- Table View
- List View
Dirty Beasts (Altea Mascota Ser.)
by Roald Dahl Quentin BlakeDirty Beasts is a collection of hilarious animal rhymes from the World's NUMBER ONE Storyteller!With amazing full-colour illustrations by Quentin Blake.A collection of (mainly) grisly beasts out for human blood, ranging from Gocky-Wock the crocodile to Sting-A-Ling the scorpion. Described in verse with all Dahl's usual gusto and illustrated in suitably lurid style by Quentin Blake.'A true genius . . . Roald Dahl is my hero' - David Walliams Exciting, bold and instantly recognisable with Quentin Blake's inimitable artwork.Look out for the whole collection of wondercrump Roald Dahl books!
Wonder Woman: Warbringer (Dc Icons Ser.)
by Leigh BardugoThe highly anticipated coming-of-age story for the world's greatest super hero: WONDER WOMAN by the # 1 New York Times bestselling author LEIGH BARDUGO. She will become a legend but first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning . . . Diana is desperate to prove herself to her warrior sisters. But when the opportunity comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law to save a mere mortal, Alia Keralis. With this single heroic act, Diana may have just doomed the world. Alia is a Warbringer - a descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies, mortal and divine, determined to destroy or possess the Warbringer.To save the world, they must stand side by side against the tide of war.Don't miss the new DC Wonder Woman film coming June 2017.
The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood)
by Melissa Albert** Fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and The Children of Blood and Bone have been getting lost in The Hazel Wood...**"The Hazel Wood kept me up all night. I had every light burning and the covers pulled tight around me as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years". -Jennifer Niven, author of All The Bright Places************Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate - the Hazel Wood - Alice learns how bad her luck can really get. Her mother is stolen, by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world from her grandmother's stories. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD.To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . . ************"This book will be your next obsession. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave." - Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval Melissa Albert has created a world as dark, twisted and magical as Alice in Wonderland or Harry Potter. Will you escape the Hazel Wood?
Things Fall Apart (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Chinua AchebeOkonkwo is the greatest warrior alive, famous throughout West Africa. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy. Chinua Achebe's stark novel reshaped both African and world literature. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease.
Arabian Nights: A Selection
by Richard BurtonProbably one of the original 'story within a story' books, Arabian nights is a selection of stories told by a young girl on her wedding night to a prince who has sworn to kill any girl who marries him. Her clever stories serve as 'cliff-hangers' and keep him from murdering her night after night. This collection is where classic fairy tales such as Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Theives come from as well as well-known moral tales and metaphors.The use of djiins, magic and an evocation of Oriental splendour makes Arabian Nights dazzle. A 'must read' book and the perfect counter point to western fairy tales such as Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm.
Pericles: With The Story Of The Prince Of Tyre... .
by William Shakespeare Eugene GiddensPericles, Prince of Tyre, must solve a riddle in order to marry the daughter of the King of Antioch, or be put to death. But when the answer reveals a horrific secret, the young man faces his greatest dilemma. Danger and adventure follow as Pericles flees the city to find his fortune elsewhere, in a romantic drama of families lost and reunited, evil punished and virtue rewarded.
My Life with George: The Inspirational Story of How a Wilful Dog Brought Joy to a Bereaved Family (Wheeler Hardcover Ser.)
by Judith SummersWhen Judith Summers’s husband and father both died within the space of two weeks, she found herself floundering. Life for her and her eight-year-old son Joshua seemed relentlessly bleak. Then George bounced into their lives. A loving Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with film-star looks, George reawoke their joie de vivre. Yet Judith soon discovered that living with George had its drawbacks. He was a full-time job and as expensive to run as a Ferrari. Wilful and badly behaved, he refused to eat anything other than roast chicken, preferred travelling by car to walking, and became as jealous as a spurned lover if any man dared show an interest in her. And when a near-death tangle with a Staffordshire Bull terrier resulted in costly sessions with an animal psychologist, Judith found that it was she who was put on the couch . . .
