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In this stunningly illustrated field guide, popular science writer Adam Hart-Davis will bring us the very latest findings that are revolutionising our view of the Cosmos. He will travel to locations around the world to meet scientists who are attempting to unravel some attempting to unravel some of the great unaswered questions in cosmology, such as the likelyhood of discovering extraterrestrial life. At the Allen Telescope Array in California, Adam will encounter the sharp end of this search: the Array is currently under construction and. when complete, will comprise 350 six-metre dishes focused permanently on detecting intelligent life in the Universe. High in mountains of Tenerife Adam will reveal the latest findings in the hunt for planets outside our Solar System. And in Cologne, he will meet scientists at the European Space Agency whose ambition is to send the first humans to Mars. This is no longer in the realm of science-fiction: in all probability the first astronauts to Mars have already been born.

Alan Bennett sealed his reputation as the master of observation with this series of 12 groundbreaking monologues, originally filmed for BBC Television. At once darkly comic, tragically poignant and wonderfully uplifting, "Talking Heads" is widely regarded as a modern classic. This new edition, which contains the complete collection of "Talking Heads", as well as his earlier monologue, "A Woman of No Importance", is a celebration of Alan Bennett's finest work.

"Untold Stories" is Alan Bennett's first collection of prose since "Writing Home" and takes in all his major writings over the last ten years. The title piece is a poignant family memoir with an account of the marriage of his parents, the lives and deaths of his aunts and the uncovering of a long-held family secret. Also included are his much celebrated diaries for the years 1996 to 2004, as well as essays, reviews, lectures and reminiscences ranging from childhood trips to the local cinema and a tour around Leeds Art Gallery to reflections on writing, honours and his Westminster Abbey eulogy for Thora Hird. At times heartrending and at others extremely funny, "Untold Stories" is a matchless and unforgettable anthology.

Fill My Stocking is a collection of Christmas anecdotes, stories, poems and sketches from Alan Titchmarsh, beautifully illustrated with his own watercolour vignettes. A great raconteur and entertainer, Alan gets together every Christmas with family and friends to celebrate the season and performs much-loved favourites old and new. Fill My Stocking combines these well-known favourites with his own self-penned festive pieces. Collected together for the first time, this is the perfect stocking filler for his legions of fans.

From the intoxicating language of celebrity magazines to the shadowy double figure of the euphemism, this work traces the evolution of Greek and Latin wordplay into a sometimes baffling contemporary jargon.

John Betjeman was by far the most popular poet of the twentieth century. His collected poems sold over two million copies. Television audiences loved his quirky evocations of landscape and architecture. As Poet Laureate, he became a national icon, but behind the public man were doubts and demons. The poet best known for writing hymns of praise to athletic middle class girls on the tennis courts led a tempestuous emotional life. For much of his fifty year marriage to Penelope Chetwode, the daughter of a Field Marshall, Betjeman had a relationship with Elizabeth Cavendish, the daughter of the Duke of Devonshire and Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret. Betjeman, a devout Anglican, was tormented by guilt about the storms this emotional triangle caused. This book is the first to use fully the vast archive of personal material relating to Betjeman's private life, including literally hundreds of letters written by his wife about their life together and apart. Here too are chronicled his many friendships, ranging from 'Bosie' Douglas to the young satirists of "Private Eye", from the Mitford Sisters to the "Crazy Gang". This is a celebration of a much-loved poet, a brave campaigner for architecture at risk, and a highly popular public performer. Betjeman was the classic example of the melancholy clown, whose sadness found its perfect mood-music in the hymns of a poignant Anglicanism.

Based entirely in the fictional world of Walford, the EastEnders Annual takes a sparky, gossip- magazine-style approach to the Square, focusing less on the public-service remit and more on Roxys cocktail recipes. Packed with exclusive features, we'll be looking in depth at key themes, such as adultery and doomed romances. We'll also have a special report on the Square's Pyscho Women, including May, Clare and Stella, and we'll provide a study on the Pyscho Teens, too. A death map of Walford will remember the dearly departed, with a symbol indicating murder, car crash or natural causes. And our complete guide to throwing an EastEnders party - with a recipe for Ian Beales vol-au-vents and some creative ideas with knock-off Christmas decorations - will offer the secrets of social success for the festive season. Also containing fun quizzes and games, including the 'Queen Vic Challenge', a riotous board game for all the family, plus a rivetting personality test to match you up with your ideal EastEnders date, this fantastic new Annual will be as much a part of Christmas as a knees-up in the Vic.

In Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners, Christopher Lloyd OBE offers down-to-earth advice, based on sound experience, on how to create and cultivate 'hot and steamy' planting schemes wherever you live, and how to maintain an exotic garden in a cool climate. This book features his most exuberant planting schemes in the famous borders and pot displays which delight and excite, and sometimes shock, his visitors to Great Dixter. It includes practical advice on growing more than 200 hardy and tender plants and contains over 200 photographs by Jonathan Buckley. Sadly, Christopher Lloyd died in January 2006. His close gardening friends will be completing the book, including Dan Pearson, Anna Pavord and Sarah Raven amongst others.

Frank Clarke is back to encourage more would-be artists to have a go. Using his foolproof 'Have Some More Fun' method, Frank shows how anyone can achieve fantastic results in next to no time. A self-taught artist himself, Frank guides the new reader through the basic techniques needed for watercolour painting before embarking on a series of eight step-by-step lessons. The lessons offer new artists lots of opportunity to practise their techniques and will inspire readers of the first book to continue developing their hobby. Includes advice on materials and equipment, brush techniques, effects and strokes and how to correct mistakes. Frank's infectious enthusiasm and straightforward method of teaching have turned millions of people into amateur artists. Paintbox 2 will have people reaching for their watercolours and creating beautiful pictures that most beginners can only dream of.

Pre-eminent author and art historian Simon Schama has written widely on art for many years to great acclaim. In 'Hang-Ups', a personal selection of his articles from, amongst others, The New Yorker, appears in Britain for the very first time. Brilliantly and lucidly written by one of the most singular voices in non-fiction, this volume of provocative and often idiosyncratic essays makes hugely satisfying reading for lovers of both art and social history. In contains pieces on artists as diverse as David Hockney, Rembrandt and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and on such subjects as the 'unforgettable peculiarity' of Stanley Spencer. From the author whose writing has been called 'sublime' and whose ability to bring art and history vividly to life has earned him admiration worldwide, Hang-Ups is Schama's rallying cry for the art lover to look at familiar works of art and their artists - and embrace a new way of seeing.

Award-winning author and art historian, Simon Schama has been writing essays on art for The New Yorker for many years. This is the first time the articles have been collected together and published for the British public. Brilliantly written by one of the unique voices in non-fiction, this volume of challenging and often surprising art criticism makes for fascinating reading for any lover of art or student of art history. From the author whose writing has been called 'sublime' and whose ability to bring art and history vividly to life has earned him admiration worldwide, Hang-Ups is Schama's rallying cry for the art lover to look at familiar works of art and their artists - and embrace a new way of seeing.

Ambitious in scale and far-reaching in scope, How Art Made the World is a fresh introduction to the history of art and, through the visual image, the history of humankind. Embarking with the motto 'Everyone is an artist', Nigel Spivey takes us on a quest to find out when and how we humans acquired and then exploited our unique capacity for symbolic representation. In the late nineteenth century, the first discoveries of prehistoric painting were greeted with incredulity. How could there have been such deft and skilful artists in the world over 30,000 years ago? The exploration of this mystery leads to a trail of further intriguing problems. Images came to us before the written word - so how did we use images to tell stories? The representation of our human form has been a preoccupation of artists through the centuries - so why is it that from the very beginning we have preferred images of the body with distorted or exaggerated features? By what means did we define some supernatural presence as immortal and 'invisible', and then attempt to visualize it? And when did our environment become styled as a 'landscape'? In answering these questions and many more, Nigel Spivey takes us on a journey that also reveals how art has been used as a means of mass persuasion, essential to the creation of hierarchical societies, and final

