'We were dumped at a roundabout with our labels on. People pulled and tugged at the children they wanted. It was a bit like a cattle market... people just waded in. I went with a lady and her daughter — she was like a second Mum'. Alexander King, evacuated aged eleven Based on the stories of thirteen children and adults, Churchill's Children tells the often moving story of the evacuation of schoolchildren in Britain during the Second World War, from the first mass evacuations of 1939 through to the lesser-known but equally important evacuations of 1940 and 1944. John Welshman skilfully captures the experience of evacuation — the happiness or sadness, excitement or boredom, resentment or acceptance, love or abuse that the children experienced during their time away from home. Along the way, the book addresses some of the fundamental questions raised by evacuation. How were relationships between children and parents affected by the long periods apart? What happened when brothers and sisters were separated? And how did the children feel when they went home? But the book looks at the adults too — at how the officials in charge of billeting and teachers got caught up in events, and at how civil servants and researchers became involved in the ensuing debates. As Welshman shows, the evacuation was to have a significant impact on shaping attitudes in the post-war world to everything from reconstruction and state intervention to poverty, social class, and the welfare state. However, the analysis aside, what this book perhaps offers above all is a highly evocative portrait of a very different Britain, reminding us just how much has changed in the seventy years since the Second World War.

Hitler claimed that his years as a soldier in the First World War were the most formative years of his life. However, for the six decades since his death in the ruins of Berlin, Hitler's time as a soldier on the Western Front has, remarkably, remained a blank spot. Until now, all that we knew about Hitler's life in these years and the regiment in which he served came from his own account in Mein Kampf and the equally mythical accounts of his comrades. Hitler's First War for the first time looks at what really happened to Private Hitler and the men of the Bavarian List Regiment of which he was a member. It is a radical revision of the period of Hitler's life that is said to have made him. Through the stories of the veterans of the regiment — an officer who became Hitler's personal adjutant in the 1930s but then offered himself to British intelligence, a soldier-turned-Concentration Camp Commander, Jewish veterans who fell victim to the Holocaust, or of veterans who simply returned to their lives in Bavaria — Thomas Weber presents a Private Hitler very different from the one portrayed in his own mythical account. Instead, we find a Hitler who was shunned by the frontline soldiers of his regiment as a 'rear area pig' and who was still unsure of his political ideology even at the end of the war in 1918. In looking at the post-war lives of Hitler's fellow veterans back in Bavaria, Thomas Weber also challenges the commonly accepted notion that the First World War was somehow a 'seminal catastrophe' in twentieth century German history and even questions just how deep-seated Nazi ideology really was in its home state.

Language is not fixed, but evolves over time, and exploring the routes taken by the words can lead us on fascinating journeys. How to Read a Word, written by the noted lexicographer Elizabeth Knowles, shows us how to explore the origins, associations, and evolution of words, focusing in particular on two points: what questions can be asked about a word? And how can they be answered? How to Read a Word offers clear guidance on how to explore the various aspects of words, with chapters on pronunciation, spelling, date of first use, etymology, regional distribution, and meaning, all spiced with intriguing examples. For instance, Knowles offers a fascinating account of how the word scientist originated in a public debate in 1834, explains The Economist's jocular suggestion that fish and chips be spelled ghoti and tchoghs, and weighs in on the nuclear-nucular controversy. Knowles also discusses the ever-expanding range of sources available to the curious word-hunter, from general and specialist dictionaries to websites devoted to areas of language, from Project Gutenberg and Google Book Search to various online newspaper archives. Knowles shows readers how to use this sometimes overwhelming mass of resources to get the best result, and how best to interpret the evidence retrieved. We learn, for example, how to use Google News to search the phrase thin as a as used today, uncovering hundreds of variants, from thin as a supermodel to thin as a lizard. Thought-provoking and practical, this guide provides readers with the essential tools to confidently interrogate the words by which we are surrounded. How to Read a Word is the perfect gift for anyone who is fascinated by the development and intricacies of the English language.

