Frensic & Futtle is a small & successful literary agency. But following a successful court case by a woman who claimed to have been libeled by one of their authors the agency rapidly loses business. One day a manuscript for a book called Pause O Men for the Virgin arrives at the agency together with a note from the authors solicitor saying that the author wishes to remain anonymous & that the agency has carte blanche on how it deals with the book. The book turns out to deal with the love affair between an 80-year old woman & a 17-year old youth. The populist American publisher Hutchmeyer agrees to sign a deal to publish the book in the United States for $2 million providing the author carries out a promotional tour of the country. Sonia & Frensic decide to use aspiring but unpublished author Peter Piper to stand in for the anonymous author. But when Piper receives a proof copy of Pause from the publisher by mistake it takes a certain amount of persuasion & arm-twisting from Sonia Futtle to convince Piper to travel to America. ...

It was too good an opportunity to miss for many officers in the British Army when in 1914 & 1915 they sailed across the Channel with the BEF
- they took their cameras with them to record the historic events unfolding in Europe. Soon photographs of British soldiers in the trenches began to appear in newspapers & magazines throughout this country. The War Office decided it had to be stopped
- far too much information presented on a plate to the enemy. Official cameramen
- only
- would take the images the nation thirsted for thus control would be firmly with the authority conducting the war. Otherwise illicit cameras were banned. This action coincided with the Allies planned offensive against the German areas of occupation of France. In 1916 Sir Douglas Haig commanding the BEF began his great offensive to drive the invaders off the ground they had been occupying for over a year & a half. The Great Push as the offensive was advertised to the nation began 1 July 1916. A glossy picture magazine was produced to inform the British public of the progress of the offensive. Over a four months period until the Battle of the Somme faded away in November the magazine appeared with the following advertising blurb: Sir Douglas Haigs Great Push; The Battle of the Somme; A popular pictorial & authoritative work on one of the Greatest Battles in History illustrated by about 700 wonderful Official Photographs & Cinematograph Films; By Arrangement With the War Office; beautifully printed on the Best English Art Paper. As is well known the Great Push turned out to be little more than a nudge but for the sake of national morale the British public had to be encouraged to believe that all was going well; especially in view of the horrific casualties wrecking the lives of families throughout the l&. The Great Push in the form of IMAGES of WAR helps capture the propaganda thrust of the times & presents once more the illustrations of those bewildering days along with an ID number for easy reference.



...

And theyre off! Race along with Rat Monkey Dragon & their companions as they join in the Emperors race. Who will win the ultimate honour of having the first year of the new Chinese Zodiac calendar named after them? This book provides an easy-to-read retelling of the story of the Chinese Zodiac with accessible endnotes on Chinese astrology & festivals. It contains illustrations that incorporate numbers in Chinese script
- ideal for classroom & library use. It also encourages reader interaction as children discover the animal sign of their birth year.
...

The Great Railway Bazaar" is Paul Theroux's account of his epic journey by rail through Asia. Filled with evocative names of legendary train routes
- the Direct-Orient Express the Khyber Pass Local the Delhi Mail from Jaipur the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur the Hikari Super Express to Kyoto & the Trans-Siberian Express
- it describes the many places cultures sights & sounds he experienced & the fascinating people he met. Here he overhears snippets of chat & occasional monologues & is drawn into conversation with fellow passengers from Molesworth a British theatrical agent & Sadik a shabby Turkish tycoon while avoiding the forceful approaches of pimps & drug dealers. This wonderfully entertaining travelogue pays loving tribute to the romantic joys of railways & train travel."

...

This title offers an unique beautifully illustrated & comprehensive history of the world's greatest railway maps & the railways behind them. The irresistible follow-up to the cult favorite Metro Maps of the World" Mark Ovenden's new book is an extraordinary compendium of historical & contemporary railway maps & posters from every corner of the world. The history of the railway is the history of Britain
- & France & America & Japan & Russia among many others. Featuring hundreds of images covering two centuries of advertising surveyors' maps route guides travel posters photos & Google Earth maps this is a book brimming with history anecdotes facts & data. It is a must-have guide for every train fanatic armchair or ticketed as well as lovers of graphic design history & the romance of train travel."
...

