Nothing pleases children more than to be given a custom-made cake made that reflects their personality, interests, or even characters that appear in books or TV shows. There are so many special events that deserve a celebration, & themed novelty cakes make a great focal point for a birthday or other occasion. Because the cakes in this book start with either a simple round or square cake, they do not take long to make, & they can be made ahead of time, covered in fondant, & stored until they are needed. There is a design to suit every child: little girls will love the doll's house, magic rabbit & sugar mice, while for a boy's party, the army tank, fire engine, dart board & pirate's hat would be ideal. Adults will find the cakes fun to make, & even beginners will be able to make accomplished-looking cakes. Whatever the event, you will find a cake to suit the occasion, & make every child's party a success. ...

This title

Includes:: fifty cards featuring mind-bending illusions to surprise your eyes, taken from the personal

...

This title

Includes:: fifty cards featuring mind-bending illusions to surprise your eyes, taken from the personal

...

Spanning seven centuries, this selection of fifty iconic paintings offers readers a crash course in art history while presenting gorgeous color reproductions that are a pleasure to contemplate. Starting with Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes & continuing through Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, as well as works by Monet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Cezanne, Dali, Kahlo, Hopper, Pollock, Rothko, & O' Keeffe, nearly every important painter is represented in this book. It features works that may be familiar to the eye, but whose histories are even more fascinating. Readers will learn about the painters who created them, the reasons for their importance & the places the paintings can be found. As entertaining as it is informative, this beautiful book is the perfect introduction to great paintings that have stood the test of time. ...

Which fifty people made Britain the wreck she is? From ludicrous propagandist Alastair Campbell to the Luftwaffe's allies, the modernist architects, it's time to name the guilty. Quentin Letts sharpens his nib & stabs them where they deserve it, from TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh, the dumbed-down buffoon who put the 'h' in Aspidistra, to the perpetrators of the ' Credit Crunch'. Margaret Thatcher ruptured our national unity. The creators of East Enders trashed our brand over high tea. Thus, he argues, are the people who made our country the ugly, scheming, cheating, beer-ridden bum of the Western world. Here are the fools & knaves & vulgarians who ripped down our British glories & imposed the tawdry & the trite. In a half century we have gone from end-of-Empire to descent-into-Hell. ...

Despite its immense wealth, & the high public profile it enjoys, English football is not a land of milk & honey. This title looks at the game as it really is, through the gaze of an outsider, who grew up loving the game but who has been turned off by the excesses of players, managers, broadcasters & fans. ...

Despite its immense wealth, & the high public profile it enjoys, English football is not a land of milk & honey. The national side has won the World Cup only once when England staged the tournament in 1966 & the woeful performances in recent years would suggest that Sir Alf Ramsey's success will retain its unique status.

Fifty People Who Fouled Up Football casts a sceptical eye on the game in this country. It looks at the game as it really is, through the gaze of an outsider, who grew up loving the game but who has been turned off by the excesses of players, managers, broadcasters & fans, & increasingly by the rich men who own & run the clubs.

The big bang came in 1992, when the Premier League went its own merry way, aided by the millions that Sky television found to ease the passage. Now the game is richer, & can attract the world's leading stars, but it is poorer in spirit. The old football community means little to these Masters of the Universe. The old links between club & community have been ruined, & many players live in a different world, where they feel free to behave as they like.

The book names the guilty, who include those on the fringes of the game as well as the ones at the heart of it. Indignant in the right sense, it is a lament for a spoilt game, & a world that has vanished.

The 50 People are:

Alan Green; Alan Hansen; Alan Hardaker -- FA administrator; Alan Sugar; Alf Ramsey; Ashley Cole;. Bill Shankley; Bob Shennan; Charles Hughes; Cristiano Ronaldo; David Baddiel; David & Victoria Beckham; Denis Wise; Derek Hatton; Don Revie; Garry Cook; George Best; George Graham; Golden Generation; Gordon Taylor; Graham Poll; Graham Taylor;; Harold Thompson; Hooligans; Hunter Davies; Ian Wright; Joey Barton; John Hall/ Freddie Shepherd; Jonathan Barnett & Mel Stein; Jose Mourinho; Ken Bates; Lord Kinnaird; Nick Love; Paul Gascoigne ; Paul Ince; Peter Kenyon; Peter Ridsdale; Peter Swales; Piers Morgan; Pini Zahavi; Richard Keys; Richard Scudamore; Robinho; Roman Abramovich; Sam Allardyce; Sepp Blatter; Steve McLaren; Terry Venables; Tony Banks.









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To be Scottish is to have a lot to live down, & as Allan Brown shows, this lot do the job superbly. Whether it be Robert Burns, indecipherable bard of rustic gibberish or Sean Connery, die-hard advocate of a country he refuses to live in. Or, Alex Salmond, the chortling bullfrog of separatism or Tommy Sheridan, the sexy socialist hardliner. They're all here, & many others; a veritable embassy of bad ambassadors. 50 People Who Screwed Up Scotland is a humorous & chronologically-sequential series of essays, histories & anecdotes that consider those episodes & occurrences in Scotland's political, cultural & social story where, against all odds, defeat was plucked from the jaws of victory. ...

The sixth in the bestselling 50s series, & a lively entry point to the field by exploring the works of 50 of the most significant philosophers; including those that show us how to think (Descartes, Foucault & Wittgenstein); how to be (Aristotle, Spinoza, Satre); how to act (Bentham, Kant, Singer) & how to see (Baudrillard, Hegel, Taleb). The whole spectrum of thinking, from the classical philosophers who defined the field, through the 20th century greats, all the way to the writings of some of the most exciting contemporary thinkers including Julian Baggini, Harry Frankfurt, Peter Singer & Slavoj Zizek. ...

For over 2000 years, philosophy has been our best guide to the experience of being human, & the true nature of reality. From Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus, Confucius, Cicero & Heraclitus in ancient times to 17th century rationalists Descartes, Leibniz & Spinoza, from 20th-century greats Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Baudrillard & Simone de Beauvoir to contemporary thinkers Michael Sandel, Peter Singer & Slavoj Zizek, 50 Philosophy Classics explores key writings that have shaped the discipline & had an impact on the real world. Philosophy can no longer be confined to academia, & 50 Philosophy Classics shows how powerful it can be as a tool for opening our minds & helping us think. Whether you are fascinated or daunted by the big questions of how to think, how to be, how to act & how to see, this is the perfect introduction to some of humanity's greatest minds & their landmark books. ...