The authorised life story of the king who gave up his throne for love, by one of our most distinguished biographers. In this masterly authorized biography, Philip Ziegler reveals the complex personality of Edward VIII, the only British monarch to have voluntarily renounced the throne. With unique access to the Royal Archives, Ziegler overturns many myths about Edward and tells his side of the story – from his glamorous existence as Prince of Wales to his long decline in semi-exile in France. At the heart of the book is an unflinchingly honest examination of Edward’s all-consuming passion for Wallis Simpson, which led to his dramatic abdication. Elegant and devastating, this is the most convincing portrait of Edward ever published.

The official companion to all three seasons. The Great War has ended, but Downton Abbey is far from peaceful… A changing world has brought new challenges and new guests. Inside the walls of the Great House there is more intrigue, rivalry and romance than ever. The Chronicles of Downton Abbey take you deep into the lives of the Crawleys, their servants, lovers, friends and guests. So wander the crowded servants' quarters and peek into luxurious bed chambers. Go beneath the surface, and experience every aspect of their lives – from daily routines, dressing tables and treasure chests to their most secret hopes and fears. This definitive book explores the lives of every important member of the Downton estate. Focusing on each character individually, it examines their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. An evocative source of story and background, it will take you even deeper into the secret, beating heart of the house.

Perfect for fans of C.J. Sansom and The Name of the Rose, the fourth historical thriller featuring Giordano Bruno, heretic, philosopher and spy. August, 1585. England is on the brink of war… Sir Francis Drake is preparing to launch a daring expedition against the Spanish when a murder aboard his ship changes everything. A relentless enemy. A treacherous conspiracy. Giordano Bruno agrees to hunt the killer down, only to find that more than one deadly plot is brewing in Plymouth’s murky underworld. And as he tracks a murderer through its dangerous streets, he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the future of England itself.

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars comes a killer new series, The Lying Game. Sutton Mercer had a life anyone would kill for – and someone did. But thanks to a view from the afterlife and Emma Paxton, her long-lost twin sister, Sutton has a chance to solve her own murder. Emma slips into Sutton’s old life to piece together her disappearance. But can Emma keep up the charade long enough to discover what really happened to Sutton…or will she become the next victim? Let the lying games begin.

In Malacia, a city where change is forbidden and radical ideas are crushed, a war like no other is about to commence. The Brian Aldiss collection includes over 50 books and spans the author’s entire career, from his debut in 1955 to his more recent work. Struggling young actor Perian de Chirolo does as he pleases in the timeless city. He is a lover, a fighter and has no thought for consequence, until the magic of Malacia changes and reality begins to catch up with him. Now de Chirolo must make a choice between his old life, and joining the revolutionaries who will fight to ensure Malacia is never the same again.

Written at the peak of the swinging sixties, this is an ironic, hilarious and frank investigation of sexual politics and the male sex drive. The Brian Aldiss collection includes over 50 books and spans the author’s entire career, from his debut in 1955 to his more recent work. Events move fast in Umbalathorp, the capital city of the new African republic of Goya. When affable young PR man Soames Noyes arrives fresh off the boat from England to deliver the city’s first computer, he finds himself swept up in a current of women, witch-doctors and promiscuity. Soon the indecisive Soames is saying goodbye to inhibition and hello to a new sexual politics.

The first book in the epic saga of humankind's war of transcendence There is a milestone in the evolution of every sentient race, a Tech Singularity Event, when the species achieves transcendence through its technological advances. Now the creatures known as humans are near this momentous turning point. But an armed threat is approaching from deepest space, determined to prevent humankind from crossing over that boundary—by total annihilation if necessary. To the Sh'daar, the driving technologies of transcendent change are anathema and must be obliterated from the universe—along with those who would employ them. As their great warships destroy everything in their path en route to the Sol system, the human Confederation government falls into dangerous disarray. There is but one hope, and it rests with a rogue Navy Admiral, commander of the kilometer-long star carrier America, as he leads his courageous fighters deep into enemy space towards humankind's greatest conflict—and quite possibly its last.

An essential fly-on-the-wall account of the biggest World Cup tournament ever staged. 1998 is the year the World Cup comes home. Almost 70 years since Jules Rimet’s dream first came to fruition, France plays host for the first time to the greatest sporting event in the world. And, with a record-breaking 32 nations competing, the 1998 tournament will be the largest and most widely publicised football extravaganza in history. While following the sporting action, Mark Palmer will also travel around France to speak to fans, players, coaches, competition organisers and journalists, to present the inside story of the World Cup as the drama unfolds. With unrivalled access to the English and French FAs, as well as world regulating body FIFA, Palmer will balance the official view of the tournament with fans’ own experiences – all the while comparing the breaking story to how it is being reported back home.

