Search, analyze, and manage data effectively with Elasticsearch 7 Key Features * Extend Elasticsearch functionalities and learn how to deploy on Elastic Cloud * Deploy and manage simple Elasticsearch nodes as well as complex cluster topologies * Explore the capabilities of Elasticsearch 7 with easy-to-follow recipes Book Description Elasticsearch is a Lucene-based distributed search server that allows users to index and search unstructured content with petabytes of data. With this book, you'll be guided through comprehensive recipes on what's new in Elasticsearch 7, and see how to create and run complex queries and analytics. Packed with recipes on performing index mapping, aggregation, and scripting using Elasticsearch, this fourth edition of Elasticsearch Cookbook will get you acquainted with numerous solutions and quick techniques for performing both every day and uncommon tasks such as deploying Elasticsearch nodes, integrating other tools to Elasticsearch, and creating different visualizations. You will install Kibana to monitor a cluster and also extend it using a variety of plugins. Finally, you will integrate your Java, Scala, Python, and big data applications such as Apache Spark and Pig with Elasticsearch, and create efficient data applications powered by enhanced functionalities and custom plugins. By the end of this book, you will have gained in-depth knowledge of implementing Elasticsearch architecture, and you'll be able to manage, search, and store data efficiently and effectively using Elasticsearch. What you will learn * Create an efficient architecture with Elasticsearch * Optimize search results by executing analytics aggregations * Build complex queries by managing indices and documents * Monitor the performance of your cluster and nodes * Design advanced mapping to take full control of index steps * Integrate Elasticsearch in Java, Scala, Python, and big data applications * Install Kibana to monitor clusters and extend it for plugins Who this book is for If you’re a software engineer, big data infrastructure engineer, or Elasticsearch developer, you'll find this book useful. This Elasticsearch book will also help data professionals working in the e-commerce and FMCG industry who use Elastic for metrics evaluation and search analytics to get deeper insights for better business decisions. Prior experience with Elasticsearch will help you get the most out of this book.

Learn from the AWS subject-matter experts, explore real-world scenarios, and pass the AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam Key Features ?This fast-paced guide will help you clear the AWS Certified Developer – Associate (DVA-C01) exam with confidence ?Gain valuable insights to design, develop, and deploy cloud-based solutions using AWS ?Develop expert core AWS skills with practice questions and mock tests Book Description This book will focus on the revised version of AWS Certified Developer Associate exam. The 2019 version of this exam guide includes all the recent services and offerings from Amazon that benefits developers. AWS Certified Developer - Associate Guide starts with a quick introduction to AWS and the prerequisites to get you started. Then, this book will describe about getting familiar with Identity and Access Management (IAM) along with Virtual private cloud (VPC). Next, this book will teach you about microservices, serverless architecture, security best practices, advanced deployment methods and more. Going ahead we will take you through AWS DynamoDB A NoSQL Database Service, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) and CloudFormation Overview. Lastly, this book will help understand Elastic Beanstalk and will also walk you through AWS lambda. At the end of this book, we will cover enough topics, tips and tricks along with mock tests for you to be able to pass the AWS Certified Developer - Associate exam and develop as well as manage your applications on the AWS platform. What you will learn ?Create and manage users, groups, and permissions using AWS IAM services ?Create a secured VPC with Public and Private Subnets, NAC, and Security groups ?Launching your first EC2 instance, and working with it ?Handle application traffic with ELB and monitor AWS resources with CloudWatch ?Work with AWS storage services such as S3, Glacier, and CloudFront ?Get acquainted with AWS DynamoDB a NoSQL database service ?Use SWS to coordinate work across distributed application components Who this book is for This book is for IT professionals and developers looking to clear the AWS Certified Developer Associate 2019 exam. Developers looking to develop and manage their applications on the AWS platform will also find this book useful. No prior AWS experience is needed. Table of Contents 1.Overview of AWS Certified Developer - Associate certification 2.Understanding the Fundamentals of Amazon Web Services 3.Identity and Access Management (IAM) 4.Virtual Private Clouds 5.Getting Started with Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) 6.Handling Application Traffic with ELB 7.Monitoring with CloudWatch 8.Simple Storage Service, Glacier, and CloudFront 9.Other AWS Storage Options 10.AWS Relational Database Service 11.AWS DynamoDB - A NoSQL Database Service 12.Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) 13.Simple Notification Service (SNS) 14.Simple Workflow Service (SWF) 15.CloudFormation Overview 16.Understanding Elastic Beanstalk 17.Overview of AWS Lambda 18.Key Management Services 19.Working with AWS Kinesis 20.Working with AWS CodeBuild 21.Getting Started with AWS CodeDeploy 22.Working with AWS CodePipeline 23.CI/CD on AWS 24.Serverless Computing 25.Amazon Route 53 26.ElastiCache Overview 27.Mock Tests 28.Exploring AWS CodeCommit

