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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In Soviet Russia the desire for freedom is also a desire for the freedom to love. Lovers live as outlaws traitors to the collective spirit & love is more intense when it feels like an act of resistance. Now entering middle age an orphan recalls the fleeting moments that have never left him
- a scorching day in a blossoming orchard with a woman who loves another; a furtive desperate affair in a Black Sea resort; the bunch of snowdrops a crippled childhood friend gave him to give to his lover. As the dreary Brezhnev era gives way to Perestroika & the fall of Communism the orphan uncovers the truth behind the life of Dmitri Ress whose tragic fate embodies the unbreakable bond between love & freedom.
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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... ...

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.. . ...

The Forth Bridge has long been recognised as one of the finest examples of Victorian engineering on the planet & has achieved an iconic status as one of the great feats of western civilisation since its official opening in 1890. Lavishly illustrated throughout with stunning archive images Elspeth Wills uncovers the human story behind 'the engineering marvel': the story of the Briggers. It is a story that has never been told before
- of ordinary men working on an extraordinary structure in an often hostile & dangerous environment. Recognised throughout the world as an enduring icon of Scotland the Forth Bridge is more than just a testament to the genius of Victorian engineering it is a monument to all those who worked to realise its vision & to the scores of lives that were lost in the process. In this groundbreaking new work Elspeth Wills gives a voice to the forgotten heroes who helped to make the ambition of the Bridge a reality.
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From the bestselling author of the House of Night" series comes the award-winning world of " Partholon" rich in goddesses intrigue & magic. When she leaves her ultra-strict family Brighid also strays from her pre-ordained life. Born to be the Chief Shaman & ruler of a herd of centaurs would be tough for any girl
- & Brighid wants out. Joining Clan Mac Callan as a Huntress & helping broken-hearted Cuchulainn on his mission seems much simpler
- if befriending bat-winged creatures & helping them gain acceptance in society can ever be described as simple. As Brighid uncovers more about her heritage (and her true feelings for a certain someone) she realises her powers cannot lie dormant forever. & that she can not escape her destiny."

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Gwynna had fallen from grace once bearing a stillborn child out of wedlock. Determined to have a respectable future she finds a position for herself as a nursemaid at Hungerton House. But just as she begins to find her feet the secrets of her past are revealed. She is swiftly dismissed but not before she becomes the target of a lascivious groom. & even afterwards she is pursued by Hungerton an evil old man who wishes to send her back to the gutters. She returns home to Hedderby only to find the small Lancashire town reeling after the arson attack on the local pub & music hall The Pride. Her only ally is a talented carpenter also once employed by Hungerton. His former employer will stop at nothing however to bring him back to the estate. Will money buy revenge & destroy two lives or will the young lovers find a way to achieve their dreams? ...