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Winkle: The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Greatest Pilot
By Paul Beaver. 2023
Discover the daring life story and astonishing adventures of Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown - Britain's greatest-ever pilotSmall in stature but…
immense in reputation and talent, there was more to Eric 'Winkle' Brown than met the eye.From shooting down Luftwaffe bombers from the deck of a carrier in the Battle of the Atlantic and narrowly escaping death when his ship was torpedoed, to accumulating a never-to-be repeated litany of world records and firsts as a test pilot, his unparalleled flying career saw him take the controls of over four hundred different kinds of aircraft - more than any other pilot in history.A rival to Chuck Yeager and hero to Neil Armstrong, by the time of his appearance on Desert Island Discs' 1000th episode Winkle had become a legend in his own lifetime, and by his death, a national treasure.But despite his enormous fame, there have always been mysteries at the heart of Winkle's story.Now, drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle's own personal archive, Paul Beaver uncovers the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain's greatest pilot.A story Winkle insisted could only be told after his death . . .----------'Compelling, fascinating and frequently jaw-dropping. A brilliant and revelatory biography' JAMES HOLLAND'Beaver recounts the story of a man he regarded as a mentor in unshowy but fascinating detail, and restores a British hero to his rightful place' OBSERVER'[A] thumping great biography by Britain's leading aviation historian' DAILY MAIL, 'BOOK OF THE WEEK''Winkle Brown's astonishing adventures make for fascinating reading' SUNDAY TIMES'An excellent biography' PATRICK BISHOP, DAILY TELEGRAPH'The extraordinary story [of] a fearless pilot and decorated war hero. Epic' THE HERALD'A thrilling new biography' DAILY EXPRESS'A thumping great biography of the flying ace who made Top Gun look tame ... enthralling' DAILY MAIL'Riveting ... one of those must-read books, compelling and full of incidents that leave you gasping with surprise ... an incredible story' FLYER'An incredible life ... Brown took a secret to the grave that makes his story all the more remarkable' THE SUNUseful Work v. Useless Toil (Penguin Great Ideas)
By William Morris. 2008
Visionary English Socialist and pioneer of the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris argued that all work should be a…
source of pride and satisfaction, and that everyone should be entitled to beautiful surroundings – no matter what their class. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves – and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives – and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.Urne-Burial (Penguin Great Ideas #Vol. 32)
By Thomas Browne. 2005
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other.…
They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.Written after the discovery of over forty Bronze Age burial urns in seventeenth-century Norfolk, Sir Thomas Browne's profound consideration of the inevitability of death remains one of the most fascinating and poignant of all reflections upon the vanity of mankind's lust for immortality.What is Art? (Bloomsbury Revelations Ser.)
By Leo Tolstoy. 1995
During his decades of world fame as a novelist, Tolstoy also wrote prolifically in a series of essays and polemics…
on issues of morality, social justice and religion. These works culminated in What is Art?, published in 1898. Impassioned and iconoclastic, this powerfully influential work both criticizes the elitist nature of art in nineteenth-century Western society, and rejects the idea that its sole purpose should be the creation of beauty. The works of Dante, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Baudelaire and Wagner are all vigorously condemned, as Tolstoy explores what he believes to be the spiritual role of the artist - arguing that true art must work with religion and science as a force for the advancement of mankind.What I Came To Say
By Raymond Williams. 2013
A collection of the writings of Raymond Williams, who many considered to be the most significant post-war intellectual in Britain.…
He wrote on diverse subjects, and his books included "Culture and Society", "The Long Revolution", "The Country and the City", "Towards 2000" and "The Black Mountain".What are Universities For?
