Michael O'Mara

Published in association with the Imperial War Museums, this book will provide the ultimate challenge to even the most knowledgeable military historian.

You might think you know a great deal about World War II but have you ever really tested your knowledge? This compelling book, published in association with Imperial War Museums, contains over 1,000 questions (and answers, if you need them) that cover every aspect of the Second World War, from its beginnings, though the widening of the conflict, the leaders and their strategies, armies, battles, weapons, bombing raids — everything to provide a real challenge to even the most committed history lover.

With multiple-choice questions, truth or fiction sections to baffle and intrigue, picture quizzes from the Imperial War Museums' archive — one of the largest military photographic archives in the world — and much more, you will find there is still something new to learn about this compelling conflict, and your answers will be ranked accordingly.

In this warm and engaging book, the late, great Sir Roger Moore reflects on life and ageing.

Delivered, along with his own hand-drawn sketches, to his publisher shortly before he passed away, in À Bientôt, Roger looks back on his life – and gives it his trademark sideways glance, too. Nostalgic, funny, charming and, most importantly, very human, his reflections on age and ageing encompass all aspects of this universal experience, from reminiscences on childhood and ‘what might have been’; keeping abreast of the ever-changing times; senior moments, memory and getting to grips with technology; the joys – and frustrations – of travel; work and play. Along with these he tells of the intense happiness – and some equally intense sadnesses – of family life.

Featuring his own sketches throughout, this book sees Roger at his most open and forthright. The true stories and situations he shares in this warm and intimate book reveal a ‘Bond Unbound’, the human being inside the action-adventure character that made him so famous the world over. Always upbeat and – as ever – endearingly self-effacing and unpretentious, in À bientôt he shares the joys he experienced every day along with the tiny triumphs that life brings to us all at the most unexpected times.

Sunday Times bestselling author Caroline Taggart brings her usual gently humorous approach to punctuation, pointing out what really matters and what doesn’t.

In Roman times, blocks of text were commonly written just as blocks without even wordspacingnevermindpunctuation to help the reader to interpret them. Orators using such texts as notes for a speech would prepare carefully so that they were familiar with the content and didn’t come a cropper over a confusion between, say, therapists and the rapists. As we entered the Christian era and sacred texts were widely read (by priests if not by the rest of us), it became ever more important to remove any likelihood of misinterpretation. To a potential murderer or adulterer, for example, there is a world of difference between ‘If you are tempted, yield not, resisting the urge to commit a sin’ and ‘If you are tempted, yield, not resisting the urge to commit a sin’. And the only surface difference is the positioning of a comma.

So yes, you SMS-addicts and ‘let it all hang out’ Sixties children, punctuation does matter. And, contrary to what people who tear their hair out over apostrophes believe, it is there to help – to clarify meaning, to convey emphasis, to indicate that you are asking a question or quoting someone else’s words. It also comes in handy for telling your reader when to pause for breath.

Caroline Taggart, who has made a name for herself expounding on the subjects of grammar, usage and words generally (and who for decades made her living putting in the commas in other people’s work), takes her usual gentle and gently humorous approach to punctuation. She points out what matters and what doesn’t; why using six exclamation marks where one will do is perfectly OK in a text but will lose you marks at school; why hang glider pilots in training really need a hyphen; and how throwing in the odd semicolon will impress your friends. Sometimes opinionated but never dogmatic, she is an ideal guide to the (perceived) minefield that is punctuation.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, OM, GBE has been at the forefront of British public life since he married Princess Elizabeth in 1947.

In the seventy years since, his wit (and the occasional ‘gaffe’) has continued to endear him to the nation, as he travelled the world taking his unique and charmingly British sense of humour to its far-flung corners. Hailed as a god by a tribe in Vanuatu, the Prince has had his fair share of brickbats from the media nearer home, but his outspokenness never fails to raise laughs – and eyebrows.

From notorious one-liners to less newsworthy witticisms and from plain speaking to blunt indifference, the Prince does what we all wish we could do now and again – forgets polite conversation and says what he thinks. In the year in which the Prince has stepped down from his royal duties, this joyous and timely book celebrates his wry humour and supremely wicked wit.

Ariana Grande captured the hearts of a nation with her One Love Manchester concert.

