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The Guy Not Taken: Stories
by Jennifer Weiner“Eleven marvelous short stories” by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Summer Place and Mrs. Everything (Entertainment Weekly).In these tender and often hilarious stories by Jennifer Weiner, we meet Marlie Davidow, home alone with her new baby late one Friday night when she wanders onto her ex’s online wedding registry and wonders where she’d be if she’d wound up with the guy not taken. We stumble on Bruce Guberman, liquored-up and ready for anything on the night of his best friend’s bachelor party, until stealing his girlfriend’s tiny rat terrier becomes more complicated than he’d planned. We find Jessica Norton listing her beloved New York City apartment in the hope of winning her broker’s heart. And we follow an unlikely friendship between two very different new mothers, and the choices that bring them together—and pull them apart.From a teenager coming to terms with her father’s disappearance to a widow accepting two young women into her home, these stories demonstrate Weiner’s amazing ability to find hope and humor, longing and love in the hidden corners of our common experiences.“Utterly readable.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“Another delightful example of Jennifer Weiner’s tender way with words and emotions.” —Harper’s Bazaar“Very, very funny.” —Philadelphia Inquirer“Puts Weiner on the map as one of her generation’s best literary voices.” —The Boston Herald
Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who Knows the Game
by Chris MatthewsHow politics is played by one who knows the game...Chris Matthews has spent a quarter century on the playing field of American politics—from right-hand man of Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill to host of NBC's highest rated cable talk show Hardball. In this revised and updated edition of his political classic, he offers fascinating new stories of raw ambition, brutal rivalry, and exquisite seduction and reveals the inside rules that govern the game of power.
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now: My Difficult 80s
by Andrew Collins'Higher education comes at exactly the right time: in the twilight of your teens, you're just starting to coagulate as a human being, to pull away from parental influence and find your own feet. What better than three years in which to explore the inner you, establish a feasible worldview, and maybe get on Blockbusters.'After an idyllic provincial 1970s childhood, the 1980s took Andrew Collins to London, art school and the classic student experience. Crimping his hair, casting aside his socks and sporting fingerless gloves, he became Andy Kollins: purveyor of awful poetry; disciple of moany music, and wannabe political activist. What follows is a universal tale of trainee hedonism, girl trouble, wasted grants and begging letters to parents. A synth-soundtracked rite of passage that's often painfully funny, it traces one teenager's metamorphosis from sheltered suburban innocent to semi-mature metropolitan male through the pretensions and confusions of trying to stand alone for the first time in your own kung fu pumps in a big bad city.
The Heptameron
by Marguerite De NavarreIn the early 1500s five men and five women find themselves trapped by floods and compelled to take refuge in an abbey high in the Pyrenees. When told they must wait days for a bridge to be repaired, they are inspired - by recalling Boccaccio's Decameron - to pass the time in a cultured manner by each telling a story every day. The stories, however, soon degenerate into a verbal battle between the sexes, as the characters weave tales of corrupt friars, adulterous noblemen and deceitful wives. From the cynical Saffredent to the young idealist Dagoucin or the moderate Parlamente - believed to express De Navarre's own views - The Heptameron provides a fascinating insight into the minds and passions of the nobility of sixteenth century France.
Heroides
by OvidIn the twenty-one poems of the Heroides, Ovid gave voice to the heroines and heroes of epic and myth. These deeply moving literary epistles reveal the happiness and torment of love, as the writers tell of their pain at separation, forgiveness of infidelity or anger at betrayal. The faithful Penelope wonders at the suspiciously long absence of Ulysses, while Dido bitterly reproaches Aeneas for too eagerly leaving her bed to follow his destiny, and Sappho - the only historical figure portrayed here - describes her passion for the cruelly rejecting Phaon. In the poetic letters between Paris and Helen the lovers seem oblivious to the tragedy prophesied for them, while in another exchange the youthful Leander asserts his foolhardy eagerness to risk his life to be with his beloved Hero.
