On a dark evening in November 1862 a cheap coffin is buried in eerie silence. There are no lamentations or panegyrics for the British Commissioner in charge has insisted ' No vesting will remain to distinguish where the last of the Great Mughals rests.' This Mughal is Bahadur Shah Zafar II one of the most tolerant & likeable of his remarkable dynasty who found himself leader of a violent & doomed uprising. The Siege of Delhi was the Raj's Stalingrad the end of both Mughal power & a remarkable culture. ...

To celebrate 100 years of DJing Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton have expanded & updated their classic account of the history of the disc jockey. The DJ was born on Christmas Eve 1906 when Reginald Fessenden became the first person to play a record over the radio. A century later & the DJ is the central figure in popular music. From these humble 'talking jukebox' origins to today's DJ superstars earning rock star salaries with a fanbase to match the history of the DJ is fascinating & unpredictable. The story of these unlikely cultural icons takes the reader through the swinging sixties through the sequinned revolution that was disco via hip hop & house to mass-market global domination. ...

A novel from the million copy bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada. Heartbreak headlines & Hermes -- welcome to Brookes new world! Brooke & Julian live a happy life in New York -- shes the breadwinner working two jobs & hes the struggling musician husb&. Then Julian is discovered by a Sony exec & becomes an overnight success -- & their life changes for ever. Soon they are moving in exclusive circles dining at the glitziest restaurants attending the most outrageous parties in town & jetting off to the trendiest hotspots in LA. But Julians new-found fame means that Brooke must face the savage attentions of the ruthless paparazzi. & when a scandalous picture hits the front pages Brookes world is turned upside down. Can her marriage survive the events of that fateful night at Chateau Marmont? Its time for Brooke to decide if shes going to sink or swim! ...

In 1954 in the cookhouse of a logging & sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire a twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old & his father become fugitives pursued by the constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger once a river driver who befriends them. In a story spanning five decades Last Night in Twisted River"
- John Irving's twelfth novel
- depicts the recent half-century in the United States as a world 'where lethal hatreds were generally permitted to run their course'. From the novel's taut opening sentence to its elegiac final chapter what distinguishes " Last Night in Twisted River" is the author's unmistakable voice the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller."

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The hilarious adventures of Harry the Polis as recalled by ex-polis Harry Morris the self-appointed Chief Constable of funny stories continue with the publication of his tenth book The Last Night on the Beat. Full of brilliant anecdotes oddball characters quick comebacks & unlikely excuses Harry demonstrates true Glaswegian humour at its finest. Harry Morris is out to show a side of our industrious police force that we dont often see
- the lighter side. His time with the Glasgow & Strathclyde constabulary or polis for short hasnt robbed Harry of his sense of humour & every wily witness cocky con & sarcastic sergeant he ever rubbed up against is here in page after page of humorous stories. Here is the definitive collection of Harry the Polis tales that will tempt your laughter lines into making an appearance & have you flashing your gnashers.
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After the fall of France in May 1940 the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitlers inevitable invasion attempt. For the German Army to be landed across the Channel Hitler needed mastery of the skies
- the RAF would have to be broken
- so every day throughout the summer German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day & civilians watched skies criss-crossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires & Me-109s. Britains very freedom depended on the outcome of that summers battle. Britains air defences were badly battered & nearly broken but against all odds The Few as they came to be known bought Britains freedom
- many with their lives. These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought & survived that battle. We will not see their like again.


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After the fall of France in May 1940 the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitler's inevitable invasion attempt. For the German Army to be landed across the Channel Hitler needed mastery of the skies
- the RAF would have to be broken. So every day throughout the summer German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day & civilians watched skies criss-crossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires & Me-109s. Britain's very freedom depended on the outcome of that summer's battle. Britain's air defences were badly battered & nearly broken but against all odds ' The Few' as they came to be known bought Britain's freedom
- many with their lives. These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought & survived that battle. We will not see their like again.

...

It is 1757. Across north-eastern America the armies of Britain & France struggle for ascendancy. Their conflict however overlays older struggles between nations of native Americans for possession of the same lands & between the native peoples & white colonisers. Through these layers of conflict Cooper threads a thrilling narrative in which Cora & Alice Munro daughters of a British commander on the front line of the colonial war attempt to join their father. Thwarted by Magua the sinister Indian runner they find help in the person of Hawkeye the white woodsman & his companions the Mohican Chingachgook & Uncas his son the last of his tribe. Coopers novel is full of vivid incident- pursuits through wild terrain skirmishes treachery & brutality- but reflects also on the interaction between the colonists & the native peoples. Through the character of Hawkeye Cooper raises lasting questions about the practises of the American frontier & the eclipse of the indigenous cultures. ...

Romance war adventure danger: no wonder James Fenimore Coopers novel has inspired countless film & TV adaptations. The Last of the Mohicans is an epic tale of American frontier life set in the colonial era when the French & the English fought for control of the New World--and needed the help of the Native American tribes to win. Cora & Alice Munro leave the safety of the English fort to visit their father a general in the British army. But their friendly" Iroquois guide betrays them to the French--and now their only hope for survival lies with four men: their companion on the journey Major Duncan Heyward; the frontier scout Hawkeye; & Hawkeyes Mohican friends Chingachgook & his son Uncas. Fenimore Coopers powerful saga of doomed love & heart-racing drama has captivated generations of readers across the globe. The worlds greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth & featuring gilt edges & ribbon markers these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. Theyll transport readers to imaginary worlds & provide excitement entertainment & enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations & have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library the bedside table or bureau." ...

Quite simply Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running comedy programme in the world. It premiered 37 years ago in 1973 & after 31 series it finally came to an end last year
- even though all its original protagonists
- Compo Foggy even Nora Batty
- are now dead. Remarkably for a series of such longevity & international appeal it is all about elderly people has little action or plot & is set & filmed in & around the small Yorkshire town of Holmfirth. Now Andrew Vine the deputy editor of Yorkshires daily newspaper has written the definitive history of this television phenomenon. It covers the shows inauspicious beginnings with low ratings its endless reinvention as participants like Bill Owen Michael Bates Brian Wilde & Kathy Staff retired or died the appearance of a string of guest stars from John Cleese & Norman Wisdom to Thora Hird & Russ Abbott (both of whom soon found themselves fixtures in the cast) & the ingenious plot contrivances as the protagonists became too old & frail to attempt any of the slapstick stunts with runaway prams
- indeed any outdoor action. Holmfirth is now a year-round tourist attraction & endless repeats & new DVD box sets will ensure a readership for this book for years to come.



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