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Boffinology: The Real Stories Behind Our Greatest Scientific Discoveries
By Justin Pollard. 2011
The history of science is often seen as a story of advancement but nothing could be further from the truth.…
Science, it is true, has progressed, but rarely in the direction intended and seldom for the reasons given. This has a lot to do with the people responsible. From the strange to the eccentric, meet Thales, credited as 'the father of science', whose only real claim to fame is that he often fell into ditches, discover how Archimedes never said Eureka and hated baths anyway and how the most lucrative ancient Greek invention was not democracy but the slot machine. Justin Pollard also fills us in on Issac Newton, who thought gravity was created by the Holy Spirit, how eleven people claimed to have invented the steam engine and why the first website was twelve foot across and made of wood.Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take On The World (Isis Series)
By Harry Thompson. 2006
'Completely brilliant' Ian HislopIt seemed a simple enough idea at the outset: to assemble a team of eleven men to…
play cricket on each of the seven continents of the globe. Except - hold on a minute - that's not a simple idea at all. And when you throw in incompetent airline officials, amorous Argentine Colonels' wives, cunning Bajan drug dealers, gay Australian waiters, overzealous American anti-terrorist police, idiot Welshmen dressed as Santa Claus, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and whole armies of pitch-invading Antarctic penguins, you quickly arrive at a whole lot more than you bargained for. Harry Thompson's hilarious book tells the story of one of those great idiotic enterprises that only an Englishman could have dreamed up, and only a bunch of Englishmen could possibly have wished to carry out.Five at the Office Christmas Party (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2017
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy are given the task of organizing the Christmas party for cousin Rupert's failing company. Join the Five as they set out to give the best office Christmas party ever, in the most traditional of fashions. Of course, true to form, things don't go quite according to plan.Things I Wish I'd Known
By Linda Green. 2010
'A really emotional twist which I was in no way expecting!' Amazon reader. From the bestselling author of While My…
Eyes Were Closed comes a poignant novel about what could have been...Claire Cooper had a teen idol back in the 80s. Except her teen idol was a bit different to everyone else's. Because he stepped out of the poster on her bedroom wall straight into her life. She thought it was going to be forever. She was wrong.When Claire discovers the '20 Years From Now' list she wrote as a teenager, she realises how far removed her life is from the one she'd imagined. Divorced, stuck in a dead-end job and dating a man who is desperate to settle down to a future she doesn't want, she decides it's time to put her life back on track. But what really happened between Claire and her teen idol all those years ago? And is meeting him again the way to make her dreams come true...or will it end up being a terrible mistake?Five Forget Mother's Day (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2017
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, The Five are keen to show Aunt Fanny how much she means to them. Join Julian, George, Dick, Anne and Timmy the dog as they try to celebrate Mother's Day with Aunt Fanny. George has past form in forgetting - not least her mum's birthday and Christmas presents - so tensions are running high even for the charged normality of their mother/daughter bond.But things go from bad to worse when Fanny comes to stay, with relations strained almost to breaking point. Can the Five save the day, and will Uncle Quentin get involved?Five Get On the Property Ladder (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2017
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy turn their attention to finding a property they can call their very own. Join the Five as they struggle to get their feet (and paws) on the first rung of the property ladder. Luckily cousin Rupert is on hand to help. But not before they've had some very exciting adventures. Who knew that it was all going to be so difficult?Five Get Beach Body Ready (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2017
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy are keen to hone their physiques ready for the summer holidays. All it will take is a bit of effort and willpower and pulling together as a team. What could possibly stand in their way? True to form, the path to the body beautiful is less straightforward than they hope!Five Get Gran Online (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2017
'What operating system does your PC run on?' 'Electricity,' said Gran. From the author of Number One Christmas bestseller, Five…
on Brexit Island, join the Five in their next hilarious adventure in this bestselling series for grown-ups! The Five go north to see their grandmother who is alone over the Easter weekend. They're shocked to find it's been so long that they don't recognise her at all. While they're there, they try to help her with her computer. They try first to fix her iTunes account, and then her internet banking - after all it's the least they can do! However everything they touch turns to dust. They end up getting her cut off from the internet, the gas and the electricity, and reduced to a World War II-style privations - that is until the toddler from next door comes in and fixes everything. They return home somewhat with their tails between their legs, only to discover that with their help Gran has learned to make videos, and has become an internet sensation.Five on Brexit Island (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2016
It is the night of the referendum and the Five have retired to Kirrin Island to enjoy the fresh air…
