Have you ever lost someone who meant more to you than your own soul? Ford Newcombe has. For years he loved his wife, Pat, more than anyone — and anything — in the world. She came into his life when he was just an inexperienced college student with big dreams of becoming a published author. With love and humour, she guided him down the path that would eventually lead him to more success than he ever dreamed possible. Since Pat's death six years ago, Ford has lived a life of solitude, barely able to put pen to paper, and rumours are flying that it was Pat who actually created the books the world so loved. If there's one thing that Ford needs it's inspiration, and it finally comes in the guise of Jackie Maxwell — a smart, sassy university researcher with just enough attitude to match Ford's sharp intellect. But it's her intimate knowledge of the story of a young woman's friendship with the devil — and what the townspeople did to her — that persuades Ford to hire Jackie as his assistant and to move to Cole Creek, North Carolina, where the story is said to have taken place. They soon learn that even though the inhabitants of Cole Creek try to deny it, they are still plagued by the consequences of the otherworldly tale of passion and death. As Ford and Jackie work to unravel the truth, they discover a connection between their lives and the past, a connection that not only helps them solve a long-ago crime but offers the promise of new love.

How does good King Wenceslas like his pizzas? Deep pan, crisp and even Packed with brilliant seasonal jokes together with lots of silly stuff that will keep children giggling throughout the Christmas holidays. Cast an unwanted Gift Spell, read Santa's hilarious emails and try the Top Ten things to do with leftover turkey. With hilarious spoof ads and lots of fun Christmas features this book will really put the ho-ho-ho into your holidays.

The killer cat is back — and he's dangerous! Tuffy can't wait for Ellie and the family to go away on holiday. A week of freedom lies ahead — if only he can get away from the catsitter. But everything goes wrong when Tuffy is catapulted into the arms of horrid, sweet-as-pie Melanie. Melanie has always longed for a lovely, cuddly ickle pussykins. And, with the promise of cream, fresh fish and escape from the catsitter, Tuffy loses all his dignity. Dressed up in baby-clothes and pampered like a pussycat, has the killer cat reall gone for good?

After years of fending off challenges from the world's most dangerous terrorists, Op-Centre has been brought to heel by the US Congress. A short-sighted committee has cut Paul Hood's budget, and the first victim is his friend Mike Rodgers. But General Rodgers may not be looking for work for very long. Dynamic Senator Donald Orr is making a run for President at the head of his own third party. Running on a platform of extreme isolationism, Orr presents a real challenge to the two-party system, and he needs a strong military advisor to make his team complete. The problem is that Orr may be involved in more than just ordinary political intrigue. The bodies of two murdered millionaires may be tied into the new party, and Op-Centre is seeking the killer.

Dino really fancies fit, sexy Jackie, but she just won't give him what he wants... Jonathan likes Deborah, but she's a bit fat — what will his mates say? Ben's been secretly shagging his teacher for ages. He used to love it, but what if he wants to stop? Three lads discovering sex for the first time; but do any of them really know what they're doing?

Michael Moore sizes up the new century — and that big, ugly special-interest group that's laying waste to the world as we know it: stupid white men. Whether he's calling for United Nations action to overthrow the Bush Family Junta, calling on African-Americans to place whites only signs over the entrances of unfriendly businesses, or praying that Jesse Helms will get kissed by a man, Stupid White Men is Mike's manifesto on malfeasance and mediocrity.

The three plays collected in this volume depict the faults, errors and foibles of ordinary people with exuberant humour, savage satire and acute observations. Volpone portrays a rich Venetian who pretends to be dying so that his despised acquaintances will flock to his bedside with extravagant gifts in hope of an inheritance. The Alchemist also deals with greed and gullibility, as a rascally trio of confidence tricksters, claiming to have the legendary Philosopher's Stone, fool a series of victims who are hoping to make some easy money. And in a wonderfully energetic portrait of Jacobean life, Bartholomew Fair shows a diverse group of Londoners sampling the delights and temptations of the Fair — and the traders, prostitutes and cutpurses who set out to exploit them.

From Goya's Disasters of War to news footage and photographs of the conflicts in Vietnam, Rwanda and Bosnia, pictures have been charged with inspiring dissent, fostering violence or instilling apathy in us, the viewer. Regarding the Pain of Others will alter our thinking not only about the uses and meanings of images, but about the nature of war, the limits of sympathy, and the obligations of conscience.

In the last years of World War II, the Allies dropped a million bombs on Germany. Yet the German people have been silent about the resulting devestation and loss of life, failing to recognise the terrible shadow that destruction from the air cast over their land. Here W.G. Sebald asks why it is we turn our backs on the horrors of war, and in addressing our response to the past, offers insights into how we live now.

He's the man everyone's talking about. He's taken on gun freaks, stupid white men and corporate crooks. Now Michael Moore is on a new mission: to get us of our behinds and kicking out the corrupt political elites who rule our lives.

Orlando Figes’s enthralling, richly evocative history has been heralded as a literary masterpiece on Russia, the lives of those who have shaped its culture, and the enduring spirit of a people.

Behind the doors of the most famous address in the country, all is not well. Five years ago, Edward Clare was voted in to Number Ten after a landslide election result. But things are starting to go wrong. The love has gone. The people are turning. Leaving behind his superwoman wife Adele, Prime Minister Clare enlists the help of Jack Sprat, a policeman on the door of Number Ten, and sets out to discover what the country really thinks of him. Sneaking out of the back door incognito, they venture into the great unknown: the mean streets of Great Britain. For the first time in years, the Prime Minister experiences everything life in his country has to offer — an English cream tea, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and the kindness of strangers, as well as having to wait for trains and undergo treatment in a hospital — and remembers some of the things he'd forgotten he used to really care about ...

This brand new dictionary is the ideal handbook for everyone with an interest in the world of business, whether you are studying or are already at work and need to get to grips with the mass of jargon being used. Up-to-the-minute, clearly written by experts in their fields, with practical and relevant examples, The New Penguin Dictionary of Business covers a host of both general and more specialized business terms, from ‘A’ shares to zero-sum game. • Covers all areas of business, including accounting, banking, economics, finance and marketing • International in its coverage, with both UK and US terms included • Invaluable extended notes on key concepts such as ‘economic growth’ and ‘strategic management’ • Includes terms from relevant disciplines such as psychology, sociology, statistics, mathematics and computer sciences that are commonly used in business • Contains concise biographies of a large number of leading figures in the business world

Roland, the world’s last gunslinger, tracks an enigmatic Man in Black toward a forbidding dark tower, fighting forces both mortal and other-worldly on his quest.

Roland, The Last Gunslinger, moves ever closer to The Dark Tower of his dreams-and nightmares-as he crosses a desert of damnation in a macabre world that is a twisted image of our own...

Case was the sharpest data thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he's ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction.