A History of the English Language explores the linguistic & cultural development of English from the Roman conquest of England to the present day to provide a comprehensive overview of the different aspects of its history. This best-selling classic textbook has been revised & updated & encourages the reader to develop both an understanding of present-day English & an enlightened attitude toward the issues affecting the language today. New features of the sixth edition include: an additional chapter titled English in the Twenty-first Century which examines the future of English & other global languages &

Includes:: an assessment of Chinese as a world language an in-depth treatment of phonological changes such as the placement of the Great Vowel Shift as a bridge between Middle English & Renaissance English further coverage of corpus linguistics especially for Renaissance English fresh sections on accent & register a new survey of the recent debate between creolists" & "neo-Anglicists" on the origins of African American Vernacular English. Balanced & wide-ranging this textbook is a must-read for any student studying the history of the English language"

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A major new examination of how J.R.R. Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece The Hobbit including his complete unpublished draft version of the story & many little-known illustrations & previously unpublished maps by Tolkien himself. The History of the Hobbit presents for the first time in two volumes the complete unpublished text of the original manuscript of J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit accompanied by John Rateliffs lively & informative account of how the book came to be written & published. As well as recording the numerous changes made to the story both before & after publication it examines
- chapter-by-chapter
- why those changes were made & how they reflect Tolkiens ever-growing concept of Middle-earth. The Hobbit was first published on 21 September 1937. Like its successor The Lord of the Rings it is a story that grew in the telling" & many characters & story threads in the published text are completely different from what Tolkien first wrote to read aloud to his young sons as part of their "fireside reads". As well as reproducing the original version of one of literatures most famous stories both on its own merits & as the foundation for The Lord of the Rings this new book

Includes:: many little-known illustrations & previously unpublished maps for The Hobbit by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive annotations & commentaries on the date of composition how Tolkiens professional & early mythological writings influenced the story the imaginary geography he created & how Tolkien came to revise the book years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings. Like Christopher Tolkiens The History of The Lord of the Rings before it this is a thoughtful yet exhaustive examination of one of the most treasured stories in English literature. Long overdue for a classic book now celebrating 70 years in print this companion edition offers fascinating new insights for those who have grown up with this enchanting tale & will delight those who are about to enter Bilbos round door for the first time."



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The second half of a major new examination of how J.R.R. Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece The Hobbit including his complete unpublished draft version of the story & many little-known illustrations & previously unpublished maps by Tolkien himself. The History of the Hobbit presents for the first time in two volumes the complete unpublished text of the original manuscript of J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit accompanied by John Rateliffs lively & informative account of how the book came to be written & published. As well as recording the numerous changes made to the story both before & after publication it examines
- chapter-by-chapter
- why those changes were made & how they reflect Tolkiens ever-growing concept of Middle-earth. As well as reproducing the original version of one of literatures most famous stories both on its own merits & as the foundation for The Lord of the Rings this new book

Includes:: many little-known illustrations & previously unpublished maps for The Hobbit by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive annotations & commentaries on the date of composition how Tolkiens professional & early mythological writings influenced the story the imaginary geography he created & how Tolkien came to revise the book years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings. This second volume picks up Bilbo Baggins story half-way through his journey & chronicles how after much adversity he must still face the mighty dragon Smaug carry out the burglary for which he has been recruited & return safely home to Bag-End. But not everything goes to plan...



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In one volume for the first time this revised & updated examination of how J.R.R. Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece The Hobbit

Includes:: his complete unpublished draft version of the story together with notes & illustrations by Tolkien himself. For the first time in one volume The History of the Hobbit presents the complete unpublished text of the original manuscript of J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit accompanied by John Rateliffs lively & informative account of how the book came to be written & published. As well as recording the numerous changes made to the story both before & after publication it examines
- chapter-by-chapter
- why those changes were made & how they reflect Tolkiens ever-growing concept of Middle-earth. The Hobbit was first published on 21 September 1937. Like its successor The Lord of the Rings it is a story that grew in the telling" & many characters & story threads in the published text are completely different from what Tolkien first wrote to read aloud to his young sons as part of their "fireside reads". As well as reproducing the original version of one of literatures most famous stories both on its own merits & as the foundation for The Lord of the Rings this new book

