Another Spanner in the Works


Book Description

The authors describe how teachers in white areas can challenge attitudes and help children develop respect for diversity, understanding of interdependence, and skills of openness and acceptance. Tackling the hard issues of negative perceptions and prejudice, this book offers a mix of stories of effective practice in white schools.




A Spanner in the Works


Book Description

From the end of the Great War and into the 1920s, Alice Anderson was considered nothing less than a national treasure. She was a woman of 'rare achievement' who excelled as a motoring entrepreneur and inventor. Young, petite, boyish and full of charm, Alice was the only woman in Australia to successfully pull off an almost impossible feat: without family or husband to back her financially, she built a garage to her own specifications and established the country's only motor service run entirely by women.Alice was also an adventurer, and her most famous road trip occurred in 1926 in a Baby Austin she had purchased exclusively to prove that the smallest car off a production line could successfully make the 1500-mile-plus journey on and off road from Melbourne to Alice Springs, central Australia.However, less than a week after her return, Alice was fatally shot in the head at the rear of her own garage. She was only twenty-nine years old. Every newspaper in the country mourned her sudden loss. A coronial inquest concluded that Alice's death was accidental but testimonies at the inquest were full of inconsistencies.Alice's life was brief but extraordinary, and in this richly detailed and entertainingly told book this pioneering Australian woman comes to life for readers for the first time.




A Spaniard in the Works


Book Description

John Lennon's second collection of poems, stories and drawings back in print to mark its 50th Anniversary.




Magic Spanner


Book Description

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2020 – CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR*** Prepare to be entertained as legendary Eurosport cycling commentator Carlton Kirby shares his tales from the road, taking you behind the scenes of the world's greatest cycle races. 'A genuine one-off with a ready wit and a killer anecdote to hand at all times' Ian Cleverly, Rouleur 'Carlton Kirby is no ordinary cycling commentator, so it is not surprising that this very entertaining book is no ordinary Grand Tour on a bicycle. A very enjoyable journey for everyone' Phil Liggett MBE, NBC Tour de France commentator 'Carlton Kirby's infectious enthusiasm, wine tips and Shakespearean joy for inventing words makes every stage of a bike race a must-watch event' Matt Butler, i newspaper With a candid authority that comes from over 25 years commentating on the world's biggest cycling races, legendary Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby isn't afraid to tell it like it really is. Witty, outrageous and often outspoken, Magic Spanner is an insider's view of life on cycling's Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a España and the classics, all delivered in the inimitable style for which Carlton has become globally famous. Peppered with hilarious anecdotes of life on the road with Tour legend Sean Kelly, Carlton gives us an expert, behind-the-scenes view – one that the average fan rarely gets to see or hear about. As well as sharing his various bugbears (including crazy spectators in mankinis to the more serious issues of rider safety), Carlton also lifts the lid on team strategies, and delves into some of cycling's more questionable ethics. Delivering a mix of expert opinion and trademark wit, Carlton covers the funny, the serious and the more bizarre moments on the professional cycling caravan. This edition also includes Carlton's guide to watching bike racing - live at the roadside.




Parenthood and Open Adoption


Book Description

This book explores what it is like to be involved in contemporary open adoption, characterised by varying forms of contact with birth relatives, from an adoptive parent point of view. The author’s fine-grained interpretative phenomenological analysis of adopters’ accounts reveals the complexity of kinship for those whose most significant relationships are made, unmade and permanently altered through adoption. MacDonald distinctively connects adoption to wider sociological theories of relatedness and personal life, and focuses on domestic non-kin adoption of children from state care, including compulsory adoption. The book also addresses current child welfare concerns, and suggestions are made for adoption practice. The book will be of interest to scholars and students with an interest in adoption, social work, child welfare, foster care, family and sociology.




The Orphan Songbird


Book Description

The brand new emotional historical saga from the author of the bestselling Weaver Street series. With no parents to protect her, Darcy Earnshaw must make her own way in the world. After the death of her beloved mill-owner father, thirteen-year-old Darcy Earnshaw is left in the care of her lascivious uncle Abe. Not only is he determined to steal her inheritance, but as she blossoms into a captivating young woman, he longs to steal her innocence too. Desperate to avoid his advances, Darcy decides to flee. Alone and homeless, she is soon taken under the wing of John Carver, a kind-hearted beloved street performer and his family who is captivated by Darcy’s beautiful voice. But it’s Danny, an Italian singer, who captures Darcy’s heart and finally seems to offer the promise of a happy future. But, when war breaks out, and the pressure on Danny and John to enlist mounts, all Darcy’s dreams start to crumble. And with her evil uncle Abe still determined to wreak his terrible revenge on her, surely now there can be no happy ending for the orphan songbird? Heartbreaking, heart-warming, page-turning and uplifting, Chrissie Walsh’s brilliant stories are perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Dilly Court and Kitty Neale. What readers are saying about Chrissie Walsh: ‘Loved this book from the beginning to the end. I wanted the story to go on for ever and a brilliant read.’ ‘A brilliant read, I really enjoyed it, it is definitely five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, looking forward to more books from this author.’ ‘I was so totally engrossed and invested in the characters, written as though I were there myself. It really is a story to be appreciated and devoured... I absolutely loved it.’ ‘I have loved every minute of this book, tears of sadness and tears of joy, a very enjoyable story, will read more from this author.’ ‘Loved this book and there was nothing I didn't enjoy. Beautiful love story. I can't wait to read more from this writer.’ 'I found myself totally involved in the lives of the main characters. When they laughed I laughed, when they cried, yes, I cried. The author definitely has a way of writing that really captures your heart.'




