Mountainous regions are home to only ten percent of the world`s population yet host a strikingly disproportionate share of the world`s conflicts. Mountains provide a natural refuge for those who want to elude authority, & their remoteness has allowed archaic practices to persist well into our globalized era. As Judith Matloff shows, the result is a combustible mix those in the lowlands cannot afford to ignore. Travelling to conflict zones across the world, she introduces us to Albanian teenagers involved in ancient blood feuds; Mexican peasants hunting down violent poppy growers; & Jihadists who have resisted the Russian military for decades. At every stop, Matloff reminds us that the drugs, terrorism, & instability cascading down the mountainside affect us all. A work of political travel writing in the vein of Ryszard Kapuscinski & Robert Kaplan, The War is in the Mountains is an indelible portrait of the conflicts that have unexpectedly shaped our world. ...

The third hilarious children`s novel from Demolition Dad & Superhero Street author Phil Earle, illustrated by Waterstones Children`s Book Prize shortlisted artist, Sara Ogilvie. Perfect for fans of Roald Dahl, Liz Pichon & David Walliams. Masher is the bully of Storey Street. No one ever dares stand up to him & that`s the way he likes it. But then Jemima & her family move into the plot of land next door. Jemima isn`t afraid of him at all, & she`s making him look like a bit of a wimp. To Masher, that just means one thing: war. (At least until teatime...) ...

When the spoilt & haughty Dona Constanza tries to divert a river to fill her swimming pool, she starts a running battle with the locals. The skirmishes are so severe that the Government dispatches a squadron of soldiers led by the fat, brutal & stupid Figueras to deal with them. Despite visiting plagues of laughing fits & giant cats upon the troops, the villagers know that to escape the cruel & unusual tortures planned for them, they must run. Thus they plan to head for the mountains & start a new & convivial civilisation. ...

A spellbinding children`s story from from War Horse author & former Children`s Laureate, Michael Morpurgo
- now with a brand new
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Mario Vargas Llosa's The War of the End of the World is one of the great modern historical novels- tragic, compelling & incredible to read. Inspired by a real episode in Brazilian history, the author tells the story of an apocalyptic movement, led by a mysterious prophet, in which prostitutes, beggars & bandits establish Canudos, a new republic, a libertarian paradise. Originally published in 1981, the narrative takes its cue from the War of Canudos, an incident in nineteenth century Brazil in which an armed millenarian cult held off a siege by the national army for a number of months. As with some of his later works, Llosa interweaves the lives & actions of a great tapestry of different characters to paint a sociological view of Brazil at the time, giving an incredible sense of place & presence to the events taking place. This is an awesome, truly memorable read. ...

Niall Ferguson`s ” The War of the World: History`s Age of Hatred” re-tells the story of history`s most savage century as a continual war that raged for 100 years. At the beginning of the twentieth century, globalizing, booming economies married to technological breakthroughs seemed to promise a better world for most people. Instead, the 20th century proved to be overwhelmingly the most violent, frightening & brutalized in history with fanatical, often genocidal warfare engulfing most societies between the outbreak of the First World War & the end of the Cold War. What turned it into a bloodbath? From the plains of Poland to the killing fields of Cambodia, Niall Ferguson reveals how economic boom-&-bust, decaying empires &
- above all
- poisonous ideas of race led men to treat each other as aliens. It was an age of hatred that ended with the twilight, not the triumph, of the West. &, he warns, it could happen all over again. ”A heartbreaking, serious & thoughtful survey of human evil that is utterly fascinating & dramatic”. (Simon Sebag Montefiore, ” The New York Times”). ” Unputdownable, controversial, compelling”. (” Independent on Sunday”).”A big, bold & brilliantly belligerent book”. (” Sunday Telegraph”). ” Hums with energy, "able insights & pithy summaries”. (” Observer”). ” Gripping”. (Tristram Hunt). Niall Ferguson is one of Britain`s most renowned historians. He is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford & a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the bestselling author of ” Paper & Iron”, ” The House of Rothschild”, ” The Pity of War”, ” The Cash Nexus”, ” Empire”, ” Colossus”, ” The War of the World” & ” The Ascent of Money”.

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London`s East Enders are known for being a tough, humorous & lively lot. In the early 20th century, families crowded into single rooms, children played on the streets & neighbours` doors were never locked in case you needed an escape route from the police... World War 2 changed everything. During the Blitz, men set off for work never to return & rows of houses were reduced to rubble overnight. Yet the East Enders` ability to keep calm & carry on cemented their reputation for cheerful resilience. They say Hitler killed off the bugs but, along with the slums, the Blitz destroyed a way of life. After the war families were scattered
- some to estates on the edge of London, others to isolated high-rise blocks. The old East End communities were gone forever. Told by the residents themselves, The War on Our Doorstep is an eye-opening, moving & laugh-out-loud depiction of the history of London`s East End & what it means to be an East Ender.
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No poetry has touched readers` hearts more deeply than the soldier poets of the First World War. Published to commemorate the centenary of 1914, this stunning set of books, with specially commissioned covers by leading print makers, is an essential gathering of our most beloved war poets introduced by leading poets & biographers of our present day. ` In later years`, Sir Rupert Hart-Davis writes in his Introduction, `when Siegfried Sassoon had written much else in prose & verse, he was annoyed at always being referred to simply as a war poet, but it was the Great War that turned him into a poet of international fame, & I feel sure that his ghost will forgive me for thus bringing together these magnificently scarifying poems.` The poems are arranged as far as possible in the order of their composition, & the reader can compare them with the poet`s movements by means of the Biographical Table which is included. Fourteen of the poems in this volume were published for the first time in the 1983 edition of this work. Sassoon`s stature is now assured & recognised. This volume contains the poetry on which his reputation rests. ...

The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with complete confidence of prosperity, progress & hope. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict which killed millions of its men, bled its economies dry, shook empires & societies to pieces, & fatally undermined Europe's dominance of the world. It was a war which could have been avoided up to the last moment
- so why did it happen? Beginning in the early nineteenth century, & ending with the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdin&, award-winning historian Margaret Mac Millan uncovers the huge political & technological changes, national decisions &
- just as important
- the small moments of human muddle & weakness that led Europe from peace to disaster. This masterful exploration of how Europe chose its path towards war will change & enrich how we see this defining moment in our history.


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WINNER of the International Affairs Book of the Year at the Political Book Awards 2014 Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2013 The First World War followed a period of sustained peace in Europe during which people talked with complete confidence of prosperity, progress & hope. But in 1914, Europe walked into a catastrophic conflict which killed millions of its men, bled its economies dry, shook empires & societies to pieces, & fatally undermined Europe`s dominance of the world. It was a war which could have been avoided up to the last moment
- so why did it happen? Beginning in the early nineteenth century, & ending with the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdin&, award-winning historian Margaret Mac Millan uncovers the huge political & technological changes, national decisions &
- just as important
- the small moments of human muddle & weakness that led Europe from peace to disaster. This masterful exploration of how Europe chose its path towards war will change & enrich how we see this defining moment in our history.


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