Give the JOY FACTOR this Christmas Bring out fabulous childhood memories of beautifully illustrated picture books - but now, for people of all ages. Back to the pleasure of beauty in your hands In glorious full colour, this is a magnificent gift for the Sudoku-lover in your life. Over 100 pages of gorgeous Christmas graphics by a range of artists, with 52 puzzles - one for each week of the year. The puzzles range from medium through to challenging levels of difficulty, but we're betting the recipient will love this book too much to want to write in it That's okay too - the puzzles can be copied onto scrap paper instead if they would rather preserve the beauty of the book itself. Sudoku for Christmas is the first in a series of gorgeous gift books, so keep an eye open for them There'll be something to please every member of your family and friends - from sailors to bird lovers, horses and other animals, flowers and the seasons.

"In the early transition from the long-lived flintlock system, handgun development closely paralleled that of the long arms. With the advent of the revolving pistols, however; came patents that created monopolies in revolver production and the through-bored cylinder necessary for self-contained metallic cartridges. The caplock revolvers took on a separate evolution and remained state of the art long after the widespread appearance of cartridge firing rifles and shotguns. They rode in the holsters of of explorers and adventurers across the world and granted safe conduct in the back-alleys of the Industrial West right up until the last quarter of the 19th Century. Handguns possess a mystique distinctly different from that of other firearms. They are tools of personal empowerment-chosen by their owners to provide independence and freedom of movement. In the ambitious, optimistic early years of western industrial civilization they were the emblem of liberty and equality and the bane of repressive governments and social movements. Largely because of the traditions that emerged in the time of the caplock pistols and revolvers, they remain so in the early years of the 21st Century."

Dogs dressed in their winter sweaters and hats? What could be more festive and fun than the Winter Dogs 500 Piece Puzzle from Galison? Piece together to reveal the scene of dogs and their owners out and about getting ready for their holiday celebrations, image by Louise Cunningham - Box: 8 x 8 x 2.5'' , Puzzle : 20" x 20" - Contains informational insert about artist and image

How much do you really know about the club you love? You can find out by exploring the 1,000 questions set out in 100 categories that make up this West Ham quiz book. It s not often that books on football make reference to Inspector Morse, Dostoyevsky, Shredded Wheat, The Everly Brothers, Fawlty Towers, Catch-22 and EastEnders, but this one does! Try these for size: which West Ham United player in the 1980 FA Cup Final had already scored for another club in an earlier FA Cup Final? Which two players with West Ham United connections appeared in 43 games between them for Blackburn Rovers when they won the Premier League in 1994/95? And who is the only man to manage West Ham United in two different centuries? You will struggle to find anything as comprehensive as this eclectic collection. This quirky, challenging book is a must for West Ham fans of all ages, and you might not see anything quite like it again.

How much do you really know about the club you love? You can find out by exploring the 1,000 questions set out in 100 categories that make up this Everton quiz book. It s not often that books on football make reference to Bob Dylan, the London Underground, Pink Floyd, The Godfather, the Beatles, Shakespeare, Rising Damp and The Who, but this one does! Call Yourself a Toffees Fan? is a quirky, challenging affair for real Everton fans who can test themselves or take on each other, with the emphasis on enjoyment and discovery. Try these for size: in the 1966 FA Cup Final between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday, which surname appeared on both sides? What was unique about the 1962/63 season at Goodison Park? Who is the only Everton manager to score the winning goal in a European Cup Final? You will struggle to find anything as comprehensive as this eclectic collection. It s a must for Everton fans of all ages and you might not see anything quite like it again.

"How we should think about board games, and what do they do to us as we play them?" Writer and critic Eric Thurm digs deep into his own experience as a board game enthusiast to explore the emotional and social rules that games create and reveal, telling a series of stories about a pastime that is also about relationships. From the outdated gender roles in Life and Mystery Date to the cutthroat, capitalist priorities of Monopoly and its socialist counterpart, Class Struggle, Thurm thinks through his ongoing rivalries with his siblings and ponders the ways games both upset and enforce hierarchies and relationships-from the familial to the geopolitical. Like sitting down at the table for family game night, Board Games is an engaging book of twists and turns, trivia, and nostalgia. Avidly Reads is a series of short books about how culture makes us feel. Founded in 2012 by Sarah Blackwood and Sarah Mesle, Avidly-an online magazine supported by the Los Angeles Review of Books-specializes in short-form critical essays devoted to thinking and feeling. Avidly Reads is an exciting new series featuring books that are part memoir, part cultural criticism, each bringing to life the author's emotional relationship to a cultural artifact or experience. Avidly Reads invites us to explore the surprising pleasures and obstacles of everyday life.