A blockbuster novel of suspense, intrigue and revenge, from the celebrated author of Platinum Coast and Eclipse Kathryn de Moubray comes from a respectable English family. So when she discovers that her grandfather was a high-ranking Nazi and wanted war criminal who disappeared in 1944, she is devastated – and compelled to trace the family history that her mother, now dead, kept hidden for so many years. Adam Krantz, a New York art dealer whose family was wiped out in the Holocaust, is on a mission to find their legacy: an exquisite collection of paintings which vanished at the same time as Kathryn’s grandfather. Adam is convinced that the two are connected. They meet in St Lucia, and again in London when a priceless painting turns up mysteriously, amidst a storm of controversy. Despite the bitterness and betrayal of the past, the attraction between them grows stronger. But will it unite them or drive them apart as they unravel the extraordinary events that took place in wartime Berlin more than fifty years ago?

A modern Pygmalion story with a twist, by the bestselling author of STEPFORD HUSBANDS. Hattie George is a woman with a mission. A dedicated socialist, she wants to make the world a better place. Teased by her friends, especially her best friend’s boyfriend, Jon, she bets that she can transform Jimmy, a young Geordie who lives on the streets and sells the Big Issue, into a drop-dead gorgeous, man-about-town – in just a few weeks. With his taste for brown sauce and brown ale, and his very different table manners, Jimmy will never turn the heads of the chattering classes or change Jon’s cynicism. Or will he? As Hattie’s mission is launched, there is more than one transformation taking place, resulting in chaos, hilarity, heartbreak and misunderstanding. Just who is trying to impress who? MY FAIR MAN is a modern fairy tale and a witty portrayal of men, women and contemporary society, in which Jane Gordon explores with humour, sympathy and incisiveness the important issues of gender, class, and different people’s motivations.

It’s time to jump out of the handbag and take control of the lead. From the same kennel as The Dangerous Book for Boys, this hilarious doggy equivalent barks one simple question: What's happened to us?! Designer dog beds? Organic gluten free gourmet doggie biscuits? Spa treatments? Everyone likes to be pampered now and then – but isn't there more to being a dog than wearing a mini cashmere sweater and riding around in a Louis Vuitton handbag? What about the simple pleasures of life – feeling the wind in your fur, digging up the grass beneath your paws, smelling another dog's bottom? Isn't that part of the great joy of being a dog? This book is for good dogs, bad dogs, and the millions of people who love them, either way, but owners will no doubt recognize their own lovable pets, and maybe themselves, in these pages. After all, so many people talk to their dogs, they might as well read to them, and learn a little something in the process. Chapters include: Foul Smells Every Dog Should Roll In, What's Edible?, How to Bury a Bone, Building a Bed out of Laundry, Escaping the Lead, Dogs in Literature, Courageous Dogs in History, Formal Rules of Fetch, Enhancing Your Walk and Amazing Bath Time Escapes. The Dangerous Book for Boys tapped into a male desire to recapture a back-to-basics sense of fun. Now, a boy's sense of fun is perfectly fine, but a dog's sense of fun is hilarious. Leg-humping, bottom-sniffing and tail-chasing – these are not just the bedrock of dog life; they are the bedrock of comedy.

Packed full of quick-fix detox plans for instant weight loss this pocket guide gives all the advice you need to feel refreshed and rejuvenated in just two days. Whether detoxing for the first time, or adopting it as an approach to life, this is the perfect portable guide to finding a detox plan that works for you and ridding your body and lifestyle of toxins. In just 48 hours, it’s possible to kick-start a sluggish system, lose weight and improve the look of your skin. With a variety of 48-hour detox plans to choose from it’s easy to pick a regime that fits into your life. Each plan includes delicious recipes and menus to help you lose pounds. Shopping lists and storecupboard must-have items are also included, making this the ideal book to slip into your handbag for quick and speedy reference. Up-to-date information on detox aids and therapies as well as useful addresses and a section on taking your detox beyond the 48-hours makes this book a great one-stop guide to safe and easy detoxing.

