As a young boy he re-enacted historic battles with toy soldiers, as a soldier he saw action on three continents and as the Prime Minister only a direct edict from King George VI could keep him from joining the troops on D-Day. CHURCHILL'S WAR LAB will reveal how Churchill's passion for military history, his unique leadership style and his patronization of radical new ideas would lead to new technology and new tactics that would save lives and enable an Allied victory. No war generated more incredible theories, more technical advances, more scientific leaps or more pioneering work that lay the foundation for the post-war computer revolution. And it was Churchill's dogged determination and enthusiasm for revolutionary ideas that fuelled this extraordinary outpouring of British genius. From the co-author of COLD WAR comes an exciting new take on Churchill's war leadership and the story of a complex, powerful and inventive war leader.

He should have seen it coming. His life had been one mishap after another. So he should have been prepared for this one. Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular and disappointed BBC worker, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never quite lost touch with each other — or with their former teacher, Libor Sevick, a Czechoslovakian always more concerned with the wider world than with exam results. Now, both Libor and Finkler are recently widowed, and with Treslove, his chequered and unsuccessful record with women rendering him an honorary third widower, they dine at Libor's grand, central London apartment. It's a sweetly painful evening of reminiscence in which all three remove themselves to a time before they had loved and lost; a time before they had fathered children, before the devastation of separations, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. Better, perhaps, to go through life without knowing happiness at all because that way you had less to mourn? Treslove finds he has tears enough for the unbearable sadness of both his friends' losses. And it's that very evening, at exactly 11:30pm, as Treslove hesitates a moment outside the window of the oldest violin dealer in the country as he walks home, that he is attacked. After this, his whole sense of who and what he is will slowly and ineluctably change. The Finkler Question is a scorching story of exclusion and belonging, justice and love, aging, wisdom and humanity. Funny, furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one of our finest writers at his brilliant best.

In the shadow of King Vaslav's Palace was a marvelous garden, and in the middle of that garden stood a tree that grew apples of solid gold, each one as dazzling as the sun. Someone is stealing the king's famous golden apples, and the culprit must be found. The palace gardener spots the luminous Firebird snatching the apples in the night. The king's two oldest sons are sent to capture it but fail. So Ivan, the youngest son, must go on the dangerous quest, befriending a gray wolf, winning both the Firebird and the heart of the beautiful Princess Helen. Saviour Pirotta's powerful retelling of this classic folktale plumbs the heart of human fears, courage, and love.

The Little Princess wants to have two birthdays, just like the Queen, which means twice as many presents every year! When she realizes how much fun two birthdays are, she decides she wants three, then four. But the more birthdays she has, the less special they are. Perhaps having one birthday a year isn't so boring after all.

Every kid knows that pirates talk funny, swing a big sword, and seek buried treasure — don’t they? What do we really know about Blackbeard, Madame Cheng, Sir Francis Drake, and other men and women of pirate history? What drove them to sail the high seas? What were their bad habits, favorite foods, and silly quirks? And did they actually talk like that? A lively style, lots of surprises, and solid research have made the Lives of... series of collective biographies popular with both kids and adults. Now the series returns, spanning the globe with profiles of the nineteen most notorious pirates in history.

Guy Browning's Christmas bestseller is finally available in paperback. Just imagine how much easier life would be if you knew what you were doing. Wouldn't it be great to have clear, precise instructions for all those things you normally mess up? Here, for the first time in a perfectly portable paperback, are the essential rules for handling life's unavoidable little problems — handy, practical tips such as: what to do with your arm when you've failed to hail a taxi; how to share a romantic bath while avoiding the taps; how to give clear directions to a place you've never heard of; and the politest place to look in a full-length mirror. Never Push When It Says Pull will help eliminate minor social embarrassment, ease social intercourse, and prevent night sweats.

