At the age of only 36, Sir Mark Sykes was signatory to the Sykes-Picot agreement, one of the most reviled treaties of modern times. A century later, Christopher Sykes’ lively biography of his grandfather reassesses his life and work, and the political instability and violence in the Middle East attributed to it. The Sykes–Picot agreement was drawn by the eponymous British and French diplomats in 1916 to determine the divide of the collapsing empire in the event of an allied victory in World War I. Excluding Arab involvement, it negated their earlier guarantee of independence made by the British – and controversy has raged around it ever since. But who was Mark Sykes? A century on, Christopher Simon Sykes reveals new facets of a misremembered diplomatic giant. Using previously undisclosed family letters and cartoons by his grandfather, he delivers a comprehensive and humbling account of the man behind one of the most impactful policies in the Middle East.

Cats are now the most popular pets, and it is not surprising that they have overtaken dogs in the popularity stakes. They are small, relatively silent, economical to keep, exercise themselves, easy to feed, and are ideal companions for a wide range of people, from the elderly to those who are out at work all day.Whether you want an ordinary moggie or an expensive pedigree cat, the principles of ownership and looking after them are the same. As an increasing number of owners live in big cities and small, high-rise apartment blocks, house cats are becoming more widespread. Although they may not be allowed outside like their free-roaming, predatory cousins, they share a common ancestry and owning a cat of any description is like having a relatively wild creature living with you in your home. Domestication is anathema to many cats who prefer to think that they are independent animals, under the control of nobody but themselves.

Stella Smyth and co-author Sally Bergh-Roose have been training dogs since 1978 and have been involved in competition work with a variety of dogs. Together they have been running a successful dog training course for many years.

Amanda Sun weaves together two tales of love, ink and magic in this companion novella to the Paper Gods series! A long, long time ago, before the world was as we know it, Izanami and Izanagi came into being. Two of the first of the ancient gods of Japan, they crafted the world from ink and their own imaginations. Izanagi wants, more than anything, to be with Izanami—but one moment of pride could tear them apart forever. Yuki and Tanaka have been friends for as long as they can remember, but lately deeper feelings have been bubbling beneath the surface. How do they navigate the transition from friendship to true love without destroying the powerful bond between them? Set a millennia apart, can these two couples, living parallel love stories, find their happily-ever-afters?

WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST ALL-TIME SERIES The Foundation series is Isaac Asimov’s iconic masterpiece. Unfolding against the backdrop of a crumbling Galactic Empire, the story of Hari Seldon’s two Foundations is a lasting testament to an extraordinary imagination, one whose unprecedented scale shaped science fiction as we know it today. The Galactic Empire has prospered for twelve thousand years. Nobody suspects that the heart of the thriving Empire is rotten, until psychohistorian Hari Seldon uses his new science to foresee its terrible fate. Exiled to the desolate planet Terminus, Seldon establishes a colony of the greatest minds in the Empire, a Foundation which holds the key to changing the fate of the galaxy. However, the death throes of the Empire breed hostile new enemies, and the young Foundation’s fate will be threatened first.

Mark Sperring is the author of several highly-acclaimed pciture books including the Sunflower Sword and Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step. He lives in Bristol where he also works as a bookseller.Sarah Warburton is the illustrator of Rumblewick, the Ruby and Grub stories and Sir Laughalot. She has a staller track record in fantastic picture books. Sarah lives in Bristol with her busband and two children.

Stanley Spencer (1891 – 1959) has recently been recognised by a wide general public, as well as by art historians, as probably the greatest English painter of the twentieth century. His strange and thrilling settings of biblical and semi-biblical scenes, his grippingly realist portraits, his intense English landscapes, hang in pride of place in our national collections and fetch ever-escalating prices at auction. Although there have been many books about Spencer, Pople's biography is the first to give a thoroughly convincing and coherent account of the life and psyche of the man who produced these extraordinary pictures. Pople has not only had the co-operation of Spencer's daughters and remaining friends' he has had unrestricted access to the artist's letters, diaries and other writings, and has spent ten years unravelling the familiar but so often impenetrable mysteries we see on the canvas. His analysis demonstrates that there never was as artist for whom life and art were so much of a piece, and that without understanding Spencer's doings and circumstances, we have no hope of understanding his paintings.

