This is the classic story by Charles Dickens retold for children ready to tackle longer & more complex stories. Set during the French Revolution the lives of Charles Darnay & his family are changed forever as the drama unfolds. It is part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton. It comes with internet links to find out more about the life & times of Charles Dickens. ...

This is the tale of two cities divided by football & united by tragedy. The story begins in emnity when United's Busby Babes face Santiago Bernebeu's Galacticos in the 1957 European Cup semi-final. United were a team made up of h&-reared British & Irish youngsters who had conquered British football with relative ease. They faced Madrid's reigning European Champions led by ' The Blond Arrow' Alfredo di Stefano. Inevitably United lost that tie over two legs but the pair seemed certain to be rivals for years before the Munich Air Disaster ripped apart Manchester's pride & joy. In the years that followed Real Madrid's president moved heaven & earth to help his club's former foes & a series of friendly matches were played to help United's languishing coffers as Real completed their now legendary 5 European Cup victories in a row from the inception of the tournament. Following the Mancunian side's recovery & rehabilitation the clubs met once more & this time it was for real. United's aging side battled through to the 1968 European Cup semi-final to face the Madrilenos once more. Madrid by now six times winners looked certain to go through when they raced into a 3-2 aggregate lead in Spain before David Sadler & Munich survivor Bill Foulkes scored late goals to send United through to a date with destiny against Benfica in the Wembley final. This riveting footballing story featuring most of the greatest players of the fifties & sixties but most importantly two great rivals & friends: Madrid President Santiago Bernebeu & United manager Matt Busby. ...

Talent. You've either got it or you haven't.' Not true actually. In The Talent Code award-winning journalist Daniel Coyle draws on cutting-edge research to reveal that far from being some abstract mystical power fixed at birth ability really can be created & nurtured. In the process he considers talent at work in venues as diverse as a music school in Dallas & a tennis academy near Moscow to demostrate how the wiring of our brains can be transformed by the way we approach particular tasks. He explains what is really going on when apparently unremarkable people suddenly make a major leap forward. He reveals why some teaching methods are so much more effective than others. Above all he shows how all of us can achieve our full potential if we set about training our brains in the right way. ...

What if everything you know about raw talent hard work & great performance is wrong? Few if any of the people around you are truly great at what they do. But why aren't they? Why don't they manage businesses like Jack Welch or Andy Grove play golf like Tiger Woods or play the violin like Itzhak Perlman? Asked to explain why a few people truly excel most of us offer one of two answers: hard work or a natural talent. However scientific evidence doesn't support the notion that specific natural talents make great performers. In one of the most popular Fortune articles in years Geoff Colvin offered new evidence that top performers in any field
- from Tiger Woods & Winston Churchill to Warren Buffett & Jack Welch
- are not determined by their inborn talents. Greatness doesn't come from DNA but from practice & perseverance honed over decades. & not just plain old hard work but a very specific kind of work. The key is how you practice how you analyze the results of your progress & learn from your mistakes that enables you to achieve greatness. Now Colvin has expanded his article with much more scientific background & real-life examples. He shows that the skills of business
- negotiating deals evaluating financial statements & all the rest
- obey the principles that lead to greatness so that anyone can get better at them with the right kind of effort. Even the hardest decisions & interactions can be systematically enhanced. This new mind-set combined with Colvin's practical advice will change the way you think about your job & career
- & will inspire you to achieve more in all you do.




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If succession planning works how do the wrong people so often get to the top? Succession planning was once the key to identifying potential leaders to fill important positions. However in todays rapidly evolving business world traditional succession planning is no longer a viable strategy with research showing that 70 per cent of succession plans fail within two years simply from lack of management support. In a climate of growing skills shortages & lack of confidence in leadership potential David Clutterbuck offers a new a process of dialogue between an organization & its employees. The Talent Wave" presents a dynamic flexible approach to succession planning & talent management. Clutterbuck first demolishes most of accepted practice in these areas & then presents practical solutions which align employee ambitions & business priorities to ensure that organizations have the right leadership in place for ongoing success." ...

When the phone rings in the middle of the night Dr Arthur Jackson leaves the warmth of his bed without hesitation. Tending to his peculiar flock of patients
- including the blind cobbler with a surprising taste for hard liquor the accident-prone butcher & the young woman with an unusual phobia
- is his first priority whether their illness is critical or they simply need a comforting hand to hold. The whole community turns to the young doctor for advice.. .and not all of it medical. Meanwhile Dr Jacksons family are settling into their new home a rambling manor house complete with uncooperative ducks & a ghost. This delightfully nostalgic tale follows their progress as the negotiate the highs & lows the hilarious ups & downs of life in a country practice.

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This omnibus audio edition of CALL THE MIDWIFE SHADOWS OF THE WORKHOUSE & FAREWELL TO THE EAST END chronicles Jennifer Worths career as a midwife from her arrival in the war-scarred Docklands as a wide-eyed trainee to the demolition of the tenements. It provides a fascinating snapshot of social history documenting the East End in the days when there was a real sense of community when times were tough but there was plenty of good humour & neighbourly support to help the inhabitants through the harsh econonic climate. ...

Tales from a Stone Cottage came into being when Aly won a competition to become Country Living Magazines new columnist. The magazine searched for a column that would chart life in the country
- the changing seasons the foibles of neighbours (if you dare)
-. Aly dared & the result was her initial article on the Cow Scale a scoring system which has kept her sane in many strange places. This & the following columns are enhanced by Celia Witchards cheerful illustrations & chronicle village life particularly the bits that make Aly laugh. Aly describes characters which are an amalgam of villagers she has been fortunate enough to have known throughout her life. Grumpy Mr Addington Julia the hedge fund manager & Frank who loves ferrets will be recognised both by those who live in the depths of Englands green & pleasant land & by those who prefer to watch from a safe distance. Connoisseurs will also enjoy meeting Alys real-life cast of animals which include killer geese scatty sheep & a horse with attitude. If your heart is in the country or if its quite a long way away from the country but enjoys a collection of witty stories this book is for you!

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This large-format gift book contains three of the popular tales from Acorn Wood stories: Postman Bear" " Hide-&-Seek Pig" & " Rabbits Nap". With sturdy flaps on every spread & rhyming stories that are a joy to read aloud this collection will delight parents & toddlers alike." ...

This large-format gift book contains three of the popular tales from Acorn Wood stories: Postman Bear" " Hide-&-Seek Pig" & " Rabbit's Nap". With sturdy flaps on every spread & rhyming stories that are a joy to read aloud this collection will delight parents & toddlers alike." ...