The literary event of the summer: a new novel from Ian McEwan, as surprising as it is masterful. Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterheads of renowned scientific institutions, and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. While he coasts along in his professional life, Michael's personal life is another matter entirely. His fifth marriage is crumbling under the weight of his infidelities. But this time the tables are turned: His wife is having an affair, and Michael realizes he is still in love with her. When Michael's personal and professional lives begin to intersect in unexpected ways, an opportunity presents itself in the guise of an invitation to travel to New Mexico. Here is a chance for him to extricate himself from his marital problems, reinvigorate his career, and very possibly save the world from environmental disaster. Can a man who has made a mess of his life clean up the messes of humanity? A complex novel that brilliantly traces the arc of one man's ambitions and self-deceptions, Solar is a startling, witty, and stylish new work from one of the world's great writers.

When Alton is asked by his ageing, blind uncle to attend bridge games with him, he does as he's told. After all, it's better than a crappy summer job in the local shopping mall, and Alton's mother thinks it might secure their way to a good inheritance sometime in the future. But, like all apparently casual choices in any of Louis Sachar's wonderful books, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined. As his relationship with his uncle develops, and he meets the very attractive Toni, deeply buried secrets are uncovered and a romance that spans decades is finally brought to a conclusion. Alton's mother is in for a surprise!

All offers of surrender from Leningrad must be rejected, wrote Adolph Hitler on September 29, 1941. In this struggle for survival, we have no interest in keeping even a proportion of the city's population alive. During the 900-day siege that followed, the German High Command deliberately planned to eradicate the city's population through starvation. By the time the siege ended in January 1944, almost a million people had died. In Leningrad, military historian Michael Jones chronicles the horrors of this epic siege, while at the same time portraying the astonishing power of the human will in the face of even the direst catastrophe. Drawing on newly available sources, Leningrad is a riveting account of one of the most harrowing sieges of world history.

You've reached the age at which people in this family cross the border into the magical world. It's your turn for an adventure — yes, it's finally here! So says Haroun to his younger brother, twelve-year-old Luka, in Salman Rushdie's thrilling, delightful, lyrically crafted fable for the young and young at heart. The adventure begins one beautiful starry night in the land of Alifbay, where a terrible thing happens: Luka's father, Rashid, the legendary storyteller of Kahani, falls suddenly and inexplicably into a sleep so deep that nothing and no one can rouse him. To save him from slipping away entirely, Luka must embark on a journey through the world of magic with his loyal companions, Bear the dog and Dog the bear, as they encounter a slew of fantastical creatures, strange allies, and challenging obstacles along the way — all in the hopes of stealing the Fire of Life, a seemingly impossible and exceedingly treacherous task. Filled with frolicking wordplay and unexpected twists, and fueled by the power of words and the imagination, this is Salman Rushdie at his best.

The newly updated American Heritage High School Dictionary, Fourth Edition, offers the distinctive qualities that characterize the American Heritage line without including obscene words or offensive slurs. The dictionary features a modern, readable defining style, helpful guidance on English usage, and more than 2,500 photographs and drawings that enhance definitions and invite browsing. New to this updated release are recently prominent terms such as edamame, ringtone, sandboard, spyware, and Texas hold’em, and biographical entries for figures such as newly appointed Supreme Court justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Additionally, the Periodic Table of the Elements now includes the newest element, roentgenium, and the geographical entries reflect up-to-date geopolitical changes, such as the recent dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro. Usage notes based on the opinions of the renowned American Heritage Usage Panel help the reader discern the difference between the conventional and the quirky in language use. Special features on synonyms, regionalisms, and word histories enrich vocabulary and show how language changes over time. The American Heritage High School Dictionary, Fourth Edition, is the most comprehensive high school dictionary available today.

This is an essential guide for new students coming to the Bard for the first time as well as a valuable resource for a dedicated fan. It is an ideal introduction to the life and times of Shakespeare, uncovering the few fragments of his life and placing him within the Elizabethan world. The book also looks at each of his plays and sonnets, giving full explanations and descriptions, putting them in context, and revealing the many great quotes and key scenes.