By Stefan Collini. 2012
Across the world, universities are more numerous than they have ever been, yet at the same time there is unprecedented…
confusion about their purpose and scepticism about their value. What Are Universities For? offers a spirited and compelling argument for completely rethinking the way we see our universities, and why we need them. Stefan Collini challenges the common claim that universities need to show that they help to make money in order to justify getting more money. Instead, he argues that we must reflect on the different types of institution and the distinctive roles they play. In particular we must recognize that attempting to extend human understanding, which is at the heart of disciplined intellectual enquiry, can never be wholly harnessed to immediate social purposes - particularly in the case of the humanities, which both attract and puzzle many people and are therefore the most difficult subjects to justify.At a time when the future of higher education lies in the balance, What Are Universities For? offers all of us a better, deeper and more enlightened understanding of why universities matter, to everyone.The Wee Book of Calvin: Air-Kissing in the North-East
By Bill Duncan. 2004
A collection of essays and aphorisms about Scottish Calvinism. This is Scottish literary humour at its finest.'A work of contemporary…
shamanism, with all the bluff, poetry, deranged humour, sleight-of-hand and real magic that implies.' Don Paterson. This is the first (and maybe the last) self-help guide that promises to make you feel a lot worse after you read it. A hilarious satire on freeze-dried mysticism and off-the-shelf enlightenment, it is also a haunting and lyrical reflection on places, voices and memories -- a literary journey into the heart of North-East darkness. 'A perfect evocation of Scotland's mysterious love affair with loss and sorrow. A powerful dram of Zen Calvinism.' Richard HollowayWe Fought at Arnhem
By Mike Rossiter. 2003
Operation Market Garden: a plan to capture the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem and outflank the German front. In…
all twelve thousand airborne troops were to land, either by parachute or glider, at three drop zones and move towards their objective. As the world now knows the mission was to be 'a bridge too far' for the British forces. Mike Rossiter has interviewed three of the survivors of those fateful days, each involved in a different flank of the British attack, and in vivid detail reconstructs the events that lead up to this most famous of glorious defeats. It is at once a story of hubris and bad planning, but also of valiant sacrifice and inspirational courage.We Can Do Better Than This: An urgent manifesto for how we can shape a better world for LGBTQ+ people
By Beth Ditto, Owen Jones, Peppermint, Olly Alexander, Wolfgang Tillmans, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah. 2021
How do we shape a better world for LGBTQ+ people? Olly Alexander, Peppermint, Owen Jones, Beth Ditto, Shon Faye and…
more share their stories and visions for the future.'A vital addition to your bookshelf' Stylist, 5 Books for Summer'Captivating... A must-read' Gay Times, Books of the YearIn We Can Do Better Than This, 35 voices - actors, musicians, writers, artists and activists - answer this vital question, at a time when the queer community continues to suffer discrimination and extreme violence. Through deeply moving stories and provocative new arguments on safety and visibility, dating and gender, care and community, they present a powerful manifesto for how - together - we can change lives everywhere.'Powerful, inspiring...urgent' Attitude'Read and be inspired' Peter Tatchell'Illuminating' Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk'Friendly and fierce' Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Gay BarWarriors: British Fighting Heroes
By Ross Kemp. 2011
_____________Ross Kemp has encountered conflict and warfare the world over, broadcasting from some of the most volatile military hot-zones. From…
meeting the world's deadliest gangsters, to perhaps his hardest assignment of all; embedded with the British Army in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where he witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict and was trained in the tactics they use to stay alive.Stationed with British forces for his award-winning television documentaries, Ross Kemp has not only experienced the terror and exhilaration of life on the frontline, but also the courage and leadership of today's servicemen and women. The plight of our Armed Forces is one especially close to his heart, and here for the first time Kemp tells the breathtaking stories of commandos, medics, submariners, fighter pilots, infantrymen, sailors and engineers in daring raids, stirring last stands and acts of extreme valour. British Fighting Heroes is Ross Kemp's personal tribute to some of the most remarkable men and women to have served in the British Armed Forces during the two World Wars, many of them unsung or forgotten. From Sgt Major Stan Hollis, D-Day's only VC winner, to Freddie Spencer Chapman the reluctant war hero who spent three years behind enemy lines in Burma fighting guerrilla warfare against troops, each account is an extraordinary tale of courage, adventure and patriotic sacrifice.Warrior: A True Story of Bravery and Betrayal in the Iraq War
