Peter Jefferson presented the Shipping Forecast for over 40 years, & his familiar voice continues to be heard reading"ations on Radio 4`s ”"e/ Unquote”. This book is both an affectionate memoir & an account of the science behind the forecast: Peter explains how it came about, who collects all the information & what it`s like to read this bulletin. Even though the information in the forecast is now readily available in many formats, the Shipping Forecast is something of a must listen for fans gathered over the decades. For reasons not quite understood, it has become a much-loved part of the British cultural landscape with an avid following of listeners who find its poetry is the perfect cure for insomnia. ...

Along with the fine art of queuing & proper tea, talking about the weather is the essence of Britishness. We`re all a little bit obsessed by it. Will it snow this Christmas? Was this year really the warmest on record? & where on earth did `raining cats & dogs` come from? According to recent research, 94 per cent of British people admit to having discussed the weather in the past six hours, while 38 per cent say they have in the past 60 minutes. Since Records Began is an almanac, a miscellany, & a celebration of our most famous obsession. Including beautiful illustrations, maps & line drawings, Since Records Began is a perfect gift for 2017. Features include: The Lore of Weather
- myths, legends & old wives tales about the weather; Lost in Translation
- Colloquial names for weather around the country, from Custard Winds to Mizzle; Extreme Weather
- Bizarre events in the history of British Weather including red rain & a downpour of frogs & fish; plus tables showing record breaking sunshine, wind speed, rainfall, heat etc.


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The epic novel of love, war & revolution from Mikhail Sholokhov, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature An extraordinary Russian masterpiece, & Quiet Flows the Don follows the turbulent fortunes of the Cossack people through peace, war & revolution
- among them the proud & rebellious Gregor Melekhov, who struggles to be with the woman he loves as his country is torn apart. Borne of Mikhail Sholokhov`s own early life in the lands of the Cossacks by the river Don, it is a searing portrait of a nation swept up in conflict, with all the tragic choices it brings.
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And the Ass Saw the Angel
- Nick Cave`s classic Gothic novel, in its full & original form. Outcast, mute, a lone twin cut from
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” And the Land Lay Still” is the sweeping Scottish epic by James Robertson. ” And the Land Lay Still” is nothing less than the story of a nation. James Robertson`s breathtaking novel is a portrait of modern Scotland as seen through the eyes of natives & immigrants, journalists & politicians, drop-outs & spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great & rapid change. It is a moving, sweeping story of family, friendship, struggle & hope
- epic in every sense. The winner of the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award 2010, ” And the Land Lay Still” is a masterful insight into Scotland`s history in the twentieth century & a moving, beautifully written novel of intertwined stories. ” Toweringly ambitious, virtually flawlessly realized, a masterpiece &, without a doubt, my book of the year”. (” Daily Mail”). ”A jam-packed, dizzying piece of fiction”. (” Scotland on Sunday”). ” Gripping, vivid, beautifully realized”. (” The Times”). ” Engrossing”. (” Daily Telegraph”). ” Powerful & moving. A brilliant & multifaceted saga of Scottish life in the second half of the twentieth century”. (” Sunday Times”). ” Brilliant & thoughtful. Eminently readable, subtle & profound”. (” Independent on Sunday”). ” Bold, discursive & deep, Robertson`s sweeping history of life & politics in 20th-century Scotland should not be ignored”. (Ian Rankin, ” Observer Books of the Year”). James Robertson is the author of three previous novels: ” The Fanatic”, ” Joseph Knight” & ” The Testament of Gideon Mack”, which is available in Penguin. Joseph Knight was awarded the two major Scottish literary awards in 2003/4
- the Saltire Book of the Year & the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year
- & The Testament of Gideon Mack was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, picked by Richard & Judy`s Book Club, & shortlisted for the Saltire Book of the Year award.


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So, then. You want a story & I will tell you one... Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah & his sister Pari live in the small village of Shadbagh. To Abdullah, Pari, as beautiful & sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named, is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their skulls touching, their limbs tangled. One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari & Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the h&. ...

From the multi-award-winning author of A Monster Calls comes a haunting tale of power & obsession that turns the story of Moby Dick upside down. ” Call me Bathsheba.” The whales of Bathsheba`s pod live for the hunt. Led by the formidable Captain Alexandra, they fight a never-ending war against men. Then the whales attack a man ship, & instead of easy prey they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself... With their relentless Captain leading the chase, they embark on the final hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of whales & men. ...

All aboard the train for this cumulative picture book, full of delicious read-aloud sounds! Join the eclectic & eccentric passengers on the train: ladies off to the races, chattering children on a school trip, business men going to the city, chickens off to market...and all the while the train goes Clickerty Click Clickerty Clack... Chuff Chuff Chufferty Chuff... Woo Woooooo! Children will love joining in with the noisy characters & spotting fun details on every page. With colourful retro art, reminiscent of 1950s children`s TV favourite Ivor the Engine, this book is perfect for train lovers of all ages! ” Children fond of chuffing like a train will find their pleasure ramped up to a whole new level. Cheerful & spirited, this is one of those welcome picture books that turns the bedtime story into live entertainment.” (” The Independent”). Rush hour at this station is full of lively sounds & motions, as a colourful collection of characters wait for the train. A great read-aloud book. ” Junior”. ...

The crisis in Europe is not over
- it`s getting worse. In this dramatic narrative of Europe`s economic rise & spectacular fall,
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THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER. The crisis in Europe is not over, it`s getting worse. In this dramatic narrative of Europe`s economic rise & spectacular fall, Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece, `the emerging rock star of Europe`s anti-austerity uprising` (Telegraph), shows that the origins of the collapse go far deeper than our leaders are prepared to admit
- & that we have done nothing so far to fix them. In 2008, the universe of Western finance outgrew planet Earth. When Wall Street imploded, a death embrace between insolvent banks & bankrupt states consumed Europe. Half a dozen national economies imploded & several more came close. But the storm is far from over... From the aftermath of the Second World War to the present, Varoufakis recounts how the eurozone emerged not as route to shared prosperity but as a pyramid scheme of debt with countries such as Greece, Irel&, Portugal & Spain at its bottom. Its woeful design ensured that collapse would be inevitable & catastrophic. But since the hurricane landed Europe`s leaders have chosen a cocktail of more debt & harsh austerity rather than reform, ensuring that the weakest citizens of the weakest nations pay the price for the bankers` mistakes, while doing nothing to prevent the next collapse. Instead, the principle of the greatest austerity for those suffering the greatest recessions has led to a resurgence of racist extremism. Once more, Europe is a potent threat to global stability. Drawing on the personal experience of his own negotiations with the eurozone`s financiers & offering concrete policies & alternatives, Varoufakis shows how we concocted this mess & how we can get out of it. & The Weak Suffer What They Must? reminds us of our history in order to save European capitalism from itself.
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