NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the veteran political journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent, a deep dive into the history, evolution, and current state of the American presidency, and how we can make the job less impossible and more productive—featuring a new post-2020–election epilogue “This is a great gift to our sense of the actual presidency, a primer on leadership.”—Ken Burns Imagine you have just been elected president. You are now commander-in-chief, chief executive, chief diplomat, chief legislator, chief of party, chief voice of the people, first responder, chief priest, and world leader. You’re expected to fulfill your campaign promises, but you’re also expected to solve the urgent crises of the day. What’s on your to-do list? Where would you even start? What shocks aren’t you thinking about? The American presidency is in trouble. It has become overburdened, misunderstood, almost impossible to do. “The problems in the job unfolded before Donald Trump was elected, and the challenges of governing today will confront his successors,” writes John Dickerson. After all, the founders never intended for our system of checks and balances to have one superior Chief Magistrate, with Congress demoted to “the little brother who can’t keep up.” In this eye-opening book, John Dickerson writes about presidents in history such a Washington, Lincoln, FDR, and Eisenhower, and and in contemporary times, from LBJ and Reagan and Bush, Obama, and Trump, to show how a complex job has been done, and why we need to reevaluate how we view the presidency, how we choose our presidents, and what we expect from them once they are in office. Think of the presidential campaign as a job interview. Are we asking the right questions? Are we looking for good campaigners, or good presidents? Once a candidate gets the job, what can they do to thrive? Drawing on research and interviews with current and former White House staffers, Dickerson defines what the job of president actually entails, identifies the things that only the president can do, and analyzes how presidents in history have managed the burden. What qualities make for a good president? Who did it well? Why did Bill Clinton call the White House “the crown jewel in the American penal system”? The presidency is a job of surprises with high stakes, requiring vision, management skill, and an even temperament. Ultimately, in order to evaluate candidates properly for the job, we need to adjust our expectations, and be more realistic about the goals, the requirements, and the limitations of the office. As Dickerson writes, “Americans need their president to succeed, but the presidency is set up for failure. It doesn’t have to be.”

Afghanistan was an unwinnable war. As British and American troops withdraw, discover this definitive account that explains why. It could have been a very different story. British forces could have successfully withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2002, having done the job they set out to do: to defeat al-Qaeda. Instead, in the years that followed, Britain paid a devastating price for their presence in Helmand province. So why did Britain enter, and remain, in an ill-fated war? Why did it fail so dramatically, and was this expedition doomed from the beginning? Drawing on unprecedented access to military reports, government documents and senior individuals, Professor Theo Farrell provides an extraordinary work of scholarship. He explains the origins of the war, details the campaigns over the subsequent years, and examines the West's failure to understand the dynamics of local conflict and learn the lessons of history that ultimately led to devastating costs and repercussions still relevant today. 'The best book so far on Britain's...war in Afghanistan' International Affairs 'Masterful, irrefutable... Farrell records all these military encounters with the irresistible pace of a novelist' Sunday Times

Based upon an exploration of essays, maps, journeys, pictures, narratives and signs the editors have compiled an overview of London from the mid-70s through to the days of the Blair administration.

It has long been recognised that Britain has declined relatively to other countries, although there are differences of view both on the beginning of the decline and its causes. The author pinpoints two causes: first, a technological inferiority which has resulted in the country's exporting goods of poorer quality and importing goods of higher quality; secondly, the tendency for an upward pressure on incomes, from a society of political equals where each individual has expectations of a level of income reasonably comparable with others. The claims of different groups are easily accommodated in a semi-monopolistic industrial structure and are passed on in higher prices. Keynes recognised the latter problem of cost-push; but his intellectual revolution was not accompanied by a change of institutions, which continued to act in accordance with an earlier tradition. The present Government has reached a false diagnosis in ascribing the country's problems to too much money. It has therefore worsened the situation and weakened such hopes as there were of improvement.

A doorstopper of a collection of the very best of both contemporary and classic British wit and humour. From Monty Python's 'Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more . . .' to Dan Antopolski's 'Hedgehogs. Why can't they just share the hedge?'. From George Bernard Shaw to Michael McIntyre, from Eric Morecombe to Omid Djalili, and from Oscar Wilde to Jimmy Carr, a side-splitting look at Britain, the British and life in general. Including these gems from Britain's finest comedians: I was delighted to learn that my friend's schadenfreude was not as satisfying as mine. Armando Iannucci. I went on a girls' night out recently. The invitation said 'dress to kill'. I went as Rose West. Zoe Lyons For a while I was the perfect mother. Then the Pethidine wore off. Jenny Eclair. My girlfriend was complaining last night that I never listen to her. Or something like that. Jack Dee. Why do dogs always race to the door when the doorbell rings because it's hardly ever for them? Harry Hill. Arse-gravy of the very worst kind. Stephen Fry on The Da Vinci Code. You have to come up with this shit every year. Last week I just wrote "I still love you, see last year's card for full details." Michael McIntyre on Valentines Day. I went to the doctor and he said, 'You've got hypochondria.' I said, 'Not that as well!'Tim Vine. I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge. Spike Milligan. When someone close to you dies, move seats. Peter Kay. My neighbour asked if he could use my lawnmower and I told him of course he could, so long as he didn't take it out of my garden. Eric Morecambe. My dad's dying wish was to have his family around him. I can't help thinking he would have been better off with more oxygen. Jimmy Carr. Eighty-two point six per cent of statistics are made up on the spot. Vic Reeves. A bird in the hand invariably shits on your wrist. Billy Connolly. Getting divorced isn't like a bereavement at all, because if he's died, I'd have had me mortgage paid, and I could've danced on his grave. Sarah Millican. My greatest hero is Nelson Mandela: incarcerated for 25 years, he was released in 1990, he's been out about 18 years now and he hasn't re-offended. Ricky Gervais. If you want to confuse a girl, buy her a pair of chocolate shoes. Milton Jones. Phil Collins is losing his hearing, making him the luckiest man at a Phil Collins Concert. Simon Amstell. We'll continue our investigation into the political beliefs of nudists. We've already noticed a definite swing to the left. Ronnie Barker. A guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only Clingfilm for shorts. The psychiatrist says, "Well, I can clearly see your nuts. Tommy Cooper