Almost 400 years after his death, William Shakespeare is still acclaimed as the world's greatest writer, and yet the man himself remains shrouded in mystery. In this absorbing historical detective story, the acclaimed broadcaster and historian Michael Wood takes a fresh approach to Shakespeare's life, brilliantly recreating the turbulent times through which the poet lived: the age of the Reformation, the Spanish Armada, the Gunpowder Plot and the colonization of the Americas. Drawing on an extensive range of sources, Michael Wood takes us back into Elizabethan England to reveal a man who is the product of his time - a period of tremendous upheaval that straddled the medieval and modern worlds. Using a wealth of unexplored archive evidence the author vividly conjures up the neighbourhoods of the Elizabethan London where Shakespeare lived and worked during his glittering career. Full of fresh insights and fascinating new discoveries, this book presents us with a Shakespeare for the twenty-first century: a man of the theatre, a thinking artist, playful and cunning who held up a mirror to hi sage, but who was also, as his friend Ben Jonson said, 'not of an age, but for all time'.

Although Shakespeare is the world's greatest writer, his work familiar all over the world, we know virtually nothing about the man himself. In 'Shakespeare', historian and television presenter Michael Wood pieces together a more convincing portrait of our most famous playwright than was previously thought possible. A brilliant piece of historical investigative journalism, the book provides a fresh narrative of Shakepeare's life, drawing on a wide range of primary sources. Rather than approaching Shakespeare as an isolated genius, Michael argues that he was very much a product of his place and time - a period of great upheaval that straddled the medieval and modern worlds. In doing so, Michael reinstates the image of Shakespeare as a thinking artist, his work based firmly in the religion, politics, culture and class antagonisms of his day. In this revealing biography, Michael asks the questions the Shakespeare industry has previously failed to address.

Despite the number of claims in publishers blurbs, not many people actually achieve the status of legend in their own lifetime. Fewer still actually deserve that status. John Peel is the exception which proves that rule, a Great Briton whose contribution to British culture is undeniable, without whom popular culture would never have become popular. Beloved by millions - whether for his unstinting championing of musical talent on Radio 1 or for his wildly popular Radio 4 show Home Truths - this is the astonishing book he began to write before his untimely death in October 2004, completed by the woman who knew him best, his wife Sheila. The first half of the book, written by John, describes with characteristic humour his early life, from child to man, including his school days and National Service. You can hear the unique Peel voice in every sentence - rarely, if ever, before has a voice been so successfully transferred to paper. The second section, written by Peel's wife and soulmate of many years, Sheila Ravenscroft, gives us an intimate portrait of the man and his music, and the highs and the lows of everyday life at Peel Acres. The completion of this book has been a labour of love for John's family and their passion has paid off. It's every bit as extraordinary as the man himself and a fitting tribute to a bona fide legend.

Detective Sam Tyler is racing to save his girlfriend and colleague from a serial killer when a car crash puts him into a coma. When he wakes up he is no longer in 2006 - he is now assigned to the team run by the loudmouthed and un-politically correct DCI Gene Hunt in 1973. This was the opening premise that hooked 7 million viewers and had them glued to their screens every week as the mystery surrounding Sam deepened and his dilemma grew ever more intense. Will he ever get home again, and how? Why is he in 1973, and can he hang on to his sanity and cope with life in a very different world than the one he is used to? Is it all coma-induced, in his head, or is it real? The official Life on Mars companion is packed with interviews with cast and crew and insights into the making of the series, from what first inspired it to the meticulously researched 1970s background and design. The whole is a package which brilliantly recreates the look and feel of the show - right down to the hidden 1973 Life On Mars Annual cover underneath the outside dust jacket - and which anyone who fell in love with Life On Mars on screen will want to own.

Miles Mendozas Website of the Day has been a popular and entertaining feature on BBC Radio 2s Steve Wright in the Afternoon show since it began in 1999. In his ongoing quest for brilliant and engaging websites to feature, Miles has become increasingly evangelical about the web and recognises the need to cut through the jargon to make it accessible and entertaining for even the most novice user. In this brilliant new book Miles uses his popular, chatty style to simplify all aspects of the Internet, and to present the best and most popular sites that have been featured on Steve Wright in the Afternoon over the years. Beginning with the basics, Miles takes the reader on a funny and entertaining journey through the best of the web, including the best sites for family, travel, film and TV, Genealogy, Extreme Sports and many many more! Whether youre new to the Internet or a seasoned user, this book will uncover the hidden gems that youll quickly find indispensable just like the bookContents include: Kids and family sites, online shopping, travel, music, games and timewasters, nostalgia, communities, bets; quests and timewasters, blogs and podcasts, lifestyle, extreme and lots, lots more.