Less than a fortnight after a terrorist killed twenty-two people at her Manchester show, the petite princess stood tall at her tribute concert that united and healed a shaken nation. She was the emotional core of a powerful evening that reminded us all of music’s redemptive power.

But who is Ariana Grande? This candid book traces the US pop star’s story from her childhood in Florida, through her teenage years on Broadway and Nickelodeon, and onto her gleaming pop career which has seen her described as ‘the new Mariah Carey’.

This unauthorized biography of the songbird tells her eventful and inspirational story in full for the first time, and shows how she became an award-winning, chart-topping pop idol, as well as an empowering inspiration for a generation of girls.

It reveals that there is more to Ariana than the celebrity we all think we know, explaining how her smooth transition from a squeaky-clean teenage pop product to a sophisticated, bold artist was powered by a restless and resilient personality.

A must read for all her fans, this is a full, unflinching portrait of a pop sensation and inspiring, uncompromising woman – the small, sassy girl with the ponytail who conquered the world.

Published in association with Imperial War Museums, this is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines of the Second World War.

The Spitfire is the world’s most iconic aeroplane. Coming into its own during the Battle of Britain, it became famous during the Second World War as the only plane that could match the enemy fighters in the sky.

Yet, even today, the history of the Spitfire contains many hitherto hidden or little-known stories of the men and women behind the plane; not only the gifted creators and inventors who brought the Spitfire to life, or the brave fighter pilots from many countries who triumphed in battle, but also the thousands of other people whose lives were affected by their personal connection to it — engineers, ground crew, factory or office workers, and their families.

Spitfire Stories recounts the memories and stories of these people, from the birth of the Spitfire in the 1930s to the present day. Among these accounts is the extraordinary tale of the fighter pilot who only discovered, fifty years on, the tragic truth of his last Spitfire flight, the businessman whose blank cheque changed the course of the war, the ninety-five-year-old RAF engineer who was determined to be reunited with his beloved Spit before he died, and the little girl who inspired the plane’s creation — and went on to marry a movie star.

Using documents, letters and photographs from the Imperial War Museums’ unparalleled archive, plus exclusive first-hand interviews, these stories of the Spitfire are a revelatory collection of small but significant histories, to be treasured by all who love and admire the iconic plane.

Walk a day in a Roman’s sandals.

What was it like to live in one of the ancient world’s most powerful and bustling cities – one that was eight times more densely populated than modern day New York?

In this entertaining and enlightening guide, bestselling historian Philip Matyszak introduces us to the people who lived and worked there. In each hour of the day we meet a new character – from emperor to slave girl, gladiator to astrologer, medicine woman to water-clock maker – and discover the fascinating details of their daily lives.

In this fascinating and easily digestible book, The One Show’s resident scientist Marty Jopson takes us on a mouth-watering tour of the twenty-first century kitchen and the everyday food miracles that we all take for granted.

Ever wondered what modified starch is and why it’s in so much of the food we buy? What do instant mash and freeze-dried coffee have in common? What’s the real truth behind the five-second rule? And as the world population grows and the pressure on agriculture to produce more cost-effective and sustainable products increases, what could the future hold for both farmers and consumers?

From mindboggling microbiology to ingenious food processing techniques and gadgets, The Science of Food takes a look at the details that matter when it comes to what we eat and how we cook, and lays bare the science behind how it all works. By understanding the chemistry, physics and biology of the food we cook, buy and prepare, we can all become better consumers and happier cooks!

The definitive insider’s story of life behind the scenes and within the corridors of power at the biggest football club in the world.

When Martin Edwards became chairman of Manchester United in 1980, the club's estimated worth was £2 million. When he retired just over two decades later the club was valued at £1 billion. Under his expert business stewardship, Manchester United grew into one of the world's most recognized sporting brands and the richest and most famous football club on the planet.

Martin shares a multitude of wonderful memories and amazing stories and revelations of the great success story of United. He singled out Alex Ferguson as a future manager of the Reds and had the determination and courage to stand by his choice when everybody else, both inside and outside of the club, were calling for his head.