The power of words in politics is well known, and Lend Me Your Ears, the fourth edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Political Quotations, brings together both words of wisdom and things that might have been better left unsaid. This unique reference book not only charts the most influential political events of recent times via the things people said about them — including an international financial crisis and a watershed in American presidential politics — but also digs deeper than ever into the rich heritage of political history from around the world. A mouth-watering collection for anyone with an interest in history and politics, Antony Jay (co-author of the famous TV series Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister) has assembled both a crash course in political wisdom past and present and a treasure trove of politicians' cock-ups and put-downs, with more than 300 new quotations and over 90 new authors, from Sarah Palin to David Cameron by way of Silvio Berlusconi. Lend Me Your Ears includes an essay by the political journalist Matthew Parris and keyword and subject indexes to help in tracing just the right quote. New quotations include: 'The inherited and permanent fact that North America speaks English'. Otto von Bismarck, when asked what was the greatest political fact of modern times 'British jobs for British workers'. Gordon Brown 'If I misspoke that was just a misstatement'. Hillary Rodham Clinton 'You never want a serious crisis to go to waste'. Rahm Emanuel 'A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to excuse his failure to keep his word'. Niccolo Machiavelli 'We are not going to give up our country for a mere X on a ballot. How can a ballpoint pen fight with a gun'? Robert Mugabe. 'We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist'.

In No Turning Back, Paul Addison takes the long view, charting the vastly changing character of British society since the end of the Second World War. As he shows, in this period a series of peaceful revolutions has completely transformed the country so that, with the advantage of a longer perspective, the comparative peace and growing prosperity of the second half of the twentieth century appear as more powerful solvents of settled ways of life than the Battle of the Somme or the Blitz. We have come to take for granted a welfare state which would have seemed extraordinary to our forebears in the first decades of the century, based upon the achievement of a hitherto undreamed of mass prosperity. Much of the sexual morality preached if not practised for centuries has been dismantled with the creation of a 'permissive society'. The employment and career chances of women have been revolutionized. A white nation has been transformed into a multiracial one. An economy founded on manufacturing under the watchful eye of the 'gentlemen in Whitehall' has morphed into a free market system, heavily dependent on finance, services, and housing, while a predominantly working class society has evolved into a predominantly middle class one. And the United Kingdom, which once looked as solid as the rock of Gibraltar, now looks increasingly fragile, as Wales and especially Scotland have started to go their separate ways. The book ends with an assessment of the gains and losses that have resulted. As this makes clear, this is not a story of progress pure and simple, it is a story of fundamental transformation in which much has been gained and much also lost, perhaps above all a sense of the ties that used to bind people together. Paul Addison brings to it the personal point of view of someone who has lived through it all and seen the Britain of his youth turn into a very different country, but who in the final reckoning still prefers the present to the past.

If you love a good story, then look no further. Oxford Children's Classics bring together the most unforgettable stories ever told. They're books to treasure and return to again and again. Scientist Victor Frankenstein, is determined to create intelligent life. He works night and day on his experiment until at last he succeeds. Only then does he realize that what he has created is a monster. Abandoned by its maker and rejected by everyone it meets, the monster sets out to destroy Frankenstein and everything he holds dear.

If you love a good story, then look no further. Oxford Children's Classics bring together the most unforgettable stories ever told. They're books to treasure and return to again and again. When orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the mountains, the two grow to love each other dearly. Heidi charms everyone she meets-but then her strict aunt sends her away again to live in the town. Despite a wonderful new friendship there, Heidi longs to return to her happy life in the mountains. Is there any way she can have both?

If you love a good story, then look no further. Oxford Children's Classics bring together the most unforgettable stories ever told. They're books to treasure and return to again and again. When Oliver Twist asks for more food it changes his life for ever. He flees his dreary life in the workhouse but enters a much more dangerous place-the dark streets of London. Oliver is soon in the clutches of Fagin and his gang of pickpockets, before eventually finding a true friend. But his happiness is short-lived as Fagin and the violent Bill Sykes are determined to drag Oliver back into a life of crime...

If you love a good story, then look no further. Oxford Children's Classics bring together the most unforgettable stories ever told. They're books to treasure and return to again and again. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets Mr Darcy she finds him to be most arrogant. He, in turn, is determined not to be impressed by Elizabeth's beauty and wit. As events unfold their paths cross with more and more frequency, and their disdain for each other grows. Can they ever overcome their prejudices and realize that first impressions are not always reliable?

This best-selling dictionary contains 9,200 entries on all aspects of chemistry, physics, biology (including human biology), earth sciences, and astronomy. This new edition includes expanded coverage of global warming, forensic science, astrophysics, quantam theory, and the solar system. Supported by over 200 diagrams and illustrations the dictionary features recommended web links for many entries, accessed and kept up-to-date via the Dictionary of Science companion website. Other features include short biographies of leading scientists, full page illustrated features on subjects such as the Solar System and Genetically Modified Organisms, and chronologies of specific scientific subjects including plastics, electronics, and cell biology. Both concise and wide-ranging, this dictionary is an ideal reference work for students and a great introduction for non-scientists.

