A tale of murder and literary ambition set on an American university campus from a master of the dark side of human nature
It's been over a decade since Robert Pendleton published his brilliant short story debut, and his hopes for a dazzling literary career now lie in tatters. Hanging on to his tenure in literature at Bannockburn college by the slimmest of threads, Pendleton's simmering despair boils over with the arrival on campus of his one-time friend, now nemesis, the bestselling author and king of the coffee-table book, David Horowitz.
For Pendleton, death seems to be the only remaining option, but his attempt to kill himself is wrecked by the intervention of Adi Wiltshire, a graduate student battling her own demons of failure and thwarted ambition. Whilst Pendleton recovers from his suicide attempt, Adi discovers a novel hidden in his basement: a brilliant, bitter story with a gruesome murder at its core.
The publication of Scream causes a storm of publicity, a whirlwind into which Adi and Horowitz are thrust - along with the sister of a young girl whose real-life, unsolved murder bears an uncanny resemblance to the crime in Pendleton's novel and a burnt-out cop with secrets of his own, who is determined to prove that in this case fact and fiction are one and the same.
THE FOURTH VOLUME OF MICHAEL PALIN'S BESTSELLING DIARIES
A new millennium, and a new chapter for Michael Palin unfolds. With a Hemingway travel project testing his confidence, doubts creeping in about his abilities as a writer, the death of his great friend George Harrison and the last of his children leaving home, the dawn of the twenty-first century sees Michael at his most reflective yet. ?
Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from?the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy that have endeared millions of fans to him over the decades, Michael documents the day-to-day detail of living in a world buffeted by such powerful winds of change.?
And amidst this turbulence, one thing remains constant: Michael's irrepressible curiosity and thirst for adventure. These diaries follow his life as he comes and goes through the filming of four blockbuster travel documentaries - Hemingway Adventure, Sahara, Himalaya and New Europe - and reaches the peak of his fame as a beloved TV traveller. And five years on from the last of his children flying the nest, Michael embarks on his greatest adventure yet: becoming a besotted grandfather.?
There and Back is a new window into the world of Michael Palin, one that sees him navigating the question of just how much of himself to share with the public as he prepares to publish the first volume of what were to become his bestselling diaries. It reveals more than ever the strength and succour he draws from those ever-present supporting structures in his life: his family, his friendships and, of course, the Pythons.
'Coveney is the only writer who could get under Smith's skin, capturing her steeliness and vulnerability' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
From her days as a star of West End comedy and revue, Dame Maggie's path has led to international renown and numerous accolades including two Academy Awards. Recently she has been as prominent on our screens as ever, with high-profile roles as the formidable Dowager Countess of Grantham in DOWNTON ABBEY, as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the HARRY POTTER movie franchise and as the eccentric Miss Shepherd in the film version of THE LADY IN THE VAN by Alan Bennett.
Paradoxically she remains an enigmatic figure, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Drawing on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends, Michael Coveney's biography is a captivating portrait of the real Maggie Smith.
'Even if you've never picked up a weight, Stronger is for you' - Arnold Schwarzenegger
No matter how you think of yourself - strong or weak, large or small - you are substantially made of muscle. To the last day of your life, your ability to stand and go where you want to go, your agency and effectiveness in the world, will depend on it. But what is muscle?
From the battlefields of Homer's Iliad, where muscles first entered world literature, to the Victorian-era gymnasiums where women built strength and muscle by lifting heavy weights, to a retirement home in Boston, where a young doctor discovered that training at high intensity can produce the same relative gains for frail ninety-year-olds as for thirty-year-olds, Stronger places the science and significance of our muscles in an astonishing new light.
Ancient binaries of brain versus brawn created an enduring prejudice against muscle, and against the type of exercise that best builds strength. Yet the research proves that weight training can help prevent or treat many chronic diseases and disabilities throughout life, including depression, cancer, and diabetes. All of us, from elite powerlifters to people who have never played sports at all, can learn to lift weights in ways that yield life's ultimate prize: the ability to act in the world.
