This memoir was first published in 1930 and describes the author's school days, his time in the Army, his experiences as a war correspondent and his first years as a member of Parliament.

Kel Palmer is a proud Mancunian. On retirement in 2000, he and Rosemarie planned to move from their 17th century haunted Sussex cottage to the sunshine of Cyprus or Kauai, but chose Wales! This memoir, covering the 76 years he can remember, is written so that chapters may be read in isolation avoiding autobiographic boredom. It depicts life during WW2 as seen through the eyes of a young boy, via roller-coaster days at Grammar School, spurning a sporting career to join the RAF leading to commissioning and flying training. His first superiors were men wearied by war, facing new challenges as the jet replaced the piston and the WP replaced Nazism. It was a time before aircraft technology had mushroomed, before ejection seats, and electronic wizardry, but in which the flying was immensely exciting and life as a young officer was about fun and fulfillment. He flew mainly fighters with a mix of frontline squadrons, Operational conversion, Flying College, and service with the USAF and US Navy. He was a pioneer of fighter in-flight refueling in the heady days when RAF squadrons deployed worldwide. Later he held Command posts, served in MOD Operational Requirements, Directed the Air Warfare College, and was Chief of Nuclear Plans at SHAPE, leading to his career in the defence industry. On cancellation of Nimrod AEW he left air defence switching to maritime patrol and battlefield surveillance as those roles became increasingly important. During the 90s life caught up with him and he enjoyed a triple heart bypass, divorced and re-married, and watched his four children complete their education and grow into adulthood. He retired in 2000 to become involved in Community affairs, Youth, the environment and social housing, receiving The Queens Award for Voluntary Service. He has lived in the USA, Germany, Belgium and Cyprus, travelled to 111 countries, and been an accomplished and versatile sportsman playing his last game of rugby at 46 and soccer at 61.An enthusiastic dancer, Kel is a great lover of music and of furry friends. He published his memoirs in 2005 ,updating them in the light of much reflection and some repercussions.

The fighting was hard; the volunteers showed the greatest bravery, and, had they been well supported by the sailors, would have gained the day. The seamen, however, speedily broke into the warehouses, intoxicated themselves with rum, and it was with difficulty that their officers could bring them back into the arsenal. The commissioners had, the night before, sent to a negro chief, offering pardon for all past offences, perfect freedom, and the plunder of the city. He arrived at noon on the 21st of June, and at once began the butchery of the white inhabitants. This continued till the evening of the 23rd, by which time the whole of the whites had been murdered, the city sacked, and then burned to the ground....FROM THE BOOKS.

Beginning in 1611 with the King James Bible and ending in 2014 with Elizabeth Kolbert's 'The Sixth Extinction', this extraordinary voyage through the written treasures of our culture examines universally-acclaimed classics such as Pepys' 'Diaries', Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of Species', Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time' and a whole host of additional works --

"[An] exceedingly powerful debut. Wilson's compelling story carries us through forest and over plains, leaving a trail of dead men." —Alan Cheuse, The Chicago Tribune 1829, Tasmania. A group of men—convicts, a farmer, two free black traders, and Black Bill, an aboriginal man brought up from childhood as a white man—are led by Jon Batman, a notorious historical figure, on a “roving party.” Their purpose is massacre. With promises of freedom, land grants and money, each is willing to risk his life for the prize. Passing over many miles of tortured country, the roving party searches for Aborigines, taking few prisoners and killing freely, Batman never abandoning the visceral intensity of his hunt. And all the while, Black Bill pursues his personal quarry, the much-feared warrior, Manalargena. A surprisingly beautiful evocation of horror and brutality, The Roving Party is a meditation on the intricacies of human nature at its most raw.

In this powerful and virtuosic collection of interlocking stories, each one "a marvel of concision and compassion" (Washington Post), a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and "master of his form" (/~i~New York Times) takes the short story to new heights. Through forty-four compressed gems, Peter Orner, a writer who "doesn't simply bring his characters to life, he gives them souls" (NYT Book Review), chronicles people whose lives are at inflection points, gripping us with a series of defining moments. Whether it's a first date that turns into a late-night road trip to a séance in an abandoned airplane hangar, or a family's memories of the painful mystery surrounding a neglected uncle's demise, Orner reveals how our fleeting decisions between kindness and abandonment chase us across time. These stories are anchored by a poignant novella that delivers not only the joys and travails of a forty-year marriage, but an entire era in a working-class New England city. Bristling with the crackling energy of life itself, Maggie Brown & Others marks the most sustained achievement to date for "a master of his form" (New York Times). A New York Times Notable Book A Chicago Tribune Notable Book An Oprah Magazine Best Book of 2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Short Fiction of 2019 Longlisted for the Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates Prize