From the pleasure of escaping our daily lives and finding laughter, to musing on what makes the world go round and finding solace, poets of all ages have helped us find a way there. In 1996 BBC Bookworm held a poll to find 100 of the nation's best-loved poems. They were published in the Nation's Favourite Poems and featured classics, including Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' and Wordsworth's 'The Daffodils', alongside popular contemporary poems, such as Jenny Joseph's 'Warning' and W.H Auden's 'Stop All the Clocks'. This collection continues to delight and move us with its eclectic mix of favourite poems. Yet, while it contains so many of our best-loved poems, there are a wealth of outstanding poems across the ages that we were unable to include in the collection. To celebrate the richness of poetry in our lives, BBC Books is holding another poll to find more of the nation's favourite poems. Perhaps the anthology will include Byron's poignant, 'So we'll go no more a roving', other outstanding pieces by Auden, Lawrence, Wordsworth and Shakespeare or Edwin Muir's 'The Confirmation'. The anthology will be published this autumn. In June the nation will be able to have its say.

From the intrepid explorers who discovered the New World to modern-day commuters, journeys have always played a fundamental part in our lives. In The Nation's Favourite Poems of Journeys poets from throughout the ages explore not just the physical, but also the spiritual and emotional journeys that we undertake as we progress through life. The sadness of seeing a loved one depart on a long voyage, the wonder of seeing new lands and meeting new people - the web of emotions reflected in this fascinating anthology is complex and varied. Alun Lewis describes the poignancy of lovers parting forever in 'Goodbye' while Tennyson captures an insatiable wanderlust in 'Ulysses'. Laurie Lee celebrates England and homecoming in 'Home from Abroad' whereas in 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night' Dylan Thomas ponders the final and ultimate journey that we make: life into death. Packed with a rich variety of wonderful poems, The Nation's Favourite Poems of Journeys is sure to become a greatly treasured companion as you travel through life.

The Works contains 120 of Pam Ayres' best-known poems from the seventies and eighties, including The Battery Hen, Please Will You Take Your Children Home Before I Do Them In, Sling Another Chair Leg on the Fire, Mother and, of course, Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth. For this new edition Pam has written a general introduction, as well as individual introductions to the poems, many of which are now illustrated with specially commissioned line drawings by Susan Hellard. This is the first time The Works has been available in hardback and is certain to delight Pam's fans of all ages. Pam is one of Britain's best-loved personalities and has been a regular on television and radio for more than 30 years most recently on Just a Minute, The Comedy Quiz, Countdown and her own series, Ayres on the Air. She performs her solo stage show throughout Britain and around the world and has a huge fan base in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The 2008 edition of the Radio Times Guide to Films. With a grand total of 21,773 films (an increase of 430 on last year and including 526 new entries), this eighth edition of the Guide boasts better coverage than ever. The new entries comprise films released in UK cinemas during the past 12 months, and movies, old and new, that have been screened on television or become available on DVD during the same time period and have never before appeared in the Guide. And, as always, we aim to be the most up-to-date film guide on the market, thanks to the advance work of our dedicated reviewers. You will find a large number of reviews for movies that hadnt made it to cinemas in the UK at the time of going to press, and, for the first time, a few previews clearly signposted of major upcoming films that were not available for review prior to our deadline. Making way for these new entries are minor productions with limited availability that have slipped off TV channel transmission lists and are not on DVD/video. The Guide covers a wide range of cinema; we havent limited our selection to mainstream UK and US movies, but also include European films, significant and interesting works of world cinema, and even underground and experimental films a cross-section of 20th- and 21st-century cinema, rather than a comprehensive guide to a narrower range of movies. Some film series may be represented here selectively, to give you a feel for their character and style. Many straight-to-video movies are included, as are made-for-television films, except for British TV productions, which are treated as dramas rather than films by.

