Who would have guessed in the 1960s that Michael Parker, a typical young British Army officer, would turn into one of the most remarkable international showmen of his generation? This book is a wonderfully funny account of the many different events he has staged in Europe, America, and the Middle East. Amongst these are the launch of twin ships in Fort Lauderdale, America's Cup Ball in Long Island, the opening of the new Memphis Symphony Hall, the naming of P & O ship the Grand Princess in New York Harbor, royal weddings in Jordan, victory commemorations, charity events, and some of the world's biggest military shows in Berlin, Edinburgh, and London's Royal Tournament.
Wilson and Dufrene help readers foster the flexibility they need to keep from succumbing to the avoidable forces of anxiety, and open themselves to the often uncomfortable complexities and possibilities of life.
"A tense, creepy story with a touch of Black Mirror."--Scream Magazine A single father's four-month-old is anything but normal. The child never cries, shows emotion... or sleeps. As bizarre paranormal activity ramps up in the apartment, the father seeks help and an answer for what is wrong with his son. Reader Praise ★ "Just amazing."--JT ★ "So good and full of unexpected emotions."--B ★ "I was hooked from the first page."--CS
It's the first day of school, and Camilla discovers that she is covered from head to toe in stripes, then polka-dots, and any other pattern spoken aloud! With a little help, she learns the secret of accepting her true self, in spite of her peculiar ailment.
Presents a collection of incorrect yet humorous test answers from real students, from an elementary student claiming that "two halves make a whale" to a high schooler who credits Galileo with inventing the solar system.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A riveting book."—The Wall Street Journal "Essential reading."—David Brooks, New York Times From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of white working-class Americans. The decline of this group, a demographic of our country that has been slowly disintegrating over forty years, has been reported on with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. J. D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck. The Vance family story begins hopefully in postwar America. J. D.’s grandparents were “dirt poor and in love,” and moved north from Kentucky’s Appalachia region to Ohio in the hopes of escaping the dreadful poverty around them. They raised a middle-class family, and eventually their grandchild (the author) would graduate from Yale Law School, a conventional marker of their success in achieving generational upward mobility. But as the family saga of Hillbilly Elegy plays out, we learn that this is only the short, superficial version. Vance’s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, and were never able to fully escape the legacy of abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma so characteristic of their part of America. Vance piercingly shows how he himself still carries around the demons of their chaotic family history. A deeply moving memoir with its share of humor and vividly colorful figures, Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how upward mobility really feels. And it is an urgent and troubling meditation on the loss of the American dream for a large segment of this country.
ADAPTED BACKWARDS VIA THE FUTURE FROM THE RADIO 4 SERIES BEFORE IT WAS MADE A richer, deeper, more comprehensive exploration of the Quanderhorn phenomenon. With added secrets. England, 1952. A time of peace, regeneration and hope. A Golden Age. Unfortunately, it's been 1952 for the past 65 years. Meet Professor Quanderhorn: a brilliant, maverick scientific genius with absolutely no moral compass. Assisted by a rag-tag crew - his part-insect "son" (reputedly 'a major breakthrough in Artificial Stupidity'), a recovering amnesiac, a brilliant scientist with a half-clockwork brain, and a captured Martian hostage - he'll save the world. Even if he has to destroy it in the process. With his Dangerous Giant Space Laser, Utterly Untested Matter Transfuser Booth and Fleets of Monkey-driven Lorries, he's not afraid to push the boundaries of science to their very limit. And far, far beyond ...
#1 New York Times Bestseller “Funny and smart as hell” (Bill Gates), Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations. FROM THE PUBLISHER: Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices. This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written. Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to. FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book: Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness* *These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!
'Lovely... delivers the warmest of glows' - Telegraph 'Who wouldn't love this chocolate-box delight of insights and snapshots of The Queen...A treasure chest' - Good Housekeeping A sparkling celebration of our much-loved Queen Elizabeth II including special writings and illuminating insights around key moments in her 70-year reign, introduced and edited by Joanna Lumley. In 2022 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated seventy years as Queen and Head of the Commonwealth. She was Britain's longest reigning monarch and the very first to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. A Queen For All Seasons, edited and introduced by Joanna Lumley, is a perceptive, touching and engaging tribute to this unique woman. A treasure chest of first-hand writings, insights and snapshots of the Queen during key moments of her reign to form a vibrant portrait of the woman herself and the extraordinary role she played. Joanna Lumley guides us as we meet Princess Elizabeth in 1952, aged just twenty-five, and about to become Queen, and in more recent times when, as our matriarch, the Queen kept the national ship steady through seven decades, including in moments of crisis and suffering. Here are unique perspectives into some of the most fascinating aspects of the Queen's life - her role as head of state at home and abroad, her private passions and public interests and a bird's-eye look at key events that have held the nation together and the Queen in our affection throughout Britain and beyond. This book is a special and unique portrait of the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
