With first-hand accounts from the people who knew him best this book details Sir Elton's formative years from training as a classical pianist at the Royal Academy of Music through his time as a jobbing songwriter in London's Tin Pan Alley & performing his first live gigs ending with the breakthrough Troubadour concerts in 1970. The author has obtained interviews with everyone from Elton's first piano teacher through to band mates in Bluesology & the Elton John Band Tony Taupin (brother of Bernie) manager Ray Williams lyricists Gary Osborne & Bill Martin songwriter Tony Hatch music publicist Tony King & many more. They all contribute to a celebration of Elton's journey along the Yellow Brick Road from Tin Pan Alley to the Troubadour. However Denmark Street London's Tin Pan Alley is as much the star of the book as Sir Elton. The author paints a vivid picture of a lost world of sharp music publishers struggling songwriters & other inhabitants of the street who all came together to socialise & trade songs at the Giaconda & Julie's Cafe. With never-before-seen photos Tin Pan Alley: The Rise of Elton John is the first book to focus entirely on Elton's formative years up to 1970. For Elton's army of fans & those interested in British musical history this book is a must. Music business journalist Nigel Hunter who worked in Tin Pan Alley himself provides a funny & touching preface. A really nice touch is that the jacket was designed by David Larkham who was responsible for the classic Elton John covers such as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road & Captain Fantastic. ...

Jim Taylor Sally Lockhart's oldest friend is engaged as bodyguard to a princess. But Crown Princess Adelaide of Razkavia is not what you'd expect. She's the slum-girl Jim has been searching for ever since she vanished ten years ago. Now her life is in mortal danger & together they must battle against unknown enemies in a country where no one can be trusted. This dramatic story of love loyalty & adventure is the final novel in the quartet. Philip Pullman's ever-popular action-packed Victorian melodramas are rejacketed for the bicentenary of Charles Dickens in 2012. ...

A peaceful childhood in pre-war Czechoslovakia seemed on course for a happy ending with her soul-mate Arno: but Hitler & war intervened. Arno perished in the Holocaust but Zdenka carried his ring from Terezin to Auschwitz to Kurzbach on a 300-mile death march to Gross Rosen & finally to Belsen. There in the last chaotic days of the war she almost died of starvation but was saved by a British army officer whose name she never learnt & to whom her book The Tin Ring is dedicated. ...

New Orleans is awash with corpses after Hurricane Katrina unleashes its awesome power. In a city patrolled only by looters all law & order gone the survivors wait in trees or on rooftops for help that never comes. In a landscape transformed into a violent wasteland Dave Robicheaux must investigate the shooting of two looters & find out why some very dangerous people are hunting a third. Is it because they unwittingly ransacked the house of a notorious mob boss? Or did a chance encounter with the father of a raped girl seal their fate? As Robicheaux starts to uncover a ruthless tale of greed torture & murder his own family comes under threat from a sinister psychopath & the devastated city provides the perfect stage for a final confrontation between good & evil. ...

Born into an affluent family Bonnie Tor & Ula have been left to the feckless embrace of the cook & their nanny. Their father is dead. Their glamorous mother is away entertaining the troops. When their infant brother falls ill & dies the household disintegrates. In Tin Toys Ula escapes with Cook barely out of girlhood herself & lands at the mansion of an enigmatic matriarch. In Unicorn Sisters the three sisters are sent to a shabby English boarding school where the pupils are pitted against an anarchic gang of East End evacuees. A Bubble Garden finds the girls in Ireland where they scrape a life in a crumbling once-grand farmhouse while their mother & her new husband are mired in their private traumas. A uniquely compelling & powerful coming-of-age classic. ...

Every time I go out on stage I feel invincible. I feel like no one can do anything to me. Im with 10 000 of the very best friends you could have. Since his debut album Disc-Overy went double platinum Tinie Tempahs life has transformed into a whirlwind of sell-out gigs festivals award ceremonies partying with celebrities & jetting all over the world. For a lad with humble beginnings in south-east London its been a breathtaking ride & now in his very first book he invites his fans to join his crazy world. Jam-packed full of exclusive photos this is an up-close-&-personal insight into what its like to be Britains biggest pop star. Speaking from the heart Tinie talks about everything that means the most to him including family & his closest friends while sharing his incredible journey.
- When did he have his first kiss?
- How does it feel to win two Brit Awards?
- What was it like to meet Prince William?
- & will he ever go to Scunthorpe? The answers are all here in Tinies intimate account of how hes gone from Disturbing London Baby to disturbing the whole wide world.



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The enduring novel by one of our greatest storytellers. George Smiley who is a troubled man of infinite compassion is also a single-mindedly ruthless adversary as a spy. The scene which he enters is a Cold War landscape of moles & lamplighters scalp-hunters & pavement artists where men are turned burned or bought for stock. Smileys mission is to catch a Moscow Centre mole burrowed thirty years deep into the Circus itself. ...

The Circus has already suffered a bad defeat & the result was two bullets in a mans back. But a bigger threat still exists. & the legendary George Smiley is recruited to root out a high-level mole of thirty years standing
- though to find him means spying on the spies. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is brilliant & ceaselessly compelling pitting Smiley against his Cold War rival Karla in one of the greatest struggles in all fiction.
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Smiley wrestling with retirement & disillusionment is summoned to a secret meeting with a member of the Cabinet Office. Evidence has emerged that the Circus has been infiltrated at the highest level by a Russian agent. ' Find the mole George. Clean the stables. Do whatever is necessary'. Reluctantly Smiley agrees & so embarks on a dark journey into his past
- a past filled with love duplicity & betrayal. Starring the award-winning Simon Russell Beale as Smiley & with a star cast including Anna Chancellor Alex Jennings Kenneth Cranham & Bill Paterson this epic dramatisation brilliantly depicts the complicated moral dilemmas of those who practise post-war espionage & illuminates the murky corners of le Carre's classic spy thriller
- the first in the Karla trilogy. '...a worthy audio version of the seminal spy drama brilliantly depicting the complicated moral dilemmas of post-war espionage & allowing Beale room to shine as the character of Smiley really comes into his own'
- Herts Advertiser". 'beautifully paced in a dramatisation which captures the essence of the book whilst working supremely well in its own right in the radio medium'
- " Chichester Observer". ' This period dramatisation could not be bettered'
- " Observer"."




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Tinkered Treasures is a how-to craft book that demonstrates how everyday mundane items can be transformed into charming & unique items. Elyse Major has created over 35 projects using objects that can easily be found or that you might already have. She refers to these transformations as 'tinkering' as it perfectly describes her style of embellishing repurposing & altering things without the need for any specialist tools & equipment or techniques. Tinkering is not about constructing
- it's about appreciating the flaws but seeing the potential in little details. Each craft project in this book is designed for complete beginners
- there are no particular skills involved. Measuring often gives way to estimating & many of the simple techniques are repeated from project to project. The book shows how to tinker all sorts of household & craft items to create a range of gorgeous gifts treasures & trinkets from clothespin dolls & tiny picture frames to favour baskets bunting fabric garlands bookmarks & more. If you are new to crafting have no fear because simple instructions along with a tools & techniques section are provided. All the projects in this book can be adapted to your own tastes
- with a simple colour or pattern change you can create items to suit any style or home.


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