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Listening to Britain: Home Intelligence Reports on Britain's Finest Hour, May-September 1940
by Jeremy A Crang Paul AddisonFrom May to September 1940, a period that saw some of the most dramatic events in British history - including the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the opening stages of the Blitz - the Ministry of Information eavesdropped on the conversations of ordinary people in all parts of the United Kingdom and compiled secret daily reports on the state of popular morale.
Little Darlings
by Jacqueline WilsonSunset lives a life of luxury with her beautiful ex-model mum, her world-famous rock star dad and her two little celebrity siblings. But life on the red carpet is no compensation for parents who constantly argue, intensive scrutiny from the media, and and having no real friends.Destiny, on the other hand, is an only child living on a rundown estate with a sickly but devoted mum who constantly tells her that she's really the daughter of a famous rock star . . .When the two girls meet in unlikely circumstances, they are surprised to find in each other something they've been missing all their lives . . .
Little Lord Fauntleroy (Puffin Classics)
by Frances Hodgson BurnettThe story of a small, angelic boy from New York who is told he is the heir to an English earldom and is whisked away to the English countryside where he begins to win over his bad-tempered old grandfather. When the boy's identity is challenged, his old friends from New York come to his rescue.
Lives of Roman Christian Women
by Carolinne White'Perpetua shouted out with joy as the sword pierced her, for she wanted to taste some of the pain and she even guided the hesitant hand of the trainee gladiator towards her own throat'Lives of Roman Christian Women is a unique collection of letters and documents from the third to the fifth centuries, celebrating Christian women from across the Roman Empire. During a crucial period in which Christianity transformed from a persecuted faith to the official religion of the Empire, these writings reveal the women who chose to dedicate their lives to Christ, by embracing martyrdom or by adopting a life of poverty and prayer, renouncing not only wealth but also their duties as wives and mothers.
Livia, Empress of Rome: A Biography
by Matthew DennisonRome is a subject of endless fascination, and in this new biography of the infamous Empress Livia, Matthew Dennison brings to life a woman long believed to be one of the most feared villainesses of history.Second wife of the emperor Augustus, mother of his successor Tiberius, grandmother of Claudius and great grandmother of Caligula, the empress Livia lived close to the center of Roman political power for eight turbulent decades. Her life spanned the years of Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire, and witnessed both its triumphs under the rule of Augustus and its lapse into instability under his dysfunctional successor.Livia was given the honorific title Augusta in her husband's will, and was posthumously deified by the emperor Claudius—but posterity would prove less respectful. The Roman historian Tacitus anathematized her as "malevolent" and a "feminine bully" and inspired Robert Graves's celebrated twentieth-century depiction of Livia in I, Claudius as the quintessence of the scheming matriarch, poisoning her relatives one by one to smooth her son's path to the imperial throne.Livia, Empress of Rome rescues the historical Livia from the crude caricature of popular myth to paint an elegant and richly textured portrait. In this rigorously researched biography, Dennison weighs the evidence found in contemporary sources to present a more nuanced assessment. Livia's true "crime," he reveals, was not murder but the exercise of power. The Livia who emerges here is a complex, courageous and gifted woman, and one of the most fascinating and perplexing figures of the ancient world.
Living la Vida Loca
by Belinda Jones'As essential as your SPF 15' - New Woman'Definitely worth cramming in your suitcase' - CosmopolitanCarmen's ready to heat things up on the dancefloor, but is she ready to do the same for her love life? Carmen has been feeling the need to break free for Too Darn Long. So when her equally frustrated friend Beth suggests the ultimate escape - dancing their way through a series of scorchingly-hot countries - she can't resist! There's just one catch... they can only go on this adventure if they participate in a reality TV show, one intent on teaching them the mournful tango in Argentina, the feisty flamenco in Spain and the sassy, celebratory salsa in Cuba! As they travel from Buenos Aires to Seville and ultimately steamy Havana, each dance has a profound effect on the girls - and indeed the sexy gauchos, matadors and dirty dancers who partner them... But, when the sun goes down, do they have what it takes to go beyond the steps and free their hearts for love? Readers love Living la Vida Loca:'As tasty and fabulous as a frozen margarita' - 5* reader review'A ray of sunshine' - 5* reader review'A fun, fabulous read'- 5* reader review'[Has] you laughing your socks off one minute, and wanting to hug the central characters of Beth and Carmen the next' - 5* reader review
The Long Walk Home
by Val WoodAt only thirteen, Mikey Quinn is arrested for stealing a rabbit to feed his family. Despite his age, he’s shown no mercy by the wealthy lawyer who sends him to prison. He returns home to find that his mother has died and his younger siblings taken into the workhouse. With only his determination, Mikey makes his way to London to seek a better life for his family. Whilst there, he meets Eleanor who he recognises as the daughter of the lawyer who ruined his life. Desperate, they band together forging a new life for themselves on the streets of London. Overlooking their initial differences, the two come to rely on each other and, when the time comes to return to Hull, they face the long walk home together.
