This is a book of facts & records about bizarre feats of the human, material & natural world. It is a solid reference work of the strange but true. It shows the world through Ripley's eyes as something that is wonderful & weird, awesome in its variety, jaw dropping in its uniqueness. This book juxtaposes the quirky, bizarre, outrageous world of people with the pure fascination of the natural & physical world. Ripley's Believe It Or Not examines all facets of extraordinary human life
- from space & the universe to prophecies & coincidences, from inside the earth to extreme weather, from birth & growth to the mysterious mind, from sickness & health to dead & buried, from buildings & architecture to computing, genetics & scientists, from inventions, art & sculpture to literature, music & movies, from sports & games to hobbies & stunts, from accidents & epic journeys to people & events that simply defy belief, Ripley's Believe It- takes us on an astonishing tour through all that is weird, wild, wacky & bizarrely true.
...

Amaranta Wright was a young writer living in Miami when Levi's hired her to travel through Latin America. Her brief was to befriend teenagers & report back with every aspect of their lives: their hopes, fears, dreams & aspirations. At first, she saw the job as a means to travel around a continent she loved. But as time passed, the more sinister & divisive aspects of what she was being asked to do became apparent, her attempts to understand the dispossessed of these countries constantly frustrated by the mechanics of corporate globalisation
- its unspoken aim to reduce individuals to bullet points.

This is a compellingly humane portrait of a continent in crisis
- riddled with paradox, complexity, beauty & brutality. It is a book about the arrogance with which we in the West refer to 'developing' continents, the developed world's overarching desire to turn people into consumers, & the often insidious methods employed to this end. It is about what happens when indigenous voices are silenced by corporate vision.

An evocative, startling & politically-incisive book.





...

Tim Parkes was three when his parents were killed in a train crash & he went to live with his Aunt May, first in New Cross, & then to Walworth where the living was cheaper. They managed splendidly
- & then came the war. Tim Parkes became Gunner Parkes & Aunt May spent most of her nights in the Walworth air raid shelters with Tim keeping an eye on her whenever he was able.

When he got posted to Suffolk he wasn't too pleased
- Suffolk was Country, not like London at all. But in fact there were a lot of things about Sheldham that reminded him of home
- the Walworth evacuees for a start. Those of them that weren't creating havoc in the Suffolk village were creating havoc in Tim's life. Minnie Beavers
- ex-Camberwell
- was fifteen, pert, pretty, & wildly in love with Tim. She was determined to inveigle him into marriage the minute she was old enough. Tim was equally determined to escape & choose his own girl.

By the time Tim had gone away to fight the war, & Minnie had joined the WAAF, a great many things had changed in both their lives.








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On the forty-fifth floor of the Nakamoto Tower in downtown L. A. a grand opening celebration is in full swing at the new American headquarters of the immense Japanese conglomerate. On the forty-sixth floor, in an empty conference room, the dead body of a beautiful woman is discovered. The investigation begins... & immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue... a no-holds barred conflict in which control of a vital American technology is the fiercely coveted prize
- & the Japanese saying 'business is war' takes on a terrifying reality...
...

Cathy Gordon has made a discovery. Adopted at birth, she finds out at the age of twenty-eight that she has a grandfather. But when she arrives at a cricket match to meet Frank, there is no trace of him
- only an alarmingly sexy man called Nick.

Heading off to Frank's home in leafy Oxford, she encounters a grumpy old man who only takes pleasure in two things. Cricket, & arguing
- especially with his lifelong friend, Barbara.

Determined to bond with her only living relative, Cathy takes up the challenge
- a challenge which means her path crossing with Nick's once again. But as the summer heatwave continues, Cathy realises that there is more at stake than family ties. Will any of them
- including Frank's beloved England team
- rise to the occasion?








...

Cathy Gordon has made a discovery. Adopted at birth, she finds out at the age of twenty-eight that she has a grandfather. But when she arrives at a cricket match to meet Frank, there is no trace of him
- only an alarmingly sexy man called Nick.

Heading off to Frank's home in leafy Oxford, she encounters a grumpy old man who only takes pleasure in two things. Cricket, & arguing
- especially with his lifelong friend, Barbara.

Determined to bond with her only living relative, Cathy takes up the challenge
- a challenge which means her path crossing with Nick's once again. But as the summer heatwave continues, Cathy realises that there is more at stake than family ties. Will any of them
- including Frank's beloved England team
- rise to the occasion?








...