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Here's One I Wrote Earlier: Peter Purves: The Autobiography
by Peter PurvesPeter Purves is the actor, presenter and talented director who first shot to fame appearing with William Hartnell in 44 episodes of Doctor Who playing his companion Steven Taylor. His varied career is perhaps most well remembered for his 10 year stint as part of the Blue Peter "Dream Team" with Valerie Singleton and John Noakes. Most people have a specific memory of this golden age of british television amongst them the infamous 'Lulu the elephant' scene and Peter's early partnership with Petra who was immortalised in the Blue Peter garden. Following his departure from Blue Peter he famously presented another kids favourite Kickstart and Junior Kickstart which became cult summer holiday TV. Peter is also well known for his association with Crufts. He first began presenting coverage for the BBC in 1976 and has been closely associated with it for over 30 years. Peter Purves - My Autobiography is a look back at Peter's career and fascinating life and is a celebration of one of Britain's best loved presenters.
Jimi Hendrix Story
by Guy CavillJimi Hendrix is regarded by many to have been the greatest of all rock guitarists. The 40th anniversary of his death on the 18th October reminded us all that in all these years no other guitarist has come along in the way that Hendrix had to defy musical conventions and to question how we listen to music. His recordings continue to sell. In America alone the amount is estimated to be somewhere in the region of twenty million. As a mark of their high regard two of his albums, Are you Experienced and Electric Ladyland, have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The DVD Book of Hendrix looks at the guitarist's life and tries to answer why it is that Hendrix was so important, and just why his death at the age of 27 was felt so keenly by so many around the world. Though his life was tragically short, it is hard to imagine how he could have lived a fuller one.
John Lennon Story
by Guy CavillJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9th October 1940 - 8th December 1980) rose to world-wide fame as one of the founding members of the Beatles, and together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most successful song writing partnerships of the 20th century. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager with his first band. The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, on film, and in interviews, and became controversial through his work as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Disengaging himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, Lennon reemerged in 1980 with a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered three weeks after its release, outside his flat in the Dakota Building.
Little Book of Abba
by Pat MorganAbba's boy-girl chemistry and irresistibly catchy music took them to towering heights of fame and fortune before the pressures took their toil and the band split in 1982. But the memories and music lived on.
Little Book of Betjeman
by Peter GammondThe Little Book of Betjeman is a perceptive evocation of the late Poet Laureate's life and work. The book is lavishly illustrated throughout, in both colour and black and white, with some hitherto unpublished pictures of the poet and many very rate first editions from the author's personal collection. Peter Gammond knew John Betjeman and the members of his circle of friends at Oxford, such as Maurice Bowra, and, as Vice-Chairman and a former Chairman of The Betjeman Society, he is uniquely qualified to write about Britain's best-loved poet of the 20th century.
Little Book of Bond
by Michael HeatleyLittle Book of Bond is a 128-page hardback book in the million selling Little Book series written by Michael Heatley. This fantastic companion is a perfect entry into the world of the most well-known spy in the world. From the early movie release of Dr No fans of the Bond franchise have been fascinated by Bond's world of fast cars, fantastic looking girls and unique gadgets. This superb book looks at the history of the series and explores the actors who have played him from Sean Connery and Roger Moore to the more recent incarnations through actors Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
Little Book of Cliff Richard
by Mike ReadCliff Richard has been a muscial icon for 5 decades, and this Little Book will be released to help celebrate his 70th birthday in October. 250 million record sales later - Cliff still continues to delight his fans with new music and spectacular live performances. The book is written by ex DJ Mike Read and with 20 Tracks on the CD covering his early days, such as Move It!, Livin' Doll, Travellin' Light and tracks from EPs and LPs (Blue Suede Shoes, Mean Woman Blues, Ready Teddy, Baby, I don't Care amongst others).
Little Book of Diana
by Clare WelchThe Little Book of Diana shows the warm and human side to the world's most famous woman. Hers should have been a long and golden life filled with riches and acclaim when she married the most eligible of bachelors - Charles, the Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne.
Little Book of Take That
by Ian WelchWhen Take that split in 1996, they broke the hearts of their legions of fans. They were, without doubt, the biggest boy band Britain had ever produced and they had reeled off hit after massive hit.