Apply modern reinforcement learning and deep reinforcement learning methods using Python and its powerful libraries Key Features * Your entry point into the world of artificial intelligence using the power of Python * An example-rich guide to master various RL and DRL algorithms * Explore the power of modern Python libraries to gain confidence in building self-trained applications Book Description Reinforcement Learning (RL) is the trending and most promising branch of artificial intelligence. This Learning Path will help you master not only the basic reinforcement learning algorithms but also the advanced deep reinforcement learning algorithms. The Learning Path starts with an introduction to RL followed by OpenAI Gym, and TensorFlow. You will then explore various RL algorithms, such as Markov Decision Process, Monte Carlo methods, and dynamic programming, including value and policy iteration. You'll also work on various datasets including image, text, and video. This example-rich guide will introduce you to deep RL algorithms, such as Dueling DQN, DRQN, A3C, PPO, and TRPO. You will gain experience in several domains, including gaming, image processing, and physical simulations. You'll explore TensorFlow and OpenAI Gym to implement algorithms that also predict stock prices, generate natural language, and even build other neural networks. You will also learn about imagination-augmented agents, learning from human preference, DQfD, HER, and many of the recent advancements in RL. By the end of the Learning Path, you will have all the knowledge and experience needed to implement RL and deep RL in your projects, and you enter the world of artificial intelligence to solve various real-life problems. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * Hands-On Reinforcement Learning with Python by Sudharsan Ravichandiran * Python Reinforcement Learning Projects by Sean Saito, Yang Wenzhuo, and Rajalingappaa Shanmugamani What you will learn * Train an agent to walk using OpenAI Gym and TensorFlow * Solve multi-armed-bandit problems using various algorithms * Build intelligent agents using the DRQN algorithm to play the Doom game * Teach your agent to play Connect4 using AlphaGo Zero * Defeat Atari arcade games using the value iteration method * Discover how to deal with discrete and continuous action spaces in various environments Who this book is for If you’re an ML/DL enthusiast interested in AI and want to explore RL and deep RL from scratch, this Learning Path is for you. Prior knowledge of linear algebra is expected.

Design, deploy, and manage large-scale containers using Kubernetes Key Features * Gain insight into the latest features of Kubernetes, including Prometheus and API aggregation * Discover ways to keep your clusters always available, scalable, and up-to-date * Master the skills of designing and deploying large clusters on various cloud platforms Book Description If you are running a number of containers and want to be able to automate the way they’re managed, it can be helpful to have Kubernetes at your disposal. This Learning Path guides you through core Kubernetes constructs, such as pods, services, replica sets, replication controllers, and labels. You'll get started by learning how to integrate your build pipeline and deployments in a Kubernetes cluster. As you cover more chapters in the Learning Path, you'll get up to speed with orchestrating updates behind the scenes, avoiding downtime on your cluster, and dealing with underlying cloud provider instability in your cluster. With the help of real-world use cases, you'll also explore options for network configuration, and understand how to set up, operate, and troubleshoot various Kubernetes networking plugins. In addition to this, you'll gain insights into custom resource development and utilization in automation and maintenance workflows. By the end of this Learning Path, you'll have the expertise you need to progress from an intermediate to an advanced level of understanding Kubernetes. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * Getting Started with Kubernetes - Third Edition by Jonathan Baier and Jesse White * Mastering Kubernetes - Second Edition by Gigi Sayfan What you will learn * Download, install, and configure the Kubernetes code base * Create and configure custom Kubernetes resources * Use third-party resources in your automation workflows * Deliver applications as standard packages * Set up and access monitoring and logging for Kubernetes clusters * Set up external access to applications running in the cluster * Manage and scale Kubernetes with hosted platforms on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) * Run multiple clusters and manage them from a single control plane Who this book is for If you are a developer or a system administrator with an intermediate understanding of Kubernetes and want to master its advanced features, then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of networking is required to easily understand the concepts explained.

