In this triumphant work David Thomson one of films greatest living experts & author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film" tells the enthralling story of the movies & how they have shaped us. Taking us around the globe through time & across multiple media Thomson tracks the ways in which we were initially enchanted by this mesmerizing imitation of life & let movies
- the stories the stars the look
- show us how to live. But at the same time he shows us how movies offering a seductive escape from the everyday reality & its responsibilities have made it possible for us to evade life altogether. The entranced audience has become a model for powerless citizens trying to pursue happiness by sitting quietly in a dark room. Does the big screen take us out into the world or merely mesmerize us? That is Thomsons question in this great adventure of a book. A passionate feat of storytelling that is vital to anyone trying to make sense of the age of screens
- the age that more than ever we are living in. Reviews: " David Thomson is a giant in the world of film criticism & his book is the chest-crusher you might expect: erudite delightfully tangential & surprisingly polemical". (" The Times"). " David Thomson is I think the best writer on film in our time... He has found & created a marvellous plot for the history of film with insights & revelations on every page as well as a few mcguffins. He is our most argumentative & trustworthy historian of the screen". (Michael Ondaatje). " Equal parts shaman shrink & cinematic preacher Thomson has seen more films than we ever will. Typically eccentric this is not simply a history of film but an attempted autopsy...A devilish dazzling out-there divination.. .[full of] awe poetry & witty iconoclasm... Criticism is rarely this passionate & brilliant". (" Empire"). "A grand aesthetic spiritual & moral account of cinema history assembled around the movies & artists that have meant the most to [ Thomson]...A pungently written brilliant book". (David Denby (author of " Snark")). " Line by line Thomson is still the greatest biographical writer about film of all time.. .to read him on his favourite films is to be sent back with renewed yearning to that land of Californian light & loveliness". (" Sunday Times"). " Subtle erudite & entertaining". (" Economist"). " Fascinating.. .a loose-limbed conversational narrative moving fitfully through time dawdling over directors & films that interest.. .crackling with ideas & vivid impressionisms... Thomsons stylish prose simultaneously erudite & entertaining captivates as it informs... Buffs & casual fans alike will enjoy this extra-large serving of popcorn for thought". (" Publishers Weekly"). " Nobody does it better". (Scott Eyman (author of " Empire of Dreams" & " Lion of Hollywood")). " Of the mediums many distinguished critics none is better informed or more authoritative than David Thomson...[" The Big Screen"] re-awakens in us the thrill & wonder of moving images & the need to know what happens next... It is as close to definitive as any book on film can be". (" Spectator Life"). " Thomsons brain is the ultimate repertory theatre perpetually rerunning our favourites & allowing us to wonder at them all over again. The highest praise I can give him is to say that the images he treasures are just as alive on his pages as they were on the big screen". (Peter Conrad " Guardian"). About the author: David Thomson has a fair claim to be the greatest living writer on film. His major works include " The New Biographical Dictionary of Film" now in its 5th edition & " Have You Seen...?: A Personal Introduction to 1 000 Films including Masterpieces Oddities Guilty Pleasures & Classics (with Just a Few Disasters)". Thomson was born in London & now lives in San Francisco."


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From the author of Liars Poker" Michael Lewiss international bestseller " The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" is the extraordinary true story of the men who made millions from global economic meltdown. From the jungles of the trading floor to the casinos of Las Vegas " The Big Short" tells the outrageous story of the misfits renegades & visionaries who saw that the biggest credit bubble of all time was about to burst bet against the banking system
- & made a killing. " In the hands of Michael Lewis anything is possible.. .if you want to know how a nation lost its financial mind
- & have a good laugh finding out
- this is the book to read". (" Sunday Times"). " Magnificent.. .a perfect storm of brilliant writer meeting big subject". (" Guardian"). "A triumph.. .riveting..." The Big Short" reads like a thriller". (" The Times"). "A terrifying story superbly well told". (" Daily Telegraph"). "A rollicking good yarn". (" Financial Times"). " Probably the single best piece of financial journalism ever written". (" Reuters"). Michael Lewis was born in New Orleans & educated at Princeton University & the London School of Economics. He has written several books including the " New York Times" bestseller " Liars Poker" widely considered the book that defined Wall Street during the 1980s " Panic!" " Moneyball" later adapted into a film of the same name starring Brad Pitt " The Blind Side" adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Sandra Bullock & Boomerang. Lewis is contributing writer for the " New York Times Magazine" columnist for " Bloomberg" & " Slate"."


