'A carefully researched book on a long-neglected subject which fills a major gap in our Second World War knowledge'
- Norman Longmate
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Throughout his six decades in the public eye Winston Churchill understood & wielded the power of words. In his speeches books & newspaper & magazine articles he expressed his feelings & laid out his vision for the future. His wartime writings & speeches in particular have fascinated generation after generation with their powerful narrative style & thoughtful reflection. In this book Martin Gilbert has skillfully selected 200 extracts from Churchills entire oeuvre of books articles & speeches that reflect his life story career & philosophy. They range from intimate memories of his childhood & schooldays to his contributions to more than 50 years of debates on social policy & on war & his efforts after 1945 to see the world a better place. In them we see how he used words for different purposes: to argue for moral & political causes to advocate courses of action in the social national & international spheres & to tell the story of his own life struggles setbacks & achievements. As Churchills official biographer Martin Gilbert is uniquely qualified to select from Churchills own inimitable words not only those that describe the main adventures of his life & the crises of his career but also those passages that express the essence of Churchills thoughts & personality. Gilberts informed & subtle choice of extracts together with his illuminating introductory & explanatory text linking them together create a fascinating & compelling biographical narrative of Churchills life as recounted in the great mans own words. They provide an invaluable insight into Churchills character & how he made his mark on Britain & the world stage. ...

There never was a Churchill from John of Marlborough down who had either morals or principles so said Gladstone. From the First Duke of Marlborough
- soldier of genius restless empire-builder & cuckolder of Charles II
- onwards the Churchills have been politicians gamblers & profligates heroes & womanisers. The Churchills is a richly layered portrait of an extraordinary set of men & women
- grandly ambitious regularly impecunious impulsive arrogant & brave. & towering above the Churchill clan is the figure of Winston
- his failures & his triumphs shown in a new & revealing context
- ultimately our greatest Briton.




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After taking a serious beating whilst engaged in unofficial undercover work in London's 19th century slums Constable Tom Churchyard takes himself to Cornwall. Here in spite of his injuries he becomes right-hand man to Amos Hawke now a senior Cornish policeman. His knowledge of the London rogues proves invaluable as Amos seeks to foil a gang of city thieves. Then a brutal murder is committed during their investigations. Churchyard & Hawke" is an exciting & insightful novel of the years when the Cornwall Constabulary was in its infancy." ...

Set among the apple orchards of rural Maine it is a peverse world in which Homer Wells odyssey begins. As the oldest unadopted offspring at St Clouds orphanage he learns about the skills which one way or another help young & not-so-young women from Wilbur Larch the orphanages founder -- a man of rare compassion & an addiction to ether. Dr Larch loves all his orphans especically Homer Wells. It is Homers story we follow from his early apprenticeship in the orphanage surgery to his adult life running a cider-making factory & his strange relationship with the wife of his closest friend. ...

Cider with Roadies is the story of a boys obsessive relationship with pop. A life lived through music from Stuarts audience with the Beatles (aged 3); his confessions as a pubescent prog rocker; a youthful gymnastic dalliance with northern soul; the radical effects of punk on his politics homework & trouser dimensions; playing in crap bands & failing to impress girls; writing for the NME by accident; living the sex drugs (chiefly lager in a plastic glass) & rock & roll lifestyle; discovering the tawdry truth behind the glamour & knowing when to ditch it all for what really matters. From his four minutes in a leisure centre with MC Hammer to four days in a small van with Napalm Death its a life-affirming journey through the land where ordinary life & pop come together to make music. ...

Cider with Rosie" is a wonderfully vivid memoir of childhood in a remote Cotswold village a village before electricity or cars a timeless place on the verge of change. Growing up amongst the fields & woods & characters of the place Laurie Lee depicts a world that is both immediate & real & belongs to a now-distant past." ...

Cider with Rosie" is the first part of the poet Laurie Lee's (1914-1997) autobiographical trilogy. It describes his life in the Gloucestershire village of Slad from his earliest years until he was twenty. He tells of thin winters fat summers local legends & ghosts of neighbours & relations & of growing up against a half-pagan landscape in which violence & madness country follies & feasts were all part of one pastoral mess-pot." ...

The West Country is justly famous for its wide variety of delicious ciders. Over the last thirty years there has been a quiet revolution in the area with a steady growth in cider producers from small local companies to well-established outfits pumping out millions of gallons a year. In this book James Crowden charts the development of cider making in the West Country from the sixteenth century monks to the diverse industry of today. Crowden takes us on a tour around the beautiful & fragrant West Country orchards outlining the differing manufacturing methods & investigates the differences between a farm-house cider & an industrially manufactured one. He shows how the best cider makers translate their passion into the process & treat each different batch of cider like winemakers would a vintage. He also takes a look at the rise of perry making & profiles the companies dedicated to getting the best out of the West Country pears. Ciderland"

Includes:: comprehensive summaries & descriptions of every cider & cider producer in the West Country & covers topics such as cider folk traditions & remedies placing cider making firmly within the local culture."

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Part DIY guide part scrapbook
- this book takes you behind the music to get a glimpse into the faces places & workshops of the
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