This captivating book explores the lives of the ordinary people of Pompeii & Herculaneum the two cities on the Bay of Naples that were buried by the catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The plaster-cast bodies of the victims are the most vivid shocking reminders of the horrific event that made Pompeii famous but who were these men women & children so cruelly frozen in time? Exploring striking new discoveries & over 200 sensational artefacts the author brings the inhabitants of Pompeii & Herculaneum back to life from the ashes & ruins of their own homes. ...

This definitive biography of Anne Boleyn establishes her as a figure of considerable importance & influence in her own right. It is a full biography of Anne Boleyn based on the latest scholarly research. It focusses on Anne's life & legacy & establishes Anne as a figure of considerable importance & influence in her own right. Adulteress or innocent victim? This title looks afresh at the issues at the heart of Anne's downfall. It pays attention to her importance as a patron of the arts particularly in relation to Hans Holbein. It presents evidence about Anne's spirituality & her interest in the intellectual debates of the period. It takes account of significant advances in knowledge in recent years. ...

The extraordinary story of the UK's most gruelling & spectacularly beautiful islands. Tom Steel's acclaimed portrait of the St Kildan's lives is now updated in this reissued edition. Situated at the westernmost point of the United Kingdom the spectacularly beautiful but utterly bleak island of St Kilda is familiar to virtually nobody. A lonely archipelago off the coast of Scotland it is hard to believe that for over two thousand years men & women lived here cut off from the rest of the world. With a population never exceeding two hundred in its history the St Kildans were fiercely self-sufficient. An intensely religious people they climbed cliffs from childhood & caught birds for food. Their sense of community was unparalleled & isolation enveloped their day-to-day existence. With the onset of the First World War things changed. For the very first time in St Kilda's history daily communication was established between the islanders & the mainl&. Slowly but surely this marked the beginning of the end of St Kilda & in August 1930 the island's remaining 36 inhabitants were evacuated. Newly updated to include the historic appointment of St Kilda as the United Kingdom's only UNESCO Dual Heritage site the ongoing search for information about the island & the threats that it continues to face this is the moving story of a vanished community & how twentieth century civilization ultimately brought an entire way of life to its knees. ...

In 1940 Daily Telegraph correspondent Henry Buckley published his eyewitness account of his experiences reporting form the Spanish Civil War. The copies of the book stored in a warehouse in London were destroyed during the Blitz & only a handful of copies of his unique chronicle were saved. Now seventy years after its first publication this exceptional eyewitness account of the war is republished with a new introduction by Paul Preston. The Life & Death of the Spanish Republic is a unique account of Spanish politics throughout the entire life of the Second Republic from its foundation of 14 April 1931 to its defeat at the end of March 1939 combining personal recollections of meetings with the great politicians of the day with eyewitness accounts of dramatic events. Buckley arrived in Spain prior to the outbreak of the war & was one of the few correspondents reporting on the conflict who had an in-depth knowledge & understanding of Spain
- its people politics & culture. Well acquainted with the major protagonists from the conflict he particularly admired Dr Juan Negrin the wartime Socialist premier but was utterly bowled over by ' La Pasionaria' the Communist orator Dolores Ibarruri. He was also a good friend of Ernest Hemingway & the renowned photographer Robert Capa. This important book is one fo the most enduring records of the Spanish Republic & the civil war & a monumental testimony to Buckley's work as a correspondent. Providing a fascinating portrait of a crucial decade of contemporary Spanish history & based on an abundance of the eyewitness material that only a really assiduous resident journalist could collect this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War.
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This Orange Inheritance Edition of Life & Fate" is published in association with the Orange Prize for Fiction. Books shape our lives & transform the way we see ourselves & each other. The best books are timeless & continue to be relevant generation after generation. " Vintage Classics" asked the winners of The Orange Prize for Fiction which books they would pass onto the next generation & why. Linda Grant chose " Life & Fate". This is an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single family the Shaposhnikovs. As the battle of Stalingrad looms Grossmans characters must work out their destinies in a world torn apart by ideological tyranny & war. "I have urged all my friends to read it...I want others to feel as I have done
- that they are entering the heart of the twentieth century touching its pulse". (Linda Grant)."
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Discover Michael Mc Intyre's hilarious life-story in Life & Laughing". Michael Mc Intyre is Britain's biggest comedy star. He has released two record-breaking DVDs " Live & Laughing" & " Hello Wembley"; hosts his own BAFTA-nominated BBC1 series " Michael Mc Intyre's Comedy Roadshow"; & has picked up British Comedy Awards for Best Live St&-Up & Best Male TV Comic. Last year he became the youngest ever host of the Royal Variety Performance & now in 2011 he takes the hot seat as a judge in the hit ITV show " Britain's Got Talent". How did he get there? Michael reveals all in his remarkably honest & hilarious autobiography. His showbiz roots his appalling attempts to attract the opposite sex his fish-out-of-water move from public to state school & his astonishing journey from selling just one ticket at the Edinburgh Festival to selling half a million tickets on his last tour. Michael Mc Intyre's " Life & Laughing" is riveting poignant romantic & above all very very funny. Michael Mc Intyre was born in South London in 1976 to parents from the world of showbiz. His Hungarian mother was a dancer & his Canadian father co-wrote " The Kenny Everett Television Show". Now he is a st&-up comedian who in 2009 sold out a record six nights at Wembley Arena & four nights at London's O2. Michael lives in North London with his wife Kitty & their sons Lucas & Oscar. This is his first book." ...

