This is a short dramatization — perfect for schools — of Dahl's immensely popular story for younger readers in which clever Mr Fox outwits the three nasty farmers: Boggis. Bunce and Bean. With staging advice on props, lighting etc at the end of the book.

'I will journey to the black heart of a corrupt Empire to root out my foes. But Rome wasn't built in a day and it won't be restored by a lone assassin. I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. This is my brotherhood'. Rome, once mighty, lies in ruins. The city swarms with suffering and degradation, her citizens living in the shadow of the ruthless Borgia family. Only one man can free the people from the Borgia tyranny — Ezio Auditore, the Master Assassin. Ezio's quest will test him to his limits. Cesare Borgia, a man more villainous and dangerous than his father the Pope, will not rest until he has conquered Italy. And in such treacherous times, conspiracy is everywhere, even within the ranks of the brotherhood itself...

George Mikes says, 'the English have no soul; they have the understatement instead'. But they do have a sense of humour — they provide it by buying over three hundred thousand copies of a book that took them quietly and completely apart, a book that really took the Mikes out of them.

Live like you work in fashion. A must-read for anybody interested in fashion. From aspiring designers, stylists, editors, and photographers to fashion obsessives who want behind the — scenes secrets about industry stars and tips on how to live a creative life.

A real-life thriller about the most tumultuous period in America's financial history by an acclaimed New York Times Reporter. Andrew Ross Sorkin delivers the first true behind-the-scenes, moment-by-moment account of how the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression developed into a global tsunami. From inside the corner office at Lehman Brothers to secret meetings in South Korea, and the corridors of Washington, Too Big to Fail is the definitive story of the most powerful men and women in finance and politics grappling with success and failure, ego and greed, and, ultimately, the fate of the world's economy. We've got to get some foam down on the runway! a sleepless Timothy Geithner, the then-president of the Federal Reserve of New York, would tell Henry M. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, about the catastrophic crash the world's financial system would experience. Through unprecedented access to the players involved, Too Big to Fail re-creates all the drama and turmoil, revealing neverdisclosed details and elucidating how decisions made on Wall Street over the past decade sowed the seeds of the debacle. This true story is not just a look at banks that were too big to fail, it is a real-life thriller with a cast of bold-faced names who themselves thought they were too big to fail.

«In the course of human history, there has probably been no more terrible place than Eastern Europe in 1941-5. Estimates of total Soviet military and civilian deaths in the period now stand at more than 25 million. In «Russia's War», Richard Overy re-creates the Soviet Union's apocalyptic struggle against Germany from the point of view both of the troops and of the ordinary civilians.»

«The «New York Times» bestselling author of «The Ghost War» and «The Faithful Spy» CIA agent John Wells has spent years in the company of evil men. He's paid the price and is beginning to doubt if he can ever live a normal life. And when a powerful adversary from his past finds him, Wells must once again enter the fray. For his country. For his soul. For revenge...»

Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver take a break from looking for the dead to visit the two little girls they both think of as family. But as they travel to Texas, memories of their horrible childhood resurface. Family secrets ensnare them both, as Tolliver learns his father is out of jail and Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister Cameron so many years before. And what she finds will change her world forever.

Survivor, genius, perfumer, and killer: this is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is abandoned on the filthy streets as a child, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human's. Soon, he is creating the most sublime fragrances in Paris. Yet there is one odour he cannot capture. It is exquisite, magical: the scent of a young virgin. And to get it he must kill. And kill. And kill...

Forget everything you think you know about the making of the most powerful man on the planet. President Barack Obama's triumph was not inevitable: it was the end product of a brilliant, calculated, convention-defying political campaign. In a race that will be talked about for years to come, he faced down his rivals with ruthless focus and efficiency. Race of a Lifetime is the gripping inside story of those thrilling months: from the meteoric rise of Obama and the collapsing House of Clinton to the erratic John McCain and the bewildering Sarah Palin. Brimming with exclusive revelations, this compulsively readable book lays bare the characters of the candidates, warts and all; exposes the inner workings of their operations; and, charts the true path to the White House. It's a tour de force: the sometimes shocking, often funny, and ultimately definitive account of the campaign of a lifetime.

'He was haunted by a feeling of invisibility, as if he were a mere spectator of his own life, with no one to identify him in the barren circumstances of the here and now'. Paul Sturgis is retired and lives alone in South Kensington. He walks alone and dines alone, taking pleasure in small exchanges with strangers. His only acquaintance is a widowed cousin whom he visits on Sundays. Unable to make sense of his solitary nature, and fearing death among strangers, he wonders whether at last he might be ready for companionship. But a chance meeting with an old girlfriend and an encounter in Venice with a recently divorced younger woman compel Sturgis to decide how (and with whom) he will spend the rest of his days...

It's a brand-new year and in this dramatic conclusion to the Luxe saga, the future of Manhattan's favourite socialites is looking decidedly different from the ones they had imagined for themselves. With old ties being broken and new ones formed, every decision comes at cost. And who knows who can afford it...

In the current financial crisis, Keynes has been taken out of his cupboard, dusted down, consulted, cited, invoked and appealed to about why events have taken the course they have and how a rescue operation can be effected. Why have we gone back so emphatically to the ideas of an economist who died fifty years ago? There are three main ideas of Keynes' worth thinking about now. The first is that the future is unknowable, and therefore that economic storms are part of the normal workings of the market system. The second idea is that economies wounded by these 'shocks' can, if left to themselves, stay in a depressed condition for a long time. That is why governments need to have and use fiscal ammunition to prevent a slide from financial crisis to economic depression. The third concerns what he termed 'organicism': societies are communities not, as he put it, 'branches of the multiplication table'. These ideas have never been more timely.

John Updike was always as much a poet as a storyteller and the poems in this, his final collection, celebrate the everyday, even as they address his own imminent mortality. It is in the connected series of poems, Endpoint, written on his last few birthdays and culminating with the illness that killed him, that Updike's work is at its most touching and poignant.

Hidden in a remote corner of the South American jungle is a clandestine research facility known simply as Meros. Here, working in laboratories buried a thousand feet underground, military scientists have developed the most astonishing and deadly weapon known to man... Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, a Chinook helicopter lands a highly trained squad of special forces soldiers deep in hostile territory — their mission: to clean up a black-ops killzone. As they enter the cave, they hear the faint buzz of the weapon — like the beating of a thousand pairs of insect wings.

'I didn't say anything. I didn't return his smiles. I looked at him in the wide mirror in front of where I was sitting. He grew uncomfortable and avoided my eyes. I hate those who think fat people are stupid'. An obese woman and her lover, a dwarf, are sick of being stared at wherever they go, and so decide to reverse roles. The man goes out wearing make up and the woman draws a moustache on her face. But while the woman wants to hide away from the world, the man meets the stares from passers-by head on, compiling his 'Dictionary of Gazes' to explore the boundaries between appearance and reality. Intertwined with the story of a bizarre freak-show organized in Istanbul in the 1880s, The Gaze considers the damage which can be inflicted by our simple desire to look at others.

'I am not Number 6. I am not a prisoner. I am a free man'. This is the classic novel of the TV series The Prisoner, by cult author Thomas M. Disch. First published in 1968, this new edition celebrates the long-awaited remake of the series, from ITV1 and the producers of Mad Men, starring Sir Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel. Combining the power of a great spy thriller with Orwellian science fiction, The Prisoner follows a former British secret agent who has quit the force, only to find himself trapped in an anonymous place called the Village. Known only as 'Number 6', he struggles to maintain his identity in the face of the nameless powers-that-be, who use increasingly sophisticated and terrifying methods to extract his secrets.

This brand new edition provides a comprehensive and highly visual introduction to Paris; over 600 superb photographs capture the history, local people and variety of everyday life in France's vibrant capital city. The 'Places' section provides a detailed, district-by-district exploration of all the places to visit and principal sites along the way are clearly cross-referenced by number to the full-colour maps found throughout the guide. Expanded and updated restaurant listings feature the best eateries to suit all budgets within each area, providing the address, phone number, opening times and price range, followed by a useful review. Paris is a shopping hotspot and this guide reveals insider tips on where to find the best buys. A brand new 'Editor's Choice' section illustrates everything you simply can't afford to miss, including lesser-known attractions, family activities and money-saving hints. Expert local writers provide authoritative essays on the city's history and interesting cultural features. A fully-indexed street atlas enables instant orientation, helping you to navigate around the city with ease and also plots restaurants. The comprehensive 'Travel Tips' section provides all the essential information you'll need for a hassle-free trip, covering accommodation for all budgets, transport, activities and useful booking information, plus a handy A-Z of further practical advice and contact details. The unique combination of insightful exploration alongside practical advice makes this guide a fascinating background read and an invaluable on-the-spot companion.

England, 1582 ELLIE — Lady Eleanor Rodriguez of San Jaime — is in possession of a gold-seeking father, a worthless title and a feisty spirit that captivates the elite of the Queen's court, and none other than the handsome new Earl of Dorset... WILLIAM LACEY has inherited his father's title and his financial ruin. Now the Earl must seek a wealthy heiress and restore his family's fortune. But Will's head has been turned by the gorgeous Ellie, yet their union can never be. Will is destined to marry a worthy Lady so the only question is — which one...?

Britain's funniest comic opens up his man drawer to the nation. Imagine you had a deeply eccentric and possessive Hungarian grandmother who played scrabble for money. Or that everyone thinks Kenny Everett's your dad because he picks you up from school, drunk. Or that your mother is convinced you'll be world-famous after a dodgy Tarot reading. Welcome to the bizarre and hilarious life of Michael McIntyre. In this brilliantly written autobiography, Michael reveals the trials, tribulations and the triumphs that have taken him from birth (easy) to Britain's most-loved comic (not so easy). With a joke and witty observation guaranteed on every page, Michael's memoir is the funniest and most-heartwarming read of the year.