The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings
by Lise Lunge-LarsenSelkies, fairies, gnomes, hill folk, river sprites—do you believe in them? Perhaps among the flowers, beside a mountain, or near deep waters you’ve caught a glimpse, once or twice, of what you thought might be the silvery shadow of a dwarf, or a hint of a fairy’s wing, or the tail of the water horse. Or was it just the odd light of dusk or dawn playing tricks? As Lise Lunge-Larsen’s magical, timeless stories reveal and Beth Krommes’s enchanting scratchboard illustrations capture, the hidden folk are there, all right: you just have to know where—and how—to look.
High Stakes: How I Blew £14 Million
by Sir Nigel GoldmanNigel Goldman wrote the autobiographical High Stakes while in prison paying the price for two decades of risk-taking on the financial markets. Through his dealings in the tempestuous silver futures market and a sideline in rare coin investments, Goldman developed a taste for the champagne lifestyle. Desperate to maintain the high life, his deals became riskier and were increasingly financed by his clients' money. Taking advantage of trading loopholes and insider tip-offs, Goldman peaked with an account balance of £14 million but troughed with two spells in prison.The story begins with Goldman placing a £50 bet on the roulette table and walking away with £10,000. And so his adventures continue. There are personal trades, investment businesses, gold bullion deals, racehorses and an American gentleman who allows Goldman to play with his fortune on the New York Stock Exchange. But there are also Customs and Excise investigations and lifelong enemies waiting to exact their revenge.High Stakes provides a detailed insight into the little-known twilight world of insider-dealing and shows how the search for the ultimate win can lead to a life on the run.
The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave
by Mary PrinceThe History of Mary Prince (1831) was the first narrative of a black woman to be published in Britain. It describes Prince's sufferings as a slave in Bermuda, Turks Island and Antigua, and her eventual arrival in London with her brutal owner Mr Wood in 1828. Prince escaped from him and sought assistance from the Anti-Slavery Society, where she dictated her remarkable story to Susanna Strickland (later Moodie). A moving and graphic document, The History drew attention to the continuation of slavery in the Caribbean, despite an 1807 Act of Parliament officially ending the slave trade. It inspired two libel actions and ran into three editions in the year of its publication. This powerful rallying cry for emancipation remains an extraordinary testament to Prince's ill-treatment, suffering and survival.
Hope and Glory: A People’s History of Modern Britain
by Stuart MaconieIn Hope and Glory Stuart Maconie goes in search of the days that shaped the Britain we live in today. Taking one event from each decade of the 20th century, he visits the places where history happened and still echoes down the years. Stuart goes to Orgreave and Windsor, Wembley and Wootton Bassett, assembling a unique cast of Britons from Sir Edmund Hillary to Sid Vicious along the way.It’s quite a trip, full of sex and violence and the occasional scone and jigsaw. From pop stars to politicians, Suffragettes to punks, this is a journey around Britain in search of who we are.
Hope and Glory: Britain 1900-2000 (Penguin History of Britain)
by Peter ClarkePeter Clarke brilliantly challenges the commonly held view of Britain in the twentieth century as a nation in decline. Adopting a wide perspective, he examines the political. social and economic changes that transformed Britain. He looks at how jobs and prices, food and shelter, and education and welfare, shaped society and explores such areas as architecture, sport and popular culture. Embracing a century of national experience, Hope and Glory superbly conveys the diverse aspects of three generations who lived through unparalleled change.
Horror Films - Virgin Film
by James MarriottFrom the Slick horror of Alien, Scream and The Ring and the cult classics Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy to the slasher icons Jason, Freddy and Leatherface, horror just won’t stay dead. The genre has earned its place in the moviegoing psyche, with many of the key films spawning numerous copycats. But what are the 20 most influential horror films of all time? And what made them so important?James Marriott give an incisive account of the definitive works (and the most influential directors) of the genre over the last 80 years – from silent Expressionist classics to Japanese wraiths. The book reveals the inspiration behind each film and examines the choice of director, cast, soundtrack and marketing. Marriott analyzes the critical reception of each film and examines the subsequent impact on the industry and the public worldwide.