Learn end-to-end automation testing techniques for web and mobile browsers using Selenium WebDriver, AppiumDriver, Java, and TestNG Key Features * Explore the Selenium grid architecture and build your own grid for browser and mobile devices * Use ExtentReports for processing results and SauceLabs for cloud-based test services * Unlock the full potential of Selenium to test your web applications. Book Description Selenium WebDriver 3.x is an open source API for testing both browser and mobile applications. With the help of this book, you can build a solid foundation and can easily perform end-to-end testing on web and mobile browsers.You'll begin by being introduced to the Selenium Page Object Model for software development. You'll architect your own framework with a scalable driver class, Java utility classes, and support for third-party tools and plugins. You'll design and build a Selenium grid from scratch to enable the framework to scale and support different browsers, mobile devices, and platforms.You'll strategize and handle a rich web UI using the advanced WebDriver API and learn techniques to handle real-time challenges in WebDriver. You'll perform different types of testing, such as cross-browser testing, load testing, and mobile testing. Finally, you will also be introduced to data-driven testing, using TestNG to create your own automation framework.By the end of this Learning Path, you'll be able to design your own automation testing framework and perform data-driven testing with Selenium WebDriver. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * Selenium WebDriver 3 Practical Guide - Second Edition by Unmesh Gundecha * Selenium Framework Design in Data-Driven Testing by Carl Cocchiaro What you will learn * Use different mobile and desktop browser platforms with Selenium 3 * Use the Actions API for performing various keyboard and mouse actions * Design the Selenium Driver Class for local, remote, and third-party grid support * Build page object classes with the Selenium Page Object Model * Develop data-driven test classes using the TestNG framework * Encapsulate data using the JSON protocol * Build a Selenium Grid for RemoteWebDriver testing * Build and use utility classes in synchronization, file I/O, reporting and test listener classes Who this book is for This Learning Path is ideal for software quality assurance/testing professionals, software project managers, or software developers interested in using Selenium for testing their applications. Professionals responsible for designing and building enterprise-based testing frameworks will also find this Learning Path useful. Prior programming experience in Java are TestNG is necessary.

Apply cloud native patterns and practices to deliver responsive, resilient, elastic, and message-driven systems with confidence Key Features * Discover best practices for applying cloud native patterns to your cloud applications * Explore ways to effectively plan resources and technology stacks for high security and fault tolerance * Gain insight into core architectural principles using real-world examples Book Description Cloud computing has proven to be the most revolutionary IT development since virtualization. Cloud native architectures give you the benefit of more flexibility over legacy systems. This Learning Path teaches you everything you need to know for designing industry-grade cloud applications and efficiently migrating your business to the cloud. It begins by exploring the basic patterns that turn your database inside out to achieve massive scalability. You’ll learn how to develop cloud native architectures using microservices and serverless computing as your design principles. Then, you’ll explore ways to continuously deliver production code by implementing continuous observability in production. In the concluding chapters, you’ll learn about various public cloud architectures ranging from AWS and Azure to the Google Cloud Platform, and understand the future trends and expectations of cloud providers. By the end of this Learning Path, you’ll have learned the techniques to adopt cloud native architectures that meet your business requirements. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * Cloud Native Development Patterns and Best Practices by John Gilbert * Cloud Native Architectures by Erik Farr et al. What you will learn * Understand the difference between cloud native and traditional architecture * Automate security controls and configuration management * Minimize risk by evolving your monolithic systems into cloud native applications * Explore the aspects of migration, when and why to use it * Apply modern delivery and testing methods to continuously deliver production code * Enable massive scaling by turning your database inside out Who this book is for This Learning Path is designed for developers who want to progress into building cloud native systems and are keen to learn the patterns involved. Software architects, who are keen on designing scalable and highly available cloud native applications, will also find this Learning Path very useful. To easily grasp these concepts, you will need basic knowledge of programming and cloud computing.

