The study of Prime Ministers and the reform of British central government in any era is fascinating. The interaction between the temporary, often inexperienced but largely elected ministers and the experienced but theoretically subservient senior civil servants provides enormous interest. This book concentrates on the years of Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, Alec Douglas Home and Edward Heath--years when the battle between Civil Service and Government was most intense. What makes this book more compelling is that many of the key players, including Richard Crossman, Barbara Castle and Tony Benn, wrote their own published accounts. Eighteen months after he came to power, Harold Wilson commissioned the Fulton Committee to look at the recruitment, training and management of civil servants. The Fulton report emerged in 1968 and became legendary for its difficult gestation and for the mini civil war, which developed within Whitehall over its implementation. This is but one episode in the history of British Prime Ministers' attempts to reform the Civil Service. The Fulton report remains a landmark in the administrative history of Britain.

Not long ago there was prosperity. Every worker had a job and those whose fortunes weren't on the rise held out hope that their day would soon come when they too joined the burgeoning league of millionaires that seemed to be produced overnight. This era is ending just as James is struggling to finish college. His dream of making a stylish, sophisticated life in the city isn't going as planned. Debt is beginning to mount as he longs for hedonistic fun. It isn't until James accidentally befriends a mysterious young woman who shares many of his tastes and aspirations does he begin to believe that things are turning around for him. She is Loren Anders, an heir to a global finance empire and aspiring fashion model. She is buoyant and fun, something James has longed to be. But as the Great Recession approaches, Loren's realm of opulence and glamour begins to unravel. James is forced to find fulfillment by putting aside the illusions that promised happiness.

Commander Kaimann, pirate extraordinaire, may have survived the Final Incal, but his crew did not. However, a good pirate never says die, leaving Kaimann in command of a ship of ghost pirates! Part of the expanding universe of The Incal, soon to be a major motion picture from Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Our Flag Means Death)! Things are not going well for Commander Kaimann. Luz, the love of his life, is dead, his home of Tortuga destroyed, his crew ghostly apparitions, and his crocodilian mutation taking over more and more of his body, Commander Kaimann is fighting for his life on multiple fronts. Just when it seems like despair may overtake him, a chance encounter with a strange violin connects him to Aurora, a woman living in a future where she is staring down almost certain destruction. With his passions renewed, Kaimann hatches a bold plan to find a cure for his mutation and a future with his newfound love. However, Kaimann’s past is catching up with him, and Aurora’s future faces imminent doom from an approaching hostile fleet. Two timelines tick towards tragedy, and only an act of pure love can save them! Fans of Saga will enjoy this mix of romance and sci-fi, whether they are new to the world of The Incal or a longtime fan!

Novelist Marc Mullbery leaves his sleepy island vineyard to attend an annual yachting excursion with a group of colleagues. As they set sail frictions emerge when Marc's mistress evades his advances and suddenly ends their longtime affair. Marc's cravings are quickly reawakened by another passenger, the prolific chick lit author Katrin Zofield. Marc's attempt to work on a new piece of writing is averted when his former mistress's husband confronts Marc about the affair. Marc's confessions are met with an equally shocking revelation. When one of the writers is found dead the narcissism and thirst for fame of those remaining is only heightened as they anticipate a media barrage awaiting them at the marina. 'Thieves, Whores & Dinosaurs' is a searing and hilarious satire of famous writers and the eccentric personalities they cultivate. It is the first book of the Marc Mulberry Series.

‘Douglas’s slanted way of looking at reality makes the fuzzy sharp and the improbable probable. In a cock-eyed universe the level gaze is not much use’ STEPHEN FRY ‘Douglas was something that we don’t have a word for yet – a futurologist or an explainer’ NEIL GAIMAN ‘All your readers have Douglas Adams Circuits in their heads, now: a glowing synaptic lens that has made the whole of space seem like a place as familiar and human as Earth. That makes us approach new tech, and the future, without fear’ CAITLIN MORAN When Douglas Adams died in 2001, he left behind 60 boxes full of notebooks, letters, scripts, jokes, speeches and even poems. In 42, compiled by Douglas’s long-time collaborator Kevin Jon Davies, hundreds of these personal artefacts appear in print for the very first time. Douglas was as much a thinker as he was a writer, and his artefacts reveal how his deep fascination with technology led to ideas which were far ahead of their time: a convention speech envisioning the modern smartphone, with all the information in the world living at our fingertips; sheets of notes predicting the advent of electronic books; journal entries from his forays into home computing – it is a matter of legend that Douglas bought the very first Mac in the UK; musings on how the internet would disrupt the CD-Rom industry, among others. 42 also features archival material charting Douglas’s school days through Cambridge, Footlights, collaborations with Graham Chapman, and early scribbles from the development of Doctor Who, Hitchhiker’s and Dirk Gently. Alongside details of his most celebrated works are projects that never came to fruition, including the pilot for radio programme They’ll Never Play That on the Radio and a space-inspired theme park ride. Douglas’s personal papers prove that the greatest ideas come from the fleeting thoughts that collide in our own imagination, and offer a captivating insight into the mind of one of the twentieth century’s greatest thinkers and most enduring storytellers.