and sunshine, fed up with the rancour of public debate. George is firmly a 'remainer,' whilst Julian, who is in the 'Brexit' camp, is tolerated on the grounds that Anne cannot bear to go camping without him. (Timmy, largely apolitical but not keen on cats or rabbits, joins them too.)The night is tempestuous in more ways than one. George has managed to rig up a satellite link with the mainland so they can keep abreast of the news, and they sit huddled around the fire, amidst some tension, as George's initial hope that the 'remainers' will triumph proves premature . . . Meanwhile, a violent storm whips up. The damage is apparent as the new day dawns and George declares a new meaning for Brexit: Kirrin Island is exiting Britain. . . . that is until the red tape becomes too much of a challenge and their happy life together is under threat.Five Go Parenting (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Enid Blyton, Bruno Vincent. 2016
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront possibly their toughest challenge yet: parenthood. Bringing up a baby would surely be kid's play for The Five. How hard could it possibly be? When the doorbell rings one Saturday afternoon, the last thing the Five were expecting to find on their doorstep was a baby. But the Five are next of kin to Cousin Rupert and his wife, so when they find themselves in a spot of bother and are destined for a short spell behind bars, Anne, Dick, George and Anne are the first port of call. First, it's the fear and the tiredness that kicks in. They are terrified at being responsible for this new life and have no idea they're doing it right. Why is it crying? They use Dr Google constantly, who whatever the situation offers the same range of advice from 'don't worry about it' to 'rush her to the A&E'. 'Why is she crying?' they constantly ask. 'Why?' It keeps them up all night every night, until they are reduced to walking ghosts, haunted by a numb and impotent fury. Is this an adventure too far for our Five?Five Give Up the Booze (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2016
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a new challenge: give up the booze.Give up alcohol you say? Why, of course they can! Talk about an easy challenge! Five old friends set about this simple task and find all of a sudden that: the days are longer; they get to see each other for who they really are; the empty laughter of ordinary conversation is so much harder to fake. Yes, they're saving money and losing weight, but the world itself seems to take on a slow, dreary inevitability. Soon they begin to snap at each other, and then fight - until they begin to wonder, have the Five at last found the challenge that will defeat them?The perfect gift for anyone who has woken up and promised themselves that they will never drink again. Or at least until next weekend.Five Go On A Strategy Away Day (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2016
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a new challenge: what exactly is this puzzling scrape referred to as a 'strategy away day'?The Five have gone on their greatest adventure yet - to become an even better team! They are booked into an exciting hotel right next to the jolly motorway services, where the nice (if somewhat nervous and sweating and depressed) man teaches them a number of exercises that will make them work better. But wait! Who's been sneaking messages through the hotel dumb waiter about secret assignations? Is there a smuggler's plot afoot? Or is Shelly from Production shagging Postroom Luke? All will be revealed . . .Ideal for those who are allergic to corporate jargon and will throw a sickie before having to play a trust game with colleagues.Five Go Gluten Free (Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups)
By Bruno Vincent. 2016
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans.…
Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a new challenge: is it possible to get a good gluten-free cream tea?Julian, Anne, Dick, George and Timmy are all feeling really rather rum, and it's been going on for days. Nothing seems to work, and with their doctors mystified, they're driven to trying out various expedients to cure themselves. Julian goes online to self-diagnose that he's got pancreatic cancer, bird flu and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Anne decides that the old methods are the best and decides to have herself exorcised - which proves to be an awful lot of bother for everyone, and such a mess. Dick goes to a witch-doctor who calls himself a 'homeopath' ('sounds only one short of sociopath, Dick!') but it's George who discovers they need to go on an exclusion diet, so they enter a world of hard-to-find, maddeningly expensive specialist foods . . .Just perfect for anyone who likes Deliciously Ella, Amelia Freer and the Naturalista - as well as any reluctant partners who are begrudgingly spiralising courgettes for dinner.Just Haven't Met You Yet
By Cate Woods. 2016
A riotous romantic comedy with a magnificent twist. Perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Paige Toon and Lucy Diamond. Percy…
James has everything a girl could want: a comfy flat, a steady relationship and a truly lovely group of friends. Then she is approached by Eros Tech. Eros is 'the future of love' - an agency that brings together soulmates using phone data. Percy has been identified as a match for one of Eros's super wealthy clients. The only problem is she already has a boyfriend . . . but what if this is *destiny*? Would you - could you - pass up a chance to meet your one true love?Grumpy Old Workers: The Official Handbook
By Stuart Prebble. 2007
'I owe, I owe, so off to work we go.' A Grumpy perspective on the daily grind.Whether we are celebrity…
