Publication date Thursday, May 23, 2024 Price £16.99 ISBN-13 9781800961982
Description A small number of people, motivated by an insatiable greed for power and wealth, and backed by a pinstripe army of enablers (and sometimes real armies too), have driven the world to the brink of destruction. They are the super-villains of corruption and war, some with a power greater than nation state and the capacity to derail the world order. Propping up their opulent lifestyles is a mess of crime, violence and deception on a monumental scale. But there is a fightback: small but fearless groups of brilliant undercover sleuths closing in on them, one step at a time.
In Terrible Humans, Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and the author of Very Bad People, introduces us to some of the world’s worst warlords, grifters and kleptocrats who can be found everywhere from presidential palaces to the board rooms of some of the world’s best known companies. Pitted against them, the book also follows the people unravelling the deals, tracking the money and going undercover at great risk. From the oligarch charged with ordering the killing of an investigative journalist to the mercenary army seizing the natural resources of an entire African country, this is a whirlwind tour of the dark underbelly of the world’s super powerful and wickedly wealthy, and the daring investigators dragging them into the light.
Thanks to Anne Cater for organising this tour. My copy did not from the publisher did not arrive, so I bought myself one. I’m not a fan or the author. their TV shows, or anything like that, I’m interested in both wildlife and Cornwall, since my mum’s maternal family and my step-Dad are Devon and Cornwall (unlike Stitfall who is a blow-in from Essex).
I’ve been a bit of a spotter since I was a kid, but I was never any good at it. I used to enjoy taking my little Osbourne books of birds and coastal life out with me on hikes with my dad and the local walking club, but haven’t really done much since I was 14. I do like to sit in the garden, or allotment, and bird watch. We have a new ecology group at work too, so I’m picking up bits of insect information. Again, I’m not very good at it. I need more practice.
Sorry if I sound grumpy today, I’m in pain. Because of this book. I read an awful lot of my copy on Tuesday, and enthused by the writing, decided to take a walk along the coast near here. The Humber is a SSSI designated area. I walked from the main drag of the Prom to the sand dunes by the swimming pool and then along the paths through the sea grass meadows. They’ve become much more extensive in the last twenty years. the area that used to be beach, on the other side of the swimming pool has changed immensely, with a much more varied habitat of dunes and salt marsh. I kept to the paths, but they got a bit wobbly once I got to the marsh adjacent to Meridian Point and I fell twice trying to cross from the path to the sea wall. got covered in mud. Which, to be honest, is nothing new. I have a cut on my right knee and my left hip is registering its disapproval quite vociferously. I did make it to a bus though and home, so it’s all good.
I saw a heron, and lots of crows and magpies. I think. I didn’t get bitten by anything, which is practically a miracle in itself, and I had a paddle in the water. I took photos of various plants and birds and at some point I’ll attempt to identify them.
Back to the book review.
I enjoyed the writing style, straightforward and descriptive, shading into poetic at times. I loved the photography. It really enthused me about going out and appreciating the local nature (the ‘wild life’ is a different matter altogether – Newquay misbehaviour ain’t got nothing on Cleethorpes in the early hours of a summer Saturday). This book is a celebratory and entertaining trip through the natural calendar of Cornwall, written by someone with a genuine love of wildlife and an ethical approach to nature photography. I recommend it to people who want to see what’s living in their area, if they live in Cornwall or are visiting at any time of year.
Also, my step-Dad tells a fantastic story about Seal Island near St. Ives, involving a boatload of American tourists and an inflatable seal.
Publication date Thursday, April 25, 2024 Price £20.00 EAN\ISBN-13 9781800961760
Description
How do you see Britain?
That might depend on your point of view, and as long time British foreign correspondent, Michael Peel has come to understand, it can look very different from outside. It’s tempting to think of the UK as a fundamentally stable and successful nation. But events of the past few years, from Brexit to exposés of imperial history, have begun to spark fierce public debates about whether that is true. Is Britain, just a marginal northern European island nation, marked by injustices, corruption and with a bloody history of slavery, repression and looting?
And yet UK politics, media, and public opinion live constantly in the shadow of old myths, Second World War era nostalgia, and a belief in supposedly core British values of tolerance, decency and fair play. British politicians regularly exploit a damaging complacency that holds that everything will turn out okay, because, in Britain, it always does.
In WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT BRITAIN, Michael Peel digs into the national consciousness with the perspective of distance to pull apart the ways in which we British have become unmoored from crucial truths about ourselves. He shows us that from many perspectives we are no different from other countries whose own national delusions have seen them succumb to abuses of power, increased poverty and divisive conflict. The battle over Britain’s narrative is the struggle for its future and its place in the world.
So, how do we escape the trick mirror – and see ourselves as we really are?
Publication date Thursday, March 28, 2024 Price £18.99 EAN\ISBN-13 9781800961395 Hardback 288 pages
Description
To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical girl, with a normal family, living an ordinary life. But inside, Emily does not feel typical, and the older she gets, the more she realises that she is different. As she finally discovers when she is 16, Emily is autistic. Girl Unmasked is the extraordinary story of how she got there – and how she very nearly didn’t.
Still only 21, Emily writes with startling candour about the years leading up to her diagnosis. How books and imagination became her refuge as she sought to escape the increasing anxiety and unbearable stresses of school life; how her OCD almost destroyed her; how a system which did not understand autism let her down; and how she came so close to the edge that she and her family thought she would never survive.
In this simple but powerful memoir, we see how family and friends became her lifeline and how, post-diagnosis, Emily came to understand her authentic self and begin to turn her life around, eventually becoming a mental health nurse with a desire to help others where she herself had once been failed.
Ultimately uplifting, Girl Unmasked is a remarkable insight into what it can be like to be autistic – and shows us that through understanding and embracing difference we can all find ways to thrive.
Publication date Thursday, February 29, 2024 Price £22.00 EAN\ISBN-13 9781804191002
Description
Making dinner from scratch can feel like a chore – often half the battle is trying to find something that’s quick, nutritious and, most importantly, delicious. But delicious doesn’t have to mean demanding.
After their debut book, Sunday Times bestseller It’s All About Dinner, Kitchen Sanctuary is back – this time focusing on quick and easy meals, all made in 30 minutes or less!
With chapters such as Champion Chicken; Moreish Meat; Fantastic Fish; Vitally Veggie; Perfect Pasta; Rice, Noodles, Grains and Bread; Snack Suppers; Super Sauces – as well as a section dedicated to Smart Shortcuts containing Nicky’s top tips for speeding up dinner – you’ll be able to whip up a range of fabulous meals for the whole family, every day of the week, no matter how little time you have.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 