A sweeping historical novel spanning 350 years of a British family's history. To be published 27th January 2011
A Journey of Ascent: a gripping family saga tracing nine generations of a family from the sixteenth century to the Great War: 350 years of social revolution, agricultural and industrial transformation.
Andy Weller has masterfully rewrought the known facts of his long family history into a sweeping historical novel embracing the Reformation, the English Civil War and the Industrial Revolution, populated by novelists, landowners, smugglers, highwaymen, farmers and industrialists, all with one aim in mind: survival in turbulent times.
Weller has not rewritten history here: he has brought the reality of times past to vibrant life in a novel with huge appeal for anyone with an interest in English history from the perspective of the common man.
Andy Weller was born in 1954 near Little Chalfont in Buckinghamshire and first went to school in the very quaint village of Chenies. He became a career civil servant, starting as a clerk involved with the Concorde project. His later civil service career included representing the UK administration in Brussels and Geneva covering a wide range of trade policy issues, often working in partnership with UK business. He is currently working on his second book and lives in Pinner, Middlesex.
FACTFILE:
A true chronicle of early working-class life
One family's eventful route through British history
A fascinating personal journey through an author's family history
£17.99
Hardback
978-1-84624-649-4
Published by The Book Guild www.bookguild.co.uk
Book review blog site, with some entertainment material from time-to-time.
Thursday 15 December 2011
Saturday 10 December 2011
Who Said That First?
Subtitled 'the curious origins of common words and phrases', this book by Max Cryer is a must buy present for just about anyone, this Christmas!
The person who just likes to know lots of random stuff, the person who sets the village pub quizzes, a writer, someone who loves the history of the English language, etc.
Buy them this book (or just buy it for yourself as your Christmas indulgence for yourself, this year!) and they'll learn who wrote "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" who originated "accidentally on purpose" who came up with the ultimate putdown, "a legend in his own lunchtime" who came up with "sex, drugs and rock and roll" and who first got really cross because somebody really DID steal his thunder?"
There are also some other modern coinings as well as the old classics, such as "Gridlock", "One-upmanship" and the like.
You'll also be surprised about the relevantly ancient origins of some phrases. You will also find out who did not say what, too!
This book is in hardback and costs a very reasonable £9.99. It is published by Summersdale the ISBN is 978 1 84953 191 7. Although please do check out the That's Books Amazon powered book shop, where it may well be considerably less.
www.summersdale.com.
The person who just likes to know lots of random stuff, the person who sets the village pub quizzes, a writer, someone who loves the history of the English language, etc.
Buy them this book (or just buy it for yourself as your Christmas indulgence for yourself, this year!) and they'll learn who wrote "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" who originated "accidentally on purpose" who came up with the ultimate putdown, "a legend in his own lunchtime" who came up with "sex, drugs and rock and roll" and who first got really cross because somebody really DID steal his thunder?"
There are also some other modern coinings as well as the old classics, such as "Gridlock", "One-upmanship" and the like.
You'll also be surprised about the relevantly ancient origins of some phrases. You will also find out who did not say what, too!
This book is in hardback and costs a very reasonable £9.99. It is published by Summersdale the ISBN is 978 1 84953 191 7. Although please do check out the That's Books Amazon powered book shop, where it may well be considerably less.
www.summersdale.com.
That's Christmas: Ideal Christmas gift! Homework For Grown-ups Quiz ...
That's Christmas: Ideal Christmas gift! Homework For Grown-ups Quiz ...: Who is Senuna? Where would you find the islets of Langerhans? Mr Deasy, Gabriel Conroy and Robert Hand are all characters from works by whic...
Magic City by Michael Dean
A sexual coming-of-age comedy set in seventies Berlin.
Magic City is a comedy of errors set in West Germany in 1971. Marcus Himmelfahrt, unable to come to terms with his Jewish heritage and his sexual impotence, has no idea what to do with his life. He takes a job as an English teacher in Ludwigsburg, the Magic City of the title, intending to re-invent himself under a false name.
On day one, he does something he shouldn't in a graveyard and the police are called. His personal habits repeatedly upset his highly strung landlord. He is nevertheless a hit at the language school, and fast establishes a reputation as a ladies' man. But can he live up to it?
Meanwhile, as he wanders around unaware in dreamy innocence, he is framed, followed and shot at. He finally finds love only to be wrongly accused of rampant womanising. Against a background of retribution against a former Nazi and a robbery by the Baader-Meinhof gang, our still oblivious hero is hunted by drug dealers, by his terrifying employer, and by both the East and West German intelligence services.
As the forces against him gain momentum and menace, even the Magic City may not be enough to save him.
Michael Dean read history at Worcester College, Oxford, and has an MSc in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. He is a fluent German speaker and a translator - an Associate of the Institute of Linguists. He has had three previous novels published, The Crooked Cross, Hirschfeld's Friends and THORN. He is also the author of Chomsky: A Beginner's Guide and more than 30 English Language Teaching titles, including the best-selling short story New York Café. He lives in Colchester, Essex.
£16.99
978-1-84624-637-1
Magic City is a comedy of errors set in West Germany in 1971. Marcus Himmelfahrt, unable to come to terms with his Jewish heritage and his sexual impotence, has no idea what to do with his life. He takes a job as an English teacher in Ludwigsburg, the Magic City of the title, intending to re-invent himself under a false name.
On day one, he does something he shouldn't in a graveyard and the police are called. His personal habits repeatedly upset his highly strung landlord. He is nevertheless a hit at the language school, and fast establishes a reputation as a ladies' man. But can he live up to it?
