In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail for the South Atlantic on board a ship called the Endurance. The object of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland. In October 1915, still half a continent away from their intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in ice. For five months Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways on one of the most savage regions of the world.

These fantastically imaginative origin stories are amongst the best known of Kipling's works, and offer entertaining explanations as to how various animals came into being.

Days after winning OASIS Founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous - and addictive - than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle and a new quest - a last Easter egg...

In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was: 'Hey, you!' This is the Discworld, after all, and religion is a controversial business. Everyone has their own opinion, and indeed their own gods, of every shape and size, and all elbowing for space at the top. In such a competitive environment, shape and size can be pretty crucial to make one's presence felt. So it's certainly not helpful to be reduced to appearing in the form...

The Beiderbecke Connection was a four-part British television serial written by Alan Plater and broadcast in 1988. It is the third and final part of The Beiderbecke Trilogy and stared James Bolam and Barbara Flynn as schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne. Now with a baby in tow, Jill and Trevor are asked by Big Al to look after a refugee called "Ivan".

Doctor Dolittle sets sail for an adventure on the high seas, accompanied by nine-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins, who comes to live with the great man to learn the language of the animals. The pair head for Spider Monkey island, a mysterious floating isle somewhere in the South Atlantic.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS In the National Book Award–winning Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann thrilled readers with a marvelous high-wire act of fiction that The New York Times Book Review called“an emotional tour de force.” Now McCann demonstrates once again why he is one of the...

Douglas Petersen’s family is on the brink of dissolution. His marriage of 21 years to Connie is almost over. When autumn comes around, their son Albie will leave for college. Connie has decided to leave soon after. But before everything falls apart, there's still the summer holidays to get through - a Grand Tour of Europe's major cities - and over the course of the journey, Douglas devises a plan to win back the love of his...

With gentle humour and a gift for detail, [Gaile Parkin] brings Rwanda to life, with its physical beauty, food and customs... [Baking Cakes in Kigali] is fluent and deeply moving - Independent From the author of Baking Cakes in Kigali comes the irresistible story of Benedict Tungazara, a ten-year-old boy in Swaziland who loves beautiful birds, his mother's cakes, and making people happy... Ten-year-old Benedict is...

Des O'Connor has been a major star in Britain since landing his first television series in 1963. Now, in his own words, he relives the events of his extraordinary life in an autobiography that is both candid and entertaining. From his childhood struggle against ill-health in London's impoverished East End to his current positions as international showbiz icon, Des O'Connor talks with humour and affection about his...

A brilliant and compelling account of the apprentice years of Elizabeth I. An abused child, yet confident of her destiny to reign, a woman in a man’s world, passionately sexual yet – she said – a virgin, Elizabeth I was to be famed as England’s most successful ruler. This absorbing new book, by concentrating on the early years from her birth in 1533 to her accession in 1558, shows how her experiences of danger... 

After a fatal airline crash in the mountains of North Carolina, Dr. Temperance Brennan heads to the site to help identify the victims, but the discovery of body parts that do not belong to any registered passenger leads the investigation into a dangerous confrontation.

Jack Kendall knows all about survival. He's written six books on the subject. Now he's hoping for success with his first novel. It's a long wait and he's getting short on funds and very hungry. On impulse he accepts a commission to write the biography of Tremayne Vickers, the celebrated National Hunt racehorse trainer. His agent disapproves of such hasty decisions: 'Impulse will kill you one of these days,' he warns.

Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is back in his own rough, tough past. He must track down a murderer, teach his young self how to be a good cop and change the outcome of a bloody rebellion. There's a problem: if he wins, he's got no wife, no child, no future.

Swinging to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of beat.

In her bestselling first volume of autobiography, Testament of Youth, Vera Brittain passionately recorded the agonising years of the First World War, lamenting the destruction of a generation which for her included those she most dearly loved - her lover, her brother and her closest friends. In Testament of Friendship Brittain tells the story of the woman who helped her survive those tragic years - the writer Winifred Holtby.

In this, the third book in the Borrowers series (after The Borrowers, and The Borrowers Afield), the Clocks (Pod, Homily and Arrietty) find that they must leave the safety of their new house and venture forth once again into the great big world. Setting their sights on Little Fordham, a miniature model town, the Clocks follow young Spiller out. But the world is a dangerous place for someone as small as a Borrower...

Following the smash-hit sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is the second part in Douglas Adams' multi media phenomenon and cult classic series, read by Martin Freeman. If you've done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the end of the Universe? Which is exactly what the crew of the...

