If there's one motorcycle race that deserves a quality hardback it's the Isle of Man TT. Commonly seen as the world's most dangerous race Rick Broadbent gets behind the scenes & into the helmets of four leading racers over the course of two seasons -- 2010 & 2011 -- following the riders through the numerous vicissitudes of an average season. Ian Hutchinson is as high as they come following his clean-up at the 2010 TT; a fortnight later his leg is being rebuilt after a fellow rider rode over it & Hutchinson has to plead the case for not amputating.. . Conor Cummins is back after battling depression following a serious injury; Guy Martin was on the same hospital after breaking his back but is now a BBC TV presenter; Bridgit Dobbs is the widow of Paul who died in the 2010 race & talks movingly on revisiting the race for the first time since her husband's death.. . Rick Broadbent's That Near Death Thing is the final word on the Isle of Man TT. ...

THAT NEAR DEATH THING is a life-affirming journey to the heart of the world's most dangerous race. The Isle of Man TT is a throwback to a maverick era that existed before PR platitudes & PC attitudes. WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR-shortlisted author Rick Broadbent gets inside the helmets of four leading motorcycle racers as they battle fear fire & family tragedy for a gritty sort of glory. Guy Martin is a tea-drinking truck mechanic & TV eccentric who 'sucks the rabbits out of hedges' but must now deal with the flipside of fame; Conor Cummins is the local hero facing a race against time as he battles depression & a broken body after falling down the mountain; John Mc Guinness is the living legend fending off the ravages of middle-age for one last hurrah; Michael Dunlop is the wild child living with one of the most remarkable legacies in sport. They tell their astonishing stories in a book that provides the most rounded intimate behind-the-scences account yet of the last great race. Rick Broadbent has delivered the final word on the Isle of Man TT one that really gets to grips with an event that continually pulls unsung riders & fans back year after year to witness That Near Death Thing. ...

A brilliant novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning Annie Proulx author of ' The Shipping News' & ' Brokeback Mountain'. ' That Old Ace in the Hole' is a richly textured story of one man's struggle to make good in the inhospitable ranch country of the Texas panhandle told with razor-sharp wit & a masterly sense of place. Some folks in the Texas panhandle do not like hog farms. But Bob Dollar the newly hired hog site scout for Global Pork Rind intends to do his job. Bob must contend with tough men & women like ancient Freda Beautyrooms who controls a ranch he covets & Ace Crouch the windmiller who defies the hog farms. As Bob settles in at La Von Fronk's bunkhouse & lends a hand at Cy Frease's Old Dog Cafe he is forced to question everything. ...

Winner of the 2006 Nestle Gold Award chosen for the Richard & Judy Christmas book party a Bookaboo Book Club book as seen on CITV & read by Amanda Holden. When the Queen steals Emily Browns favourite toy & erstwhile companion a toy rabbit called Stanley Emily sets out to get him back & teach that naughty queen a valuable lesson. This first time pairing of two highly acclaimed talents has created a brilliant visual feast
- a bestseller in the making.. .
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For fifteen-year-old Haven this is the summer where everything changes. Dad is remarrying. Her sister Ashley is planning a wedding of her own. Theyre both moving on but Haven is lost in memories of a time when life was happy & her family was whole. & then Ashleys ex the charming & funny Sumner Lee arrives in town. He reminds Haven of carefree days gone by & she cant help but wonder
- has fate brought this person from her past back to change her future?
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Linda Weston has always lived in Eagle Street a backwater off the Tower Bridge Road market. Life in the street isn't easy: money is tight the house is overcrowded & everyone knows your business
- whether you like it or not. But it's a solid tight-knit community that laughs cries & fights together
- & helps one another out in difficult times. Linda fell in love with Charlie Bradley just before the outbreak of World War Two & now the war is over they hope to build a bright new future together. But Linda & Charlie are to find themselves caught in the middle of two rival gangs fighting for a stranglehold over south-east London. The consequences could be devastating...

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That They May Face the Rising Sun" was the last novel from John Mc Gahern one of Ireland's greatest novelists. Joe & Kate Ruttledge have come to Ireland from London in search of a different life. In passages of beauty & truth the drama of a year in their lives & those of the memorable characters that move about them unfolds through the action the rituals of work religious observances & play. We are introduced with deceptive simplicity to a complete representation of existence
- an enclosed world has been transformed into an Everywhere."
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When Meredith Mitchells old friend Toby Smythe turns up on leave she is delighted to see him. But Toby has a problem
- or rather
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One of Britains most distinguished biographers turns her focus on one of the most vilified woman of the last century. Historian Anne Sebba has written the first full biography of Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor by a woman which attempts to understand this fascinating & enigmatic American divorcee who nearly became Queen of Engl&. That woman as she was referred to by the Queen Mother became a hate figure for allegedly ensnaring a British king. Born in 1896 in Baltimore Bessiewallis Warfield endured an impoverished & comparatively obscure childhood which inflamed a burning desire to rise above her circumstances. Neither beautiful nor brilliant & no longer young she nevertheless became one of the most talked about women of her generation & inspired such deep love & adoration in Edward VIII that even giving up a throne & an empire for her was not enough to prove his total devotion. Wallis lived by her wit & her wits while both her apparent & alleged moral transgressions added to her aura & dazzle. Accused of Fascist sympathies having Nazi lovers & learning bizarre sexual techniques in China she was the subject of widespread gossip & fascination that has only increased with the years. In death the Duchess became a symbol of empowerment & a style icon a woman whose unequivocal aim was to win in the game of life. Based on new archives & material recently made available this scrupulously researched biography re evaluates the role of politicians in the 1930s sheds new light on the character & motivations of this powerful charismatic & complex woman & questions was this really the romantic love story of the century? ...

One of Britain's most distinguished biographers turns her focus on one of the most vilified women of the twentieth century. Historian Anne Sebba has written the first full biography by a woman of Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor. ' That woman' as she was referred to by the Queen Mother became a hate figure for ensnaring a British king & destabilising the monarchy. Neither beautiful nor brilliant she nevertheless became one of the most talked-about women of her generation & she inspired such deep love & adoration in Edward VIII that he gave up a throne & an empire for her. Wallis lived by her wit & her wits while both her apparent & alleged moral transgressions added to her aura & dazzle. Based on new archives & material only recently made available this scrupulously researched biography sheds new light on the character & motivations of a powerful charismatic & complex woman. ...