From the war-ravaged streets of Sarajevo where turning up for training involved dodging snipers bullets to the crumbling splendour of Budapests Bozsik Stadium where the likes of Puskas & Kocsis masterminded the fall of England the landscape of Eastern Europe has changed immeasurably since the fall of communism. Jonathan Wilson has travelled extensively behind the old Iron Curtain viewing life beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall through the lens of football. Where once the state-controlled teams of the Eastern bloc passed their way with crisp efficiency
- a sort of communist version of total football
- to considerable success on the European & international stages today the beautiful game in the East has been opened up to the free market & throughout the region a sense of chaos pervades. The threat of totalitarian interference no longer remains; but in its place mafia control is generally accompanied with a crippling lack of funds. In BEHIND THE CURTAIN Jonathan Wilson goes in search of the spirit of Hungarys Golden Squad of the early fifties charts the disintegration of the footballing superpower that was the former Yugoslavia follows a sorry tale of corruption mismanagement & Armenian cognac through the Caucasuses reopens the case of Russias greatest footballer Eduard Streltsov & talks to Jan Tomaszewski about an autumn night at Wembley in 1973...

...

Behind the Dolphin Smile" is the heart-felt true story of an animal lover who dedicated his life to studying & training dolphins but in the process discovered that he ultimately needed to set them free. Ric OBarry shares his journey with dolphins & other sea mammals in this captivating autobiographical look back at his years as a dolphin trainer for aquatic theme parks movies & television. Also included is a preface relaying a first-hand account of his adventures filming the 2010 Academy Award-winning documentary " The Cove " which covertly uncovered Japans inhumane dolphin-hunting practices. OBarry a successful animal trainer who had had everything--money flashy cars pretty women--came to realize that dolphins were easy to train not because of his great talent but because they possessed great intelligence & that keeping them in captivity was cruel & morally wrong. OBarry now dedicates his life to stopping the exploitation of these exceptional mammals by retraining them to return to their natural habitats." ...

(Book). In this prime collection of first-hand interviews 37 of the worlds top record producers share their creative secrets & hit-making techniques from the practical to the artistic. George Martin reveals the technical & musical challenges of working with The Beatles while Phil Ramone producer for such artists as Billy Joel discusses studio wall treatments. Offering real-world advice on everything from mics to mixing to coaching a nervous singer producers interviewed include Arif Mardin (Aretha Franklin) Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys) Alan Parsons (Pink Floyd) & more. ...

This beautifully illustrated easy-to-follow guide shows the different ways our food is produced & how this shapes the nature of th British countryside. It will help you recognise the crops farm animals & wildlife on the other side of the hedge. A must-have handbook for anyone walking or driving through the countryside. ...

Join Loose Womens Sherrie Hewson on her rollercoaster ride through the laughter tears & tantrums of an extraordinary life lived on & off the screen. Sherrie Hewson is one of Britains best loved telly stars. From her dazzling performances in the Carry On films to Russ Abbotts Madhouse to her favourite character Maureen Holdsworth in Coronation Street to the green hills of Emmerdale Sherries warmth & good humour won her a place in the heart of the nation. & now an adored presenter on Loose Women which she joined eight years ago Sherrie has become a friend & confidante to the millions who tune in for her naughty sense of fun openness & quick wit. But behind the laughter Sherrie has been hiding a secret heartache. After 30 years of marriage she is finally divorcing the man who cheated on her & squandered all her money leaving her bankrupt on the brink of an alcohol problem & suicidal. It has taken her nine years to reach this point; but Sherrie is now ready to share her story
- & its one that at times seems more fitting to a soap opera than real life. From living in a brothel to being ditched at the altar to living in fear of her stalker to nearly murdering her Corrie co-star (by accident of course!) to the on- & off-screen lovers friends & foe to struggling to conceive her much-loved daughter Sherrie
- a natural storyteller
- always manages to see the funny side & tells it like it is with warmth & a cheeky smile. Brimming with brilliantly funny anecdotes & larger-than-life characters Sherries story will delight entertain & above all make you laugh.


...

Facts testimonies police records & previously unpublished state documents are brought together in this enlightening new study into the truth about Hitlers early & private life
- exposing a lineage that he was determined to keep secret. In this book Behind the Mask of Hitler" the author strives to find a path through the conspiracies & speculation underpinning the few existing accounts of Hitlers life before his rise to power. It provides a detailed insight into his fascination for the occult his family life the milieu that he grew up in the people who influenced him & those who undoubtedly helped forge his ideologies & his cultural pessimism that resulted in occult-nationalism."
...

Eva Cassidys story if one of the most compelling & poignant in recent music history. In this thoughtful & probing biography Johan Bakker re-evaluates her brief performing career & the game that only came after her death at the age of 33. Before BBC Radio 2 & TV made her famous first in the UK & then Europe Eva Cassidy had been mainly a local performer in & around Washington D.C. Performing in Iceland was the closest she ever got to Europe yet a handful of recordings spanning pop jazz blues folk & country would maker her a posthumous star there & eventually in her home country too. Her posthumously released recordings including three UK number ones have sold more than ten million copies. Johann Bakker has interviewed Evas friends colleagues & family in Washington D.C. & Maryland tracing her short life her idealism & her disillusionment with the business side of her trade. Through it all her shimmering spirit shines making this biography both a searching analysis & a warm commemoration of a uniquely talented young woman. ...

SO WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE WAGER MISS PRENTESS? A DIAMOND WORTH THOUSANDS AGAINST A NIGHT WITH ME? No London beauty has managed to tame the incorrigible Jasper Coale though many have lost their reputations trying. In sedate Bath on a family errand the Viscount expects to find little in terms of entertainment
- certainly no female company to tempt him... Miss Susannah Prentesss discreet card parties in Royal Crescent offer a welcome distraction. & the glint in Susannahs hazel eyes tells Jasper hes met his match at last. But is she game enough to accept the most outrageous wager of all? The Notorious Coale Brothers They are the talk of the Ton!
...

Established by the film industry in 1912 as the nation's only official & independent classifier of the moving image the British Board of Film Classification (originally the British Board of Film Censors) has long been a source of fascination
- & sometimes a bone of contention
- for filmgoers film-makers & industry figures. This new book published in the BBFC's centenary year traces the fascinating history of film classification censorship & controversy in Britain & marks an unparalleled collaboration between the BBFC & leading film critics historians & cultural commentators. These writers given unprecedented access to the BBFC's archives chart the organisation's history alongside the cultural social & political forces that have helped shape it. Together they explore shifting public attitudes towards cinema's portrayal of sex & drugs horror & violence; the different perspectives of the BBFC's successive leaders; the impact of controversial decisions & the ever-changing nature of moving image distribution & exhibition. The book also features unique case studies written by BBFC staff focusing on significant films that have provoked debate & controversy both within the BBFC & more widely
- Battleship Potemkin The Snake Pit A Clockwork Orange Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom & many more. Behind the Scenes at the BBFC: Film Classification from the Silver Screen to the Digital Age gives an entertaining & invaluable insight into changing attitudes to what counts as offensive shocking or harmful over the last century & shows how the work of the BBFC shapes what we see on screen.


...

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty & born while her father George was in the Dog & Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress & a D-cup that he wasnt married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George but here she was stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster with sensible & sardonic Patrica aged five greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored & Ruby... Ruby tells the story of The Family from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice & her children like flowers in amber to the startling witty & memorable events of Rubys own life. ...