Without football we were strangers under the same roof. With it we were father & son. Longlisted for the 2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Hamilton tells of how he was inspired by his fathers devotion to Newcastle United & the heroes of yesteryear such as Jackie Milburn Bobby Charlton & Duncan Edwards Hamilton recreates a distant bygone age & charts the progress of post-war British football to the present day. From the hardscrabble 1940s & the never-had-it-so-good 50s right through to how the dowdy-looking First Division of the 80s transformed itself into the slick money-driven Premiership that is so familiar to us today. Hamilton writes about the some of its most sublime players from George Best to Lionel Messi & some of its most respected managers from Bill Shankly to Sir Alex Ferguson. But at the heart of The Footballer Who Could Fly is Hamiltons exploration of the bond between father & son through the Beautiful Game & how football became the only live connection between two people who apart from their love of it were wholly different from one another. From the two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year comes a personal & affecting story that beautifully captures one of the most important three-way relationships in a mans life. Father & son & football. ...

' Without football we were strangers under a shared roof. With it we were father & son.' Inspired by his father's devotion to Newcastle United & the heroes of yesteryear Duncan Hamilton brings to life a bygone age telling the story of British football from the hardscrabble 1940s & the 'never-had-it-so-good' '50s right through to the dowdy First Division of the '70s & '80s & today's slick Premiership. Hamilton recalls some of football's most sublime players managers & characters from Bill Shankly & Jackie Milburn to George Best & Lionel Messi. But at the heart of The Footballer Who could Fly is Hamilton's relationship with his own father. Here he tells how football became the only real connection between two people who apart from their love of the beautiful game were wholly different from one another. ...

On the surface of it glamour girl Charly Metcalfe finally has it all. Shes officially a W.A.G having bagged premiership footballer Joel Baldy to be her boyfriend
- & she has the lifestyle to go along with the title. She lives in a million-pound penthouse. She gets invited to the most glamorous parties & Joel will buy her anything she wants. But behind closed doors life as a footballers other half isnt as perfect as it seems. Joel has a temper & when he & Charly argue he lets his fists do the talking. Charly knows she should get out but theres one problem...she loves him. In fact she loves him enough to marry him in spite of their problems
- & her own familys objections. But having married in haste is Charly going to regret her decision all too quickly...?

...

All Kelly Smith ever wanted to be was a footballer. Blessed with brilliant talent which she honed with hours of practice it was soon clear to all who saw her that Kelly was the best women's footballer that this country had ever produced. Yet for this shy girl from Watford it would be a long & difficult journey to the pinnacle of the world game & one which would involve the hardest of challenges. After starting drinking to mask her loneliness thousands of miles from home at college in the United States a series of career-threatening injuries led to severe depression & a battle with alcoholism. But with the fighting spirit that was so essential on her path to be Britain's first women's professional player Kelly bounced back to inspire Arsenal to countless trophies & become England's record goalscorer. Footballer: My Story is the inspirational tale of a woman with a drive to succeed despite all the obstacles thrown in her way. It is the unique inside story of a star in a sport enjoyed by millions yet often not granted the recognition it deserves. & as she nears the end of a glittering playing career it is the story of how Kelly Smith became what she always wanted to be. A professional footballer in a professional league. ...

All Kelly Smith ever wanted to be was a footballer. Blessed with brilliant talent which she honed with hours of practice it was soon clear to all who saw her that Kelly was the best women's footballer that this country had ever produced. Yet for this shy girl from Watford it would be a long & difficult journey to the pinnacle of the world game & one which would involve the hardest of challenges. After starting drinking to mask her loneliness thousands of miles from home in the United States a series of career-threatening injuries led to severe depression & a battle with alcoholism. But with the fighting spirit that was so essential on her path to be Britain's first women's professional player Kelly bounced back to inspire Arsenal to countless trophies & become England's record goal scorer. Footballer: My Story" is the inspirational tale of a woman with a drive to succeed. It is the unique inside story of a star in a sport enjoyed by millions yet often not granted the recognition it deserves. & as she nears the end of a glittering playing career it is the story of how Kelly Smith became what she always wanted to be. It offers a professional footballer in a professional league." ...

When Emily Kingsley arrives at the church for her eccentric Great Aunt Marys funeral she is still grieving for her broken relationship with the vain mean & unfaithful Ted & has little sorrow to spare. At the wake afterwards she is dismayed to learn the contents of Marys will. Emily & her cousin Clemmie must go to Mali where they are to travel by camel into the Sahara Desert to scatter her ashes. Clemmie fanciful & rootless is thrilled at the chance of adventure. Emily is not. With immense reluctance she agrees to travel to Mali & find Timadjlalen a place in the desert that no one has ever heard of. Why Mary chose it as her final resting place she cannot imagine & the thought of a hot pointless trip is almost too much to bear. But once Emily & Clemmie set foot on the Saharan sand & begin to uncover Marys sixty-year-old secret they come to understand why they must complete her journey... ...

The women in Helena Mayrick's family have always led secretive & tragic lives & when Helena's comfortable marriage is devastated by her husband's violent death it seems that she too is locked into the cycle. Helena is invited to research a book on her grandfather H. Donaldson the celebrated Edwardian photographer. At first she is reluctant to immerse herself in family history particularly as Donaldson's relationship with her grandmother Ruth is shrouded in mystery & turmoil. But gradually as the story of enigmatic Ruth & the elusive passionate Donaldson unfolds Helena finds that the past like the present was shaped by cruel dilemmas & the demands of love... ...

The Priory may be ramshackled in appearance but Peter Margaret & Celia who have inherited it from their uncle love it for its rambling charm. But theres more to this house than is at first apparent: for years hardly a single person has set foot in the place & even their uncle chose to live in a different house far away from this particular property. Local wisdom says that the house is haunted. & when things start going bump in the night it certainly seems as if something ghostly is walking the Priorys halls. Then a murder is committed. Does the key to solving the crime lie in the realm of the supernatural? Or is the explanation much more down to earth? ...

Robert Fortune was a Scottish gardener botanist plant hunter
- & industrial spy. In 1848 the East India Company engaged him to
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Damian Horner is scared that fifteen years in advertising have turned him into a bastard. As he approaches his fortieth birthday he wants to see if he can be a good husband & a good father before its too late. Siobhan his wife would like to find out too but has other worries. Do marriage & kids mean shes now trapped in a world of suburban domesticity? It takes a miserable day & a bottle of wine to change everything. Suddenly Damian & Siobhan decide to throw their lives in the air & escape to the French canals taking with them their son Noah who is two years old & can barely talk & their daughter India who is one & cannot walk. Told in two voices we hear both sides of their story & get the whole truth as Damian & Siobhan describe coming to terms with themselves & their life on board an old fishing boat in France with no space no fridge no charts no deadlines & no flushing toilet. ...