The Pike: Gabriele d’Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War
¥88.39
WINNER OF THE 2013 SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION WINNER OF THE 2013 DUFF COOPER PRIZE WINNER OF THE POLITICAL BOOK AWARDS POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2014 WINNER OF THE 2013 COSTA BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR The story of Gabriele D’Annunzio, poet, daredevil – and Fascist. In September 1919 Gabriele D’Annunzio, successful poet and occasional politician, declared himself Commandante of the city of Fiume in modern day Croatia. His intention – to establish a utopia based on his fascist and artistic ideals. It was the dramatic pinnacle to an outrageous career. Lucy Hughes-Hallett charts the controversial life of D’Annunzio, the debauched artist who became a national hero. His evolution from idealist Romantic to radical right-wing revolutionary is a political parable. Through his ideological journey, culminating in the failure of the Fiume endeavour, we witness the political turbulence of early 20th century Europe and the emergence of fascism. In ‘The Pike’, Hughes-Hallett addresses the cult of nationalism and the origins of political extremism – and at the centre of the book stands the charismatic D’Annunzio: a figure as deplorable as he is fascinating.
Gilchrist on Blake: The Life of William Blake by Alexander Gilchrist
¥88.39
LIVES THAT NEVER GROW OLD Part of a radical new series – edited by Richard Holmes – that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Gilchrist’s ‘The Life of William Blake’ is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive. This was the first biography of William Blake ever written, at a time when the great visionary poet and painter was generally forgotten, ridiculed or dismissed as insane. Wonderfully vivid and outspoken (one chapter is entitled ‘Mad or Not Mad’), it was based on revealing interviews with many of Blake’s surviving friends. Blake conversed with spirits, saw angels in trees, and sunbathed naked with his wife ‘like Adam and Eve’. Gilchrist adds detailed de*ions of Blake’s beliefs and working methods, an account of his trial for high treason and fascinating evocations of the places in London, Kent and Sussex where he lived. The book ultimately transformed and enhanced Blake’s reputation.
Mega Sleepover 5 (The Sleepover Club)
¥88.39
Join the Sleepover Club: Frankie, Kenny, Felicity, Rosie and Lyndsey, five girls who want to have fun – but who always end up in mischief! In Sleepover on Friday 13th, Kenny plans some spooky surprises – but suddenly, everything starts getting out of control… In Sleepover Girls Go Camping, it’s the Sleepover Club versus the M&Ms on a massive assault course at summer camp. And in Sleepover Girls Go Detective, Lyndz’s cat disappears. Could it be anything to do with a very suspicious-looking neighbour? Three fantastic Sleepover Club stories in one!
The Dream Room
¥88.39
‘Into its 120 pages, M?ring folds a war memoir, a family psychodrama and a meditation on time and memory. It is a miracle of compression: everything is significant…one races through it, eager to discover the heart of the mystery.’ Guardian The story of a family – mother, father (ex-World War II pilot), twelve-year-old son David – who live above a toy shop in a small town on the windswept Dutch coast. On the same day that David finds himself listening to the toy shop owner complaining that he can’t sell model aeroplane kits any more because kids nowadays are too lazy to glue all the pieces together, David’s father quits his job in a fit of pique and pride. A few hours later, his mother comes home, having left her job too. So, David devises a plan – and before the day is over the whole family is at home, putting model aeroplanes together. A wonderful, perfect summer ensues, suddenly interrupted by the arrival of an unexpected visitor, his father’s old friend from the war. His arrival revives old feelings of loyalty, love and hatred – and ensures that nothing will ever return to a perfect state again. Accessible, warm, funny and wise, this novel was a massive bestseller in M?ring’s native Holland. A gem of a story, it has the fable-like appeal of a “Miss Garnet’s Angel” (but without the middle-Englandness) or of Bernard Schlink’s “The Reader” (but without the heavy moral overtone).The book is most reminiscent of J.L. Carr’s “A Month in the Country”, the Booker Prize-winning English novel set just after World War I, heavy with nostalgia, evocative, melancholy.
Three Girls and their Brother
¥88.39
A stunning novel about celebrity and the price of fame from a Pulitzer-shortlisted playwright and the creator of hit series SMASH. It was the photograph in the New Yorker which started it all. They were three young, beautiful, red-haired girls, there granddaughters of a literary lion. They were News. But it was the row over the youngest's reaction to the attentions from one of Hollywood's biggest stars that made them Celebrities. The family – the three sisters, their brother, their mother, their normally absent father – are sucked into a whirlwind of agents, producers, managers, photo shoots, paparazzi, journalists, stylists, parties, shows, a maelstrom they have no idea how to control. The three girls – and their brother, an uneasy observer – experiment with life and change, and learn to survive, each of them differently. Each of them pays a different price in their relationship with each other, with their parents and in their beliefs in themselves and the civilisation around them. Three Girls and their Brother is a novel to devour. The story is compelling, sometimes cutting, sometimes touching. The characters leap widely off the page. The setting and portrait of the celebrity scene is completely convincing, busy and yet intimate. Theresa Rebeck's first novel is a triumph.
