Wealth. Influence. Magnetism. Mystery. In twentieth century America one man alone embodied all these qualities in their purest form. During a life which read like the wildest imaginings of a Hollywood scriptwriter Howard Hughes
- billionaire tycoon pioneer aviator playboy eccentric & movie mogul
- became a totem of fascination around the globe. In his twilight years the mystery surrounding him intensified when he became a total recluse hiding himself away in shady hotel suites for more than a decade. Some believed him to be dead; others thought he had gone crazy. Few really knew the truth
- just as Hughes preferred. The ambiguity surrounding him spawned one of the first modern media obsessions. Speculation abounded from the business pages of broadsheets through international magazine articles down to the sidewalk opinion-makers. & unsurprisingly there were few books written about Hughes' fascinating life
- a life which was rumoured to be on the brink of ruin. So New York author & journalist Clifford Irving set out to do what no one else had done before. In late 1970 Irving ran into an old friend & fellow scribe Richard Suskind. The two men struck up a conversation about the legendary Hughes whose recent shadowy globetrotting had caused a sensation in newspapers around the world. It was this conversation that gave Irving the idea to write the 'autobiography' of Howard Hughes. Skillfully convincing the publishing world that he had the direct input of Hughes himself his colleagues & friends Irving wrote his book interweaving accurate research with outlandish fiction & sold it to a publisher for a record advance of $1m hitting headlines around the world... But eventually the tall tale unravelled
- the book was unmasked as a hoax. Irving went to prison & the sensational manuscript described as 'the most famous unpublished book of the century' lay untouched for over 30 years
- until now. For the first time here is the incredible unexpurgated life story of one of history's most intriguing figures.





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Since the Stone Age drugs have been sniffed to induce sleep mixed to cure ills swallowed to stimulate creativity snorted to increase sexuality popped for the hell of it & smoked to see God. Natural or synthesized they have been smuggled for all kinds of reasons from saving the world to becoming stinking rich. Blamed for deaths wars suicides collapses of governments multiple crashes individual crises anarchy & chaos they have also been praised for opening minds & expanding consciousness. Worshipped & demonised venerated & chastised force-fed & forbidden. Every society has had its intoxicant be it sacrament or scourge. They have also become irreversibly interwoven with politics sex business religion & rock & roll providing writers whether emerging from the ancient classical world or the street laboratory of today with both inspiration & challenge. An unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime trip The Howard Marks Book of Dope Stories

Includes:: his favourite drugs writings from Alexander Dumas to Aleister Crowley via Hunter S. Thompson & Charles Baudelaire as well as unpublished works & many new & compelling pieces from Mr Nice himself.

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OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Surveys most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities like walking horse riding & off-road cycling. Providing complete GB coverage the series details essential information such as youth hostels pubs & visitor information as well as rights of way permissive paths & bridleways. ...

OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Surveys most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities such as walking horse riding & off-road cycling. The series provides complete GB coverage & can now be used in all weathers thanks to OS Explorer Map
- Active a tough versatile version of the OS Explorer Map.
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A meticulously-observed drama of class warfare E.M. Forsters Howards End" explores the conflict inherent within English society unveiling the character of a nation as never before. This " Penguin Classics" edition

Includes:: an introduction & notes by David Lodge. Only connect... A chance acquaintance brings together the preposterous bourgeois Wilcox family & the clever cultured & idealistic Schlegel sisters. As clear-eyed Margaret develops a friendship with Mrs Wilcox the impetuous Helen brings into their midst a young bank clerk named Leonard Bast who lives at the edge of poverty & ruin. When Mrs Wilcox dies her family discovers that she wants to leave her country home Howards End to Margaret. Thus as Forster sets in motion a chain of events that will entangle three different families he brilliantly portrays their aspirations to personal & social harmony. David Lodges introduction provides an absorbing & eloquent overture to the 1910 novel that established Forsters reputation as an important writer & that he himself later referred to as my best novel. This edition also contains a note on the text suggestions for further reading & explanatory notes. E. M. Forster (1879-1970) was a noted English author & critic & a member of the Bloomsbury group. His first novel " Where Angels Fear To Tread" appeared in 1905. " The Longest Journey" appeared in 1907 followed by "A Room With A View" (1908) based partly on the material from extended holidays in Italy with his mother. " Howards End" (1910) was a story that centered on an English country house & dealt with the clash between two families one interested in art & literature the other only in business. " Maurice" was revised several times during his life & finally published posthumously in 1971. If you enjoyed " Howards End" you might like Forsters "A Room with a View" also available in " Penguin Classics"."

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OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Survey's most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities like walking horse riding & off-road cycling. Providing complete GB coverage the series details essential information such as youth hostels pubs & visitor information as well as rights of way permissive paths & bridleways. ...

OS Explorer Map is the Ordnance Survey's most detailed map & is recommended for anyone enjoying outdoor activities such as walking horse riding & off-road cycling. The series provides complete GB coverage & can now be used in all weathers thanks to OS Explorer Map
- Active a tough versatile version of the OS Explorer Map.
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Allen Ginsberg was the bard of the beat generation & Howl Kaddish & Other Poems" is a collection of his finest work published in " Penguin Modern Classics" including " Howl" whose vindication at an obscenity trial was a watershed moment in twentieth-century history. I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness starving hysterical naked Beat movement icon & visionary poet Allen Ginsberg broke boundaries with his fearless pyrotechnic verse. This new collection brings together the famous poems that made his name as a defining figure of the counterculture. They include the apocalyptic " Howl" which became the subject of an obscenity trial when it was first published in 1956; the moving lament for his dead mother Kaddish; the searing indictment of his homeland America; & the confessional Mescaline. Dark ecstatic & rhapsodic they show why Ginsberg was one of the most influential poets of the twentieth century. Allen Ginsberg (1926-97) was an American poet best known for the poem " Howl" (1956) celebrating his friends of the Beat Generation & attacking what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism & conformity in the United States at the time. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Letters was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture won the National Book Award for " The Fall of America" & was a co-founder of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute the first accredited Buddhist college in the Western world. If you enjoyed " Howl Kaddish & Other Poems" you might like Jack Kerouacs " On the Road" also available in " Penguin Modern Classics". " The poem that defined a generation". (" Guardian" on " Howl"). " He avoids nothing but experiences it to the hilt". (William Carlos Williams)." ...

Noah Baker never wanted to betray The Others. But if his military commanders want him to covertly investigate a Lupine scientist
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A new look for one of Diana Wynne Jones' funniest & most popular novels. In the land of Ingary where seven league boots & cloaks of invisibility do exist Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste & is put under a spell. Deciding she has nothing more to lose she makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite they say is satisfied only by the souls of young girls... There she meets Michael Howl's apprentice & Calcifer the Fire Demon with whom she agrees a pact. But Sophie isn't the only one under a curse
- her entanglements with Calcifer Howl & Michael & her quest to break her curse is both gripping
- & howlingly funny!

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