Master machine learning techniques with real-world projects that interface TensorFlow with R, H2O, MXNet, and other languages Key Features * Gain expertise in machine learning, deep learning and other techniques * Build intelligent end-to-end projects for finance, social media, and a variety of domains * Implement multi-class classification, regression, and clustering Book Description R is one of the most popular languages when it comes to exploring the mathematical side of machine learning and easily performing computational statistics. This Learning Path shows you how to leverage the R ecosystem to build efficient machine learning applications that carry out intelligent tasks within your organization. You'll tackle realistic projects such as building powerful machine learning models with ensembles to predict employee attrition. You'll explore different clustering techniques to segment customers using wholesale data and use TensorFlow and Keras-R for performing advanced computations. You’ll also be introduced to reinforcement learning along with its various use cases and models. Additionally, it shows you how some of these black-box models can be diagnosed and understood. By the end of this Learning Path, you’ll be equipped with the skills you need to deploy machine learning techniques in your own projects. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * R Machine Learning Projects by Dr. Sunil Kumar Chinnamgari * Mastering Machine Learning with R - Third Edition by Cory Lesmeister What you will learn * Develop a joke recommendation engine to recommend jokes that match users’ tastes * Build autoencoders for credit card fraud detection * Work with image recognition and convolutional neural networks * Make predictions for casino slot machine using reinforcement learning * Implement NLP techniques for sentiment analysis and customer segmentation * Produce simple and effective data visualizations for improved insights * Use NLP to extract insights for text * Implement tree-based classifiers including random forest and boosted tree Who this book is for If you are a data analyst, data scientist, or machine learning developer this is an ideal Learning Path for you. Each project will help you test your skills in implementing machine learning algorithms and techniques. A basic understanding of machine learning and working knowledge of R programming is necessary to get the most out of this Learning Path.

Explore the world of neural networks by building powerful deep learning models using the R ecosystem Key Features * Get to grips with the fundamentals of deep learning and neural networks * Use R 3.5 and its libraries and APIs to build deep learning models for computer vision and text processing * Implement effective deep learning systems in R with the help of end-to-end projects Book Description Deep learning finds practical applications in several domains, while R is the preferred language for designing and deploying deep learning models. This Learning Path introduces you to the basics of deep learning and even teaches you to build a neural network model from scratch. As you make your way through the chapters, you’ll explore deep learning libraries and understand how to create deep learning models for a variety of challenges, right from anomaly detection to recommendation systems. The book will then help you cover advanced topics, such as generative adversarial networks (GANs), transfer learning, and large-scale deep learning in the cloud, in addition to model optimization, overfitting, and data augmentation. Through real-world projects, you’ll also get up to speed with training convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and long short-term memory networks (LSTMs) in R. By the end of this Learning Path, you’ll be well versed with deep learning and have the skills you need to implement a number of deep learning concepts in your research work or projects. This Learning Path includes content from the following Packt products: * R Deep Learning Essentials - Second Edition by F. Wiley and Mark Hodnett * R Deep Learning Projects by Yuxi (Hayden) Liu and Pablo Maldonado What you will learn * Implement credit card fraud detection with autoencoders * Train neural networks to perform handwritten digit recognition using MXNet * Reconstruct images using variational autoencoders * Explore the applications of autoencoder neural networks in clustering and dimensionality reduction * Create natural language processing (NLP) models using Keras and TensorFlow in R * Prevent models from overfitting the data to improve generalizability * Build shallow neural network prediction models Who this book is for This Learning Path is for aspiring data scientists, data analysts, machine learning developers, and deep learning enthusiasts who are well versed in machine learning concepts and are looking to explore the deep learning paradigm using R. A fundamental understanding of R programming and familiarity with the basic concepts of deep learning are necessary to get the most out of this Learning Path.

Everyone on deck! All hands on deck! Fire! Fire! Bring the hose quick! As the steamship lurched in the heavy seas, Harry Braham grabbed what clothes he could and struggled with the other terrified passengers to climb the ladders. On deck, with the rain lashing down and the wind howling, he gripped the rails of the ship tightly, trying to stay upright. With horror he saw the flames leaping high in the hold and he thought his time had come.It was June 1891. A music-hall star famous for his comic songs and his ability to 'pull mugs', Harry - a seasoned traveler - was on his way from New York to his home in London, after a busy season appearing in a play by W H Crane. As the crew prepared the lifeboats, Harry looked back at his life - his apprenticeship with the Royal Christy Minstrels, his acclaimed tours of Australia and the USA, and his marriage to the vivacious but temperamental singer Lizzie Watson. Was this to be the end? In this well-researched and lively biography, full of fascinating social background, Janet Muir (Harry Braham's great-great-niece) brings to life the world of the Victorian music-hall and traces Harry's career from minstrelsy through to 'legitimate' theatre and finally to moving pictures, where he landed a part in D W Griffith's Birth of a Nation.