Hot Gossip
by Savannah SmytheSuzy Whitbread packs in her job at a beauty salon and returns to the rural English village where she grew up. As a teenager the locals frowned on her close relationship with Clifton McKenna, father of her best friend and master of the local hunt. Clifton used to be in control of everything, including Suzy's burgeoning sexuality, but now he is confined to a wheelchair after a riding accident. Suzy is determined to help him recover while his overbearing wife is on an extended vacation, and they are soon playing out scenes of exquisite sexual torment in Clifton's luxury mansion. As if this were not reason enough for some very hot gossip, the McKenna's son has become embroiled with a girl from the traveller community. It is only a matter of time before a furious Mrs McKenna will return from her holiday to find all hell has broken loose.
The House Of Flowers: (The Eden series:2): a thrilling novel of service, strength and suspicion in wartime Britain from bestselling author Charlotte Bingham
by Charlotte BinghamFans of Louise Douglas, Dinah Jefferies and Kristin Hannah will love this uplifting and moving wartime saga by the million copy and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlotte Bingham. "'The author perfectly evokes the atmosphere of a bygone era" -- WOMAN'S OWN"As comforting and nourishing as a hot milky drink on a stormy night" -- DAILY EXPRESS"A rip-roaring combination of high romance and breathless excitement" - MAIL ON SUNDAY"These are characters you will really care about" -- ***** Reader review"Very enjoyable and hard to put down" -- ***** Reader review"Incredibly well written and engrossing" -- ***** Reader review*********************************************************EVERYONE IS DOING THEIR BIT FOR THE WAR EFFORT. BUT WHAT SIDE ARE THEY ON? 1941: England is at its lowest ebb: under-nourished, under-informed and terrified of imminent invasion. Even at Eden Park, the beautiful country estate where Poppy, Lily, Kate, Marjorie and her adopted brother Billy are working in espionage, confidence is at an all-time low, and that is before the authorities discover there is a double agent operating from its MI5 unit.As agents are gradually wiped out by the informant at Eden Park, Poppy leaves to train as a pilot. But as she closes the wooden shutters at the House of Flowers, the old folly where she and her husband Scott began their married life, she realises that they were made over a century before to keep out another invader...England survived then - will it survive again? Have you read Daughters of Eden, the first in the series?
How To Be a Medieval Woman (Penguin Little Black Classics)
by Margery Kempe'And then he, completely astonished at her words, left off his lewdness, saying to her as many a man had done before, "Either you are a truly good woman or else a truly wicked woman." 'Brave, outspoken and guaranteed to annoy people wherever she went - including exasperated fellow pilgrims in Jerusalem and her long-suffering husband - Margery Kempe was one of the most vivid and unforgettable voices of the Middle Ages. Whether travelling alone, getting herself arrested or having visions of marrying Jesus, Margery repeatedly defied feminine convention - and also managed to compose the first autobiography in English, despite being unable to read or write.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.
The Idiot
by Fyodor DostoyevskyInspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Dostoyevsky set out to create a protagonist with "a truly beautiful soul" and to trace the fate of such an individual as he comes into contact with the brutal reality of contemporary society. The novel begins when the innocent epileptic Prince Myshkin - the 'idiot' - arrives in St Petersburg and finds himself drawn into a web of violent and passionate relationships that leads to blackmail, betrayal and eventually murder.
I'll Be Seeing You: A spellbinding and emotional wartime novel of love and secrets
by Margaret MayhewAn enthralling novel of love and secrets from the Second World War, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Fiona Valpy.READERS ARE LOVING I'LL BE SEEING YOU!"I consider Margaret Mayhew to be an exceptional author and this is one of her best offerings!" - 5 STARS"Exceptional story kept me enthralled until the end. I loved the way this book was written." - 5 STARS"This is the first book I have read by Margaret Meyhew. It won't be the last." - 5 STARS"Absolutely loved this story, so much so I just stayed up all night reading it , desperate to see how it unfolded, yet hating seeing it come to an end. So well written and researched." - 5 STARS*********************************WHAT IF EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVED TURNED OUT TO BE A LIE?1992: When Juliet Porter's mother dies, she leaves her some old letters and a photograph which shatter everything Juliet thought she knew about her upbringing. Discovering her real father was an American bomber pilot who met her mother while serving in England during the Second World War, she sets out to trace him...1944: Daisy, Juliet's mother, is in the WAAF and plans to marry the American bomber pilot she has fallen deeply in love with once his tour is over. But one day he is shot down over France and posted missing, presumed dead. Pregnant and grieving, she marries Vernon - a long term admirer - only to discover at the end of the war that her pilot has survived...
Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle
by David TrippIt's the most valuable ounce of gold in the world, the celebrated, the fabled, the infamous 1933 double eagle, illegal to own and coveted all the more, sought with passion by men of wealth and with steely persistence by the United States government for more than a half century—it shouldn't even exist but it does, and its astonishing, true adventures read like "a composite of The Lord of the Rings and The Maltese Falcon" (The New York Times). In 1905, at the height of the exuberant Gilded Age, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned America's greatest sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens—as he battled in vain for his life—to create what became America's most beautiful coin. In 1933 the hopes of America dimmed in the darkness of the Great Depression, and gold—the nation's lifeblood—hemorrhaged from the financial system. As the economy teetered on the brink of total collapse, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his first act as president, assumed wartime powers while the nation was at peace and in a "swift, staccato action" unprecedented in United States history recalled all gold and banned its private ownership. But the United States Mint continued, quite legally, to strike nearly a half million 1933 double eagles that were never issued and were deemed illegal to own. In 1937, along with countless millions of other gold coins, they were melted down into faceless gold bars and sent to Fort Knox. The government thought they had destroyed them all—but they were wrong. A few escaped, purloined in a crime—an inside job—that wasn't discovered until 1944. Then, the fugitive 1933 double eagles became the focus of a relentless Secret Service investigation spearheaded by the man who had put away Al Capone. All the coins that could be found were seized and destroyed. But one was beyond their reach, in a king's collection in Egypt, where it survived a world war, a revolution, and a coup, only to be lost again. In 1996, more than forty years later, in a dramatic sting operation set up by a Secret Service informant at the Waldorf-Astoria, an English and an American coin dealer were arrested with a 1933 double eagle which, after years of litigation, was sold in July 2002 to an anonymous buyer for more than $7.5 million in a record-shattering auction. But was it the only one? The lost one? Illegal Tender, revealing information available for the first time, tells a riveting tale of American history, liberally spiced with greed, intrigue, deception, and controversy as it follows the once secret odyssey of this fabulous golden object through the decades. With its cast of kings, presidents, government agents, shadowy dealers, and crooks, Illegal Tender will keep readers guessing about this incomparable disk of gold—the coin that shouldn't be and almost wasn't—until the very end.
In Disgrace
by Penny BirchNaughty Natasha Linnett makes her kinky relationship with the late artist Phillippe Faucon (from Peach) a news story, and the money from the sale of his looted paintings leaves her comfortably off. Unfortunately for Natasha she arouses more interest that she bargained for. Whether photographed playing spanking games in Regent's Park or suffering serial sexual indignities at the hands of the gutter press, Natasha finds that life with the paparazzi on her tail in anything but sweet.
In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great
by Michael WoodMichael Wood retraces Alexander the Greats amazing journey from Greece to India, searching for the truth behind the legend and experiencing the tremendous scale of his achievements. Using the ancient historians as his guides, Wood follows Alexanders journey as closely as possible, crossing deserts and rivers, from Turkey to war-torn Afghanistan. As the journey progresses, he recreates the drama of Alexanders epic marches and bloody battles. All along the way he finds proof of the survival of the legends surrounding Alexander, a leader whose life has excited the worlds imagination for the 2,000 years. 'Wood tells a glorious story with some very dark shadows.' New York Times 'Wood is a perceptive, entertaining and enthusiastic companion.' Sunday Times 'Wood is a lively storyteller.' The Washington Post
In Strength And Shadow: The Mervyn Davies Story
by David Roach Mervyn DaviesFew rugby players have matched the achievements of Welshman Mervyn Davies, the shrewd, gutsy number 8 with the heart of a lion. In what was a remarkable career, he won two Grand Slams, three Triple Crowns, earned thirty-eight consecutive Wales caps, was captain of his national team and played in two victorious Lions tours. From the tail end of the 1960s through the first half of the glorious '70s period, 'Merv the Swerve' - with that mop of black hair and trademark headband - cut an iconic figure in the world's great rugby arenas. Teammates and opponents respected him, fans loved him and he was a natural leader of men both on and off the field.Then, in March 1976, everything changed. Mervyn was leading Swansea in a semi-final cup clash when he suffered a massive brain haemorrhage. He began that fateful Sunday preparing for just another high-profile game but ended it fighting for his life. Wales, and the watching sporting world, could do nothing but wait and hope. And just when the odds seemed stacked irreversibly against him, Mervyn did what he had always done: he beat them. Mervyn's life story is one of what was and what might have been. From locker-room tales to the loneliness of rehabilitation, Mervyn's account is funny, moving and honest. He writes about his many highs and lows, about losing rugby but regaining his life, and shares his thoughts on the days he spent in shadow and in strength.