Martin Edwards is one of the great football chairmen who oversaw Manchester United as the club achieved its greatest successes and dominated domestic football. This autobiography of the former chairman and current life president presents a fascinating insight into English football’s most successful club.

Why is green the colour of envy? Why is black ‘evil’? Why is white pure? Why do we ‘feel blue’ or ‘see red’? Why do colours have different meanings for different cultures?

When we look at or talk about a colour in a particular setting, we are as likely to see its cultural or symbolic meaning as the shade itself. Why?

Sometimes our grasp of a colour relates to the random way we define it. Light blue is called 'blue' but, over the last century or two, light red has become pink, whereas in Russia light blue and dark blue are separate colours. Does language play a part in our perception of colours?

In most cases, the origins of why we view a colour in a certain way goes back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Blue was not always a boy’s colour; pink was not always a girl’s. Indeed, less than one hundred years ago, in the West, it was the other way round.

This book offers a lively, anecdotal treatment of the cultural mysteries of colour, and focuses on the way we respond to colours, the significance we give them — and how these things change over time and from place to place. It tells the story of how we have come to view the world through lenses passed down to us by art, science, politics, fashion, sport and, not least, prejudice.

A brief, invaluable guide to the art of growing vegetables around the year and saving money in the process.

Vegetable Growing is a practical guide to frugal allotmenteering, including planning your plot, looking after the plants and practical tips for keeping your costs down, such as clever ways of making freebie alternatives to common growing tools.

An additional handy section offers advice on which fruit and veg will save you the most money, as well as a season-by-season guide and ideas for boosting your savings with foraged and wild food.

Written by Jonathan Stevens of the Real Men Sow blog, who recently embarked on a mission to find out how much he could save by growing his own fruit and vegetables on a half-sized allotment plot.

This is the story of the rise and rise of advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi as it has never been told before. With over 200 astonishing first-hand accounts from the people who were really there, this is a fascinating insight into a remarkable success story and an unorthodox business.

Responsible for generating some of the most memorable and groundbreaking advertising of the last fifty years, Saatchi & Saatchi became infamous in their own right. Made up of maverick thinkers and ingenious talent, they broke rules and won big pitches, attracting the business of some of the world’s most successful companies.

For the first time, the extraordinary story of Saatchi & Saatchi’s meteoric rise is told by those instrumental in its success – creatives, account handlers, PAs and directors – each with their own fascinating stories to tell.

An exploration of space and time and a journey of discovery, through 13 of the most fascinating Christmas Lectures given at the Royal Institution of Great Britain over the last 200 years.

Started at the Royal Institution (Ri) in 1825 by Michael Faraday, the Christmas Lectures have been broadcast on television since the 1960s and have formed part of the British Christmas tradition for generations. First devised to attract young people to the magic of science through spectacular demonstrations, they are now watched by millions of people around the world every year.

Drawing on the incredible archive at the Ri, which is packed full of handwritten notebooks, photographs and transcripts, this book will focus on thirteen of the most captivating lectures given at the Ri on space and time, taking a look at what we thought we knew then and what has been discovered since.

Arguably the greatest of all the English Romantic poets, John Keats left behind him an astonishingly large body of work almost as remarkable for its maturity as for its beauty.

Whether in longer narrative works like ‘The Eve of St Agnes’, or in such sonnets as ‘On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer’, or in magnificent odes like those ‘To a Nightingale’ and ‘To Autumn’, his verse resonates with lyricism and with sensuous imagery, however melancholy his tone or his subject. His finest poems are among the greatest in the language; almost all of them strike a chord in the heart of even the most jaded reader.

This compact selection includes many of Keats’s greatest shorter poems, as well as extracts from his longer works.

William Wordsworth is chiefly remembered as one of the ‘Lake Poets’. Yet he was also one of the founders of English Romanticism, a writer whose early revolutionary fervor imbued his verse and his ideals.

Much of Wordsworth’s work was inspired by nature, but to a style rich in lyrical imagery he brought a deep interest in liberal humanitarianism and a profound concern for the lives, habits and speech of ordinary people, especially country people.

This collection includes: ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ (‘Daffodils’), ‘Ode. Intimations of Immortality’, ‘Character of the Happy Warrior’, ‘The Solitary Reaper’, ‘To a Sky-Lark’, ‘Tintern Abbey’, and extracts from ‘The Prelude’.

