Exploitation

In Exploitation, readers are taken on a heart-wrenching journey through the mind and experiences of a frontline soldier. Through intense and extreme pressure, the soldier must navigate their way through the challenges of combat and emerge on the other side. With raw and emotional storytelling, this book offers a unique insight into the thoughts and actions of those on the front lines, leaving readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and sacrifices of military service.

F*cking Up Adulthood

I didn’t ask for this. There’s no consent form for adulthood, you just get thrown in the deep end. One minute I’m jerking off my way through high school, the next I’m spending £5 on cheddar cheese. If you’re fed up with adulthood and its merry band of shite like me, let’s fight back against the conventions we so dearly hate. Join me on my runaway mission as I moan my way through the themes of young adulthood. Longing to be back on his feet, escaping the country to recover from what broke him. All the while dissecting the political and social landscape the world enters.

Fallen Through The Cracks

Press your chin hard against your throat. Now turn your head to the left and lift your left shoulder until it touches your ear. Keep your chin against your throat, your left ear against your left shoulder, contract your neck and shoulder muscles as tightly as you can and hold it like that for the rest of your life. That’s right. Eat like that, brush your teeth like that, drive like that and keep your head like that when you go to sleep at night.

This is what psychiatrists in South Africa did to me and they expect me to live like that for the rest of my life.

Far From Worries

A couple of years ago, the author moved next door to the King of Thailand working as an editor of an online magazine published in Hua Hin, a seaside town. At the time, the king lived there permanently in his summer palace known in Thai as the Klang Kangnon palace, which delightfully translates as ‘Far from Worries’. The book is a chronicle of the author’s year there, but in a larger sense, it is a portrait of contemporary Thailand; part memoir, part history and part travel book.

Fastovski's Tales of Hampstead

Imagine that Isaac Babel’s Cossacks wassail together with Runyonesque Liverpool Jews outside the plate-glass window of a Hampstead café where a Klezmer band is playing to a packed and tea-drinking congregation of jazzmen, Hasidic scholars, surrealists, old soldiers, and retired strippers; and you have the tone and temperature of this unique and unclassifiable memoir – no, not memoir, more a stream-of-consciousness novella – no, not a novella but a piece of autobiographical fiction – no, not autobiography but a picaresque drama conquered from the unreliable and fertile brain of the eponymous Fastovski.

And who is Fastovski? Is he real or invented? Is he perhaps the alter-ego of real-life jazz pianist, Klezmer swinger, big band leader and flaneur, Wallace Fields, who stares at us from the book’s frontispiece in shades, Diaghilev coat and moustache, over a cup of strong black coffee? Fastovski’s not telling and anyway, who cares.

This is a book to be devoured, disseminated, denounced, and delighted in. It belongs to all who think art and life are one and that the Arch-Savant of Canterbury, Issy Bonn, Rashid the Manic Berber Chef of NW3, and Mrs Karl Popper, have an equal claim on history. I haven’t had such a good time since I shared Sir Ralph Richardson’s motorbike with a parrot and a striking grandmother clock.

Piers Plowright
August 2008

Female Olympic Weightlifters

Not many books are available in the market of the weightlifting world to guide coaches on how to help female weightlifters, and lonely female weightlifters who don’t have a coach. Since I moved to the UK, I have had the chance to coach 1350 young and junior lifters in over 28 schools and my 6 clubs in 5 different London boroughs, of which half of them were female and I learnt how to deal with female lifters and educate myself to give my best knowledge to help them find their best. Since I became chief coach of the Odisha high performance center, I have worked hard to update my knowledge up to the world standard of a coach who deals with 40 lifters at the same time, 24 hours a day. I am still learning and would like to pass on what I learn to others from my 35 years of coaching and lifting experience. I have also written another book about how to coach at weightlifting competitions called How to win Olympic Weightlifting Competition.

Fighting for Hanne

Hanne Schafer, 63, had just retired as a psychologist from her position in a mental health clinic. Youthful and energetic, she looked forward to engaging in more travel, socializing, hiking and ballroom dancing with her partner, Daniel Laurin. When Hanne received a devastating diagnosis, she asked Daniel and Mary, her long-time friends, for help in dealing with a grim reality. She asked them for the ‘unthinkable’.