A complete handbook on Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 – from design considerations to operational best practices About This Book Get to grips with the basics of identity management and get acquainted with the MIM components and functionalities Discover the newly-introduced product features and how they can help your organization A step-by-step guide to enhance your foundational skills in using Microsoft Identity Manager from those who have taught and supported large and small enterprise customers Who This Book Is For If you are an architect or a developer who wants to deploy, manage, and operate Microsoft Identity Manager 2016, then this book is for you. This book will also help the technical decision makers who want to improve their knowledge of Microsoft Identity Manager 2016. A basic understanding of Microsoft-based infrastructure using Active Directory is expected. Identity management beginners and experts alike will be able to apply the examples and scenarios to solve real-world customer problems. What You Will Learn Install MIM components Find out about the MIM synchronization, its configuration settings, and advantages Get to grips with the MIM service capabilities and develop custom activities Use the MIM Portal to provision and manage an account Mitigate access escalation and lateral movement risks using privileged access management Configure client certificate management and its detailed permission model Troubleshoot MIM components by enabling logging and reviewing logs Back up and restore the MIM 2015 configuration Discover more about periodic purging and the coding best practices In Detail Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 is Microsoft’s solution to identity management. When fully installed, the product utilizes SQL, SharePoint, IIS, web services, the .NET Framework, and SCSM to name a few, allowing it to be customized to meet nearly every business requirement. The book is divided into 15 chapters and begins with an overview of the product, what it does, and what it does not do. To better understand the concepts in MIM, we introduce a fictitious company and their problems and goals, then build an identity solutions to fit those goals. Over the course of this book, we cover topics such as MIM installation and configuration, user and group management options, self-service solutions, role-based access control, reducing security threats, and finally operational troubleshooting and best practices. By the end of this book, you will have gained the necessary skills to deploy, manage and operate Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 to meet your business requirements and solve real-world customer problems. Style and approach The concepts in the book are explained and illustrated with the help of screenshots as much as possible. We strive for readability and provide you with step-by-step instructions on the installation, configuration, and operation of the product. Throughout the book, you will be provided on-the-field knowledge that you won’t get from whitepapers and help files.

A practical tutorial to get you up and running with the revolutionary WordPress REST API About This Book Learn how to run the latest WordPress REST API with various platforms Create exciting apps and manage non-WordPress content with them Secure, export, and manage your data through illustrative examples Who This Book Is For This book is for WordPress developers and designers who want to get a complete practical understanding of the WordPress REST API and leverage it to create fully-featured web apps. What You Will Learn Use the WordPress REST API to read, write, and edit posts Create and work with metadata using the WordPress REST API Work with taxonomies using the REST API Add custom routes and build apps using the WordPress REST API Process requests and integrate with external applications and frameworks Make your WordPress projects ready for the RESTful API standard In Detail The WordPress REST API is a recent innovation that has the potential to unlock several new opportunities for WordPress developers. It can help you integrate with technologies outside of WordPress, as well as offer great flexibility when developing themes and plugins for WordPress. As such, the REST API can make developers’ lives easier. The book begins by covering the basics of the REST API and how it can be used along with WordPress. Learn how the REST API interacts with WordPress, allowing you to copy posts and modify post metadata. Move on to get an understanding of taxonomies and user roles are in WordPress and how to use them with the WordPress REST API. Next, find out how to edit and process forms with AJAX and how to create custom routes and functions. You will create a fully-functional single page web app using a WordPress site and the REST API. Lastly, you will see how to deal with the REST API in future versions and will use it to interact it with third-party services. By the end of the book, you will be able to work with the WordPress REST API to build web applications. Style and Approach A step by step tutorial to explain the new and exciting world of the WordPress REST API with the real world examples.