The Real Witches’ Handbook: The Definitive Handbook of Advanced Magical Techniqu
¥88.39
Kate West is the author of The Real Witches' Handbook and The Real Witches' Kitchen. She is Media Officer for The Children of Artemis and High Priestess of the Hearth of Hecate, which runs a popular email support and enquiry service for Witches around the world. A practising Wiccan for over 30 years, she has excellent international contacts.
Wicca: A comprehensive guide to the Old Religion in the modern world
¥88.39
Vivianne Crowley, Ph.D., is an international teacher of Wicca and the Western magickal tradition. She is a psychologist and was formerly Lecturer in Psychology of Religion at King’s College, University of London. She is now a professor in the Faculty of Pastoral Counselling, Cherry Hill Seminary, South Carolina. She is the author of many books including Wicca, A Woman’s Guide to the Earth Traditions, A Woman’s Kabbalah and Jung: Principles of Jungian Spirituality.
Love Bites: Marital Skirmishes in the Kitchen
¥88.39
A witty culinary exploration of both the unusual and the familiar, written by former Independent columnist, Chris Hirst. On his perilous culinary mission into the kitchen, Hirst proudly seeks to reclaim some of the greatest dishes in modern-day cuisine that we have become bizarrely indifferent to as a nation. Peppered throughout with the piquant comments and trenchant opinions of Mrs H, acting as a vocal - though not always enthusiastic - participant, Hirst’s lively instruction includes such dining delights as the quintessentially English treat of the pork pie, the history of the humble rhubarb stick and forays into the kitchen to make sticky Seville orange marmalade and grown-up biscuits including dubious amounts of absinthe. Tackling important questions such as the correct pronunciation of a certain cheesy snack (clearly Welsh rabbit not rarebit), and probing what it was exactly that fascinated our ancestors so much about blancmange (was it the inclusion of meat?), Hirst might not promise perfect results, but guarantees intriguing historical discussion about age-old culinary classics.
The Bird Woman
¥88.39
The much anticipated second novel from prize-winning Irish poet and novelist, Kerry Hardie. 'The Bird Woman' is a moving account of two marriages, a gift that feels like a curse, and the freedom that lies on the far side of family or group identity. Ellen McKinnon, red-haired, clairvoyant, fiercely independent, finds her marriage, her health, her sanity threatened when she 'sees' the death of a man in a bomb attack before it has really occurred. Terrified by what's happening to her, she leaves her home, her tribe, her husband, to live with a man she barely knows in Southern Ireland. There she strives to live a normal life in a different culture, to be accepted by her husband's family and friends, to learn a new way of living. Though determined to suppress her 'gift' at any cost, with the birth of her children the clairvoyance changes and broadens into a power to heal. Slowly the rumours spread and the sick seek her out, yet she turns them away from her door. Her husband and her closest friend demand that she question her right to suppress her remarkable powers. Reluctantly she accepts her fate, and begins her work as a healer. But the personal cost is high, and this work begins to damage her most intimate relationships. When news of the final illness of her long-estranged mother forces her return to her native city, everything falls apart for her and she finds there's no safe ground beneath her feet.
Mega Sleepover 2 (The Sleepover Club)
¥88.39
Join the Sleepover Club: Frankie, Kenny, Felicity, Rosie and Lyndsey, five girls who want to have fun – but who always end up in mischief! In The Sleepover Club at Frankie’s, the gang decides to set up Brown Owl with Dishy Dave the school caretaker. But playing Cupid isn’t as easy as they think… It’s Lyndz’s birthday in The Sleepover Club at Lyndsey’s, and the gang plan a spooky video night. Only the spooks suddenly seem for real… And in The Sleepover Club at Felicity’s, Fliss goes diet-crazy. But sleepovers and food go hand in hand, and the girls must find emergency supplies!
A Small Dog Saved My Life
¥88.39
A story of survival, transformation and love. In a beautiful and powerful memoir which mixes honest, personal revelation with literature, history, and inspirational self-help, Bel Mooney tells the story of her rescue dog, Bonnie, who in turn rescued Bel when her world fell apart with the all-too public break-up of her 35-year marriage. SMALL DOGS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE really is a story of survival, and also one of love. This is an account of six years in Bel's life, from when she first acquired Bonnie from a rescue home, through Bel’s years of personal heartbreak and disappointment, and on to the happiness which she has now found in a new marriage and a new life, with the Maltese at her side all the way. This is a book about transformation and change, about picking yourself up and attacking life in the way that a small dog will go for the postman's trousers - and about celebrating life, much as your canine companion will always celebrate your return, even from the shortest trip. Beautifully engaging, entertaining, full of personal anecdotes and deeply moving, SMALL DOGS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE will take the reader on an inspirational walk with one very small but very remarkable dog - a dog who became a symbol for all that is best about dogs, and about we humans too. Bel Mooney is a journalist with almost forty years' experience. Well-loved by millions for her advice columns, first for the Times and now in the Daily Mail, as well as countless programmes for radio and television, Bel takes the reader on a journey of discovery, in which she finds herself transformed into a dog-lover by one small and lively bundle of white fur, as well as telling her own gripping story.