The Pavarotti Story
by Guy CavillOver the course of his career, Pavarotti never lost his enthusiasm for performing, and he devoted his last years to singing for charities and humanitarian causes - until sudden ill-health made it impossible for him to continue to appear on stage.
Philip E West Aviation Masterworks
by Philip E WestPhilip E West is recognised as one of the world's finest aviation artists. Collectors of his original oil paintings span the globe, many waiting patiently for his next breath-taking canvas to appear. With more than 100 limited editions behind him, a waiting list of commissioned paintings for clients both existing and new, and a head full of ideas for new limited edition prints, life is never dull for the Wiltshire based artist! Self-taught, after years of painting pictures for friends and relatives, Philip took the plunge and became a full-time professional artist. Since when he has developed a very loyal and expanding following for both his original paintings and prints which fetch up to £6000 for the originals. Whilst jets, and Phantoms in particular, light Philip’s fire, he is also a master painter of piston-engined classics and is renowned for his rendition of Avro Lancasters and Supermarine Spitfires. Philip's knowledge of aircraft and the accuracy of his work combine to record a moment in history so perfectly, that both collectors and admirers of his work are able to feel a real sense of the excitement and drama that his work portrays. For the first time, the best of these magnificent paintings have been painstakingly scanned and included in a luxury hardback book, to tie in with the 100th anniversary of the RAF this year. Each full-colour reproduction carries an explanatory caption, while Philip has composed an Introduction explaining how his paintings have become his tapestry to a remarkable career. The book includes Forewords from two famous World War II veterans, written shortly before their deaths in July 2018: Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC and Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC.
Sixty Years a Fisherman: The Autobiography of a Fishing Legend
by John WilsonSixty Years A Fisherman is the long awaited and updated new edition of much-loved angler John Wilson's memoirs, an icon of the angling world! John reveals the real life story behind the camera lens of a man who was once a cruiseship hairstylist and who later became one of the most recognised TV personalities to have come into the world of angling. Packed full of fishing anecdotes and stories of his travels around the world, Sixty Years A Fisherman is beautifully illustrated with John's own photography.
True Grit
by Theodore PappasHow did the great men and women who changed the world actually do it? Were they simply smarter and more talented than the rest of us? What was their secret? The accomplishments of the great are widely known, but their many battles with adversity, frequent setbacks and defeats, and the personal and professional hardships they endured along the way and ultimately drew strength from the dark underside of achievement that is seldom illuminated. This book examines ten historic figures--from the world of sports and popular culture to literature, business, science, statecraft, and social outreach--and highlights how they left their legendary mark on the world. Their recipes for success were many and varied, but all had one key ingredient in common: that life-changing mix of passion and perseverance popularly known as grit.
Resolution: Two Brothers. A Nation in Crisis. A World at War
by David Rutland Emma EllisJohn Manners, Marquis of Granby, famously led a cavalry charge during the Seven Years War in 1760, losing both hat and wig. A commander of skill and courage, he was cherished by his men and lauded by the British public as an authentic military hero. Granby predeceased his father, the 3rd Duke of Rutland, and never inherited his title, but left two sons whose contrasting fortunes and tragically short lives are the subject of this meticulously researched and richly illustrated book. Charles became 4th Duke in 1779, sought reconciliation with the American colonies and was Viceroy of Ireland; Robert embarked on a naval career, became flag captain of the Resolution and died of injuries sustained at the Battle of the Saintes. Based upon the detailed archives held at Belvoir Castle, Resolution is both an enthralling saga of two generations of the Manners family and a finely delineated portrait of aristocratic, political and naval life in mid-Georgian England.
