As a young, up and coming electrical engineer living in England, Ray Brooks had everything he could want'Äîa high paying job, late nights, and fast cars. All he was missing in his life was the meaning.A series of events brought him to Japan, where he met a man who played the shakuhachi, an ancient Japanese flute. That fortuitous interaction motivated Brooks to embark on a journey to learn this very difficult instrument.Through playing the shakuhachi, he began to understand th...

An uplifting story of spiritual awakening revealing simple yet profound truths about our natural state of being, set amidst the atmospheric banks of the River Ganges that will appeal to self-help and Eat, Pray, Love readers.It is widely thought that finding peace, happiness and freedom requires tremendous effort – that in order to achieve a state of contentment and harmony in life, a journey must be taken, or someone or something must be awakened or overcome.After a chance ...

Learning My Lines by Ray Brooks. 'Ray Brooks’ acting career has spanned more than four decades, from his breakthrough role in iconic 1960s film The Knack, to infamy as the murderer of Pauline Fowler in EastEnders. The diary Ray wrote while working on EastEnders provides us with a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes at Albert Square, and also prompts Ray to take dips into his past: growing up in Brighton with his bus conductress mother, working with Ken Loach on the ground-breaking BBC dr...

The Shadow that Seeks the Sun is a thought-provoking memoir of the author’s search for unconditional freedom. With affectionate humor, the narrator, Ray, introduces an unforgettable cast of characters who inhabit the banks of the River Ganges in Rishikesh, India. Interwoven throughout these lively stories are nine insightful conversations that take place between Ray and Rudra, an intriguing Anglo-Indian man he met by chance on the ghats. With Rudra’s guidance, these simple, yet profou...

The epic qualities of Lorna Doone – seen both in its extreme archetypal characters as well as in the action and language itself – are what makes it such a riveting adventure throughout. Just as the boy John Ridd climbed the waterfall into an almost fairytale world of evil Doones and the enchanting Lorna; so we are drawn into Blackmore’s fictional drama, which is at the same time both real and magical. Notice how John’s narrative and actions – at times grandly poetic and heroic, at others u...

All four radio series of Robert Barr’s gripping London-based police dramaOriginally broadcast as Detective: Stories of Crime and Detection in London, this BBC radio drama ran for four series between 1980 and 1985. Written by the award-winning creator of Z Cars and Softly Softly, Robert Barr, it comprised 39 thrilling stories set in London’s criminal underworld, all of which are collected here for the first time.DS...

A bookseller turns P. I. in this intriguing five-part BBC radio thrillerGrahame Mayer specialises in selling books, not solving mysteries. So when he’s asked to play private investigator and track down a soldier from the Spanish Civil War, he wonders if it’s some sort of test – and if so, what will happen if he fails...Armed with fresh information, he is sent to Glasgow on the trail of Jock Cameron, and a meeting with a former nurse who knew him back in Spa...

A collection of suspenseful standalone radio thrillers by Edward BoydScottish writer Edward Boyd was well known for his TV and radio plays, including The Corridor People and The View from Daniel Pike, and he also penned several episodes of Z-Cars. He specialised in the thriller genre, and this collection showcases six of his best radio crime dramas.The Wolf Far Hence – Steve Gardiner heads to the Highland...

It is Molly Clarkson's fiftieth birthday. She is having a party. She is rich, but she is having a small party - only four people. Four people, however, who all need the same thing: they need her money. She will not give them the money, so they are waiting for her to die. And there are other people who are also waiting for her to die. But one person can't wait. And so, on her fiftieth birthday, Molly Clarkson is going to die.

Tom Walsh had a lot to learn about life. He liked travelling, and he was in no hurry. He liked meeting people, anyone and everyone. He liked the two American girls on the train. They were nice and very friendly. They knew a lot of places. Tom thought they were fun. Tom certainly had a lot to learn about life. This is a collection of short stories about adventures on trains. Strange, wonderful, and frightening things can happen on trains - and all of them happen here.

Tucked away in the eastern end of the Himalayas lies Bhutan: a tiny, landlocked country bordering China, India, and Nepal. One of the most remote places in the world, Bhutan is rich in natural beauty, exotic landscapes, and ancient wisdom, where people are genuinely happy with very few material possessions and the government embraces "Gross National Happiness" instead of Gross National Product.As one of the few Americans to have lived in Bhutan, Linda Leami...

India for first time visitors. A guide to the cultural quirks of India.