The book of the second series, entitled '' Restoration: The Story Continues'' features an update on the heat-winning buildings from the first series, as well as stories about the 21 new buildings to be featured in series two. The author is Philip Wilkinson, who wrote the first Restoration book, and the photographer is Peter Ashley, whose work also featured in the same book. The new book also features original sketches by presenter Ptolemy Dean, and a foreword written by HRH The Prince of Wales, a keen supporter of the programme.

In his own inimitable way Rolf brought the lives and works of the some of the world's best-loved artists to life, exploring their methods and techniques and then painting his own pictures in their style. Now, in this book to accompany his new series, you can share Rolf's boundless enthusiasm at first-hand by looking over his shoulder as he produces a series of paintings to demonstrate his own easy-to-follow painting methods in close-up detail. Containing all his paintings from the series as well as many previously unseen originals, the book will delight anyone who is interested in art and inspire amateur artists everywhere. Applying that first stroke of paint may seem a very frightening step but it doesn't have to be. In Rolf's own words, 'Anyone can do it', so let him show you how and share his excitement at the endless possibilities painting offers.

Simon Schama follows the success of A History of Britain with his explosive new series and book on the history of creativity. Taking as his starting point eight famous painters and their great masterpieces, Schama transports the reader back to the intense moment in history when these works were conceived and born. In each case the artist - Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko - is backed into a corner, facing a crisis; given a chance to confound his rivals, enemies and critics one more time. But this is more than a story about art and artists. As Schama takes us back to the birthplace of these masterpieces - to the murderous, messianic world of Baroque Rome; paranoid, revolutionary Paris; the madhouses and brothels of Provence and the carnage of civil war Spain - a very modern history of the Western world unfolds. Schama's epic story of the unfolding force of the visual imagination will make you look at art in a way you've never looked before...

Spooks is a stylish, gripping spy thriller series, shown on BBC1 where it regularly draws audiences of over seven million viewers, making it one of the most popular drama series in British TV. Its enormous appeal is brought about because the subject matter is so close to events on the news, the superb performances of the cast, and because the outcome is always in doubt (rarely have the leads in s show had such a high mortality rate!). Now in this fascinating book, we get right behind the scenes to understand how the shows are made, how the plots are devised, and the enormous amount of work that goes into making it seem as authentic as possible. Featuring interviews with the cast and writers, and packed with exclusive stills of the making of the programmes, this book provides all the information about how the series is made and the truth that lies beyond the fiction.

How would you cope in a remote location where you had to build your own shelter, find water and hunt food?Published to tie-in with the BBC TV series Castaway in 2007, The Castaway Survival Guide is a fascinating and informative guide to surviving in a wide range of environments with or without a camera crew in tow! Drawing on thorough research into survival techniques, the entries are arranged in order of survival priority, exactly as the contestants on Castaway will face when they arrive on their island.Contains entertaining and detailed information on basic survival in any situation, including shelter construction, sourcing water, fire making, food hunting, protection from predators, signalling and navigation. It will also examine how a group can survive as far away from their current lives as possible physically, psychologically and emotionally and in doing so will reflect on what the essentials in life really are. Fully illustrated with photographs, drawings and diagrams, it will be a must-have for fans of the programme, as well as a great book for budding adventurers of all ages. One thing is guaranteed: this book will save your life!

Accompanying the first major television history of this ever more influential art form, this landmark book explores the key events and the key images that have marked the development of photography. At the heart of the book is a quest to understand what makes a truly great photograph. What is it that makes a photograph by Nan Goldin or Henri Cartier-Bresson stand out among the millions of others taken by all of us every single day? Why are some photographs elevated to the status of art - even after the event? "The Story of Photography" examines the evolution of photography in its wider context: social, political, economic, technological and artistic. It brings a critical perspective and a strong aesthetic sense to the subject, but above all it is primarily a narrative history. Beginning with the earliest days of the photograph in the 1840s and ending with an examination of the state of photography today and the effect that the 'digital revolution' will have, changing not only how we look at a photograph, but what it is in a physical sense. The book examines all the different genres of photography from art, news and reportage, landscape and portrait photography. It also tells the great stories behind many of the world's most iconic photographs and reveals the extraordinary characters - from Margaret Bourke-White to Cindy Sherman and from Louis Daguerre to Robert Capa who have made and defined this art form. And it explores the forces and contemporary resonances that have given these images their meaning and power.