By John Hunt, Tam Henderson Qm. 2008
Warrior is the powerful true story of a British soldier's heroism during the Iraq War that reveals how he was…
ruthlessly sacrificed by the Establishment. Captain Tam Henderson was adopted as a baby in Glasgow. His family moved to England and he grew up on a violent council estate in Birmingham. At 16, he chose to join the famous Black Watch regiment. In a career spanning 23 years, he rose through the ranks and was deployed to conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and the Middle East.During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Tam was in the thick of ferocious fighting and, amidst Basra's chaos, he set up camp for the 200 men of Charlie Company, who were put in charge of the city's most volatile districts. Having fought to recover the body of one of his men killed in action, Tam was horrified when the chain gun on his Warrior tank malfunctioned, suddenly firing of its own accord and seriously injuring a comrade. He was told to take the rap but refused, insisting that the dangerous fault on the gun needed fixing. He was convicted by a kangaroo court at Saddam's palace and sent home in disgrace. But Tam fought back and embarked upon the biggest battle of his life - against the Ministry of Defence and international arms companies.Pacy and starkly authentic, Warrior takes the reader on an exhilarating journey that is by turns horrific, humorous and poignantly reflective.War Dogs: British Mercenaries in Bosnia Tell Their Own Story
By Keith Cory-Jones. 1996
Equally courageous, equally deadly, the British mercenaries in Bosnia have a story to tell as amazing as 'The One That…
Got Away', but a story without official blessing. 'War Dogs' follows the fortunes of a gang of eight British mercenaries, a mixed bunch, old and cynical, young and naive, mean and psychotic, two idealists, and the rest just in it for the money. Each of these rogue warriors has his own special skills, strengths and weaknesses, and are all tested in an increasingly terrifying and desperate series of engagements with the enemy. Both sides fight dirty; this is an insider's account of the war in Bosnia that goes far beyond what we read in the newspapers. Not all of them make it back to Britain; one boy with no military experience has told his mother he is working in Eurodisney, and she only finds out the truth when he comes back in a box.Walker's Manly Exercises
By Donald Walker. 2018
For gentlemen leading sedentary lives, Donald Walker has just the pep talk you need.If you haven't yet discovered the vast…
array of benefits that arise from physical exertion, then let Walker be your guide. As well as helping to prolong life and improve its happiness, active exercises can help you to achieve a beauty of form, elegant air and graceful manners.Through a combination of manly exercises such as leaping, skating and climbing trees, you can acquire the physique you desire and become the envy of all gentlemen.Tips include:· The correct way to walk at different paces - slow, moderate and quick· The best liquids to consume - primarily cold beer and cider · Permitted vegetable matter - including biscuits and stale bread Lavishly illustrated throughout, this Victorian guide has been brought back to life so that modern gents can exercise the manly way.Walker's Exercises for Ladies
By Donald Walker. 2018
For ladies leading sedentary lives, Donald Walker has just the pep talk you need.If you haven't yet discovered the vast…
array of benefits that arise from physical exertion, then let Walker be your guide. As well as helping to prolong life and improve its happiness, active exercises can help you to achieve a beauty of form, elegant air and graceful manners.Through a combination of ladylike exercises such as dancing and dumb-bells, you can become the envy of all ladies.Tips include:- The posture and deportment that will enhance beauty- The correct manner of curtsy and what to do with one's hands when in company- Dangerous activities to avoid, from badminton to billiardsLavishly illustrated throughout, this guide has been brought back to life so that modern ladies can exercise the Victorian way.Voices Against War: A Century of Protest
By Lyn Smith. 2009
Based on nearly 200 personal testimonies from the Imperial War Museum's Collections, this landmark book tells the stories of those…
of those who participated in anti-war protest from the First World War 1914-18 to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.Voices Against War is a compelling, emotional and very moving human story, essential for understanding war in its entirety.Amy Butler's Blossom: Create Love - Express Beauty - Be Kind
