better World Of Reginald Perrin: (Reginald Perrin) (Reginald Perrin #2)
by David NobbsThis hilarious episode in the remarkable exploits of Reginald Iolanthe Perrin follows our hero on his most ambitious venture yet.Setting up a commune strictly for the middle-class and middle-aged, Reggie's therapy centre nurtures its clients, encouraging them to find the love and goodness that lurks deep inside.And he's gathered together the unlikeliest of staff to help him- including C.J. (for people's work problems), David Harris-Jones (handling their sex problems), plus Tony Webster (culture), his son-in-law Tom (sport) and Doc Morrissey (psychology).With a team like this, how can the indomitable, unconventional R.I.P. ever fail in his bid to create a Better World?
Better to be Feared: Jail Life in the Raw
by Sean BridgesBetter To Be Feared is the true story of a 48-year-old businessman who, having pled guilty to perpetrating a fraud involving a fake business contract, was plunged into the dark world of life inside some of Britain's hardest jails.Never having had any contact with criminal justice previously, Sean Bridges' adjustment to life behind bars raised many questions and forced him to confront the daily round of violence and drugs abuse within these maximum-security prisons. His life inside exploded when he witnessed another con being badly beaten by three fellow prisoners. He planned revenge and exacted it in spectacular fashion. Bridges became a problem by challenging the inadequacies of an antiquated system which effectively feeds itself - never to be short of repeat customers.This is not the story of another white-collar criminal's time inside. It is a shocking personal account of the reasons why the criminal justice system fails society today. That system has changed Sean Bridges forever.
Better Late Than Never: From Barrow Boy to Ballroom
by Len GoodmanBetter Late Than Never is the extraordinary true story of how a man born into poverty in London's East End went on to find stardom late in life when he was chosen to be head judge on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing. Len Goodman tells all about his new-found fame, his experiences on Strictly Come Dancing, and also on the no.1 US show Dancing with the Stars and his encounters with the likes of Heather Mills-McCartney and John Sergeant. But the real story is in his East End roots. And Len's early life couldn't be more East End. The son of a Bethnal Green costermonger he spent his formative years running the fruit and veg barrow and being bathed at night in the same water Nan used to cook the beetroot. There are echoes of Billy Elliot too. Though Len was a welder in the London Docks, he dreamt of being a professional footballer, and came close to making the grade had he not broken his foot on Hackney Marshes. The doctor recommended ballroom dancing as a light aid to his recovery. And Len, it turned out, was a natural. At first his family and work mates mocked, but soon he had made the final of a national competition and the welders descended en masse to the Albert Hall to cheer him on. With his dance partner, and then wife Cheryl, Len won the British Championships in his late twenties and ballroom dancing became his life. Funny and heart-warming, Len Goodman's autobiography has all the honest East End charm of Tommy Steele, Mike Read or Roberta Taylor.
The Better Half
by Sarah HarteAnita is a wife on the edge.Thanks to her husband Frank's success in business she has lived a lavish lifestyle at the heart of the city's elite. However, now that the economy is in freefall, it seems the days of boozy lunches with 'the girls', glittering charity balls and competitive designer shopping are over.Still, though the banks are breathing down their necks, and their marriage is far from perfect, Anita had believed she and Frank would pull through. After all, they came from nothing. That was until she heard news that shook both her marriage, and the family she thought happy and secure, to its foundations.As she faces meltdown, Anita is haunted. Why did she walk away from her one chance to prove herself on her own terms? What happened to the love that was once so overwhelming? And how did she let herself get lost in an empty high-rolling lifestyle?Anita has to find herself again ... but how do you do that when you're just someone else's better half?
The Betrothed
by Alessandro ManzoniSet in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famine and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters - the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister 'Unnamed' - in their struggle to be reunited. A vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, The Betrothed's exploration of love, power and faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life and is one of the greatest European historical novels.
Betrayal
by Stewart Binns'Brilliant. An explosive thriller with true authenticity' Tom Marcus, bestselling author of Soldier Spy----------------- January, 1981. They're undercover in Belfast.Determined to put an end to a war.But in doing so, who will they betray? Jim Dowd and Maureen O'Brien, special forces soldiers, enter a bitterly divided Belfast with a mission: to go undercover, infiltrate one of the city's most dangerous Catholic neighbourhoods, and help change the course of a war that nobody is winning. The Ardoyne is a perilous world, where even a hint of their true identities will prove fatal. But it is also full of courage and loyalty, and Jim realises he admires this community - and his guilt at their deception grows ever stronger. When they receive shocking orders, Maureen knows they must act swiftly and ruthlessly, but can she rely on Jim? And if they rebel, are they betraying their country; or are they being betrayed? 'Stunningly realistic . . . A must-read for anyone who cares about the history of our islands' Nick Hewer
Betrayal: (Ryan Drake: book 3): another compelling thriller in the high-octane series featuring British CIA agent Ryan Drake (Ryan Drake #3)
by Will JordanIf you are looking for an adrenalin-fuelled, blood-pumping, break-neck speed thriller then look no further than Will Jordan's third novel featuring British CIA agent Ryan Drake. Compelling, unputdownable and unforgettable, it's perfect for fans of Lee Child, Vince Flynn and David Baldacci!'Entertaining' - The Telegraph'The writing is excellent and I found it hard to put down' -- ***** Reader review'Gripping from start to finish'-- ***** Reader review'Could not put the book down'-- ***** Reader review'Excellent read - Will Jordan does not disappoint'-- ***** Reader review'Ryan Drake - a sure winner' -- ***** Reader review***********************************************************************************HE FREED HER. HE TRUSTED HER. NOW HE MUST HUNT HER.Washington, DC. Former soldier and elite CIA operative Ryan Drake is heading out for dinner when he witnesses a sniper attack on a crowded freeway.A motorcade full of Russian Federal Security Force members - in Washington for a top level conference with their US counterparts - has been ambushed. Many have been killed and worst of all, Drake discovers that the leader of the strike team was Anya - the dangerous and enigmatic woman he once risked everything to protect.Drake cannot believe her capable of such an atrocity but with the Russians baying for blood and tensions rising, Drake and his depleted team head for Siberia to discover the truth.And here he must confront the terrifying possibility that Anya's betrayal will unmask secrets greater and more devastating than he could ever have imagined.
The Best XI
by Geoffrey BoycottWho'd make it into the best England team ever? And you can chose anyone, regardless of when they might have played. Would W.G. Grace be playing alongside Denis Compton and David Gower? Or Kevin Pietersen? The debate could be endless, so who better to make the selection than Geoffrey Boycott, himself one of England's all-time highest scoring Test batsmen and now the game's most forthright, shrewd and iconoclastic commentator.Based on his own fresh analysis amd interpretation of the statistics, Boycs has come up with his own, sometimes surprising Best Eleven of all time. And he's not just cast a critical eye over England's finest either. Every other test-playing nation comes under the spotlight.You may not agree - in fact, you're almost certain not to - but each player has been carefully chosen and the case for his inclusion forcefully argued in what is sure to be the most entertaining, thought-provoking and memorable cricket books of the year from one of the game's most outspoken and enduring characters.