A hilarious compendium of all that's weird and wonderful about life in the British Isles - the eccentric, bizarre bureaucracy and outright oddity reported over the last year by the nation's newspapers, including: Guardian headline, 'Man with false leg hit with toilet lid.'; The Astrological Magazine, 'announces that it is to cease due to unforeseen circumstances.' Jack Crossley spent some 40 years in Fleet Street and has compiled this laugh-out-loud collection of anecdotes and strange goings-on which sound so outlandish you certainly couldn't make them up.

This hilarious compendium of all that's weird and wonderful about life in the British Isles uncovers the eccentricity, bizarre bureaucracy, and outright oddity reported over the last year by the nation's newspapers. Jack Crossley spent some 40 years in Fleet Street and is the ideal companion to guide you through this laugh-out-loud collection of anecdotes and strange goings-on from around our fair isles. Tales so outlandish, you'd swear they'd been made up. Strange signs, tortuous typos, hilarious headlines and the oddest obituaries: this wonderful, inimitable miscellany celebrates all that is off-beat in Albion today. Even when the rest of the news is doom-laden, the hundreds of snippets here won't fail to raise a laugh.

After the runaway cult success of You Couldn't Make It Up and You Really Couldn't Make It Up, Jack Crossley returns with his latest cornucopia of wonderful anecdotes and strange goings-on from around the British Isles. In his many years as a newspaper journalist, Jack Crossley has collected literally thousands of these strange-but-true newspaper items. They are stories that you wouldn't believe if they weren't written down in black and white. You Absolutely Couldn't Make It Up is another wonderful collection of irresistible whimsy, a testament to Great Britain's lasting legacy of eccentricity, bizarre bureaucracy, and confounding stubbornness!

They have names like Barmy Bernie, Daft Donald, and Steamin' Sammy. They like lager (in huge quantities), the Queen, football clubs (especially Manchester United), and themselves. Their dislike encompasses the rest of the known universe, and England's soccer thugs express it in ways that range from mere vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities. Now Bill Buford, editor of the prestigious journal Granta, enters this alternate society and records both its savageries and its sinister allure with the social imagination of a George Orwell and the raw personal engagement of a Hunter Thompson.

A 2015 James Beard Award Finalist: "Eye-opening, insightful, and huge fun to read." —Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork Why do we eat toast for breakfast, and then toast to good health at dinner? What does the turkey we eat on Thanksgiving have to do with the country on the eastern Mediterranean? Can you figure out how much your dinner will cost by counting the words on the menu? In The Language of Food, Stanford University professor and MacArthur Fellow Dan Jurafsky peels away the mysteries from the foods we think we know. Thirteen chapters evoke the joy and discovery of reading a menu dotted with the sharp-eyed annotations of a linguist. Jurafsky points out the subtle meanings hidden in filler words like "rich" and "crispy," zeroes in on the metaphors and storytelling tropes we rely on in restaurant reviews, and charts a microuniverse of marketing language on the back of a bag of potato chips. The fascinating journey through The Language of Food uncovers a global atlas of culinary influences. With Jurafsky's insight, words like ketchup, macaron, and even salad become living fossils that contain the patterns of early global exploration that predate our modern fusion-filled world. From ancient recipes preserved in Sumerian song lyrics to colonial shipping routes that first connected East and West, Jurafsky paints a vibrant portrait of how our foods developed. A surprising history of culinary exchange—a sharing of ideas and culture as much as ingredients and flavors—lies just beneath the surface of our daily snacks, soups, and suppers. Engaging and informed, Jurafsky's unique study illuminates an extraordinary network of language, history, and food. The menu is yours to enjoy.

Reproduction of the original: In Darkest England and the Way out by General William Booth

Why do we spend so much time stuck in traffic? After Peak Oil, do we face the prospect of Peak Travel? Does climate change mean no more foreign holidays? In Victorian times, Britain used to have the finest transport system in the world. Today, the future seems to belong to China with its ever growing High Speed Rail networks or Dubai and its titanic new five runway airport. What went wrong? For the last hundred years, the planners at the centre of our transport system have told us what roads, railways or airports we can use. Now, to save the planet they tell us to give up our cars and planes. If we break away from the planners' control, we can have roads that run freely and trains that arrive on time. Climate change can be tackled without giving up air travel. Riding a train should be as reliable as picking up bread from your local shop. Gridlock Nation looks at the timeless problems faced in transport, from traffic jams in Rome to Victorian road rage. It examines the potential of dazzling innovations across the world, from the private sector space revolution to Google's new driverless cars. Britain needs a new revolution in transport - or gridlock will soon bring the country to a halt.

Sail back to a vicious time with fearsome seafaring Viking warriors with big boats, big shields and enormous ginger beards. Readers can discover all the foul facts about the Vicious Vikings, including Viking gods in wedding dresses, corpses on trial and Death by booby-trapped statues. With a bold, accessible new look, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans. Revised by the author and illustrated throughout to make Horrible Histories more accessible to young readers.

Shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Saga Award 2022! The first book in Emma Hornby's page-turning Worktown Girls at War series, from the bestselling author of A Shilling for a Wife **The latest Victorian saga from Emma Hornby, An Orphan's Choice, is available to pre-order now** --------------------- Bolton, Lancashire: 1940 A family torn apart by war, held together by a secret . . . Janie and her husband James have a strong, loving marriage. A move from an inner-city slum to a peaceful new estate outside of Bolton should have been a fresh start for them and their three children. But when war is declared and James announces he has signed up, Janie fears it's the beginning of the end. Waving goodbye to their menfolk is a sacrifice that families are making all over the country and Janie does her best to make do, forging friendships in her new community. But when James comes home on leave a traumatised and desperate man, then goes AWOL, Janie's heart goes out to him. Determined to keep him safe, she plans to hide him in their new house. But how long can they keep the secret, and what threats lie ahead if they're found out? A page-turning new wartime saga about love, friendship and secrets, for fans of Katie Flynn and Rosie Goodwin. **Don't miss the second book in the Worktown Girls at War series - A Daughter's War is out now** --------------------- Readers love Emma Hornby: 'Similar to Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court, Emma Hornby tells a brilliant story that will keep you guessing with twists and turns. Pure talent.' 'Emma Hornby's books just keep getting better and better. Honest, gritty, lovely characters.' 'Keep writing Emma, you are very talented and can't wait for your next book. I've read them all.' 'Emma is a wonderful storyteller and I can't wait for the next one!' 'Thank you again Emma Hornby for a captivating read' 'Another beautifully written story by Emma Hornby'

One of Book Riot's top 100 Must-Read Books of American Historical Fiction! Nancy Turner burst onto the literary scene with her hugely popular novels These Is My Words, Sarah's Quilt, and The Star Garden. Now, Turner has written the novel she was born to write, this exciting and heartfelt story of a woman struggling to find herself during the tumultuous years preceding the American Revolution. The year is 1729, and Resolute Talbot and her siblings are captured by pirates, taken from their family in Jamaica, and brought to the New World. Resolute and her sister are sold into slavery in colonial New England and taught the trade of spinning and weaving. When Resolute finds herself alone in Lexington, Massachusetts, she struggles to find her way in a society that is quick to judge a young woman without a family. As the seeds of rebellion against England grow, Resolute is torn between following the rules and breaking free. Resolute's talent at the loom places her at the center of an incredible web of secrecy that helped drive the American Revolution. Heart-wrenching, brilliantly written, and packed to the brim with adventure, My Name is Resolute is destined to be an instant classic.