Lea Avishag & Yael are school friends in a small town in northern Israel. During dull lessons they play the game Exquisite Corpse & daydream about the boys they fancy. When they hit eighteen they are conscripted into the army. Stuck on checkpoint duty with fellow soldiers she hates Lea relieves her boredom by creating an imaginary family life for a dishevelled Palestinian man that passes every day; Yael takes to sleeping with a boy she is training in between breaking up & getting back together with her boyfriend at home; & Avishag's days are spent guarding the Egyptian border catching smugglers & watching Sudanese refugees throw themselves on the barbed wire fence. They wait in the dust for something to happen caught in that single intense second before danger erupts. ...

This is a retrospective look at the backstreets of Birmingham in the early years of the 20th century. The book is based on the memories of the residents of an old people's home whose life stories have been distilled & combined to form an indictment of slum life. ...

The new novel from the author of ' March' & ' Year of Wonders' takes place in the aftermath of the Bosnian War as a young book conservator arrives in Sarajevo to restore a lost treasure. When Hannah Heath gets a call in the middle of the night in her Sydney home about a precious medieval manuscript which has been recovered from the smouldering ruins of wartorn Sarajevo she knows she is on the brink of the experience of a lifetime. A renowned book conservator she must now make her way to Bosnia to start work on restoring The Sarajevo Haggadah a Jewish prayer book
- to discover its secrets & piece together the story of its miraculous survival. But the trip will also set in motion a series of events that threaten to rock Hannah's orderly life including her encounter with Ozren Karamen the young librarian who risked his life to save the book. As meticulously researched as all of Brooks's previous work ' People of the Book' is a gripping & moving novel about war art love & survival.
...

The idea was simple. Take the most impassioned speeches about the fight for what is right & bring them to life for a new generation. The reason why its so powerful is because its about everything that matters to us: love & life sex & death justice & freedom. Weve found some amazing speeches from the most unlikely places British voices that have been ignored for centuries because history is a tale often told by the winners COLIN FIRTH The People Speak tells the story of Britain through the voices of the visionaries dissenters rebels & everyday folk who took on the Establishment & stood up for what they believed in. Here are their stories letters speeches & songs from the Peasants Revolt to the Suffragettes to the anti-war demonstrators of today. They are some of the most powerful words in our history. Compiled by the Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth influential writer Anthony Arnove & the acclaimed historian David Horspool The People Speak reminds us that democracy has never been a spectator sport. ...

People with autism spectrum conditions may often behave in ways that cause difficulties for themselves & those who care for them. People with Autism Behaving Badly offers effective long-term strategies to help resolve common problem behaviors such as physical aggression self-injury verbal abuse rudeness & property damage. The book is organized around the common messages conveyed by behaviors & some of the underlying issues that drive these messages. Practical ideas for intervention are provided & illustrated by case examples. A range of exercises help to build understanding of the issues & detail appropriate plans. A log book helps to track what has been tried & what has been learned. In addition the author explores the role of relationship styles that can help reduce challenging behaviors & encourage positive ones. Realistic information about working together with individuals families & outside agencies & about the pros & cons of medication is also included. This hands-on practical manual is indispensable for families carers & anyone involved with autistic people who need help with behavioral or emotional challenges. ...

Set in late fourteenth century England Vanora Bennetts rich dramatic new novel presents an England uncannily like our own. The country is in turmoil The King is in debt to the City & the old order had broken down
- a time of opportunity indeed for those who can seize the moment. The kings mistress Alice Perrers becomes the virtual ruler of the country from his sickbed. Disliked & despised by the Black Prince & his cronies her strong connections to the merchants make her a natural ally for the kings ambitious second son John of Gaunt. Together they create a powerful position in the city for one of his henchmen Geoffrey Chaucer. In this moment of opportunity Alice throws herself into her new role & the riches that lay before her but Chaucer even though her lover & friend is uneasy over what he can foresee of the conspiracies around them. At the centre of these troubled times & political unrest stands the remarkable figure of a woman who having escaped the plague which killed her whole family is certain she is untouchable & a man who learns that cleverness & ambition may for him sit too uneasily with decency & honesty.
...

Twelve-year-old Ryan is CHERUBs newest recruit. Hes got his first mission: infiltrating the billion-dollar Aramov criminal empire. But hes got got no idea that this routine job will lead him into an explosive adventure involving drug smugglers illegal immigrants & human trafficking or that his first mission will turn into one of the biggest in CHERUBs history. ...

The People's Friend Any Occasion Cards is a wallet containing ten cards -two each of five beautiful locations around Britain reproduced from watercolours by J. Campbell Kerr: Horsey Windpump Broughton House; Kirkcudbright; Gourdon Aberdeenshire; Cleish Kinross-shire; Loch Tay Perthshire. The cards are blank inside & therefore ideal to be used throughout the year. ...

Twelve-year-old Ryan is CHERUB's newest recruit. He's got his first mission: infiltrating the billion-dollar Aramov criminal empire. But he's got got no idea that this routine job will lead him into an explosive adventure involving drug smugglers illegal immigrants & human trafficking or that his first mission will turn into one of the biggest in CHERUB's history. ...

These are the songs that we have listened to laughed to loved to & laboured to as well as downed tools & danced to. Covering the last seven decades Stuart Maconie looks at the songs that have sound tracked our changing times &
- just sometimes
- changed the way we feel. Beginning with Vera Lynn's ' We'll Meet Again' a song that reassured a nation parted from their loved ones by the turmoil of war & culminating with the manic energy of ' Bonkers' Dizzee Rascal's anthem for the push & rush of the 21st century inner city The People's Song's takes a tour of our island's pop music & asks what it means to us. The story of modern Britain is told chronologically over 50 chapters through the records that we listened to & loved during the dramatic & kaleidoscopic period from the Second World War to the present day. This is not a rock critique about the 50 greatest tracks ever recorded. Rather it is a celebration of songs that tell us something about how we have felt about things in our lives down the eras
- work war class leisure race family drugs sex patriotism & more. In times of prosperity or poverty this is the music that inspired haircuts & dance crazes but also protest & social change. The companion to Stuart Maconie's landmark Radio 2 series The People's Songs shows us the power of 'cheap' pop music
- one of Britain's greatest exports. These are the songs we have worked to & partied to & grown up & grown old to
- from 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' to ' Rehab' ' She Loves You' to ' Star Man' ' Dedicated Follower of Fashion' to ' Radio Ga Ga'.




...