Soho has always been a source of fascination. A district quite unlike any other in London where glamour meets squalor & then often merges. It is different never mirroring the changes of its more fashionable neighbours. It seduces & destroys in equal measures. The Windmill Theatre opened in 1932 & after entertaining audiences through thirty-two years of dramatic change in Soho finally closed its doors in 1964. In this book the Windmill forms the backdrop against which Mike Hutton explores all the diversity taking place in the surrounding streets of this unique district during a period of social & moral change. There is the influence of the many nationalities living there during the years leading up to the war. Organised crime existing alongside leading West End theatres & restaurants. The arrival of the GIs with money to burn & time on their hands. The black market booms. Want some nylons? How about a gun? No problem. Falling bombs bring terror but there is still time to party. Then its all over & nationally austerity takes hold but never quite in Soho. The squeaky clean Windmill girls are joined by models baring all in the burgeoning strip clubs. There is money to be made dodgy policemen to be paid off & violence simmers away to a background of music. ...

The Story of Spain" is a story of kings & poets saints & conquistadors emperors & revolutionaries. It is the story of Torquemada Cervantes Picasso Franco Saint Theresa & of the Alhambra & the Escorial. Drawing on years of rigorous research & written with the flair of a master storyteller this superb new edition draws together the myriad fragments of Spanish history
- from its prehistory right up to the 2008 elections
- to re-create the drama excitement & pathos that is the story of one of Europes most fascinating countries."

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Annie Leonard creator of the internet film sensation The Story of Stuff" viewed over 6 million times offers an astonishing galvanizing book that tells the story of all the stuff we use everyday
- where our bottled water mobile phones & jeans come from how theyre made & distributed & where they really go when we throw them away. Our out-of-control consumption habits are killing the planet & threatening our health but Annie provides hope that change is within reach. Like " An Inconvenient Truth & Silent Spring" " The Story of Stuff" will be an instant classic."
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Batailles first novel published under the pseudonym Lord Auch is still his most notorious work. In this explicit pornographic fantasy the young male narrator & his lovers Simone & Marcelle embark on a sexual quest involving sadism torture orgies madness & defilement culminating in a final act of transgression. Shocking & sacreligious Story of the Eye" is the fullest expression of Batailles obsession with the closeness of sex violence & death. Yet it is also hallucinogenic in its power & is one of the erotic classics of the twentieth century." ...

The Story of the Fly & how it could save the world will take you behind the pesky reputation & inside the brain & body of the much misunderstood fly. It investigates the insect as pest & how man has tried (tirelessly often unsuccessfully) to kill it
- exploring everything from how it walks on ceilings to how it survives Ice Ages & outsmart all manner of fly swats toxins & traps. The book also reveals how throughout history innovative humans
- including Napoleon Bonapartes surgeon NASA various forensic entomologists & the UK National Health Services
- have harnessed & researched the fly to help mankind. But ultimately it introduces the fly as a future hero that could help save the world. How? By recycling waste nutrients & generating sustainable protein to spare the fish in the ocean & feed the ever-growing number of people on our Earth. Thats a story worth telling. & one worth reading too.


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A modern classic & one of the most popular picture books of the last 20 years
- now with sound! * Hear hilarious splat-tastic sounds
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Popular among both adults & children ' The Story of the Little Mole' follows the quest of a mole as he tries to find out who did their business" on his head. " Quite simply the funniest book you are ever likely to read (as long as you are not easily offended that is!). Perfect for children of course but if you are stuck for gift ideas for the adults in your life you may need to look no further."
- Susan Harrison amazon.co.uk"
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A phenomenal success since its UK publication in 1994 The Story of the Little Mole...'" has delighted adults & children alike to become an all-time humour classic. This hilarious picture book tells the tale of a little mole who wakes up one morning only to have one of the other animals 'do its business' on his head. The Little Mole then sets out to track down the culprit to exact his revenge in his own little way. This brilliant new board book edition is a fantastic way to introduce children to the amazing world of books." ...

From the worlds leading Dead Sea Scrolls" scholar Geza Vermes " The Story of the Scrolls: The Miraculous Discovery & True Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls" is an ideal introduction to understanding these ancient documents. The discovery of the " Dead Sea Scrolls" in Qumran between 1947 & 1956 was one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Written in Hebrew Aramaic & Greek & hidden in caves by an ancient Jewish sect these mysterious manuscripts revolutionized our understanding of the Bible of Judaism & the early Christian world. Geza Vermes English translations brought these extraordinary documents to thousands & his life has been inextricably interwoven with the scrolls for over sixty years. In " The Story of the Scrolls" Vermes relates the controversial story of their discovery & publication around the world revealing cover-ups blunders & academic in-fighting but also the passion & dedication of many of those involved. He shares what he has learned about the scrolls & evaluating passages from them gives his views on their true significance & what they can teach us as well as those areas where scholarly consensus has not yet been reached. " The worlds leading Gospel scholar". (" The Times"). " Vermes has the rare gift of wearing his immense scholarship lightly". (David Goldberg " Independent"). Geza Vermes is director of the Forum for Qumran Research at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies. His books published by Penguin include " The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English" & " The Changing Faces of Jesus" as well as the Jesus trilogy: " Nativity" " Passion" & " Resurrection"." ...

The Story of the Stone" (c. 1760) also known as " The Dream of the Red Chamber" is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The fifth part of Cao Xueqins magnificent saga " The Dreamer Awakes" was carefully edited & completed by Gao E some decades later. It continues the story of the changing fortunes of the Jia dynasty focussing on Bao-yu now married to Bao-chai after the tragic death of his beloved Dai-yu. Against such worldly elements as death financial ruin marriage decadence & corruption his karmic journey unfolds. Like a sleepwalker through life Bao-yu is finally awakened by a vision which reveals to him that life itself is merely a dream as moonlight mirrored in the water." ...