'From a young age, I was flirting with the sea and its power.' says Ben Thompson.This is the colourful and moving story of a boy who realised at an early age that the sea was his calling and followed his dream. By the age of twenty-five, Ben Thompson was being paid to dive the world's most exquisite coral reefs. Few people have worked as dive instructors in such varied locations around the world as he has. From exploring the far reaches of South East Asia by local yacht to off-road...

Every debate about the Scottish constitution should include the topic of Scottish Home Rule, and if there is to be another referendum in Scotland then Home Rule should definitely be one of the options on the ballot paper.Home Rule is not widely understood being seen by many Unionists as the slippery slope to Independence and by Independence supporters as a Unionist proposal to retain sovereignty over Scotland. It is however a strong proposal in its own right with a separate history...

Ben Fogle's life to date has been action-packed to say the least. He has rowed across the Atlantic, walked to the South Pole, run the Sahara and skated across Sweden. He has encountered remote tribespeople in deepest Papua New Guinea, caused a Boeing 747 to dump £100k of fuel before making an emergency landing in Sao Paolo, and been mistaken for Prince William on numerous occasions. He has chased a tarantula round his back garden, survived a flesh-eating tropical disease that required two ...

A TIMES POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEARA LONGMAN/HISTORY TODAY BOOK OF THE YEARThe award-winning history of the British Welfare State –now fully revised and updated for the 21st Century.‘A masterpiece’ Sunday TimesGiant Want. Giant Disease. Giant Ignorance. Giant Squalor. Giant Idleness.These were the Five Giants that loomed over the post-war reconstruction...

This new book offers a comprehensive and factual view on the Scottish independence debate from some of the UK's leading academics.

For as long as he can remember, Ben Fogle has been surrounded by creatures great and small. As a young boy his best friends were Liberty and Lexington, the family dogs. Then there was Milly the puma-sized cat, Jaws the goldfish and three very ‘charismatic’ parrots, not to mention a whole host of weird and wonderful animals that came through the doors of his father’s veterinary practice.Then came Inca, Ben’s adorable black Labrador, who changed his life. Since first melting the nati...

The history of Britain in the last thirty years, under both Conservative and Labour governments, has been dominated by one figure - Margaret Thatcher. Her election marked a decisive break with the past and her premiership transformed not just her country, but the nature of democratic leadership. In his 'argued history' Simon Jenkins analyses this revolution from its beginnings in the turmoil of the 1970s through the social and economic changes of the 1980s. Was Thatcherism a mere medicine ...

On 18 September 2014, Scots will decide their future: should the country quit the United Kingdom and take control of its own destiny, or should it remain part of what advocates call the most successful political and economic union of modern times? Everyone in the country has a stake in this decision. Now, in this fascinating and insightful new book, David Torrance charts the countdown to the big day, weaving his way through a minefield of claim and counterclaim, and knocking down fictions ...

My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharingis a highly personal account of Gordon Brown's Scotland, the nation he was born in, and our Britain, the multinational state that the Scots, English, Welsh and Northern Irish have created and share.Laying bare his family's ancestry over 300 years of the Union and explaining how it shaped his background, Brown charts what it was like growing up in Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s, and explains the influence of religion, education and Sc...

Exam Board: EdexcelLevel: AS/A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst Teaching: September 2015First Exam: June 2016Target success in Edexcel AS/A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, s...

In the last five years Riaan Manser has re-written the definition of tenacity and become the epitome of determination. Riaan rose to prominence when he became the first person to cycle around the entire perimeter of Africa. For over two years, he padalled a mammoth 37,000kms through 34 countries; some of which rank as the most dangerous places on Earth. It was a feat that earned him the title Adventurer of the Year 2006 and made his resulting book, Around Africa on my Bicycle, a best-selle...

**READ ABOUT THE HEROIC RESCUE, AS SEEN IN RON HOWARD'S THIRTEEN LIVES, FROM THE MAN AT THE HEART OF THE SEARCH.‘A profound and thrilling read.’** —COLIN FARRELL‘Riveting...a powerful story written by a hero who lived it.’ —RON HOWARD, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13This is the thrilling account of the dramatic Thai cave rescue which saved the lives of thirteen people, from the diver who led the rescue.In this