Get up and running with reactive programming paradigms to build fast, concurrent, and powerful applications About This Book . Get to grips with the core design principles of reactive programming . Learn about Reactive Extensions for .NET through real-world examples . Improve your problem-solving ability by applying functional programming Who This Book Is For If you are a .NET developer who wants to implement all the reactive programming paradigm techniques to create better and more efficient code, then this is the book for you. No prior knowledge of reactive programming is expected. What You Will Learn . Create, manipulate, and aggregate sequences in a functional-way . Query observable data streams using standard LINQ query operators . Program reactive observers and observable collections with C# . Write concurrent programs with ease, scheduling actions on various workers . Debug, analyze, and instrument Rx functions . Integrate Rx with CLR events and custom scheduling . Learn Functional Reactive Programming with F# In Detail Reactive programming is an innovative programming paradigm focused on time-based problem solving. It makes your programs better-performing, easier to scale, and more reliable. Want to create fast-running applications to handle complex logics and huge datasets for financial and big-data challengesThen you have picked up the right book! Starting with the principles of reactive programming and unveiling the power of the pull-programming world, this book is your one-stop solution to get a deep practical understanding of reactive programming techniques. You will gradually learn all about reactive extensions, programming, testing, and debugging observable sequence, and integrating events from CLR data-at-rest or events. Finally, you will dive into advanced techniques such as manipulating time in data-flow, customizing operators and providers, and exploring functional reactive programming. By the end of the book, you'll know how to apply reactive programming to solve complex problems and build efficient programs with reactive user interfaces. Style and approach This is a concise reference manual for reactive programming with Rx for C# and F# using real-world, practical examples.

Use Qt5 to design and build a graphical user interface that is functional, appealing, and user-friendly for your software application About This Book Learn to make use of Qt5 to design and customize the look-and-feel of your application Improve the visual quality of your application by utilizing the graphic rendering system and animation system provided by Qt5 A good balance of visual presentation and its contents will make an application appealing yet functional Who This Book Is For This book intended for those who want to develop software using Qt5. If you want to improve the visual quality and content presentation of your software application, this book is best suited to you. What You Will Learn Customize the look and feel of your application using the widget editor provided by Qt5 Change the states of the GUI elements to make them appear in a different form Animating the GUI elements using the built-in animation system provided by Qt5 Draw shapes and 2D images in your application using Qt5’s powerful rendering system Draw 3D graphics in your application by implementing OpenGL, an industry-standard graphical library to your project Build a mobile app that supports touch events and export it to your device Parse and extract data from an XML file, then present it on your software’s GUI Display web content on your program and interact with it by calling JavaScript functions from C++, or calling C++ functions from the web content Access to MySQL and SQLite databases to retrieve data and display it on your software’s GUI In Detail With the advancement of computer technology, the software market is exploding with tons of software choices for the user, making their expectations higher in terms of functionality and the look and feel of the application. Therefore, improving the visual quality of your application is vital in order to overcome the market competition and stand out from the crowd. This book will teach you how to develop functional and appealing software using Qt5 through multiple projects that are interesting and fun. This book covers a variety of topics such as look-and-feel customization, GUI animation, graphics rendering, implementing Google Maps, and more. You will learn tons of useful information, and enjoy the process of working on the creative projects provided in this book. Style and approach This book focuses on customizing the look and feel and utilizing the graphical features provided by Qt5. It takes a step-by-step approach, providing tons of screenshots and sample code for you to follow and learn. Each topic is explained sequentially and placed in context.

Enter the world of Internet of Things with the power of data science with this highly practical, engaging book About This Book Explore real-world use cases from the Internet of Things (IoT) domain using decision science with this easy-to-follow, practical book Learn to make smarter decisions on top of your IoT solutions so that your IoT is smart in a real sense This highly practical, example-rich guide fills the gap between your knowledge of data science and IoT Who This Book Is For If you have a basic programming experience with R and want to solve business use cases in IoT using decision science then this book is for you. Even if your're a non-technical manager anchoring IoT projects, you can skip the code and still benefit from the book. What You Will Learn Explore decision science with respect to IoT Get to know the end to end analytics stack – De*ive + Inquisitive + Predictive + Pre*ive Solve problems in IoT connected assets and connected operations Design and solve real-life IoT business use cases using cutting edge machine learning techniques Synthesize and assimilate results to form the perfect story for a business Master the art of problem solving when IoT meets decision science using a variety of statistical and machine learning techniques along with hands on tasks in R In Detail With an increasing number of devices getting connected to the Internet, massive amounts of data are being generated that can be used for analysis. This book helps you to understand Internet of Things in depth and decision science, and solve business use cases. With IoT, the frequency and impact of the problem is huge. Addressing a problem with such a huge impact requires a very structured approach. The entire journey of addressing the problem by defining it, designing the solution, and executing it using decision science is articulated in this book through engaging and easy-to-understand business use cases. You will get a detailed understanding of IoT, decision science, and the art of solving a business problem in IoT through decision science. By the end of this book, you’ll have an understanding of the complex aspects of decision making in IoT and will be able to take that knowledge with you onto whatever project calls for it Style and approach This scenario-based tutorial approaches the topic systematically, allowing you to build upon what you learned in previous chapters.