Dinner with Joseph Johnson: Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age
by Daisy Hay'Hugely engrossing... An exciting blend of ideas and personalities' John Carey, Sunday Times'Impressive... [An] elegant account... Dinner with Joseph Johnson reminds us of the excitement of a period in which inherited orthodoxies were forensically scrutinised and found lacking' Daily Telegraph________Once a week, in late eighteenth-century London, writers of contrasting politics and personalities gathered around a dining table. The host was Joseph Johnson, publisher and bookseller: a man at the heart of literary life. He was joined at dinner by a shifting constellation of extraordinary people who remade the literary world, including the Swiss artist Henry Fuseli, his chief engraver William Blake and scientists Joseph Priestley and Benjamin Franklin. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were among the attendees, as were the poet Anna Barbauld, the novelist Maria Edgeworth and the philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft.Johnson's years as a maker of books saw profound political, social, cultural and religious shifts in Britain and abroad. Several of his authors were involved in the struggles for reform; they pioneered revolutions in medical treatment, proclaimed the rights of women and children and charted the evolution of Britain's relationship with America and Europe.Johnson made their voices heard even when external forces conspired to silence them. In this remarkable portrait of a revolutionary age, Daisy Hay captures a changing nation through the stories of the men and women who wrote it into being, and whose ideas still influence us today.'Inspired... Joseph Johnson was the man who made the [Romantic] revolution possible... Truly a biography of the spirit of the age' Jonathan Bate
The Confessions: Volume I. - Books L-w. (Mobi Classics Series)
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau J. CohenWidely regarded as the first modern autobiography, The Confessions is an astonishing work of acute psychological insight. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) argued passionately against the inequality he believed to be intrinsic to civilized society. In his Confessions he relives the first fifty-three years of his radical life with vivid immediacy - from his earliest years, where we can see the source of his belief in the innocence of childhood, through the development of his philosophical and political ideas, his struggle against the French authorities and exile from France following the publication of Émile. Depicting a life of adventure, persecution, paranoia, and brilliant achievement, The Confessions is a landmark work by one of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment, which was a direct influence upon the work of Proust, Goethe and Tolstoy among others.
Presidents Fact Book Revised and Updated!: The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, and Legacies of Every President from George Washington to Barack Obama
by Roger MatuzIn time for the 2015 presidential election cycle, this revised paperback edition is the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide on the presidents and includes the milestones of Barack Obama's first and second terms.The Presidents Fact Book is a complete compendium of all things presidential and a sweeping survey of American history through the biographical lens of every president from George Washington to Barack Obama. Organized chronologically by president, each entry covers the major accomplishments and events of the presidential term; cabinet members, election results, groundbreaking legislation, and Supreme Court appointments; personality and personal habits; career before the presidency; a behind-the-scenes look at the wives, families, friends, and foes; and much more, including hobbies, odd behaviors, and outlandish penchants. Major primary documents from each administration—from the Bill of Rights to Barack Obama's speech on race in America—provide a glimpse into the crucial moments of America's storied past in the words of those who were at the helm. Perfect for students, history buffs, and political junkies, The President's Fact Book is at once an expansive collage of our nation's 44 individual presidents and a comprehensive view of American history.
Presidents Fact Book Revised and Updated!: The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, and Legacies of Every President from George Washington to the Current One
by Roger MatuzThe Presidents Fact Book is a compendium of all things presidential and a sweeping survey of American history through the biography of every president from George Washington to Donald Trump. Organized chronologically by president, each entry covers the major accomplishments and events of the presidential term; cabinet members, election results, groundbreaking legislation, and Supreme Court appointments; personality and personal habits; career before the presidency; a behind-the-scenes look at the wives, families, friends, and foes; and much more, including hobbies, odd behaviors, and outlandish penchants. Major primary documents from each administration -- from the Bill of Rights to Barack Obama's speech on race in America -- provide a glimpse into the crucial moments of America's storied past in the words of those who led the nation. Perfect for students, history buffs, and political junkies, The President's Fact Book is at once an expansive collage of our nation's 45 individual presidents and a comprehensive view of American history.
