A must have product!

Even if you have passed you test years ago, this will open your eyes as to the new signs that are out there,Mark

Inspiring

At first I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book as I thought there might be too many mountaineering tales, however once I started I found I couldn't put it down. It is such an unlikely yet true story and serves as a reminder of what one person with vision and determination can achieve. It also gave an interesting and informative insight into the politics and people of the region in a most personal and human way. It certainly makes you think about how the"war" is being conducted in Afghanistan. Greg Mortenson is a truly inspiring man.

gruffalo's child

Suitable for any child (or granny!) who is a fan of the original book ..however it is not nearly as good as the ***** original, The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child

Brilliant Score

Excellently written book. Completely blows the cover of fake, media endorsed medical surveys. Everyone should read this book. You will become the arch sceptic.

Lovely line of books

I have nearly all of the books in this line and find them really good. As a well seasoned cook, most of the recipes are really good basic recipes that I have built on and improved but for starter cooks they are good as they are as well. Good value - recommended.

Sophie Kinsella was writing about me!!

I always feel S.Kinsella's characters are me. I find them easy to identify with and down to earth. This is a heart warming piece of chick lit well worth the money!

True Blood Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse Vampire)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books and went through all 8 of them in the set in just over a week. I found them very compulsive reading and 100% better than the televised series would lead you to believe. The series does not do the books justice. I am looking forward to the next book in the sequence.

Brilliant

This book was brilliant. We read it because we enjoyed the twilight series, but we all thought this was better. Can't wait to see what she writes next!!! Highly recommended read.

Fantastic ideas - very yummy recipes

Ching provides another 100 great recipes - tried a few and they taste much better than anything from the local takeaway, and much better for your heart! Highly recommended.

Very well explained

This is a very helpful guide for those parents who are weaning for the first time.<br /><br />It is superbly well illustrated and has a easy to follow step by step approach to weaning.<br /><br />Written in an easy to understand language and with many menus using things that can be found in most kitchens.<br /><br />Starting with carrots and bananas all the way into"proper" food.<br /><br />5 stars

Wonderful

It is absolutely terrible to think of all the poor girls who were given over to the convent against their wishes all those years ago. This book depicts the absolute despair felt by a 16 year old being forced against her will into something so severe. It was so interesting though, to see how many did learn to live and adapt right till their dying day. There was no choice. They were allowed, it appears, to not take their vows after a year if they felt that they were not well-suited, but few did as it would bring disgrace upon the family who clearly wanted that particular daughter there, and of course, the convent would not be eager to let them go because they wanted to keep the dowry. Zuana who is asked to help the novice Serafina to adapt to convent life is a really interesting character. She is highly intelligent and talented, and has taken after her father in mixing herbs and potions to help the sick. Her father's sudden death meant that there were no other real prospects than to enter the convent. She is deeply affected by the anguish and despair of Serafina, and starts to question more and more the ways of the convent and the subjugation of young women against their will. What I found so well portrayed was that there were the religious zealots who took everything to the letter, and the general religious fervour which after certain circumstances escalated things to an almost hysterical fever pitch. Yet through it all the person who behaved in the most charitable, humane, gentle and decent way was the one woman, Zuana, who starts to question so much around her, but captures all that religion should be if only those real values were being adhered to. To say too much more would be to ruin a wonderful read. This was an amazing book and is highly recommended. I shall be looking out for all her other books, of which there are quite a few.

