What were the principal causes of death in the past? Could your ancestor have been affected? How was disease investigated & treated & what did our ancestors think about the illnesses & the accidents that might befall them? Simon Wills's fascinating survey of the diseases that had an impact on their lives seeks to answer these questions. His graphic detailed account offers an unusual & informative view of the threats that our ancestors lived with & died of. He describes the common causes of death
- cancer cholera dysentery influenza malaria scurvy smallpox stroke tuberculosis typhus yellow fever venereal disease & the afflictions of old age. Alcoholism is included as are childbirth & childhood infections heart disease mental illness & dementia. Accidents feature prominently
- road & rail accidents accidents at work
- & death through addiction & abuse is covered as well as death through violence & war. Simon Wills's work gives a vivid picture of the hazards our ancestors faced & their understanding of them. It also reveals how life & death have changed over the centuries how medical science has advanced so that some once-mortal illnesses are now curable while others are just as deadly now as they were then. In addition to describing causes of death & setting them in the context of the times his book shows readers how to find & interpret patient records death certificates & other documents in order to gain an accurate impression of how their ancestors died.


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Although Parliament is constantly in the news & televised daily much of its work remains a mystery to outsiders & is sometimes perplexing even to its own members. This book provides a unique insight into the work & daily life of Parliament. It sets out plainly & intelligibly what goes on & why things happen but it also analyses the pressures within the institution its strengths & weaknesses & ways in which it might change. Covering every aspect of the work membership & structures of both Houses this book also reflects the profound changes that have taken place in Parliament over the years. ...

This new edition of How People Tick" is a practical guide to over 50 types of difficult people such as Angry People Blamers Impatient People Workaholics & Gossips. Each difficult situation is described how it happens is analysed & then strategies to help you deal with the problem are suggested. Disruptive behaviour patterns can be addressed once & for all instead of having to handle one-off difficult events time & time again. Absolutely invaluable to everybody " How People Tick" is full of tried & tested tips for handling difficult people in difficult situations based on a real understanding of their behaviour. It is an essential read if you find people bewildering or just plain difficult & yet still want to understand them work with them & live with them." ...

What a marvellous book this is.. .de Botton dissects what [ Proust] had to say about friendship reading looking carefully paying attention taking your time being alive & adds his own delicious commentary. The result is an intoxicating as it is wise amusing as well as stimulating & presented in so fresh a fashion as to be unique.. .I could not stop & now much start all over again. Brian Masters Mail on Sunday De Botton not only has a complete understanding of Prousts life.. .but what is particularly charming about this small readable book is its tongue-in-cheek benignity its lightly held erudition & its generous way of lending itself to what is not only the greatest book of the century but also the darkest & the most eccentric Edmund White Observer It contains more human interest & play of fancy than most fiction.. .de Botton in emphasizing Prousts healing advisory aspects does us the service of rereading him on our behalf providing of that vast sacred lake a sweet & lucid distillation. John Updike New Yorker De Bottons little book is so charming amusing & sensible that it may even itself change your life. Allan Massie Daily Telegraph This engaging book is one of the most entertaining pieces of literary criticism I have read in a long while. Sunday Telegraph A very enjoyable book Sebastian Faulks ...

This is a wonderful rhythmic North American Indian folk tale... As the leaves fall from the trees & the wind blows colder the animals wish they had fire to keep them warm. But only the Sky People living high in the mountains have fire & they guard it jealously. Rabbit has a plan however: he makes a special resin-covered headdress tricks the Sky People & steals some fire. All the animals help him in an exciting race to escape capture & each is marked in some way by the stolen fire. Then Deer manages to hide the precious fire in the woods so it can be theirs forever
- but once its hidden how will they get it back?
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Beneath the Arctic Polar Ice Cap deep underground is a bustling community with one mission only
- to make Christmas happen! Have
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Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013. Reeling from a failed marriage Sheila a twentysomething playwright finds herself unsure of how to live & create. When Margaux a talented painter & free spirit & Israel a sexy & depraved artist enter her life Sheila hopes that through close--sometimes too close--observation of her new friend her new lover & herself she might regain her footing in art & life. Using transcribed conversations real emails plus heavy doses of fiction the brilliant & always innovative Sheila Heti crafts a work that is part literary novel part self-help manual & part bawdy confessional. It's a totally shameless & dynamic exploration into the way we live now which breathes fresh wisdom into the eternal questions: What is the sincerest way to love? What kind of person should you be? ...

Following the pioneering work of Trevithick Stephenson & many others steam locomotives continued to evolve & be refined until overtaken by diesel & electric traction technology. Although the last main-line steam service was operated by British Rail in 1968 there is still immense interest in steam traction as demonstrated by the increasing numbers of privately renovated & preserved locomotives & heritage railways around the world. In How Steam Locomotives Really Work the authors both railway experts cover the design of locomotives the many processes in the conversion of fuel to tractive effort the dynamic characteristics of the locomotive as a vehicle the braking equipment & a host of other systems major & minor that make up a working locomotive. They also explain the reasons for running & maintenance practices. Their explanations will fascinate enthusiasts whether practical or armchair. Steam locomotive design may have started in the United Kingdom but it quickly developed parallel & sometimes diverging techniques in other countries leading to many distinct developments that contribute to the national characteristics of some locomotives. The authors embrace this diversity & railway enthusiasts from around the world will find this book engrossing & enlightening. ...

How the City of London Works presents a simple straightforward explanation of the City how it works & how it is regulated. Diagrams maps & illustrations have been included throughout the text to create a clear & readable picture of one of the world's great financial trading centres. The work remains up to date by including the launch of the Euro the growth of foreign ownership & the further development of City activities in Canary Wharf. ...

That the dog evolved from the wolf is an accepted fact of evolution & history but the question of how wolf became dog has remained a mystery obscured by myth & legend. How the Dog Became the Dog illustrates how the dog was an evolutionary inevitability in the nature of the wolf & its human soul mate. How the Dog Became the Dog presents the domestication of the dog as a biological & cultural process that began in mutual cooperation & has taken a number of radical turns. At the end of the last Ice Age the first dogs emerged with their humans from refuges against the cold. In the eighteenth century humans began the drive to exercise full control of dog reproduction life & death to complete the domestication of the wolf begun so long ago. ...