Squeezed between more powerful France and Spain, Catalonia has endured a violent history. Its medieval empire that conquered Naples, Sicily and Athens was crushed by Spain. Its geography, with the Pyrenees falling sharply to the rugged Costa Brava, is tormented, too.Michael Eaude traces this history and its monuments: Roman Tarragona, celebrated by the poet Martial; Greek Empuries, lost for centuries beneath the sands; medieval Romanesque architecture in the Vall de Boi churches (a World Heritage Site) and Poblet and Santes Creus monasteries. He tells the stories of several of Catalonia's great figures: Abbot Oliva, who brought Moorish learning to Europe, the ruthless mercenary, Roger de Flor, and Verdaguer, handsome poet-priest.Catalonia is famous today for its twentieth-century art. This book focuses on the revolutionary Art Nouveau buildings (including the Sagrada Familia) of Antoni Gaudi. It also explores the region's artistic legacy: the young Picasso painting Barcelona's vibrant slums; Salvador Dali, inspired by the twisted rocks of Cap de Creus to paint his landscapes of the human mind; and Joan Miro, discovering the colours of the red earth at Montroig.

Everyone has heard of Darth Vader, the infamous Star Wars villain we all love to fear, created by George Lucas and brought to life by Dave Prowse MBE, but people may not be so familiar with the story of the multi-talented man behind the mask. It required someone exceptional to turn a helmeted costume into the principal character in the highest grossing film series in cinema history - that someone was Dave Prowse. The towering, physical presence of the 6ft 7"e; bodybuilder was ideally suited to personify the intimidating Darth Vader. Straight from the Force's Mouth takes us behind the scenes of Star Wars and documents how this extraordinary man took on the role of the menacing central character to creating one of the most iconic villains in cinema history. In this book of memoirs, Dave shares his journey from disadvantaged child and poor student to champion weightlifter and international film star. The Dave Prowse story is one of determination and hard work and in this honest account he explains how he overcame the many setbacks in his life to achieve success and global recognition. This book is a must have for Star Wars fans of all ages and will appeal to anyone who enjoys a truly inspirational and motivating real life story.

Optical illusions are the stuff of magic - harmless entertainment conjured up to both enthral and amaze, aren't they? Well, maybe not, as it's not quite so amusing if the 'stunt' takes the form of an episode of the BBC's 'groundbreaking' documentary series MacIntyre Undercover on organised football hooliganism, the wizardry is conducted by unscrupulous investigative journalists posing as big-time drug dealers, and as a result the unwitting participant in the trick, avid Chelsea supporter Jason Marriner, is charged with conspiracy to commit violent disorder and affray, together with his friend Andy Frain, and Jason ends up with a six-year jail sentence for a crime he didn't commit. This is Jason's chance to put the record straight, present the facts from his own perspective and challenge the reader, who may well have been one of the 7.4 million documentary viewers, to decide whether the programme actually revealed the 'ugly face of football violence', or indeed showed him plotting or committing any violence whatsoever, or whether the original 344 hours' worth of footage, secretly filmed over a period of 18 months, were distorted beyond recognition by cutting, editing and stitching together clips from the original sequences to achieve the programme's aim at any cost. Jason would be the first to admit that in the past he had been a 'nuisance' on the terraces, but this was the late 1990s and, with a wife, children and his own business, he had done a lot of growing up and moving on. Fortunately, he had also developed the strength of character needed to survive in prison with humour, dignity and determination, and he shares his insights of life behind bars as he tried to work with the system, despite the knock-backs, in order to make it work for him in return. 'Good will always follow bad' is Jason's admirable philosophy about his experiences, but this shocking real-life story serves as a warning to all: this could so easily happen to you.