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People reckon my life has been glamorous. Well if this is glamour then they are just off their heads Unbeknown to both of them it was to be Carl Williams last conversation behind bars with his unlikely confident reporter Adam Sh&. Shorlty after saying these words the notorious murderous drug boss was once again in the papers...but this time he was in a gold coffin. In the late 1990s a feud raging between rival underworld families
- a clash of a new generation with the criminal establishment
- erupted in a spate of gangland slayings on Melbournes streets. These gangland wars are now familiar to everyone largely due to the popular TV drama Underbelly. But this is the real story as told to the author by the key figures
- both the victims & the suspects
- including Carl & Roberta Williams & Mick Gatto. The author developed a surprising rapport with the Williams family & got closer than anyone to unravelling the complicated personal entaglements behind the shocking headlines. It wasnt a relationship without risks. Crackling with tension Big Shots documents Shands brave plunge into Melbournes disorganised crime scene. While uncovering the facts he finds himself questioning his objectivity...and even whether he is being used to further murderous ends. This fully revised & definitive edition of the book concludes with notorious criminals transformed into red-carpet celebrities & the brutal murder that Carl Williams always knew was coming...



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It's great detective work that's needed now. Bill Peter & Joe are falsely accused of setting boats adrift & the whole river is against them. Only Dick Dorothea & Tom Dudgeon are there to stand by their friends & they soon set to work to investigate the crimes & trap the real criminals ...

ALARM BELLS...OR WEDDING BELLS? Meeting Ian Kincaid set something off inside Jenna Bowen! Back in Northbridge raising an infant niece she needed to sell the family farm before the IRS took it away from her. The handsome dealmaker had an offer on the table
- but he didnt want to honour her terms. So why did her opponent have to be so irresistible? Ian savoured the idea of prolonging negotiations but this was a zero-sum game. If he clinched the deal this spirited woman & her adopted daughter would suffer. & letting down his family business was out of the question. But the bell was tolling for Ian. It was time for him to make a choice...
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Raymond Chandler was Americas preeminent writer of detective fiction & this Penguin Modern Classics" edition of " The Big Sleep & Other Novels" collects three of the best novels to feature his hard-drinking philosophising PI Philip Marlowe. Raymond Chandler created the fast talking trouble seeking Californian private eye Philip Marlowe for his first great novel " The Big Sleep" in 1939. Often imitated but never bettered it is in Marlowes long shadow that every fictional detective must stand
- & under the influence of Raymond Chandlers addictive prose that every crime author must write. Marlowes entanglement with the Sternwood family
- & an attendant cast of colourful underworld figures
- is the background to a story reflecting all the tarnished glitter of the great American Dream. The hard-boiled detectives iconic image burns just as brightly in " Farewell My Lovely" on the trail of a missing nightclub crooner. & the inimitable Marlowe is able to prove that trouble really is his business in Raymond Chandlers brilliant epitaph " The Long Goodbye". Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) was born in Chicago. It was during the Depression era that he seriously turned his hand to writing & his first published story appeared in the pulp magazine " Black Mask" in 1933 followed six years later by his first novel " The Big Sleep" adapted into Howard Hawks classic 1946 film noir starring Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall. If you liked " The Big Sleep & Other Novels" you might enjoy Dashiell Hammetts " The Thin Man" also available in " Penguin Modern Classics". " One of the greatest crime writers who set standards that others still try to attain". (" Sunday Times"). " Raymond Chandler invented a new way of talking about America & America has never looked the same to us since." (Paul Auster author of " The New York Trilogy"). " Chandler wrote like a slumming angel & invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angelos with a romantic presence". (Ross Macdonald author of " The Drowning Pool")."


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A young monster is getting everything she needs to take a dip: a boat a toy shark armbands goggles flippers. Once everything is to hand she is ready...to take a bath! The vividly drawn artwork shows each step of the monster's careful preparations offering lots of discussion points: is she going for a swim in a pool? In the sea? * Pink B level (Band 1B) books offer simple predictable text with familiar objects & actions. * Text type
- A story with predictable structure & patterned language. * An illustration on pages 14 & 14 shows the monster splashing happily in the bath with all her toys labelled to help children recap & discuss.
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There are dozens of different animals to discover in this fun sticker book. With over 450 stickers children will love placing the right stickers on the different scenes. Themes include the zoo pets under the sea wild animals farm animals & more. WARNING! Not suitable for children under 36 months because of small parts. Choking Hazard. ...

There are dozens of different animals to discover in this fun sticker book. With over 450 stickers children will love placing the right stickers on the different scenes. Themes include the zoo pets under the sea wild animals farm animals & more. WARNING! Not suitable for children under 36 months because of small parts. Choking Hazard. ...

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing & reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Jason & his little sister Daisy B help Mum & Dad with the shopping the gardening & eating cakes in this fun & accessible story perfect for early readers. ...