The ancient market town of Rayleigh is rich in both its history & in the historians who have told the tale. Limelight Lantern lectures were first shown in 1884 when the population was just over 1 000 the railway had not yet arrived & the roads were at best comprised of compacted earth with granite chippings & had no drainage. That tradition continues today as historians continue to explore Rayleigh through slideshows lectures & books. During the ensuing 128 years the stories of the motte & bailey castle the martyrs burnt at the stake the windmills & the rapid development once the railway arrived in 1889 have not lost their fascination. The photographs in this book most of which have not been seen in print before present Rayleighs rich & varied heritage in vivid detail from its origins as a small agricultural village to the thriving town of today. ...

With four little books full of Christmas magic there is something to keep everyone happy on Christmas day. Based on Raymond briggs bestselling favourites The Snowman" & " Father Christmas" there are four concept-based books including words weather opposites & counting. This is the perfect introduction to the world of the Snowman for very little readers." ...

A major new biography of the writer who more than any other has defined modern crime fiction What we know of Raymond Chandler is shrouded in secrets & half-truths as deceptive as anything in his magisterial novel The Long Goodbye. Now drawing on new interviews previously unpublished letters & archives on both sides of the Atlantic literary gumshoe Tom Williams casts light on this most mysterious of writers. The Raymond Chandler revealed is a man troubled by loneliness & desertion from an early age
- experiences that fuelled his writing as much as they scarred his life. Born in Chicago in 1888 his childhood was overshadowed by the cruel collapse of his parents marriage his fathers alcohol-fuelled violence eventually forcing the boy & his doting mother to leave for Ireland & later London. As a young man eager to forge a new life unconstrained by the stuffy English class system he returned to the US where
- in corruption-ridden Los Angeles
- he met his one great love: Cissy Pascal a married woman 18 years his senior. It was only during middle age after his own alcoholism wrecked a lucrative career as an oilman that Chandler seriously turned to crime fiction although his success was to prove bittersweet. An obsessive attitude towards his craft unrealised literary ambitions & a suicidal turn after Cissys death combined to prevent him from recapturing the verve of his earlier writing. However his legacy
- the lonely ambiguous world of Philip Marlowe
- endures compelling generation after generation of crime writers to go down mean streets. In this long-awaited new biography the most thorough & comprehensive yet written Tom Williams shadows one of the twentieth centurys true literary giants & considers how crime was raised to the level of art.




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For five years before the Falklands War Hugh Bicheno was one of the top British spies in Argentina. As such he gathered hard corroborated intelligence on Argentine intentions over the Falklands
- which the British establishment then chose to ignore. The reasons behind this British decision & its disastrous & inevitable consequences in the South Atlantic are the main story of this book. There were three main players in the war each of them trying to overcome their own cultural baggage. The Argentines were riddled with guilt: after years of fighting a morally repugnant campaign against its own people the Argentine military saw a war for the Malvinas islands as a perfect opportunity to win back their self-respect. The hands of the Americans were also bloody from the likewise dirty wars they had sponsored & abetted in Central America. For Britain it was simply the last straw after decades of humiliation.
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Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of this spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brillant characters
- his fiancee Isabel whose choice between love & wealth have lifelong repercussions & Elliot Templeton her uncle a classic expatriate American snob. The most ambitious of Maugham's novels this is also one in which Maugham himself plays a considerable part as he wanders in & out of the story to observe his characters struggling with their fates.
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This fully comprehensive book guides the reader through the process of acquiring & subsequently re-training a racehorse. It provides an in-depth look at what life was like for the horse at the racing yard & how through correct training & education you can train your horse to become a happy adjusted athlete ready for everyday equestrian activities. ...

The Second World War changed the Britain & its people forever & as the gap of history widens re-enactment plays an increasingly significant role in keeping alive the social & military experience of the war years & it helps us all to remember the sacrifice & determination of a generation that lived in extraordinary times. In A Re-enactors War we explore what inspires moves & motivates re-enactors of all ages & backgrounds & their close relationships with the veterans & people they seek to honour. Reminiscences of the Home Front from evacuation to the Blitz & beyond & new interviews with re-enactors are brought together to pay homage to a time that we must always remember. It was our nations darkest hour but also a time when amidst the turmoil & upheaval the British people fought back with their inimitable Home Front spirit that continues to inspire today. This book pays tribute not only to the bravery of the war generation but also to their camaraderie & their love of life. Mixing previously unpublished original period images with a selection of stunning colour images depicting the breadth of Second World War Home Front re-enactment the reader will be fascinated by the characters their individual stories amazing experiences & their dedication to preserving the past. This truly is history brought to life! ...

What does it take to re-think anything in your life? Sometimes nothing short of turning your whole world upside down. Slow down your thinking for a moment. What is your brain doing? Almost certainly trying to come up with a single right answer because then you can stop thinking about the problem. All too often we are not really thinking but sleepwalking through life. Fresh angles on familiar problems elude us. Re-thinking is the opposite: it means seeing better or different solutions. In other words thinking as unusual. Rethink shows you why & how. What if today you were to.. . Buy a new newspaper? Take a different route home? Say yes to everything your partner asks? Invent new rituals for your family? Surround yourself with beauty? Try a first take at the creative fantasy sleeping in the attic of your mind? Find a new hero? Discover more about your upbringing? Act as if anything were possible rather than yes-butting the new? Youd be a re-thinker. Why not? Theres always a better or different solution to the way you lead your personal or professional life. Rethink will help you to stop living on autopilot & reawaken your sense of wonder curiosity & creativity. ...

Now in a significantly revised & expanded second edition this groundbreaking work illuminates how racism sexism & other forms of oppression constrain the lives of diverse clients
- & family therapy itself. Practitioners & students gain vital tools for re-evaluating prevailing conceptions of family health & pathology; tapping into clients cultural resources; & developing more inclusive theories & therapeutic practices. From leaders in the field the second edition features many new chapters case examples & specific recommendations for culturally competent assessment treatment & clinical training. The section in which authors reflect on their own cultural & family legacies also has been significantly expanded.
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As far back as stories go pioneers have reached for the skies. In the last two hundred years they have mastered the air & made the modern world possible. Today they are bringing outer space within our reach. Theyre inventors & toymakers amateurs & adventurers visionaries dreamers & yes crackpots. Some have called them irresponsible even dangerous. But I have met many of them. I have worked with them & funded them & flown with them. I admire them & trust them & I think they & their kind are our future. In this book I look at the history of flight through the stories & people who have inspired me. These are tales of miraculous rescues; of records made & broken; of surprising feats of endurance & survival including some of my own adventures as well as developments in the future of air (and space) travel. This is a story of pioneers & of course it

Includes:: the world famous Montgolfiers & the Wright brothers. But I also want to describe some of the lesser-known trailblazers
- people like Tony Jannus who in 1914 created the worlds first scheduled commercial flight flying his passengers over the waters of Tampa Bay at an altitude of just fifty feet; the bird man Leo Valentin who in the 1950s jumped from 9 000 feet with wooden wings attached to his shoulders; & my friend Steve Fossett who dedicated his life to breaking records & having adventures. This is their story. It is also in a small way my own.


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