Angela & John Hicks are the joint principals of the College of Integrated Chinese medicine in Reading. Angela is author of The Five Laws for Healthy Living, Principles of Acupuncture and Principles of Chinese Medicine. John is author of Principles of Chinese Herbal Medicine. They have been practising for over 17 years.

Colette Harris is Editor of Here’s Health. She discovered she had Polycistic Ovary Syndrome three years ago. Theresa Cheung is a full time writer with 5 health books already published in the US including a book on androgen disorders in women. She is author of Men and Depression. She is also a sufferer of PCOS

The fifth novel in the DI Sean Corrigan series – authentic and terrifying crime fiction with a psychological edge, by an ex-Met detective. Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James and Stuart MacBride. A serial killer stalks the streets… In the darkest corners of London, a killer is on the hunt. His murders are brutal. Teeth pulled out. Nails pulled out. Bodies abandoned. A detective follows his every move… DI Sean Corrigan of the Special Investigations Unit desperately tries to use his ability to understand the minds of killers before another victim is ruthlessly murdered. A clash of dangerous minds… Corrigan is all too willing to take deadly risks to track down his quarry, but this time the killer has set a trap, just for him. Will Corrigan stop the murderer in time, or is he about to become a victim himself?

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.

Includes bonus material! This winter it’s time to fall in love at Cedarwood Lodge… After years of dreaming, Clio Winters is finally fulfilling her childhood dream of renovating the gorgeous old Cedarwood Lodge in Evergreen and turning it into the perfect destination for celebrations, weddings and extravagant birthday parties. The huge property used to be a bustling holiday camp, now Clio wants to bring it back to its halcyon days – which will be a lot of hard work! Returning back to the small town of her youth she’s glad to have one of her best friends still around to lean on, Micah who is just as solid as he used to be. But with her own secrets pushing her to run from her glamorous life in New York, she’ll have to tread carefully, especially when the far-too-handsome-for-his-own-good contractor, Kai, shows up on her doorstep… Sure she’s here in Evergreen to change her life, but there is no way she’s falling in love! Previously published as Celebrations & Confetti, Brides & Bouquets, Midnight & Mistletoe.

It was always tense in The Rooms when they were proposing to elect a statesman to membership. Actually, it was always tense in The Rooms whomever they were proposing to elect to membership. But a statesman created a special feeling of apprehension. Such an event happened only every fifty years or so, because, by and large, the Jockey Club did not see statesmen as the right calibre of chap. Most of them had depressingly brilliant intellects coupled with dazzling charm and tact. Or, put in the more ducal vernacular of the Club, they were too clever by half, ‘too smarmy’.The Earl of Rosebery, during his Lordship’s tenure as Prime Minister of England, had of course been a member of the Club back in 1894 when his colt Ladas had won the Derby at Epsom. However, having been a member since the age of twenty-two, the touchy business of electing a statesman had never really applied.The Jockey Club had admitted an Under-Secretary of State for War, Earl Cadogan, in the middle of the nineteenth century, in the knowledge that he was much preoccupied with the unrest along India’s north-west frontier. The same applied, in smaller measure, to the Marquis of Londonderry and the Earl of Zetland in the 1880s when they were appointed as successive Lords-Lieutenants of Ireland. Different frontier, similar unrest among the natives and one or two furrowed brows in the Club. Lord Randolph Churchill, Chancellor of the Exchequer and owner of an Oaks winner in 1889, had had to be elected. And they could not quite avoid accepting his often fractious son Sir Winston, who won the Jockey Club Cup in 1950 with his stout-hearted grey Colonist II shortly before becoming Prime Minister for the second time.