Brutal and stunning

Elderly couple Otto and Anna Quangel live in Berlin. Neither belongs to the Nazi Party because Otto refuses to give a proportion of his wages to it as he wants to save. Everything changes when they receive news that their son - their only child - has died in the war. Partly in response to his loss and partly in defiance against the hypocrisy and corruption of the Reich, Otto and Anna launch a campaign against the regime, leaving anonymous postcards around the city denouncing the Party, the war and even Hitler himself.<br /><br />The Quangel's civil disobedience is interwoven with the story of other Berlin residents. There's Eva Kluge, a post woman married to workshy philanderer, Enno, whose world crumbles when she discovers that her beloved eldest son is an SS man whose committed atrocities against Jewish civilians. Emil Borkhausen's a petty blackmailer and police informant living in the basement of the Quangel's building with his prostitute wife and brood of feral children, led by the sharp-minded Kuno. Inspector Escherich is assigned to investigate responsibility for the postcards and who quickly finds that his Gestapo superior cares more about the appearance of justice than its attainment. Finally there's Baldur Persicke, a sociopathic, cunning teenage member of the Hitler Youth and enthusiastic Nazi who will stop at nothing in his desire to rise to the top. <br /><br />Fallada's tale (translated by Michael Hoffman) is a complex affair, running different plot points for each of the characters, which intersect at critical points in a way that is both heartbreaking while also being a damning indictment of the Nazi regime. Based on a real act of civil disobedience, the outcome is inevitable but the tension comes from seeing the way in which Nazi ideology has perverted every level of society, leaving everyone self-motivated, venal and yet also constantly afraid. There are no easy answers in this novel and few happy endings, which makes it depressing at times and at times utterly chilling, e.g. when Escherich experiences the same brutality he's dished out to others and when Baldur goes to visit his alcoholic father in an asylum.<br /><br />This edition includes an afterword by Geoff Wilkes which gives details on Fallada's life and a brief summary of the real life events that inspired this novel. <br /><br />It's an intricate, complex story that horrifies and moves in equal measure. It's well worth a few hours of your time.

A Must Read

For the readers of the SAS and operations this is a must read.<br /><br />An excellent book.

Great fun!

Brilliant! In usual Julia Donaldson style, fast rhythm, funny words and great story. Of course the best pictures by AS. Loved by 3 & 5 year old (and 9 and 41yr old actually!)

Cutting For Stone

A really wonderful read....so much story...wonderful characters...one of the best books I have read. I would recommend this book 100%. If you want a story line to get completely involved in this is the book to read.

Disapppointing and I'm sad about that

Let me start by saying that for me the Kermode/Mayo film programme on the radio is absolutely required listening, by podcast if not live.<br /><br />That is probably why this book is such a disappointment. Yes it's easily readable, yes it's entertaining, yes Kermode writes as he speaks, but this book has a knocked off cobbled together feel which looks more like cashing in than having any merit of its own.<br /><br />What I was hoping for was an autobiography which gave new information about the author. What the book delivers is a series of extended anecdotes, many of which are already familiar to fans of the radio show. The nadir of this is when Kermode repeats his review of Mama Mia. Now when this was broadcast, it was an absolutely jaw droppingly brilliant piece of radio. My better half quite rightly described it as being"one of those moments which make the licence fee worth every penny". Here it is cold and uninspiring, artificially shoe-horned in like the latest single on a greatest hits album.<br /><br />The anecdotes are not, however, without merit. The extended trip to Russia, the shooting of Werner Herzog, and the story of Kermode's first radio broadcasts are all good value.<br /><br />So, a qualified recommendation. It is worth buying, just don't expect too much of it.

The Gruffalo's Child

My son, who is 3 years old, loves this book just as much as he loves the Gruffalo. We will definitely buy more Julia Donaldson books.

Quite a tour de force

Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl is easy to read, unchallenging and salacious. I enjoyed it as a switch-off book. Belle is candid, frank and in your face. She's very matter of fact about what she does with her clients despite the racy, pornographic detail. Somehow none of it seems sordid, it's more a transaction devoid of any emotion. This is contrasted with her life outside work where she has the same needs and desires as everyone else - to be loved and appreciated. This diary was a glimpse into another world, and despite feeling like a voyeur at times, it's a real page turner. I liked Belle, she's never boring, pretty gutsy and always comes out on top.

Should try harder!

I pre-ordered this book hoping that Joanna Trollope would be back on form after 'Friday Nights' which I found disappointing. Wish I had waited for the reviews and bought something else! Life's too short to read badly constructed books and this one is exceptionally weak in terms of plot, characterisation and prose. An author in decline - very sad.

OPERATION MINCEMEAT

Yet another unputdownable treasure from Macntyre. He has the gift to lead the reader down various paths before unleashing the plot in full.Agent ZigZag was excellent and this ranks right up there with it.<br /><br />Compelling.