The story of Robin Hood contains compelling narratives of crusades and outlaws and has become a symbol for justice in an unjust world. Robin Hood became a hero over the centuries and has been immortalized in books, art, and movies, as well as a figure of admiration, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. This Brief History explores the truth behind the myths and the realities behind the images, and reveals an unexpected story that hits close to home.

From the sugar plantations of Saint-Domingue to the lavish parlors of New Orleans at the turn of the 19th century, Isabel Allende's latest novel tells the story of a mulatta woman, a slave and concubine, determined to take control of her own destiny in a society where that would seem impossible. Born a slave on the island of Saint-Domingue, Zarite — known as Tete — is the daughter of an African mother she never knew and one of the white sailors who brought her into bondage. Though her childhood is one of brutality and fear, Tete finds solace in the traditional rhythms of African drums and the voodoo loas she discovers through her fellow slaves. When twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770, it's with powdered wigs in his trunks and dreams of financial success in his mind. But running his father's plantation, Saint Lazare, is neither glamorous nor easy. Against the merciless backdrop of sugar cane fields, the lives of Tete and Valmorain grow ever more intertwined. When the bloody revolution of Toussaint Louverture arrives at the gates of Saint Lazare, they flee the island that will become Haiti for the decadence and opportunity of New Orleans. There, Tete finally forges a new life — but her connection to Valmorain is deeper than anyone knows and not so easily severed. Spanning four decades, Island Beneath the Sea is the moving story of one woman's determination to find love amid loss, to offer humanity though her own has been so battered, and to forge her own identity in the cruellest of circumstances.

One of the most popular songs in music history becomes one of the most delightful children's books ever — complete with a CD featuring two completely new tunes by NEIL SEDAKA! Rise and shine! It's morning time. The alarm clock's ringing, the birds are singing. Everything's saying: get up, get going! Breakfast is warming, school is calling. The streets are bustling, all the world is stirring. It's sure to be a happy day with this bright and sunny picture book and CD, with new lyrics based on the hit song by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Daniel Miyares's delightful art opens your eyes with its vivid colors, playful details, and adorable collection of animal characters. And to make waking up just a little easier, there's a CD with Neil Sedaka singing this happy song, plus two brand new songs written by Neil for this book and CD set: Lightnin' Jim and Sing. Warm and friendly and full of fun, this is a musical and visual celebration of the everyday joys of home, family, and neighborhood. The song Breaking Up is Hard to Do was first released in 1962 and quickly went to Number One on Billboard's Top 100. Sedaka re-released the song in 1975, changing it from an up-tempo tune to a ballad, and made music history when it reached #1 on the charts, becoming the first song recorded in two different versions by the same artist to reach Number One.

10-Piece Puzzle.

New York Times — bestselling author Lehane delivers an explosive tale of vengeance and redemption in this brilliant sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone — heralding the long-awaited return of beloved private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.

All three volumes in the Inkheart trilogy are packaged together in this beautiful box set. Includes Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath.

On the eve of the controversial, posthumous publication of The Original of Laura, Michael Maar follows his critically acclaimed The Two Lolitas with a revealing new perspective on Vladimir Nabokov's life and work. Hunting down long-hidden clues in the novels, and using the themes that run through Nabokov's fiction to illuminate the life that produced them, Maar constructs a compelling psychological and philosophical portrait. Characteristically graceful and engaging, Speak, Nabokov offers a vital new perspective on the twentieth- century master.

When I'm Big is an interactive story that literally grows with the reader. Specially formatted Silly Sliders are designed to move up and down the page — transforming the picture and telling the story. Words appear and disappear while the characters grow up right before the reader's eyes. Inside When I'm Big, kids will be wowed when a young boy gazing longingly at a rocket ship, suddenly blasts off as a grown-up astronaut inside it. Other dream jobs range from magician, rock star, and firefighter, to chef, circus performer, and baker. Simple text and bright, richly painted illustrations complete this engaging storybook.