In this colorful new history of Venice Elizabeth Horodowich one of the leading experts on Venice tells the story of the place from its ancient origins & its early days as a multicultural trading city where Christians Jews & Muslims lived together at the crossroads between East & West. She explores the often overlooked role of Venice alongside Florence & Rome as one of the principal Renaissance capitals. Now as the resident population falls & the number of tourists grows as brash new advertisements disfigure the ancient buildings she looks at the threat from the rising water level & the future of one of the great wonders of the world. ...

In his startling & singular new short story collection David Foster Wallace nudges at the boundaries of fiction with inimitable wit & seductive intelligence. Among the stories are The Depressed Person a dazzling & blackly humorous portrayal of a womans mental state; Adult World which reveals a womans agonised consideration of her confusing sexual relationship with her husband; & Brief Interviews with Hideous Men a dark hilarious series of portraits of men whose fear of women renders them grotesque. Wallaces stories present a world where the bizarre & the banal are interwoven & where hideous men appear in many different guises. Thought-provoking & playful this collection confirms David Foster Wallace as one of the most imaginative young writers around. Wallace delights in leftfield observation mining the ironic the surprising & the illuminating from every situation. His new collection will delight his growing number of fans & provide a perfect introduction for new readers. ...

Learning about social work theory is a bit like hot air ballooning
- its about looking at the world from above & going on a voyage
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In the course of a long & successful career as a journalist & author Paul Johnson has known popes presidents prime ministers painters poets playwrights even the foul-mouthed publican Muriel Belcher who ran the legendary Colony Club. Harking back to the scandalously anecdotal 17th century book by John Aubrey on the celebrities of his times Brief Lives" is the distilled essence of Johnsons experience of a complex variety of people who have contributed to our political spiritual & cultural life. He advised Margaret Thatcher counselled Princess Diana had a drawing of him done by Ernest Hemingway & enjoyed the company of John Osborne Arnold Wesker & Harold Pinter at Buckingham Palace. He has been an insider outside observer & universal commentator on the individuals who have changed history formed public taste or simply lightened our lives by their presence." ...

This book contains sharp & enjoyable new portraits of the English kings & queens. Hunchbacked Richard III the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I the grieving widow Victoria & the romantic who gave up his throne for love Edward VIII
- often the colourful kings & queens of England seem like mere caricature while less familiar rulers like William IV or Henry VI have faded into the shadows of history. Carolly Erickson s sensitive & revealing portrayals bring new life to the big names & light up some of our most neglected but intriguing royals. Here is the puny Charles I nervous tense & socially awkward the frail slight Richard II melancholic & sad the homosexual James I with his handsome favourites & the stuttering William II. Every monarch from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II is covered. Award winning historian Erickson tells the human stories with her characteristic blend of authenticity engaging style & psychological insight.
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Stephen Hawkings worldwide bestseller A Brief History of Time has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its authors engaging voice is one reason & the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space & time the role of God in creation the history & future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the books most important concepts. This is the origin of & the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its authors wish to make its content accessible to readers -- as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations & findings. Although this book is literally somewhat briefer it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions are gone. Conversely subjects of wide interest that were difficult to follow because they were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own including relativity curved space & quantum theory. This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand areas of special interest & recent progress from the latest developments in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book--but even more so -- A Briefer History of Time will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time & space. Thirty-eight full-colour illustrations enhance the text & make A Briefer History of Time an exhilarating addition in its own right to the literature of science. ...

Whoever said the afterlife would be easy... Noel Coward is the toast of twenties society...a brilliant playwright composer & entertainer whose witty songs & pithy lines dont quite tell the full story. Goldenhurst his house in Kent provides a place where he can be himself. & more importantly where he can be with his lover Jack without fear of arrest or judgement... But their romantic idyll is ruined first by the arrival of Noels demanding relatives & then by a mysterious death... Many years later film star & Coward fan Richard Stent buys the house from its current owner. But Richard has problems of his own. Goldenhurst is supposed to be a respite from all his worries but this is a house with a very rich & not always pleasant history. & more than one thing is about to go bump in the night... This is a haunting tale of love obsession & a house full of spirits not all of them blithe... ...

In their second look at the history & development of Brierley Hill Ned Williams & the Mount Pleasant Local History Group turn their attention to the areas of Round Oak Harts Hill Level Street Merry Hill Quarry Bank Mill Street The Delph Silver End & Hawbush. The needs of industry formed these settlements but once established they became home to a vast number of schools churches & chapels shops & centres of entertainment
- as well as a huge number of pubs. The collapse of the metal-based industries & the spread of housing has changed the landscape but identifying these communities & recognising what went on there in the past helps us understand the development of Brierley Hill.
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Brierley Hill was one of those Black Country towns which was identified by the work that went on within its boundaries. Everyone knows that Brierley Hill made steel & sausages & fine pieces of glassware. These activities are now in the past but the memory of such work lingers on while the town wrestles with the problems of regeneration. This book pays plenty of attention to steel pork products & glass but also provides a glimpse of the many other aspects of work that have made Brierley Hill such a busy place. People worked in local government & in public sector work which maintained the life of the town while others worked in retailing & in the provision of transport. While looking at the world of work in Brierley Hill we have taken account of the many types of employment that were to be found in its satellites: the hollow-ware industry of Quarry Bank the brick-making that went on in The Delph Silver End & Pensnett the iron trades in Brockmoor & Harts Hill & the work on the infrastructure that served all these places. The arrival of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre on Brierley Hills doorstep has given retailing a new dominance in terms of providing local employment but the picture of work in the twenty-first century is still emerging. Who knows what will bring Brierley Hill fame & fortune in the future? ...

Every CHERUB agent comes from somewhere. Dante Scott still has nightmares about the death of his family brutally murdered by a biker gang. Dante is given the chance to become a member of CHERUB a trained professional with one essential advantage: adults never suspect that children are spying on them. But when Dante joins James & Lauren Adams on a mission to infiltrate Brigands Motorcycle Club he's ready to use everything he's learned to get revenge on the people who killed his family.. . ...