Meanwhile, as he wanders around unaware in dreamy innocence, he is framed, followed and shot at. He finally finds love only to be wrongly accused of rampant womanising. Against a background of retribution against a former Nazi and a robbery by the Baader-Meinhof gang, our still oblivious hero is hunted by drug dealers, by his terrifying employer, and by both the East and West German intelligence services.
As the forces against him gain momentum and menace, even the Magic City may not be enough to save him.
Michael Dean read history at Worcester College, Oxford, and has an MSc in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. He is a fluent German speaker and a translator - an Associate of the Institute of Linguists. He has had three previous novels published, The Crooked Cross, Hirschfeld's Friends and THORN. He is also the author of Chomsky: A Beginner's Guide and more than 30 English Language Teaching titles, including the best-selling short story New York Café. He lives in Colchester, Essex.
£16.99
978-1-84624-637-1
Fish in Water by Alain Merheje
A tiny, remote village in Cyprus is the scene for a romantic farce.
Cyprus in the summer heat. The smallest village in the world. Nine inhabitants, one drop-dead gorgeous tourist, a flock of impatient hens and an exhausted rooster. This is the stuff that chaos is made of.
Centred on Toni's crumbling taverna, and his surprisingly well-equipped cellar, the action takes place in the course of one dramatic day. What made the delicious Gina behave so oddly? Will Yiannis get his true love back? Can the village idiot save the day? Will Toni ever get a customer to pay for a meal? Can anyone smell chicken cooking?
This is a laugh out loud Hellenic novel of Latin proportions!
Alain Merheje was educated in Syria and Lebanon before relocating to London where he held various posts in the advertising industry which took him all over the world. Eventually he settled on Cyprus (where he now lives) and now indulges his passion for writing and photography. His previous works include a collection of poetry in French and, in English, a collection of poetry, a children's story and a pantomime.
Ideal title to take on holiday
Light, humorous romance set in the sunny Mediterranean calls to mind Mama Mia and Shirley Valentine.
£16.99
978-1-84624-644-9
Cyprus in the summer heat. The smallest village in the world. Nine inhabitants, one drop-dead gorgeous tourist, a flock of impatient hens and an exhausted rooster. This is the stuff that chaos is made of.
Centred on Toni's crumbling taverna, and his surprisingly well-equipped cellar, the action takes place in the course of one dramatic day. What made the delicious Gina behave so oddly? Will Yiannis get his true love back? Can the village idiot save the day? Will Toni ever get a customer to pay for a meal? Can anyone smell chicken cooking?
This is a laugh out loud Hellenic novel of Latin proportions!
Alain Merheje was educated in Syria and Lebanon before relocating to London where he held various posts in the advertising industry which took him all over the world. Eventually he settled on Cyprus (where he now lives) and now indulges his passion for writing and photography. His previous works include a collection of poetry in French and, in English, a collection of poetry, a children's story and a pantomime.
Ideal title to take on holiday
Light, humorous romance set in the sunny Mediterranean calls to mind Mama Mia and Shirley Valentine.
£16.99
978-1-84624-644-9
Karpov's Strategic Wins 2: The Prime Years By Tibor Karolyi
This is the ideal gift for all fans of the great game of chess.
Tibor Karolyi explains Karpov's particular genius: features Karpov's most entertaining and instructive strategic wins from 1986-2009 when Karpov was battling with his young rival Garry Kasparov for chess supremacy It was during this period, at Linares in 1994, that Karpov achieved what statistics show to be the finestever tournament performance.
Tibor Karolyi is an International Master from Budapest who was Hungarian Champion in 1984.
2011 PB
9781906552428 £20.99
Quality Chess UK Ltd
Tibor Karolyi explains Karpov's particular genius: features Karpov's most entertaining and instructive strategic wins from 1986-2009 when Karpov was battling with his young rival Garry Kasparov for chess supremacy It was during this period, at Linares in 1994, that Karpov achieved what statistics show to be the finestever tournament performance.
Tibor Karolyi is an International Master from Budapest who was Hungarian Champion in 1984.
2011 PB
9781906552428 £20.99
Quality Chess UK Ltd
Interdisciplinary Approaches To Twilight: Studies in Fiction, Media & A Contemporary Cultural Experience By Mariah Larsson & Ann Steiner (eds)
The Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer have developed from a book series into a powerful phenomenon with an astonishing impact.
Not only have the books been adapted for the screen, but they have also spawned a huge number of works by fans, readers, reviewers, and scholars. The multi-faceted "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Twilight" brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines in order to address the key themes in the complex global phenomenon that is Twilight; a phenomenon that transcends the boundaries between continents, generations, and producers and consumers, and not least between different genres and media.
The authors present in-depth literary and film analyses, and shed new light on perspectives on gender, fandom, vampire fiction and the economics of the book market. The book fills a void in Twilight research, and, linked by their cutting-edge research and unique theoretical and analytical perspectives, the authors compellingly map a massive global experience that speaks to the realities of contemporary culture.
2011 HB
9789185509638 £32.95 Nordic Academic Press
Not only have the books been adapted for the screen, but they have also spawned a huge number of works by fans, readers, reviewers, and scholars. The multi-faceted "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Twilight" brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines in order to address the key themes in the complex global phenomenon that is Twilight; a phenomenon that transcends the boundaries between continents, generations, and producers and consumers, and not least between different genres and media.
The authors present in-depth literary and film analyses, and shed new light on perspectives on gender, fandom, vampire fiction and the economics of the book market. The book fills a void in Twilight research, and, linked by their cutting-edge research and unique theoretical and analytical perspectives, the authors compellingly map a massive global experience that speaks to the realities of contemporary culture.
2011 HB
9789185509638 £32.95 Nordic Academic Press
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