This is the first ever in-depth biography of Ashcroft the frontman for The Verve & also a highly successful solo artist. As a young singer from Wigan Ashcroft formed The Verve with Nick Mc Cabe & released two critically-acclaimed albums before their third record Urban Hymns" turned them into one of the UKs biggest acts. A legendary apettite for psychedelic drugs & even physical collapses from ecstasy abuse coupled with massive songs such as " Bittersweet Symphony" made Ashcroft one of Britpops biggest names. However The Verve was a deeply volatile band & eventually in 1999 they split acrimoniously following a homecoming gig in front of 40 000 fans in Wigan. Ashcroft had already recorded some aterial on his own & three solo albums duly followed
- with corresponding arena tours that often dwarfed the scale of The Verves own huge venues. Coldplays Chris Martin introduced him at Live 8 as the best singer in the world while Noel Gallagher wrote the song " Cast No shadow" about him. Then in 2006 The Verve announced they were reforming for a late 2007 arena tour
- completely sold out in minutes
- & a brand new album released in the summer of 2008. With Ashcrofts issues with clinical depression suicidal thoughts outspoken political views & celebrity admirers this first-to-the market biography is a tale of rock & roll excess artistic brilliance & a unique starring role in modern British music."


...

In his personal diaries Richard Burton is a man quite different from the one we familiarly know" as acclaimed actor international film star & jet-set celebrity. From his private handwritten pages there emerges a different person
- a family man a father a husband a man often troubled & always keenly observing. Understood through his own words day to day & year to year Burton becomes a fully rounded human being who with a wealth of talent & a surprising burden of insecurity confronts the peculiar challenges of a life lived largely in the spotlight. This volume publishes in their entirety the surviving diaries of Richard Burton (born Richard Jenkins 1925-1984). The diaries were written between 1939 & 1983
- throughout his career & the years of his celebrated marriages to Elizabeth Taylor. Diary entries appear in their original sequence with annotations to clarify the people places books & events he mentions. At times Burton struggles to come to terms with the unfulfilled potential of his life & talent. In other entries he crows over achievements & hungers for greater challenges. He may be watching his weight watching his drinking or watching other men watch his Elizabeth. Always he is articulate opinionated & fascinating. His diaries offer a rare & fresh perspective on his own life & career Elizabeth Taylor's & the glamorous world of film theatre & celebrity that they inhabited."

...

Fantastic experiments from Richard Hammonds TV series Blast Lab" now in paperback. Get experimental with your kids
- let them
...

Banishing his cousin Bolingbroke King Richard II prevents a dispute from turning bloody. But Richard is an arrogant & despotic ruler prone to tyranny & vanity who listens only to his flatterers. As favour turns against him & Bolingbroke returns to reclaim his land Richard is humbled & grieved to see that the throne given to him by God might be taken from him by men. ...

The bitter deformed brother of the King is secretly plotting to seize the throne of Engl&. Charming & duplicitous powerfully eloquent & viciously cruel he is prepared to go to any lengths to achieve his goal & in his skilful manipulation of events & people Richard is a chilling incarnation of the lure of evil & the temptation of power. ...

The first biography to show what Richard III was really like. Not many people would claim to be saints or alternatively consider themselves entirely without redeeming qualities. Some are unquestionably worse than others but few have been held in greater infamy than Richard Plantagenet afterwards Duke of Gloucester & later still King Richard III. Richards character has been besmirched as often as it has been defended & the arguments between his detractors & supporters still rage after several centuries. Was he a ruthless hunchback who butchered his way to the throne a paragon of virtue who became a victim of Tudor propaganda or (as seems more likely) something in between? Some would argue that a true biography is impossible because the letters & other personal documents required for this purpose are simply not available; but David Baldwin has overcome this by an in-depth study of his dealings with his contemporaries. The fundamental question he has answered is what was Richard III really like. ...

Paul Murray Kendalls account of the life of Richard III explores not only the man himself but also the ways that he has influenced culture: Richard also played a central role in several literary works most notably as a character of William Shakespeares. Kendalls analysis of how others perceived Richard is central to the character study. ...

In 2012 Annette Carson formed part of the team that discovered King Richard IIIs mortal remains verified in 2013 by forensics including DNA matching. In response to the recent upsurge of interest her 2009 paperback has been updated with details of the discovery plus new illustrations & a larger typeface for easier readability. Carsons premise is that for centuries the vision of Richard III has been dominated by the fictional creations of Thomas More & Shakespeare. Many voices some of them eminent & scholarly have urged a more reasoned view to replace the traditional black portrait. This book seeks to redress the balance by examining the events of his reign as they actually happened based on reports in the original sources. Eschewing the overlay of assumptions so beloved by historians she instead traces actions & activities of the principal characters using facts & time-lines revealed in documentary evidence. In the process Carson dares to investigate areas where historians fear to tread & raises many controversial questions. ...

The reign of Richard III was one of the shortest in English history: yet the King himself was one of the most enigmatic personalities to have occupied the throne. Only 31 at the time of his death Richard in his brief career demonstrated an extraordinary range of contradictory qualities
- staunch loyalty & dissimulating perfidy dignified generosity & ruthless self-interest scrupulous honesty in government & a cynical manipulativeness. From the later 18th century onwards he has been a hero for those who are drawn to lost causes.
...

The only biography to include the findings of the archaeological dig in the Leicester car park. Not many people would claim to be saints or alternatively consider themselves entirely without redeeming qualities. Some are unquestionably worse than others but few have been held in greater infamy than Richard Plantagenet afterwards Duke of Gloucester & later still King Richard III. Richard's character has been besmirched as often as it has been defended & the arguments between his detractors & supporters still rage after several centuries. Was he a ruthless hunchback who butchered his way to the throne a paragon of virtue who became a victim of Tudor propaganda or (as seems more likely) something in between? Some would argue that a true biography is impossible because the letters & other personal documents required for this purpose are simply not available; but David Baldwin has overcome this by an in-depth study of his dealings with his contemporaries. The fundamental question he has answered is 'what was Richard III really like'. Consists of 81 illustrations 57 of which are in colour. ...