An entertaining and erudite history that offers a fresh look at America's first founding father, the creation of his legend, and what it means for our nation and ourselves George Washington's death on December 14, 1799, dealt a dreadful blow to public morale. For three decades, Americans had depended on his leadership to guide them through every trial. At the cusp of a new century, the fledgling nation, caught in another war (this time with its former ally France), desperately needed to believe that Washington was and would continue to be there for them.Thus began the extraordinary immortalization of this towering historical figure. In Inventing George Washington, historian Edward G. Lengel shows how the late president and war hero continued to serve his nation on two distinct levels. The public Washington evolved into an eternal symbol as Father of His Country, while the private man remained at the periphery of the national vision always just out of reach for successive generations yearning to know him as never before. Both images, public and private, were vital to perceptions Americans had of their nation and themselves. Yet over time, as Lengel shows, the contrasting and simultaneous urges to deify Washington and to understand him as a man have produced tensions that have played out in every generation. As some exalted him, others sought to bring him down to earth, creating a series of competing mythologies that depicted Washington as every sort of human being imaginable. Inventing George Washington explores these representations, shedding new light on this national emblem, our nation itself, and who we are.

We all have moments we wish we could relive. We'd give anything to skid down the toboggan hills of our youth, to breathe in the smell of our children as babies, or to spend just one more minute with someone we've lost. Dear Photograph provides a way to link these memories from the past to the present, overlapping them to see how the daydreams of our memories collide with our current realities.The idea is simple: hold up a photograph from the past in front of the place where it was originally taken, take a second photograph, and add a sentence of dedication about what the photograph means to you. The results, however, are astounding, which is why millions have flocked to dearphotograph.com and thousands have submitted their own Dear Photographs.This stunning visual compilation includes more than 140 never-before-seen Dear Photographs, as well as a space for you to attach your own cherished photo. By turns nostalgic, charming, and poignant, Dear Photograph evokes childhood memories, laments difficult losses, and, above all, celebrates the universal nature of love.

Afghanistan is far from stable: Wounds left by thirty years of war are still raw. Terrorism is a daily menace. Roads are littered with Taliban bombs. Targeted killings and international impatience are fueling Afghan anxieties. Regional warlords, drug barons, and corrupt government officials all flout the conceit of a functional and unified nation. Pakistan's aggressive influence is a real and constant presence. Yet Chris Alexander, former deputy head of the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan and former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, sees something different: a peace that is not only theoretically possible but practically achievable given the right conditions.The Long Way Back tells the story of the historic accomplishments and bitter disappointments encountered on the road to political stability. But the book is much more than a firsthand account of recent events: it is a clear-eyed take on what has been achieved, the triumphs and failings of Afghans and foreigners alike, and why the country is still mired in conflict. With his direct access to and experience with the country's leaders, the international players, and ordinary Afghan citizens, Chris Alexander reveals a portrait of Afghanistan like none other and makes an insightful and bold argument for what it will take to attain a lasting peace.

Stories of heroism, exploration and sacrifice that will inspire boys to be courageous, honorable and open to adventure Tales of brave and selfless deeds used to be part of every boy's education. We grew up sharing stories with our fathers, uncles and grandfathers of how great men had lived their lives, met their challenges, reached their goals and faced their deaths. Becoming a man was about comradeship and standing by your friends whatever the circumstances. And it meant that sometimes it was more important to die a hero than live a coward's life.Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys is packed with classic stories of courage and heroism from around the world, including: D-Day and Omaha Beach; the Charge of the Light Brigade; the Battle of Dien Bien Phu; the Siege of the Alamo; the Moonwalkers and Apollo 13; the Flight of the Nez Perces; Josiah Harlan and the Trouble with Afghanistan; the Demons of Camerone; the Battle of Isandlwana; the Yangtze Incident; the Battle of Trafalgar; Shackleton's Boat Journey; Scott of the Antarctic; Thermopylae; the Revolutionary War Naval Battle of John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard.

