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."


...

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
...

The stories & secrets behind BBC television's most-loved show. The official companion to series 1 & 2 as well as the forthcoming Christmas special. The Life & Times of Call the Midwife takes you behind the scenes of the small-screen sensation that has brought to life Jennifer Worth's experiences as a midwife among the slums & buzzing dockyards of London's East End in the Fifties. Find out how Fifties fashions make-up & homes were flawlessly recreated. Discover the hidden secrets of the nurses & nuns of Nonnatus House & what flavour cake ruled in the kitchen when war-time rationing finally came to an end. Immerse yourself in a world that's been fondly revived to celebrate a glimpse of history that like today has childbirth at its heart. ...

Some say that the first hint that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came when his mother sent him to school in lime-green Capri pants. Others think it all started with his discovery at the age of six of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap & proved that he had been placed with this innocuous family in the middle of America to fly become invisible shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance & wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman. Bill Bryson's first travel book opened with the immortal line 'I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.' In his deeply funny new memoir he travels back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was & the curious world of 1950s America. It was a happy time when almost everything was good for you including DDT cigarettes & nuclear fallout. This is a book about growing up in a specific time & place. But in Bryson's hands it becomes everyone's story one that will speak volumes
- especially to anyone who has ever been young.
...

Powerful new research methods are providing fresh & vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences examining the atomic structure of proteins & looking into the geochemistry of rocks have all helped to explain creation & evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane uses the full extent of this new knowledge to describe the ten greatest inventions of life including DNA sex sight & consciousness based on their historical impact role in living organisms today & relevance to current controversies. Lane also explains how these findings have come about & the extent to which they can be relied upon. The result is a vivid gripping & lucid account of the ingenuity of nature & a book which is essential for anyone who has wondered at how we came to be here. ...

The debut of a female Steve Jones
- likeable literate lucid & laconic. A sprightly lavishly illustrated book on the science of
...

Electras family is falling apart. Her dads moving out her mums given in to her daytime TV addiction & her little brother (aka The Little Runt) has just been caught shoplifting. Even the guinea-pigs gone mental. & all Electra can think about is whether green eyeliner compliments or clashes with blue eyes. Where can a girl turn in her hour of need? To her best friends of course. Together they think up a plan: persuading the class geek to stalk her dad seemed like a good idea at the time.. . ...

The aim of this course is to explore the Beatitudes which encapsulate the teaching of Jesus. Jesus himself lived out the Beatitudes in his earthly life & called his followers to do the same. This five-session group study course encourages Christians to examine their lifestyle in the light of Jesus radical teaching & to live out these kingdom values
- now. This course takes a two-pronged approach to studying the Beatitudes deepening our understanding of Jesus & challenging our deepest personal values; & helping us understand how they should impact on our approach to major global issues such as environmental pollution & the deep-seated hostilities & injustices that afflict our world. Each session of the course contains enough material for 90 minutes &

Includes:: guidelines for group study with full background notes for leaders interactive activities including questions for group discussion & multimedia suggestions a wide range of suggestions for Lenten prayer & meditation & a challenge to practical action.


...