The Wide Wide Sea: The thrilling account of Captain Cook's final journey, for fans of The Wager by David Grann
by Hampton SidesFrom New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, the epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, culminating in Captain James Cook's death‘An enthralling account of Captain Cook’s final, fatal voyage… An excellent new book’ The Economist 'Vivid and propulsive. The Wide Wide Sea fits neatly into a growing genre that includes David Grann’s The Wager and Candice Millard’s River of the Gods' New York Times---On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach in Hawaii, Cook was killed – beaten and stabbed in a conflict with the indigenous population. What brought Cook to these final moments, so at odds with his reputation? Renowned for his humane leadership, dedication to science and the curiosity and respect, not judgement, with which he greeted societies that were new to him, Cook had already mapped huge swathes of the Pacific and initiated first European contact with numerous native peoples. The stated mission for his third voyage was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London high society, to his home islands. But Cook carried secret orders to venture north, to discover the fabled Northwest Passage and chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals. And Cook himself was different on his final, fatal voyage. Deeply researched and vividly told, The Wide Wide Sea is at once a ferociously-paced, epic adventure and a searching examination of the consequences of the Age of Exploration from a master storyteller.---- PRAISE FOR HAMPTON SIDES 'Enthralling … as gripping as any well-paced thriller but a lot more interesting because it is also true' THE TIMES ‘Stunningly vivid’ MARK BOWDEN, AUTHOR OF BLACK HAWK DOWN 'Splendid in every way… a marvellous nonfiction thriller' WALL STREET JOURNAL ‘Extraordinary … meticulous research shores up a fast-paced narrative’ FINANCIAL TIMES 'Viscerally dramatic … spellbinding... bold, dynamic, unusually vivid’ NEW YORK TIMES 'Unforgettable…a pulse-racing epic … a masterful work of history and storytelling' LOS ANGELES TIMES ‘Reads like a first-class epic thriller' TIME
Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace, The Private Diary of A Victorian Lady ENHANCED EDITION: Including author videos and podcasts
by Kate SummerscaleEnhanced Edition of the bestselling Mrs Robinson's Disgrace, including author videos and podcastsOn a mild winter's evening in 1850, Isabella Robinson set out for a party. Her carriage bumped across the wide cobbled streets of Edinburgh's Georgian New Town and drew up at 8 Royal Circus, a grand sandstone house lit by gas lamps. This was the home of the rich widow Lady Drysdale, a vivacious hostess whose soirees were the centre of an energetic intellectual scene.Lady Drysdale's guests were gathered in the high, airy drawing rooms on the first floor, the ladies in dresses of glinting silk and satin, bodices pulled tight over boned corsets; the gentlemen in tailcoats, waistcoats, neckties and pleated shirt fronts, dark narrow trousers and shining shoes. When Mrs Robinson joined the throng she was introduced to Lady Drysdale's daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Edward Lane. She was at once enchanted by the handsome Mr Lane, a medical student ten years her junior. He was 'fascinating', she told her diary, before chastising herself for being so susceptible to a man's charms. But a wish had taken hold of her, which she was to find hard to shake...A compelling story of romance and fidelity, insanity, fantasy, and the boundaries of privacy in a society clinging to rigid ideas about marriage and female sexuality, Mrs Robinson's Disgrace brings vividly to life a complex, frustrated Victorian wife, longing for passion and learning, companionship and love.
Charles Dickens as an Agent of Change
Sixteen scholars from across the globe come together in Charles Dickens as an Agent of Change to show how Dickens was (and still is) the consummate change agent. His works, bursting with restless energy in the Inimitable's protean style, registered and commented on the ongoing changes in the Victorian world while the Victorians' fictional and factional worlds kept (and keep) changing. The essays from notable Dickens scholars—Malcolm Andrews, Matthias Bauer, Joel J. Brattin, Doris Feldmann, Herbert Foltinek, Robert Heaman, Michael Hollington, Bert Hornback, Norbert Lennartz, Chris Louttit, Jerome Meckier, Nancy Aycock Metz, David Paroissien, Christopher Pittard, and Robert Tracy—suggest the many ways in which the notion of change has found entry into and is negotiated in Dickens' works through four aspects: social change, political and ideological change, literary change, and cultural change. An afterword by the late Edgar Rosenberg adds a personal account of how Dickens changed the life of one eminent Dickensian.
