This is the story behind an iconic British brand that is approaching its double century. Clarks' reach extends to all corners of the globe & yet it remains a family-owned business firmly rooted in its Quaker origins unlike other well known Quaker firms like Cadburys now part of US giant Kraft. Founded in 1825 by two brothers Cyru & James Clark the company began as a rug-making operation in the then tiny village of Street Somerset. One day James Clark began making slippers from off-cuts of rugs & found that people wanted to buy them. Slippers became shoes & boots
- & a business was born. Over the years it has had its ups & downs but it has always strived to remain true to its Quaker values in its commitment to the well-being of its workforce & the local community. Schools libraries & recreation halls were built
- & trade unions banned. As the sun set on the British Empire Clarks opened up new frontie across the world. Clarks brand logo became one of the most famous in the world. Every parent in the 1950s swore by Clarks shoes for their children as well as buyin them for themselves. But increased competition from within the UK & overseas saw concerns for the future heightened during the 1980s. A hostile bid for the company in the early 1990s saw the board & the family split. Eventually shareholders voted to reject the bid. The company was reorganised with all its lines made outside the country. This meant the closures of all UK factories & the laying off of hundreds of Clarks employees. But the result has been a transformation in the company's fortunes. In 2010 its profits were over GBP 100 million & its retro desert boots & other styles have become the height of fashion especially in China & America.

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Jeremy Clarkson gets under the bonnet in Clarkson on Cars"; a collection of his motoring journalism. Jeremy Clarkson has been driving cars writing about them & occasionally voicing his opinions on the BBCs " Top Gear" for twenty years. No one in the business is taller. In this collection of classic Clarkson stretching back to the mid-1980s hes pulled together the car columns & stories with which he made his name. As coal mines closed & house prices exploded to a soundtrack of men in make-up playing synthesizers Jeremy was already waxing lyrical on topics as useful & diverse as: the perils of bicycle ownership; why Australians
- not Brits
- need bull bars; why soon only geriatrics will be driving BMWs; the difficultly of deciding on the best car for your wedding; why Jesus dad would have owned a Nissan Bluebird; & why it is that bus lanes cause traffic jams. Irreverent damn funny & offensive to almost everyone this is writing with its foot to the floor the brake lines cut & the speed limit smashed to smithereens. Sit back & enjoy the ride. Praise for Jeremy Clarkson: " Brilliant.. .laugh-out-loud". (" Daily Telegraph"). " Outrageously funny.. .will have you in stitches". (" Time Out"). Number-one bestseller Jeremy Clarkson writes on cars current affairs & anything else that annoys him in his sharp & funny collections. " Born To Be Riled" " Clarkson On Cars" " Dont Stop Me Now" " Driven To Distraction" " Round the Bend" " Motorworld" & "I Know You Got Soul" are also available as Penguin paperbacks; the Penguin App i Clarkson: The Book of Cars can be downloaded on the App Store. Jeremy Clarkson because his writing career on the Rotherham Advertiser. Since then he has written for the " Sun" & the " Sunday Times". Today he is the tallest person working in British television & is the presenter of the hugely popular " Top Gear"."

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Talks about a year in the life of a bloke wholl never drive a Porsche seldom wear a tie & doesnt commute to work because hes there already. Hes been there since the first ewe lambed the first cow was milked & the first field harvested
- & he still hasnt made any money.
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The Mediterranean 1571. For hundreds of years the Ottoman Empire has ruled the seas. But the seas are only a gateway to the lands they covet beyond. The armies of the Turk are picking off colonies & small islands & if the Mediterranean falls then finally perhaps the balance of power between crescent & cross will tip... It has been a momentous summer
- armies assembling Cyprus besieged & men flayed alive their bodies displayed as trophies on opposing galleys. Now as the sun rises on one October day history will be written in blood. Five hours will shape history. Countries all over western Europe have sent ships & men. Caught up in it are Hodge & Ingoldsby
- two young English adventurers who have survived the siege of Malta & are already living on borrowed time. Now it seems the debt must be repaid...

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HBOs hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martins internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE & FIRE the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A CLASH OF KINGS is the second volume in the series. The Iron Throne once united the Sunset Lands but King Robert is dead his widow is a traitor to his memory & his surviving brothers are set on a path of war amongst themselves. At Kings Landing the head of Lord Eddard Stark rots on a spike for all to see. His daughter Sansa is betrothed still to his killers son Joffrey
- Queen Cerseis son though not the son of her late husband Robert. Even so Joffrey is now a boy-king Cersei is his regent & war is inevitable. In Dragonstone Roberts brother Stannis has declared himself king while his other brother Renly proclaims himself king at Storms End
- & Eddard Starks fifteen year old son Robb wears the crown of the north at Winterfell. A comet in the night sky red & malevolent the colour of blood & flame can only be an omen of murder & war. Stanniss child Princess Shireen dreams of dragons waking from stone. & a white raven has brought word from the Citadel itself foretelling summers end. It has been the longest summer in living memory lasting ten years & the smallfolk say it means an even longer winter to come... The first rule of war is never give the enemy his wish. But winter will be the biggest enemy. From beyond the Wall the undead & Others clamour for freedom & from beyond the sea the long-dead Dragon Kings daughter hatches her revenge. Robb Stark will be exceedingly lucky to reach adulthood.