The Longest Whale Song
by Jacqueline WilsonElla's mother is in a deep coma, having just had a new baby. That means Ella has to live with Jack, her hopeless stepfather, and cope with her tiny newborn brother, as well as worrying about Mum. The only thing that's going right is her school project. It's all about whales and how they sing out to each other to attract a mate - sometimes for hours. Maybe a whale song could reach Mum, wherever she is, and bring her back to Ella and baby Samson. Surely it's worth a try?
The Lore of the Playground: One hundred years of children's games, rhymes and traditions
by Steve RoudFrom conkers to marbles, from British Bulldog to tag, not forgetting 'one potato, two potato' and 'eeny, meeny, miny, mo', The Lore of the Playground looks at the games children have enjoyed, the rhymes they have chanted and the rituals and traditions they have observed over the past hundred years and more. Each generation, it emerges, has had its own favourites - hoops and tops in the 1930s, clapping games more recently. Some pastimes, such as skipping, have proved remarkably resilient, their complicated rules carefully handed down from one class to the next. Many are now the stuff of distant memory. And some traditions have proved to be strongly regional, loved by children in one part of the country, unknown to those elsewhere. All are brilliantly and meticulously recorded by Steve Roud, who has drawn on interviews with hundreds of people aged from 8 to 80 to create a fascinating picture of all our childhoods.
Losing Our Religion: Why the Liberal Media Want to Tell You What to Think, Where to Pray, and How to Live
by S. E. Cupp"The press has become a tool of oppression—politicized, self–aware, self–motivated, and power–hungry. . . . In short, these people can no longer be trusted." —From S. E. Cupp’s Losing Our Religion It’s time to wake up and smell the bias. The go-to commentator for such programs as Fox News’s Hannity and CNN’s Larry King Live and Reliable Sources, S. E. Cupp is just that—a reliable source for the latest news, trends, and forecasts in young, bright, conservative America. Savvy and outspoken when shattering left-leaning assumptions as she did in Why You’re Wrong About the Right, Cupp now takes on the most pressing threat to the values and beliefs held and practiced by the majority of Americans: the marginalizing of Christianity by the flagrantly biased liberal media. From her galvanizing introduction, you know where S. E. Cupp stands: She’s an atheist. A non-believer. Which makes her the perfect impartial reporter from the trenches of a culture war dividing America and eroding the Judeo-Christian values on which this country was founded. Starting at the top, she exposes the unwitting courtship of President Obama and the liberal press, which consistently misreports or downplays Obama’s clear discomfort with, or blatant disregard for, religious America—from covering up religious imagery in the backdrop of his Georgetown University speech to his absence from events surrounding the National Day of Prayer, to identifying America in his inaugural address as, among other things, "a nation of non-believers." She likens the calculated attacks of the liberal media to a class war, a revolution with a singular purpose: to overthrow God and silence Christian America for good. And she sends out an urgent call for all Americans to push back the leftist propaganda blitz striking on the Internet, radio, television, in films, publishing, and print journalism—or invite the tyrannies of a "mainstream" media set on mocking our beliefs, controlling our decisions, and extinguishing our freedoms. Now, discover the truth behind the war against Christmas—and how political correctness keeps the faithful under wraps . . . the one-sided analyses of Prop 8 and the gay marriage debate . . . the media pot-shots at Sarah Palin’s personal faith . . . the politicization of entertainment mainstays such as American Idol and the Miss USA Pageant . . . and much more. Also included are her penetrating interviews with Dinesh D’Souza, Martha Zoller, James T. Harris, Newt Gingrich, Kevin Madden, and Kevin Williamson of National Review, delivering must-read analyses of the latest stunning lowlights from the liberal media.