The GL Diet Made Easy: How to Eat, Cheat and Still Lose Weight
¥88.39
Dieting is so much easier thanks to Nigel Denby's fantastically simple GL diet. There's no calorie or point counting, no hunger, no guilt and no faddy food rules. Even better, you can drop a size in 10 days – and keep it off. All you need to do is stick to a few simple eating guidelines and enjoy his delicious recipes and flexible meal plans. GL, or Glycaemic Load, gets better results than GI (Glycaemic Index) because it helps you manage the quality AND the quantity of the food you eat. For example, on a GI diet chocolate is off the menu because a single bar of chocolate and a truckload of chocolate have the same bad rating. It's a different story on GL: you can cheat a little and still enjoy your chocolate fix. This diet is so easy and so indulgent that you'll hardly notice you are on it until your unwanted pounds disappear. ? Simple eating guidelines – no rigid rules ? Safe, permanent weight loss ? 10-day flexible planner – drop a size and get on track ? Mouth-watering choice of 10-minute recipes
Johnson on Savage: The Life of Mr Richard Savage by Samuel Johnson
¥88.39
Lives that Never Grow Old Part of a radical new series –edited by Richard Holmes – that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Johnson’s book is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive. When he first came to London, young Samuel Johnson was befriended by the flamboyant poet, playwright and blackmailer, Richard Savage. Walking the backstreets at night, he learned Savage’s extraordinary story – supposedly persecuted by a ‘cruel mother’, sentenced to death for a murder in a brothel, appointed Volunteer Poet Laureate to the Queen, and finally broken and outcast. With this moving and intimate account, Johnson created a brilliant black comedy of 18th-century Grub Street which revolutionised English biography by its psychological realism. Yet Savage’s destructive charm and delusions of grandeur sometimes even threatened to entangle Johnson himself.
Boyfriend in a Dress
¥88.39
A novel about cross-dressing, social apathy, and seeing the best in people, a little too late. It started when I came home and found my bloody pointless stupid bastard boyfriend, Charlie, on my sofa, in my blue Lycra dress. He was having some sort of breakdown. It transpired that Charlie had been having an epiphany of sorts. The previous night, standing on his balcony, he had witnessed an attack – on a woman he'd just kicked out of his bed. Ahsen and shaken, on his way to work the next day, he had found a dead body in the train toilets and now here he was, in a dress, sobbing uncontrollably. I had been ready to dump Charlie once and for all – he was an unfaithful bastard (so was I, but not to the same extent). But he convinced me to run off with him to Devon for a week to sort his head out and I decided I owed him that much. Sizzling in the unlikely heatwave that week, everything changed between us, as we sucked on ice-creams naked on deckchairs, and hi-jacked an old people's bowling green. But despite the fact that our relationship had never been so strong and never meant so much to either of us, could we handle what was waiting for us back in London?
Scott on Zélide: Portrait of Zélide by Geoffrey Scott
¥88.39
‘Lives that Never Grow Old’ is a wonderful series– edited by Richard Holmes – that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Every book is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive. Zélide lived in her father’s moated castle in Holland, like a fairytale princess in a tower. She was the clever, sexy, mercurial young Dutch blue-stocking with whom Boswell fell disastrously in love in 1764. The rest of Zélide’s story was unknown until the brilliant young Boswell scholar Geoffrey Scott pieced it together from her intimate letters and essays. Subsequent affairs with a cynical cavalry officer, a celebrated but vacillating writer (aptly named Benjamin Constant), and a thoroughly reliable music master, took her eventually to another fairytale mansion in Switzerland. This tender, funny, faintly salacious portrait of a ‘belle-esprit’ is one of the most exquisite biographical miniatures ever written.
Polgara the Sorceress
¥88.39
The last and most amazing volume in the legendary Belgariad series: the story of the queen of truth, love, rage and destiny, Polgara the Sorceress. The queen of truth, love, rage and destiny reveals all. Polgara the Sorceress is the crowning achievement of the great fantasy epic which began with The Belgariad and continued with The Malloreon. Once again David and Leigh Eddings display the epic imagination, humour, and storytelling power which have made this series the most popular fantasy of modern times. In the story of Polgara, a beautiful woman whose constancy and inner power have been the foundation of all the luck and love that have saved the world, the full truth of The Belgariad is revealed.
