Most travellers want to have fun & feel relaxed from the moment they arrive at their holiday destination
- that's what Marco Polo
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Songwriter Dave Carroll wasnt the first person abused by an airlines customer service. But he was the first to show how one person armed with creativity some friends $150 & the Internet could turn an entire industry upside down. United Airlines had broken Daves guitar after his luggage had been checked on one fateful day. After eight months of pestering the airline for compensation Dave turned to his best tool
- songwriting
- & vowed to create a You Tube video about the incident that he hoped would garner a million views in one year. Four days after launching the first million people had watched United Breaks Guitars". United stock went down 10 percent shedding $180 million in value; & Dave appeared on television to tell his story. United relented. & throughout the business world people began to realise that efficient but inhuman customer-service policies had an unseen cost
- brand destruction by frustrated creative & socially connected customers. " United Breaks Guitars" has become a textbook example of the new relationship between companies & their customers & has demonstrated the power of one voice in the age of social media. It has become a benchmark in the customer-service & music industries as well as branding & social media circles. Today more than 150 million people are familiar with this story. In this fascinating book Dave will tell you how he developed the just do it philosophy that made him the ideal man to take on a big company what it felt like to be in the center of the media frenzy & how hes taken his talents & become a sought
- after songwriter & public speaker. & businesspeople will also learn how companies should change their policies & address social-media uprisings. Since Daves story came to light nothing has been the same
- for consumers musicians or business. Whether you are a guitarist a baggage handler or a boardroom executive this book will entertain you & remind you that we are all connected.. .that each of us matters & that we all have a voice worth hearing."




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The United Nations has been called everything from the best hope of mankind" to "irrelevant" & "obsolete." With this much-needed introduction to the UN Jussi Hanhimaki engages the current debate over the organizations effectiveness as he provides a clear understanding of how it was originally conceived how it has come to its present form & how it must confront new challenges in a rapidly changing world. After a brief history of the United Nations & its predecessor the League of Nations the author examines the UNs successes & failures as a guardian of international peace & security as a promoter of human rights as a protector of international law & as an engineer of socio-economic development. Hanhimaki stresses that the UNs greatest problem has been the impossibly wide gap between its ambitions & capabilities. In the area of international security for instance the UN has to settle conflicts--be they between or within states--without offending the national sovereignty of its member states & without being sidelined by strong countries as happened in the 2003 intervention of Iraq. Hanhimaki also provides a clear accounting of the UN & its various arms & organizations (such as UNESCO & UNICEF) & he offers a critical overview of how effective it has been in the recent crises in Rwanda & the former Yugoslavia for example--and how likely it is to meet its overall goals in the future. The United Nations Hanhimaki concludes is an indispensable organization that has made the world a better place. But it is also a deeply flawed institution in need of constant reform." ...

With Lou Macari Joe Jordan Martin Buchan Gordon Hill Tommy Docherty Gerry Daly Sammy Mc Ilroy Jimmy Greenhoff Jimmy Nicholl & Stuart Pearson Following the success of his books on United in the 1980s & 90s Andy Mitten has travelled far & wide to track down ten of Manchester Uniteds stars from 1970s
- including Martin Buchan Lou Macari Sammy Mc Ilroy Gordon Hill Gerry Daly Joe Jordan Jimmy Greenhoff
- as well as The Doc himself to open the door to the Old Trafford dressing room during one of the most enthralling eras in the history of Englands greatest club. A highly respected journalist & editor of the influential United We Stand fanzine Mitten has produced another book packed with brilliantly colourful anecdotes that transports the reader back to a time when the players were not highly paid went to the pub after training & played hard on & off the pitch. His interviewees discuss not only cup final joys & disasters but also behind the scenes politics sackings relegation hooliganism bust ups & mad pranks. United! United! is an astonishingly candid & entertaining look at the decade when the Red Army & Uniteds wingers went on the rampage from Northampton to Norwich George Best went AWOL four managers tried to fill Matt Busbys shoes & fans were fenced in.

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The Universal Carrier was a fast lightly armed vehicle developed by the British Army to carry infantry across ground defended by small-arms fire; specifically the Bren light machine gun hence the name Bren Gun Carrier. This name would stick with the Universal Carrier & all of its future variants. This book details the Carrier which was employed in a number of roles including carrying ammunition & towing anti-aircraft guns & trailers. All Allies used the Universal Carrier extensively during practically every World War II campaign. By the wars end the Universal Carrier had proved itself to be an invaluable & successful cross-country vehicle that was both agile & fast for its time. ...

Jonathan Cowap: if someone is described as hirsute what are they? Contestant: Erm... Jonathan Cowap: here's a clue. Most men are & most women would like us to think they are not. Contestant: is it gay Jonathan?
- 24 Hour Challenge" (BBC Radio York). There's nothing quite like a quick fire question the pressure of a countdown or the expectant stare of Jeremy Paxman for making even the most intelligent quiz show contestants (as well as the not so clever) come out with the most unbelievably stupid answers. " Universally Challenged" is a collection of slip-ups blunders & misunderstandings from contestants who really are the weakest link. It

Includes:: these priceless examples from " Family Fortunes"
- Les Dennis: name something that could be useful to a blind man. Contestant: a sword. Les Dennis: name a bird with a long neck. Contestant: Naomi Campbell. Les Dennis: name something people might be allergic to. Contestant: skiing. This hilarious compendium of stupidity is guaranteed to have readers of any age howling in disbelief."



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Where did the Universe come from? This is the single biggest & most difficult question that there is. From early religions through Greek Philosophy & Western Science man has always attempted to discover the meaning of our place in the Universe. In the last twenty years these debates have all been stood on their head by amazing discoveries big bang theory & ideas about new sub-atomic layers. The nature of Time & Space are truly up for grabs. With a witty & accessible style Osborne leads us on a historical & informative journey through the philosophies of the universe including the importance of telescopes mathematics & relativity theory & ending with contemporary mind-expanding concepts such as the reversibility of time & parallel universes. Chapters include: The Beginnings of Cosmology; From Stars In Their Eyes to Telescopes & Beyond; The Newtonian Revolution: Mechanics & Maestros; The Rise of Modern Cosmology: From Here to Eternity; New Dimensions; & Holes Bangs & Curvature: Eternity Gets Bigger. ...

The Universe: 365 Days has been created by the founders of Astronomy Picture of the Day a website created & maintained by two astrophysicists in collaboration with NASA that has been in existence since 1995. The site has become one of the most popular on the web
- it now gets one million hits a week. Using this website as a resource for The Universe: 365 Days this book contains a visually stunning group of the best & most educational astronomy-based images available. The text that accompanies each picture is both fun & informative engaging the reader with questions anecdotes & the wonders of the cosmos.
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This is an out-of-this world journey across the universe. From the fiery mass of the Sun's core to the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way Universe" takes you on the ultimate guided tour of the cosmos. Full of stunning out-of-this world images reflecting recent advances in space imagery you'll go on a journey from our solar system all the way to the farthest limits of space. This new edition has been expanded & updated to include the most exciting new discoveries from water on Mars to planets in other solar systems plus up-to-date charts & information on the latest equipment for studying the wonders of the universe. The comprehensive night-sky atlas covers all the constellations & planetary charts showing their positions right up to 2019. With a special embossed jacket " Universe" is a beautiful special gift for keen amateur astronomers as well as a great reference book for the whole family." ...

This stunning collection of images & essays surveys the key breakthroughs that have shaped our understanding of the universe ...