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 Now drawing on new interviews previously unpublished letters & archives on both sides of the Atlantic literary gumshoe Tom Williams casts light on this most mysterious of writers.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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Designed for those studying history at Key Stage 3 this comprehensive text covers Britain from 1500-1750. Updating the text has made the material more usable in mixed ability classes whilst retaining an emphasis on challenging students to think deeply. ...

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. ...

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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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 Richard Branson has met many of them. He has worked with them funded them & flown with them. He admires them & trusts them & thinks they & their kind are our future. In this book Richard Branson looks at the history of flight through the stories & people who have inspired him throughout his life. In these pages you will find tales of miraculous rescues; of records made & broken; of surprising feats of endurance & survival including some of his own adventures as well as developments in the future of air travel (and space travel). It is a story of pioneers & of course it

Includes:: the world famous Montgolfiers & the Wright brothers but he also wants to describe some of the lesser-known trailblazers. People like Tony Jannus who in 1914 created the first scheduled commercial flight in the world 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. & Bransons friend Steve Fossett who dedicated his life to breaking records & having adventures. This is their story. It is also in a small way his own.

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In 1931 at the age of 21 Douglas Bader was the golden boy of the RAF. Excelling in everything he did he represented the Royal Air Force in aerobatics displays played rugby for Harlequins & was tipped to be the next England fly half. But one afternoon in December all his ambitions came to an abrupt end when he crashed his plane doing a particularly difficult & illegal aerobatic trick. His injuries were so bad that surgeons were forced to amputate both his legs to save his life. Douglas Bader did not fly again until the outbreak of the Second World War when his undoubted skill in the air was enough to convince a desperate air force to give him his own squadron. The rest of his story is the stuff of legend. Flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain he led his squadron to kill after kill keeping them all going with his unstoppable banter. Shot down in occupied France his German captors had to confiscate his tin legs in order to stop him trying to escape. Bader faced it all disability leadership & capture with the same charm charisma & determination that was an inspiration to all around him. ...