Under One Roof
¥88.39
The heart-warming true story of the bond between a feisty octogenarian and the man in charge of building a shopping mall on top of her home – which inspired the opening scene of the Pixar movie Up! Edith Macefield achieved folk hero status in 2006 when she turned down $1 million to sell her home to make way for a commercial development in a small neighborhood of Seattle. It didn’t matter that her tiny house was surrounded by rubble and graffiti. It was home. Barry Martin respected that, and when he took the job as construction supervisor for the shopping mall that was being erected around Edith’s little house, he determined to make things as easy as he could for Edith. He gave her his phone number and told her to call if she needed anything. And she did. The day Edith asked Barry to drive her to a hair appointment, an unlikely friendship was sparked, one that changed them both forever. As Barry helps Edith through the last days of her life, she helps him deal with the effects of the Alzheimer’s that is diminishing his beloved father. She learns to laugh and let go. He learns about compassion and grace. Full of heart and warmth, ‘Under One Roof’ is an true story that reminds us the most important things in life can’t be bought.
The Hellenistic World
¥88.39
F. W. Walbank was Rathbone Professor of Ancient History and Classical Archaeology at the University of Liverpool and a Fellow of the British Academy.
Forty Words for Sorrow
¥88.39
Dark, atmospheric and terrifying psychological serial killer thriller set in a freezing Ontario winter, guaranteed to chill readers to the bone: ‘Forty Words for Sorrow is brilliant’ Jonathan Kellerman When four teenagers go missing in the small northern town of Algonquin Bay, the extensive police investigation comes up empty. Everyone is ready to give up, except Detective John Cardinal, an all-too-human loner whose persistence only serves to get him removed from homicide. Then the mutilated body of thirteen-year-old Katie Pine is pulled out of an abandoned mineshaft. And only Cardinal is willing to consider the horrible truth: that this quiet town is home to the most vicious of killers. With the media, the provincial police and his own department questioning his every move, Cardinal follows increasingly tenuous threads towards the unthinkable. But time isn’t only running out for him: there’s also another young victim tied up in a basement wondering how and when he will die.
The Lost Babes: Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich
¥88.39
Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich A moving story of how a legendary football team was lost to tragedy - and how this disaster irrevocably altered the lives of the survivors and the bereaved families, and ultimately brought shame on the biggest football club in the world. The Manchester United team Matt Busby had built in the fifties from the club's successful youth policy seemed destined to dominate football for many years. Such was the power of the 'Busby Babes' that they seemed invincible. The average age of the side which won the Championship in 1955-56 was just 22, the youngest ever to achieve such a feat. A year later, when they were Champions again, nothing, it seemed, would prevent this gifted young team from reigning for the next decade. But then came 6 February 1958, the day that eight Manchester United players died on a German airfield in the 'Munich Air Disaster' - a date to be forever etched in the annals of sporting tragedy. Duncan Edwards, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Roger Byrne...the names were already enshrined in legend before the air crash, but Munich in many ways earned them immortality. They have never grown old. Jeff Connor traces the rise of the greatest Manchester United side of all time, alongside a vibrant portrait of England in the 1950s, but he also paints a dark picture of a club that enriched itself on the myth of Munich while neglecting the families of the dead and the surviving players. The repercussions and the toll the disaster took on so many linger to the present day. Drawing on extensive interviews with the Munich victims and players of that era, The Lost Babes is the definitive account of British football's golden age, a poignant story of the protracted effects of loss and a remorseless dissection of the how the richest football club in the world turned its back on its own players and their families.
Dancing at the Edge: Competence, Culture and Organization in the 21st Century
¥88.37
In his 1980 essay,? The World of Tomorrow and the Person of Tomorrow , the psychologist Carl Rogers contemplated the future. He described those who would usher in this new era as people with the capacity to understand, bring about and absorb a paradigm shift. He added: "I have an uneasy feeling about this chapter… It is a beginning, an outline, a suggestion… I believe that what I am saying here will some day be fleshed out much more fully, either by me or someone else." Maureen O’Hara and Graham Leicester are uniquely qualified to flesh out Carl Rogers’s vision (Maureen worked closely with Rogers for many years). Here they explore the competencies – the ways of being, doing, knowing and organising - that can help us navigate in complex and powerful times. They argue that these competencies are innate and within reach of all of us – given the right setting, plenty of practice and some gentle guidance. But they are seldom seen because they are routinely undervalued in today’s culture. That must change, the authors insist, and this book is intended to begin that change. The book is based on the authors’ extensive research and their practical experience observing the qualities demonstrated by some of today’s most successful cultural, political and business leaders.?