A new Beginner edition from the world's most trusted ELT course — a perfectly-balanced syllabus and lots of support for beginner students.

Family and Friends is a seven-level primary course which offers you an exceptionally strong skills training programme covering language, phonics, and civic education.

When Pepper Roux was born his aunt foretold that he would not live past 14 years of age. Throughout his childhood his parents haven't bothered with him much, knowing that his life would be short-lived. So when Pepper wakes up on his 14th birthday he knows this will be the day that he'll die. But as the day wears on, and Pepper finds himself still alive, he decides to set off to sea in an attempt to try and avoid death for as long as possible. As time goes on Pepper steps into many roles and persons and has numerous outrageous adventures. But can he stay one step ahead of death? Or will fate catch up with him? And, if he does live, which of his many lives will he choose to adopt? This riot of a story is a wonderful adventure, and Pepper is an unforgettable character who stays with you long after his story has been told.

An exceptionally strong skills training programme which covers language skills, phonics, and civic education skills.

A new series of short, specialist English courses for professions such as human resources, and marketing and advertising, and work skills such as telephoning, meetings, and presentations.

The Ancient World is the perfect subject for Stephen Biesty's illustrations — beautifully constructed, technologically advanced, and teeming with life. There are cross-sections, cut-aways and explosions, authoritative annotations, lists and explanations. Covers: Rome — including the Colosseum, the Forum, the Baths and chariot racing at the Circus Maximus; Egypt — including the Valley of the Kings, the pyramids and Sphinx of Giza and preparation of a mummy and Egyptian funeral; Greece — including Athenian warships at the sacred island of Delos, the rich silver mines of Laurion, the Acropolis and the sacred oracle at Delphi. This book is destined to bring the ancient world to life for a wide range of readers.

Tad and Cissie are on the run with Khush the elephant. Clammy-fingered, steely-eyed Hannibal Jackson will do anything to capture the animal. Maybe even kill... Staying ahead means being faster and smarter-but how do you hide an elephant? Especially one with a mind of its own.

Oxford Dictionary of Quotations by Subject is a collection of over 7,000 quotations arranged thematically for easy look-up. Covering nearly 600 subjects, this book features a wealth of topics relevant to modern society, from Beauty, Baseball, and Belief to Patriotism, The Past, and Power. Themes new to this edition include Babies, Birthdays, Nine-Eleven, Retirement, Thanks, and Toasts. Quotations have been taken from a vast range of people around the world from ancient times to the present day, including philosophers, journalists, saints, comedians, poets, monarchs, singers, politicans, scientists, writers, journalists, actors, and sportsmen. Brief author descriptions are given with every quotation, and an index makes it easy to search by author. New to this edition are an increased number of contemporary and motivational quotations to inspire all readers and an improved layout to make reading, browsing, and searching this delightful book easier and more pleasurable than ever. 'I like my body better since I became a mother. I feel sexier as a result.' Halle Berry 'I just blew my mind. And I blew the world's mind.' Usain Bolt 'Making money from money should be replaced with making money from making.' James Dyson 'Animals are such agreeable friends — they ask no questions, they pass no criticism.' George Eliot 'Design is not for philosophy — it's for life.' Issey Miyake

Here is a lovely boxed-set of four fairy stories from Ian Beck, one of our most celebrated writers and illustrators for children. The best-loved tales are all here: There is a wolf who disguises himself as a dear old grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood. There are tiny elfin helpers who busy themselves with needle and thread in The Elves and the Shoemaker. There's a cunning fox who captures a runaway biscuit in The Gingerbread Boy. And there is an uninvited curly-haired guest in Goldilocks and the Three Bears. From the first story to the last, this is a collection that is sure to delight young children.

«Diplomacy means different things to different people, the definitions ranging from the elegant («the management of relations between independent states by the process of negotiations») to the jocular («the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock»). Written by Joseph M. Siracusa, an internationally recognized expert, this lively volume introduces the subject of diplomacy from a historical perspective, providing examples from significant historical phases and episodes to illustrate the art of diplomacy in action, highlighting the milestones in its evolution. The book shows that, like war, diplomacy has been around a very long time, at least since the Bronze Age. It was primitive by today's standards, there were few rules, but it was a recognizable form of diplomacy. Since then, diplomacy has evolved greatly, to the extent that the major events of modern international diplomacy have dramatically shaped the world in which we live. Indeed, the case studies chosen here demonstrate that diplomacy was and remains a key element of statecraft, and that without skilful diplomacy political success may remain elusive.»