The first history of World War I to place centre-stage the British soldier who fought in the trenches this superb & important ...

2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War arguably the definitive conflict in the history of Europe. Never before or since has such a great swell of popular sentiment produced such a patriotic rush to arms. In the trenches & on the battlefield British soldiers united with their allies to fight valiantly for the cause. At very great cost they delivered Western Europe from a new Dark Age. Providing a vital insight into this pivotal period historians John Sadler & Rosie Serdiville disclose the poignant & emotive experiences of war in the front line & behind from men & women of every class & background. Combining rich anecdote & unique testimony the stories of those that passed through the ordeal of war reveal remarkable tales of horror & suffering but also the comradeship exhilaration & adventure of the Western Front. This is the human story of the Great War told by those who lived through it. ...

For the first time Tommy Coopers biographer writer & producer John Fisher collects between two covers the cream of the comedians personal archives with photographs memorabilia & documents that have never been seen before. Had Cooper kept a scrapbook this is what he would have produced. Souvenirs from his many stage & television triumphs jostle side by side with candid shots of him at play with his family many revealing a side to the man the public never really saw. Here is the authentic side of Tommy in the forces the early show business struggle the backstage world of his magic the newspaper coverage of the most recognisable man in Britain the crazy japes at home with wife Gwen & so much more. This book with its brilliant colour images & hilarious text puts the successive stages of Tommys life in full context. & if you dont want to follow his life in biographical detail just sit back & relax by laughing at the many jokes that crowd the pages. They tell their own story! ...

Youve heard of the lone ranger? Im his brother hydrangea! The other night I dreamt I was eating a ten-pound marshmallow. When I woke up the pillow had gone! My wife just phoned me. She said Ive got water in the carburettor. I said Wheres the car? She said In the river. I said to the doctor Doctor Im losing all sense of direction. What should I do? He said Get lost. Ive got a dog you know. I have. Hes a one-man dog. He only bites me. Tommy Cooper died on stage at Her Majestys Theatre London twenty-five years ago in April 1984 & is still revered today as probably the greatest comedian of the second half of the 20th century. More than just a comedian Tommy Cooper was a born entertainer. Working in a golden age of British comedy Cooper stood
- literally
- head & shoulders above the crowd & had a magical talent for humour that defied description. With a love of laughter stemming from a magic performance gone wrong when he was in his teens Cooper enlisted in the army in 1939 & began to perfect his comic timing on his army colleagues in the Egyptian desert. The man with the fez was born.

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For the first time the secret joke archives of the legendary comedian are opened up for all to enjoy. Relive the laughter with jokes on every subject from 'A for Absent-minded' to 'Z for Zoo'. Part of an ongoing series of books celebrating the Cooper legacy Tommy Cooper's Secret Joke Files" follows hot on the heels of John Fisher's bestselling " The Tommy Cooper Joke Book" & " Tommy Cooper's Mirth Magic & Mischief". It promises to be the funniest yet. Alphabet: My little boy learnt the alphabet. I said ' What comes after A?' He said ' All the rest of them!' Doctors: I said ' Doctor I keep getting these dizzy spells'. He said ' Vertigo?' I said ' No I only live up the road!' Facts of Life: When my wife was pregnant we went to see a baby doctor but he didn't know anything. He was only eight months old! Horses: I used to have a riding school but business kept falling off! Waiters: I said to the waiter ' There's no chicken in this chicken soup'. He said ' And there's no horse in the horseradish either'. Wives: ' The other night I had an argument with my wife in the launderette.. .but we went home & ironed things out'." ...