The enthralling, honest, often funny memoirs, of the north country girl who came to London acted at the Royal Court Theatre and married England’s greatest actor, Laurence Olivier.

Billy Connolly has been making us laugh since the early 70's with his unique look at life and the people he meets. He was the innovator of new wave stand-up and still packs out gigs around the world. Here in Two Night Stand, he allows us to enjoy some of the very best from his phenomenal career. This set also includes Pamela Stephenson's book Billy, performed by the author and Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia.

You know who you are and here is a double-CD celebrating the secret society of those who, though they may be chauffeuring kids to swim lessons or writing Unix programs or frying cheeseburgers, still could, if need be, write a term paper on the water imagery in 'The Waste Land'.

This is the wonderful journal of Cassandra Mortmain, aged 17. A heartwarming and completely original coming-of-age story, it is the account of one year in her life and that of her extraordinary family. With great wit and sensitivity Cassandra reveals her eccentric father with writer's block...

Shamela is a bawdy, spirited and hilarious response to Samuel Richardson's hugely popular 1740 novel, Pamela. In this pointed satire, Shamela (which transpires to be the real name of Richardson's Pamela) reveals the ulterior motives behind the events that took place in Pamela. Shamela is unlike the...

WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2013 It's the most marvellous discovery for everyone who loves literature' Ian McEwan, BBC Radio 4 Colum McCann once called Stoner one of the great forgotten novels of the past century, but it seems it is forgotten no longer – in 2013 translations of Stoner began appearing on bestseller lists across Europe. Forty-eight years after its first, quiet publication in the US, Stoner is finally finding the wide and devoted readership it deserves.

The complete audio collection of Alan Bennett’s celebrated monologues, published together for the first time and performed by some of Britain’s best actors The Talking Heads monologues are widely regarded as one of Alan Bennett’s finest dramatic achievements. First broadcast on BBC TV and BBC Radio 4 in the 1980s and 1990s, they won a host...

Shocking and controversial when it was first published in 1939, Steinbeck's Pulitzer prize-winning epic remains his undisputed masterpiece. Set against the background of dust bowl Oklahoma and Californian migrant life, it tells of the Joad family, who, like thousands of others, are forced to travel West in search of the promised land. Their story is one of false hopes, thwarted desires and broken dreams, yet out of...

Mrs. Gereth is convinced that Fleda Vetch would make the perfect daughter-in-law. Only the dreamy, highly-strung young woman can genuinely appreciate, and perhaps eventually share, Mrs. Gereth's passion for her “things”—the antique treasures she has amassed at Poynton Park in the south of England. Owen Gereth, however, has inconveniently become engaged to the uncultured Mona Brigstock.

This charming collection includes such classic favorites as The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Match Girl, Big Claus and Little Claus and more.

It is WW2 and Captain Charles Ryder reflects on his time at Oxford during the twenties and a world now changed. As a lonely student Charles was captivated by the outrageous and decadent Sebastian Flyte and invited to spend time at the Flyte's family home - the magnificent Brideshead.

1 Introduction - The Philadelphia Orchestra 2 Royal March Of The Lion - Johnny Morris 3 Cocks And Hens - The Philadelphia Orchestra 4 Wild Asses - The Philadelphia Orchestra 5 The Tortoise - The Philadelphia Orchestra 6 Elephants - The Philadelphia Orchestra 7 Kangaroos - The Philadelphia Orchestra 8 Aquarium - The Philadelphia Orchestra 9 People With Long Ears - The Philadelphia Orchestra 10 The Cuckoo In...

Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume.

A selection of love scenes from 20 of Shakespeare's best known plays.

In this entertaining anthology of seven new ghost stories, written especially for Naxos AudioBooks, we meet all kinds of phantoms in different situations: a kind-hearted but accident-prone spectre unwittingly upsetting a family home, as well as ghosts in ancient Egypt, on board a pirate ship, and in a Newcastle swimming pool. Engaging and slightly sinister, The Clumsy Ghost and Other Spooky Tales is a delightful...

Dante's vision, The Divine Comedy, has profoundly affected every generation since it first appeared in the early 14th century. Here is a brief account of his life, compiled from various sources (including his first biographer, Boccaccio) by Benedict Flynn, whose new translation of the Comedy has been widely acclaimed. It sets the known facts of Dante's life against the turmoil of the times, and puts the very personal...