An ambitious young man struggles to define himself and his future in a Caribbean nation plunged into violent revolution.Having spent his childhood trapped in the slums of a politically volatile Caribbean island, Alexandre dreams of escape. Within only a few years, he rises from being a valet for an important politician to becoming a caretaker for a derelict estate purchased by a wealthy foreign businesswoman. While the rest of the country copes with the rise of a brutal dictator, Alexandre flees to his new home in the remote mountains outside the capital. There he oversees the restoration of a manor house and gardens that evoke for him an innocent, unspoiled past.When his new employer sees a chance to turn the estate into something more—a decadent, jet-setting resort—Alexandre views the undertaking as the culmination of his dreams. Eager to lose himself in the creation of this opulent Eden, Alexandre severs the last links to his unhappy past, including his family and friends. But as the outside world starts to crumble around him, Alexandre must face the limits of the utopia he has created. Soon he is trapped in the middle of a war he has tried to ignore, and discovers he will have to choose between preserving the estate he loves and protecting the people he has spent his life trying to escape.

The Shipbroker’s working knowledge is a book for employees involved in the shipping industry and particularly those dealing or about to deal with the chartering of dry cargo ships. It provides personal knowledge that the author gained during the performance of his duties in the various departments of shipping agencies. It contains a brief overview of the dry cargo sector, it analyzes the methods for fixing a dry cargo ship, and provides recommendations when the brokers working the charter party terms. Contents Overview of the dry cargo sector Fixing on voyage charter How to make an offer for voyage charter Fixing on time charter How to make an offer for time charter Charter part additional (or rider) clauses for time charter About the Author George Tsoudis received his early education at public schools in a northern suburb of Athens. After graduating from high school, he decided to follow his island’s tradition and get involved with the sea. He enrolled in the most famous Greek school for maritime studies, where he studied shipping. Upon graduation, he received also the State Degree for Specialization in the Shipping Sector, and then moved to London in order to complete his studies in shipping at the London School of Foreign Trade. He started out as a competitive broker in late 1983 and has since been employed in shipping agencies (ship-owners and charterers), while he has also been involved in operations and claim departments for all type/size of dry cargo ships. Seeing that the?young?brokers may need his knowledge in starting their careers, as well as to also to assist his colleagues in certain specific areas, he decided to publish his first book containing all the experience gained during the performance of his duties in the various departments of shipping agencies.

TEXT ONLY EB TV favourite James Martin is back with another collection of brilliant recipes. This is the book James Martin fans have been waiting for. Recipes you need, like the ultimate beef burger, perfect pies, a foolproof risotto and puddings to die for. With James's help, you can master them all. Masterclass is the ultimate collection of James Martin recipes; the ones that everyone should know how to cook. James takes classic dishes and much-loved favourites and makes them simpler than ever, and even more delicious, adding some exciting tweaks and twists of his own. Learn how to master James' recipes for beloved classics such as Cheese Soufflé, Beef Bourguignon and traditional Bakewell Tart, as well as his take on international dishes such as Onion Bhajis, Saffron Gnocchi, Bang Bang Chicken and Brioche French Toast. Alongside the recipes, you'll find manageable step-by-step guides to essential kitchen skills, such as how to fillet a fish, how to tie a joint for roasting and the best way to poach an egg. So, if you want to take your cooking to the next level, James Martin will help show you how.

An offering from critically acclaimed Irish celebrity chef, Kevin Dundon. ‘Recipes That Work’ is a robust, confident collection of delicious, classic recipes that does exactly what it says on the tin. A firm believer that great tasting, seasonal food shouldn't be reserved for the restaurant, Kevin specialises in taking his vast knowledge and years of experience as head chef, and creating delicious, simple recipes that you can replicate in the home. ‘Recipes That Work’ is a collection of tried-and-tested, fail safe recipes that any home cook of any experience will be able to master. These are recipes that you can dig out time and time again whatever the occasion. Whether you are hosting a dinner party for friends, preparing tea for the kids or making a quick, nutritious supper for two, Kevin will have the perfect solution. This book will give confidence to the most timid of cooks but will also help more experienced home chefs build their repertoire. Focusing on delicious, simple, seasonal food ‘Recipes That Work’ is guaranteed to bring some restaurant magic to your everyday meals. With Kevin's expertise guiding you all the way, it's the essential kitchen companion. Recipes Include: Pan seared scallops with creamy leeks Hamhock & Parsley Terrine Classic French onion soup Roasted rib of beef with horseradish cream Smoked trout, poached eggs & hollandaise Glazed pork belly Ginger-spiced vegetable pie Coffee & walnut layer cake Triple chocolate brownie Chapter Breakdown: Starters & Salads Soups Main Courses Desserts Larder & Kitchen essentials

