In 1996 Sarah Lyall, a New York Times reporter, left behind her American roots & moved to London for love. As that newspapers correspondent in London, she became known here for her witty & incisive dispatches from her adopted country, as she conjured with her new & eccentric countrymen. She also found herself with a ringside seat at a singular moment in British life: the roller-coaster years of Tony Blairs New Labour had inaugurated a battle between the old world of aristocratic privilege & a new world of modern meritocracy. In A Field Guide to the British, Lyall strides her way readably, eloquently & perceptively across the social, political & cultural landscape of contemporary Britain. In a narrative studded with memorable anecdote & rich in humour, she explores themes as diverse as peers, politics, the media, understatement, the weather, & Britains relationship with animals, alcohol & sex. She ponders such matters as the missing link between the famous British reserve & the famous British hooliganism (could it possibly be binge drinking?); how any parliamentary motion is ever passed when the Commons act like naughty schoolboys & the Lords spend two days debating UFOs; & the age-old question of how anyone could possibly enjoy a game as tedious as cricket? A Field Guide to the British is an impressively wide-ranging survey of contemporary British mores from a writer blessed with acute powers of observation & a fluent & readable writing style. Seeing ourselves through Lyalls eyes is sometimes embarrassing, often revelatory
- but always very funny. Wry, insightful & engaging, A Field Guide to the British is permeated with a deep affection for its authors adopted country & an unerring eye for its oddities & eccentricities. It is required reading for Anglophiles & Anglophobes on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Thirty-two-year-old Sam Sheridan, a Harvard graduate & former Marine, had always had a taste for adventure. So when he found himself in Australia, with time on his hands, cash in his pocket, & every intention of spending it, he realised he could finally indulge a long-held obsession: fighting. He began training hard, with the best of the best, & within a year he stepped through the ropes for a professional bout against a Japanese karate champion. far from putting him off, he was even more hooked, & he set out on an epic journey into the world of Ultimate Fighting & Mixed Martial Arts in an attempt to pin down not only his opponents, but exactly what it is drives a man to step into the ring. This book is the chronicle of Sheridan's quest. Welcome to the real Fight Club. ...

Caught in the nets of a local fishing boat, the body of gangland boss Harvey Preston is dragged from the English Channel, wrapped from head to toe in a heavy chain. British intelligence suspects a connection with a cross-channel smuggling ring. But as undercover agent Paul Chavasse embarks on what will be one of the most dangerous cases in his extraordinary career, he soon discovers that this is no small-time operation
- & the ruthless men behind it will stop at nothing to protect their precious cargo.
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More than just a celebration of the marriage of Prince William & Catherine Middleton, A Fine Romance is a sumptuous photographic record of European royal weddings over the last 75 years. These are the unforgettable alliances & love stories that have defined our understanding of modern European royalty. Part one of A Fine Romance is an extraordinarily comprehensive record of historical royal weddings, fairytale brides & handsome princes, from a glamorous & serene Grace Kelly to a blushing & shy Lady Diana Spencer. Part two is a richly illustrated romantic delight, bringing together a stunning collection of images from the marriage of Prince William & Catherine Middleton. ...

From New York Times best-selling author, Kim Harrison, comes the fourth book in her brilliant Hollows series; packed with the perfect balance of wry humour & thrilling action, which will delight fans of thrillers & fantasy alike. There's no rest for the wicked, even when the taint on your soul isn't your fault. It would be wise for witch & bounty hunter, Rachel Morgan, to keep a low profile right now. Her new reputation for the dark arts has piqued the interest of Cincinnati's night-prowlers, who despise her & long to bring an end to her interference, one way or another. Thats going to be tricky when her ex-boyfriend, Nick, has stolen a priceless Were artefact, &, as tempting as it may be to let the Weres him to shreds, Rachel feels obliged to attempt a rescue. But other sinister forces also covet the relic Nick has hidden. Some who desire it so badly, they will take the city ? & everyone in it ? apart to wield its frightening power. ...

1944. Ruth Aspinall loves flying & soon becomes an accomplished pilot. When war breaks out & the Air Transport Auxiliary is formed

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Luna & her polar bear friend (Bear) discover a beautiful gold flower growing in the snow.

But when the flower fades,

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It has finally happened! The war is over & Europe rejoices. May 1945 – VE Day After battling against the odds, the three friends are uncertain of their futures. Maisie Miles must wait on tenterhooks for Japan to surrender & for poor Sid to return home. Will they still be sweethearts & have a future together? But tragedy strikes when Maisie's lodger Carole dies leaving 2-year-old Paula orphaned, Maisie is determined to keep the child she has grown to love as her own. Meanwhile Bridget O’ Neill’s husband has been patiently waiting her arrival in America but Bridget’s been struggling to leave her family & friends behind. Will she stay or will she go? Phyllis Fairbrother receives the devastating news that husband Mick has relapsed & suffering a life changing diagnosis. Their dreams of a new life in Australia lie in tatters, or so she thinks. With a new dawn, there are high hopes & boundless dreams. Can the Tobacco Girls unite once more to overcome life’s troubles & find... ...

In A Football Man, Giles tells the story of a dream pursued & realised beyond his wildest imaginings, from his humble beginnings in Ormond Square in 1940s Dublin, counting down the minutes to his next game of football, to that unforgettable moment when the original football man ...

Everyone knows three things about the Women's Institute: that they spent the war making jam; the sensational Calendar Girls were WI; &, more recently, that slow-handclapping of Tony Blair. 215, 000 women in the UK belong to the WI. Their membership crosses class & has recently begun to recruit huge numbers of young women (eg Shoreditch Sisters (check))/ It was founded in 1915, not by worthy ladies in tweeds but by the feistiest women in the country, including suffragettes, academics & social crusaders who discovered the heady power of sisterhood, changing women's lives & their world in the process. Certainly its members made jam & sang ' Jerusalem', but they did, & do, much more besides. This fascinating book reveals for the first time how they are
- & always were
- a force to be reckoned with. This book has 294 pages & is 15.9 x 2.7 x 24.1 cm

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