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HBOs hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R R Martins internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE & FIRE the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A CLASH OF KINGS is the second volume in the series. A beautifully presented slipcased edition of A CLASH OF KINGS. The Iron Throne once united the Sunset Lands but King Robert is dead his widow is a traitor to his memory & his surviving brothers are set on a path of war amongst themselves. At Kings Landing the head of Lord Eddard Stark rots on a spike for all to see. His daughter Sansa is betrothed still to his killers son Joffrey
- Queen Cerseis son though not the son of her late husband Robert. Even so Joffrey is now a boy-king Cersei is his regent & war is inevitable. In Dragonstone Roberts brother Stannis has declared himself king while his other brother Renly proclaims himself king at Storms End
- & Eddard Starks fifteen year old son Robb wears the crown of the north at Winterfell. A comet in the night sky red & malevolent the colour of blood & flame can only be an omen of murder & war. Stanniss child Princess Shireen dreams of dragons waking from stone. & a white raven has brought word from the Citadel itself foretelling summers end. It has been the longest summer in living memory lasting ten years & the smallfolk say it means an even longer winter to come... The first rule of war is never give the enemy his wish. But winter will be the biggest enemy. From beyond the Wall the undead & Others clamour for freedom & from beyond the sea the long-dead Dragon Kings daughter hatches her revenge. Robb Stark will be exceedingly lucky to reach adulthood.

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The second volume of A Song of Ice & Fire the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. Now a major Sky Atlantic TV series from HBO featuring a stellar cast. Throughout Westeros the cold winds are rising. From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest turmoil & war. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky
- a comet the colour of blood & flame
- five factions struggle for control of a divided l&. Brother plots against brother & the dead rise to walk in the night. Against a backdrop of incest fratricide alchemy & murder the price of glory is measured in blood.

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The boys & Wanna are off on another adventure in the steamy Triassic & are on the lookout for a Postosuchus also known as the running crocodile. They eventually track down not one but two of the enormous crocs & scramble up the nearest tree to get a birds eye view. The ferocious beasts are fighting over their lunch but when Wanna falls from the tree & into the water it looks as though hes going to be crocodile pudding unless the boys can do something to save him.. . Join Jamie Tom & Wanna in this latest exciting instalment of the fantastic Dinosaur Cove series. ...

Quint is travelling with his father Wind Jackal on a mission to track down & bring to justice Turbot Smeal the man who started the fire that killed their family. Having left behind his studies at the Knights Academy Quint is now eager to learn what it really means to be a sky pirate & to learn from his father. But Wind Jackal is consumed by his desire to capture Smeal
- & his judgement is flawed. His actions endangers the lives of his crew
- & his son. As they travel from the taverns & backstreets of Undertown & the wonders of the shipbuilders yards to the dark dangers of the Deepwoods where Quint & Maris become separated from the rest of the crew & encounter some terrifying creatures
- & finally to the mysterious ghostly sky-wreck in Open Sky where they discover the truth about Smeal
- & face a new terror...



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Barcelona & Real Madrid: two of the most powerful & popular clubs in world football & one of the worlds most bitter sporting rivalries. Going far beyond the boundaries of just sport alone this is a rivalry at the heart of Spanish life taking in politics & culture & splitting a country in two. El Clasico gets to the heart of that rivalry investigating the intrigue the larger-than-life characters the key flashpoints & their consequences. From civil war bloodshed to 40 years of fascism & links with General Franco the clubs shared history is the stuff of a Robert Harris novel &
Includes:: murdered presidents from both clubs player kidnappings acts of hooliganism
- & thats before you start thinking of the volatile football matches themselves. The book contains numerous interviews with key figures such as Luis Figo & Hristo Stoichkov (two of the main hate figures from both clubs) Joan Laporta (Barcelonas most successful president & having entered politics Catalonian separatisms poster boy) & various ex-players ex-managers agents referees hooligans editors historians sociologists filmmakers novelists photographers TV presenters & celebrity fans. The two clubs are packed with international superstar players
- including the worlds two best players in Leo Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo
- & 10 of the starting 11 players from Spains 2010 World Cup final victory play with either Barcelona or Real Madrid. This is a story with resonance around the sporting world with many instantly recognisable figures to an international audience such as Jose Mourinho. But it is also a tale of a country divided by a bitter rivalry.



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