When Jarra Brown hears church bells he cannot fail to be reminded of the hundreds - 345 to be precise - of service personnel who passed through the beautiful rural Wiltshire countryside into Oxfordshire. These men and women were not hiking across its green pastures or sitting on top of the number 55 bus, instead they were lifeless, resting inside a coffin draped with the Union flag. By the end of August 2011 the bells of St Bartholomew's Church in Wootton Bassett had tolled more times than the residents of this once peaceful town cared to think about, for each chime represented the moment the police convoy accompanying the hearse from RAF Lyneham entered the High Street. A moment frozen in time, a moment when the residents of this town came to show their respects, a moment that couldn't have been more fitting even if it had been choreographed. There was no call to arms by the Town Crier, just a spontaneous, modest and unprompted response to those who had paid the ultimate price in the name of duty. 46 Miles is not a book about the politics of war, the whys and wherefores of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, or indeed the hidden agendas and government strategies. It is about a town which captured the hearts of our nation and whose emotions rippled the entire 46 mile journey of honour, dignity and respect into Oxford. It is dedicated to those 345 people who, having signed up to serve their Queen and country, paid with their lives. Wootton Bassett, who nurtured the grieving on every occasion, wanted to let the nation know that these heroes will never be forgotten.

Kyoto, the ancient former capital of Japan, breathes history and mystery. Its temples, gardens and palaces are testimony to many centuries of aristocratic and religious grandeur. Under the veneer of modernity, the city remains filled with countless reminders of a proud past. John Dougill explores this most venerable of Japanese cities, revealing the spirit of place and the individuals that have shaped its often dramatic history. Courtiers and courtesans, poets and priests, samurai and geisha people the pages of his account. Covering twelve centuries in all, the book not only provides a historical overview but brings to life the cultural magnificence of the city of "e;Purple Hills and Crystal Streams"e;. City of Power: The seat of aristocrats and warriors; military might and spiritual authority; unification and the transition to modernity. City of Ritual: Buddhist sects and Shinto festivals; tea ceremony; the role of the geisha; the influence of Zen. City of Arts: Poetry and fiction; architecture and garden design; Heian verse and Noh theatre; art and handicrafts; the Japanese Hollywood.

Celebrated by writers from Petrarch to Peter Mayle, Provence's rugged mountains, wild maquis and lavender-filled meadows are world-famous. Historic cities like Arles, Avignon and Aix contain Roman amphitheatres, papal palaces and royal residences, while market towns and picturesque villages maintain age-old traditions of wine producing and agriculture. From the highland towns of Digne and Sisteron to the marshy expanse of the Camargue, Provence encompasses a rich variety of landscapes.Martin Garrett explores a region littered with ancient monuments and medieval castles. Looking at the vibrant dockside ambiance of Marseille and the luminous atmosphere of the Luberon, he considers how writers like Mistral and Daudet have captured the character of a place and its people. He traces the development of Provence as a Roman outpost, medieval kingdom and modern region of France, revealing through its landmarks the people and events that have shaped its often tumultuous history.Through its architecture, literature and popular culture, this book analyzes and celebrates the identity of a region famous for its pastis and petanque. Linking the past to the present, it also evokes the intense light and sun-baked stones that have attracted generations of painters and writers.

Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, expected in some projections to have a population of 25 million by 2025. This will make it the biggest metropolis in sub-Saharan Africa and possibly the world's third largest city. This phenomenal and continuing growth gives it a heady turbulence, especially as it only took on the form of a coherent urban entity in the eighteenth century. After Nigeria's independence Lagos remained both trading hub and, for thirty years, a federal capital and political vortex. Now its driving sense of 'can-do', its outreach and vitality, make it a fulcrum and a channel for commercial and cultural talent. Kaye Whiteman explores a city that has constantly re-invented itself, from the first settlement on an uninhabited island to the creation of the port in the early years of the twentieth century. Lagos is still defined by its curious network of islands and lagoons, where erosion and reclamation lead to a permanently shifting topography, but history has thrust it into the role of a burgeoning mega-city, overcoming all nature's obstacles. The city's melting-pot has fertilised a unique literary and artistic flowering that is only now beginning to be appreciated by a world that has only seen slums and chaos. COLONIAL CITY: Portuguese influences; the 1861 Treaty of Cession and the British colonialists; architectural traces: schools and government buildings; the move towards independence. CITY OF ENTREPRENEURS: trading through the centuries: Sierra Leoneans and Brazilians; traditional markets and modern malls; the Central Business District. THE CITY OF WORDS AND MUSIC: a counterpoint to the alleged philistinism of its businessmen; the views of writers Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe; artist and sculptor Ben Enwonwu; the musical genius Fela Kuti.