The autobiography of West Indies fast-bowling legend turned Sky pundit, Michael Holding, author of the award-winning Why We Kneel, How We Rise
As one of the fastest bowlers the world has seen, Michael Holding went by the haunting nickname 'Whispering Death', claiming 249 Test wickets. Despite having not laced his bowling boots since 1989, it remains a fitting sobriquet. As a commentator and administrator, Holding has delivered his views on cricket in the same manner that he played the game: he speaks softly with a rich Jamaican rhythm and is calculated in either criticism or compliment. NO HOLDING BACK charts his effortless transition from one of the great players to one of the great pundits.
Holding graphically describes his days as a player, looking back at how he tried to deliberately hurt batsmen on the wastelands of Kingston, and his first match for Jamaica when he almost collapsed from exhaustion - after only four overs! There is time, too, to divulge what it was like to tour with the West Indies, and unmissable insights about sharing a dressing room with other legends of the game like Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall.
Holding does not shirk the big issues, as he discusses how the West Indies have slipped following their halcyon days, openly assesses Brian Lara and laments the hypocrisy over the state of the game in the region. The controversy surrounding the Allen Stanford $20m spectacle, the ICC's handling of the abandoned England v Pakistan match, player power, illegal bowling actions and the threat of Twenty20 to the Test game are all subjects which Holding tackles with characteristic knowledge and class.
A winning combination of No.1 travel writer Michael Palin and one of the great literary figures of the century.
When Michael Palin was researching for his novel HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR his interest was stimulated by Hemingway's appetite for travel and 'Papa's' evocations of the places he knew. Hemingway remains a compelling figure, and Palin's goal was to revisit Hemingway's world.
This book includes the American West ('wide lawns and narrow minds'), Idaho, Michigan ('fly fishing, hunting'), Europe in the First World (where Hemingway was wounded serving in the Ambulance Brigade), Cuba (where Hemingway wrote FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS), Paris in the Roaring Twenties and Spain during the Spanish Civil War, Sun Valley and Key West - where the Hemingway lookalike competition is an annual event.
The fascinating and insightful biography of one of the most intriguing, thoughtful and controversial figures of the 19th century.
'Growth is the only evidence of life' - so said poet, academic and theologian John Henry, Cardinal Newman. Canonised in 2019 (despite having said 'I have nothing of the saint about me'), Newman was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of the 19th century.
This highly lyrical and accomplished biography not only covers his religious life (he played a vital role in the Oxford Movement, and subsequently converted to Catholicism), but also places him in the context of 19th-century religious revival and changing attitudes. In addition to his sometimes controversial teachings, Cardinal Newman was also a poet who wrote the text of Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius and was responsible for the foundation of the Oratorian Order in England.
Michael Ffinch shows an unusual insight into Newman's character, finding an unexpected warmth and humour in a man often thought of as cold and austere. This fascinating biography also shows a deep understanding of a church emerging from dark centuries of persecution and misunderstanding into the light of what Newman himself chose to call 'The Second Spring'.
The third volume of Michael Palin's celebrated diaries.
TRAVELLING TO WORK is a roller-coaster ride driven by the Palin hallmarks of curiosity and sense of adventure. Michael was not the BBC's first choice for the travel series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, but after its success, the public naturally wanted more.
Palin, however, had other plans. There was his film AMERICAN FRIENDS, a role in Alan Bleasdale's award-winning drama GBH, the staging of his West End play THE WEEKEND, a first novel, HEMINGWAY'S CHAIR, and a lead role in FIERCE CREATURES. He did find time for two more travel series, POLE TO POLE in 1991 and FULL CIRCLE in 1996, and wrote two bestselling books to accompany them. These ten years in different directions offer riches on every page.
No. 1 bestseller and superstar doing what he does best, introducing millions of avid readers to little-known peoples and places.
Until the early 1990s, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, travelling behind the iron curtain was never easy. In undertaking his new journey through Eastern Europe, breathing in its rich history, and exquisite sights and talking to its diverse peoples, Michael fills what has been a void in his own experience and that of very many others.
