From the war-ravaged streets of Sarajevo where turning up for training involved dodging snipers' bullets to the crumbling splendour of Budapest's Bozsik Stadium where the likes of Puskas & Kocsis masterminded the fall of England the landscape of Eastern Europe has changed immeasurably since the fall of communism Jonathan Wilson has travelled extensively behind the old Iron Curtain viewing life beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall through the lens of football Where once the state-controlled teams of the Eastern bloc passed their way with crisp efficiency
- a sort of communist version of total football
- to considerable success on the European & international stages today the beautiful game in the East has been opened up to the free market & throughout the region a sense of chaos pervades The threat of totalitarian interference no longer remains; but in its place mafia control is generally accompanied with a crippling lack of funds In BEHIND THE CURTAIN Jonathan Wilson goes in search of the spirit of Hungary's ' Golden Squad' of the early fifties charts the disintegration of the footballing superpower that was the former Yugoslavia follows a sorry tale of corruption mismanagement & Armenian cognac through the Caucasuses reopens the case of Russia's greatest footballer Eduard Streltsov & talks to Jan Tomaszewski about an autumn night at Wembley in 1973

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' It was useless to think I'd ever be able to throw open the door behind which I was yet again hiding Not now Not ever' School is a place of unspoken hierarchies & rivalries for a young teenage boy growing up in the provincial town of Ferrara But as the everyday classroom & playground dramas are played out they begin to reflect the disturbing undertones of 1930s Italy & the narrator realizes that being Jewish means he will always be excluded The fourth book in Bassani's Romanzo di Ferrara cycle Behind the Door is a luminous portrayal of childhood friendship & the loss of innocence A new translation by Jamie Mc Kendrick' Giorgio Bassani is one of the great witnesses of this century & one of its great artists' Guardian' Powerful new translations Bassani began as a poet & Mc Kendrick's redelivery of this taut uncompromising fiction reveals resonance & generosity' Ali Smith ...

T E Lawrence became world-famous as ' Lawrence of Arabia' after helping Sherif Hussein of Mecca gain independence from Turkey during the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 His achievements however would have been impossible without the unsung efforts of a forgotten band of fellow officers & spies This groundbreaking account by Philip Walker interweaves the compelling stories of Colonel Cyril Wilson & a colourful supporting cast with the narrative of Lawrence & the desert campaign These men's lost tales provide a remarkable & fresh perspective on Lawrence & the Arab Revolt While Lawrence & others blew up trains in the desert Wilson & his men carried out their shadowy intelligence & diplomatic work His deputies rooted out anti-British soldiers who were trying to sabotage the revolt Meanwhile Lieutenant Lionel Gray a cipher officer provided a gateway into unknown aspects of the revolt through his previously unpublished photographs & eyewitness writings Wilson's crucial influence underpinned all these missions & steadied the revolt on a number of occasions when it could have collapsed Without Wilson & his circle there would have been no ' Lawrence of Arabia' Wilson's band mostly fell through the cracks of history into obscurity " Behind the Lawrence Legend" reveals their vital impact & puts Lawrence's efforts into context & helping to set the record straight for one of the most beguiling & iconic characters of the twentieth century ...

For 125 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a unique emblem in world sport They represent the best of the best from the four Home Nations coming together every four years under a united badge to take on the rugby greats of the Southern Hemisphere Lions tours embody a revered legacy that is steeped in tradition yet maintains a vibrant standing in the modern era The Lions badge is a symbol of the ethics values & the romance at the heart of Test match rugby Every four years the rugby world's focus is drawn to a great red pilgrimage as the Lions embark on a brutal & exhilarating tour that challenges the very limits of their rugby ability & the strengths of their characters They travel to the far reaches of the earth to confront the great powers in the world game
- & the weight of history itself Behind the Lions sees four esteemed rugby writers from each of the Home Nations delve to the heart of what it means to be a Lion interviewing a vast array of former tourists to uncover the passion pride & exhilaration experienced when wearing the famous red jersey It is a tale of heart-break & ecstasy humour & poignancy that is at once inspirational moving & utterly compelling This is the story of the British & Irish Lions
- in their own words

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play In this 1950s hospital drama Vanessa Redgrave stars as the daughter of chief surgeon Sir Arthur Benson Gray (Michael Redgrave) who is at loggerheads with the authorities over how the hospital is being run ...

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty & born while her father George was in the Dog & Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress & a D-cup that he wasn't married Bunty had never wanted to marry George but here she was stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster with sensible & sardonic Patrica aged five greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored & Ruby Ruby tells the story of The Family from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice & her children like flowers in amber to the startling witty & memorable events of Ruby's own life ...

Arthur Bourne was at the centre of British motorcycling from 1923-1951 This is his fascinating story Back in the 1920s there were more motor cyclists than car drivers records were being broken every month at the Brooklands race track in Surrey roads were empty & motorbikes constantly broke down Arthur Bourne who used the pseudonym Torrens' for readers of the best-selling weekly The Motor Cycle was in the thick of the game He had the good luck to be Engineer to The Auto-Cycle Union & the-then not yet 26 editor of a famous motorcycling journal This is his story of what it was like to ride hundreds of miles round Britain on reliability trials
- essential for manufacturers to claim that their bikes were worth buying
- & how he provided weekly guidance for thousands of youngsters on two wheels He writes of Brooklands & of TT races on the lsle of Man; of his encouragement to young engineers like Edward Turner & Phil Vincent; & of how in the Second World War he enabled the airborne forces at Arnhem to be equipped with lightweight motorcycles that could be dropped by parachute or flown in by glider For anyone interested in motorbikes & the people who rode them when British manufacturing was at its apogee this is a unique testimony Motor cycles were fashionable The Duke of York later to be George V1 & his wife Elizabeth later known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother were among the enthusiasts lt was an exciting era recalled by Torrens' near the end of his life in a good journalist's prose Behind the Scenes in the Vintage Years is a unique & fascinating record of an unrepeatable era in British motorcycling & engineering history It contains many black & white pictures which bring this area of the past to life

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Tracklist The End Of Daydreams Trace of Snow Waltz Utopia Positive Shadow Negative Light Sonata H a r m o n i c Ether Warm Light ...

Go behind the scenes with the world's most successful sports team This is a complete history of rugby's most famous yet enigmatic team the New Zealand All Blacks told by the men who have had the honour of wearing the iconic black jersey From the legendary 1905 ' Originals' all the way through to Richie Mc Caw's record-breaking back-to-back World Cup champions of 2015 this is a history of the All Blacks like you have never experienced it before Thanks to exhaustive archival research & exclusive new material garnered from a vast array of interviews with players & coachesfrom across the decades Behind the All Blacks unveils the compelling truth of what it means to play for the team that has dominated Test match rugby for over a century
- all the trials & tribulations behind the scenes the glory the drama & the honour on the field & the passionate friendships & bonds of a brotherhood off it Absorbing & illuminating this is the ultimate history of New Zealand rugby
- told definitively by the men who have been there & done it

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Northern Brazil 1910 The Breves family who earn a meager living by harvesting raw sugar are caught up in a murderous blood feud with their wealthy neighbours the Ferreira family The eldest Breves son Tonho knows that his days are numbered & is eager to see something of the world before he becomes the next victim When he meets the travelling circus performer Clara a love soon grows between them; but on the night that Clara comes to the Breves& farm ready to consummate the relationship a Ferreira also arrives seeking Tonho&s blood ...