In Death, Burial and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies charts the significance of death to the emerging religious cults in the pre-Christian and early Christian world. He analyses the varied burial rituals and examines the different notions of the afterlife. Among the areas covered are:
* Osiris and Isis: the life theology of Ancient Egypt
* burying the Jewish dead
* Roman religion and Roman funerals
* Early Christian burial
* the nature of martyrdom.
Jon Davies also draws on the sociological theory of Max Weber to present a comprehensive introduction to and overview of death, burial and the afterlife in the first Christian centuries which offers insights into the relationship between social change and attitudes to death and dying.

In Death, Burial and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies charts the significance of death to the emerging religious cults in the pre-Christian and early Christian world. He analyses the varied burial rituals and examines the different notions of the afterlife. Among the areas covered are:
* Osiris and Isis: the life theology of Ancient Egypt
* burying the Jewish dead
* Roman religion and Roman funerals
* Early Christian burial
* the nature of martyrdom.
Jon Davies also draws on the sociological theory of Max Weber to present a comprehensive introduction to and overview of death, burial and the afterlife in the first Christian centuries which offers insights into the relationship between social change and attitudes to death and dying.

Differential equations is a subject of wide applicability, and knowledge of dif Differential equations is a subject of wide applicability, and knowledge of dif ferential ferential equations equations topics topics permeates permeates all all areas areas of of study study in in engineering engineering and and applied applied mathematics. mathematics. Some Some differential differential equations equations are are susceptible susceptible to to analytic analytic means means of of so so lution, lution, while while others others require require the the generation generation of of numerical numerical solution solution trajectories trajectories to to see see the the behavior behavior of of the the system system under under study. study. For For both both situations, situations, the the software software package package Maple Maple can can be be used used to to advantage. advantage. To To the the student student Making Making effective effective use use of of differential differential equations equations requires requires facility facility in in recognizing recognizing and and solving solving standard standard "tractable" "tractable" problems, problems, as as well well as as having having the the background background in in the the subject subject to to make make use use of of tools tools for for dealing dealing with with situations situations that that are are not not amenable amenable to to simple simple analytic analytic approaches. approaches."

Tony Blair was the political colossus in Britain for thirteen years, winning three elections in a row for New Labour, two of them by huge majorities. However, since leaving office he has been disowned by many in his own party, with the term 'Blairite' becoming an insult. The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader in 2015 seemed to be, if not an equal, at least an opposite reaction to Blair's long dominance of the centre and left of British politics. Drawing on new contributions from most of the main players in the Blair government, including Tony Blair himself, Jon Davis and John Rentoul reconsider the history and common view of New Labour against its record of delivering moderate social democracy. They show how New Labour was not one party but two, and how it essentially governed as a coalition, much like the government that followed it. This book tells the inside story of how Tony Blair worked out, late in the day, his ideas for improving the NHS and school reform; how he groped towards, and was eventually defined by, a foreign policy of liberal interventionism; how he managed a difficult relationship with his Chancellor for ten years; and how Gordon Brown finally took over just as the boom went bust and the New Labour era came to an end. Rentoul and Davis reveal how the governing tribes dealt with each other in the New Labour years: not simply the 'Blairites' and the 'Brownites', but the 'temporary' ministers and the 'permanent', under-reported civil servants who worked alongside them. Many of the arguments that raged within and around the Blair government of 1997-2007 remain very much alive: reform of public services; the right course for the divided Labour Party; and the Iraq war. The Blair Government Reconsidered aims at a balanced account of how decisions were made, to allow the reader to make up their own mind about controversies that still dominate politics today.