The Count of Monte Cristo: In English Translation
by Alexandre DumasThe epic tale of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge, in its definitive translationThrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to use the treasure to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas' epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.Translated with an Introduction by ROBIN BUSS
Blaze of Silver (De Granville Trilogy Ser.)
by K M GrantTime is running out for William de Granville. King Richard is captive, his country in jeopardy and the future of both lie in Will's hands. But deceit lurks even in the most unexpected places. Can Will complete the dangerous journey to rescue the king? And will he ever find true happiness with Ellie, his childhood sweetheart?Epic, romantic adventure that works brilliantly for girls and boys aged 11+.
Boy: Tales of Childhood
by Roald Dahl Quentin BlakePhizzwhizzing new cover look and branding for the World's NUMBER ONE Storyteller!BOY, Roald Dahl's bestselling autobiography, is full of hilarious anecdotes about his childhood and school days, illustrated by Quentin Blake.As a boy, all sorts of unusual things happened to Roald Dahl. There was the time he and four school friends got their revenge on beastly Mrs Prachett in her sweet shop.There are stories of holidays in fishing boats, African adventures and the days of tasting chocolate for Cadbury's.You'll hear tales of horrible school bullies and the motor-car accident when Roald's nose was nearly sliced clean off . . .Roald Dahl vividly shares his memories; some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant. All are true.You can listen to all of Roald Dahl's stories on Puffin Audiobooks, read by some very famous voices, including Kate Winslet, David Walliams and Steven Fry - plus there are added squelchy sound effects from Pinewood Studios! Also look out for new Roald Dahl apps in the App store and Google Play- including the disgusting TWIT OR MISS! and HOUSE OF TWITS inspired by the revolting Twits.
Iran: A History from Zoroaster to the Present Day
by Michael AxworthyIran often appears in the media as a hostile and difficult country. But beneath the headlines there is a fascinating story of a nation of great intellectual variety and depth, and enormous cultural importance. A nation whose impact has been tremendous, not only on its neighbours in the Middle East but on the world as a whole – and through ideas and creativity rather than by the sword. From the time of the prophet Zoroaster, to the powerful ancient Persian Empires, to the revolution of 1979, the hostage crisis and current president Mahmud Ahmadinejad – a controversial figure within as well as outside the country – Michael Axworthy traces a vivid, integrated account of Iran’s past. He explains clearly and carefully both the complex succession of dynasties that ruled ancient Iran and the surprising ethnic diversity of the modern country, held together by a common culture. With Iran again the focus of the world’s attention, and questions about the country’s disposition and intentions pressing, Iran: Empire of the Mind is an essential guide to understanding a complicated land.
Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Arthur MillerIn the spring of 1948 Arthur Miller retreated to a log cabin in Connecticut with the first two lines of a new play already fixed in his mind. He emerged six weeks later with the final script of Death of a Salesman - a painful examination of American life and consumerism. Opening on Broadway the following year, Miller's extraordinary masterpiece changed the course of modern theatre. In creating Willy Loman, his destructively insecure anti-hero, Miller himself defined his aim as being 'to set forth what happens when a man does not have a grip on the forces of life.'
Pride and Prejudice: The Story Grid Edition
by Jane Austen Tony Tanner Vivien JonesWhen Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships,gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.
Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire, 1714-1783
by Brendan SimmsThis highly original, extremely enjoyable book tells the story of Britain’s extraordinary scramble to world power in the 18th century and how, through hubris and incompetence, it lost almost everything it had gained. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Britain was an important European power, but few would have predicted her global pre-eminence by 1760. As Brendan Simms shows with great flair and originality, Britain had a crucial card to play. It was the joining of the British crown to Hanover that gave Britain two empires: one scattered around the world and another – the more important of the two - firmly locked into Germany. Having created a new empire Britain then spectacularly lost it, this time because of its chaotic failure to maintain its European alliances. This is an epic and often unexpected story, and Simms tells it brilliantly.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders: Large Print (First Avenue Classics Ser.)
by Daniel Defoe David BlewettBorn in Newgate prison and abandoned six months later, Moll's drive to find and hold on to a secure place in society propels her through incest, adultery, bigamy, prostitution and a resourceful career as a thief ('the greatest Artist of my time') before she is apprehended and returned to Newgate. If Moll Flanders is on one level a Puritan's tale of sin and repentance, through self-made, self-reliant Moll its rich subtext conveys all the paradoxes and amoralities of the struggle for property and power in Defoe's newly individualistic society.