This wonderful anthology contains some of the nation's all-time favourite comic verse. From much-loved classics such as Lewis Carroll's curious `Jabberwocky' to lesser-known and forgotten gems such as Gelett Burgess' `The Purple Cow', Griff Rhys Jones takes us on a poetic tour of the witty, the nonsensical and the plain laugh-out-loud funny. The selection brings together poets from every age and every walk of life, from Shakespeare to Victoria Wood and from Keats to Benjamin Zephaniah. There is Roald Dahl's cunning variation on `Little Red Riding Hood', Spike Milligan's brilliantly ridiculous `On the Ning Nang Nong' as well as several entries from the ever-elusive Anon, including the delightfully succinct `Peas'. Remembered, half-remembered, cherished or written on a tea towel, here are some of the riches that add up to the nation's favourite comic poems.

In BBC television's Bookworm poll to find Britain's favourite love poem, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's How Do I Love Thee? was voted number one. In this popular selection of over eighty poems, poets of every age consider that most universal of themes: love. From traditional favourites such as Shakespeare's Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? and Robert Burns' A Red, Red Rose to contemporary poems such as John Fuller's Valentine and Ted Hughes' Lovesong, this anthology read by Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Charlotte Attenborough and Paul Rhys is proof that Britain is a nation of romantics at heart.

This unique anthology brings together the results of the poll in a collection of the nation's 100 best-loved poems. Among the selection are popular classics such as Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shallot' and Wordsworth's 'The Daffodils' alongside contemporary poetry such as Allan Ahlberg's 'Please Mrs Butler' and Jenny Joseph's 'Warnin'. Also included in the poignant 'Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep'.

Recently voted Man of the Millennium by BBC Radio 4 listeners, William Shakespeare is one of the most enduring and influential writers of all time. This delightful celebration of his work brings together over 100 best-loved speeches, scenes and sonnets, all of which are guaranteed to appeal both to seasoned Shakespeare enthusiasts and to the uninitiated alike. From Romeo's wonderfully romantic accolade to Juliet's beauty - 'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?' ...to Macbeth's haunted musings after killing Duncan - 'Is this a dagger, which I see before me?' ...and King Henry V's rousing and poignant battle speech to his troops - 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends...' ...here are many old favourites to be re-discovered. Shakespeare's most romantic sonnets are also included, such as 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' and 'When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes'. Complete with scene-setting passages for every extract and a foreword by Richard Briers OBE, The Nation's Favourite Shakespeare is a unique treasure-trove of familiar and forgotten gems that you are sure to reach for again and again.

Inspired by a recent poll to discover the nation's favourite modern poem, this unique anthology is a fascinating collection of some of the finest verse of the twentieth century. From harrowing images drawn by the First World War poets, to the wonderfully evocative love poems of Sir John Betjeman, this collection is as rich and varied as the century itself. As well as classic favourites such as Jenny Joseph's 'Warning' and Seamus Heaney's 'Digging', there are many surprises to be discovered, including Craig Raine's innovative 'A Martian Sends a Postcard Home' and Roger McGough's charmingly witty 'Vinegar.' There are poems here to suit every mood and emotion. For the unlucky in love, Wendy Cope's engaging poem 'Loss' will soon raise spirits, and anyone who cares about the countryside should turn in to Philip Larkin's prophetic 'Going, Going.' The Nation's Favourite Twentieth Century Poems is a delighful celebration of the last one hundred years of verse and is destined to become an essential part of every poetry lover's library.

In 1909 the millionaire French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn embarked on an ambitious project to create a colour photographic record of, and for, the peoples of the world. As an idealist and an internationalist, Kahn believed that he could use the new Autochrome process, the worlds first user-friendly, true-colour photographic system, to promote cross-cultural peace and understanding. Until recently, Kahns huge collection of 72,000 Autochromes remained relatively unheard of. Now, a century after he launched his project, this book and the BBC TV series it accompanies are bringing these dazzling pictures to a mass audience for the first time and putting colour into what we tend to think of as an entirely monochrome age. Kahn sent photographers to more than 50 countries, often at crucial junctures in their history, when age-old cultures were on the brink of being changed for ever by war and the march of twentieth-century globalisation. They documented in true colour the collapse of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, the last traditional Celtic villages in Ireland, and the soldiers of the First World War. They took the earliest known colour photographs in countries as far apart as Vietnam and Brazil, Mongolia and Norway, Benin and the United States. In 1929 the Wall Street Crash forced Kahn to bring his project to an end. He died in 1940, but left behind the most important collection of early colour photographs in the world. Find out more about the book here

The World's Most Photographed explores the photographic imagery of ten figures from history. Photography is key to our perception of world leaders and international film stars alike, but this book demonstrates how well known or notorious figures - from Queen Victoria to Muhammad Ali - have manipulated the medium with lasting effect and, in the case of Adolf Hitler, with devastating impact. Accompanying a major ten-part BBC TWO television series, The World's Most Photographed tells the stories of Queen Victoria, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, Greta Garbo, John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali through the creation and manipulation of their image in photographs. By unearthing pictures of these men and women which have previously been lost, suppressed or hidden, the book provides an in-depth exploration of how photography has been used throughout history in the pursuit of fame and power: how it has been controlled and managed in the creation of pin-ups such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley; how Mahatma Ghandi used it in a sophisticated way to create an image of simplicity and integrity which would help to undermine the British Empire; and how it was turned into a sinister tool of mass manipulation by Adolf Hitler as he launched his deadly assault on humanity.

In Victoria' Empire Britain's favourite comedienne Victoria Wood travels through the old British Empire in search of the legacy of Queen Victoria. Victoria's irreverent pilgrimage will feature in a major new BBC1 series in early 2007 which will take her to key places around the world that also share her namesake, from Fort Victoria in Ghana, to Victoria, Nova Scotia, and finishing at Zambia's Victoria Falls. Victoria's adventure will be fuelled by her fascination with the Queen Victoria - both her public and private persona. She will explore how Victoria felt about the colonisation being forged in her name and what she was like as a wife and mother. In her inimitable fashion, Victoria Wood will record her adventure tracing a nation's colourful history -- blending the outrage and eccentricity with a celebration of the ordinary. We definitely will be amused.

The ninth edition of the indispensable companion to Britain's longest-running radio drama. For the new and established listener alike, Who's Who in the Archers 2008 is the essential A to Z companion to this renowned radio drama - now in its 57th year - giving an insight into the characters and the tangled lives of the villagers of Ambridge. The book includes a detailed Archers family tree. It has been a busy year... Who's Who in the Archers 2008 covers everything from the historic 15000th edition to Trudy Porter, who spoke after 34 years of silence when a fan paid 17,000 to Children in Need to play the part. The 2008 edition, in A-format size, has been completely updated and is the perfect gift for Archers addicts.

This is a warm, wise and witty celebration of the 60th anniversary of BBC Woman's Hour. Contributors include Jenni Murray, Sue MacGregor and Martha Kearney. Woman's Hour is one of Britain's greatest national institutions, entertaining millions of women (and men) since its first broadcast on 7 October 1946. For sixty years, the programme has championed the woman's perspective on topics such as health, education, family and home, work, sex, arts, fashion, international affairs and politics. From celebrity interviews to ordinary listeners who were invited to tell their personal stories on air, Woman's Hour has charted the changing status of women throughout the latter twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Now, for the first time, this book brings together many of these interviews, reflecting the passage of the decades through the unique voices of those who have taken part. Highlights include presenter Jill Allgood interviewing Joyce Grenfell in her own home in the post-war years, to Ailsa Garland discussing hair and fashion with Cilla Black in the swinging sixties; Germaine Greer and Kate Millet advocating a women's movement in the 1970s; the Thatcher years of the 1980s; Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi campaigning for Burmese democracy in 1996, and Sharon Osbourne talking parenthood and cosmetic surgery in 2005. "Woman's Hour: From Joyce Grenfell to Sharon Osbourne" tells a vivid and personal history through the voices of its guests, and provides a thrilling insight into how the programme has inspired, set the agenda and brought women together over six fascinating decades.