During his run into turning FIFTY, CHRIS EVANS is on a MISSION. To take stock of WHERE HE IS and WHERE HE'S AT in order to figure out how BEST to get the MOST out of what he BELIEVES are the BEST YEARS yet to come.His typically positive and upbeat journey involves ONE HUNDRED DAYS of contemplation, research, focus, frustration and DECISION MAKING while SECRETLY:*Training for The London MARATHON*Bringing back his cult Nineties TV show TFI FRIDAY*And the small matter of suddenly being asked to take over TOP GEAR.HEALTH, LOVE, MARRIAGE, SEX, DEATH and even RELIGION all come under his witty microscope as he poses the conundrum - MIDLIFE: CRISIS vs OPPORTUNITY ?There can only be one winner.
Total Belief looks back at three incredible years in the early 1990s when Bruce Rioch transformed the fortunes of a football club on its knees. In the summer of 1992, Bolton Wanderers were a club in distress. With an aging stadium and struggling in the league, chairman Gordon Hargreaves made the difficult decision to sack manager Phil Neal and employ Bruce Rioch and his assistant Colin Todd.Over the next three seasons, Bruce began to change attitudes by instilling a new mentality. Working his players hard on the pitch and restricting their lives off it, Bruce won the hearts of players and fans alike.With his blend of youth and experience, Bruce took Bolton on incredible cup runs with attractive attacking football that finally brought the crowds back to Burnden Park. The story ended with yet another cup run and two trips to Wembley, including one of the most dramatic comebacks of all time. Sadly, the celebrations were cut short as Bruce Rioch left to join Arsenal, but his legacy lives on.
The Calahrian Empire is collapsing. All across the realm native populations are rising up to throw off the shackles of colonial rule. Two key factors drive this -- the return of the Stars of Power and Knowledge and the spread of the Shadow Monarch's forest. The result is that the Calahrian Imperial Army is stretched thin trying to maintain order at the critical moment when it is needed to fend off the advances of the elf-witch. For the Iron Elves regiment, their loyalty is tested to the breaking point. The Prince is devastated by the destruction of the Lost Library and the realization that the Empire he is to inherit is crumbling. Major Konowa Swift Dragon is determined to lead the living survivors of the regiment while Private Alwyn Renwar -- an emissary with his own agenda -- commands the dead. Together, their only hope is to break the oath that binds them, but doing so means making the perilous journey to the Shadow Monarch's mountain in a final confrontation that may be the ultimate trap. There is only one way to find out…
The 1790s was a fateful period for Britain. The French Revolution of 1789 opened an era of seismic political upheaval, one in which many features of the modern world made their first significant appearance. Democracy, mass nationalism, wholesale military mobilisation, and anti-colonial revolt all made their most telling debuts in the revolutionary era. This was not a struggle from which the British could stand aloof. Nor did they. Britons were right at the forefront of the debate over the Revolution. Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" defended the established order while Tom Paine's "Rights of Man" attacked hereditary privilege and preached democracy. This was no rarefied intellectual debate, it resounded through clubs, taverns, theatres, chapels and assembly rooms. As it did so, Britons were forced to question many constitutional assumptions. Was the possession of an empire compatible with domestic liberty? Did the House of Commons reflect popular opinion or the prejudices of aristocratic patrons? Could they enjoy genuine constitutional liberty if their constitution denied political rights to Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters? Chris Evans's study, based on the latest historiography, brilliantly demonstrates how these latent intellectual and political anxieties were sharpened by the French Revolution. Loyalist mobilisation, radical agitation, draconian repression, and military confrontation are combined to re-shape British society and the British state.
'A brilliant new perspective' – Jamie Carragher 'Superb’ – Daniel Taylor WITH NEW AND UPDATED CONTENT FOR THE MEN'S FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 THIS INSIGHTFUL INVESTIGATION REVEALS THE MINDSETS AND UNBELIEVABLE APPROACHES OF THE COACHES SEEKING FOOTBALL'S ULTIMATE PRIZE Godlike geniuses or the focus of a disappointed nation's fury – the world's most prestigious tournament makes or breaks national coaches. Only 20 managers have guided their team to World Cup glory, so what are their secrets? From revolutionary tactics to hare-brained schemes, this book searches for the keys to the most exclusive club in men's international football. They may silently plot on the bench or manically gesticulate from the sidelines, but what can coaches really do to influence their team's performance? Discover the tactical innovations and brilliant strategies as well as the bizarre superstitions, psychological masterclasses and bonkers team-building regimes that managers have employed in the quest for that iconic trophy. Charting the successes, failures, dramas and controversies of over 90 years of men's World Cup action through the insights of World Cup stars including Alexi Lalas, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Pierre Littbarski, Roberto Martinez and Mick McCarthy, this book reveals the lengths the men in the dugouts will go to in order to bring home the greatest prize.