America, Empire of Liberty: A New History
by DR David ReynoldsIt was Thomas Jefferson who envisioned the United States as a great 'empire of liberty.' In the first new one-volume history in two decades, David Reynolds takes Jefferson's phrase as a key to the saga of America - helping unlock both its grandeur and its paradoxes. He examines how the anti-empire of 1776 became the greatest superpower the world has seen, how the country that offered liberty and opportunity on a scale unmatched in Europe nevertheless founded its prosperity on the labour of black slaves and the dispossession of the Native Americans. He explains how these tensions between empire and liberty have often been resolved by faith - both the evangelical Protestantism that has energized U.S. politics since the foundation of the nation and the larger faith in American righteousness that has impelled the country's expansion. Reynolds' account is driven by a compelling argument which illuminates our contemporary world.
Child of All Nations: A Novel (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Michael Hofmann Irmgard KeunKully knows some things you don’t learn at school. She knows the right way to roll a cigarette and pack a suitcase. She knows that cars are more dangerous than lions. She knows you can’t enter a country without a passport or visa. And she knows that she and her parents can’t go back to Germany again – her father’s books are banned there. But there are also things she doesn’t understand, like why there might be a war in Europe – just that there are men named Hitler, Mussolini and Chamberlain involved. Little Kully is far more interested where their next meal will come from and the ladies who seem to buzz around her father. Meanwhile she and her parents roam through Europe. Her mother would just like to settle down, but as her restless father struggles to find a new publisher, the three must escape from country to country as their visas expire, money runs out and hotel bills mount up.
The Lost Island of Tamarind (Tamarind #1)
by Nadia AguiarThree children. Alone on the ocean waves, after a fierce storm throws their parents from the Pamela Jane into the icy waters below. Maya, Simon and Penny now face a wild rescue adventure that will lead them to a truly magical place . . . Imagine an island with green mountains looming over pink sandy beaches and tide pools lit by the moon. An island with the darkest of secrets, where pirates lurk and jaguars roam – and a precious stone holds a power that is both wondrous and terrifying. This is where the children must go. No one from the Outside has escaped the island before. Danger is everywhere. But they can’t turn back now. Could you?
Martin Lukes: Who Moved My BlackBerry?
by Lucy KellawayHi!Let me introduce myself. I'm Martin Lukes, Special Projects Director at a-b global (UK).In your hands is a highly unique book, which pushes the envelope literature-wise. As you will see, it is a 120 per cent honest account of a year of my life - a phenomenal year of personal progress, corporate scandal and marital drama. It not only chronicles my promotion to one of the foremost executive positions globally, but is also a profound journey of personal learning, aided and abetted by my coach, Pandora. I am often asked why I want to share my deeply private philosophies with such a wide audience. I always say it is because I am passionate about learning. I have grown from my own mistakes, both in the professional space and the personal one, and I believe that there are many key takeaways for you here too.Who Moved My BlackBerry (TM)? is a creovative(TM) work - to use a phrase of mine that has now entered the business lingo. I anticipate it will be the must-read of 2005.All my very bestestMartin.
The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning
by James LovelockJames Lovelock described his previous book, The Revenge of Gaia, as 'a wake-up call for humanity'. Stark though it was in many respects, in The Vanishing Face of Gaia Lovelock says that even though the weather seems cooler and pollution lessens as the recession bites, the environmental problems we will face in the twenty-first century are even more terrifying than he previously realised. The Arctic and Antarctic ice-caps are melting very quickly, and water shortages and natural disasters are more common occurrences than at any time in recent history. The civilisations of many countries will be jeopardised and life as we know it severely disrupted.Almost all predictions of the likely rate of climate change have been based on estimates which professional observers in the real worldnow show are consistently underestimating the true rate of change. As a global community we continue to be fixated by conventional 'green' ideas which we believe will help save our world. Lovelock argues that only Gaia theory, which he originated over forty years ago, can really help us understand the crisis fully. The root problem is that there are too many people and animals for the Earth to carry. And there is in fact only one possible procedure which might bring a permanent cure for climate change, but we are unlikely to adopt it.'Our wish to continue business as usual will probably prevent us from saving ourselves' says Lovelock, so we must adapt as best we can and try to ensure that enough of us survive to allow a more capable species to evolve from us. There could hardly be a more important message for humankind. James Lovelock has been an active and accurate observer of the Earth environment since the 1960s and was the first to find CFCs and other gases accumulating in the air. His Gaia theory provides insight into climate change in the coming century.This is his final warning.