The Savage Storm


Book Description

Acclaimed WWII historian James Holland both narrates and reframes the controversial first months of the Italian Campaign and sets a new standard in the chronicling of war Following victory in Sicily, while the central command planned the spring 1944 invasion of France, Allied troops crossed into southern Italy in September 1943, expecting to drive Axis forces north and liberate Rome by Christmas. Italy quickly surrendered but German divisions fiercely resisted, and the hoped-for quick victory descended into one of the most challenging and protracted battles of the entire war. James Holland’s The Savage Storm, chronicling the dramatic opening months of the Italian Campaign in unflinching and insightful detail, is unlike any campaign history yet written. Holland has always narrated war at ground level, but here goes further by chronicling events almost entirely through the contemporary eyes of those who were there on all sides and at all levels—Allied, Axis, civilians alike. Weaving together a wealth of letters, diaries, and other documents—from the likes of American General Mark Clark, German battalion commander Georg Zellner, New Zealand lance-corporal Roger Smith, legendary war reporter Ernie Pyle, and Italian politician Filippo Caracciolo—Holland traces the battles as they were experienced across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and cities, in intense heat and, towards the end of December 1943, frigid cold and relentless rain. Such close-up views persuade Holland to recast important aspects of the campaign, reappraising the reputation of Mark Clark himself and other senior commanders of the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth armies. Given the shortage of Allied shipping and materiel allocated to Italy because of the build-up for D-Day, more was expected of Allied troops in Italy than anywhere else, and, as accounts at the time attest, a huge price was paid by everyone for each bloodily contested mile. Putting readers vividly in the moment as events unfolded, with characters made unforgettable by their own words, The Savage Storm is a defining account of the pivotal months leading to Monte Cassino, and a landmark in the writing about war.




A Spanner in the Works


Book Description

A Spanner in the Works is a light-hearted and comical novel combined with a political thriller... Toby Shanks is a walking disaster zone devoid of sense, style or any other redeeming feature. This low-flying civil servant stumbles through his career pausing only to cause havoc through his ineptitude. Rather than sacking him, his public sector employers promote him and transfer him on to unsuspecting colleagues. Toby Shanks rises through the ranks of the civil service on the back of his blunders until a clerical error lands him a glamorous role in the government’s publicity agency. As Toby struggles ineffectively to come to terms with his new job, a politically embarrassing incident brings him to the attention of the Russian secret service and he falls in to the amorous clutches of one of their top agents, Helga Schmitt. The lovestruck Toby is manipulated in to a high-level position by the Russians and unwittingly primed to deliver a devastating blow to Trans-Atlantic relationships, just as the new US President arrives on a state visit. Having revealed to Parliament that his employer is spying on behalf of the CIA, Toby is targeted for elimination by the security services of Britain, Russia and the USA. As the vengeful elite forces of the superpowers close in on the hapless Toby he unexpectedly finds himself face to face with the leaders of the free world in a cobbled alley in East London. And he has a loaded gun in his hand. A Spanner in the Works is full of comedic value and farce and will appeal to anyone who has had a useless boss.




Australia to Z


Book Description

'Australia to Z - an alphabet book, but not one for the young and teaching them their letters. Instead Armin Greder has cast his critical eye on us and our symbols.' Libby Gleeson 'Disquieting and potent - a gloves off" account of Australian nationhood, and how we, as a culture, might appear to those from other cultures. This is a profoundly significant work which will - like Greder's The Island and The City - provoke, disturb and challenge the reader's perception of what it means to be Australian, and what it means to be a global citizen.' Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright"




Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue


Book Description

An engaging and enlightening account of taxation told through lively, dramatic, and sometimes ludicrous stories drawn from around the world and across the ages Governments have always struggled to tax in ways that are effective and tolerably fair. Sometimes they fail grotesquely, as when, in 1898, the British ignited a rebellion in Sierra Leone by imposing a tax on huts—and, in repressing it, ended up burning the very huts they intended to tax. Sometimes they succeed astonishingly, as when, in eighteenth-century Britain, a cut in the tax on tea massively increased revenue. In this entertaining book, two leading authorities on taxation, Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod, provide a fascinating and informative tour through these and many other episodes in tax history, both preposterous and dramatic—from the plundering described by Herodotus and an Incan tax payable in lice to the (misremembered) Boston Tea Party and the scandals of the Panama Papers. Along the way, readers meet a colorful cast of tax rascals, and even a few tax heroes. While it is hard to fathom the inspiration behind such taxes as one on ships that tended to make them sink, Keen and Slemrod show that yesterday’s tax systems have more in common with ours than we may think. Georgian England’s window tax now seems quaint, but was an ingenious way of judging wealth unobtrusively. And Tsar Peter the Great’s tax on beards aimed to induce the nobility to shave, much like today’s carbon taxes aim to slow global warming. Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue is a surprising and one-of-a-kind account of how history illuminates the perennial challenges and timeless principles of taxation—and how the past holds clues to solving the tax problems of today.