Bantam Press Down to the Wire McNab Andy

We remember months, because months have names, because they are linked to the seasons, and because they have their own character. Looking at the First World War month by month reveals its complexity while preserving a sense of time • From the opening shots to the signing of the armistice, the First World War lasted almost 52 months. It was fought on land, sea and in the air. It became industrial, and unrestricted: poison gas, aerial bombing of cities, and the sinking without warning of merchantmen and passenger ships by submarines • Casualties, military and civilian, probably exceeded 40 million. Four empires collapsed during the course of the war – the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman • The First World War is almost impossible to comprehend

A powerful little book about what happens when women find their voice • 'Full of helpful concepts... I'm finding it very useful.' Philippa Perry • 'Plenty of tips and tricks.' Sunday Times • Most books about public speaking don't tell you what to do when you open your mouth and nothing comes out. And they don't tell you how to get over the anxiety about performance that most people naturally have. They don't tell you what to do in the moments when you are made, as a woman, to feel small. They don't tell you how to own the room. This book does • From the way Michelle Obama projects 'happy high status', and the power of J.K. Rowling's understated speaking style, to Virginia Woolf's leisurely pacing and Oprah Winfrey's mastery of inner conviction, what is it that our heroines do to make us sit up and listen - really listen - to their every word? And how can you achieve that impact in your own life? Here's how

A moving and uplifting festive novella from Marcia Willett, perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Fern Britton • Nestled in the Devon countryside, the Keep has always been a refuge for the Chadwick family: forever warm and welcoming through the challenges life has thrown at them. And the current occupants have certainly seen their share of challenges • Lulu and her small son, Oliver, are staying at the Keep while they find their feet. Freddie's commission as a naval chaplain has just ended and he too is grateful to have been welcomed at the Keep whilst he decides where to go next. And now Ed, the black sheep of the family, is finally coming home after ten years living in the USA • Ed's strange, secretive behaviour means that he often clashes with his family

It's Christmas Eve and the bears of Mistletoe Mountain are snowed in! Can the animals of Holly Tree Forest work together to help Santa to save the day? • Santa to the Rescue! is a fun and festive picture book, with beautiful illustrations from Ag Jatkowska. Perfect for sharing with little ones who are excited about Christmas!

Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year • Our lives depend on shipping but it is a world which is largely hidden from us. In every lonely corner of every sea, through every night, every day, and every imaginable weather, tiny crews of seafarers work the giant ships which keep landed life afloat. These ordinary men live extraordinary lives, subject to dangers and difficulties we can only imagine, from hurricanes and pirates to years of confinement in hazardous, if not hellish, environments. Horatio Clare joins two container ships on their epic voyages across the globe and experiences unforgettable journeys. As the ships cross seas of history and incident, seafarers unfold the stories of their lives, and a beautiful and terrifying portrait of the oceans and their human subjects emerges

Знакомьтесь: это Джулиан, Дик, Энн, Джордж (ни в коем случае не называйте её Джорджиной!) и пёс Тимоти. Вместе они Знаменитая Пятёрка – герои самого популярного цикла Энид Блайтон • «Тайна заброшенного маяка» – двенадцатая книга об их приключениях. На берегу моря виден странный свет. Его источник – старая башня, возвышающаяся среди скал близ побережья Корнуолла. Юные сыщики уверены: если они не поймут, в чём тут дело, кто-то попадёт в беду. Но смогут ли они раскрыть это дело, не нарвавшись на неприятности? • Данное издание с новой обложкой от художницы Лоры Эллен Андерсон несомненно привлечёт внимание нового поколения читателей к этой нестареющей классике детского детектива • «Знаменитая пятёрка» – один из известнейших англоязычных циклов детской литературы, начавшийся с романа «На острове сокровищ»