Summer never tasted so good! You love those peaceful, relaxing pontoon rides around the lake: the beautiful scenery, the smell of fresh air, the gentle breeze cooling you on a warm summer day. Make each memorable trip last even longer; bring along treats, drinks, or even your next meal. Pontoon Food by Jon and Erin Davis is a collection of delicious, fun, and family-tested recipes with a focus on dishes that are easy to tote and even easier to serve. Find the basic ingredients at even the smallest of grocery stores. Prepare your food in advance, paying special attention to the authors' serving tips and tricks. Then prepare for what's sure to be your best day on the lake. The book features 58 family-tested recipes specifically for enjoying on pontoons and other boats A focus on dishes that are easy to tote and even easier to serve Simple directions and ingredients that are easy to find at most grocery stores Serving tips and tricks--perfect for a day on the water

"Davis is as good as DeLillo at playing off our internal hunger for meaning against surface senselessness. And Davis catches the surface brilliantly."--"American Book Review"

Punctuated by subversive humor, verbal theatrics, and moments of strange, luminous beauty, Davis' clear, unsentimental poems are meditations and mediations on contemporary existence and the unreliability of language, emotions, and the memory to gather it all in.

Jon Davis, author of five collections of poetry, earned his MFA from the University of Montana. He has received a Lannan Literary Award and currently teaches at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Differential equations is a subject of wide applicability, and knowledge of dif Differential equations is a subject of wide applicability, and knowledge of dif ferential ferential equations equations topics topics permeates permeates all all areas areas of of study study in in engineering engineering and and applied applied mathematics. mathematics. Some Some differential differential equations equations are are susceptible susceptible to to analytic analytic means means of of so so lution, lution, while while others others require require the the generation generation of of numerical numerical solution solution trajectories trajectories to to see see the the behavior behavior of of the the system system under under study. study. For For both both situations, situations, the the software software package package Maple Maple can can be be used used to to advantage. advantage. To To the the student student Making Making effective effective use use of of differential differential equations equations requires requires facility facility in in recognizing recognizing and and solving solving standard standard "tractable" "tractable" problems, problems, as as well well as as having having the the background background in in the the subject subject to to make make use use of of tools tools for for dealing dealing with with situations situations that that are are not not amenable amenable to to simple simple analytic analytic approaches. approaches.

Pigeon flies across the rooftops of London and soon finds himself in Covent Garden, where he falls in love with the sound of the opera singer in the piazza and the vision of the tap dancers at the Royal Ballet. As he learns how to look after himself away from his nest, he discovers his true passion in life - tap-dancing! Author Serena Hassan is a firm believer in following one's dreams, even if they may seem silly to others. She hopes to motivate and inspire future generations to be brave when they leave home, and to encourage them to never give up searching for their own passions.

New Baby! is a book written for toddlers about toddlers expecting a new addition to the family, and not knowing what to expect. In New Baby! toddlers expecting a new addition to the family don’t know exactly what will happen, and it can be confusing and emotionally challenging. Through the introduction of the new sibling, to the incorporation of it into daily life, toddlers will be reassured that while things will be different, mom and dad still love them just the same and have enough love for the new baby, too. ​Includes information for parents and caregivers about reassuring a toddler that they will not be forgotten when they have a new sibling.  

Read Write Inc. Phonics Book Bag Books are engaging texts to support children with additional reading practice outside the classroom. They have been specifically designed for children to take home after school, in order to share their reading journey and celebrate their achievements with parents and carers. The books are closely matched to the existing Read Write Inc. Phonics Storybooks to reinforce children's classroom learning of phonics at the appropriate level, helping them to make even faster progress in reading.

It's hard for toddlers to say goodbye sometimes, especially to Mom and Dad! Even if it's for a short amount of time, Mom and Dad reassure them not to worry because they will always come back. Bye-Bye! is a book written for toddlers about separation. Written with simple language and reflective of children's realities, the Terrific Toddlers series is based on understanding of the developmental level of young toddlers. Includes a "Note to Parents and Caregivers" about helping toddlers with saying goodbye.

Ava, Kai, and JoJo are playing with their toys at school, but must learn how to share. All Mine! is a book written for toddlers about taking ownership of their things, so they better understand how to take turns. Written with simple language and reflective of children's realities, the Terrific Toddlers series is based on understanding of the developmental level of young toddlers. Includes a "Note to Parents and Caregivers" written by the authors about supporting toddlers' needs for ownership.