John Berger's "Ways of Seeing" was first published in 1972. It looked at visual images and how they shape us. In "Ways of Hearing" Ben Thompson does a similar thing for music - albeit in a non-sociological, highly subjective, fairly irreverent and extremely entertaining manner. He explores the role of music in the mediums of radio, TV, film, literature and video, and interviews a wildly disparate bunch of musicians and djs, from Brian Eno, John Peel, Captain Beefheart and Neil Young, to Lee Perry, Sir Cliff Richard, the Chemical Brothers and Mercury Rev.

An unstoppable collection of the most hardcore figures who ever strapped on chain mail and ran screaming into battle

Throughout history--from the bone-crushing age of antiquity to the sack-tearing modern era--there have been larger-than-life ass-kickers with a natural talent for unleashing their epic bloodlust on anyone who crossed them. They built empires, smashed armies, and ravaged civilizations for wealth, glory, and ultimate supremacy. Sometimes villains, sometimes heroes, sometimes criminally insane, they had one thing in common: They were all . . . Badass

Chandragupta MauryaAn Indian warlord who commanded an army of drunken war elephants and employed an elite detachment of highly trained female bodyguards

Peter FranciscoAn unsung hero of the American Revolution, this powerful giant battled the British with a massive five-foot-long broadsword

Wolf the QuarrelsomeA mysterious barbarian leader who only appears in history twice--and both times he's kicking someone's ass

Bhanbhagta GurungA fearless Gurkha who won the Victoria Cross by clearing out six Japanese foxholes with nothing more than grenades, a bayonet, and a knife

From Alexander the Great to George S. Patton, from Genghis Khan to Bruce Lee, this pantheon of ass-kicking awesomeness should inspire you to quit your stupid job and dive headfirst into a new career as a professional badass.

Since the beginning of human history people have created myths, tall tales, and super- and anti-heroes. They've told stories of men and women who embarked on intrepid adventures, performed extraordinary feats of unparalleled awesomeness, and overcame all odds to violently smite their foes. In "Badass: The Birth of a Legend", Ben Thompson compiles all of these fantastical tales from the beginning of time to today and tells them in the completely over-the-top manner in which they were intended. Whether it's Michael, the Archangel who defeated Satan, or the super-punching villain, Ivan Drago, whose epic battle with Rocky Balboa was immortalized on the silver screen, these timeless legends are so totally insane they'll blow your hair to the back of the auditorium and leave you wondering what the heck just happened. This title includes profiles such as: Rama (half-god warrior who rescued his wife by killing a giant monster); Samson (Biblical strongman); Beowulf (hero who slaughtered Grendel and his mother); Bradamante (medieval Italian warrior princess); Dirty Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood's iconic tough-guy cop); The Joker (crazy evil psychotic clown who torments Gotham City); Moby Dick (carnivorous white whale who kills all who attempt to hunt him down); Frankenstein's Monster (heartless serial killer who dedicates his life to annihilating his creator); and, the Predator (badass movie monster equipped with awesome sci-fi hardware).

The definitive history of a golden age in British show-business, Sunshine On Putty is based on hundreds of interviews with the leading comedians of the era, as well as managers, agents, producers, directors, executives and TV personalities. In the 1990s, British comedy underwent a renaissance - shows like The Fast Show, The Day Today, Shooting Stars, The League of Gentlemen, The Royle Family and The Office were hugely popular with critics and audiences alike. Just as politics, sport, art, literature and religion seemed to move towards light entertainment, the comedy on the nation's televisions not only offered a home to ideas and ideals of community which could no longer find one elsewhere, but also gave us a clearer picture of what was happening to our nation than any other form of artistic endeavour. From Ricky Gervais' self-destructive love affair with dairy products to Steve Coogan's suicidal overtaking technique; from the secrets of Vic Reeves' woodshed, to the stains on Caroline Aherne's sofa; from Victor Meldrew's prophetic dream to Spike Milligan's final resting place, Ben Thompson reveals the twisted beauty of British comedy's psyche.