Stop What You’re Doing and Read…Books That Changed the World: The Origin of Species & The Communist Manifesto
by Charles Darwin Karl Marx Friedrich EngelsTo mark the publication of Stop What You're Doing and Read This!, a collection of essays celebrating reading, Vintage Classics are releasing 12 limited edition themed ebook 'bundles', to tempt readers to discover and rediscover great books. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES & THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE INTRODUCED BY DARWIN'S GREAT GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER RUTH PADELWhen the eminent naturalist Charles Darwin returned from South America on board the H.M.S Beagle in 1836, he brought with him the notes and evidence which would form the basis of his landmark theory of evolution of species by a process of natural selection. This theory, published as The Origin of Species in 1859, is the basis of modern biology and the concept of biodiversity. It also sparked a fierce scientific, religious and philosophical debate which still continues today.THE COMMUNISTY MANIFESTOINTRODUCED BY DAVID AARONOVITCHThe Communist Manifesto was first published in London, by two young men in their late twenties, in 1848. Its impact reverberated across the globe and throughout the next century, and it has come to be recognised as one of the most important political texts ever written. Maintaining that the history of all societies is a history of class struggle, the manifesto proclaims that communism is the only route to equality, and is a call to action aimed at the proletariat. It is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand our modern political landscape.
Constable: A Portrait
by James HamiltonONE OF THE TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES' BEST BOOKS FOR 2022'Eye-opening and full of surprises . . . A treasure' Sunday Times'A biography as rich with colourful characters as any novel' TelegraphJohn Constable, the revolutionary nineteenth-century painter of the landscapes and skies of southern England, is Britain's best-loved but perhaps least understood artist.His paintings reflect visions of landscape that shocked and perplexed his contemporaries: attentive to detail, spontaneous in gesture, brave in their use of colour. What we learn from his landscapes is that Constable had sharp local knowledge of Suffolk, a clarity of expression of the skyscapes above Hampstead, an understanding of the human tides in London and Brighton, and a rare ability in his late paintings of Salisbury Cathedral to transform silent suppressed passion into paint.Yet Constable was also an active and energetic correspondent. His letters and diaries - there are over one thousand letters from and to him - reveal a man of passion, opinion and discord, while his character and personality is concealed behind the high shimmering colour of his paintings. They reveal too the lives and circumstances of his brothers and his sisters, his cousins and his aunts, who serve to define the social and economic landscape against which he can be most clearly seen. These multifaceted reflections draw a sharp picture of the person, as well as the painter.James Hamilton's biography reveals a complex, troubled man, and explodes previous mythologies about this timeless artist, and establishes him in his proper context as a giant of European art.
Diary of Samuel Pepys -- Volume 01: Preface and Life
by Samuel PepysRichard Le Gallienne’s elegant abridgment of the Diary captures the essential writings of Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), a remarkable man who witnessed the coronation of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665, and the Great Fire of 1666. Originally scribbled in a cryptic shorthand, Pepys’s quotidian journal of life in Restoration London provides an astonishingly frank and diverting account of political intrigues; naval, church, and cultural affairs; and the sexual escapades and domestic strife of a man with a voracious, childlike appetite for living. “As a human document the Diary is literally unique,” notes Le Gallienne. “It will have a still greater value for its historical importance.”
Are You There, God? It's Me, Ellen
by Ellen Coyne’This isn’t a Catholic country anymore,’ someone proudly declared in a pub where Ellen Coyne was sitting.Ellen had left the Church long ago, like many her age. But she had never stopped talking to God. Now, about to turn 30, she realised she wasn’t quite ready for this declaration to be true.Abandoning the Church had been an act of protest. However, Ellen began to wonder: who had really lost the most? Why should those who damaged the Church get to keep all its good bits, like the rituals, the community, a guide for living a better life and the comfort of believing it’s not the end when somebody dies?But how could she ally herself to an institution she doesn’t entirely agree with? In her first book, a stunningly thoughtful and intelligent debut, Ellen Coyne tries to figure out how much she really wants to go back to the Church, and if it is even the right thing to do.‘Get ready – this is going to inspire a thousand conversations across Ireland about the role of the Church in our society and our future’ Louise O’Neill‘I flew through this on a “will she, won’t she?” knife-edge, all the while questioning my own attitude to faith and spirituality’ Emer McLysaght‘Sings with sincerity … this is the book the church doesn't know it needs for its own survival’ Justine McCarthy