Benjamin Disraeli & William Ewart Gladstone are without doubt the two most iconic figures of Victorian politics. Their distinctly different personalities & policies led to 28 years of bitter political rivalry. For the first time this book provides the full story of their rivalry & its origins comparing the upbringing education & personalities of the two leaders as well as their political careers. Dick Leonard considers the impact of religion on the two men their contrasting oratorical skills their attitudes to political & social reform foreign affairs & imperialism as well as their relations with Queen Victoria. In their private lives he sheds new light on Gladstone's guilt-ridden obsession with 'reforming' prostitutes & Disraeli's almost completely successful efforts to conceal the existence of two illegitimate children. Providing important new perspectives on the two towering political characters of the Victorian Age this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in nineteenth century British history & politics. ...

How did the great scientists make their remarkable discoveries? & what kind of men were they? This companion volume to Inventors & their Inventions" introduces the work of 10 men to younger readers & range from the world of Ancient Greece to the 20th century discovery of DNA. Among them are the crucial discovery that the earth goes around the sun (Galileo) the principle of gravity (Newton) the evolution of the species (Darwin) & the principle of inherited characteristics or genetics (Mendel)." ...

Scot Symon is the almost forgotten manager of Rangers & in recent years his contribution to the club has been woefully neglected. Now in Great Scot" David Leggat examines his role in the history of Rangers FC & reveals not only a key figure in the development of the club but also a true giant of Scottish football. Statistics don't lie & in the 13 years he was manager at Ibrox from 1954 onwards Rangers won a remarkable 15 trophies & became the first British club to appear in a European Final. In fact Symon took Rangers to two European finals & had he won one his place in history would have been assured. Instead he became Ibrox's forgotten man. His remarkable years as Rangers manager followed a successful playing career for the club under Bill Struth & an early management career that started with a bang when he led East Fife to two League Cup triumphs before taking Preston North End to the FA Cup Final. He later managed Partick Thistle first as manager & then general manager training more than half of the young Thistle team which beat Celtic 4-1 to win the League Cup in 1971. But it is his time in charge of Rangers which saw him sign such artists as Ian Mc Millan & Jim Baxter & led to a glorious era for the club that defined him. & among the great & the good who have offered their tributes to James Scotland Symon in this book is the last signing he made for Rangers
- the now Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. With such support " Great Scot" sets out to show that it's now time to reevaluate James Scotland Symon's achievements & give him his rightful place in football history."
...

This title is Sunday Times" History Book of the Year. For over three thousand years the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of world civilisation. From the time of historical Troy until the middle of the nineteenth century human activity here decisively shaped much of the course of world history. David Abulafias " The Great Sea" is the first complete history of the Mediterranean from the erection of the mysterious temples on Malta around 3500 BC to the recent reinvention of the Mediterraneans shores as a tourist destination. Part of the argument of Abulafias book is that the great port cities
- Alexandria Trieste & Salonika & many others
- prospered in part because of their ability to allow many different people religions & identities to co-exist within sometimes very confined spaces. He also brilliantly populates his history with identifiable individuals whose lives illustrate with great immediacy the wider developments he is describing. " The Great Sea" ranges stupendously across time & the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa Venice to Alexandria. Rather than imposing a false unity on the sea & the teeming human activity it has sustained the book emphasises diversity
- ethnic linguistic religious & political. Anyone who reads it will leave it with their understanding of those societies & their histories enormously enriched."


...

For over three thousand years the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of world civilisation. From the time of historical Troy until the middle of the nineteenth century human activity here decisively shaped much of the course of world history. David Abulafia's The Great Sea" is the first complete history of the Mediterranean from the erection of the mysterious temples on Malta around 3500 BC to the recent reinvention of the Mediterranean's shores as a tourist destination. " The Great Sea" ranges stupendously across time & the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa Venice to Alexandria. Rather than imposing a false unity on the sea & the teeming human activity it has sustained the book emphasizes diversity
- ethnic linguistic religious & political. Anyone who reads it will leave it with their understanding of those societies & their histories enormously enriched."
...