Birmingham's Front Line offers a fascinating and unique insight into police culture and the problems faced by those on the thin blue line during a tumultuous time in Britain’s second city. Containing accounts from the author and his former colleagues of robberies, rapes and murders, these true stories will shock and stun as the author reveals the tools and tactics used to combat the violence, bribery and general disregard of law and order encountered every day as the police fought to bring...

Looking at how hooliganism continues to plague British football, former police officers Michael Layton and Bill Rogerson explore the continued effect of violence on the modern game. The Hooligans Are Still Among Us examines the damage wrought by hooligans travelling to and from domestic matches as well as within the stadium itself, the English disease abroad and the continuing factor of racist and sectarian motivations in fuelling the madness. Layton and Rogerson also paint a portrait of s...

‘On an average Saturday, some thirty trains carried police escorts of between two and eight officers. Officers sometimes reached the destination with their uniforms soiled with spittle, and other filth, burnt with cigarette ends, or slashed.’ Charting the history of violent acts committed by football hooligans on the British rail network and London Underground, numerous retired police officers offer a frightening, and often humorous, insight into how they battled ‘the English disease’. Rec...

Deep in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside lie a number of secret places that played a special part in protecting a generation from the onslaught of a world war.Travellers passing through leafy Worcestershire lanes may catch a glimpse of a structure that seems out of place against the backdrop of fields and hills – the dish of a gigantic radio telescope.How did such an incongruous structure arrive in the middle of nowhere, and what does it do?This book answers...

"I am not the Black Piper . . . but I do know the Piper."If you listen closely," she said, "you will hear stories that will transport you into the heart of adventure, force you directly into the path of danger, and if you are lucky . . . or perhaps unlucky"—she looked at the unmoving dragon behind her and inhaled, only barely losing her grip on her smile—"transform you." Her attention turned back to the crowd, and her eyes grew mysterious. "In essence, dear people...

How does citizen activism win changes in national policy? Which factors help to make myriad efforts by diverse actors add up to reform? What is needed to overcome setbacks, and to consolidate the smaller victories?These questions need answers. Aid agencies have invested heavily in supporting civil society organizations as change agents in fledgling and established democracies alike. Evidence gathered by donors, NGOs and academics demonstrates how advocacy and campaigning can reconf...

Michael Rosen’s hilarious viral video poem is brought to life in picture book form by award-winning illustrator Neal Layton.Young Michael thinks his dad knows everything. That is, until the fateful day when his family sits down to eat, and the potato is a bit hot. Michael knows to blow on the potato before eating, as does his brother and his mom. So why does his dad pop it straight into his mouth? Michael Rosen’s amusing retelling of the tale of his dad and the too...

More mayhem from the four-legged narrator! When his pet human, Rover, goes to school, our canine hero thinks she is trapped against her will. He goes to the rescue, and when he sees her surrounded by monster masks, leaps to the wrong conclusion and to her rescue, with the usual chaotic consequences!A brilliant follow-up to bestselling Rover and Howler.Rover: 'Layton's wildly exuberant illustrations provide the perfect accompaniment to the four leg...

The third uproarious adventure from the comic pairing of Michael Rosen and Neal Layton sees Malcolm and his awful Uncle Gobb return, each with a cunning plot ...This time, there is a plot. That's the plot of the story. Or is it? The plot of the story could also be that Uncle Gobb has an evil plot. And his plot is about a plot. A plot of land. Are you following? Good! The plot of land is behind Malcolm's school and it is where Uncle Gobb wants to set up his own rival Dread Shed Scho...

The second uproarious adventure from the comic pairing of Michael Rosen and Neal Layton sees Malcolm and the peculiar Uncle Gobb go to America, each with a cunning plan ...Even though Malcolm managed to bamboozle and confuzle Uncle Gobb in the last book (hooray!), it was only temporary (boo!). Uncle Gobb is still living with him and still roaring at him about peas and poetry and Peter Parker.This time the plan to get rid of Uncle Gobb has to be mega. It ha...

Humans can be so confusing, especially when you're a dog. I live with a family of humans, you see. A big, man-human, a big lady-human and a little girl-human. Well, one day the lady-human's tummy started getting bigger and bigger. Then - and you won't believe this - suddenly her tummy got smaller, but there was another human living with us! And the big humans won't let me anywhere near it! Honestly, I don't know what all the fuss is about . . .A massively entertai...

Malcolm is in all ways an ordinary ten-year-old. This is a perfectly ordinary story featuring one perfectly ordinary ten year old, his very bossy uncle, some baked beans, a school which tries to make interesting things BORING, the famed Italian city of Ponky, and a genie who appears when you rub your nose. It also includes lots of very useful facts, many of which are untrue.