How would you respond? What would help you deal with one obstacle after another?

This memoir, written from Mary’s perspective, is based primarily on Hanne’s emails to Mary over a three-year period. It details how Hanne, Daniel and Mary persisted in pursuing Hanne’s goal of remaining in charge of her life.

Canada passed assisted dying legislation in June 2016, but some obstacles still remain and impede a person’s choice to die with dignity. Further legislation is anticipated. Hanne’s receipt of a court-ordered exemption in February 2016 is one facet of Canada’s history of assisted dying. Telling Hanne’s story reflects our mutual desire to eliminate obstacles that others may encounter.

Fighting To Sleep

Sleeping is like breathing and eating, we all need to do this, but what happens when out of the blue you suddenly discover you are awake all night and the little sleep you do manage is barely enough to get by on and nothing you do seems to help? You try everything you can think of, but the trouble is the less you sleep the more you are unable to function and think properly. Learning to cope with every day is an effort and you are trying to combat being perpetually tired and depressed. Then days turn into weeks and weeks into months and even medication doesn’t seem to work. Even though on the outside you look normal, you do not feel normal, EVER. What happens then? Are you able to live as usual? Should you accept this and just try and manage or do you fight? This is the story of one woman’s attempt to free herself of insomnia and get on with life because, as we know, we all need sleep.

Filo Fanfare

Unlock the secrets of filo pastry and discover a world of culinary delights. This authentic pastry, dating back to the 15th century, has a rich history that includes the famous baklava, a sweet treat created to commemorate the 40 days of Lent, with its 40 layers of thin, flaky pastry filled with nuts and spices, and soaked in syrup.
From savoury appetizers to decadent desserts, filo pastry is a versatile ingredient that adds a touch of elegance to any dish. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting out, this fully illustrated book will teach you how to work with filo pastry and create impressive dishes that will delight your senses.
So why wait? Dive into the exciting world of filo pastry and start exploring its endless possibilities today!

Flying Used to Be Fun

Civil aviation has changed out of all recognition over the period during which the author was involved. In many ways it is now far safer than it used to be. In the early sixties, majority of flights were conducted in piston engine aircrafts and many were tail draggers i.e. you would have entered at the back of the aircraft and then struggled uphill towards your own seat. Turbine power soon took over and planes not only became faster but could climb higher, which usually produced a smoother flight.

By the mid-sixties, jets were being introduced. They were even faster and flew still higher, once more increasing passenger comfort as more of the rougher weather was left below. Along with this, airfields were being expanded to cope with ever-increasing passenger numbers. For many years the government had no money to pay for updating navigational aids including safe landing systems. Appropriate radar coverage for air traffic controllers was hindered by lack of funds. Aircraft manufacturers improved the reliability of the aircraft they produced and engines were also being developed with far greater power to increase safety standards for both airfield performance and speed during the cruise.

This is the story of a life lived across many different eras of aviation.

For Goodness' Sake, Let's Talk Sugar

An enlightening guide and refreshing approach to sugar. This book, scientifically backed and complete with infographics born of decades of research and experience, aspires to inform both professionals and lay people alike on the controversial topic of sugar in health and nutrition, debunking common fearmongering myths in the process. It:

- answers that important question of what you need to know about sugar

- poses and then answers the question – what is the connection between sugar and energy?

- reveals the answer to that all-important question – what does a teaspoon of sugar weigh and how many calories/kilojoules does it contain?

- discusses the important role of leftovers

- explains how to read the food label of common drinks and foods containing sugar

- identifies the connection between atmospheric carbon dioxide and sugars

- suggests the important information on how to lose and maintain weight. What is the sugar-free diet?

- informs about the power of marketing of sugar-containing foods

- answers the questions you have always wanted to ask but didn’t know where to go.

Fought a Million Battles

This book covers over fifteen years of service as a volunteer with the Royal Green Jackets and Great Britain’s elite Special Air Service. The author was a trained parachutist with the UK, US and French Army. A qualified marksman and a silver standard cross-country skier, he was trained in explosives and was a specialist in long-distance communication.