A quiet village in Normandy, 1932. Ludo is ten years old & lives with his uncle, a kindly, eccentric creator of elaborate kites. One day, sitting in a strawberry field, Ludo meets the beautiful young Polish aristocrat Lila. & so begins Ludo`s lifelong adventure of love & longing for Lila, who only begins to return his feelings just as Europe descends into the devastation of World War 2. After Poland & France fall, Lila & Ludo are separated. Ludo`s friends in the village must find their own ways of resisting: the local restaurateur who is dedicated above all to France`s haute cuisine, a Jewish brothel madam who sleeps with her unwitting enemies & Ludo, who cycles past the Nazis every day, passing on messages for the French Resistance
- thinking always of Lila.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Kiwis is a pocket-size guide that takes a frank & funny look at what makes the Kiwis Kiwi.“ Nothing raises religious fervour in a Kiwi like a closely-fought rugby match.” Xenophobe’s guides attempt to forewarn readers of the main stereotypes & foibles that are associated with individual nationalities. Each guide explores the characteristics of a country’s people in a series of dedicated sections, encompassing nationalism & identity, behaviour, manners, character, obsessions, beliefs & values, leisure & pleasure, culture, custom & tradition, business, systems, health & hygiene, crime & punishment, government & bureaucracy, conversation & gestures & language. ...

A special anniversary edition, with a striking new cover design, to celebrate 10 years of the Chaos Walking trilogy. Prentisstown isn`t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else`s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Then Todd Hewitt unexpectedly stumbles on a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible. & now he`s going to have to run... This new edition marks the 10th anniversary of the award-winning modern classic, soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Holland & Daisy Ridley. ...

More than half a century ago, George Orwell wrote an essay about the decline of the English murder. Since the 1990s, Theodore Dalrymple has witnessed its modern variety in real life. For over a quarter of a century he has treated & examined many more murderers than most as a prison doctor, psychiatrist, & court expert in some of Britain`s most deprived areas. Here, he delves deep into his life of personal encounters with the murderous underclass to determine what has changed overtime & what has not. Inimitably, his unique portrait of modern criminals is at the same time a parable of dysfunction in our own culture. Through his experiences, he exposes today`s vicious cult of denial, blaming & psychobabble that hides behind a corrosive sentiment of caring. Illustrated with scores of eye-opening, true-life vignettes, The Knife Went In is in turn hilariously funny, chillingly horrifying, & always unexpectedly revealing. Taken together, this lifetime of experience is a clear & unsentimental mirror in which we view modern progress without its varnish. ...

Ned the knight ALWAYS does exactly what he`s told. When his parents ask him to pick up his toys, dig up the cabbages or go to bed on time, he does it all with a smile. & when the dragon swoops into town every night, he always runs inside just as he`s asked. But one morning, instead of saying, ”yes, ” he says, ”NO!” He will NOT help his dad find his shield, his arrow or his bow, & he will certainly NOT let the butcher go past. That night, he refuses to go inside, & in doing so he confronts the dragon, making a very unlikely friend... ...

This book shows you how to tie 50 knots. Some have been chosen for their fame, some for their beauty & some because they are knots that everyone should know how to tie. On every great theme, there are always possible variations, &, as the text makes clear, from time to time people come up with new effective methods of tying. Some of us may be destined to create knots that will bear our names for eternity, but first we need to study the time-honoured techniques: an intricate art that has been practised since before poetry or painting were dreamt of, which can`t be mastered in five minutes. Many of the knots featured are strongly associated with
- & probably originated
- from sailing, but even the saltiest of them have extensive applications on land: adhesive tape & Velcro have their uses, but they have not rendered knots redundant; no technological advance ever will.

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From the author of the Orange New Writers shortlisted ` The Book of Fires`, an extraordinary tale of love & science. When Henry Lyte brings his young bride Frances home to his Somerset estate, he hopes she will share in his devotion to the garden
- a refuge of fruit trees & flower beds, with a knot of herbs at its heart. Henry is a scholar, & his life`s work is his `herbal`
- a book of plants & their medicinal properties, intended for those who cannot afford physicians` expensive cures. But life on the edges of the flood plains makes Frances uneasy, & there are strange rumours abroad concerning the death of Henry`s first wife
- rumours that can be traced to Henry`s step-mother Joan Young, a grasping woman eager to seize control of the family`s lands. & while Henry cannot tear himself from his studies, he stands the risk of losing everything he loves...


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Train your brain with the secrets behind the world`s toughest feat of memory: the London Knowledge The Knowledge is a unique book: a guide to getting more out of your brain & your city. A fully illustrated, lovingly detailed look at London`s best kept secrets, it will also take you down the pathways of your mind & teach you how to keep your memory sharp. Written by a licensed London cab driver & tour guide, The Knowledge is the first ever book to take readers inside the legendarily difficult
- & fast-vanishing
- set of skills that all licensed cab drivers must have: a perfect, thoroughly tested knowledge of every street, alley, turning & landmark of London. The black cab is an iconic symbol of London, but to drive it, prospective cabbies must take what is often considered the world`s hardest exam, involving learning every street, turning & waypoint along 320 different routes across London, along with every landmark within 1/4 of a mile of the start & end of each route: altogether 25, 000 streets & 2, 000 places of interest. Learning the Knowledge takes years, & dozens of appearances at gruelling oral exams, but those who pass become part of a unique partnership, with no parallel anywhere in the world. Scientific studies have consistently shown that London cabbies who have passed the Knowledge have enlarged brains & near-superhuman memory capacities. The Knowledge is the first book to take readers inside the extraordinary mind of the cabbie, with 50 real Knowledge routes across London, beautifully mapped & illustrated to show the streets & landmarks, with notes on their hidden histories & popular associations, & sections allowing the reader to test their memory on these routes, accompanied with an introduction discussing the history & science of the Knowledge & guides to memory-training techniques used by cabbies & memory champions around the world.

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Fans of The Gruffalo & Giraffes Can`t Dance will love this feelgood rhyming story portraying a positive message about facing up to change, something that young children can sometimes struggle with. Sometimes change comes along whether we like it or not.. .but if you let it, change can be the making of you. Kevin the Koala discovers this & more in this delightful picture book from the bestselling creators of The Lion Inside! Stylish art with Jon Klassen appeal & vibrant storytelling from two contemporary stars make this a story to shout about
- it will make you laugh, cry & read it every bedtime. `A feel-good rhyming tale.. . Field`s Australian animals are a treat`
- Bookseller

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Fans of The Gruffalo & Giraffes Can`t Dance will love this feelgood rhyming story portraying a positive message about facing up to change, something that young children can sometimes struggle with. Sometimes change comes along whether we like it or not... but if you let it, change can be the making of you. Kevin the Koala discovers this & more in this delightful picture book from the bestselling creators of The Lion Inside! Stylish art with Jon Klassen appeal & vibrant storytelling from two contemporary stars make this a story to shout about
- it will make you laugh, cry & read it every bedtime.WINNER of the Evening Standard Oscar`s Book Prize 2017!` Fabulous rhymes, I`m in love with Kevin & would like to buy this for all my friends` children.` Claudia Winkleman`A feel-good rhyming tale.. . Field`s Australian animals are a treat`
- Bookseller

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