Anne Sijmonsbergen is a chef and Ibiza’s only organic tomato farmer. Ten years ago she moved there with her husband and they bought a 450-year old farmhouse. Her tenure there has coincided with this food revolution, and has led her on an odyssey to discover the food of the island and the people who make it

Niomi Smart, blogger and entrepreneur, is passionate about healthy eating and living well. After graduating with a LLB Law Degree, she realised that something didn't feel quite right and decided to start a YouTube channel and lifestyle blog to share her food plans and style ideas. Five years later she has amassed a global audience of over 1.5m YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers alike and has even started her own business, SourcedBox, a snacking service designed to work wonders on your well-being.

When Milly (aka actress Nicola Millbank of Mount Pleasant, Mr. Selfridge and Silent Witness) moved to London aged 18 to become an actress she had to learn to fend for herself and that included improving her cooking skills. With a love for home-cooked dishes, she wanted to make them her own but a bit fresher, lighter and more exciting. So followed a 10-year full-blown love affair with home cooking that became her food blog MILLY COOKBOOK.

Dan Hancox is a native Londoner who writes about music, politics, gentrification, social exclusion, protest and the margins of urban life, chiefly for the Guardian, but also the New York Times, Vice, The Fader, Dazed & Confused and XXL. He is the author of The Village Against the World (Verso).

Richard Sale is a physicist, with a PhD in astrophysics. After working as a glaciologist in Switzerland and then in the UK power industry he gave up fulltime physics for his first loves – birds and the Arctic. He has written and taken photographs for many books, including To the Ends of the Earth: The History of Polar Exploration, which was the 2003 UK Outdoor Writers Guild Best Book on an Outdoor Theme, and The Gyrfalcon (Popatov and Sale), which was the US Wildlife Society’s Book of the Year for 2006. He is an experienced explorer who has climbed and trekked all over the world but is most at home in the Arctic and higher terrains. Per Michelsen lives in Sola near Stavanger, Norway. He has been a passionate outdoor photographer since the late 1970s, working mostly in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, travelling in all seasons to capture wildlife, landscapes and cultural history. Richard and Per met for the first time on sea ice off Spitsbergen’s east coast and, discovering a common interest and enthusiasm, they have been friends since that time, often travelling together.

In the tradition of ‘Agent Zigzag’ comes a breathtaking biography of WWII’s ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’ as fast-paced and emotionally intuitive as the best spy thrillers. This celebrates unsung hero Robert de La Rochefoucauld, an aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur, and his exploits as a British Special Operations Executive-trained resistant A scion of one of the oldest families in France, Robert de La Rochefoucauld was raised in a magnificent chateau and educated in Europe’s finest schools. When the Nazis invaded and imprisoned his father, La Rochefoucauld escaped to England and was trained in the dark arts of anarchy and combat – cracking safes, planting bombs and killing with his bare hands – by a collection of SOE spies. With his newfound skills, La Rochefoucauld returned to France and organized Resistance cells, blew up fortified compounds and munitions factories, interfered with Germany’s wartime missions and executed Nazi officers. Caught by the Germans, La Rochefoucauld withstood months of torture and escaped his own death sentence, not once but twice. More than just a fast-paced, real-life thriller, The Saboteur is also a deep dive into an endlessly fascinating historical moment, revealing the previously untold story of a network of commandos, motivated by a shared hatred of the Nazis, who battled evil and bravely worked to change the course of history.

The Times has the most famous letters page of any newspaper. This delightful selection of over 300 items of correspondence over the last century shows precisely why. As a forum for debate, playground for opinion-formers, advertising space for decision-makers and noticeboard for eccentrics, nothing rivals it for entertainment value. By turns well-informed, well-intentioned, curious, quirky and bizarre, since 1914 it has taken the temperature of the British way of life and provided a window on the national character. Among those who have written to The Times to have their say are some of the major political and literary figures of the modern era, including Margaret Thatcher, Benito Mussolini, Graham Greene and John Le Carré. There are contributions, too, from Agatha Christie, Alastair Campbell, AA Milne, Yehudi Menuhin, Theresa May and Morrissey. If you want to know why kippers are dyed, who first turned up their trousers, how to make perfect porridge or just how to have a letter printed in The Times, this infinitely witty, diverting and memorable anthology should be, sincerely, yours.

