Double bill of adventure films. 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief' (2010), based on the children's books by Rick Riordan, follows the adventures of 12-year-old New Yorker Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman). When Percy discovers that he is the descendant of a Greek god, he sets out on a cross-country adventure to settle an ongoing feud between the 'Big Three', Zeus (Sean Bean), Hades (Steve Coogan) and Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves. 'Eragon' (2006), based on the best-selling novel by Christopher Paolini, follows the fortunes of an orphaned farm boy, Eragon (Edward Speleers), whose life is changed forever when a mystic stone chooses him for its keeper. When the stone turns out to be an egg from which a baby dragon is hatched, Eragon realises he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller (Jeremy Irons) for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon (voiced by Rachel Weisz) must navigate the dangerous terrain of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Few wine books can be called classic, but the first edition of The World Atlas of Wine made publishing history when it appeared in 1971. It is recognized by critics as the essential and most authoritative wine reference work available. This eighth edition will bring readers, both old and new, up to date with the world of wine. To reflect all the changes in the global wine scene over the past six years, the Atlas has grown in size to 416 pages and 22 new maps have been added to the wealth of superb cartography in the book. The text has been given a complete overhaul to address the topics of most vital interest to today's wine-growers and drinkers. With beautiful photography throughout, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, the world's most respected wine-writing duo, have once again joined forces to create a classic that no wine lover can afford to be without. "The World Atlas of Wine is the single most important reference book on the shelf of any wine student." - Eric Asimov, New York Times "The most useful single volume on wine ever published... If I owned only one wine book, it would be this one." - Andrew Jefford, Decanter "Like a good bottle of wine, you'll find yourself going back to it again and again... Perfect for anyone who has a thirst for greater wine knowledge." - Edward Deitch, NBC/today.com "The World Atlas of Wine belongs on your shelf... The essential rootstock of any true wine lover's library. A multi-layered snapshot of wine and how it has evolved." - Dave McIntyre, Washington Post

From a Stripe and Google executive, a practical guide to company building and scaling the most important resource it has: its people. A leader at both Google and Stripe from their early days, Claire Hughes Johnson has worked with founders and company builders to try to replicate their success. The most common questions she’s asked are not about business strategy—they’re about how to scale the operating structures and people systems of a rapidly growing startup. Scaling People is a practical and empathetic guide to being an effective leader and manager in a high-growth environment. The tactical information it puts forward—including guidance on crafting foundational documents, strategic and financial planning, hiring and team development, and feedback and performance mechanisms—can be applied to companies of any size, in any industry. Scaling People includes dozens of pages of worksheets, templates, exercises, and example documents to help founders, leaders, and company builders create scalable operating systems and lightweight processes that really work. Implementing effective leadership and management practices takes effort and discipline, but the reward is a sustainable, scalable company that’s set up for long-term success. Scaling People is a detailed roadmap for company builders to put the right operating systems and structures in place to scale the most important resource a company has: its people.

The world's best-selling annual wine guide.

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine - in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 47th year of publication, it has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the-minute annual guide.

Providing clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world, the book also reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine 2024 gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both.

This latest edition of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine includes a colour supplement on Chardonnay, the world's most obliging grape, discussing everything from history and taste to texture, fashion and the role oak plays - and of course who makes the best Chardonnays around the world.

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine - in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 42nd year of publication, it has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the-minute annual guide. Hugh Johnson provides clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world. He reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both. This new edition also contains a special supplement on Organic, Natural and Biodynamic wines.

Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book is the essential reference book for everyone who buys wine - in shops, restaurants, or on the internet. Now in its 41st year of publication, it has no rival as the comprehensive, up-to-the-minute annual guide. Hugh Johnson provides clear succinct facts and commentary on the wines, growers and wine regions of the whole world. He reveals which vintages to buy, which to drink and which to cellar, which growers to look for and why. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book gives clear information on grape varieties, local specialities and how to match food with wines that will bring out the best in both. This new edition also contains a colour supplement on Syrah and Garnacha grapes.

2020 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER JANCIS ROBINSON - 2020 JAMES BEARD COOKBOOK HALL OF FAME HONOREE "The most useful single volume on wine ever published... If I owned only one wine book, it would be this one." - Andrew Jefford, Decanter A major new edition of this landmark wine book that has sold 4.7 million copies worldwide. Few wine books can be called classic, but the first edition of The World Atlas of Wine made publishing history when it appeared in 1971. It is recognized by critics as the essential and most authoritative wine reference work available. This eighth edition will bring readers, both old and new, up to date with the world of wine. To reflect all the changes in the global wine scene over the past six years, the Atlas has grown in size to 416 pages and 22 new maps have been added to the wealth of superb cartography in the book. The text has been given a complete overhaul to address the topics of most vital interest to today's wine-growers and drinkers. With beautiful photography throughout, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, the world's most respected wine-writing duo, have once again joined forces to create a classic that no wine lover can afford to be without. "The World Atlas of Wine is the single most important reference book on the shelf of any wine student." - Eric Asimov, New York Times "Like a good bottle of wine, you'll find yourself going back to it again and again... Perfect for anyone who has a thirst for greater wine knowledge." - Edward Deitch, NBC/today.com "The World Atlas of Wine belongs on your shelf... The essential rootstock of any true wine lover's library. A multi-layered snapshot of wine and how it has evolved." - Dave McIntyre, Washington Post A "masterwork" and a "must-have" - Food & Wine Winner Andre Simon Award Best Drinks Book of 2019 Shortlisted for the Louis Roederer Wine Book of the Year 2020

