Explodobook
Explodobook

Author: John Rain

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Published: 2021-10-21

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 1913538192

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The 1980s. A time of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of your neighbours, fear of drugs, fear of sex, fear of strangers, fear of videos, and the very real fear that the world would end at any moment in an awful, and very sudden, nuclear attack. However, in those times of turmoil and worry, there was a comfort that soothed the mind, and acted as a quiet balm: action movies. Video shops were bursting at the seams with rampant gunfire, sex, drugs, rock, roll, cars on fire, people on fire, guns, bombs, and people dressed in army fatigues (and that was just the staff). Heroes were born shrouded in fire and violent revenge, they were not only armed with guns, but also red-hot quips, that served as a muscly arm around the shoulder, and a wink that everything was going to be okay. So thank you Arnold, Sylvester, Sigourney, Bruce, Eddie, Charles, Patrick, Mel, Chuck and everyone else that made it happen. You saved the world, in your own inimitable way. Join John Rain, the author of the critically-acclaimed Thunderbook: The World of Bond According to Smersh Pod, as he examines a choice selection of the greatest action movies from the decade when the explosion was king.

Thunderbook
Thunderbook

Author: John Rain

Publisher: Arena Sport

Published: 2022-07-05

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9780957507661

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Thunderbook: The World of Bond According to Smersh Pod affectionately examines Bond with tongue firmly in cheek and elbow dug in ribs. Join John Rain as he goes film-by-film through the Bond saga as he points out all the good, the bad, and the double-taking pigeons contained within Bond's half-century of world domination.

When Animals Attack
When Animals Attack

Author: Vanessa Morgan

Publisher: Moonlight Creek Publishing

Published: 2016-11-24

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9789090300283

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The definitive horror movie guide for fans of killer animals and "revenge of nature" films. When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals provides a fascinating and entertaining insight into the cinematographic world of animals on the rampage. From well-known predators such as sharks and lions to unusual killing machines like turkeys, elephants, frogs, cats, and rabbits, there is no shortage of the species on display in this book. Leading horror writers and filmmakers present their favorite "animals attack" films through in-depth essays. Some of the films are touching, some are repulsive, and some are just plain silly. Not all of these horror movies line up with the critical consensus, yet they have one thing in common: they have made the heart of the writer beat faster with excitement.

Cricket 2.0
Cricket 2.0

Author: Tim Wigmore

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Published: 2019-10-10

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1788851889

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

WISDEN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 Winner of The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2020 Heartaches Cricket Book of the Year 'Fascinating . . . essential reading' – Scyld Berry 'A fascinating book, essential for anyone who wishes to understand cricket's new age' – Alex Massie, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 'An invaluable guide' – Mike Atherton, The Times 'excellent . . . both breezily engaging, and full of the format's latest, best and nerdiest thinking' – Gideon Haigh, The Australian 'The century's most original cricket book . . . An absorbing ride . . . some of their revelations come with the startling force of unexpected thunder on a still night' – Suresh Menon, editor Wisden India Almanack Cricket 2.0 is the multi award-winning story of how an old, traditional game was revolutionised by a new format: Twenty20 cricket. The winner of the Wisden Almanack Book of the Year award, the Telegraph Sports Book Awards' Cricket Book of the Year and selected as one of The Cricketer's greatest cricket books of all time, Cricket 2.0 is an essential read both for Test and T20 cricket lovers alike, and all those interested in modern sport. Using exclusive interviews with over 80 leading players and coaches – including Jos Buttler, Ricky Ponting, Kieron Pollard, Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum and Rashid Khan – Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde chronicle this revolution with insight, forensic analysis and story-telling verve. In the process, they reveal how cricket has been transformed, both on and off the field. Told with vivid clarity and insight, this is the extraordinary and previously misunderstood story of Twenty20, how it is reshaping the sport – and what the future of cricket will look like. Readers will never watch a T20 game in quite the same way again. "For people that love cricket it's really important to read it," said Miles Jupp. "I found it extraordinary."

Exe Men
Exe Men

Author: Rob Kitson

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Published: 2020-11-26

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 1913538028

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Winner of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Rugby Book of the Year Among the best stories in modern British team sport has been the rise of Exeter Chiefs. How, exactly, did an unfashionable rugby team from Devon emerge from obscurity to become the double champions of England and Europe? What makes them tick? What are their secrets? Exe Men is a compelling story of regional pride, fierce rural identity, larger-than-life local heroes, remarkable characters, epic resilience, big city snobbery, geographical separation, steepling ambition and personal sacrifice which will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys a classic underdog story. This is not any old rugby book, it is the inside story of Exeter's incredible journey from the edge of nowhere to the summit of the English and European club game.

