In 1996 Danish cycling legend Bjarne Riis won the Tour de France. Eleven years later he called a press conference & confessed to taking performance-enhancing drugs in order to achieve the ultimate cycling triumph. In Riis his sensational autobiography
- already an acclaimed bestseller in Denmark & Germany
- the notoriously private Dane bares his soul. From the shy young daydreamer who fell in love with cycling as an eight-year-old to the hardened regular user of banned blood booster EPO. While never shirking the seriousness of his actions Riis does attempt to explain the pressures & attitudes within cycling at the time that let him down a dark path that he now condemns. Brutally honest & as furiously fast-paced as one of his breakaways from the peleton Riis is a powerful insight into the life & mind of one of the sports key figures as well as a window into the world of professional road racing. There are not many people who have been involved in cycling to the extent that Riis has over the last 30 years & readers will be surprised by how open the normally taciturn Dane has been in his autobiography. If you liked Fignons We Were Young & Carefree this book will certainly appeal to you.

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All I wanted all I'd ever dreamed of was to be thirteen. But then I died. Riley Bloom's afterlife is about as good as it gets except she'll never be a teenager. Riley desperately wants speak to her older sister Ever & ask her advice. Ever is still alive & the only way Riley can reach her is to search for Dreamland -- a place where ghosts can jump into dreams & talk to their loved ones. But when she finally gets there Riley discovers that Dreamland isn't as heavenly as it sounds. In fact it's a total nightmare. ...

Riley Bloom died aged twelve in a car crash with her parents & her beloved dog Buttercup. Her sister Ever survived -- but thats another story. Riley must let go of Ever & all the things that tied her to life -- & discover what shes meant to be in the afterlife. Riley is a soul catcher. That means helping the unhappy lost souls who stick around in the human realm to move on -- & find their own place over the bridge in the great hereafter. With her spirit guide Bodhi & Buttercup by her side Riley embarks on an adventure that will take her around the world -- sending ghosts back where they belong until she can finally make it there herself. ...

Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy Riley Buttercup & Bodhi are enjoying a little time-off. But then Riley encounters a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca's sweet appearance Riley soon learns she's not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner Rebecca is furious about being murdered during the slave revolt of 1733. Her uncontrollable anger is keeping other ghosts who also died in the revolt trapped in a shimmering bubble. & when Bodhi & Buttercup inadvertently fall into Rebecca's trap Riley is the only one who can save them. This is a suspenseful & heart-warming novel about the great hereafter... ...

This time Riley might really have bitten off more than she can chew. After begging the Council for a more challenging Soul Catch she is assigned an actual Roman gladiator Theocoles the Pillar of Doom. How is Riley a skinny twelve-year-old supposed to get through to him? Then she meets the beautiful Messalina who convinces her that the only way she will convince Theocoles to move on is to become part of his world. Messalina gives Riley a dramatic makeover transforming her into the beautiful & mature teenager she's always wanted to be. Finally Riley can experience her first boyfriend & her first kiss. With a dream this enchanting will she ever want to leave? ...

Rin Tin Tin was born on a battlefield in France towards the end of WW1. He died in 1932 supposedly in the arms of Jean Harlow the original blonde bombshell epic in death as he was in life. In his prime he was one of Hollywoods the biggest stars. He received two thousand fan letters a month had jewels furs & a private driver had his paw-print set for posterity on Hollywood Boulevard & was credited with saving Warner Brothers from bankruptcy
- twice. His owner Lee Duncan was so completely devoted to him that when his wife sued for divorce she cited Rin Tin Tin as co-respondent. Rin Tin Tins story is a great yarn with a big heart & in Susan Orleans hands it is also very funny. But at its core lies a profound & moving meditation on the idea of heroism: of what it means to dream of a figure who is brave & bold & strong & why those ideals hold such power over our imagination. This book is set to become an eccentric classic.
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The ring sealed their fate for ever.. . In the turbulent days of Germany in the thirties Kassandra von Gotthard met the man who would change her life: Dolff Sterne. She was the beautiful wife of a wealthy Berlin banker. He was a famous Jewish writer. Together they shared a love that happens only once in a lifetime. But theirs was a love fated to end in tragedy. The terrible day came when Dolff was wrenched from Kassandra's arms by Nazi soldiers
- leaving her heartbroken & humiliated. & Kassandra decided that her life was no longer worth living. All that she leaves for her descendents is her memory of pain & a diamond signet ring. A ring that will carry the destiny of the von Gotthards to new lives & new loves.
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The excitement surrounding the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton has prompted four of Britain's top historical biographers to look closely at Royal Weddings from 1066 to the present day. Professionally Alison Weir Kate Williams Sarah Gristwood & Tracy Borman do events & television together & are known affectionately as the ' History Girls'. They bring an elan & a passion for detail & dramatic narrative to all their subjects. Each writer focuses on different areas of interest. Alison Weir deals with the medieval Tudor & Stuart periods. Kate Williams scrutinises the Georgians & Victorians. Sarah Gristwood takes up the story in 1919 when Princess Patricia of Connaught revived the tradition of royal brides marrying in Westminster Abbey & goes on to examine the weddings of the Queen Mother (1923) the Queen (1947) & Princess Margaret in 1960. Lastly Tracy Borman brings the book right up to date with accounts of the wedding of Prince Charles & Diana Spencer through to the fanfare that will celebrate the nuptials of Kate & William. Every kind of wedding features
- from those attended by great public celebrations to the many that took place in private chapels parish churches & even in secret. Fascinating anecdotal details are revealed in the course of this most informative & entertaining overview of royal weddings through history some amusing some poignant some bawdy. The Ring & the Crown" places the royal wedding of the heir to the throne in historical perspective & it does so with carefully selected illustrations that help make the authors' insights come even more vividly alive."
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Hailed a masterpiece when it was first published the story of Gavin Maxwell's life with otters on the remote west coast of Scotland remains one of the most lyrical moving descriptions of a man's relationship with the natural world. One of the outstanding wildlife books of all time."-New York Herald Tribune First published 1960 by Longmans Green & Co." ...

Fifty years ago Gavin Maxwell went to live in an abandoned house on a shingle beach on the west coast of Scotl&. A haven for wildlife
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