MGB officer Leo is a man who never questions the Party Line. He arrests whomever he is told to arrest. He dismisses the horrific death of a young boy because he is told to, because he believes the Party stance that there can be no murder in Communist Russia. Leo is the perfect soldier of the regime. But suddenly

A selection of some of the most famous fairy stories which every child needs to foster their imagination. The following stories can be found on this title: "The Story of the Three Little Pigs", "The History of Dick Whittington", "Beauty and the Beast", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Puss in Boots", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Ali Baba", "The Brave Little Tailor", and "The Princess on the Glass Hill".

Disco 1 1.Visit to the "Pawnbroker Woman" 2.Raskolnikov Meets Malmedov 3.Home of Malmedov 4.Letter from Raskolnikov's Mother 5.Letter Takes Its Effect 6.Preparation for * 7.At the Door of the Pawnbroker 8.Unexpected Appearance 9.After the * 10.Police Station 11.Fever Disco 2 1.Raskolnikov's Friends Are Concerned 2.Zossimov Tells Dushkin's Story 3.Luzhin Makes His Appearance 4.Raskolnikov Reads...

An entrancing but sad story of a poverty-stricken Massachusetts farmer caught in a loveless marriage. The main characters are Ethan Frome, his wife Zenobia, called Zeena, and her young cousin Mattie Silver. Frome and Zeena marry after she nurses his mother in her last illness. Although Frome seems ambitious and intelligent, Zeena holds him back. When her young cousin Mattie comes to stay on their New England...

This item is a combination of a paperback book and 2 CDs of music spanning Lizst's career. Hungarian composer Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was an anomaly. A virtuoso pianist and electrifying showman, he toured extensively throughout the European continent, bringing sold-out audiences to states of ecstasy while courting scandal with his frequent womanizing.

David Nice's detailed essay on the life and works of Stravinsky with music selections from many of his greatest works.

Maupassant is hailed as one of the greatest masters of the short story. This collection focuses upon the land he knew and loved so well - Normandy. Its people and its countryside are portrayed here in vivid color and with great warmth. Amusing, saucy, and sometimes even farcical they may be, but they are also capable of great pathos, often branching off to end tragically. It is this skilful and affecting blend of tragedy...

The great myths of ancient Greece, including Gods and Titans, Perseus, The Labours of Hercules, The Adventures of Theseus, and Jason and the Argonauts come to vivid life, in this audio retelling

The musical is one of the great art forms of the 20th century. Showboat, Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Cabaret - one masterpiece after another packed the theaters on Broadway, in London's West End, and around the world. And it made a successful transfer to cinema. A truly popular art, the musical closely reflected society and its needs - sometimes providing...

Here is a history of Britain by one of its finest statesmen, a man who had himself crucially shaped events during perhaps the greatest crisis of modern times. Churchill's resonant prose brings to vivid and compelling life the political, constitutional and military landmarks of our history his purpose, to show that a sense of how man may live decently and democratically grew from the heritage of these islands.

This account is written by Jinananda, an English-born Buddhist. The three CDs are divided into three "Jewels": "The Buddha", a life of the historical figure; "The Dharma", an account of the fundamental teachings; and "The Sangha", the disciples, both lay and monastic throughout the world.

In these stories, Conan Doyle draws the listener in to experience drama, suspense and, ultimately, the shock of surprise. Here is a unique combination of a famous analytical intellect telling spine-tingling tales against a background of turn-of-the-century England. Nothing is quite as it seems. What is the secret of Lot No. 249? What lies in wait for an aviator in the stratosphere? And what lies inside The Sealed Room?

In this lecture, Chomsky presents his evaluation of the prospects for democracy in America in the New World Order. Beginning with a broad review of democratic theory and political history, he argues that classical democrats like Thomas Jefferson would be shocked at the disrepair of American democracy. He asserts that the enormous growth of corporate capitalism has already devastated democratic culture...

"It is time to effect a revolution in female manners - time to restore to them their lost dignity - and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world. It is time to separate unchangeable morals from local manners.” Set against the backdrop of a world and society in turmoil during the various revolutions across the globe, and written before the term “feminism” had...

The New York Times Bestseller Blows your mind on every page' Caitlin Moran Should be mandatory reading for anyone who cares about the next generation' Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Peggy Orenstein broke ground with her bestselling Girls & Sex, exploring young women's right to pleasure and agency in sexual encounters. Now she turns her focus to...

After the body of a disgraced college lecturer is found on an abandoned railway line with a large amount of money in his pocket, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks suspects that the victim's death may be connected to his past at a university that was ahotbed of political activism.