NEW EUROPE is very much a voyage of discovery, from the snows of the Julian Alps to the beauty of the Baltic sea, he finds himself in countries he'd barely heard of, many unfamiliar and mysterious, all with tragic histories and much brighter futures.
During his 20-country adventure Palin meets Romanian lumberjacks, drives the 8.58 stopping train from Poznan to Wolsztyn, treads the catwalk at a Budapest fashion show, learns about mine-clearing in Bosnia and watches Turkish gents wrestling in olive oil.
As with all his bestselling books, in his uniquely entertaining style, Palin opens up a new and undiscovered world to millions of readers.
Michael Palin's bestselling diaries before, during and after Monty Python.
Michael Palin's diaries begin when he was newly married and struggling to make a name for himself in the world of television comedy. But Monty Python was just around the corner . . .
Enjoying an unlikely cult status early on, the Pythons then proceeded to tour the USA and Canada. As their popularity grew, so Palin relates how the group went their separate ways, later to re-form for stage shows and the celebrated films THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN. Living through the three-day week and the miners strike, and all the trials of a peripatetic life are also essential ingredients of these perceptive and funny diaries.
Michael Palin's superb No. 1 bestseller about his incredible voyage across the Sahara.
Michael Palin's epic voyages have seen him circumnavigate the globe, travel from the North to the South Pole and circle the countries of the Pacific Ocean, but this was perhaps the greatest challenge yet: to cross the vast and merciless Sahara desert.
As the journey unfolds, the Sahara reveals not the emptiness of endless sand dunes, but a huge and diverse range of cultures and landscapes and a long history of commerce and conquest stretching from the time of the ancient Egyptians to the oil-rich Islamic republics of today.
On his way, he encounters dangers such as camel stew, being run over by the Paris-Dakar rally and Dakar nightlife, as well as returning to the original spot where THE LIFE OF BRIAN was filmed.
Michael Palin's bestselling diaries of the 1980s.
After a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, The Pythons made their last performance together in 1983 in the hugely successful MONTY PYTHON'S MEANING OF LIFE. Writing and acting in films and television then took over much of Michael's life, culminating in the smash hit A FISH CALLED WANDA (for which he won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor), and the first of his seven celebrated television journeys for the BBC. He co-produced, wrote and played the lead in THE MISSIONARY opposite Maggie Smith, who also appeared with him in A PRIVATE FUNCTION, written by Alan Bennett.
Such was his fame in the US, he was enticed into once again hosting the enormously popular show Saturday Night Live, in one edition of which his mother makes a highly successful surprise guest appearance. He filmed several journeys for television and became chairman of the pressure group, Transport 2000. His family remains a constant as his and Helen's children enter their teens.
Michael Palin, the No.1 bestselling author, explores an exotic country that is now a global superpower.
Brazil is one of the four new global super powers with its vast natural resources and burgeoning industries. Half a continent in size and a potent mix of races, religions and cultures, of unexplored wildernesses and bustling modern cities, it is also one of the few countries Michael Palin has never fully travelled. His timely book and series take a closer look at a remarkable new force on the world scene.
From the Venezuelan border and the forests of the Lost World, where he encounters the Yanomami tribe and their ongoing territorial war with the gold miners, Michael Palin explores this vast and disparate nation in his inimitable way. He journeys into the heart of the Amazon rainforest. He travels down the north-east coast to meet the descendants of African slaves with their vibrant culture of rituals, festivals and music. He visits the shanty towns of Rio and the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. He goes to Sao Paolo, where the rich commute by helicopter. He travels south to meet German and Japanese communities, meets supermodels in the making and wealthy gauchos in the Pantanal before ending his journey at the spectacular Iguaçu Falls.
