John Seddon explains how successive governments have failed to deliver what our public services need and exposes the devastation that three decades of political fads, fashions and bad theory have caused. With specific examples and new evidence, he chronicles how the Whitehall ideas machine has failed on a monumental scale - and the impact that this has had on public sector workers and those of us who use public sector services.

The hottest team in military SF is hack in action¾ with Book I of a red-hot sequel to The General series! Planted by interstellar probes on hundreds of human-occupied worlds, the downloaded personalities of Raj Whitehall and the ancient battle computer known as Center work together for planetary unity. Their goal is to prepare those worlds for membership in the Second Federation of Man. But on one planet they do the opposite: on Visager they work to prevent unity. For on Visager a nation-state of vicious militarists is about to start the final war to unite their world-once that is accomplished and their technology has matured they will turn outward, bringing their fatal racist infection to the stars. John Hosten is the son of a high general of the Chosen. Jeffrey Fair is the son of an admiral of the only nation on Visager that might be capable of halting the onslaught. Through a strange twist of fate they have become as brothers united in their hatred of all that the Chosen hope to do. Only they ¾with the aid of the disembodied voices of their mentors from the stars-stand between eternal tyranny for their world and eternal war for the galaxy. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

"Conqueror" comprises the second half of The General series, which was originally published as five separate novels: "The Forge, The Hammer, The Anvil, The Steel" and "The Sword." This is their first unified publication.

'The complete history of Whitehall Palace, the official seat of the English monarchy for almost 160 years

Cole Whitehall had asked Lacy Jarrett to wait for him. But after the war, he returned to the rambling Whitehall cattle ranch a changed man, the promise of lasting love replaced by a cold, hard distance. And Lacy yearned to reignite the unquenched passion they'd once shared. Unwittingly compromised into marriage, Cole refused to let Lacy get too close—but still, she longed to learn the secrets the handsome Texan harbored in his heart. Tormented, she wouldn't let him shoulder the burden alone, and soon the pursuit of an endless love burned bright enough to set their world ablaze….

'Screamingly funny...a splendidly effervescent and enjoyable book' Daily Mail One part Lonely Planet, one part tell-all family memoir, this is the definitive and hilarious guide on how to survive family holidays. No one has more experience of travelling together than the Whitehalls. They've given us a window into their escapades in the hit Netflix show, Travels With My Father, and in this brilliantly funny book they've pooled their advice for fellow travellers. In doing so they are sharing some of their best anecdotes, their most extreme experiences and their most valuable advice. It's part memoir of family life, part travel guide and full on, laugh-out-loud funny.

"Theatrical agent Michael Whitehall has been involved with the careers of actors ranging from Kenneth More, Tom Courtenay, Colin Firth, Dorothy Tutin, Edward Fox, Jack Davenport, Judi Dench, Ian Charleson, Peter Bowles, Elaine Stritch and Donald Sinden to Nigel Havers, James Fox, Angela Thorne, Richard E Grant, Stewart Granger, Anton Rodgers, Patrick Macnee, John Le Mesurier, Daniel Day Lewis, David Hemmings and Richard Griffiths.In Shark-Infested Waters, Whitehall deftly sketches the social comedy of his eccentric background: growing up in suburban London in the 1950s, his schooldays at Ampleforth, where he was taught by Basil Hume, and his subsequent adventures as a prep school master ? before becoming an actors? agent.From his eccentric grandfather ? who set the curtains twitching with his penchant for cross-dressing ? to his mother Nora?s aspirations to genteel living, complete with Pekinese Foxgrove Candy Floss ? Michael Whitehall sketches the foibles of his own family with the same deliciously dry wit he reveals when talking about his clients."

Winner of the 2012 Man Booker Prize Winner of the 2012 Costa Book of the Year Award The sequel to Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and New York Times bestseller, Wolf Hall delves into the heart of Tudor history with the downfall of Anne Boleyn Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice. At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne's head? Bring Up the Bodies is one of The New York Times' 10 Best Books of 2012, one of Publishers Weekly's Top 10 Best Books of 2012 and one of The Washington Post's 10 Best Books of 2012

At sprawling Casa Verde, old flames still burn...

A captivating spy thriller taking the reader from 60s sex scandals to the Vietnam War, by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre' 'The thinking person's John le Carré' Tribune 'Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent 'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers Weekly Lady Somers is rich, beautiful and powerful and the first woman to head up the Ministry of Defence. She also has something to hide. Catesby's job is to uncover her story and bury it forever. His quest leads him through the sex scandals of London in the Swinging Sixties and then on to Moscow where a shocking message changes everything. His next mission is a desperate hunt through the war-torn jungles of Southeast Asia, where he finally makes a heart-breaking discovery that is as personal as it is political. It is a secret that Catesby may not live to share. This captivating novel is set in a world of distorted reflections where nothing or no one is what they seem to be. Thrilling and deeply intelligent, The Whitehall Mandarin reveals the most guarded intelligence secret of modern times not only exploring the enigma of China's rise to head the superpowers, but plumbing the depths of sometimes unbelievable events that have changed our world. Edward Wilson's page-turning thriller is not just a chilling story of multi-national espionage, terror, greed and duplicity, but a frightening and eye-opening exposé of secrets, lies and false promises that may not, in fact, be fiction. 'We attempt to second-guess both Catesby and his crafty creator, and are soundly outfoxed at every turn' Barry Forshaw, Independent 'This cynically complex plot is laid over perfectly described settings, from London to Moscow to Vietnam. Wilson's characters and their consciences come alive to lend the book its power' Kirkus Reviews Praise for Edward Wilson: 'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald 'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe 'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent