Chauvinist. Larrikin. Conman. Alcoholic. A new Aussie hero is born. It’s 2003 and the once great country of Australia is changing for the worst, giving rise to a new breed of male: the metrosexual. But Shane Sykes isn’t having a bar of it. Shane is a man’s man, a true crusader for old-school values. Willing to fight — but preferring to run — he heads to London, determined to escape the scourge of metrosexuality. Shane’s quest leads him on a series of alcohol-fuelled misadventures through Europe, where he soon discovers the whole world is changing. Can Shane succeed in finding a new home and true mates, or will he fall victim to the same fate as his old mates back in Australia? …
So what did Scots have to smile about this year? When they watched Britain voting for Brexit, when they heard the constant arguments about independence, and when they saw a strangely coiffed son of a Scotswoman become President of the United States, they turned to their usual survival technique – they laughed. When they saw Rangers stumble on their road back to the top, a Scot, Andy Murray, becoming a top world sportsman, and a Scottish horse winning the Grand National, they naturally made a joke or two. And in their quieter moments they recalled the patter of street traders, how they still cannot fathom the opposite sex, and why we all go mad at the first sign of sunshine. All these and more made up The Herald’s funniest stories of the year, published every day in the newspaper’s ‘Diary’ column. And now the very best have been gathered here for you to enjoy all over again.
Vicente Podico Lim (1888–1944) was once his country’s best-known soldier. The first Filipino to graduate from West Point and a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Lim figured in every significant military development in the Philippines during his thirty years in uniform. Frustrated Ambition is the first in-depth biography of this forgotten figure, whose career paralleled the early-twentieth-century history of the Philippine military. As independence seemed increasingly likely for the Philippines in the 1930s, Lim positioned himself to take a leading role in developing armed forces for a sovereign nation. But as Lim maneuvered behind the scenes, Manuel L. Quezon, soon to be the commonwealth president, revealed that he had invited General Douglas MacArthur to serve as military adviser to the Philippines. Frustrated Ambition corrects the conventional historical narrative of events thereafter—one that emphasizes the failure of the nascent Philippine military under MacArthur and inflates the general’s heroic role in the defense of Bataan and Corregidor. Richard Bruce Meixsel restores Lim as the then-recognized leader of the opposition to MacArthur’s mission, and shows how Lim took the Philippine Army in a more tenable direction as MacArthur’s military system foundered. World War II brought Lim to the fore. While MacArthur directed his troops from Corregidor, Lim commanded a division on Bataan that may have suffered more combat losses at the battle of Abucay than did all American units on Bataan during the entire campaign. When the U.S. high command turned its efforts to evacuating the Philippine Islands, Lim began to prepare for the ensuing underground struggle against the Japanese—a fight that cost him his life. By recounting Vicente Lim’s career, Frustrated Ambition illuminates forgotten episodes in Philippine history, offers new perspectives on military affairs during the American occupation, and recovers the story of Filipino soldiers whose service changed the course of their country’s military history.
The incredible Sunday Times bestseller 'Essential...A complex blend of overexcited Adrian Mole-like anecdotes mixed with shocking moments of racism and insights into Muslim religious practices' Sunday Times 'Authentic, funny and very relatable' - Sayeeda Warsi In 1997, Britain was leading the way to an exciting new world order. A funny, loveable and naïve 13-year-old Tez Ilyas from working class Blackburn wanted to be a doctor. By the end of 2001, the UK was at war with Afghanistan and Islamophobia had shot through the roof. 18-year-old Tez wasn't heading for a medical degree. In this rollercoaster of a coming-of-age memoir, comedian Tez Ilyas takes us back to the working class, insular British Asian Muslim community that shaped the man he grew up to be. Full of rumbling hormones, mischief-making friends, family tragedy, racism Tez didn't yet understand and a growing respect for his religion, his childhood is both a nostalgic celebration of everything that made growing up in the 90s so special, and a reflection on how hardship needn't define the person you become. At times shalwar-wetting hilarious and at others searingly sad, this is an eye-opening childhood memoir from a little-heard perspective that you'll be thinking about long after you've finished the last page.
In 1888 Jack the Ripper made the headlines with a series of horrific murders that remain unsolved to this day. But most killers are not shadowy figures stalking the streets with a lust for blood. Many are ordinary citizens driven to the ultimate crime by circumstance, a fit of anger or a desire for revenge. Their crimes, overshadowed by the few, sensational cases, are ignored, forgotten or written off. This book examines all the known murders in London in 1888 to build a picture of society. Who were the victims? How did they live, and how did they die? Why did a husband batter his wife to death after she failed to get him a cup of tea? How many died under the wheels of a horse-driven cab? Just how dangerous was London in 1888?