From childhood kick-abouts on knee-scraping surfaces to junior football in shirts that reached your ankles to greet your socks, like many youngsters Steve Wignall dreamed of wearing a hallowed red shirt and becoming a professional footballer. Following his apprenticeship at Doncaster Rovers that dream came true and he embarked on a 20-year playing career that took him from Donny to Colchester, Brentford and Aldershot. When age and injury held up the red card, he went into coaching, scouting and management, returning to both Colchester and Doncaster Rovers as manager. Giving a fascinating, behind the scenes insight into life as a player and as a manager, and peppered with wonderful anecdotes that reflect his cheeky Scouse humour, Steve gives an honest account of his long journey of highs and lows in both his professional and personal life, from back-stabbing, rivalries and budget juggling to family upheavals and traumas. Throughout his long career, Steve's high expectations of himself, his loyalty, his tenacity and his vision as a player were mirrored in his management ethic and team training, at whatever level of football, and his skills and determination are what enabled him to survive and succeed in the tough, demanding and ever-changing world of football.

Maria Lawson rose to fame on the hit TV show The X Factor in 2005 but had already enjoyed some success as a singer/songwriter prior to this, having secured a recording and publishing contract through her own efforts and determination to break into the music industry. Life Starts Now follows Maria's journey from hopeful unknown, through the audition process and beyond to her appearance on a major national television show, taking the reader behind the scenes to find out what really goes on inside the hit show. This fascinating autobiography documents Maria's early life and explains how this ambitious young girl from a humble background fulfilled her dream of TV stardom and recording success. In this honest and heart warming account, Maria explains how she coped with the transition from obscurity to a life in the limelight only to come close to losing everything she worked so hard to achieve. More recently, Maria has emerged stronger than ever, having overcome past setbacks to release an exciting second album Emotional Rollercoaster and has secured a record deal with a new label. The birth of her son has meant that she now has to fit her busy schedule around her most important role as a mother. This book is not only an inspirational story, proving that it is possible for anyone to achieve their dreams, it is also a practical self help guide offering pregnancy and life skills advice based on Maria's own experiences as an artist, businesswoman and new mum.

August 1914 is the story of England in that watershed month when the country went from peace to war. It tells of what life was like in a country that looked, and smelt, very different to today. Work could be long, hard and deadly; pleasures were rough and simple; religion was a comfort for many. Some of the people whose stories you will encounter are well-known, such as Winston Churchill, the rising First Lord of the Admiralty. Others were not famous figures - Winston's sister-in-law, the self-centred Lady 'Goonie' Churchill; William Swift, the village headmaster, retired to his garden; the game-shooting student Clifford Gothard, and the aristocrat Gerald Legge. Their diaries and letters tell vividly what they did and thought, and how they reacted to the news of armies on the march across Europe. Mark Rowe's fascinating book gives a unique insight into the main events of that month - the outburst of patriotism in front of Buckingham Palace, the panic-buying, the rush by some to volunteer, and the confused and bloody fighting. Not everyone welcomed the war, just as some were in revolt against the peacetime order: suffragettes, socialists, and Irish nationalists. August 1914 shows a kaleidoscope of disunited people who just happened to share the same island - suddenly faced with the greatest war the world had ever seen.

This is the story of Frank Bailey, a man whose ordinary demeanour in civilian life hid a record of active service and heroism in the Great War.He embarked on a 36-year long career with the Essex Regiment when he left his tiny rural community and enlisted a few weeks after the death of Queen Victoria. This remarkable journey took him far away from England to the colonies, the beaches of Gallipoli and the trenches at Beaumont Hamel in The Somme.It is a touching personal story which starts with a dramatic rescue and youthful memories of this quiet man and along the way unearths an unknown family and a brother killed in action. With the men of Essex, we relive the gross horrors of the now infamous campaigns of the Great War, including the famous tank battle at Cambrai where Frank earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry in the field.After surviving that terrible conflict, grandad Frank finally retired with honour as a Major and his story is indeed that of A Major Soldier.

This book is for the Ministry of Defence Police constables whose professionalism, dedication and commitment was tested and proved beyond doubt, whilst seconded to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. After years of relative boredom and the humdrum of repetitive plodding behind Coulport's protective security fences, John Duncanson, and a selection of his fellow police officers, chose to temporarily rid themselves of the adopted tag 'glorified security guards' by volunteering for a United Nations peacekeeping deployment to Kosovo. Little did they know what waited for them as they stepped onto the tarmac at Pristina airport but they were soon to learn as they had to adapt to living on the same planet, but a totally different world...