During the 1930s the Soviet Union launched a major effort to create a modern Air Force. That process required training tens of thousands of pilots. Among those pilots were larger numbers of young women training shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. A common training program of the day involved studying in 'flying clubs' during leisure hours first using gliders & then training planes. Following this the best graduates could enter military schools to become professional combat pilots or flight navigators. The author of this book passed through all of those stages & had become an experienced training pilot when the USSR entered the war. Volunteering for frontline duty the author flew 130 combat missions piloting the U2 biplane in a liaison squadron. In the initial period of the war the German Luftwaffe dominated the sky. Daily combat sorties demanded bravery & skill from the pilots of the liaison squadron operating obsolete unarmed planes. Over the course of a year the author was shot down by German fighters three times but kept flying nevertheless. In late 1942 Anna Egorova became the first female pilot to fly the famous Sturmovik (ground attack) plane that played a major role in the ground battles of the Eastern Front. Earning the respect of her fellow male pilots the author became not just a mature combat pilot but a commanding officer. Over the course of two years the author advanced from ordinary pilot to the executive officer of the Squadron & then was appointed Regimental navigator in the process flying Approx. 270 combat missions over the southern sector of the Eastern Front initially (Taman the Crimea) before switching to the 1st Belorussian Front & seeing action over White Russia & Pol&. Flying on a mission over Poland in 1944 the author was shot down over a target by German flak. Severely burned she was taken prisoner. After surviving in a German POW camp for 5 months she was liberated by Soviet troops. After experiencing numerous humiliations as an 'ex-POW' in 1965 the author finally received a top military award a long-delayed ' Golden Star' with the honorary title of ' Hero of the Soviet Union'. This is a quite unique story of courage determination & bravery in the face of tremendous personal adversity. The many obstacles Anna had to cross before she could fly first the Po-2 then the Sturmovik are recounted in detail including her tough work helping to build the Moscow Metro before the outbreak of war. Above all Over Fields of Fire is a very human story
- sometimes sad sometimes angry filled with hope at other times with near-despair abundant in comradeship & professionalism
- & never less than a large dose of determination!

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Over Hill & Dale" is the second volume in Gervase Phinn's bestselling " Dales" series. ' Miss who's that funny man at the back of the classroom? So begins school-inspector Gervase Phinn's second year among the frankly spoken pupils & teachers of North Yorkshire
- the sight of Gervase with his notebook & pen provokes unexpected reactions from the children & adults alike. But Gervase is far from daunted
- he is ready to brave the steely glare of the officious Mrs Savage & even feels up to helping. Dr Gore organize a gathering of the Feofees
- just as soon as someone tells him what they are! He is still in pursuit of the lovely headteacher Christine Bentley but will she feel the same? This is a delectable second helping of hilarious tales from the man who has been dubbed 'the James Herriot of schools'. In " Over Hill & Dale" Gervase Phinn will have you laughing out loud. " Gervase Phinn's memoirs have made him a hero in school staff-rooms". (" Daily Telegraph"). Gervase Phinn is an author & educator from Rotherham who after teaching for fourteen years in a variety of schools moved to North Yorkshire to be a school inspector. He has written autobiographies novels plays collections of poetry & stories as well as a number of books about education. He holds five fellowships honorary doctorates from Hull Leicester & Sheffield Hallam universities & is a patron of a number of children's charities & organizations. He is married with four adult children. His books include " The Other Side of the Dale" " Over Hill & Dale" " Head Over Heels in the Dales" " The Heart of the Dales" " Up & Down in the Dales" & " Trouble at the Little Village School"."