The first puzzle book featuring the collectible, cool, and kawaii characters of tokidoki! This full-color book gives tokidoki fans a chance to interactively immerse themselves in the world of tokidoki, solving a variety of fun visual puzzles featuring the full range of tokidoki favorites like Donutella, Adios, Cactus Friends, Unicornos, the Moofia, and many others. Solvers will enjoy examining all the details of tokidoki scenes to spot differences, search for hidden objects, test their memory, and more.

Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This new jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, with a masterpiece of inspirational poster art, Rosie the Riveter. This 1000 piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Now includes an A4 poster for reference. This popular image of empowerment has become a symbol of modern female confidence. Originally created for the Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company, it was part of a sequence of posters commissioned by the company and appeared only briefly during the war. Many have assumed a connection with the American war effort, and the US Government exhortation to women to join in the munitions and aerospace industry. Such campaigns created thousands of jobs for women, and subsequent generations have positioned Rosie as a symbol of late 20th Century empowerment. In fact, this particular image was not used officially, and is sometimes confused with the similar poster by Norman Rockwell, which features a strident young woman standing before the American flag. Miller's poster, though, captures the steely strength of womanhood, with a direct challenge to the viewer through the carefully made-up eyes, and clarion-calling slogan.

Originally published in 1902. A well illustrated and informative book dealing with the various ways of starting a game of chess. Contents include: The Kings Knight's Opening - The King's Gambits - Various Openings - Little Practised Openings etc. Many of the earliest games books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Part of an exciting series of sturdy, square-box 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from Flame Tree, featuring powerful and popular works of art. This new jigsaw will satisfy your need for a challenge, with the charming The Salt Path by Angela Harding. This 1000 piece jigsaw is intended for adults and children over 13 years. Not suitable for children under 3 years due to small parts. Finished Jigsaw size 735 x 510mm/29 x 20 ins. Includes an A4 poster for reference. Angela Harding is a fine art painter and illustrator based in Rutland, UK. She specialises in lino prints and her work is inspired by British birds and countryside. The Salt Path was featured on the cover of the bestselling book (of the same name) by Raynor Winn, shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize and the 2018 Costa Book Awards in the biography category.

Three quarters of the British population gamble (mainly on the National Lottery), and they generate around 46 billion pounds a year. This volume sets recent developments in the regulation and deregulation of its three primary forms - betting, gaming, and lotteries - against an account of their social and legal history. Many of the concerns that excite controversy today are little different from those with which the Home Office grappled for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Based upon Home Office files and contemporary accounts, this book begins by evaluating how the law was used to control and suppress popular gambling. Miers shows how and why prohibition gave way to the recognition that regulation offered a more effective method of controlling a social pastime that, by the mid-twentieth century, had become a feature of everyday life. Concerns over gambling have recently resurfaced, as a result of Government proposals to replace the existing strict controls with a regulatory regime that will give greater scope for licensees to adopt more competitive practices. Like the introduction of the National Lottery in 1994, these proposals represent a marked departure from the traditional response: to permit but not to stimulate commercial gambling. The potential for expansion in opportunities to gamble raises concerns about the accessibility of gambling to children and the possibility of increased numbers of problem gamblers. Miers examines the implementation and impact of the present law governing gaming and the National Lottery in terms of regulation and the enforcement of regulatory regimes. He focusses on how these regimes regulate the probity of the supplier, the supply of gambling opportunities, the nature of the transaction, and the player's participation. The book concludes with an evaluation of the Gambling Bill, a draft of which was published in 2003 aiming to give effect to the Government's proposals.

Contents Include: PART 1: DRAWING ROOM MAGIu Coin Palming Tricks with Coins Tricks with Common Objects Tricks with Cups and Balls Tricks with Handkerchiefs Chinese Tricks Tricks at Table Tricks with Cards PART 2: STAGE MAGIu General Remarks The Magician's Table and Dress Sleights and Properties for General Use Tricks with Cards Tricks with Handkerchiefs and Gloves Tricks with Coins Miscellaneous Tricks The Cornucopian Hat Tricks with Watches and Livestock Sham Mesmerism, Clairvoyance, Etc Some Up to Date Tricks Final Instructions