The first of his peerless novels of Cold War espionage & international intrigue Call for the Dead is also the debut of John le Carre's masterful creation George Smiley published in Penguin Modern Classics. After a routine security check by George Smiley civil servant Samuel Fennan apparently kills himself. When Smiley finds Circus head Maston is trying to blame him for the man's death he begins his own investigation meeting with Fennan's widow to find out what could have led him to such desperation. But on the very day that Smiley is ordered off the enquiry he receives an urgent letter from the dead man. Do the East Germans
- & their agents
- know more about this man's death than the Circus previously imagined? Le Carre's first book Call for the Dead introduced the tenacious & retiring George Smiley in a gripping tale of espionage & deceit. John le Carre was born in 1931 & attended the universities of Bern & Oxford. He taught at Eton & served briefly in British Intelligence during the Cold War. For the last 50 years he has lived by his pen. He divides his time between London & Cornwall. If you enjoyed Call for the Dead you might like le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold also available in Penguin Modern Classics. Intelligent thrilling surprising.. .makes most cloak-&-dagger stuff taste of cardboard". (Sunday Telegraph). " Brilliant. Realistic. Constant suspense". (Observer)."

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David Schearl arrives in New York in his mothers arms to begin his new life as an immigrant in the Golden L&. David is hated by his father
- an angry violent man unable to find his niche in the New World
- but is fiercely loved & protected by his Yiddish-speaking mother. An innovative multi-lingual novel Call It Sleep" subtly interweaves the overwhelming love between a mother & son with the terrors & anxieties David experiences as he seeks to find his own identity amidst the cultural disarray of early twentieth-century America."

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Compelling courageous & completely unforgettable Call Me Drog" is a classic coming-of-age story that packs a strong emotional punch. Parker is a quiet introverted eleven-year-old boy coming to terms with his parents divorce when he stumbles upon Drog an ugly green puppet left in the rubbish. But Drog is no ordinary puppet; hes a talking sarcastic obnoxious puppet...who wont let go of Parkers hand! Worst of all no one believes that Drog
- not Parker
- is saying all of the outrageous things that get Parker into trouble. When his best friend stops talking to him & his dad threatens to sign him up to the Bradley Military Academy however Parker finds that Drog is the only one he can talk to
- & discovers that some of the things he says arent all so obnoxious after all. & as Parker takes up aikido & builds up the courage to stand up to his father he finds himself letting go of his worries...and finally Drog lets go of his h&."


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Dawn Annandale is bright witty & well educated. But when her marriage began to fall apart she had to face a seemingly insurmountable pile of debts on her own. Determined that her children would not suffer because of their parents mistakes & with no family to turn to for help she searched desperately for a way to make some money & fast. & made the decision to become an escort. CALL ME ELIZABETH offers an insight into the sex industry in the UK today as well as the shocking truth that increasing numbers of women in a similar situation to Dawn are turning to prostitution to make ends meet. It is by turns sad funny frightening & empowering but it is above all honest & compelling. From Emanuelle to Pretty Woman the life of an escort remains deeply fascinating. There will be those who will judge the author but there will be many more who will recognise her dilemma & understand how she reached her decision. This is her story
- decide for yourself.
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Its 1945 & as the troops begin to return home the inhabitants of London attempt to put their lives back together. For 25-year-old Millie a qualified nurse & midwife the jubilation at the end of the war is short-lived as she tends to the needs of the East End community around her. But while Millie witnesses tragedy & brutality in her job she also finds strength & kindness. & when misfortune befalls her own family it is the enduring spirit of the community that shows Millie that even the toughest of circumstances can be overcome. Through Millies eyes we see the harsh realities & unexpected joys in the lives of the patients she treats as well as the camaraderie that is forged with the fellow nurses that she lives with. Filled with unforgettable characters & moving personal stories this vividly brings to life the colourful world of a post-war East London. ...

As a trained nurse newly married to the son of the Governor of Rhodesia during the UDI years Susan writes compellingly about bringing up a family on their farm in Matabeleland in the midst of the unfolding terror & growing number of atrocities. Above all it is a human story. Sometimes shocking & always moving there is also warmth & humour as Susan creates a gripping picture of the conflict & tells of her familys survival when many of her friends & neighbouring farmers didnt. The book is a testament to the courage displayed by so many people who were tested day after day by almost unimaginable horrors. The Litany Bird is the popular name of the Nightjar a largely nocturnal bird found throughout southern Africa. Its haunting call sounds like Good Lord Deliver Us. ...

For ten years Louis Theroux has been making programmes about off-beat characters on the fringes of US society. Now he revisits America & the people who have most fascinated him to try to discover what motivates them why they believe the things they believe & to find out what has happened to them since he last saw them. Along the way Louis thinks about what drives him to spend so much time among weird people & considers whether hes learned anything about himself in the course of ten years working with them. Has he manipulated the people hes interviewed or have they manipulated him? From his Las Vegas base Louis revisits the assorted dreamers & outlaws who have been his TV feeding ground. Attempting to understand a little about himself & the workings of his own mind Louis considers questions such as: What is the difference between pathology & normal weirdness? Is there something particularly weird about Americans? What does it mean to be weird or to be yourself? & do we choose our beliefs or do our beliefs choose us? ...

Following Sterling's spectacularly successful launch of its children's classic novels (240 000 books in print to date) comes a dazzling new series: Classic Starts." The stories are abridged; the quality is complete. " Classic Starts" treats the world's beloved tales (and children) with the respect they deserve--all at an incomparable price. Here is the ultimate dog story one filled with emotion adventure & excitement. During the Gold Rush Buck is snatched away from his peaceful home & brought to the harsh & bitter Yukon to become a sled dog. Will he adapt & learn to trust men? Or will his newly awakened primitive instincts lead him to search for the freedom he has never known?" ...

Buck is living the good life in the soft South when he is snatched & transported to the savagery of the Northl&. There the Klondlike gold rush has brought out rough basic instincts of survival in men
- & dogs. He adjusts to the gruelling regime of a sled dog which almost kills him but he survives to find a new & fulfilling way of life. The Call of the Wild" is not only a classic tale but also an enduring masterpiece of the inescapable laws of nature. It is now in unabridged form in a new reading by William Roberts."
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If you love a good story then look no further. Oxford Children's Classics bring together the most unforgettable stories ever told. They're books to treasure & return to again & again. Stolen from his life of luxury Buck finds himself in the frozen Yukon Territory as part of a team of sledge dogs. Half-starved & cruelly treated Buck must endure hardship beyond anything he's experienced before. & through it all he hears the call of wild beckoning him
- playing on his most primitive animal instincts.
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