The Lost Barkscrolls: The Edge Chronicles (The\edge Chronicles Ser.)
by Chris Riddell Paul StewartThese exciting tales are ideal for those new to the Edge or as an addition to the collection of any fan. They feature stories from each of the Edge trilogies: one from the time of Twig, one from the time of Quint, Twig's father, and one from the time of Rook, Twig's grandson. Meet well-known characters from the Edgeworld and get a tantalising glimpse into the last Edge novel ever - released in 2009.The collection also includes a beautiful fold-out timeline of the Edgeworld and CLOUD WOLF and THE STONE PILOT, World Book Day stories that fans have repeatedly asked to see again.
Lost Innocence: A gripping and thought-provoking story from the Sunday Times bestselling author
by Susan LewisWhen Alicia Carlyle returns to the home of her childhood after the tragic death of her husband, she is hoping to put the past behind her. But first she must come face to face with the woman who nearly destroyed her marriage and tore her family in two - her sister-in-law, Sabrina. Their enmity runs deep, but Alicia is determined to make a fresh start for herself and her two children, Nathan and Darcie, and to heal her fractured relationship with her beloved brother. However, just when it looks as if they might have a chance at a brighter future, Sabrina's fifteen-year-old daughter, Annabelle, accuses seventeen-year-old Nathan of a crime he insists he didn't commit. And once more the two families are locked in a battle that is fraught with mistrust, betrayal and lies - a battle that threatens to destroy them all...
Lovecasts: The Astrological Guide to Finding Lasting Love
by Judi VitaleCatch a Gemini's eye-and hold it. Get a Pisces to commit. Start a family with an Aries.Sure, other guides might tell you how to attract your cosmic match, but only this book shows you how to find Mr. Right and how to maintain a heavenly relationship with him when the (star)glow starts to dim. You'll learn the astrological secrets to each sign's heart, including:How he'll behave as a date-and a mateWhat he needs between the sheetsWhen he'll admit he's in love-and make a real commitmentHow successful he'll be in the work worldWhat kind of husband and father he'll beHow to overcome relationship issues and problems, given his signAnd much more! Armed with this celestial insight, you will unlock the mysteries of the man you love-one sign at a time. No matter who you fall for and why, this book will help you love-and understand-him for a lifetime.
Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference
by Archbishop Desmond Tutu Mpho Tutu"We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness."—Desmond Tutu In this personal and inspirational book, the late beloved Nobel Prize-winner and humanitarian shares the secret of joy and hope in the face of life’s difficulties.Archbishop Desmond Tutu witnessed some of the world’s darkest moments, for decades fighting the racist government policy of apartheid and since then being an ambassador of peace amidst political, diplomatic, and natural disasters. Yet people find him and his work joyful and hopeful. In Made for Goodness, Tutu shares his source of strength and optimism.Written with his daughter, Mpho, who is also an ordained Anglican minister, Tutu argues that God has made us for goodness, and when we simply start walking in the direction of this calling, God is there to meet us, encourage us, embrace us. God has made the world as a grand theater for us to work out this call to goodness; it is up to us to live up to this calling, but God is there to help us every step of the way. So, tackling our worst problems takes on new meaning and is bostered with hope and the expectation that that is exactly where God will show up. Father and daughter offer an inspiring message of hope that will transform readers into activists for change and blessing.
Magic and Mayhem: The Delusions of American Foreign Policy from Korea to Afghanistan
by Derek LeebaertAFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ are the latest in a string of blunders that includes Vietnam and an unintended war with China from 1950 to ’53, those four fiascoes being just the worst moments in nearly a lifetime of false urgencies, intelligence failures, grandiose designs, and stereotyping of enemies and allies alike. America brought down the Soviet empire at the cold war’s most dangerous juncture, but even that victory was surrounded by myths, such as the conviction that we can easily shape the destinies of other people. Magic and Mayhem is a strikingly original, closely informed investigation of two generations of America’s avoidable failures. In a perfectly timed narrative, Derek Leebaert reveals the common threads in these serial letdowns and in the consequences that await. He demonstrates why the most enterprising and innovative nation in history keeps mishandling its gravest politico-military dealings abroad and why well-credentialed men and women, deemed brilliant when they arrive in Washington, consistently end up leading the country into folly. Misjudgments of this scale arise from a pattern of self-deception best described as "magical thinking." When we think magically, we conjure up beliefs that everyone wants to be like us, that America can accomplish anything out of sheer righteousness, and that our own wizardly policymakers will enable gigantic desires like "transforming the Middle East" to happen fast. Mantras of "stability" or "democracy" get substituted for reasoned reflection. Faith is placed in high-tech silver bullets, whether drones over Pakistan or helicopters in Vietnam. Leebaert exposes these magical notions by using new archival material, exclusive interviews, his own insider experiences, and portraits of the men and women who have succumbed: George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Presidents Kennedy, Carter, and George W. Bush all appear differently in the light of magic, as do wise men from Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, and think tanks such as RAND and Brookings, as well as influential players from the media and, occasionally, the military, including General David Petraeus as he personifies the nation’s latest forays into counterinsurgency. Magic and Mayhem offers vital insights as to how Americans imagine, confront, and even invite danger. Only by understanding the power of illusion can we break the spell, and then better apply America’s enduring strengths in a world that will long need them.