By Amy Butler. 2016
Amy Butler's Blossom magazine is a biannual collection of everything that inspires her: page after page of photographs from her…
travels to spiritual locales such as Morocco and Sedona; meditative articles from like-minded designers, artists, and life coaches; the signature designs and textiles that she creates from these inspirations; plus her ongoing exploration of positive and joyful living. Now available in print for the first time, this irresistible look-book compiles the first two issues of the magazine. Brimming with photographs, fashion, art, patterns, and written pieces that reflect Amy's unique philosophy of life and style, Blossom will capture the imagination of anyone in search of beauty and meaning.Unwinnable: Britain’s War in Afghanistan
By Theo Farrell. 2021
Afghanistan was an unwinnable war. As British and American troops withdraw, discover this definitive account that explains why. It could…
have been a very different story. British forces could have successfully withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2002, having done the job they set out to do: to defeat al-Qaeda. Instead, in the years that followed, Britain paid a devastating price for their presence in Helmand province. So why did Britain enter, and remain, in an ill-fated war? Why did it fail so dramatically, and was this expedition doomed from the beginning? Drawing on unprecedented access to military reports, government documents and senior individuals, Professor Theo Farrell provides an extraordinary work of scholarship. He explains the origins of the war, details the campaigns over the subsequent years, and examines the West's failure to understand the dynamics of local conflict and learn the lessons of history that ultimately led to devastating costs and repercussions still relevant today.'The best book so far on Britain's...war in Afghanistan' International Affairs 'Masterful, irrefutable... Farrell records all these military encounters with the irresistible pace of a novelist' Sunday TimesUnforgettable Things to do Before you Die
By Clare Jones, Steve Watkins. 2019
You only get one life. Make it a memorable one.This is the second title in an exciting international bestselling series…
of books that will help you search out essential sights and experiences around the world.In Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die, international travel writers and photographers Steve Watkins and Clare Jones draw on their years of experience to select their ultimate trips of a lifetime. This book will introduce you to a host of unusual and amazing activities to be done in fabulous destinations during a break of two weeks or less.Adventures range from searching for pearls in Tahiti, French Polynesia, and dog-sledding through the snowy landscapes of Sweden, to exploring the rainforests of Belize, and sailing down the Nile on an Egyptian felucca. For the less active explorer they offer more relaxed but equally unmissable pursuits, such as watching an opera in the ancient ruins of Verona, Italy, or wine-tasting in Bordeaux, France. Lavishly illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die is aimed at anyone looking for an inspirational experience of a lifetime.The Underworld Captain: From Gangland Goodfella To Army Officer
By Alexander Shannon, David Leslie. 2011
Alexander Shannon escaped a shady past to enjoy a glittering career in the army, only to end up back in…
the thick of criminal activity.Shannon's time as a soldier saw him posted to the Falklands, Northern Ireland and war-torn Bosnia. The rigours of army life took their toll and he found himself drawn into a series of ruthless gang wars. He used the skills he'd learned in the forces to hide weapons, work for drugs racketeers and plot a massacre, and he was offered a fortune to work as a Mafia-style contract assassin.He was questioned over brutal killings and accused of a triple murder attempt, yet his dedication and determination to succeed in the army brought him accolades and a series of promotions. In The Underworld Captain, Shannon explains how he managed to combine a successful army career with dangerous gangland dealings for so long and how he finally broke free for good.The Uncanny (Penguin Modern Classics)
By Sigmund Freud. 1953
An extraordinary collection of thematically linked essays, including THE UNCANNY, SCREEN MEMORIES and FAMILY ROMANCES.Leonardo da Vinci fascinated Freud primarily…
because he was keen to know why his personality was so incomprehensible to his contemporaries. In this probing biographical essay he deconstructs both da Vinci's character and the nature of his genius. As ever, many of his exploratory avenues lead to the subject's sexuality - why did da Vinci depict the naked human body the way hedid? What of his tendency to surround himself with handsome young boys that he took on as his pupils? Intriguing, thought-provoking and often contentious, this volume contains some of Freud's best writing.