What makes a restaurant hot? Whose name do you need to drop to get a table? Why is one place booked solid for the next nine months while somewhere equally delicious is as empty and inhospitable as the Gobi desert? Welcome to the restaurant business, where the hours are punishing, the conditions are brutal and the Chef's Special has been languishing at the back of the fridge for the past three days. This is an industry plagued with obsessives. Why else do some chefs drive themselves crazy in pursuit of elusive Michelin stars, when in reality all they're doing is 'making someone else's tea'? Nothing is left to chance: the lighting, the temperature or even the cut of the salmon fillet. There's even a spot of psychology behind the menu. What do they want you to order? What makes them the most money? And why should you really hold back on those side dishes? In Restaurant Babylon, Imogen Edwards-Jones and her anonymous industry insider lift the lid on all the tricks of the food trade and what really makes this GBP90 billion a year industry tick. So please do sit down, pour yourself some heavily marked-up wine and make yourself comfortable (although we'll need that table back by 8.30 sharp).

Our stories are our survival centres on the continuity of Wiradjuri culture. It is a celebration of storytelling and the joys of life within an Aboriginal Australian community. Our stories offers an alternative to the commonly told stories of Aboriginal disadvantage. Using sport as a lens, the book brings to light the continued strength of Aboriginal culture. It places contemporary representations of Aboriginal people and communities into historical context and calls for readers to rethink what they know about Australian Indigenous communities. Bamblett places a high value on Wiradjuri storytelling and includes testimony from within the community. As a member of the Erambie community he has been given unparalleled access to stories and photographs. His love of community shines through.

The world as seen from a bike 'Understated, comic and melancholic... It'll inspire you to get back on your bike.' Martin Love, The Guardian 'One of the most entertaining sports books I have ever read' Joe Short, The Daily Express In this award-winning collection of cycling tales, Wilfried de Jong uncovers the true soul of cycling - why we do it, why we watch it, why we hate it, why we love it - stripped bare. With his distinctly comic and melancholic charm Wilfried ponders life, love and death on his trusted bike, chasing the essence of our existence against the backdrop of major cycling events or while roaming alone in nature. Whether he is describing being ejected from Paris-Roubaix, a terminal incident with a bird while out riding, or explaining why he is standing stark naked on Belgian cobbles with a tyre in his hand, Wilfried unlocks a sport that involves so much pain, punishment, and a high probability of failure, but that will always liberate and inspire us.

As seen on ITV's Britain's Got Talent, where they captured the hearts of the nation, this is Amanda and Miracle's incredible story of survival, love and hope Snatched from the streets of Thailand, loaded onto a truck with hundreds of other stolen dogs and destined for the restaurants of Hanoi, Miracle the dog shouldn't be alive today. But an incredible rescue led to a fateful meeting with Amanda Leask, a dog lover from Scotland. Devastated by Miracle's plight and the hopelessness of his situation, she knew she had to do everything in her power to save him. But Amanda could never have imagined that in doing so she was really saving herself... Amanda's six year-old son Kyle, who was born with cerebral palsy and autism, built a deep and lasting connection with Miracle and their special bond has transformed not only Kyle's life but that of the entire family. Heartbreaking, inspirational and ultimately life-affirming, this incredible tale is proof that miracles really can happen...

Ranson skillfully recreates his northern experience in strong crisp stories that are humorous quirky and unique Working North makes it clear why Ranson was moved to &quotpity the southerner who has never seen an arctic sun skipping along the earth gathering all the colours of the prism and turning the land a warm purple " "Working North" is an engaging and entertaining read for inexperienced southerners and northern travellers alike

Ever since Charles Whitman gunned down over a dozen innocent people in 1966 from his perch atop the University of Texas clock tower, "SWAT team" has become a household word. In this compelling book, police veteran Robert L. Snow takes us into the midst of the nation's heroic SWAT teams, allowing us to eavesdrop on harrowing negotiations between killers and cops. He gives us a balanced look at what SWAT teams do right and what they do wrong and recommends ways to improve their tactics in future hostage situations. While he gives no-holds-barred analyses of such dire failures as Waco, he also celebrates SWAT's greatest triumphs--thousands of incidents in which no one was hurt. No policeman or citizen can afford to miss this harrowing yet hopeful look at society's main weapon against sudden terror.

'Brilliantly written. Very funny and heartbreaking.' Davina McCall

From one of Britain's most popular and prolific comedians comes a hilarious and deeply moving memoir of life lived under the rule of a Silverback dad.

The Silverback is considered the undisputed king, a creature whose authority is never challenged and who does not yield to compromise. He walks proudly, feeds greedily, grafts tirelessly, mates voraciously, swears constantly and is threatened all too easily. The Silverback is known to nestle in the misty peaks of central Africa but can also be found in Barking, Essex. Meet Dave Kane, the disappointed, steroid-ingesting, metal-wielding, bouncer father of slight, effete Gamma Male, Russell Kane.

SON OF A SILVERBACK is a story about fathers and sons, class and education and how one scrawny, sensitive, fake-tan-applying 'ponce' stepped out of his father's shadow and became a man - whatever that means.

For over ten years Jane Quinn has been sharing a cup of tea with some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment world as she has engaged them in a long running series of intimate interviews that go beyond the public image to reveal the person within. Originally appearing each month in The Beat magazine, this is the first time the interviews have been compiled into book form. With interviewees ranging from Leo Sayer, Steve Harley, Madeline Bell, Micky Dolenz, Chris Montez, Don McLean, Pat Boone, Melanie, Hazel O'Connor, Jackie DeShannon, Peter Asher, Petula Clark, and Kiki Dee, this book captures a unique look behind the scenes of many of the most extraordinary entertainers of the past 60 years.

Stories is medisyne, die Lennon's van die lewe. Stories het al menigmaal my lewe gered. As ek myself in die storie herken of as 'n storie 'n spieel word vir n groot gebeurtenis in my lewe, help dit my om getuie te word van my eie lewe. Hierdie kortverhale vertel die stories wat op ons werf op Theefontein uitspeel, stories oor my kinderdae op Carnarvon, stories oor kwaai kalkoene, stories oor die son as hy sambokslaan op ons sinkdakke, stories oor hoe mens die weer vir weke ''lees'' op die uitkyk vir reen en stories oor die baldadige vreugde as die Blou Dak se Baas 'n slag sy gieter oor die vlaktes en die berge laat leegloop.

In Australia 38,000 people are reported missing each year, in the UK the number is around 365,000 and in the US over 600,000. Many of these cases are never resolved. Blending long-form journalism with true crime and philosophy, Erin Stewart's The Missing Among Us takes us from the Australian bush, to the battlefields of Northern France and the perilous space of a refugee camp to explore stories behind the missing. Stewart speaks to parents of missing children, former cult members, advocates working on the crisis of missing refugees, children of the Stolen Generations and many more. From famous cases like that of Madeleine McCann, to those who are lesser known, yet equally loved and mourned, this unique book forces us to see the complex story behind each missing person and those they leave behind.