Available for the first time in one volume this is the definitive collection of Tolkien's five acclaimed modern classic 'fairie' tales in the vein of ' The Hobbit' fully corrected & reset for this edition & all beautifully illustrated in pencil by the award-winning artist Alan Lee. The five tales are written with the same skill quality & charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young & old. * Roverandom is a toy dog who enchanted by a sand sorcerer gets to explore the world & encounter strange & fabulous creatures. * Farmer Giles of Ham is fat & unheroic but
- having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant
- is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town; * The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells in verse of Tom's many adventures with hobbits princesses dwarves & trolls; * Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle who sets out to paint the perfect tree; * Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children. This new collection is fully illustrated throughout by Oscar-winning artist Alan Lee who provides a wealth of pencil drawings to bring the stories to life as he did so memorably for The Hobbit & The Children of Hurin. Alan also provides an Afterword in which he opens the door into illustrating Tolkien's world. World-renowned Tolkien author & expert Tom Shippey takes the reader through the hidden links in the tales to Tolkien's Middle-earth in his Introduction & recounts their history & themes. Lastly included as an appendix is Tolkien's most famous essay On Fairy-stories" in which he brilliantly discusses fairy-stories & their relationship to fantasy. Taken together this rich collection of new & unknown work from the author of The Children of Hurin will provide the reader with a fascinating journey into lands as wild & strange as Middle-earth."

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Anne Frank is known worldwide for her moving & powerful Diary written whilst hiding from the Nazis. Less well known are these stories fables personal reminiscences & an unfinished novel
- now re-issued after being out of print for many years. Her humour unflinching honesty & her wisdom
- all evident in The Diary of Anne Frank
- are equally present in these Tales rendering it an essential part of her legacy.


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A unique & poignant record of a club created for heroes. There are just a handful of men & women alive today who served & fought with the Special Forces during the Second World War. They are a dwindling bunch of veterans in their twilight years whose tales of heroism & daring-do will soon be lost in time forever
- yet they still regularly get together in a gentleman's club right in the heart of London
- The Special Forces Club. In ten separate & astonishing accounts of ingenuity & heroism the Sunday Telegraph defence correspondent Sean Rayment visits this unique group of people & through their vivid memories transports the reader back in time to the dark days of the Second World War when Britain was again fighting on multiple fronts across the globe. These incredibly heroic tales are taken from men such as Captain John Campbell MC & Bar & the last surviving officer of ' Popski's Private Army' whose triumph over being wrongly labelled a coward led him to serve with distinction & bravery behind Rommel's lines in North Africa. Balancing the heroism in the field of battle is the story of Noreen Riols who worked under the legendary Colonel Maurice Buckmaster helping train operatives in the art of counter-espionage & counter-surveillance who was used to 'honey trap' would-be agents. Then there is Mike Sadler who served with David Stirling in the LRDG & took part in an SAS attack on a German airfield near el-Alamein in 1942 in which 34 aircraft were destroyed; & Harry Verlander who served with the legendary Jedburghs a highly secret element of the Special Operations Executive & recalls his service during D-Day & subsequent operations in Burma. The book covers all theatres of operations & provides a unique glimpse into why the members of the Special Forces Club are truly exceptional. Time is running out to capture the myriad of epic stories WWII threw up over its five-year period. In their twilight years the Special Forces Club has decided to reveal its identity at last.

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Misty was ecstatic to see her owner but to the nurses surprise her owner just stood there & said What have you done with my dogs head? Im sorry replied the nurse what do you mean? Shes just been in for spaying. That isnt my dogs head. The rest of it is my dog but youve put a different head on it. On a crisp October morning in 1996 Emma Milne started her first job as a newly qualified vet a career captured on camera for eleven series of televisions Vets in Practice". Now she tells the full story. We discover the numerous things that can get stuck in an animals stomach how to stop a cow exploding &
- the biggest truth of all
- that animals are easy to deal with in comparison to their owners. They say that truth is stranger than fiction & these " Tales from the Tail End" turn out to be stranger
- & funnier
- than you could ever have imagined!"



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Tales from the Tent" continues Jess Smiths story from the first book in the series " Jessies Journey". Jess has left school & after a miserable spell working in a paper-mill she abandons the settled life & takes to the roads once more. The old bus has gone to be replaced by a caravan & campsites. Times are changing & it is becoming harder & harder for travellers to make a living by doing the rounds of seasonal jobs like the berry-picking. Conscious that the old way of life was disappearing before her eyes Jess stored up as much as she could gather from the rich folklore of the travellers world. Now she retells some of the many stories & songs she heard by the campfire or at the tents mouth. Interwoven with these tales is the story of Jess & her life on the road
- her first loves her friendships her days at the hawking & berry-picking the exploits of her lovable but infuriating family the unforgettable characters she meets."
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Tales from the Woods" is the latest collection of original poetry by poet publisher & maverick multimillionaire Felix Dennis. Beautifully illustrated throughout with colour-washed pen & ink illustrations by artist Bill Sanderson here are 50 evocative poems celebrating trees & their part in our landscape written by the biggest private planter of broadleaf trees in Britain. Imbued with a deep love of the countryside a warm lyrical touch & an often wry commentary to each poem the book comes with a foreword by the head of the Tree Council. It will be published with Dennis normal panache & accompanied by endorsements by his many supporters. Lauded by the likes of Tom Wolfe & John Walsh " Tales from the Woods" makes an elegant addition to poetry lovers shelves." ...

Britains favourite gardener Alan Titchmarsh has also been the most popular contributor to Gardeners World magazine for the last twenty years. This collection of his very best columns demonstrates just why he is regularly voted the readers favourite. His brilliant writings are in turn practical
- just how far back should we prune our roses?
- opinionated
- I always rail at people who go out on a Sunday afternoon to tidy their gardens. I mean a garden is not a sock drawer
- cheeky
- I have a theory that gardeners grow to look like their soil & wistful
- Youve got to be a bit of a dreamer to get the most out of your garden. So lay down your trowel take off your wellies sit back & enjoy a bit of quintessential Titchmarsh.





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Michael Winner's life as a movie director food critic & general mover & shaker has brought him in touch with many of the most famous people in the world. The stories that form the basis of Tales I Never Told! feature stars of film & TV figures from his personal life & things in general that have amused him & will amuse the reader. Those named (and occasionally shamed) include Simon Cowell Marlon Brando Faye Dunaway Sophia Loren Charles Bronson Michael Caine Anthony Hopkins Orson Welles Burt Lancaster Ava Gardner Robert Mitchum Oliver Reed Jack Palance Ernest Borgnine Alain Delon Leslie Caron & Frank Sinatra. ...

Peter thinks he has the worlds biggest problem
- his little brother Fudge. Fudge causes trouble wherever he goes & its usually
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Maria Anderson trained as an NHS nurse & went on to become a midwife a job she has adored for over twenty years. After fainting whilst attending her first three births Maria went from nervous trainee to assured midwife & in her brilliant memoir she recounts the highs & lows of life inside the maternity unit. From frantic fathers & breaking her hand during a traumatic home birth to witnessing the delivery of quads & the ultimate devastation of assisting the delivery of a stillborn baby Maria has had an extraordinary career. Tales of a Midwife is a funny poignant & heart-warming account of a devoted midwife. ...