A collection of thirteen stories that offer an inside view of fighting men poised at the edge of death.

Includes::

...

With his distinctive dark wit, Evelyn Waugh`s Decline & Fall is a masterful social satire sending up the social mores of 1920s Engl&. Expelled from Oxford for indecent behaviour, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) & captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, & with it the delectable Margot Beste-Chetwynde, floating on a scented breeze. As the farce unfolds & the young run riot, no one is safe, least of all Paul. Taking its title from Edward Gibbon`s Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, Evelyn Waugh`s first, funniest novel immediately caught the ear of the public with his account of an ingenu abroad in the decadent confusion of 1920s high society. ” The funniest book I have ever read.” (Julian Symons, The Times). ” His first, most perfect novel...a ruthlessly comic plot.” (John Mortimer, Guardian).” Concocted of cruelty, bigotry, pederasty, white slavery, violence, madness & murder, Decline & Fall is fundamentally playful & side-splittingly funny.” (David Bradshaw). ...

A tie-in edition of Waugh`s first & funniest novel to accompany the new BBC adaptation starring Jack Whitehall. Sent down from Oxford University for indecent behaviour, Paul Pennyfeather embarks on a series of bizarre adventures that start in a minor public school & end in one of Her Majesty`s prisons. In this, his first & funniest novel, Evelyn Waugh brilliantly satirised the roaring twenties with his story of an innocent abroad in high society. ...

In these timeless & witty essays George Orwell explores the English love of reading about a good murder in the papers (and laments the passing of the heyday of the `perfect` murder involving class, sex & poisoning), as well as unfolding his trenchant views on everything from boys` weeklies to naughty seaside postcards. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves
- & each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war & revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked & comforted. They have enriched lives
- & destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals & visionaries whose ideas shook civilization & helped make us who we are.

...

Millions of Africans, Asians, & other peoples were the subjects of colonial rule by overseas empires through the mid-twentieth century. By the end of the century, however, nearly all of these peoples had become citizens of independent nation-states. The United Nations grew from 51 member states at its founding in 1945 to 193 today. Its nearly four-fold increase is one measure of the historic shift in international relations that has occurred over the past half-century. Decolonization is the term commonly used to refer to this transition from a world of colonial empires to a world of nation-states in the years after World War II. Both ex-imperial states & post-colonial regimes have promoted a selective & sanitized version of decolonization that casts their own conduct in a positive light, characterizing the process as negotiated & the outcome as inevitable. This book draws on recent scholarship to challenge that view, demonstrating that considerable violence & instability accompanied the end of empire & that the outcome was often up for grabs. This book highlights three themes. The first is that global war between empires precipitated decolonization, creating the economic & political crises that gave colonial subjects the opportunity to seek independence. The second theme is that nation-state was not the only option pursued by anti-colonial activists. Many of them sought pan- & trans-national polities instead, but a combination of international & institutional pressures made the nation-state the standard template. The third theme is that the struggle to escape imperial subjugation & create nation-states generated widespread violence & produced huge refugee populations, leading to political problems that persist to the present day. By focusing on these crucial points, Dane Kennedy reminds us how the tumultuous, even tragic, changes caused by the decolonization profoundly shaped the world we live in. ...

The Decorative Ladies’ Bicycle by SJS Furniture is a beaten iron style model made from iron & tin, featuring detailed moving parts. This bike boasts a real drive chain, moving pedals, handlebar, & wheels. The pedals, grips, & saddle are either covered or made from rubber or plastic. Lovely details include fixed tyre valves, threaded rubber tyres & saddle suspensions. There are one full & one side functioning bike stands. Decorative tyre pump, headlight, dynamo & fenders complete the look of this rather elegant model. This is a unique mantelpiece or desk ornament, & a great home accessory, especially for bike enthusiasts. Please note similar items are available in different sizes, check entries in this series for alternative products. ...

The Decorative Men’s Bicycle by SJS Furniture is a beaten iron style model made from iron & tin, featuring detailed moving parts. This bike boasts a real drive chain, moving pedals, handlebar, & wheels. The pedals, grips, & saddle are either covered or made from rubber or plastic. Lovely details include fixed tyre valves, threaded rubber tyres & saddle suspensions. There are one full & one side functioning bike stands. Decorative tyre pump, headlight, dynamo & fenders complete the look of this rather elegant model. This is a unique mantelpiece or desk ornament, & a great home accessory, especially for bike enthusiasts. Please note similar items are available in different sizes, check entries in this series for alternative products. ...

The Decorative Rickshaw by SJS Furniture is a beaten iron style model made from iron & tin, featuring detailed moving parts. This rickshaw boasts a real drive chain, moving pedals, wheels & passenger seat with integrated handlebar. The pedals, grips, & saddle are either covered or made from rubber. The passenger seat at the front is made from red vinyl covered foam & features an adjustable brown fabric parasol. Lovely details include threaded rubber tyres, saddle suspensions & brake mechanism. Landscape carved scenes embellish the side tyres fenders & complete the look of this rather elegant model. This is a unique mantelpiece ornament, a remarkable addition to study rooms, & it makes a perfect conversation piece. Please note similar items are available in different sizes, check entries in this series for alternative products. ...

The Decorative Women’s Bicycle by SJS Furniture is a beaten iron style model made from iron & tin, featuring detailed moving parts. This bike boasts a real drive chain, moving pedals, handlebar, & wheels. The pedals, grips, & saddle are either covered or made from rubber or plastic. Lovely details include threaded rubber tyres & saddle suspensions. There are one full & one side functioning bike stands. Decorative tyre pump, headlight, dynamo & fenders complete the look of this rather elegant model. This is a unique mantelpiece or desk ornament, & a great home accessory, especially for bike enthusiasts. Please note similar items are available in different sizes, check entries in this series for alternative products. ...

Books are amongst the most personal of gifts. The book we choose to give a loved one is informed by our intimate knowledge of their personal histories & their tastes. Often, when we gift books, we love to explain the meaning behind our present by writing an inscription within its pages. Ordinarily, we hope the gift & its message will be enjoyed, placed lovingly on its new owner's bookshelf & treasured forever. This is not always the case, though.. . Wayne Gooderham is fascinated by second-hand books & curates a growing collection of those featuring intriguing inscriptions. The messages he finds range from the awkward scratchings of adolescent infatuation, to the resentful recriminations of a love affair gone sour & offer illuminating glimpses into their books' own secret histories. This beautifully presented book will feature the very best from Wayne's collection of dedications alongside the covers of the works in which they were found. From Lolita to Pride & Prejudice, there's something here to please every book lover's taste. ...