'Wake up, Hall There'll be plenty of time

After this lesson for your poetry stuff.'

Sniggerings from the back. An urgent rhyme

Jumps on my mind and drives old Euclid off.

Those are the opening lines from one of J. C. Hall's later poems, "Curriculum Vitae, "recalling his boyhood stirrings as a poet. His first published outing could hardly have been more auspicious, it was in a volume he shared with Keith Douglas and Norman Nicholson. Those two poets have long been on the Faber list: after all these years it a pleasure to welcome J. C. Hall to the fold.

"Long Shadows: Poems 1938-2002," in the author's words, 'is not a collected poems in the sense of containing everything I've written and published, but a comprehensive selection of poems which seem, in their various ways, worth preserving.' Don't be misled by his characteristic modesty, these poems are very much 'worth preserving'.

When reviewing the first edition of this volume, Vernon Scannell referred to J. C. Hall's 'considerable gifts' going on to say, 'it is interesting to watch the development of a talent that has always been rooted firmly in the great tradition of English lyrical poetry' in a 'tone . . . rather like that of a more genial Philip Larkin . . .'

In a nice apothegm, W. H. Auden once observed, 'formal verse frees one from the fetters of one's ego' and in the poems of J. C. Hall we see a craftsmanship that yields to the reader constant pleasure and enjoyment. J. C. Hall should be better known.

'Some of them are so very moving. I love the last lines of ''Juliot'' - just the sort of thing I should like to have done myself.' Philip Larkin (in a letter to the author)

'Hall writes movingly and often wittily about childhood, love and loss. These poems are the real thing.' Vernon Scannell, "Sunday Telegraph"

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'Everything in Long Shadows has the mark of a distinct, individual talent. These poems are finely-calculated, technically adept, and sometimes they can prove moving in a sudden, unexpected way.' Alan Brownjohn, "London Magazine"

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'The result is real poems - moving elegies, spirited epiphanies, wryly humorous observations. I read this book with growing admiration and then - with enormous pleasure - I immediately read it again.' Matt Simpson, "Stride"

Following the recent publication of new guidelines by the European Society of Cardiology, this fully up-to-date work provides cardiologists and cardiac surgeons with the first comprehensive guide to post-operative management of patients who have undergone heart valve surgery. An international team of contributors, all recognized authorities in their field, and themselves contributors to the new guidelines, present evidence-based recommendations for managing a range of clinical problems in both adults and children, extending from immediate care in the hospital setting, through to long-term considerations for the primary care physician. Topics covered include:* rehabilitation * management of thrombosis* hemolysis* rheumatic fever* endocarditis* special considerations such as care of the patient undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Illustrated with numerous graphics, checklists and flow charts to enable readers to locate information rapidly and easily, Heart Valve Disease provides practical guidance on a range of common clinical scenarios, encompassing immediate post-operative care in the hospital as well as long-term management in the primary care settings.

Mephisto is an Internet cat detective. In the course of his daily computer time, he uncovers events that affect him and his community. Things begin to turn dark for Mephisto when a provider (human) he feels close to is found dead in some fly-tipped rubbish. To make matters worse, the longstanding truce with the rats is in danger of collapse. Using his skills Mephisto sets about helping the providers uncover who is responsible. Along with the dead body, he also discovers illegal activity in the neighbourhood. Mephisto, with the help of his close friends, has to try and remedy this state of affairs. The setting for Friends, Family and Feathers: To most humans it looks like a quiet, suburban neighbourhood. There are shops and businesses on a through road and side roads lined with terraced houses and the occasional detached one. To the cats it is full of complex smells, providers and rats. To Mephisto it is a complicated network of internet communications linking the cats and a few none cats to the rest of the world.