“You have the luck of Croesus on stilts (as my Auntie Vi would have said) if you’ve had the sort of career, ups and downs, warts and all that I have in that wondrous little corner of show business called musical theatre.” One of the most successful and distinguished artists of our time, Andrew Lloyd Webber has reigned over the musical theatre world for nearly five decades. The winner of numerous awards, including multiple Tonys and an Oscar, Lloyd Webber has enchanted millions worldwide with his music and numerous hit shows, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera―Broadway’s longest running show―and most recently, School of Rock. In Unmasked, written in his own inimitable, quirky voice, the revered, award-winning composer takes stock of his achievements, the twists of fate and circumstance which brought him both success and disappointment, and the passions that inspire and sustain him. The son of a music professor and a piano teacher, Lloyd Webber reveals his artistic influences, from his idols Rodgers and Hammerstein and the perfection of South Pacific’s ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ to the pop and rock music of the 1960s and Puccini’s Tosca, to P. G. Wodehouse and T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber recalls his bohemian London youth, reminiscing about the happiest place of his childhood, his homemade Harrington Pavilion―a make-believe world of musical theatre in which he created his earliest entertainments. A record of several exciting and turbulent decades of British and American musical theatre and the transformation of popular music itself, Unmasked is ultimately a chronicle of artistic creation. Lloyd Webber looks back at the development of some of his most famous works and illuminates his collaborations with luminaries such as Tim Rice, Robert Stigwood, Harold Prince, Cameron Mackintosh, and Trevor Nunn. Taking us behind the scenes of his productions, Lloyd Webber reveals fascinating details about each show, including the rich cast of characters involved with making them, and the creative and logistical challenges and artistic political battles that ensued. Lloyd Webber shares his recollections of the works that have become cultural touchstones for generations of fans: writings songs for a school production that would become his first hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; finding the coterie of performers for his classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar; developing his first mega-hit, Evita, which would win seven Tonys Awards, including Best Musical; staking his reputation and fortune on the groundbreaking Cats; and making history with the dazzling The Phantom of the Opera. Reflecting a life that included many passions (from architecture to Turkish Swimming Cats), full of witty and revealing anecdotes, and featuring cameo appearances by numerous celebrities―Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, David Frost, Julie Covington, Judi Dench, Richard Branson, A.R. Rahman, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Richard Rodgers, Norman Jewison, Milos Forman, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Michael Crawford, Gillian Lynne, Betty Buckley, and more―Unmasked at last reveals the true face of the extraordinary man beneath the storied legend.

The second tie-in to ITV drama Victoria unveils the complex, passionate relationship of Victoria and Albert. What happened after the Queen married her handsome prince? Did they live happily ever after, or did their marriage, like so many royal marriages past and present fizzle into a loveless bond of duty? Victoria and Albert were the royal couple that broke the mould – it may have been an arranged match, yet their union was a passionate, tempestuous relationship between two extremely strong-willed individuals. Despite the fact that they were first cousins they could not have been more different people – she was impulsive, emotional, capricious, while he was cautious, self-controlled, and logical. But together they became the most successful royal couple there had ever been, and this book reveals the private and the public face of Victoria and Albert’s marriage. Using their letters and diaries, Victoria and Albert charts the constant ebb and flow of power between the couple, and presents a picture of a very modern marriage. This companion book, full of rich historical detail, takes fans deeper into that period than ever before. Discover the inner workings behind the scenes, with profiles of all the major characters, interviews with the actors and fascinating, in-depth information on the production, the costumes and the props.

Lifelong friends from Sheffield, Henry and Ian are the guys behind BOSH! – the biggest plant-based video channel on Facebook. Totally powered by plants, BOSH! create mouthwatering meat- and dairy-free recipes that are shared across the globe, reaching over 25 million people a month.

