The world of the railways weaves a spell over many people. In this engaging book railway expert Anthony Lambert presents some of the best stories. From the early days come tales of financial skulduggery & worries that sparks from locomotives might ignite sheep's fleeces. But as the railway transformed the modern world, attitudes changed, & railways were opened to great rejoicing & even religious blessing. The perennial appeal of the steam locomotive generated a pride amongst railwaymen & a fascination among the public. The romantic aspects of the railway were soon celebrated
- & not just the unexpected engagement that came from a snowbound train in the Highlands or the sexual shenanigans of the Orient Express. Here are stories of railway travel, from the palatial carriages of tsars & maharajahs to the open trucks of the 'lower orders', mishaps & faux pas, & tales of how ticket inspectors used to have to hold on to the outside of carriages while clipping tickets.

From tales of lonely stations & signal-boxes in Scotl&, to the unlucky engineer eaten by a lion in a carriage in Kenya, Lambert casts his net across railways worldwide to gather the most entertaining material. There are stories here that would enliven even a cheerless commute on the 18.01, & remind you that our railways really were
- & occasionally still are
- full of derring-do, romance & character.




...

The world of the railways weaves a spell over many people. In this engaging book railway expert Anthony Lambert presents some of the best stories. From the early days come tales of financial skulduggery & worries that sparks from locomotives might ignite sheep's fleeces. But as the railway transformed the modern world, attitudes changed, & railways were opened to great rejoicing & even religious blessing. The perennial appeal of the steam locomotive generated a pride amongst railwaymen & a fascination among the public. The romantic aspects of the railway were soon celebrated
- & not just the unexpected engagement that came from a snowbound train in the Highlands or the sexual shenanigans of the Orient Express. Here are stories of railway travel, from the palatial carriages of tsars & maharajahs to the open trucks of the 'lower orders', mishaps & faux pas, & tales of how ticket inspectors used to have to hold on to the outside of carriages while clipping tickets.

From tales of lonely stations & signal-boxes in Scotl&, to the unlucky engineer eaten by a lion in a carriage in Kenya, Lambert casts his net across railways worldwide to gather the most entertaining material. There are stories here that would enliven even a cheerless commute on the 18.01, & remind you that our railways really were
- & occasionally still are
- full of derring-do, romance & character.




...

For far too long, the County of Lancashire has languished under the grimy pall of smoke, muck, mills & mines; enveloped in outdated condescension & smothered by the easy dismissals that put down the north of England as just 'up there' & 'grim'. Thank you very much, George Orwell, Monty Python & every London cabbie. But Lancashire is not 'up there'. It is actually situated in the centre of the British Isles &, far from being grim, Lancs is in fact a place of wit & wonder, romance & surprise; a land of exotic influence whose people have ever looked outward to sophistications & influences beyond frontiers & seas. Indeed, French writer Honore de Balzac recognised these affinities & yearnings in the Lancashire people when he had one of his characters declare that ' Lancashire is the County where women die of love'. Mock if you like, but then think about it: where is the magnificent thoroughfare that inspired the boulevards of Paris? Where did they go to film Brief Encounter, arguably the most romantic British film ever? Which city informed the great vision of C. G. Jung? Where did the young Shakespeare dream & draw his inspired imaginings? Where do you think Britain's only bullfighter, the doughty El Ingles, is from? Where will the new Las Vegas be? Join Charles Nevin, Fleet Street journalist & humorist, as he returns to his roots & reveals all this & more in Where Women Die of Love. Discover the true Camelot & the beauty that is Rugby League. Ponder over Cotton & Gandhi & Engels, & mull over the reason why Britain's greatest comics, from Laurel to Coogan........ ...

The war between the houses of Lancaster & York for the throne of England was characterised by treachery, deceit & at St Albans, Blore Hill & Towton, some of the bloodiest & most dramatic battles on England's soil. Between 1455 & 1487 the royal coffers were bankrupted & the conflict resulted in the downfall of the houses of Lancaster & York & the emergence of the illustrious Tudor dynasty. Alison Weir's lucid & gripping account focuses on the human side of history, on the people & personalities involved in the conflict. At the centre of the book stands Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York & Henry`s rival, & most important of all, Margaretof Anjou, Henry's wife who took up her arms in her husband`s cause & battled for many years ina violent man's world. ...

1982. The Falklands War. Young SAS trooper, Mike Hood, risks his life to capture an Argentine girl spy. To knock out enemy bombers a daring mission is planned against a fortified airbase on Tierra del Fuego, the remote tip of the South American mainl&. Hood & his fellow SAS are sent in ahead to reconnoitre. Detected by the enemy, they must fight their way out-Twenty years on & an Argentine military junta is returned to power. They determine to reinvade the Falkland Islands. Now a senior NCO, Hood is back in the South Atlantic, haunted by memories he thought he had buried. British air defences have been knocked out in a sneak attack & once again Argentine forces are being secretly readied for an assault on the Islands. A team from the crack SAS Mountain Troop is inserted by submarine. But has the mission been compromised from the start? When fate throws Hood together with the girl from his past, he is faced with a conflict of loyalties. Can he trust her now? & can they escape in time to destroy the enemy bombers & prevent all-out war? ...

1982. The Falklands War. Young SAS trooper, Mark Black, risks his life to capture an Argentine girl spy. To knock out enemy bombers a daring mission is planned against a fortified airbase on Tierra del Fuego, the remote tip of the South American mainl&. Black & his fellow SAS are sent in ahead to reconnoitre. Detected by the enemy, they must fight their way out...

Twenty years on & an Argentine military junta is returned to power. They determine to reinvade the Falkland Islands.

Now a senior NCO, Black is back in the South Atlantic, haunted by memories he thought he had buried. British air defences have been knocked out in a sneak attack once again Argentine forces are being secretly readied for an assault on the Islands. A team from the crack SAS Mountain Troop is inserted by submarine. But has the mission been compromised from the start? When fate throws Black together with a girl from his past, he is faced with a conflict of loyalties. Can he trust her now? & can they escape in time to destroy the enemy bombers & prevent all-out war?



...

1982. The Falklands War. Young SAS trooper, Mark Black, risks his life to capture an Argentine girl spy. To knock out enemy bombers a daring mission is planned against a fortified airbase on Tierra del Fuego, the remote tip of the South American mainl&. Black & his fellow SAS are sent in ahead to reconnoitre. Detected by the enemy, they must fight their way out...

Twenty years on & an Argentine military junta is returned to power. They determine to reinvade the Falkland Islands.

Now a senior NCO, Black is back in the South Atlantic, haunted by memories he thought he had buried. British air defences have been knocked out in a sneak attack once again Argentine forces are being secretly readied for an assault on the Islands. A team from the crack SAS Mountain Troop is inserted by submarine. But has the mission been compromised from the start? When fate throws Black together with a girl from his past, he is faced with a conflict of loyalties. Can he trust her now? & can they escape in time to destroy the enemy bombers & prevent all-out war?



...

1914, & an English archaeologist called Somerville is fulfilling a lifelong dream: to direct an excavation in the desert of Mesopotamia. Yet forces beyond his control threaten his work.

The Great War is looming, & various interest groups are vying for control over the land & its manyprizes. & Somerville, whose intention is purely to discover & preserve the land

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