Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet Era The Great Patriotic War is stumbling to a close, but a new darkness has fallen over Soviet Russia. & for a disparate, disconnected clutch of wanderers
- many thousands of miles apart but linked by a common goal
- four parallel journeys are just beginning. Gorych & his driver, rolling through water, sand & snow on an empty petrol tank; the occupant of a black airship, looking down benevolently as he floats above his Fatherland; young Andrey, who leaves his religious community in search of a new life; & Kharitonov, who trudges from the Sea of Japan to Leningrad, carrying a fuse that, when lit, could blow all & sundry to smithereens. Written in the final years of Communism, The Bickford Fuse is a satirical epic of the Soviet soul, exploring the origins & dead-ends of the Russian mentality from the end of World War Two to the Union`s collapse. Blending allegory & fable with real events, & as deliriously absurd as anything Kurkov has written, it is both an elegy for lost years & a song of hope for a future not yet set in stone.

...

Catch-22 meets The Brothers Karamazov in the last great satire of the Soviet Era The Great Patriotic War is stumbling to a close, but a new darkness has fallen over Soviet Russia. & for a disparate, disconnected clutch of wanderers
- many thousands of miles apart but linked by a common goal
- four parallel journeys are just beginning. Gorych & his driver, rolling through water, sand & snow on an empty petrol tank; the occupant of a black airship, looking down benevolently as he floats above his Fatherland; young Andrey, who leaves his religious community in search of a new life; & Kharitonov, who trudges from the Sea of Japan to Leningrad, carrying a fuse that, when lit, could blow all & sundry to smithereens. Written in the final years of Communism, The Bickford Fuse is a satirical epic of the Soviet soul, exploring the origins & dead-ends of the Russian mentality from the end of World War Two to the Union`s collapse. Blending allegory & fable with real events, & as deliriously absurd as anything Kurkov has written, it is both an elegy for lost years & a song of hope for a future not yet set in stone. Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk

...

Here is an alphabetically presented, richly illustrated guide to 88 of the most creative bicycle makers working today,



...

A rip-roaring narrative celebration of the 21st century's great transport success story: the bicycle. Millions of us now cycle, some obsessively, & this glorious concoction of history, anecdote, adventure & lycra-clad pedalling is the perfect read for two-wheelers of all kinds. Two wheels. A frame. Two pedals. What could be simpler than a bicycle? & yet the bike
- old, & cheap, & slightly comic
- continues to inspire a passionate following. Since the millennium its use in Britain has doubled, & then doubled again. Thousands now cycle to work, & more take it up every day. In trial after trial, it is the bike which reaches its urban destination faster than the car, the bus, the underground or the pedestrian. Self-reliant & straightforward, cycling has recycled itself. It is an antiquated idea, & its time has finally come. But what is it about the bicycle that so enchants us? & why do its devotees become so obsessed with it? Acclaimed & prize-winning author Bella Bathurst takes us on a journey through cycling's best stories & strangest incarnations, from the bicycle as weapon of twentieth-century warfare to the secret life of couriers & the alchemy of framebuilding. With a cast of characters including the woman who watercycled across the Channel, the man who raced India's Deccan Queen train & several of today's top cyclists, she offers us a brilliantly engaging portrait of cycling's past, present & world-conquering future. The result is a story of passion & obsession, of exultation, endeavour, & risk. Above all, it is the story of partnership between man & machine, perfectly balanced -- a story of love & souplesse.

...

A rip-roaring narrative celebration of the 21st century`s great transport success story: the bicycle. Millions of us now cycle, some obsessively, & this glorious concoction of history, anecdote, adventure & lycra-clad pedalling is the perfect read for two-wheelers of all kinds. Two wheels. A frame. Two pedals. What could be simpler than a bicycle? & yet the bike
- old, & cheap, & slightly comic
- continues to inspire a passionate following. Since the millennium its use in Britain has doubled, & then doubled again. Thousands now cycle to work, & more take it up every day. In trial after trial, it is the bike which reaches its urban destination faster than the car, the bus, the underground or the pedestrian. Self-reliant & straightforward, cycling has recycled itself. It is an antiquated idea, & its time has finally come. But what is it about the bicycle that so enchants us? & why do its devotees become so obsessed with it? Acclaimed & prize-winning author Bella Bathurst takes us on a journey through cycling`s best stories & strangest incarnations, from the bicycle as weapon of twentieth-century warfare to the secret life of couriers & the alchemy of framebuilding. With a cast of characters including the woman who watercycled across the Channel, the man who raced India`s Deccan Queen train & several of today`s top cyclists, she offers us a brilliantly engaging portrait of cycling`s past, present & world-conquering future. The result is a story of passion & obsession, of exultation, endeavour, & risk. Above all, it is the story of partnership between man & machine, perfectly balanced -- a story of love & souplesse.

...

The Bicycle Colouring Book follows the fantastic journey of a bicycle exploring an unknown, fantastical world
- without its rider!
...

George is having One of Those Days. One of Those Days where he shouts, `I WILL NOT play nicely. I WON`T.. .I CAN`T.. .I DON`T WANT TO!!` George`s mum says there`s a Big Bad Mood hanging around him, but George has never seen a Big Bad Mood. That is, until today.. .A gloriously clever tale about tempers, tantrums & making amends. For fans of My Big Shouting Day but Rebecca Patterson. ...

Travel the world to a variety of amazing locations
- from jungle to desert to woodland to ocean & see if you can spot the birds
...

Are you a doodletastic, super-stickering, creative craft activity master? Then this Big Creativity book is for you! It`s packed with things to make, crafts to cut out & do, stickers & oodles of doodles. There are over 1000 stickers, plus 80 pages of crafting & creative activities to keep you busy. With a striking colour scheme of black & white, you can make silhouette portraits of your family, create your own constellation or play a game of battleships & lots more. Plus there`s a super long solar system poster to colour. ...

Young readers brave enough to face wicked pirates, cunning bandits & terrifying monsters of the deep are in for an exhilarating treat. These 11 thrilling & fabulously illustrated stories
- all thoughtfully abridged for maximum suspense & fun
- will feed children's appetites for adventure. & they come from some of the world's greatest adventure writers, including Daniel Defoe, Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Oscar Wilde, Alexandre Dumas, Mark Twain & Herman Melville. Ghosts & pirates, knights & noblemen, sailors & swindlers
- children will meet them all as they pore through such exciting tales as Ivanhoe, Last of the Mohicans, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Tom Sawyer, & The Count of Monte Cristo. Beautifully designed, with a die-cut cover & author biographies, this will become a favourite on every child's bookshelf!


...