"Veteran wine books are by modern standards short on facts." - Decanter Magazine "This is an inspirational book well worth your time." - Eric Asimov on Instagram "If you want to learn about wine, switch off your phone, buy these two books and enjoy them with a nice glass of something." - The Critic "This is a don't-miss book for people who plan their travels around vineyards." - Washington Post In this unique approach to understanding wine, Hugh Johnson, the world's best-loved wine author, weaves the story of his own epic wine journey with an embracing view of everything he has discovered along the way. Almost without realising it, the reader is drawn into a fascinating world; with each page turned, knowledge is gained and wine wisdom absorbed. Hugh takes us from the teetering ledges of the Mosel and majestic chateaux of the Medoc to the sylvan slopes of Windsor Great Park with a spring in his step and a tasting glass at the ready. No one writes so infectiously on every aspect of wine, whether human or cultural, technical or historical. This book is peppered with anecdotes and personal recollections, infused with the sheer delight Hugh finds in his subject. It is a book with a story to tell and a mastery of wine to impart. Previously published as Wine, A Life Uncorked 2005, now updated with new chapters.

Foreword by Alan Titchmarsh For more than 45 years Hugh Johnson has written Trad's Diary, delighting in recording his observations of his own garden, as well as many others, and of the wider natural world. Free to turn his attention to whatever is happening in that season, or simply something that piques his interest, his subjects are as diverse as the sounds of water, forest walks, the names of roses, the taste for shade he shares with Handel, the colours of autumn, the smell of rain, the private garden discovered within Beijing's Forbidden City or the first crocuses of spring. Month by month, Hugh shares with the reader through his easy, evocative writing an eclectic mix of thoughtful, topical and whimsical insights that will delight not only gardeners but anyone with an interest in nature in all its costumes.

The T-54 and T-55 tanks are the most widely manufactured tanks of all time. They have become ubiquitous to wars around the globe since the 1950s, starting with Hungary in 1956, and including the the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967, 1973 and 1982, the Vietnam war of 1967-75, the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, the Afghanistan conflict, Operation Desert Storm, the Yugoslav Civil Wars, and the recent conflict in Iraq. This book will examine the roots of this prolific tank family, starting with the Soviet Army's first attempts to replace the legendary T-34 during World War II, and covering the T-43 and the T-44, the more successful T-54, and its ultimate evolution into the T-55.

Food is a unifying cultural force, but food security (feeding the world) is one of the greatest challenges we now face. By 2050, with 2 billion more people on the planet, we'll need to find ways to feed everyone sustainably. There are 50,000 different plant species that are edible but 90% of our food energy intake currently comes from just 15 crop plants. Organised in six sections, covering leaves, roots and squashes, grains and pulses, fungi, herbs and spices, and fruit and nuts. The book features over 60 delicious and unusual vegetarian recipes from celebrity contributors .

Tears of Bacchus relates the story of wine in the Middle East, essentially Lebanon and Syria, from the dawn of time to the present day in the form of a linear series of essays written in various "voices" - historian, archaeologist, novelist, wine writer, journalist, curator, anthropologist. It charts wine's influence on early civilizations and cultures, religion and mythology, before heading off into the Byzantine, Medieval Ottoman and ultimately the modern era, an age defined by strife and instability.

"Who better to supply us with our first comprehensive historical survey than the wine writer with the magic pen, Hugh Johnson?" - Jancis Robinson MW Hugh Johnson has led the literature of wine in many new directions over a 60-year career. His classic The Story of Wine is his most enthralling and enduring work, winner of every wine award in the UK and USA. It tells with wit, scholarship and humour how wine became the global phenomenon it is today, varying from mass-produced plonk to rare bottles fetching many thousands. It ranges from Noah to Napa, Pompeii to Prohibition to Pomerol, gripping, anecdotal, personal, controversial and fun. This new edition includes Hugh's view on the changes wine has seen in the past 30 years. In his Foreword the celebrated historian Andrew Roberts writes: "The genius of The Story of Wine derives from the fact that it is emphatically not a dry-as-dust academic history - there are dozens of those - but an adventure story, full of mysteries, art and culture.'