The three decades following WWII are considered the golden age of the British thriller film. Newer characters like James Bond, along with established icons such as Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and The Saint, all contributed to the era's bountiful array of cinematic mystery, danger, excitement and suspense. For the first time, the extensive output of British thrillers from 1950 to 1979 is covered in one volume. Themed chapters cover a total of 845 films including spy thrillers, mystery thrillers, psychological thrillers, action-adventure thrillers, and crime thrillers. Within these chapters, films appear chronologically, each with a synopsis/review. Additional information provided for each film includes production companies and alternate British and U.S. titles, and the work includes eight useful appendices.

This carefully edited collection has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Contents: Edgar Wallace: The Four Just Men The Council of Justice The Just Men of Cordova The Law of the Four Just Men The Nine Bears Angel Esquire The Fourth Plague or Red Hand Grey Timothy or Pallard the Punter The Man who Bought London The Melody of Death A Debt Discharged The Tomb of T'Sin The Secret House The Clue of the Twisted Candle Down under Donovan The Man who Knew The Green Rust Kate Plus Ten The Daffodil Murder Jack O'Judgment The Angel of Terror The Crimson Circle Take-A-Chance Anderson The Valley of Ghosts P.-C. Lee Series Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes Series A Study in Scarlet The Sign of Four The Hound of the Baskervilles The Valley of Fear The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Return of Sherlock Holmes His Last Bow Other Mysteries True Crime Stories Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White No Name Armadale The Moonstone The Haunted Hotel The Law and The Lady The Dead Secret Miss or Mrs? R. Austin Freeman: Dr. Thorndyke Series Other Mysteries Agatha Christie: The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Secret Adversary H. C. McNeile: Bulldog Drummond The Black Gang G. K. Chesterton: The Innocence of Father Brown The Wisdom of Father Brown Arthur Morrison: Martin Hewitt Series Dorrington & Hicks Stories Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados Stories Victor L. Whitechurch: The Canon in Residence Thrilling Stories of the Railway Thomas W. Hanshew: Hamilton Cleek Series E. W. Hornung: A. J. Raffles Series Mystery Novels J. S. Fletcher: Mystery Novels Paul Campenhaye – Specialist in Criminology Rober Barr: The Triumph of Eugéne Valmont Jennie Baxter, Journalist The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs The Adventure of the Second Swag Frank Froest Mystery Novels C. N. Williamson & A. M. Williamson Mystery Novels Isabel Ostander Mystery Novels

This carefully crafted ebook collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Edgar Wallace: The Four Just Men The Council of Justice The Just Men of Cordova The Law of the Four Just Men The Nine Bears Angel Esquire The Fourth Plague or Red Hand Grey Timothy or Pallard the Punter The Man who Bought London The Melody of Death A Debt Discharged The Tomb of T'Sin The Secret House The Clue of the Twisted Candle Down under Donovan The Man who Knew The Green Rust Kate Plus Ten The Daffodil Murder Jack O'Judgment The Angel of Terror The Crimson Circle Take-A-Chance Anderson The Valley of Ghosts P.-C. Lee Series Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes Series A Study in Scarlet The Sign of Four The Hound of the Baskervilles The Valley of Fear The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Return of Sherlock Holmes His Last Bow Other Mysteries True Crime Stories Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White No Name Armadale The Moonstone The Haunted Hotel The Law and The Lady The Dead Secret Miss or Mrs? R. Austin Freeman: Dr. Thorndyke Series Other Mysteries Agatha Christie: The Mysterious Affair at Styles The Secret Adversary H. C. McNeile: Bulldog Drummond The Black Gang G. K. Chesterton: The Innocence of Father Brown The Wisdom of Father Brown Arthur Morrison: Martin Hewitt Series Dorrington & Hicks Stories Ernest Bramah: Max Carrados Stories Victor L. Whitechurch: The Canon in Residence Thrilling Stories of the Railway Thomas W. Hanshew: Hamilton Cleek Series E. W. Hornung: A. J. Raffles Series Mystery Novels J. S. Fletcher: Mystery Novels Paul Campenhaye – Specialist in Criminology Rober Barr: The Triumph of Eugéne Valmont Jennie Baxter, Journalist The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs The Adventure of the Second Swag Frank Froest Mystery Novels C. N. Williamson & A. M. Williamson Mystery Novels Isabel Ostander Mystery Novels