This marvellous book covers a wide range of topics, from different breeds of horse, horse history and how to look after your horse. Packed with facts and illustrations this is a wonderful introduction to the animal world for young readers. For real horse enthusiasts this book also suggests websites and places to visit to find out even more! Other titles in this series: Big Cats, Spiders, Frogs and Toads, Bees, Elephants, Wolves, Snakes, Sharks, Rats, Whales, Crocodiles, Dinosaurs and Dogs.

Will Shakespeare dreamed of becoming an actor and a playwright. At nineteen he left his home town of Stratford and headed for London, following his dream. He became an actor, part owner of the Globe theatre — and the greatest playwright of all time. 400 years on, his plays are even more popular. They are performed in theatres all over the world. Other titles in the series: Amelia Earhart, Alexander the Great, Captain Cook, Cleopatra, Eric the Red Galileo, Gandhi, Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Ford, Roald Dahl and Thomas Edison.

Designed to follow the latest CIE IGCSE syllabus, this revision guide will provide revision material which is presented in a clear, concise, but not too condensed format, appropriate for international students aged 14-16. They may be used for study and homework throughout the year but are predominantly intended as a student revision purchase. Suitable for all students, it will stretch those of a lower ability while challenging and providing a wealth of exam practice for students of higher ability. We provide everything needed to ensure exam success including questions and answers, revision and assessment advice. Vocabulary-based activities such as crossword puzzles will be included to support students whose first language is not English.

100% new. New Practical English video, featuring authentic interviews with real people. Shorter syllabus for Beginner-level students.

One night, Goat is woken by a noise downstairs. His immediate thought is that there must be burglars in the house. He doesn't know what to do, but he knows that Donkey will, so he tiptoes very quietly to Donkey's room. But when Goat discovers that Donkey's bed is empty, he comes to the conclusion that Donkey must have been stolen! Full of fear and trepidation, Goat grabs Donkey's toy Rabbity (to brandish at the burglars), goes downstairs, and bursts bravely into the kitchen... only to find that the noise is in fact coming from Donkey who has gone downstairs to make himself a sandwich! Relieved but overwrought, Goat is in need of some comfort and a midnight feast with Donkey is just the thing to soothe his shattered nerves! A delightful duo — Goat and Donkey are ready to entertain children and parents everywhere.

Hare is always raring to go. He races through the day while the ever-patient Tortoise does his best to keep up. Hare, it certainly seems to Tortoise, has boundless energy. So Tortoise has plans for when it is time for Hare to go to bed — a well-deserved rest with a cup of chamomile tea! And, for the first time in the day, it is Tortoise who is in a hurry. He reads speedily, with one eye on his cuppa. But Hare has other ideas. As far as he is concerned, when it's time for his bedtime story from Tortoise, he is no longer in a hurry. In fact he wants to take all the time in the world and linger over every picture. After all, some things just shouldn't be rushed! Toddlers will love this simple story, with its cosy farmland setting and lovable characters. And while adults are reading a story that highlights the differences between the energetic and impetuous Hare and the rather more circumspect Tortoise, they will no doubt smile as they recognise the parallels with their own experiences of childcare!

Button has had a busy day playing with his older sisters and now it's time for Mummy and Daddy to put him to bed. Just as they pad quietly away, Button remembers the fallen log he clambered over during the afternoon. It looked a bit like a big bear asleep in the grass and now Button is worried that the tree-bear might lumber into his dreams and turn them into scary ones. He calls out and Daddy comes back to comfort Button. Daddy always knows what to do in these situations-he tells Button the lovely, familiar story of the day he was born. Daddy remembers fondly all the happy details of the day that Button came into the world and these always do just the trick in helping Button to forget about anything that might be making him anxious at bedtime. The illustrations from Layn Marlow are beautiful-Button is the most adorable chocolate-brown bear cub you are ever likely to meet-and the softness of the illustrations perfectly captures the mood of this gentle bedtime story.

At school, Roald Dahl looked forward most to those special days when the local chocolate company sent every pupil a large box of chocolate bars for testing. Years later he wrote a children's book inspired by the chocolate testing. It was one of the first of a string of incredibly funny, rude and amazing stories, which millions of children have read and enjoyed.

'Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar Your dad drives a rusty car Press the starter Pull the choke Off he goes in a cloud of smoke'. Anon Here is a collection of poems and rhymes for very young children. With themes ranging from pets, magic and weather to favourite foods, families and toys, there are poems for every occasion. And the mix of cautionary verse, nonsense rhymes, lullabies, lyrical poems and comic verse adds up to an anthology to suit all moods and moments. There are contributions from Michael Rosen, Wendy Cope, Charles Causley, Valerie Bloom, Brian Moses, Spike Milligan, Jack Prelutsky and many, many more. Each poem is accompanied by full colour artwork — from a diverse range of illustrators including Tony Ross, Nick Sharratt, Ian Beck, Brian Wildsmith and Korky Paul.

Winnie's sisters have given her a flying carpet but Winnie is struggling to find something nice to say about it in her thank-you letter as the carpet has been more than a little wayward. Winnie decides to give the carpet one last chance but then disaster strikes. The carpet swoops off with poor Wilbur as its unwilling passenger. Winnie tries to catch it but the carpet is too fast for her and it heads straight for a funfair where it subjects Wilbur to a string of crazy rides. Winnie has to resort to magic to stop the carpet in its tracks and rescue her beloved moggy. Then she takes Wilbur home and, ever the resourceful witch, she has an idea for a wonderful way to enjoy the carpet in the safety of her own garden. This story is full of noisy antics: a collision with a rubbish truck, a splash-down into a pond, and a sequence of exciting rides at the funfair are just some of the wonderful sound-effect additions to the narration of Winnie's Flying Carpet on the accompanying audio CD.

What is 'nothing'? What remains when you take all the matter away? Can empty space — a void — exist? This Very Short Introduction explores the science and the history of the elusive void: from Aristotle who insisted that the vacuum was impossible, via the theories of Newton and Einstein, to our very latest discoveries and why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos. Frank Close tells the story of how scientists have explored the elusive void, and the rich discoveries that they have made there. He takes the reader on a lively and accessible history through ancient ideas and cultural superstitions to the frontiers of current research. He describes how scientists discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields; how Newton, Mach, and Einstein grappled with the nature of space and time; and how the mysterious 'aether' that was long ago supposed to permeate the void may now be making a comeback with the latest research into the 'Higgs field'. We now know that the vacuum is far from being empty — it seethes with virtual particles and antiparticles that erupt spontaneously into being, and it also may contain hidden dimensions that we were previously unaware of. These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology's most fundamental questions: what lies outside the universe, and, if there was once nothing, then how did the universe begin?

«Maupassant's second novel, Bel-Ami (1885) is the story of a ruthlessly ambitious young man (Georges Duroy, christened «Bel-Ami» by his female admirers) making it to the top in fin-de-sihcle Paris. It is a novel about money, sex, and power, set against the background of the politics of the French colonization of North Africa. It explores the dynamics of an urban society uncomfortably close to our own and is a devastating satire of the sleaziness of contemporary journalism. Bel-Ami enjoys the status of an authentic record of the apotheosis of bourgeois capitalism under the Third Republic. But the creative tension between its analysis of modern behavior and its identifiably late nineteenth-century fabric is one of the reasons why Bel-Ami remains one of the finest French novels of its time, as well as being recognized as Maupassant's greatest achievement as a novelist. This new translation is complemented by fullest introduction and notes of any edition currently available.»

Tony Wright's Very Short Introduction to British Politics is an interpretative essay on the British political system, rather than merely an abbreviated textbook on how it currently works. He identifies key characteristics and ideas of the British tradition, and investigates what makes British politics distinctive, while emphasizing throughout the book how these characteristics are reflected in the way the political system actually functions. Each chapter is organized around a key theme, such as the constitution or political accountability, which is first established and then explored with examples and illustrations. This in turn provides a perspective for a discussion of how the system is changing, looking in particular at devolution and Britain's place in Europe. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam

Despite a long history of external threats and internal strife, the Roman Catholic Church and the broader phenomenon of Catholicism remain a vast and valuable presence into the third millennium of world history. What are the origins of the Catholic Church? How has Catholicism changed and adapted to such vast and diverse cultural influences over the centuries? What great challenges does the Catholic Church now face in the twenty-first century, both within its own life and in its relation to others around the world? In this Very Short Introduction, Gerald O'Collins draws on the best current scholarship available to answer these questions and to present, in clear and accessible language, a fresh introduction to the largest and oldest institution in the world. O'Collins explains clearly and concisely where the Catholic Church comes from, what it believes and practices, the sacraments and the Church's moral teaching, and where it is heading. The book also includes a timeline of events in the history of Catholicism and useful suggestions for further reading.

