You get the insurgents you deserve. The United Kingdom lies in ruins, torn apart by fear, arrogance, and an inexhaustible supply of stupidity. England teeters on the brink of economic disaster, while behind a giant wall, Scotland labours under the tyrannical rule of the Marischal. The people cry out for a hero. Unfortunately, they’ve got James Macfarlane. The incidental tycoon and aspiring alcoholic is ill-equipped to launch a rebellion. But Mac —as he is warmly known to a dwindling number...

‘I have one question for you, Mr Macfarlane, and please don’t take it the wrong way. Do you have any idea what you are doing? Any idea at all?’James Macfarlane — whisky tycoon and dilettante freedom fighter — is beginning to suspect his antagonists have a good point. His plan to overthrow Caledon’s despotic leader, the Marischal, had been going swimmingly. That was before he was thrown in a dungeon, shot in the face, and damn near shipwrecked. But little does Mac know that things are about...

This is a book for the observant and the curious. A book for people who take in their surroundings and wonder at the smallest detail: why? Above all, it's a book about numbers - those that surround us every day, and the intriguing stories behind them.From the 7-day week to 24-carat gold, Chanel No. 5 to five-star luxury, The Secret Lives of Numbers figures out the mysterious background to the numbers we encounter on a daily basis. Revealing the facts behind those f...

THE SUNDAY TIMES-BESTSELLING BOOK BY ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST-LOVED COMIC WRITERS**Pre-order now: David Mitchell's new book Dishonesty is the Second-best Policy**There are many aspects of modern life that trouble award-winning comedian David Mitchell, such as:Why is every film or TV programme a sequel or a remake?Why are people so f***ing hung up about swearing?Why do ...

‘Another terrific book by Rob Eastaway’ SIMON SINGH‘A delightfully accessible guide to how to play with numbers’ HANNAH FRYHow many cats are there in the world?What's the chance of winning the lottery twice?And just how long does it take to count to a million?Learn how to tackle tricky maths problems with nothing but the back of an envelope, a pencil and some good old-fashioned brain power.Join Rob Eastaway a...

Money makes the world go round, but does it make us happy?Money is one of the most fraught subjects; it raises powerful emotions in all of us. Too much money often corrupts people - too little can make people feel desperate.Growing up in rural Queensland, journalist Rick Morton has known poverty from the inside. Now he isn't poor, but his spending habits and attitude to money are still informed by growing up without it. In On Money, Morton examines...

This book is designed for people who are learning English as a foreign language and wish to improve their use of English phrasal verbs. This is the second set of 101 phrasal verbs by the author.This book contains 101 phrasal verbs that are frequently used in English, arranged alphabetically. Each phrasal verb is provided with two examples of its use. The examples are provided as answers to questions from the IELTS test, but the book can be used by any teenage or adult learner who i...

Did you know that . . . a soldier's biggest social blunder is called jack brew - making yourself a cuppa without making one for anyone else? That twitchers have an expression for a bird that can't be identified - LBJ (the letters stand for Little Brown Job)? Or that builders call plastering the ceiling doing Lionel Richie's dancefloor? Susie Dent does.Ever wondered why football man...

Hugh Dennis' hilarious and insightful exploration of the changing image of Britain and Britishness will enthral those who love Outnumbered, The Now Show, Mock the Week and quintessentially British humour.'Utterly readable and laugh-out-loud funny' - Stephen FryHugh Dennis has secretly been worrying about what being "British" meant for nearly a decade, ever since his friend Ardal O'Hanlon had told him in passing that he was the most British person h...

In THE AUDACITY OF HYPE, Armando Iannucci cuts straight to the heart of the insanity and sherbet-headed nonsense of modern life. THE AUDACITY OF HYPE brings together his views on diverse subjects, ranging from wickedly funny pen portraits of the sometimes loveable, usually despicable chumps who like to think of themselves as our political elite, and their bonkers schemes to save the world that are in fact likely to do us more harm than a pile of witches, to WMD, disaster movies, the pitfal...

RY CLV RNGH? Can you find the connection between Gandalf, Sherlock Holmes, David Brent and Ford Perfect?Only Connect is the ultimate test of knowledge and lateral thinking. Since 2008 the fiendishly difficult quiz show has been challenging contestants to find connections between apparently unrelated clues.The Only Connect Quiz Book collects over 200 of the most entertaining and perplexing challenges from the team behind the BBC’s hugely po...

With a foreword by Tim Rice, this book will change the way you see the world. Why is it better to buy a lottery ticket on a Friday? Why are showers always too hot or too cold? And what's the connection between a rugby player taking a conversion and a tourist trying to get the best photograph of Nelson's Column?These and many other fascinating questions are answered in this entertaining and highly informative book, which is ideal for anyone wanting to remind themselves – or discover...