For thousands of years humans looked to the stars for navigation, deities, personality insights, predictions and omens about the future. What can we learn from these heavenly bodies? The Bible says that the Lord placed them there as faithful witnesses to mark the seasons, the days, and the times. The Bible also tells of Wise Men from the east that followed a star to Bethlehem to find a king. What other events might be revealed by the movement of the stars and planets? Is there more hidden in the stars? Is there a Star Code?

Living on the Western Front provides a highly original history of the settler experience in Befland ([B]ritish [E]xpeditionary [F]orce land) during the First World War. Using an unusual representational form that involves the stitching together of over a hundred extracts from primary sources, which can then in turn be read either chronologically or thematically, Chris Ward brilliantly depicts a sense of settlers' lives in Great War Belgium, Northern France and Germany. Simultaneously an annal and an anthology of stories, this book tells us about landscapes, sounds, smells, food, journeys, memory and morale in the way that the Befland settlers actually lived and experienced them. The book also challenges popular conceptions of what history writing can or should be. It drags us away from the reassuringly commanding authorial voice of the conventional historical narrative towards an approach that brings a degree of uncertainty and encourages us to experiment with History and its relationship with the past in an exciting and rewarding way.

During the immediate period before World War Two, the RAF modified its command structure to rationalize for rapid expansion. Bomber Command was divided into six operational groups, each flying the same type of aircraft.returncharacterreturncharacter3 Group had almost completely re-equipped with the Wellington by 4 September 1939 to carry out the second bombing operation of the war which was against German warships off Brunsbuttel. In 1940 the first of the new four-engined bombers, the Short Stirling, came into service with the Group, being followed in 1942 by the Avro Lancaster. On 3rd/4th November 1943, No. 3 Group played a leading part in the first bombing attack in which heavy bombers made use of the radar bombing aid known as G-H. The target was Dusseldorf; bombs were dropped "blind" and good results were obtained. In July and August 1944, aircraft of this Group equipped with G-H maintained an all-weather attack against flying-bomb sites. Through the D-Day build-up, the liberation of France and conquest of Germany, formations of No. 3 Group attacked railway junctions, marshalling yards, troop concentrations, etc.returncharacterreturncharacterDuring the week ending 25th March 1945, Bomber Command made numerous attacks to prepare for the crossing of the Rhine.

In the unusual Queen's Gambit, grandmaster Chris Ward covers three offbeat but nevertheless important defences to this ancient opening. The Chigorin Defence (1 d4 d5 2 c4 Nc6) creates dynamic imbalance in the position. White often ends up with a big centre but Black's active pieces can create havoc. The Albin Counter Gambit (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e5) is a tricky tactical line which can be deadly against an unprepared White player. The final variation (1 d4 d5 2 c4 Bf5) is an interesting way to try to sovle immediately the age old problem of how to develop the queen's bishop in the Queen's Gambit Declined. * Provides detailed coverage of unusual but dangerous counters to the Queen's Gambit * Full coverage of all recent developments

Are you tired of playing the same old openings time and time again? Perhaps it's time for a change, but you cannot decide between the numerous options available? Here's the answer: choose "Dangerous Weapons" and amaze your opponents with new and exciting opening ideas!In this book," "four renowned opening experts get together to take a revolutionary look at the Benoni, the Benko and all their associated variations. Instead of travelling down well-trodden and analysed paths, they concentrate on fresh or little-explored variations, selecting a wealth of 'dangerous' options for both colours. Whether playing White or Black, a study of this book will leave you confident and fully-armed, and your opponents running for cover!"Dangerous Weapons" is a series of opening books which supply the reader with an abundance of hard-hitting ideas to revitalize his or her opening repertoire. Many of the carefully chosen weapons are innovative, visually shocking, incredibly tricky, or have been unfairly discarded; they are guaranteed to throw even your most experienced opponent off balance. *The Benoni and Benko in a whole new light*Packed with original ideas and analysis*Ideal lines to shock your opponents

In Russia's Cotton Workers and the New Economic Policy Chris Ward uses a wide range of published and unpublished Soviet sources to examine key aspects of life on the shop floor of the Russian cotton mill in the 1920s. He reveals the existence of a complex world of work which grew out of the interaction between the experience of industrialisation in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russia and the mechanisation of the cotton industry in Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The author explores the manner in which a 'mill culture' emerged from these developments and demonstrates that by the 1920s this culture was often very resistant to change. Russia's Cotton Workers and the New Economic Policy provides a realistic understanding of the relationship between worker, state policy and technology in Russia in the 1920s.

Are you tired of constantly following the same old opening moves? Fed up with always having to keep up with modern chess theory? Or perhaps you simply wish to try something new and exciting, but cannot decide between the numerous choices available? We have the answer! In this book, John Emms, Chris Ward and Richard Palliser team up to examine one of the most popular and respected openings at all levels of chess: the Nimzo-Indian. Instead of pursuing the well-trodden paths, they choose an original approach, concentrating on fresh or little-explored variations of the Nimzo, and selecting a wealth of 'dangerous' options for both colours. Whether playing White or Black, a study of this book will leave you confident and fully-armed, and your opponents running for cover! "Dangerous Weapons" is a brand-new series of opening books which supply the reader with an abundance of hard-hitting ideas to revitalize his or her opening repertoire. Many of the carefully chosen weapons are innovative, visually shocking, incredibly tricky, or have been unfairly discarded; they are guaranteed to throw even your most experienced opponent off balance.

Once a chess player has figured out how all the chess pieces move, what is the next step on the chess ladder? This helpful and entertaining book provides players with the complete answer. In this easy-to-follow guide, renowned chess teacher Chris Ward explains all the crucial checkmating patterns, plus how to catch out opponents with an assortment of tricks and traps, commonly known as chess tactics. There is something for everyone in this book: improving players can benefit from learning the basic checkmates and the key tactics such as attacking and defending pieces, forks, pins, and skewers, while more experienced players can discover the delights of advanced checkmates and sneaky tricks, ones that can flummox even the world's best players!
Learning chess tactics is fun and one of the quickest ways of improving in chess, and it's even more enjoyable when opponents begin falling for these tricks! Read this book and, with the help of a Grandmaster, any chess player will be ready to unleash the weapons in their chess battles, whoever their opponent is.
>An ideal chess tactics and checkmates guide for the improving player
>Written by a distinguished chess author
>Full of notes, tips, and warnings to help the reader

In this highly original and instructive test-yourself book, Chris Ward presents a selection of 50 carefully chosen puzzles for you to solve. In a welcome departure from the usual 'White to play and mate in three' scenarios, he focuses on the type of critical situations that occur in nearly every game. The reader is given a choice of five plausible plans for each position and has to decide which is the most likely to succeed. The puzzles aren't easy - but then chess isn't a simple game! (5 7/8 x 8 1/4, 144 pages, diagrams)