Magic Puffin: A Birthday Surprise (Pocket Money Puffins)
by Sue BentleySplash, the youngest of the magic puffins, has been caught in a storm and can't get back to Silver Dream Cliffs. Luckily for the little lost puffin, he meets Martina and the two become best friends. Together they try to find a way for Splash to return home - but first there is the problem of the puffin egg-stealers...A delightfully warm and endearing story, specially written for Puffin's 70th birthday by the creator of bestselling Magic Kitten, Magic Puppies and Magic Ponies series.
The Making of the British Landscape: How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today
by Francis PryorThis is the changing story of Britain as it has been preserved in our fields, roads, buildings, towns and villages, mountains, forests and islands. From our suburban streets that still trace out the boundaries of long vanished farms to the Norfolk Broads, formed when medieval peat pits flooded, from the ceremonial landscapes of Stonehenge to the spread of the railways - evidence of how man's effect on Britain is everywhere. In The Making of the British Landscape, eminent historian, archaeologist and farmer, Francis Pryor explains how to read these clues to understand the fascinating history of our land and of how people have lived on it throughout time. Covering both the urban and rural and packed with pictures, maps and drawings showing everything from how we can still pick out Bronze Age fields on Bodmin Moor to how the Industrial Revolution really changed our landscape, this book makes us look afresh at our surroundings and really see them for the first time.
A Man Walks Into a Bar 3
by Jonathan SwanDid you hear about the scarecrow that won the Nobel Prize?He was outstanding in his field.What kind of cheese can hide a horse?Mascarpone.What about the red ship and the purple ship that collided at sea?Over one hundred sailors were marooned.Did you hear about the paranoid vegetarian?He always feared the wurst.A blonde Essex girl walked into a bar with an Englishman, and Irishman and a Scotsman, and started to change the lightbulb. The barman asked, 'Is this some kind of joke?'The third in the bestselling series of hilarious joke books - packed full of every kind of joke to make you laugh until your sides split. From elephants to mothers-in-law, priests to chickens, 'knock knock' to 'doctor, doctor' and much more besides, A Man Walks into a Bar 3 contains over 2,500 great new gags. Even Queen Victoria would be amused.
Margaret Thatcher: The Autobiography
by Margaret ThatcherPublished in a single volume for the first time, Margaret Thatcher is the story of her remarkable life told in her own words--the definitive account of an extraordinary woman and consummate politician, bringing together her bestselling memoirs The Downing Street Years and The Path to Power. Margaret Thatcher is the towering political figure of late-twentieth-century Great Britain. No other prime minister in modern times sought to change the British nation and its place in the world as radically as she did.Writing candidly about her upbringing and early years and the formation of her character and values, she details the experiences that propelled her to the very top in a man's world. She offers a riveting firsthand history of the major events, the crises and triumphs, during her eleven years as prime minister, including the Falklands War, the Brighton hotel bombing, the Westland affair, the final years of the Cold War, and her unprecedented three election victories. Thatcher's judgments of the men and women she encountered during her time in power-from statesmen, premiers, and presidents to Cabinet colleagues-are astonishingly frank, and she recalls her dramatic final days in office with a gripping, hour-by-hour description from inside 10 Downing Street. Powerful, candid, and compelling, Margaret Thatcher stands as a testament to a great leader's significant legacy.