For soldiers in the Great War going over the top was a comparatively rare event; much more frequently they were bored & lonely & missing their families at home. Needing an outlet for their affection many found it in the animal kingdom. Tommys Ark" looks at the war through the eyes of the soldiers who were there & examines their relationship with a strange & unexpected range of animal life from horses dogs & cats to monkeys & birds
- even in one case a golden eagle. Animals became mascots
- some Welsh battalions had goats as mascots some of the Scots had donkeys. & then there were the animals & insects that excited curiosity amongst men drawn into the army from the industrial heartlands of Britain men who had little knowledge of let alone daily contact with wildlife. Civilians turned soldiers observed the natural world around them from the smallest woodlouse to voles mice & larger animals such as deer & rabbit. Richard van Emden explores his subject far more radically than previous attempts revealing how for example a lemur was taken on combat missions in the air a lion was allowed to pad down the front line trenches & how a monkey lost its leg during the fighting at Delville Wood on the Somme. It is illustrated with more than sixty previously unseen or rarely published photographs drawn mainly from the authors own extraordinary collection."

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For soldiers in the Great War going over the top was a comparatively rare event; much more frequently they were bored & lonely & missing their families at home. Needing an outlet for their affection many found it in the animal kingdom. Tommys Ark" looks at the war through the eyes of the soldiers who were there & examines their relationship with a strange & unexpected range of animal life from horses dogs & cats to monkeys & birds
- even in one case a golden eagle. Animals became mascots
- some Welsh battalions had goats as mascots some of the Scots had donkeys. & then there were the animals & insects that excited curiosity amongst men drawn into the army from the industrial heartlands of Britain men who had little knowledge of let alone daily contact with wildlife. Civilians turned soldiers observed the natural world around them from the smallest woodlouse to voles mice & larger animals such as deer & rabbit. Richard van Emden explores his subject far more radically than previous attempts revealing how for example a lemur was taken on combat missions in the air a lion was allowed to pad down the front line trenches & how a monkey lost its leg during the fighting at Delville Wood on the Somme. This title is illustrated with more than sixty previously unseen or rarely published photographs drawn mainly from the authors own extraordinary collection."

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Shall have to be about all night for have charge of this particular bit of trench. Have now made close acquaintance with the brilliant lights we have seen breaking over No Mans L&. They are fired from a large pistol one of which I have in my pocket now also a supply of cartridges for same. On anything the least bit suspicious happening out in front during the hours of darkness a shot from this pistol fired up in the air after the style of a rocket will produce a very brilliant light lasting over half a minute as it falls to the earth. It is a very useful affair for the imagination absolutely runs riot during the darkness. The night is hardly half gone but have used 12 or 14 cartridges already to convince the boys that there is nothing moving out there". Lance Corporal Henry Buckles drawings & writings are a window onto the Western Front as one man saw it. His charming colour sketches are a rare & exquisite insight into trench life that cannot fail to amuse & move the observer. This book truly means that you can experience the Great War at first h&." ...

The bestselling author of the nostalgic classics OUR KID & KATES STORY has based his engaging new novel on the fascinating & inspiring life of his father Tommy born in a Manchester slum in 1886 Tommy Hopkins early years arent very promising. Born at the end of the nineteenth century in a slum district of Manchester hes blessed with a loving hard-working mam & dad but they dont have two hapennies to rub together. The family is struck by tragedy not once but twice
- but Tommy is a survivor. He quickly makes friends at school & together they plot money-making schemes settle scores & play lots of football. Then at last its time to leave the playground behind. Denied the chance of a promising career as an engineer Tommy finds employment at Manchesters Smithfield market & works his way up finally becoming a porter. Hes turning into a man & amongst the young women who catch his eye is Kate Lally who may just be the love of his life...
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There is a reason why Stephen King is one of the bestselling writers in the world ever. Described in the Daily Express as a fabulous teller of stories Stephen King writes books that draw you in & are impossible to put down. Everything is familiar. But everything has changed. Coming back to the little community is like walking into a nightmare for Jim Gardener poet drunk potential suicide. It all looks the same the house the furniture Jims friend Bobbi her beagle (though ageing) even the woods out at the back. But it was in the woods that Bobbi stumbled over the odd part-buried object & felt a peculiar tingle as she brushed the soft earth away. Everything is familiar. But everything is about to change. ...