Since it was first published in 2005, A History of Thailand has been hailed as an authoritative, lively and readable account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. From the early settlements in the Chao Phraya basin to today, Baker and Phongpaichit trace how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree peasants was transformed by colonialism, the expansion of the rice frontier and the immigration of traders and labourers from southern China. This book examines how the mon...

**Longlisted, Australian Book Design Awards 2025, Best Designed Non-Fiction Cover**Swimming Sydney is a tale of 52 swims in and around Sydney that take place over a calendar year. From Palm Beach to Cronulla, Mount Druitt to Bondi, Chris Baker swims at iconic beaches, municipal pools, harbour baths, tidal rock pools, bushland lakes and a backyard pool.Taking his weekly plunges, Baker reflects on friendship, history and family, and how swimming can ...

A History of Thailand offers a lively and accessible account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. This book explores how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree peasants was transformed and examines how the monarchy managed the foundation of a new nation-state at the turn of the twentieth century. The authors capture the clashes between various groups in their attempts to take control of the nation-state in the twentieth century. They track Thailand's economic chan...

A humorous guide to grammar and punctuation through raunchy language and irreverent references.The truth about English is that it can get pretty boring. Dangling modifiers, gerunds, punctuation marks—it's enough to make you want to drop out of high school. Swearing and sex on the other hand, well, these time-honored pastimes warm the cockles of our hearts. Now, The Elements of F*cking Style drags English grammar out of the ivory tower and into the gutter, ...

Ethan is 33 years old when one decision nearly costs him everything.After an overdose leaves him fighting for another chance at life, Ethan wakes up knowing that surviving was only the beginning. With little more than $100, a beat-up phone, the lessons his grandfather left behind, and a determination he thought he had lost, Ethan sets out to rebuild his life from the ground up.There are no shortcuts waiting for him. No sudden fortune. No guarantee that tomorrow will be easi...

A long night ahead means plenty of time for web-making and bug-catching for this meticulous orb-weaver spider in this brilliant, non-fiction picture book that uniquely captures the spider's point of view.Once night falls, Weaver emerges from the rolled-up leaf she sleeps in during the day, and begins searching for the perfect place to spin her latest web. She climbs up and scurries down, and winds around and around until she’s created something per...

Do you feel confident at work? Are there times when you lack confidence but can’t show it? The role of confidence in successful leadership is both significant and undisputed and yet organisations are full of leaders and teams who don’t have as much as they want and, even worse, are not doing anything about it.Attempts to develop confidence are usually confined to empty affirmations and vanilla-flavoured self-help books. In contrast, this book provides an evidence-based code that ou...

The world needs changing – that much is clear. But how best to do it? Change how you vote? Get out and protest? Have an argument?The fact is that the power sits in your pocket. Changing how we spend our money has more potential to change the world than almost anything else we can do with our time on this planet.Consumer spending accounts for over 60% of GDP across the world and it will hit a staggering $77 trillion a year by 2029. But the v...

The Battle of the Lys, fought in April 1918, was critical for the Allies and for Germany. The outcome of the Great War hung in the balance. After the successful German offensive on the Somme, their breakthrough on the Lys threatened Ypres and the British hold on Flanders and brought them close to victory on the Western Front. The Allied line was broken it was only saved by improvisation and great gallantry—and the German onslaught tested Allied cooperation under the newly appointed General...

The second of two Battelground Europe titles covering this highly significant battle of spring 1918.The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaisers men. Following close on the heels of the devastating Operation Michael attack in March, which had been aimed against the British front on the Somme and Arras, this offensive, Operation Georgette, was aimed at strangling the vital railways a...

The world needs changing – that much is clear. But how best to do it? Change how you vote? Get out and protest? Have an argument?The fact is that the power sits in your pocket. Changing how we spend our money has more potential to change the world than almost anything else we can do with our time on this planet.Consumer spending accounts for over 60% of GDP across the world and it will hit a staggering $77 trillion a year by 2029. But the v...

Sir Reebull, Dashi and Pex are on a mission to escape from AbacusTower. Can you help them solve the different maths puzzles and set them free? Escape From Abacus Tower! is part of the Galaxy range of books from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Galaxy provides captivating fiction and non-fiction for Pink A to White band. The rich collection of highly decodable books immerses children in a range of cross-curricular topics and genres. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to su...