Guantanamo Boy
by Anna PereraKhalid, a fifteen-year-old Muslim boy from Rochdale, is abducted from Pakistan while on holiday with his family. He is taken to Guantanamo Bay and held without charge, where his hopes and dreams are crushed under the cruellest of circumstances. An innocent denied his freedom at a time when Western boys are finding theirs, Khalid tries and fails to understand what's happening to him and cannot fail to be a changed young man.
The Bunker Diary
by Kevin BrooksWINNER OF THE 2014 CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL.Room meets Lord of the Flies, The Bunker Diary is award-winning, young adult writer Kevin Brooks's pulse-pounding exploration of what happens when your worst nightmare comes true - and how will you survive?I can't believe I fell for it. It was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was. A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete.There are six little rooms along the main corridor.There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out.What's he going to do to me?What am I going to do? If I'm right, the lift will come down in five minutes. It did. Only this time it wasn't empty . . .Praise for The Bunker Diary:[Kevin Brooks'] pacey plots . . . have made him a cult among teens. This, though, is the big one. It should be read by everyone. - Amanda Craig, The Times Kevin Brooks has won the Branford Boase Award and been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, the Manchester Book Award and for the Carnegie Medal (for Martyn Pig, Road of the Dead and Black Rabbit Summer). Kevin Brooks was born in Exeter and studied in Birmingham and London. He had a varied working life, with jobs in a crematorium, a zoo, a garage and a post office, before - happily - giving it all up to write books. Kevin is the author of Being, Black Rabbit Summer, Killing God (published as Dawn in the USA), iBoy and Naked for Penguin. He now lives in North Yorkshire.****If you enjoyed The Bunker Diary and want to get inside more of your favourite books, then check out spinebreakers.co.uk for exclusive author interviews, competitions and much more.****
Heartbreak House: Great Catherine, And Playlets Of The War. By Bernard Shaw, Volume 7... (The\shaw Library)
by George Bernard Shaw David Hare Dan LaurenceWhen Ellie Dunn joins a house-party at the home of the eccentric Captain Shotover, she causes a stir with her decision to marry for money rather than love, and the Captain's forthright daughter Hesione protests vigorously against the pragmatic young woman's choice. Opinion on the matter quickly divides and a lively argument about money and morality, idealism and realism ensues as Hesione's rakish husband, snobbish sister and Ellie's fiancé - a wealthy industrialist - enter the debate. Written between 1916 and 1917 as war raged across Europe, Heartbreak House is a telling indictment of the generation responsible for the First World War. With its bold combination of high farce and bitter tragedy, Shaw's play remains an uncannily prophetic depiction of a society on the threshold of an abrupt awakening.
The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance - Primary Source Edition (Classic Literature Ser.)
by H. G. Wells Christopher PriestWith his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses and his hands covered even indoors, Griffin - the new guest at The Coach and Horses - is at first assumed to be a shy accident-victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more chilling: he has developed a process that has made him invisible, and is locked in a struggle to discover the antidote. Forced from the village, and driven to murder, he seeks the aid of an old friend, Kemp. The horror of his fate has affected his mind, however - and when Kemp refuse to help, he resolves to wreak his revenge.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Las Aventuras De Huckleberry Finn (Puffin Classics #Vol. 8)
by Mark TwainPuffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child Rediscover the Puffin Classics collection and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this 140th anniversary edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, complete with a special introduction by Darren Shan.Huckleberry Finn's childhood wasn't exactly smooth sailing but everything changed when he met Tom Sawyer.'Now we’ll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer’s Gang!' The Gang embark on an adventure down the long Mississippi river, bound by an oath to make trouble at every turn, until they meet Jim. . .Will the Gang work together to help him?