When the Grace children moved into the old abandoned Spiderwick Mansion little did they realise that their lives would never be the same again. Having uncovered a fantastical world of sprites faeries & goblins there's no turning back. The Ultimate Spiderwick Chronicles features all five of the original books plus great new bonus content! Discover the three 'lost' chapters that were included in the Nestle Cereal Partners cereal boxes & the special 'development' section showing sketches & early drafts. Readers both old & new young & old will be completely immersed in the world of Spiderwick with this Ultimate collection. ...

This retrospective celebrates some forty years of Steven Spielbergs boundless energy & his unwavering commitment to excellence in all areas of his work. The distinguished writer & critic Richard Schickel himself a documentary filmmaker applies his unique knowledge of every one of Spielbergs 27 major films to appraise the directors remarkably prolific & varied career. Featuring many first-person observations drawn from Schickels interviews with Spielberg as well as a personal foreword by the director himself this book presents an insiders perspective on Spielbergs legendary achievements. Impeccably designed & illustrated with over 400 superb images (including revealing behind-the-scenes photos from Dream Works own archives) Spielberg: A Retrospective" is the ultimate tribute to a moviemaking icon & a book to treasure." ...

In the quiet cul-de-sac where Keith & Stephen live the only immediate signs of the Second World War are the blackout at night & a single random bombsite. But the two boys start to suspect all is not as it seems when one day Keith announces a disconcerting discovery: the Germans have infiltrated his own family. & when the secret underground world they have dreamed up emerges from the shadows they find themselves engulfed in mysteries far deeper & more painful than they had bargained for. ...

It's wartime Britain & Stephen's friend Keith makes the momentous announcement that his mother is a German spy. Determined to find the truth the two boys begin to spy on the 'spy'. The boys discover that Keith's mother does have secrets to hide but they are not the ones they had suspected. Ideal for critical analysis of a substantial piece of prose; vocabulary narrative technique rhetorical devices & moral depth. Whitbread / Costa Book Award winning title. ...

In the immediate aftermath of the Revolution the Western powers were anxious to prevent the spread of Bolshevism across Europe. Lenin & Trotsky were equally anxious that the Communist vision they were busy introducing in Russia should do just that. But neither side knew anything about the other. The revolution & Russias withdrawal from the First World War had ensured a diplomatic exodus from Moscow & the usual routes to vital information had been closed off. Into this void stepped an extraordinary collection of opportunists journalists & spies -- sometimes indeed journalists who were spies & vice versa: in Moscow Britains Arthur Ransome the American John Reed & Sidney Reilly -- Ace of Spies -- all traded information & brokered deals between Russia & the West; in Berlin Paris & London the likes of Maxim Litvinov Adolf Ioffe & Kamenev tried to infiltrate the political elite & influence foreign policy to the Bolsheviks advantage. Robert Service acclaimed historian & one of our finest commentators on matters Soviet turns his meticulous eye to this ragtag group of people & with narrative flair & impeccable research reveals one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century. ...

In Paul Dohertys new novel Amerotke Chief Judge of the Hall of Two Truths is once again summoned to the Imperial Palaceo: Tekreth Guardian of the Door of Sobeck has fallen to his death from the roof of his stately mansion. According to all evidence it was an accident but Pharaoh Queen Hatusu is not convinced. Increasingly worried about reports of mysterious disappearances along the Sobeck Road the imperial highway stretching south she believes that Tekreths death could be part of a far greater problem. Amerotke aware of the reports from the Sobeck Road has also heard rumours about the Shemai a cult devoted to death based along its borders. Before Amerotke can start to consider either of these matters though a gruesome mass murder occurs at the Necropolis. The funeral party for revered scribe Ptulimis has been poisoned & Amerotke must immediately investigate the abomination. As Amerotke probes further he suspects that all these events may be connected & that dangerous forces are at work in Pharaoh Hatusus realm. Will Amerotke be able to uncover the truth before Egypt is overrun by its sinister & dangerous underworld? ...

Salonika 1940. To the bustle of tavernas & the smell of hashish a secret war is taking shape. In the backrooms of barbers envelopes change hands & in the Club de Salonique the air is thick with whispers. Costa Zannis is the city's dashing chief detective
- a man with contacts high & low in the Balkans & beyond. & as unknown ships & British 'travel writers' trickle through the port he is a man very much in dem&. Having helped defeat Italy in the highlands of Macedonia Zannis returns to a city holding its breath. Mussolini's forces have retreated
- for now
- but German sights are fixed firmly on the region. & as the situation in Germany worsens Zannis becomes involved in an audacious plot
- smuggling Jews to Istanbul through the back door of Europe. The British hear he can penetrate the continent's closed borders & soon Zannis is embroiled in the resistance & in a reckless love affair that could jeopardise everything. With a remarkable cast of operatives SPIES OF THE BALKANS is a brilliant new espionage novel from Alan Furst.



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An Autumn evening in 1937. A German engineer arrives at the Warsaw railway station. Tonight he will be with his Polish mistress; tomorrow at a workers bar in the citys factory district he will meet with the military attache from the French embassy. Information will be exchanged for money. So begins THE SPIES OF WARSAW with war coming to Europe & French & German operatives locked in a life-&-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. At the French embassy the new military attache Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier a decorated hero of the 1914 war is drawn in to a world of abduction betrayal & intrigue in the diplomatic salons & back alleys of Warsaw. At the same time the handsome aristocrat finds himself in a passionate love affair with a Parisian woman of Polish heritage a lawyer for the League of Nations. Colonel Mercier must work in the shadows amidst an extraordinary cast of venal & dangerous characters
- Colonel Anton Vyborg of Polish military intelligence last seen in Fursts THE POLISH OFFICER; the mysterious & sophisticated Doctor Lapp senior German Abwehr officer in Warsaw; Malka & Viktor Rozen at work for the Russian secret service; & Merciers brutal & vindictive opponent Major August Voss of SS counterintelligence. & there are many more some known to Mercier as spies some never to be revealed.
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On a cool October evening in 1937 German engineer & secret agent Herr Edvard Uhl arrives in Warsaw. He suppresses a chill of fear. Tonight he will be with his mistress; tomorrow he will be at a bar where he will meet with a French military attache. Information will be exchanged for money. War is coming to Europe. & although bombs & bullets have yet to fly French & German operatives are already caught in a deadly espionage battle. In a war of intelligence & subterfuge no spy can help being drawn into the murky world of abduction betrayal & intrigue. ...

Spike is out on his own away from Angels watchful eye & in charge of his own destiny. Old flames & new challenges arise as Spike faces a crazed killer Wolfram & Hart & the consequences of having a soul. This title collects the complete 8-issue series of Spike" by Brian Lynch that connects the " After The Fall" storyline to the subsequent " Buffy: Season 8" series." ...