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Over in the forest in a cave so snug one cubby bear gives his mummy a hug. So begins this fun-filled picture book where children will meet busy beavers tumbling tigers shuffling warthogs & many more in a count-along rhyme from one to ten that theyll want to join in with again & again! A lively noisy funny text that encourages very young children to imitate animal movements as they join in a rhythmical text that takes its inspiration from the well-loved nursery rhyme Over in the meadow. Children will love hugging digging rolling hopping stretching flapping & wiggling & while theyre having all this fun they will also be learning to recognise & count their numbers from 1 to 10. A kind of rebus abacus on the last spread reinforces the counting concept. ...

On holiday in Cornwall Simon Jane & Barney Drew discover an ancient map in the attic of the Grey House where they are staying with their mysterious Great-Uncle Merry. They know immediately that it is special. But it is much more than just a map. It is the start of a quest to find a grail a source of great power that could contain
- or resurrect
- the powerful age-old forces of evil in the world. & the Drews are not the only ones searching for it.

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Jamey Cadmus is clearly a deeply troubled young man. Found clutching a bloodied knife at the scene of a brutal double homicide surely he must be the vicious serial killer whos been terrorising LA. What other explanation can there be? The public are demanding the death penalty but his lawyer is pleading diminished responsibility. Psychologist Alex Delaware is asked to make an assessment of Jameys mental health but to do that he needs to look into Jameys past & no one wants Alex digging there... ...

This is the life story of a girl addicted to the sensual pleasures of spanking. A girl who feels compelled to manipulate & engineer situations in which older authority figures punish her over their knees. & as Nexus Enthusiast publishes convincing & exciting literature written by the devotee of a single fetish for the large number of enthusiasts of that same kink the author is fully qualified & active participant of the S&M scene. ...

As a young schoolboy David Essex dreamed of becoming a professional footballer & was signed up by his beloved West Ham United but as a teenager he developed a passion for music which set him on a very different path & ultimately led to superstardom. It wasn't however an easy start. Scraping a living on the edges of show business was a hard slog & he endured many disappointments. Then aged 23 he went along to an audition for a new musical called Godspell & won the role of Jesus that was to shoot him to fame. Within a year he was starring in smash hit film That'll Be the Day & had written & recorded his first number one single ' Rock On'. It was the start of Essex Mania & a long journey of undreamt of adventure. From Godspell to Eastenders it's been an amazing life. This riveting autobiography tells the full incredible story. ...

David Mellings lively fun illustrations bring a host of favourite nursery rhymes to life in two beautiful collections. Over the Moon offers a medley of classic nursery rhymes including Hey Diddle Diddle; Hickory Dickory Dock & Little Miss Muffet. ...

As a young schoolboy David Essex dreamed of becoming a professional footballer & was signed up by his beloved West Ham United but as a teenager he developed a passion for music which set him on a very different path & ultimately led to superstardom. It wasn't however an easy start. Scraping a living on the edges of show business was a hard slog & he endured many disappointments. Then aged 23 he went along to an audition for a new musical called Godspell & won the role of Jesus that was to shoot him to fame. Within a year he was starring in the smash hit film That'll Be the Day & had written & recorded his first number one single ' Rock On'. It was the start of Essex Mania & a long journey of undreamt of adventure. From Godspell to East Enders it's been an amazing life. & here is David's full incredible story
- in his own words.
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It is September 2009 Ramadan & the eve of Afghanistans first democratic elections when young American Malone pilot for an aid airline does Fatima Hamza the favour of flying her out of Kabul to Bamiyan while his surgeon wife Kim heads south to Kandahar. The beguiling Oxford-educated Pashtun Fatima has left Pakistan to rediscover the country she comes from she tells him to retrace the places that were important to her spy-chief father ex-military man & writer with a disturbing gift of prophecy. For both Kim & Malone the foray into that dangerous territory is to become a prolonged adventure their former lives receding as they lose touch with one another & enter the world of the enemy. Each is to witness the horror of an air raid & each is to come face-to-face with the Taliban. They will glimpse hell but paradise too & be changed. In this powerful novel Paul Pickering gives a human face to the conflict in Afghanistan capturing the magical quality of a land & its people. ...