When Lions Roared
When Lions Roared

Author: Tom English

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Published: 2017-05-11

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 0857903438

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

By 1971 no Lions team had ever defeated the All Blacks in a Test series. Since 1904, six Lions sides had travelled to New Zealand and all had returned home bruised, battered and beaten. But the 1971 tour party was different. It was full of young, ambitious and outrageously talented players who would all go on to carve their names into the annals of sporting history during a golden period in British and Irish rugby. And at their centre was Carwyn Jones – an intelligent, sensitive rugby mastermind who would lead his team into the game's hardest playing arena while facing a ferocious, tragic battle in his personal life, all in pursuit of a seemingly impossible dream. Up against them was an All Blacks team filled with legends in the game in the likes of Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sid Going and Bryan Williams. But as the Lions swept through the provinces, lighting up the rugby fields of New Zealand the pressure began to mount on the home players in a manner never seen before. As the Test series loomed, it became clear that a clash that would echo through the ages was about to unfold. And at its conclusion, it was obvious to all that rugby would never be the same again.

A Kind of Magic
A Kind of Magic

Author: Jonathan Melville

Publisher: Polaris

Published: 2022-06-07

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9781913538446

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Telling the story of an immortal Scottish warrior doomed to survive through the centuries while watching those he loves die around him, 1986's Highlander was a British film that took the fantasy genre and infused it with a few thousand volts of energy from the rock video industry to create a timeless, genre-defying, classic. The story of an immortal Scottish warrior battling evil down through the centuries, Highlander fused a high concept idea with the kinetic energy of a pop promo pioneer and Queen's explosive soundtrack to become a cult classic. When two budget-conscious American producers took a chance on a college student's script, they set in motion a chain of events involving an imploding British film studio, an experimental music video director still finding his filmmaking feet, a former James Bond with a spiralling salary, and the unexpected arrival of low-budget indie film company, Cannon Films. Author Jonathan Melville looks back at the creation of Highlander with the help of more than 60 new cast and crew interviews, including stars Christopher Lambert and Clancy Brown, revisiting the gruelling shoot that took them from the back alleys of London, to the far reaches of the Scottish Highlands and onto the mean streets of 1980s New York City.

The Beatles 101
The Beatles 101

Author: Jonathan Melville

Publisher: Arena Sport

Published: 2020-10

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781913538149

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A fantastic pocket-guide to The Beatles for superfans and casual fans alike.

The Silenced
The Silenced

Author: Claudio Fava

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Published: 2021-04-01

Total Pages: 115

ISBN-13: 1913538303

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

'A gargantuan, memorable story, a film in the making, ready for global success' – La Repubblica, Italy 'A powerful and heart-breaking story about sacrifice and courage' – Le Monde, France Argentina,1978. President Jorge Rafael Videla's military dictatorship reigns with an iron fist, regularly kidnapping, torturing and murdering political activists and opponents and their families at secret concentration camps. The country is locked in a spiral of fear and chaos – and are soon to host the World Cup. As the cacophony of protest against Videla's government rises, his regime's drive to 'disappear' these troublesome elements accelerates before they can embarrass him in front of the world's media. This is the story of a rugby club that refused to be silenced. When one of their teammates is found dead – assassinated – the Club La Plata first XV took a minute's silence before their next game. The minute ran to two ... to three ... For ten long minutes they stood in furious silence. When the junta learned of this protest it wasn't long before another player disappeared. And then another. Over the course of four years, twenty La Plata players were murdered by the regime: gunned down, assassinated, 'disappeared'' This extraordinary novel is based on interviews with survivors of Argentina's so-called 'dirty war' in the seventies, when tens of thousands of protesters disappeared, many never to be found again. Bold, powerful and heart-breaking, The Silenced is a portrait of astonishing courage and defiance and an examination of the unbreakable bonds forged by a team of rugby players in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

The Dream Factory
The Dream Factory

Author: Ryan Baldi

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Published: 2021-08-26

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1913538400

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Football Book of the Year 2022 'A forensic insight into how our football academies operate. Every angle covered by a splendid author' - Daniel Taylor, The Athletic With unparalleled behind-the-scenes access to academies at all levels of English football, The Dream Factory: Inside the Make-or-Break World of Football's Academies is a journey deep into the heart of youth football, revealing in gripping detail how home-grown Premier League stars such as Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold are created, and at what cost. The Dream Factory introduces a rich array of characters – players, coaches, directors – behind talent production lines at several Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, zooming in on the stories of Alexander-Arnold's unique development, how Rashford's sense of social responsibility was nurtured, and how Phil Foden has become a beacon to City's young hopefuls.