Build exciting end-to-end applications with TypeScript About This Book This book will help you whether you’re a beginner or an expert Complete and complex projects provide codes that are ready and solutions for start-ups and enterprise developers The book will showcase the power and depth of TypeScript when it comes to high performance and scalability Who This Book Is For This book was written for web developers who wish to make the most of TypeScript and build fun projects. You should be familiar with the fundamentals of JavaScript What You Will Learn Build quirky and fun projects from scratch while exploring widely applicable practices and techniques Use TypeScript with a range of different technologies such as Angular 2 and React and write cross-platform applications Migrate JavaScript codebases to TypeScript to improve your workflow Write maintainable and reusable code that is helpful in the world of programming revolving around features and bugs Using System.JS and Webpack to load *s and their dependencies. Developing highly performance server-side applications to run within Node Js. Reviewing high performant Node.js patterns and manage garbage collection. In Detail TypeScript is the future of JavaScript. Having been designed for the development of large applications, it is being widely incorporated in popular projects such as Angular JS 2.0. Adopting TypeScript results in more robust software, while still being deployable in apps where regular JavaScript would run. Scale and performance lie at the heart of the projects built in our book. The lessons learned throughout this book will arm you with everything you need to build amazing projects. During the course of this book, you will learn how to build a complete Single Page Application with Angular 2 and create a popular mobile app using NativeScript. Further on, you will build a classic Pac Man game in TypeScript. We will also help you migrate your legacy codebase project from JavaScript to TypeScript. By the end of the book, you will have created a number of exciting projects and will be competent using TypeScript for your live projects. Style and approach The book focuses on building projects from scratch. These end-to-end projects will give you ready-to-implement solutions for your business scenario, showcasing the depth and robustness of TypeScript.

Exquisite Indian short stories Lukose is ready to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and enter the priesthood; Anna’s parents are drowned as they make their way to a wedding by boat and she must now go and live with her uncle and his Italian wife in Rome; Chako, a doctor, meets a sad little girl whose mother has run away, and then, many years later, he encounters the mother at a party but cannot bear to share with her his knowledge of her daughter. These fifteen stories give us sharp, acute fragments of Indian lives, all linked by family or friendship, or just sheer coincidence, and give us a poignant reminder of how even the smallest event can cause the greatest effect. Beautifully crafted, written with great feeling, this story collection marks the debut of a new and original voice.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall be stamped upon.’ From the massively successful author that brought you exploding sheep (Before & After) comes the conspiracy theory to end them all. If you’re a cynic, you’re a sucker. ‘They’ want you to believe in aliens, UFOs and ghosts, because if you go chasing lies, you never get to the truth. ‘They’ are the ultra-secret world ‘Committee’ – the real decision makers who tell governments what to do, dictate which way the stock market’s heading, start up a few wars when things get boring. They’ve had five centuries’ experience at the top to know that nothing spreads a rumour faster than a carefully worded denial. Unfortunately, the ‘Committee’ have been so busy manipulating the entire globe they haven’t realised that they themselves are being manipulated. From opposite sides of the globe, former US commando Frank MacIntyre, and UFO enthusiast Dave Pierce, are about to stumble on the biggest conspiracy theory of all. And it’s a discovery that threatens to destabalise the whole planet. The meek have just put on their boots, and they’re ready to do a bit of stamping themselves.

The long awaited return to Robert Low’s Oathsworn series Island of Mann, 979AD. A man lies dying with a message he cannot take to his grave, a sworn secret that must be passed on only to Olaf Tryggvasson, kin of Harald Fairhair of the Yngling line and true prince of Norway, also known as Crowbone. When the message finally arrives, so begins a quest to discover its meaning, and for Crowbone to gain what is rightfully his: the crown of Norway. With a band of Chosen Men, Crowbone begins an unforgiving journey that will see him face the challenge of new enemies and confront his suspicions of treachery from old friends. Looming over all is his ultimate rival; Gunnhild, the Witch Mother of Kings, Crowbone’s arch-enemy who will stop at nothing to prevent him from knowing what and where this secret is. In the fifth installment of his Oathsworn series, Robert Low is back to his full-blooded Viking best, this time visiting the harsh terrain of the North Sea coast, in a tale about one man’s quest for survival and the unexpected alliances that emerge, as the very bonds that tie the Oathsworn together are put to the test.