From the dirty to the depraved the barren to the downright boring going off the beaten track isnt always all its cracked up to be. This humorous guide packed with bizarre facts turns the travel genre on its head & uncovers some of the most unusual places the world has to offer. With weird & wonderful destinations from across the globe discover the Kingdom of Dwarves theme park in China an attraction where no-one measures above 5 feet tall. Or theres Kazantip in the Crimea where every year a mix of 150 000 ravers & Russian Mafia bosses with their teen brides in tow go to listen to electronic music on rotation for six weeks. A summer break to the city of Cherrapunji India may be a mistake with an average 29 days of rain in July & 26 in August. Meanwhile the health-conscious among you should probably avoid Evansville Indiana recently declared Americas fattest city. So unpack your bags put away your passport & save yourself some money by reading this guide. Then feel grateful that youll never make the mistake of visiting these places yourself. ...

Worm is the gripping story of the Conficker virus- which since its introduction in November 2008 has infected millions of computers around the world
- & the cyber security elites who have joined forces in a high-tech game of cops & robbers to find its creators & defeat them. This dramatic cybercrime story travels from the Ukraine to the United States (and all parts in between) to explore the next frontier in terrorism. It is the story of a dazzling battle of wits over the future of the Internet. In Worm Mark Bowden delivers an unputdownable account of the ongoing & largely unreported war taking place literally beneath our fingertips.
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This title is presented with an introduction by Robert Macfarlane. During the Second World War John Stewart Collis volunteered to leave his comfortable life as an academic to work on the land for the war effort. His account of this time perfectly captures the soft-handed city-dwellers naivety & wonder both at the workings of nature & the toughness of life on a farm. Its set in the south of England & comprises exquisitely written sections on whatever happens to take Collis fancy & inspire his thoughtful curiosity ranging from humorous sketches of the characters he works alongside; mini-essays such as Contemplation upon Ants The Mystery of Clouds Colloquy on the Rick Meditation while Singling Mangolds The Garden of Eden; & celebrations of the earthworm pea & potato. His mind ranges far & wide through literature science & philosophy as well as amazing descriptive writing which makes for a book that is as uncategorisable as it is enchanting. ...

Sams family are cursed with a dark & terrible secret. A secret that has its origins in a remote island off the coast of China & has haunted every generation of his family for hundreds of years. Now the curse is about to claim Sam as its next victim. It starts with an itchy rash that spreads all over his body. Then the feeling of something changing within him coming alive. & why has he become obsessed with the marshes & their cool muddy waters? Why has he stopped seeing his friends & going to school? As rumours begin to spread about sightings of a sinister creature on the outskirts of town Sam is forced to face a horrifying truth. One that could destroy him... ...

It is London 1756. In his Bloomsbury attic sits Dr Sabian Blake
- astronomer scientist & master of the Cabala. Dr Blake is in possession
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Is anything bothering you? Problems in class or at home? Don't know where to turn for help? Log on to the Worry Website! Type in your worry & wait for the good advice to flow in. At least that's the plan when Mr Speed sets up his super-cool new Worry Website. Holly Greg Natasha & the rest of the class think they've got shedloads of worries. But as they find out sometimes the best advice comes from the most unexpected place. ...

The son of one of New York's wealthiest families is snatched off the street & held hostage. His parents can't save him because this kidnapper isn't demanding money. Instead he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. In this exam wrong answers are fatal. Detective Michael Bennett leads the investigation. With ten kids of his own he can't begin to understand what could lead someone to target anyone's children. As another student disappears one powerful family after another uses their leverage & connections to turn up the heat on the mayor the press anyone who will listen to stop this killer. Their reach extends all the way to the FBI who send their top Abduction Specialist Agent Emily Parker. Bennett's work life
- & love life
- suddenly get even more complicated. Before Bennett has a chance to protest the FBI's intrusion on his case the mastermind changes his routine. His plan leads up to the most deadly demonstration yet
- one that could bring cataclysmic devastation to every inch of New York.


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The Worst Childrens Jobs in History" takes you back to the days when being a kid was no excuse for getting out of hard labor. This book tells the stories of all the children whose work fed the nation kept trains running & put clothes on everyones backs over the last few hundred years of Britains history. From a jigger-turner to a turnip-picker from an orderly boy to a matchbox maker this book will tell you things you probably didnt want to know about the back-breaking realities of being a child in the past." ...

When scriptwriter Jane Bussmann (South Park The Fast Show Brass Eye & Smack the Pony) moved to Hollywood it was supposed to be the start of something better. But a day job interviewing Paris Britney & Co. left her trapped in the Golden Age of Stupid. Then she saw a photograph of John Prendergast in Vanity Fair. His day job was ending war. He was also extremely attractive. Jane may have inferred she was a Foreign Correspondent because suddenly she found herself on route to Africa on the trail of this modern-day Indiana Jones. There was one problem: when she got to Uganda John had left. Alone in a war-torn country appalled by 25 000 child abductions Jane must investigate the war crime of the century to make John fancy her. Combining a maverick heroine an idealist hero comic disasters & moving tragedy this is brilliant storytelling by a hugely talented writer. Jane Bussmanns romantic odyssey from Hollywood to Uganda is the funniest thing weve ever read. Instyle Hot List a marvellously maverick approach to the investigation of war crimes. Marie Claire Five Stars Imagine The Last King of Scotland written by Shazzer from Bridget Joness Diary & youd still only get halfway to appreciating Jane Bussmanns funny incongruous & artlessly perceptive account this is one of the funniest books Ive read for a long while The Sunday Times hilarious & heart-wrenching The Spectator ...

Once upon a time in a tower near you Lived a sad princess; the Princess Sue. Some day " she sighed "my prince will come But I wish he'd move his royal bum." But when Princess Sue's prince finally does arrive he's not quite what she had in mind. Find out how the feisty princess escapes the clutches of her twit of a prince in this funny twist on the traditional princess tale." ...