chef or hapless waiter, engineer or oily rag, commissioning editor or TV producer, all of us have a whole daily wagon-load of s**t to deal with in the name of work. From boardroom to boredom, from 'what's the point?' to Powerpoint, from 9 to 5 to P45. And that's what this new book from uber-grump Stuart Prebble is all about; the utter everyday relentless crapulence of working for 'the man', or indeed 'the woman'. The workplace is a piece of cake for someone of his curmudgeonly quality. It's not possible in a book of this size to include ALL the grumps arising from the working day - the office politics, the shortcomings of IT, the interminable meetings and some of your colleagues' weirder habits, but he is giving it a go. Grumpy? I'll say we are ...The Secret Diary of a Grumpy Old Woman: Aka A Year In Big Knickers
By Judith Holder. 2006
The highly successful Grumpy Old Woman returns - and this time she's even grumpier!'It feels like only yesterday I was…
the youngest person in the room, I had my whole life in front of me. I had time to burn, I spent my whole day snogging boys and backcombing my hair. I was a young thing, with a lovely body, life was fun, and I hadn't a care in the world. Now - it feels like two minutes later - I'm a little bit old. OK, I'm not in elasticated stockings or on Meals on Wheels whizzing down the stairs on my stairlift, but my life is more than half over. I've been there, done that, got the packamac. I'm so old that I remember dances with drum solos, the arrival of unisex hairdressers and had a crush on Ilya Kuryakin. I am up at the top of the hill, and over the other side again. What all this means, is that I am grumpy. But I've earnt it... I lived through Boney M and leg warmers and the Crossroads Motel.Obviously in a book this size I wouldn't be able to share with you ALL of my grumps. But I've decided to write down some of the secret thoughts that beset a woman of a certain age, some of the wicked things that occur to a woman who takes a lot of things to the dry cleaners, has to have her roots done every four weeks and finds it hard to wear high heels. And guess what: they still fancy people, still have silly little crushes on people at work, still - shock horror - have sex. You will discover that women of a certain age are just as provocative and turned on as women in their twenties. Probably more so. So get over it. Middle-aged women are sexy, funny and infinitely lovable. They are also taking over the world.'Grumpy Old Holidays: The Official Handbook
By Judith Holder. 2007
Welcome on board - holidays the Grumpy way!As every Grumpy Old Man and Woman knows, holidays are another way of…
keeping you all house-trained. They are civilised society's reminder to you that the tedium of everyday life is actually preferable to a fortnight spent in the company of nagging partners, other people's brats, bombastic in-laws; and - worse still - people who can't speak English. As soon as you check in at the airport you are marooned in a sea of screaming babies, dull-faced reps and bland airport food. Count yourself lucky if your optimistic expectation of a good holiday is even remotely fulfilled. Don't be fooled by the glamorous air-brushed photos of American models with tippexed teeth sitting by laguna pools, cocktail in hand. There may be beautiful sunsets by the beach in the brochure, but you'll inevitably find that a) you should have booked the neighbouring hotel (and if you're lucky she'll tell you so, 'ad nauseam') b) you picked the rainy/religious holiday/mosquito/plague infestation season - and wonder why it was so cheap and c) you'll have had too much sex or food by the third or fourth day and be bored of each other, but there's no-one else to talk to, apart from monosyllabic waiting staff and the ubiquitous Russians. A holiday is supposed to be a lovely break, isn't it? This book proves that it is the stay-at-homes who have all the fun.The Sweet Life: Ida Leclair's Guide To Love And Marriage
By Susan Poulin. 2016
Susan Poulin, the "funniest woman in Maine," is back from Finding Your Inner Moose to show us all how to…
keep all our relationships sweet, simple, and easy. In The Sweet Life, Poulin (through her popular alter-ego and stage character Ida LeClair) offers a fresh view on love, marriage, and dating through a combination of sassy stories and serious advice. Whip-smart yet down-to-earth, the book strikes the perfect balance between humorous and heartfelt. Reading The Sweet Life feels like talking to an old friend--one with great advice, plenty of experience, and a few great recipes to boot.The Retronaut Guide to Raising Children: The Past Like You Wouldn't Believe
By Chris Wild. 2016
The highly successful Retronaut blog looks at the past as it has never been looked at before. Here, in the…
second of a new series of Retronaut books, the site's founder, Wolfgang Wild, brings you a thought-provoking collection of photographs from our hidden history. Often witty and entertaining, but also thought-provoking and at times puzzling, the images are chosen to shift our perceptions, making us think-and look again. Discover what our ancestors considered to be good parenting in the days before the 'care' was put into childcare, from dangerous sports to the best brand of cigarette for your baby. A perfectly reassuring gift for today's new parent, this book will also appeal to anyone who likes pictures of babies in sunglasses.A Moose and a Lobster Walk into a Bar: Tales From Maine
By John Mcdonald. 2002
Classic stories, stretched truths and wry observations of life in the Pine Tree State by columnist and professional storyteller John…
McDonald. A Moose and a Lobster Walk Into a Bar is a wonderful mix of classic Maine storytelling, stretched truths and wry observations made by John McDonald during his many travels through the Pine Tree State. In this collection of essays and stories, John extols the important economic power of Maine's Yard Sale Industry, bemoans that Massachusetts, still upset because it allowed Maine to become a state in 1820, is buying it back one house at a time and relates how the state's infamous black fly was really just an attempt at controlling tourists gone haywire. You will also meet Maine characters like Uncle Abner, Merrill Minzey and Hollis Eaton, and find yourself pondering just where the truth ends and the story begins.