Discover legendary commanders, tremendous fights, elite soldiers, and courageous individuals whose deeds truly made the difference in this jaw-dropping guide to the biggest war the world has ever seen. From massive aerial battles that clouded the skies with planes to deathly secret operations deep behind enemy lines, the events of World War II are some of the most awe-inspiring of all time. Packed with trivia, epic battles, and amazing illustrations, World War II comes alive for kids like no textbook can in this account from Ben Thompson that's perfect for history buffs and reluctant readers.

Christopher Columbus is one of the most famous explorers of all time, but he was neither the first nor last adventurer to ever stumble upon a great discovery. From the Silk Road of Asia to the icy shores of Antarctica, our knowledge of the world today is in large part due to several intrepid pioneers, risking life and limb for the sake of exploration. After all, setting off into the dark unknown requires an enormous amount of bravery. But every explorer quickly learns that courage and curiosity aren't enough to save you if you can't read a map or trespass on somebody else's land! In this fourth installment of the Epic Fails series, authors Erik Slader and Ben Thompson introduces readers to an international cast of trailblazers and details every mutiny, wrong turn, and undiscovered city of gold behind the age of exploration.

In 1964, Mary Whitehouse launched a campaign to fight what she called the 'propaganda of disbelief, doubt and dirt' being poured into homes through the nation's radio and television sets. Whitehouse, senior mistress at a Shropshire secondary school, became the unlikely figurehead of a mass movement for censorship: the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, now Mediawatch-uk. For almost forty years, she kept up the fight against the programme makers, politicians, pop stars and playwrights who she felt were dragging British culture into a sewer of blasphemy and obscenity. From Doctor Who ('Teatime brutality for tots') to Dennis Potter (whose mother sued her for libel and won) to the Beatles - whose Magical Mystery Tour escaped her intervention by the skin of its psychedelic teeth - the list of Mary Whitehouse's targets will read to some like a nostalgic roll of honour. Caricatured while she lived as a figure of middle-brow reaction, Mary Whitehouse was held in contempt by the country's intellectual elite. But were some of the dangers she warned of more real than they imagined? Ben Thompson's selection of material from her extraordinary archive shows Mary Whitehouse's legacy in a startling new light. From her exquisitely testy exchanges with successive BBC Directors General, to the anguished screeds penned by her television and radio vigilantes, these letters reveal a complex and combative individual, whose anxieties about culture and morality are often eerily relevant to the age of the internet. 'A fantastic read . . . I can't recommend it highly enough.' Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 6 Music

This ain't no table tennis. You're not here to skip rope with your niece. You're here to witness the catastrophically awesome exploits of history's greatest badasses. Not only that, you're here to see what happens when badasses collide, when glory and doom hang in the balance, when two men enter one man leave. If you dare listen, you'll hear the stories of Cyrus the Great, who forges the Persian empire with blood, steel, and a few thousand rampaging camels. St. Moses the Black, the Patron Saint of Asskickings, who teaches bandit thugs a lesson in turning the other cheek. The War of Aracau, when the Spanish invaders sawed off the hands of a Mapuche warrior, the Mapuche Warrior strapped blades to his arms and lead the only successful resistance in all of South America. The Rani of Jhansi, oppressed by the British, one Indian warrior-princess rises in revolt, taking on the British crown with a sword in each hand and her baby strapped to her back. The Charge of the Australian Light Horse, when 800 horsemen armed with bayonets embark on the last great cavalry charge in history, rushing toward trenches filled with machine guns, rifles, and huge bullets! Tango Mike-Mike, one lone Green Beret's attempt to single-handedly rescue an entire Special Forces squad from a pinned-down position deep behind enemy lines in Cambodia. Told in Ben Thompson's hilariously over-the-top prose and accompanied with forty pieces of eye-popping, original artwork, these stories will thrill and inspire readers to grind their enemies into the dust. When there can be only one Badass, it's an "Ultimate Deathmatch".