Знакомьтесь: это Джулиан, Дик, Энн, Джордж (ни в коем случае не называйте её Джорджиной!) и пёс Тимоти. Вместе они Знаменитая Пятёрка – герои самого популярного цикла Энид Блайтон • «Тайна заброшенного маяка» – двенадцатая книга об их приключениях. На берегу моря виден странный свет. Его источник – старая башня, возвышающаяся среди скал близ побережья Корнуолла. Юные сыщики уверены: если они не поймут, в чём тут дело, кто-то попадёт в беду. Но смогут ли они раскрыть это дело, не нарвавшись на неприятности? • «Знаменитая пятёрка» – один из известнейших англоязычных циклов детской литературы, начавшийся с романа «На острове сокровищ». Приключения Джорджины, Джулиана, Дика, Энн и Тимми были неоднократно экранизированы. В частности, по ним были сняты несколько фильмов (например, «Пятеро друзей» и «Тайна острова сокровищ») и ряд телесериалов (в том числе анимационных); самый недавний сериал производства BBC, «Великолепная пятёрка», вышел в 2023 году! • Книга для детей среднего школьного возраста

The year is 1962 and in Moscow KGB officer Alexander Vasin feels as if he's chasing ghosts. Ordered to find an American spy rumoured to be embedded at the highest echelon of Soviet power, he's caught up in a dangerous game of espionage against not only the CIA but also state rival agencies • But it's while pursuing this infiltrator that Vasin learns of a top-secret operation that could push the world to the brink of war. The Kremlin has deployed short-range nuclear missiles on Cuba, barely ninety miles from the US coast, and, to support its high-risk gambit, dispatched four submarines to the Caribbean. Each is armed with a nuclear payload - and on board one of them there is an officer who is dangerously unfit for command • As tensions between the USSR and the USA escalate, the world holds its breath-and Vasin faces an extraordinary dilemma: how to warn his enemy without betraying his country

The new novel from a master of the Cold War thriller • 1963. In a desolate Russian penal colony, the radio broadcasts news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy • Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin's new posting as director of a gulag camp in the middle of the frozen tundra is far from a promotion. This is where disgraced agents, like Vasin, disappear - sent to die forgotten. And quietly. But tensions in the camp are running high and when a violent revolt breaks out, Vasin finds himself on the run. With him is a mysterious prisoner - who holds the key to the most dangerous secret in the world: who ordered Kennedy's murder • In a breathless race that takes them through the Soviet Union - from the barren Siberian wastelands to the stunning halls of the Katerina Palace and the grey streets of Leningrad and Moscow - Vasin must stay one step ahead of the most ruthless spy and police organizations in the world

The Rough Guide to the Cotswolds is your definitive handbook to one of the most beautiful and diverse holiday destinations in the UK. From stately homes and wildlife parks to modern art galleries, country walks and adventure sports, the full-colour section introduces all of the regions' highlights. For every town and village, there are comprehensive and opinionated reviews of all the best places to eat, drink and stay to suit every budget. It brings the Cotswolds bang up-to-date; out go musty tearooms and chintzy B&Bs and in come the best of the area?s new contemporary restaurants, boutique-styled hotels and top-rated country pubs. There?s plenty of practical advice and a special focus on the region?s gastronomy with features on specialist farmers? markets, local farm shops, gastro-pubs and country restaurants

Beth has never stuck at anything • She's quit more jobs and relationships than she can remember and she still sleeps in her childhood bedroom. It's not that she hasn't tried to grow up, it's just that so far, the only commitment she's held down is Friday drinks at the village pub • Then, in the space of a morning, her world changes • An unspeakable tragedy turns Beth's life upside down, and she finds herself guardian to her teenage niece and toddler nephew, catapulted into an unfamiliar world of bedtime stories, parents' evenings and cuddly elephants. Having never been responsible for anyone - or anything - it's not long before she feels seriously out of her depth • What if she's simply not up to the job? • With a little help from her best friend Jory (purely platonic, of course

This Christmas will be the most special of them all • Elderly widow Sabine knows this will be her last Christmas in her beloved home, Mitras Castle. Determined to make it just like the ones she remembers from her childhood, she employs Dido Jones of Heavenly Houseparties to help with the big day • Dido is enchanted by the castle as soon as she steps through the imposing front door. And as Christmas day approaches, her feeling of connection to the old house runs deeper than she first thought • But when the snow begins to fall and Sabine's family arrive at the house - including Dido's teenage crush Xan - tensions rise around the castle's future and long-buried mysteries begin to unravel • As past secrets come to light, can this still be a magical Christmas to remember?