Includes:: many little-known illustrations & previously unpublished maps for The Hobbit by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive annotations & commentaries on the date of composition how Tolkiens professional & early mythological writings influenced the story the imaginary geography he created & how Tolkien came to revise the book years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings. Like Christopher Tolkiens The History of The Lord of the Rings before it this is a thoughtful yet exhaustive examination of one of the most treasured stories in English literature. Long overdue for a classic book now celebrating 75 years in print this companion edition offers fascinating new insights for those who have grown up with this enchanting tale & will delight those who are about to enter Bilbos round door for the first time."





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Contrary to what we have been told the Maginot Line functioned perfectly & did everything that was expected of it. After the war the Maginot Line wrongly became the ideal scapegoat for the greatest military & political disaster ever suffered by France. ...

' The NME mattered to all those generations who grew up with music at the centre of their universe. The NME never had a truer chronicler than Pat Long.' Tony Parsons Since it was founded in 1952 the New Musical Express has played a central part in the British love affair with pop music. Snotty confrontational enthusiastic sarcastic: the NME landing on the doormat every Wednesday was the high point of any music fan's week whether they were listening to The Beatles Bowie or Blur. The Sex Pistols sang about it Nick Hornby claims he regrets not working for it & a whole host of household names
- Tony Parsons & Julie Burchill Nick Kent & Mick Farren Steve Lamacq & Stuart Maconie
- started their career writing for it. This authoritative history written by former assistant editor Pat Long is an insider's account of the high times & low lives of the world's most famous & most influential music magazine. The fights the bands the brawls the haircuts the egos & much more. This is the definitive
- & first
- book about the infamous NME. Word count: 85 000



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Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ this detailed contemporary account of the long life-&-death struggle between Athens & Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its authors ambitious claim. Thucydides himself (c. 460-400 BC) was an Athenian & achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war. He applied thereafter a passion for accuracy & a contempt for myth & romance in compiling this factual record of a disastrous conflict. ...

The Pendle witchcraft case is a compelling human story & also provides a dramatic insight into the importance of magic in the lives of our ancestors. This book offers a detailed account of the extraordinary events that took place in Lancashire in 1612 focusing on James & Alizon Device the teenage brother & sister at the centre of the case. It draws on a wealth of sources including books of magic & trial records to evoke a world of magicians & cunning folk of charms divination & familiar spirits. It is illustrated with photographs of magical objects in the Museum of Witchcraft in Cornwall & of a modern family recreating seventeenthcentury spells & rituals. Taking a thought-provoking new approach to the history of witchcraft it conjures a vivid picture of what it was like to be someone who practised magic during the witch-hunts. ...

The steel pan is the only musical instrument to have been invented in the 20th century. The story begins in Trinidad in the Caribbean where the people first begin to use all kinds of metal objects to make music. They collected a wide variety of assorted tins & shaped them & tuned them until they were turned into musical instruments. From Trinidad the mighty steel orchestra has spread across the world.

Includes:: a CD of Sterling's Angels (children's steel band led by Pan Maestro Sterling Betancourt) playing a range of music.

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Our understanding of world history is changing as new discoveries are made on all the continents & old prejudices are being challenged. In this truly global journey Andrew Marr revisits some of the traditional epic stories from classical Greece & Rome to the rise of Napoleon but surrounds them with less familiar material from Peru to the Ukraine China to the Caribbean. He looks at cultures that have failed & vanished as well as the origins of todays superpowers & finds surprising echoes & parallels across vast distances & epochs. This is a book about the great change-makers of history & their times people such as Cleopatra Genghis Khan Galileo & Mao but it is also a book about us. For the better we understand how rulers lose touch with reality or why revolutions produce dictators more often than they produce happiness or why some parts of the world are richer than others the easier it is to understand our own times. Fresh exciting & vividly readable this is popular history at its very best. ...