The Indiscretions of Isabelle
by Penny BirchIsabelle is a Sapphic young student at Oxford, versed in the arts of Flagellation. When her ageing scout, Stan Tierney, lets slip that he knows about a long-established society of lesbian dominas, Isabelle is drawn in. As Isabelle investigates together with her girlfriends Jasmine and Caroline, it becomes clear that she will have to endure a comprehensive round of sexual humiliation if she is to get close to the mysterious society.Follow Isabelle's adventures in The Indulgence of Isabelle, The Indecencies of Isabelle, The Indiscretions of Isabelle and The Indignities of Isabelle.
Inside Bob Paisley's Liverpool: Kennedy's Way
by John WilliamsMany years have now passed since the greatest period of European dominance by any English football club came to an end. Between 1977 and 1984, Liverpool won the European Cup an unprecedented four times and established themselves as the number-one team in Europe. It was during the successful European Cup campaigns of 1981 and 1984 that the unlikely figure of Alan Kennedy came to dominate the headlines.Folk-hero left-back Alan Kennedy - nicknamed 'Barney Rubble' by fans after The Flintstones character due to his straightforward, no-frills approach to the game - scored the winning goal in the 1981 European Cup final against Real Madrid, as well as the nerve-twanging winning shoot-out penalty against AS Roma in 1984, a feat which secured his position in European football history.Kennedy's Way examines Kennedy's footballing career under manager Bob Paisley (and, later, under Joe Fagan) and provides a retrospective account of Liverpool's dominance during those years. Drawing on Kennedy's memories of the period, as well as those of other players and backroom staff involved with the Reds at that time, it is an irreverent, revealing account of the dressing-room culture at the club while it was at the height of its powers.The book concludes with reflections on Kennedy's post-playing life and on the trajectory of Liverpool since the Heysel and Hillsborough tragedies, in 1985 and 1989 respectively, right up to recent events at the club, including the exit of Gérard Houllier and the team's dramatic return to the pinnacle of European club football under new manager Rafael Benítez.
Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics
by Georg HegelNo philosopher has held a higher opinion of art than Hegel, yet nor was any so profoundly pessimistic about its prospects - despite living in the German golden age of Goethe, Mozart and Schiller. For if the artists of classical Greece could find the perfect fusion of content and form, modernity faced complicating - and ultimately disabling - questions. Christianity, with its code of unworldliness, had compromised the immediacy of man's relationship with reality, and ironic detachment had alienated him from his deepest feelings. Hegel's Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics were delivered in Berlin in the 1820s and stand today as a passionately argued work that challenged the ability of art to respond to the modern world.
Iphigenia, Phaedra, Athaliah
by Jean RacineStrongly influenced by Classical drama, Jean Racine (1639-99) broke away from the grandiose theatricality of baroque drama to create works of intense psychological realism, with characters manipulated by cruel and vengeful gods. Iphigenia depicts a princess's absolute submission to her father's will, despite his determination to sacrifice her to gain divine favour before going to war. Described by Voltaire as 'the masterpiece of the human mind', Phaedra shows a woman's struggle to overcome her overwhelming passion for her stepson - an obsession that brings destruction to a noble family. And Athaliah portrays a ruthless pagan queen, who defies Jehovah in her desperate attempt to keep the throne of Jerusalem from its legitimate heir.