Design accessible and creative games across genres, platforms, and development realities About This Book ? Implement the skills and techniques required to work in a professional studio ? Ace the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling ? Design interactive characters that animate the gaming world Who This Book Is For Whether you are a student eager to design a game or a junior game designer looking for your first role as a professional, this book will help you with the fundamentals of game design. By focusing on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design provides insights into the arts and crafts from two senior game designers that will interest more seasoned professionals in the game industry. What You Will Learn ? Define the scope and structure of a game project ? Conceptualize a game idea and present it to others ? Design gameplay systems and communicate them clearly and thoroughly ? Build and validate engaging game mechanics ? Design successful business models and prepare your games for live operations ? Master the principles behind level design, worldbuilding and storytelling ? Improve the quality of a game by playtesting and polishing it In Detail If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms. Practical Game Design covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended. As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting. Style and approach A practical step by step guide to get you up and running with Game Design from scratch

WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST ALL-TIME SERIES The Foundation series is Isaac Asimov’s iconic masterpiece. Unfolding against the backdrop of a crumbling Galactic Empire, the story of Hari Seldon’s two Foundations is a lasting testament to an extraordinary imagination, one whose unprecedented scale shaped science fiction as we know it today. The First Foundation survived two centuries of barbarism as the once-mighty Galactic Empire descended into chaos. Now it mist prepare for war against the remnants of the Empire as the Imperial fleet advances on their planet, Terminus. Hari Seldon predicted this war; he even prepared his Foundation for it. But he couldn’t foresee the birth of the mutant Mule. In possession of a power which reduces fearsome opposition to devoted slaves, the Mule poses a terrible threat to Seldon’s Foundation.

Dr Wayne W. Dyer is the author of 20 bestselling books. He has a doctorate in counselling psychology and appears regularly on television and radio. His lectures throughout Europe and the US attract thousands. He lives with his family in southern Florida.

‘One of the best stories I’ve read in a long time!’ Stacey Rebecca (NetGalley reviewer) The Cotswolds Cookery Club was originally published as a three-part serial. This is the complete story in one package. The Cotswolds Cookery Club is opening its doors! Connie has had enough. Enough of the city, enough of her job – and most importantly, enough of her cheating boyfriend! Finally free to chase her dreams, Connie sets up her very own Cotswolds Cookery Club – a place to share scrumptious recipes and, more importantly, a lot of wine… Trish always dreamed of living in a little chocolate box village – but she never expected to be starting over at forty. Could joining the Cookery Club be the perfect distraction from her stroppy teenage daughter and her ex-husband’s new girlfriend? Kate spends her life juggling her three young children and running the busy Cotswolds veterinary practice. It’s time to take charge of the disparate ingredients of her life and transform them into the perfect pot-au-feu! But with three delicious men turning up the heat, perhaps the sleepy Cotswolds village has a few surprises in store… Fans of Milly Johnson, Caroline Roberts and Jill Mansell will love this heartwarming read!

JOHN NORTH moved in 1977 from Oxford to the University of Groningen, where he is Professor of the History of Philosophy and the Exact Sciences. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy, the Royal Danish Academy and is a Fellow of the British Academy.

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.

Charismatic hero Jack Steel’s perilous adventures are for the first time available in one place. Meet Lieutenant Jack Steel – gentleman, soldier, hero. Upper Bavaria, 1704. The British army, triumphant, fresh from victory, stands proudly to attention, ready to fight for honour and glory. Their enemy is Louis XIV of France, a megalomaniac intent on possessing all Europe. Among this proud group of men stands Lieutenant Jack Steel, admired by his men, the finest infantry in Queen Anne's army. Much praised for his courage, his strength, and his loyalty, Steel has come to the attention of his Commander in Chief, the Duke of Marlborough.

Indulge in the unputdownable I HEART series. Follow Angela’s adventures from day one . . . Includes two bonus short stories! When Angela Clark flees her best friend's wedding for New York, leaving chaos, an injured groom and a boyfriend in her wake, her adventures are only just beginning. Follow her through six hilarious and highly entertaining novels, as well as two short stories, as her attempts to start a new life and new career – and a new love affair too – take her to Hollywood, Vegas, Paris, back to London, all the way to Christmas. Being Angela, it's not long before she's in one scrape after another… Contains I Heart New York, I Heart Hollywood, I Heart Paris, Jenny Lopez Has A Bad Week, I Heart Vegas, I Heart London, I Heart Christmas, Jenny Lopez Saves Christmas