Told for the first time in English, Paul Preston`s new book tells the story of a preventable tragedy that cost many thousands of lives & ruined tens of thousands more at the end of the Spanish Civil War. This is the story of an avoidable humanitarian tragedy that cost many thousands of lives & ruined tens of thousands more. It has many protagonists but centres on three individuals. One, Dr Juan Negrin, the victim of what might be termed a conspiracy of fools, tried to prevent it. Two bore responsibility for what transpired. One of those, Julian Besteiro, was guilty of culpable naivety. The other, Segismundo Casado behaved with a remarkable combination of cynicism, arrogance & selfishness. On 5 March 1939, the eternally malcontent Colonel Casado launched a military coup against the government of Juan Negrin. Ironically, he ensured that the end of the Spanish Civil War was almost identical to its beginning. As Mola, Franco & the other conspirators of 1936 had done, Casado led a part of the Republican Army in revolt against the Republican government. He claimed, as they had done, & equally without foundation, that Negrin`s government was the puppet of the Communist Party & that a coup was imminent to establish a Communist dictatorship. Casado`s ambition was to go down in history as the man who ended the Spanish Civil War. Instead he ensured the Republic ended in catastrophe & shame as Negrin`s attempts to achieve an honourable & negotiated peace with guarantees for the civilian population were thwarted & Franco & his forces wreaked havoc & revenge. Madrid collapsed into civil war & two thousand people died. Refugees fled reprisals in their thousands & those who couldn`t escape met a terrible fate. Paul Preston, the leading historian of 20th century Spain, tells this shocking story for the first time in English. It is a harrowing tale of how the flawed decisions of politicans can lead to tragedy. ...

Simon Armitage is rightly celebrated as one of the country`s most original & engaging poets; but he is also an adaptor & translator of some of our most important epics, such as Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, The Death of King Arthur & Homer`s Odyssey. The latter, originally a commission for BBC Radio, rendered the classical tale with all the flare, wit & engagement that we have come to expect from this most distinctive of contemporary authors, & in so doing brought Odysseus` return from the Trojan War memorably to life. ...

1870. Charles Dickens is dead. The final instalment of his last manuscript has vanished. The script was last seen addressed to the publisher whose fortunes depend on it. Since its sudden disappearance the only clue to its whereabouts is a trail of brutal murders. With his livelihood
- indeed his life
- in jeopardy, Dickens` publisher sets out to unravel the mystery. The trail leads him from bustling West End theatres, through grimy East End backstreets, into the fug of illicit opium dens, as the crime he hopes to solve ensnares him.

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Gore Vidal`s new collection of essays shows him still writing at his finest. His comments on the deplorable state of American politics
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On Christmas Day 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union. By the next day the USSR was officially no more & the USA had emerged as the world`s sole superpower. Award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy presents a page-turning account of the preceding five months of drama, filled with failed coups d`etat & political intrigue. Honing in on this previously disregarded but crucial period & using recently declassified documents & original interviews with key participants, he shatters the established myths of 1991 & presents a bold new interpretation of the Soviet Union`s final months. Plokhy argues that contrary to the triumphalist Western narrative, George H. W. Bush desperately wanted to preserve the Soviet Union & keep Gorbachev in power, & that it was Ukraine & not the US that played the key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. The consequences of those five months & the myth-making that has since surrounded them are still being felt in Crimea, Russia, the US, & Europe today. With its spellbinding narrative & strikingly fresh perspective, The Last Empire is the essential account of one of the most important watershed periods in world history, & is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to make sense of international politics today. ...

Meet the Hunter family: Adam, Kate, & their children Hal & Charlotte. & Prince, their Labrador. Prince is an earnest young dog, striving hard to live up to the tenets of the Labrador Pact (Remain Loyal to Your Human Masters, Serve & Protect Your Family at Any Cost). Other dogs, led by the Springer Spaniels, have revolted. As things in the Hunter family begin to go badly awry
- marital breakdown, rowdy teenage parties, attempted suicide
- Prince`s responsibilities threaten to overwhelm him & he is forced to break the Labrador Pact & take desperate action to save his Family.

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` Offers powerful insight into the barbarity the Yazidi suffered alongside glimpses into their mystical culture... this is an important book by a brave woman, fresh testament to humankind`s potential for chilling & inexplicable evil (Ian Birrell The Times) Courageous... Anyone who wants to understand the so called Islamic State should read (The Economist) With a foreword by Amal Clooney A Nobel Peace Prize nominee & the first Goodwill Ambassador the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the United Nations & winner of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, Nadia Murad is a courageous young woman who has endured unimaginable tragedy (losing eighteen members of her family) & degradation through sexual enslavement to ISIS. But she has fought back. This inspiring memoir takes us from her peaceful childhood in a remote village in Iraq through loss & brutality to safety in Germany. Courage & testimony can change the world: this is one of those books. ...

An engaging & informative first-hand account of the last `grain race` of maritime history, from respected travel writer Eric Newby. In 1939, a young Eric Newby
- later renowned as a travel writer of exceptional talent
- set sail aboard Moshulu, the largest sailing ship still employed in the transportation of grain from Australia to Europe. Every year from 1921 to 1939, the vessels involved in the grain trade would strive to find the shortest, fastest passage home
- `the grain race`
- in the face of turbulent seas, atrocious weather conditions & hard graft. First published in 1956, ` The Last Grain Race`, featuring many photographs from the author`s personal collection, celebrates both the spirit of adventure & the thrill of sailing on the high seas. Newby`s first-hand account
- engaging & informative, with frequent bursts of humour & witty observations from both above & below deck
- chronicles this classic sailing voyage of the Twenties & Thirties, & records the last grain race of maritime history.





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Sir Peter Blake was a much loved & greatly admired yachtsman & adventurer, & this book is a wonderful tribute to his achievements. It is drawn entirely from Peter`s logbooks of his last voyage, written up by his friend & colleague Alan Sefton, who was manager of blakexpeditions & was with Peter on the fatal voyage. In this large format book, packed with stunning photographs from Peter & the boat`s crew, we are taken on a fantastical journey from the icy waters of Antarctica to the humid rainforests of the Amazon. It is both a feast for the eyes & a wonderful tribute to an extraordinary man. ...

Scott`s last Antarctic expedition is one of the great adventure stories of the twentieth century. On 1 November 1911, a British team set out on the gruelling 800-mile journey across the coldest & highest continent on Earth to travel to the South Pole. Five men battled through unimaginably harsh conditions only to find the Norwegian flag had been planted at the Pole just weeks before. Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Lieutenant Henry Bowers, Petty Officer Edgar Evans, Captain Lawrence Oates, & Dr Edward Wilson all died on the return trek, starved & frozen to death, only eleven miles from a supply camp. In November 1912, a rescue party discovered their last letters & diaries, which told a story of bravery, hardship, & self-sacrifice that shocked the world. Recent decades have seen controversy rage over whether Scott was the last of a line of great Victorian explorers, intent on discovering uncharted lands, or a hopeless incompetent driven by personal ambition. Rejecting the stereotypes, Max Jones reveals a complex figure, a product of the passions & preoccupations of an imperial age. He also shows how heroes are made & manipulated, through a close examination of the unprecedented outpouring of public grief at the news of the death of Scott & his companions. Max Jones uses fascinating new evidence & prevously unseen illustrations to take us back to this remarkable moment in modern history, & tells for the first time the full story of The Last Great Quest. ...