The work of Sigmund Freud, one of the most important thinkers of the past two hundred years, redefined the fields of neurology and psychotherapy and the way we view the human mind. Most strands of the psychoanalytic discipline can even today be traced back to the leaps in understanding he made all those years ago.

But his greatest success was to make the esoteric mainstream. The Oedipus complex, transference, the unconscious, repression, free association, the libido: these are all ideas and techniques from the Freud school of thought that have permeated the public consciousness. How to Think Like Sigmund Freud examines these and more in a quest to know one mind above all: that of a person who struggled with his own neuroses while attempting to understand those of others.

Discover how the motivations and philosophies of a man who dared to tackle issues others feared to transformed what was a murky study into a real science. With this book you too can think like the man who came to comprehend the human condition better than any other.

10 gold medals don't come easy…

First comes the graft. Thousands of hours on the pedals, forever turning left, following that black line round, pushing your body harder than it is designed to go. Then comes the sacrifice. All familiar pleasures stripped away in search of perfection. Then the pain. Muscles burning, stomach churning, an ache in the bones. To pull all of this together to achieve an Olympic gold is impressive; to be part of a couple doing this in the same sport is rare; to do it ten times between you is unprecedented.

Laura Trott and Jason Kenny, Britain’s most successful female and male Olympians, invite us into their world, on to the boards of the velodrome and down the back straight of British pro cycling to give us the inside track on what it takes to become a champion.

This is the story of the races that gripped a nation; one of sprints and pursuits, tactics, mind games, medals and trials; of being so tired you collapse by the side of the track, so out of form you can’t finish a practice session; of what goes through the mind of an Olympian as they power towards the finish line; and of how a boy from Bolton and a girl from Cheshunt became the best in the world, while finding in each other the perfect partner.

Misadventures in the English Language looks at some of the controversial aspects of English usage – grammar, vocabulary and punctuation – and tries to assess what matters and what doesn’t.

Looking at why it pays to be precise in your punctuation – the hackneyed examples of ‘Let’s eat Grandma’ and ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ show how a comma can make all the difference – why tautologies are simply annoying; how corporate speak can actually mean nothing at all; and why naughty, awful, sophisticated and virtue are all words that have evolved to mean something completely different, this book covers all the aspects of the English language that could leave you with cause for concern.

It also considers where we are now, appraising (and often praising) the invention of new words – from kidult to piscetarian – including internet-led abbreviations such as JK and IMHO. By turns an explanation of the rules, a rant against gobbledygook and other modern horrors, this book will aid you in avoiding embarrassing clichés and jargon, and help you put your words in the right places, finally enabling you to revel in the richness of the English language.

Reviews for New Words for Old:

'Pleasantly diverting' Guardian
'Fascinating … perfect for anyone obsessed by wordplay' Yours magazine

In his short life, Robert Burns forged for himself a reputation as a poet and songwriter that has never been eclipsed. Today, more than 200 years after his death, his verse remains among the most popular in the world.

Best known for his dialect lyrical verse on nature, love, patriotism and rural life, as well as for such well-loved songs as ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and ‘Robert Bruce’s March to Bannockburn’ (‘Scots Wha Hae’), he was equally as skilful with great lyrics on philosophical subjects. Offering everything from simple ballads to great set pieces like ‘Tam O’Shanter’, this collection celebrates the work of the poor farmer-turned-exciseman who became, literally, the voice of an entire nation.

A fascinating tour through the curious history of Western civilization told through its most emblematic invention – the book.

As well as leafing through the well-known titles that have helped shape the world in which we live, Oliver Tearle also dusts off some of the more neglected items to be found hidden among the bookshelves of the past.

You’ll learn learn about the forgotten Victorian novelist who outsold Dickens, the woman who became the first published poet in America and the eccentric traveller who introduced the table-fork to England. Through exploring a variety of books – novels, plays, travel books, science books, cookbooks, joke books and sports almanacs – The Secret Library highlights some of the most fascinating aspects of our history. It also reveals the surprising connections between various works and historical figures. What links Homer’s Iliad to Aesop’s Fables? Or Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack to the creator of Sherlock Holmes?