'A fascinating and challenging story' New York Review of Books
'This is an incredibly absorbing and insightful book about the most important scientific question of our age' Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters
'The story of the quest to understand life's genesis is a universal one, in which everyone can find pleasure and fascination. By asking how life came to be, we are implicitly asking why we are here, whether life exists on other planets, and what it means to be alive. This book is the story of a group of fragile, flawed humans who chose to wrestle with these questions. By exploring the origin of life, we can catch a glimpse of the infinite.'
How did life begin? Why are we here? These are some of the most profound questions we can ask.
For almost a century, a small band of eccentric scientists has struggled to answer these questions and explain one of the greatest mysteries of all: how and why life began on Earth. There are many different proposals, and each idea has attracted passionate believers who promote it with an almost religious fervour, as well as detractors who reject it with equal passion.
But the quest to unravel life's genesis is not just a story of big ideas. It is also a compelling human story, rich in personalities, conflicts, and surprising twists and turns. Along the way the journey takes in some of the greatest discoveries in modern biology, from evolution and cells to DNA and life's family tree. It is also a search whose end may finally be in sight.
In The Genesis Quest, Michael Marshall shows how the quest to understand life's beginning is also a journey to discover the true nature of life, and by extension our place in the universe.
Michael Palin's terrific account of his journey through 18 countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, published by Phoenix for the first time.
For almost a year, Michael Palin travelled through 18 countries on the perimeter of the world's largest ocean, in a spectacular journey of contrasts, drama and beauty.
From head-hunters in Borneo to a meal of maggots in Mexico, his route takes him to some of the most politically volatile and physically demanding places on Earth. Whether climbing the Exalted Mountains in China, dodging icebergs in Chile, or being taken short on the banks of the Amazon, Michael Palin paints a vivid picture of the people and places around him.
'It was a journey of dazzling surprises and jarring extremes. Beauty and ugliness, sophistication and squalor, unceasing urban noise and monastic tranquility ... This is a record of a year of wonder' Michael Palin.
Tennyson was one of the true great Victorian poets - much of his work is known throughout the world:
'Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die'
'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'
His genius is expressed through the precision and delicacy of the language of his lyrical poems. Some of his words were engraved in the 2012 Olympic village and his early poetry was a major influence on and inspiration for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Tennyson initially declined a baronetcy - indeed, he wrote a substantial amount of unoffical political poetry. To this day, he remains one of Britain's most popular poets.
'No man ever got very high by pulling other people down... Don't knock your friends. Don't knock your enemies. Don't knock yourself' Tennyson
'An excellent and important work' Literary Review
'Anyone concerned about how the bear will respond will find this historically informative account an accessible and stimulating guide' Sunday Express
'Putin and the Rise of Russia is a privileged insider's account of the Russian enigma at first hand. It's the best kind of political journalism' Observer
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the world was left wondering about its destiny. Russia is still an enormous power with a population exceeding 140 million, immense military resources and giant energy reserves - in short, a vast land full of promise and opportunity.
Russia has the potential to be a force of stability or a force of turmoil, but when it comes to global affairs, can she be persuaded to join the world order?
Professor Stuermer's authoritative and timely account considers a Russia going through a defining phase after the departure of Vladimir Putin. History is on the move: we face an open and challenging future in which Russia, for better or for worse, will play a key role.
No.1 bestseller Michael Palin's epic journey from the North Pole to the South Pole.
'The cracked and fissured ice-pack offers no comfortable reassurance - no glimmer of any reward to the traveller who has made his way to the top of the world. The Arctic Ocean, known to the Victorians as the Sea of Ancient Ice, stares balefully back as we descend towards it, reflecting nothing but the question: Why?'
Michael Palin's adventure begins when he is enrolled in the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society...
Travelling by train, truck, raft, Ski-Doo, barge, balloon and bicycle, Michael Palin experiences every extreme the world has to offer. Braving the cold grip of the Arctic Circle, and the swirling snowstorms of Spitsbergen, Palin has to cope with friendly locals, occasional gunfire and his own unruly digestive system before he can finally stand in Scott's shoes at the South Pole, in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
A novel of maturity and rare beauty - by an author shortlisted for the 2000 Booker Prize.