In Life & Love of Cats Lewis Blackwell provides a unique perspective on one of our closest companions. Starting with the earliest records of domestic cats 9 000 years ago in Africa & the Mediterranean Blackwell celebrates & explores the joy of cats in our lives searching for the essence of our connection with them. Supporting the text is his presentation of a unique range of images shot by leading animal photographers from around the world. Through stunning photographs we are taken on a feline journey: from the homes of middle America to the alleys & lanes of France to the plains of Africa; from rare hybrid domestic cross breeds like the Savannah to the exquisite specimens on show at the glittering Supreme Cat Show to shelter cats lovingly rescued by volunteers; from graceful & haughty pure breeds such as the Persian & the Abyssinian to adored domestic companions of all shapes colours & sizes. Blackwell weaves stories around these photographs tales that track the close relationship between cats & humankind. ...

This title explores the life & mysterious death of Ian Mackintosh one of the finest spy dramatists of the twentieth century. It uncovers the secrets behind one of the most successful television spy shows in history which still has a cult following. It reproduces for the first time Mackintoshs original eleven-page pitch for The Sandbaggers". No spy drama has ever matched " The Sandbaggers" which featured a tiny covert intelligence unit based in London during the Cold War. The show that the " New York Times" called the "best spy series in television history" was the vision of Ian Mackintosh who was among the first writers to present espionage realistically
- as a sordid series of political struggles double crosses & personality clashes. " The Life & Mysterious Death of Ian Mackintosh" provides a behind-the-scenes look at the show that forever changed the spy genre. Readers will also gain insight into the enigmatic & accomplished Mackintosh. A Royal Navy lieutenant commander he spent part of his service at the Admiraltys Department of Naval Intelligence once one of the worlds ranking espionage operations. He retired early & penned thirteen books & a number of television series including the classic Warship. A leading authority on aircraft Mackintosh was also one of the youngest recipients of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire an honor one step below knighthood for his still-classified exploits. His disappearance without a trace on July 7 1979
- nineteen days before his thirty-ninth birthday
- while flying with two companions over the Gulf of Alaska (which happened to be teeming with Soviet submarines & other spycraft) remains a mystery as the British government declined to investigate the incident. Robert Folsom takes readers inside the world of " The Sandbaggers" & Ian Mackintosh whose ultimate fate is a plot twist worthy of his own trailblazing creation."


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Tristram Shandy is one of English literatures most curious complex & comic novels & is therefore perfectly suited to the distinctive anarchic style of the celebrated cartoonist & illustrator Martin Rowson. Here Rowson travels with his faithful companion Pete through the tortuous paths of Laurence Sternes infinitely digressive world interpreting the great novel in a new way. ...

Its their party... Meet Melissa & Paul: Five years after they split up hes still looking for love in all the wrong places while she wants the one thing she cant have: Paul. Meet Chris & Vicky: Theyre so in tune they even brush their teeth in time with each other. So what is Chris doing risking it all for a meaningless affair? Meet Cooper & Laura: He wants to settle down she wants to take a grown-up gap year
- but can their relationship really survive a year apart? Set across a year of leaving dos birthday parties & anniversary celebrations The Life & Soul of the Party is a warm funny & moving tale celebrating love life & those special moments weve all spent in the kitchen at parties. Mike Gayle has contributed to a variety of magazines including FHM Sunday Times Style & Cosmopolitan. His bestsellers My Legendary Girlfriend Mr Commitment Turning Thirty Dinner for Two His N Hers Brand New Friend & Wish You Were Here are available in Hodder paperback. To find out more about his novels visit Mikes website at www.mikegayle.co.uk
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