Internationally bestselling historian Antonia Fraser's new book brilliantly evokes a key period of pre-Victorian political & social history
- the passing of the Great Reform Bill of 1832. For our inconclusive times there is an attractive resonance with 1832 with its 'rotten boroughs' of Old Sarum & the disappearing village of Dunwich & its lines of most resistance to reform. This book is character-driven
- on the one hand the reforming heroes are the Whig aristocrats Lord Grey Lord Althorp & Lord John Russell & the Irish orator Daniel O' Connell. They included members of the richest & most landed Cabinet in history yet they were determined to bring liberty which whittled away their own power to the country. The all-too-conservative opposition comprised Lord Londonderry the Duke of Wellington the intransigent Duchess of Kent & the consort of the Tory King William IV Queen Adelaide. Finally there were 'revolutionaries' & reformers like William Cobbett the author of RURAL RIDES. This is a book that features one eventful year much of it violent. There were riots in Bristol Manchester & Nottingham & wider themes of Irish & 'negro emancipation' underscore the narrative. The time-span of the book is from Wellington's intractable declaration in November 1830 that ' The beginning of reform is the beginning of revolution' to 7th June 1832 the date of the extremely reluctant royal assent by William IV to the Great Reform Bill under the double threat of the creation of 60 new peers in the House of Lords & the threat of revolution throughout the country. These events led to a total change in the way Britain was governed a two-year revolution that Antonia Fraser brings to vivid dramatic life.

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England has a wealth of surviving houses from past centuries be they country mansions or rustic framed cottages & the circumstances of the age are often reflected in the interiors. Linda Hall charts the development of the fixtures & fittings we still see today
- from medieval & Tudor times to Georgian & Victorian. Each chapter deals with a different component & is supplemented by photographs & line drawings. This book will be useful for anyone with an interest in period features
- as a reference book for restoration or a guide to visits.

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Britain has a wonderfully rich stock of period houses
- everything from medieval cottages to Georgian townhouses & Edwardian mansions.
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Primo Levis The Periodic Table" is a collection of short stories that elegantly interlace the authors experiences in Fascist Italy & later in Auschwitz with his passion for scientific knowledge & discovery. This " Penguin Modern Classics" edition of is translated by Raymond Rosenthal with an essay on Primo Levi by Philip Roth. A chemist by training Primo Levi became one of the supreme witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In these haunting reflections inspired by the elements of the periodic table he ranges from young love to political savagery; from the inert gas argon
- & inert relatives like the uncle who stayed in bed for twenty-two years
- to life-giving carbon. Iron honours the mountain-climbing resistance hero who put iron in Levis student soul Cerium recalls the improvised cigarette lighters which saved his life in Auschwitz while Vanadium describes an eerie post-war correspondence with the man who had been his boss there. In his essay Philip Roth reproduces a conversation with Primo Levi delving into the process of Levis authorial technique his sense of identity & distinctiveness & the relationship between science writing & survival. Primo Levi (1919-87) an Italian Jew did not come to the wide attention of the English-reading audience until the last years of his life. A survivor of the Holocaust & imprisonment in Auschwitz Levi is considered to be one of the centurys most compelling voices & " The Periodic Table" is his most famous book. Levi is the author of " Moments of Reprieve" & " If Not Now When?" also available in " Penguin Modern Classics". Philip Roth is the author of " Nemesis" & " The Plot Against America" & winner of the both the Pulitzer prize & the Man Booker International prize. If you enjoyed " The Periodic Table" you might like Levis " If Not Now When?" also available in " Penguin Modern Classics". "A book it is necessary to read". (Saul Bellow author of " Herzog"). " One of the finest writers in post-war Ital". (" The Times")."

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Here Eric Scerri looks at the trends in properties of elements that led to the construction of the periodic table & how the deeper meaning of its structure gradually became apparent with the development of atomic theory & quantum mechanics so that as Scerri puts it one science physics arguably came to colonize another chemistry although such a view is resisted by chemists. Scerri shows that quantum mechanics is absolutely central to chemistry as it underlies the behaviour of all of the elements & their compounds & therefore underpins the structure of the periodic table. Concluding with an overview of the huge variety of periodic tables that have been proposed in the print media & on the Internet he explores the debated question of whether there is an optimal periodic table & what form it might take. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable. ...

Rugby as with most other team sports is a game of technical finesse tactical boldness & refined & complex physical development. Periodization in Rugby" addresses one of the most crucial elements of the sport
- physical conditioning. Utilizing the revolutionary training techniques developed by Tudor Bompa
- the father of modern sports periodization
- this superb volume presents readers with proven training principles an overview of the fundamentals of rugby & an explanation of the physiological demands of the sport & how they impact on training. It also features short term & annual training plans with numerous drills & exercises to improve the skills of all players as well as expert tips on recovery & nutrition."


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Sports conditioning has advanced tremendously since the era when a no pain no gain" philosophy guided the training regimens of athletes. Dr. Tudor Bompa pioneered most of these breakthroughs proving long ago that its not only how much & how hard an athlete works but also when & what work is done that determines the athletes conditioning level. In " Periodization Training for Sports " Bompa demonstrates how to use periodized workouts in order to peak at optimal times by manipulating six different training phases: anatomical adaptation hypertrophy maximum strength conversion to power maintenance & transition. Coaches & athletes in 32 sports have at their fingertips a proven program that is sure to produce the best results. No more guessing about preseason conditioning in-season workloads or appropriate rest & recovery periods; now its simply a matter of identifying & implementing the information in this book. Presented in a useful format with plenty of ready-made training schedules " Periodization Training for Sports" is your best conditioning planner if you want to know what works why it works & when it works in the training room & on the practice field. Get in better shape next season & see the benefits of smarter workouts in competition." ...

Beck Hardin returns to his Texas hometown
- & his estranged father
- after the death of his wife leaves him with two children

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The story of Perkin Warbeck is one of the most compelling mysteries of English history. A young man suddenly emerged claiming to be Richard of York the younger of the Princes in the Tower. As such he tormented Henry VII for eight years. He tried three times to invade England & behaved like a prince. Officially however he was proclaimed to be Perkin Warbeck the son of a Flemish boatman. A diplomatic pawn he was used by the greatest European rulers of the age for their own purposes. All who dealt with him gave him the identity they wished him to have: either the Duke of York or a jumped-up lad from Flanders. It is possible that he was neither. It is also possible that by the end even he did not really know who he was. In Perkin Ann Wroe tells again a marvellous tale that is on the brink of being forgotten. She also dissects the official cover story. In doing so she delves into the secret corners of European history & produces a portrait of the late fifteenth century that is breathtaking in its detail. ...

Perkin Warbeck pretender to the English throne claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury Duke of York & Norfolk the younger of the two sons of Edward IV imprisoned in the Tower of London by Richard III & whose true fate is unknown to this day. He led two attempts to claim the crown but was captured by Henry VII & hanged at Tyburn. This book looks at who Warbeck really was how he was used by those in power in Burgundy France Italy Scotland & Ireland & the progress of the conspiracy itself. It has often been considered to be a side issue to Henry's reign but this book reveals how close the conspirators came to bringing about a fundamental change in European politics. Importantly Ian Arthurson not only sets the plot within the context of what was happening in fifteenth-century Europe but also reveals important truths about Henry's reign in Engl&. Illustrated with a wealth of contemporary portraits paintings engravings & documents The Perkin Warbeck Conspiracy" will appeal to anyone with an interest in fifteenth-century history." ...