The southernmost region of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) encompassed the vast Mekong River Delta, and area covering 10,190 square miles. Three major rivers run through the Delta, the Song Hou Giang (aka Bassac) and the Song Mekong, which broke into three large rivers (Song My Tho, Ham Luong, and Go Chien). The Nhon Trach delineated the Delta's eastern edge. In all there were some 1,500 miles of natural navigable waterways and 2,500 miles of man-made canals and channels. The canal system was begun in 800 AD and its expansion continued up to World War II. The nation's capital, Saigon, lies on the Delta's northern edge. Few roads and highways served the region with sampans and other small watercraft via the canals being the main means of transportation.
At least 70,000 Viet Cong (VC) were scattered over the area controlling up to a quarter of the population. Three Army of the Republic Vietnam (ARVN) divisions as well as various paramilitary forces battled the VC in the marshes, forests, and paddies. In 1965 the military situation in the Delta had deteriorated and the decision was taken to shore things up by committing a joint Army and Navy Mobile Riverine Force. This force was unique in its composition, mission, and the special craft in which it operated. The Army component was the 2d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division; the Navy component was River Assault Flotilla One. The various watercraft assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force are the subject of this book. These included much-modified landing craft, purpose-built patrol boats including Swift Boats and Monitors, and a variety of auxiliary and support vessels. Task Force CLEARWATER, a much smaller operation in the extremenorthern portion of South Vietnam, also used these craft.

Where can you find a Kick Ass recipe for an upcoming pot luck or party? Right here in the pages of Never Wash Dishes Again. These are recipes you will use so often they will become your own; truly great recipes you'll want to share with friends looking to impress their new in-laws or the people at an upcoming party or pot luck event. All recipes are packed with flavor and variety - from Moroccan Style Beef to the Perfect Margarita or party cocktail, and over 50 recipes for Jell-O shooters. This is not your Mother's coookbook! There are no bad cooks, just bad recipes, so Hugh created Never Wash Dishes Again where every recipe is an outstanding recipe! Never Wash Dishes Again is so much more than a cookbook, it is an idea book. You can start with the ingredients you have on hand and using Hugh's spice blends, mouth watering marinades and delicious sauces, you can create your own unique dishes, special recipes and truly memorable meals.

From well-loved oaks and pines to rare, spectacular species such as the snowbells of Japan, this lavishly illustrated work is an unparalleled guide to more than six hundred of the world's major forest and garden trees. An excellent resource for gardeners, botanists, and general readers alike, "The World of Trees "is a tribute to natural beauty by a superb prose stylist, an essential reference, and a practical guide for gardening. Hugh Johnson illuminates his subject in thorough and loving detail: the structure and life cycle of trees, how trees are named, trees and the weather, the use of trees in gardens and landscape design, and tree planting and care. The heart of the volume is a compendium of coniferous and deciduous trees grouped by family, describing and illustrating important species and varieties. It also includes a guide to choosing trees for the garden and an A-Z listing of the most important and popular species and varieties.
"The World of Trees" is a completely revised edition of Hugh Johnson's classic "International Book of Trees" featuring new photographs, systematic illustrations of all key tree parts, and current listings for the newest varieties and cultivars

Designed to change the course of the war, the V weapons required ambitious plans to defend their expensive and complicated launch sites. Steven J Zaloga describes the configuration and planned deployment of heavy missile sites, as well as the unique Allied tactics developed to counter this threat, including a remote-control version of the B-17 bomber. From the V-1 ski sites to the mobile basing employed by the V-2 units and the other secret weapons bases like the 'V-3' high-pressure gun at Mimoyeques, this book examines the impact of these weapon systems and defences not only on the war but on modern weaponry. With many of the sites described still surviving today, this is a perfect companion for a tour of the V weapon sites built during World War II.

California is home to more than 700 wineries, and California's premier wines are recognized throughout the world. This is a comprehensive guide which traces the Golden State's wine industry from its mission period and gold rush origins, down to the planting and vintage statistics of the year before publication. All aspects of wine are included, and wine production from vine propagation to bottling is described in straightforward language. The book includes entries for 750 wineries, both historical and contemporary, more than 100 wine grape varieties from Aleatico to Zinfandel, and wine types from claret to vermouth. Each entry is given a historical context.

The HMMWV has set the world standard for army tactical vehicles, since its introduction into the US Army in the 1980s. The Humvee marks another step in the evolution of small tactical vehicles, first started by the legendary Jeep of World War II. Modern armies have a need for a larger vehicle able to carry tactical radios and other equipment too large for a vehicle like the old Jeep. Due to its larger size, the Humvee has proven to be adaptable to a wide range of roles, including weapons carriers, missile launchers, command vehicles, and other specialized types. This book traces the development of the Humvee and its many variations, including the latest families of armored Humvees used in Iraq, in 2003-05. It will also briefly cover the proliferation of Hummer clones in other countries, as well as the civilian versions of the HMMWV.

German defenses along the Normandy beaches were part of the larger Atlantic Wall fortifications designed to defend Fortress Europe. When Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took command of the invasion front in late 1943, he began a program to enhance fortifications along the Normandy coast as he believed that any Allied assault had to be stopped on the invasion beaches themselves. His most important contribution to the defenses was an extensive program of improvised beach obstructions to complicate any landing attempt. This book analyses these fortifications and describes how the Allied forces overcame them on the morning of June 6, 1944.