Marc Abrahams the founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes offers an addictive wryly funny expose of the oddest most imaginative & just plain improbable research from around the globe. He looks into why books on ethics are more likely to get stolen the best way to slice a ham sandwich (mathematically) & what time of month generates highertips for Vegas lap dancers. Abrahams tour through these unlikeliest investigations of animals plants & minerals (including humans) willfirst make you laugh then make you think about the world in a new way. ...

This Is More Than I Can Stand" is a detailed biography of Charlie Hall a little known man from Birmingham who worked with some of the biggest stars of the silver screen. Charlie was born into a working class family in the Ward End district of Birmingham in 1899. In 1920 he left England to start a new life in New York. Incredibly within a few years he had moved to Hollywood & was appearing in films with some of the greatest silent comedy stars of all time. How did this come about? & why did Charlie find himself working back in a factory in Birmingham in 1938? These & many other questions will be answered in this new book about the life of Charlie Hall. The book contains interviews with family & friends who knew him & remember meeting him when he returned to Birmingham in the late 30s. Plus some of Charlies personal letters written at this time giving a unique insight into his thoughts his memories & what it was like to work with Laurel & Hardy. From humble beginnings Charlie experienced the early movie industry the birth of the talkies & the advent of television. Not bad for a lad from Ward End." ...

This is not a diary: while these observations were recorded in autumn 2010 & spring 2011 in the form of dated entries they are not a personal reflection but an attempt to capture signs of our times in their movement
- possibly at birth at a stage when they are still barely perceptible & in any case before they have matured into common all too familiar forms escaping our attention due to their banality. Some will perhaps settle in our daily life for a long time to come others will fade & vanish before they would otherwise have a chance to be noted recorded & explored in

Depth: in our fast-moving protean & kaleidoscopic world it is hardly possible to predict their future course & to decide in advance which of them will grow in volume & significance & which will prove to have been still-born. Whatever their fate the author tried to take a leaf from William Blakes precept of seeing the universe in a grain of sand
- & having done so alert us to what is or may be happening to our individual lives forms of togetherness shared prospects; to the ways we perceive & relate to each other the forces that shape our life chances & itineraries; & to the ways we try to control or at least influence & sometimes even reform for the better some or all those

Dimensions of our existence. These timely meditations by one of the most perceptive social thinkers of our time will appeal to a wide range of readers.





...

Its the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside wont stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person & bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price that doesnt sound so bad. Six months ago her world collapsed & since then shes failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall shes forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by the motivations for survival change in startling ways & soon the groups fate is determined less & less by whats happening outside & more & more by the unpredictable & violent bids for life
- & death
- inside. When everything is gone what do you hold on to?

...

From her earliest years with a boozy accident-prone father & a reluctantly pragmatic mother Janice Galloways grew up as a watcher
-
...

This is a brilliantly observed story of prejudice & children at play from the Childrens Laureate Michael Rosen
- now brought to
...

This is a dramatic version of a favourite picture book in which children join in taking different parts of the reading. Offering a very different storytelling experience this Walker All Join In Story Play" is a dramatic version of a favourite picture book written for four voices. Each part is clearly marked by different colour bands so children can join in. Perfect for reading aloud this innovative & beautifully designed book offers a simple clever & utterly enjoyable way of sharing stories & learning to read. The Walker " All Join In Story Plays" are written in strongly patterned language by Vivian French to cater for readers with different levels of experience. There are brief teaching notes at the back which give parents & teachers helpful advice on sharing the books with children. It is based on a classic Walker book. Other books in this series are: " We're Going on a Bear Hunt"; " Farmer Duck"; " Little Rabbit Foo Foo"; " This is the Bear"; " The Gingerbread Boy"; " The Three Little Pigs"; " The Three Billy Goats Gruff"; & " Jack & the Beanstalk"." ...

The boy the bear & the dog are the best of friends. But one day the bear gets lost & has to be searched for high & low. In This is the Bear & the Scary Night the bear gets accidentally left behind in the park & has a scary night adventure! These delightful picture books are two of four in an early reader series that has been a huge success in the trade schools & libraries. ...

The boy the bear & the dog are the best of friends. In This Is the Bear & the Picnic Lunch the boy prepares a picnic & leaves the bear in charge of it while he goes to find his shoes & socks. But guess who runs off with it while he's away? In This is the Bear & the Bad Little Girl the boy & the bear are sharing an ice cream together in a cafe but when a little girl takes a fancy to the bear & snatches him the dog & the boy have to act fast! These delightful picture books are two of four in an early reader series that has been a huge success in the trade schools & libraries. ...

The boy the bear & the dog are the best of friends. In This Is the Bear & the Picnic Lunch the boy prepares a picnic & leaves the bear in charge of it while he goes to find his shoes & socks. But guess who runs off with it while he's away? In This is the Bear & the Bad Little Girl the boy & the bear are sharing an ice cream together in a cafe but when a little girl takes a fancy to the bear & snatches him the dog & the boy have to act fast! These delightful picture books are two of four in an early reader series that has been a huge success in the trade schools & libraries. ...