Mark Thomas Presents the People's Manifesto
by Mark ThomasMark Thomas has been touring the country for months, getting audiences to come up with policies aimed at sorting out the country's political chaos and taking back the power for the people. Sick to death of bailing out bankers and subsidising MPs homes, the audience vote on the best policy of the night to be included in the brand new People's Manifesto.From the inspiring to the downright hilarious, you'll wonder why these fantastic ideas aren't part of the constitution already. For example:- All politicians will be forced to wear the names and logos of the companies sponsor that them or with whom they have financial links.- Anyone who supports ID cards is banned from having curtains. - All models have to be picked at random from the electoral register.- Anyone found guilty of homophobic hate crime has to serve their sentence in drag.- CEOs convicted of fraud will be made to dress as pirates in whatever job they get in the future.The People's Manifesto will outline 50 policies of the manifesto shouted out in bold type on a page to themselves with Mark's commentary opposite. Mark has even 'road tested' some of them - like hosting a party in an MP's second home (which clearly belongs to the taxpayer) and getting university boffins to work out a way of SAT testing MPs to rank them by value. And Mark's guerrilla antics won't end there...Power to the people is really happening.
Martin Chuzzlewit
by Charles DickensWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIMON CALLOWWealthy old Martin Chuzzlewit is surrounded by a host of grasping, unscrupulous relatives and suspects the family vices of selfishness and greed are already showing in his grandson. The younger Martin is therefore cast out upon the world to learn to fend for himself. Apprenticed to the oily hypocrite Peckniff, he meets both the sweet-tempered Tom Pinch and the irrepressible Mark Tapley, with whom he sets forth to America to find his fortune. Dickens created some of his most gleefully repulsive and enduring characters in this tale of corruption and virtue, murder and unrequited love.
Marx’s General: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels
by Tristram HuntFriedrich Engels is one of the most intriguing and contradictory figures of the nineteenth century. Born to a prosperous mercantile family, he spent his life enjoying the comfortable existence of a Victorian gentleman; yet he was at the same time the co-author of The Communist Manifesto, a ruthless political tactician, and the man who sacrificed his best years so that Karl Marx could have the freedom to write. Although his contributions are frequently overlooked, Engels's grasp of global capital provided an indispensable foundation for communist doctrine, and his account of the Industrial Revolution, The Condition of the Working Class in England, remains one of the most haunting and brutal indictments of capitalism's human cost. <p><p>Drawing on a wealth of letters and archives, acclaimed historian Tristram Hunt plumbs Engels's intellectual legacy and shows us how one of the great bon viveurs of Victorian Britain reconciled his exuberant personal life with his radical political philosophy. This epic story of devoted friendship, class compromise, ideological struggle, and family betrayal at last brings Engels out from the shadow of his famous friend and collaborator.
The Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy'A tale of true tragedy - a man of potential brought down by his own fatal flaw - wonderfully vivid and strong' Joanna TrollopeThe Mayor of Casterbridge is a man haunted by his past. In his youth he betrayed his wife and baby daughter in a shocking incident that led him to swear never to touch alcohol again for twenty-one years. He has since risen from his humble origins to become a respected pillar of the community in Casterbridge, but his secrets cannot stay hidden forever and he has many hard lessons left to learn. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY LUCY HUGHES-HALLETT
Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball
by George F. Will#1 New York Times Bestseller "A delightful look at all the little things that make major league baseball a subtle spectacle." —Seattle TimesIn his classic tribute to America's pastime, political commentator, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and lifelong sports enthusiast George F. Will travels from the baseball field to the dugout to the locker room to get to the root of the game we all love. He breaks down the sport to its four basic components, managing, pitching, hitting, and fielding, and analyzes the way four of its notables, manager Tony La Russa, pitcher Orel Hershiser, outfielder Tony Gwynn, and shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., approach the game. One of the most acclaimed sports books ever written, Men at Work is a revelatory, and often surprising, study of professional baseball.
Michelle Obama: The Making of a First Lady
by Dawne Allette"I want you to know that we have very much in common. For nothing in my life would have predicted that I would be standing here as First Lady of the United States of America..." When Michelle Obama spoke these words in a London school, the effect on the students was overwhelming. Her inspiring words, approachable nature and regal style make Michelle a much-loved public figure and a role model in her own right. A child of working class parents in Chicago, Michelle went on to become an Ivy League graduate, a lawyer, and an international icon as wife to President Barack Obama. Her life is a tale of extraordinary achievement in a changing society.