You are born into it or marry in. Loyalty is absolute, bloodshed revered and you kill or go to your grave before betraying The Family. This code of omertà is how the 'Ndrangheta became the world’s most powerful mafia. The Good Mothers is the story of the women who broke the silence. We live in their buildings, work in their companies, shop in their stores, eat in their restaurants and elect politicians they fund. Founded more than 150 years ago by shepherding families in the toe of Italy, the ’Ndrangheta is today the world’s most powerful mafia, with a crushing presence in southern Italy, a market-moving size in global finance and a reach that extends to fifty countries around the world. And yet, remarkably, few of us have ever heard of it. The ’Ndrangheta’s power rests on a code of silence, omertà, enforced by a claustrophobic family hierarchy and murderous misogyny. Men and boys rule. Girls are married off as teenagers in arranged clan alliances. Beatings are routine. A woman who is ‘unfaithful’ – even to a dead husband – can expect her sons, brothers or father to kill her to erase the ‘family shame’. In 2009, when abused wife Lea Garofalo ‘disappears’ after giving evidence against her mafiosi husband, prosecutor Alessandra Cerreti realises the ’Ndrangheta’s bigotry may be its great flaw. The key to bringing down this criminal empire is to free its women and allow them to speak out and testify. When Alessandra finds two collaborators inside Italy’s biggest crime families, she must persuade them to cooperate, and save themselves and their children. The stakes could not be higher. Alessandra is fighting to save a nation. The mafiosi are fighting for their existence. The women are fighting for their lives. Not all will survive.

With a foreword by Richard Dawkins, and based on the BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 TV series, Inside Nature’s Giants gets under the skin of the largest animals on the planet. See them as you've never seen them before – from the inside out. Inside Nature’s Giants explores the anatomy of the largest animals on the planet to reveal how these amazing creatures really work. Rather than simply telling you how an animal behaves, the book features dissection, CGI and wildlife photography to show how millions of years of evolution have enabled animals to thrive across the world. This is natural history as you’ve never seen it before – from the inside out. Join the Inside Nature’s Giants team of scientists and anatomical experts, including, among others, veterinary scientist Mark Evans, enthusiastic, scalpel-wielding anatomist Joy Reidenberg, science presenter Simon Watt and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, as they unlock the secrets behind some of nature's most extraordinary beasts. Why doesn’t a giraffe keel over and faint, when its head is so far above its heart? Why are crocodiles hopeless at chewing, when they have the strongest bite of all animals, and why does a giant squid have three hearts and pass food through its brain? By rolling up their sleeves to delve into these animals the team discover the answers to these, and many other fascinating, questions, revealing how evolution by natural selection is responsible for the bizarre biology of elephants, sharks, giraffes, big cats, hippos, crocodiles, camels, whales, kangaroos, giant squids and more. Using an interactive approach, Inside Nature’s Giants offers an exciting, alternative take on natural history. By opening the single- and double-page gatefolds readers can go beneath the skins of the animals to experience for themselves how evolution has shaped the anatomy of some of nature’s most magnificent animals.

The Royal British Legion was founded in 1921. It is now the country’s leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces and their dependants. The RBL is behind the annual Poppy Appeal, the highest profile charity appeal in Britain. This book has the full support of the Royal British Legion and will tell the complete story of its history through exclusive access to its archives, thus providing a celebratory, as well informative, tribute to their work over the past 90 years. It will be the definitive history of this much-loved organisation, charting its work with soldiers and ex-servicemen through the stories of its heroes, famous as well as unknown, during the highest-profile military campaigns of the past 90 years. The book will be divided into nine chapters, each representing one decade in the RBL’s existence. Each chapter will celebrate one hero per year; 1921, 1922, 1923, etc. giving an account of that particular person, and what they achieved. Within each chapter will be special spreads that emphasise also the social history of the evolution of the RBL as a charity. Each one of the heroes, from 1921 right through to 2011, has been personally chosen by decorated royal marine, and RBL ambassador, Lance Corporal Matt Croucher GC. Men such as Major Robert Henry Cain VC (1909-1974), who destroyed six tanks during Operation ‘Market Garden’ at Arnhem in 1944 and was one of the only officers from his battalion to escape the German encirclement of the British 1st Airborne Division. The book was published in late autumn to coincide with the 2011 Poppy Appeal, which will be the biggest in the Legion’s history, with events running nationwide, TV advertising, celebrity involvement and a high-profile marketing campaign. Matt Croucher will be involved in the campaign as an ambassador for the RBL. For any serving member of the armed forces, or those retired from service, or members of the public who are keen to know about this beloved organisation; this will be a fascinating and valued purchase, knowing that royalties will be going to the charity themselves.