Liam, a fallen angel with a bad track record, has arrived in America through the back door, an illegal immigrant stuck with the worst kind of job and a reputation for trouble. Forced on the run, he links up with another fallen star, a beautiful, pregnant girl called Angel. Hampered, yet spurred on, by Angel's lowlife boyfriend, Liam finds the wide open spaces bring him a freedom not advertised by the immigration brokers back home, and the chance to run towards the life he had always dreamed of.
Michael Collins writes with his characteristic rawness and anger about the Irish in '80s America. He brings a new poignancy to our understanding of the emigrant experience and of the loneliness of not belonging.
The true story of the most famous SAS operation in history.
'Bravo Two Zero' was the code-name of the famous SAS operation: a classic story of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. BRAVO TWO ZERO by patrol commander 'Andy McNab' became an international bestseller, as did the book by 'Chris Ryan' (THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY). Both men became millionaires. Three members of the patrol were killed. One, veteran sergeant Vince Phillips, was blamed in both books for a succession of mistakes.
As Michael Asher reveals, the stories in BRAVO TWO ZERO and THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY grew considerably in the telling. Their heroic tales of taking out tanks with their rocket launchers, mowing down hundreds of Iraqi soldiers, the silent stabbing of the occasional sentry, were never mentioned at their post-war debriefings... In an investigation literally in the footsteps of the patrol, Michael Asher tells the true story.
In Lives Between the Lines, Michael Vatikiotis traces the journey of his Greek and Italian forebears from Tuscany, Crete, Hydra and Rhodes, as they made their way to Egypt and the coast of Palestine in search of opportunity. In the process, he reveals a period where the Middle East was a place of ethnic and cultural harmony - where Arabs and Jews rubbed shoulders in bazaars and teashops, intermarried and shared family history.
While lines were eventually drawn and people, including Vatikiotis's family, found themselves caught between clashing faiths, contested identities and violent conflict, this intimate and sweeping memoir is a paean to tolerance, offering a nuanced understanding of the lost Levant.
Why are Southeast Asia's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia, and China's growing influence, affect the region and the rest of the world?
Thought-provoking and eye-opening, Blood and Silk is an accessible, personal look at modern Southeast Asia, written by one of the region's most experienced outside observers. This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace, and understand the reasons behind endemic violence.
Michael Palin tackles the full length of the Himalaya in this terrific number one bestseller.
Having risen to the challenge of seas, poles, dhows and deserts, the highest mountains in the world were a natural target for Michael Palin. In a journey rarely, if ever, attempted before, in 6 months of hard travelling Palin takes on the full length of the Himalaya including the Khyber Pass, the hidden valleys of the Hindu Kush, ancient cities like Peshawar and Lahore, the mighty peaks of K2, Annapurna and Everest, the gorges of the Yangtze, the tribal lands of the Indo-Burmese border and the vast Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh.
Facing altitudes as high as 17,500 feet as well as some of the world's deepest gorges, Palin also passed through political flashpoints like Pakistan's remote north-west frontier, terrorist-torn Kashmir and the mountains of Nagaland, only recently open to visitors.
Is the truth really what we make it?
From the inimitable Michael Palin, a warm and intelligent novel about good intentions and human frailty.
'A feel-good story leaving the reader on a real high' OBSERVER
Keith Mabbut has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime - to pen the biography of the elusive Hamish Melville, a highly influential activist and humanitarian. Feeling that his life has reached a crossroad, he seizes the chance to write something meaningful.
His search to find out the real story behind the legend takes Mabbut to the lush landscapes and environmental hotspots of India. The more he discovers about Melville, the more he admires him - and the more he connects with an idealist who wanted to make a difference. But is his quarry really who he claims to be? As Keith discovers, the truth can be whatever we make it...
'THE TRUTH is the perfect example of [Palin's] literary brilliance' STYLIST
'An ingeniously plotted book, beautifully written and hugely enjoyable' DAILY TELEGRAPH
