In these elegant, unsparing & intimate stories, the Folio Prize-winning author, Akhil Sharma, exposes the paradoxes, ironies & harmonies that characterise modern life. Marrying the minimalism of Chekhov & Carver with a flair for dark comedy, A Life of Adventure & Delight is a collection full of wisdom, wonder & reflection. ...

During much of his early career, from 1944 through to the early 1960s, Richard Hardy took hundreds of pictures of life on the railways & the men he knew & worked with on a daily basis, using his trusty Brownie 620 box camera. These unique behind the scenes images form a fascinating & hugely evocative portrayal of Britain at the height of the era of steam, during the time of the ` Big Four`, & after 1947 when the sprawling nationalised network known as British Railways came of age. The second edition contains many new unseen photos which capture the railways in wartime, providing a valuable social record of the nation at war. In addition there is a sequence of rare photographs of French engines, railways & railwaymen, offering a superb contrast to the British rail network (it quickly becomes evident that the British rail system ran on tea, whereas the French system ran on wine). Great characters are the unifying theme of the pictures, & they include famous figures associated with the railways, such as the poet John Betjeman. This wonderfully illustrated book sets Richard`s personal photographs & text alongside a carefully collated selection of ephemera, artworks & photographs drawn from the National Railway Museum in York. Collectively these images & artefacts tell the stories of the great brotherhood of railwaymen, brilliantly evoking the speed, heat & dust of the footplate. ...

Chrissie Wellington is the world`s No 1 female Ironman triathlete, a four times World Champion, having recently won her fourth title in October 2011 & the World Record holder. In 2009 she was voted ” Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year” & in 2010 was awarded the MBE. She is the undefeated champion of Triathlon, having won thirteen Ironman titles from thirteen races. She set a new World Record of 8 hours 19:13 at Quelle Roth Germany in 2010, which slashed over 14 minutes from the previous record & where she was only beaten by six men. She went on to improve this time by another minute in the 2011 race. She also set a new world record for the fastest ever Ironman sanctioned event at Ironman South Africa in April 2011. Chrissie has displayed unprecedented levels of stamina, strength & competitiveness in becoming Ironman World Champion in only her second event at Ironman level. Her victory in Kona, Hawaii in 2007 finishing five minutes ahead of her nearest rival was described as the `biggest upset in Ironman history` & `a remarkable feat, deemed to be near impossible task for any athlete racing as a rookie at their first Ironman World Championships`. She defended her World title in Hawaii in 2008 & again in 2009. However a bout of severe sickness on the eve of the 2010 event meant she was unable to make the start line to defend her title. She bounced back in 2011 to retain her title in her most fiercely competitive race to date, which adds another fantastic chapter to her extraordinary sporting career. This is the remarkable story of how a Norfolk girl
- a `sporty kid, swimming, playing hockey, running, but never excelling & always more interested in the social side of the sports scene`
- became a world champion.

...

In this fabulous new book, Lorraine Pascale, Britain`s beloved chef & tv personality, brings together the two hottest trends in cookery right now: baking & eating lighter, healthier meals! Lorraine`s dreamt up 100 delicious, easy recipes, all fully illustrated, ranging from savoury scones & coconut & lime loaf to apricot & ginger chiffon cake, sesame pretzel buns & cauliflower gratin bakes. Lorraine reinvents traditional favourites (her amazing brownies) but shows us neat shortcuts to cut the fat or the sugar-without losing any of the flavour. They are goodies with goodness. Each recipe has a comparison with a standard version so you can see just how much better for you Lorraine`s way is. A perfect Christmas gift for every baker in your life
- or buy it for yourself to have an indulgent but healthy Christmas.
...

Artist Simon Harmer creates delightful & distinctive line drawings of our famous landmarks & landscape. In `A Line Around England` he travels from Hadrian`s Wall to Cornwall`s coast & his illustrations capture everything from Stonehenge to Blackpool Tower. Each drawing is accompanied by a short text illuminating some quirky & interesting facts about the site. ...

In 1916, in the middle of the First World War, two men secretly agreed to divide the Middle East between them. Sir Mark Sykes was a visionary politician; Francois Georges-Picot a diplomat with a grudge. The deal they struck, which was designed to relieve tensions that threatened to engulf the Entente Cordiale, drew a line in the sand from the Mediterranean to the Persian frontier. Territory north of that stark line would go to France; land south of it, to Britain. Against the odds their pact survived the war to form the basis for the post-war division of the region into five new countries Britain & France would rule. The creation of Britain`s `mandates` of Palestine, Transjordan & Iraq, & France`s in Lebanon & Syria, made the two powers uneasy neighbours for the following thirty years. Through a stellar cast of politicians, diplomats, spies & soldiers, including T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill & Charles de Gaulle, A Line in the Sand vividly tells the story of the short but crucial era when Britain & France ruled the Middle East. It explains exactly how the old antagonism between these two powers inflamed the more familiar modern rivalry between the Arabs & the Jews, & ultimately led to war between the British & the French in 1941 & between the Arabs & the Jews in 1948. In 1946, after many years of intrigue & espionage, Britain finally succeeded in ousting France from Lebanon & Syria, & hoped that, having done so, it would be able to cling on to Palestine. Using newly declassified papers from the British & French archives, James Barr brings this overlooked clandestine struggle back to life, & reveals, for the first time, the stunning way in which the French finally got their revenge. ...

‘ When I finished Sara Baume’s new novel I immediately felt sad that I could not send it in the post to the late John Berger. He, too, would have loved it & found great joy in its honesty, its agility, its beauty, its invention. Baume is a writer of outstanding grace & style. She writes beyond the time we live in.’ Colum Mc Cann Struggling to cope with urban life – & with life in general – Frankie, a twenty-something artist, retreats to the rural bungalow on ‘turbine hill’ that has been vacant since her grandmother’s death three years earlier. It is in this space, surrounded by nature, that she hopes to regain her footing in art & life. She spends her days pretending to read, half-listening to the radio, failing to muster the energy needed to leave the safety of her haven. Her family come & go, until they don’t & she is left alone to contemplate the path that led her here, & the smell of the carpet that started it all. Finding little comfort in human interaction, Frankie turns her camera lens on the natural world & its reassuring cycle of life & death. What emerges is a profound meditation on the interconnectedness of wilderness, art & individual experience, & a powerful exploration of human frailty. ...

A Lion in Paris is widely regarded as the most accomplished book by multi-award-winning children`s author/illustrator Beatrice Alemagna. It tells the story of a lion who, bored by his rural life in the savannah, seeks excitement & opportunity in the city of light. On arrival in Paris the lion is disappointed to find that despite his size, people barely pay attention to him, not even when he lets out a ferocious roar on the busy Metro. Taking in the sights & sounds of Paris this beautifully illustrated book successfully conveys the experience of being a stranger in a new city & the process of understanding our own identity. ...

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing & reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. When the little boy tells his mother he has seen a big, roaring, yellow, whiskery lion in the meadow, she decides to make up a story for him too & gives him a matchbox with a tiny dragon inside. A brand new Early Reader edition of this beautiful classic story. ...

An acclaimed author of novels & short stories, Tim Parks
- who was described in a recent review as ”one of the best living writers
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