The last century has been a tumultuous one for the culture and politics of Britain. Kenneth Morgan's Twentieth-Century Britain is a crisp analysis of the forces of consensus and conflict that have existed in Britain since the First World War. Using a wide variety of sources, including the records of political parties and recently released documents from Britain's Public Records Office, Kenneth Morgan covers the full scope of Britain's modern history while drawing thought-provoking comparisons with the post-war history of other nations. This penetrating analysis by a leading twentieth-century historian makes for fantastic reading for anyone interested in the development of modern Britain.

Global warming is arguably the most critical and controversial issue facing the world in the twenty-first century, one that will affect every living creature on the planet. It is also an extraordinarily complex problem, which everyone needs to understand as clearly and completely as possible. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and accessible explanation of the key aspects of global warming. Mark Maslin discusses how and why changes are occurring, sets current warming trends in the context of past climate change, examines the predicted impact of global warming, as well as the political controversies of recent years and the many proposed solutions. Fully updated for 2008, this compelling account offers the best current scientific understanding of global warming, describing recent developments in US policy and the UK Climate Change Bill, where we now stand with the Kyoto Protocol, and the latest findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Maslin also includes a chapter on local solutions, reflecting the now widely held view that, to mitigate any impending disaster, governments as well as individuals must to act together.

e words, phrases, and stories of the New Testament permeate the English language. Indeed, this relatively small group of twenty-seven works, written during the height of the Roman Empire, not only helped create and sustain a vast world religion, but also have been integral to the larger cultural dynamics of the West, above and beyond particular religious expressions. Looking at the New Testament through the lens of literary study, Kyle Keefer offers an engrossing exploration of this revered religious text as a work of literature, but also keeps in focus its theological ramifications. Unique among books that examine the Bible as literature, this brilliantly compact introduction offers an intriguing double-edged look at this universal text--a religiously informed literary analysis. The book first explores the major sections of the New Testament--the gospels, Paul's letters, and Revelation--as individual literary documents. Keefer shows how, in such familiar stories as the parable of the Good Samaritan, a literary analysis can uncover an unexpected complexity to what seems a simple, straightforward tale. At the conclusion of the book, Keefer steps back and asks questions about the New Testament as a whole. He reveals that whether read as a single document or as a collection of works, the New Testament presents readers with a wide variety of forms and viewpoints, and a literary exploration helps bring this richness to light. A fascinating investigation of the New Testament as a classic literary work, this Very Short Introduction uses a literary framework--plot, character, narrative arc, genre--to illuminate the language, structure, and the crafting of this venerable text.

Norman Solomon's succinct book is an ideal introduction to Judaism as a religion and way of life. In addition to surveying the nature and development of Judaism, this Very Short Introduction outlines the basics of practical Judaism — its festivals, prayers, customs, and various sects. Modern concerns and debates of the Jewish people are also addressed, such as the impact of the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, the status of women, and medical and commercial ethics. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam

This book charts a path through the outpouring of efforts to understand and explain modern terrorism, by asking what makes terrorism different from other forms of political, military action; what makes it effective; and what can be done about it. It unravels complex central questions such as whether terrorists are criminals, whether terrorism is a kind of war, what kind of threat terrorism represents, how far media publicity sustains terrorism, and whether democracy is especially vulnerable to terrorist attack. It examines the historical ideological and local roots of terrorist violence, and the success of specific terrorist and anti-terrorist campaigns in the more distant as well as the recent past.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is scarcely ten years old, but it has already generated a mountain of debate, controversy, and outrage. Rulings on beef hormones and tuna-dolphin cases provide explicit examples of how the organization regulates into areas of individual consumer choice, ethical preferences, and cultural habits. The deep and far-ranging impact of the WTO on peoples' everyday lives means that it is not just an institution of interest to economists, but to everyone, a fact that was perhaps most graphically illustrated by the demonstrations that have become a regular feature associated with high-level meetings of the WTO. This book provides a carefully considered explanation of what the WTO is, what it does, and how it goes about executing its tasks, and gives a clear understanding of the mandate, structure, and functioning of the WTO that is essential to appreciating the controversy behind the organization.