'Full of pace and style, just like its subject ... a vivid, nostalgic reminder of Lineker’s greatness as a player' - Leo McKinstry ‘Chris Evans has done the hard yards on Lineker’s football career.. faithfully detailing the life of a hard-working footballer at the highest level’ – Roger Alton, The Times ENGLAND CAPTAIN. WORLD CUP HERO. SERIAL GOALSCORER. MATCH OF THE DAY HOST. FOOTBALL ICON. As player and pundit, Gary Lineker has been a prominent figure in English football for more than 40 years. He scored 48 goals in 80 games for England – coming within a penalty of being the country’s record goalscorer – and is the only player to have topped the goalscoring charts at three different clubs. He famously never received a red or yellow card, and hosted the BBC’s Match of the Day for 25 years. In recognition of his broadcast work, Lineker won the prestigious National Television Awards 'Best Presenter' prize in 2025. This enlightening biography – the first for 30 years – follows Lineker’s career, from his school days to his phenomenal goalscoring record and development as a media personality. Through meticulous research and interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches and commentators, journalist Chris Evans reveals the inside stories and backroom anecdotes from his early days at Leicester City; the big-money moves to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; and the highs and lows of spells at Barcelona and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan. Gary Lineker always played with a smile on his face and an assassin’s touch in front of goal, while his charm and playful humour won over millions on TV. This biography provides a fascinating insight into one of English football’s most popular characters.
This collection of photographs offers a glimpse into what it was like for a soldier to fight and live in the jungles of Vietnam. All aspects are covered here: weapons, from M-16 machine guns to grenades; uniforms, including boots, headgear, and wet-weather gear; equipment, such as rucksacks and binoculars; rations; ground vehicles like jeeps, armoured personnel carriers, and tanks; aerial vehicles like helicopters and troop transports; terrain and jungle conditions; conditions in camp; the effects of combat; leisure time activities like drinking and smoking; USO performances; and Vietnamese civilians. Most of the photos are colour, and most of them come from private collections and have never been published before. Complementing the photos, in addition to captions, are anecdotes from the men who served in Vietnam, who knew the “bloody jungle” firsthand. This is a unique look at a war that looms large in recent history.
The first book to detail the global impact of copper production in Swansea, Wales, and how a major technological shift transformed the British Isles into the world's most dynamic center of copper smelting.Eighteenth-century Swansea, Wales, was to copper what nineteenth-century Manchester was to cotton or twentieth-century Detroit to the automobile. Beginning around 1700, Swansea became the place where a revolutionary new method of smelting copper, later christened the Welsh Process, flourished. Using mineral coal as a source of energy, Swansea's smelters were able to produce copper in volumes that were quite unthinkable in the old, established smelting centers of central Europe and Scandinavia. After some tentative first steps, the Swansea district became a smelting center of European, then global, importance. Between the 1770s and the 1840s, the Swansea district routinely produced one-third of the world's smelted copper, sometimes more.In Swansea Copper, Chris Evans and Louise Miskell trace the history of copper making in Britain from the late seventeenth century, when the Welsh Process transformed Britain's copper industry, to the 1890s, when Swansea's reign as the dominant player in the world copper trade entered an absolute decline. Moving backward and forward in time, Evans and Miskell begin by examining the place of copper in baroque Europe, surveying the productive landscape into which Swansea Copper erupted and detailing the means by which it did so. They explain how Swansea copper achieved global dominance in the years between the Seven Years' War and Waterloo, explore new commercial regulations that allowed the importation to Britain of copper ore from around the world, and connect the rise of the copper trade to the rise of the transatlantic slave trade. They also examine the competing rise of the post–Civil War US copper industry.Whereas many contributions to global history focus on high-end consumer goods—Chinese ceramics, Indian cottons, and the like—Swansea Copper examines a producer good, a metal that played a key role in supporting new technologies of the industrial age, like steam power and electricity. Deftly showing how deeply mineral history is ingrained in the history of the modern world, Evans and Miskell present new research not just on Swansea itself but on the places its copper industry affected: mining towns in Cuba, Chile, southern Africa, and South Australia. This insightful book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the historical roots of globalization and the Industrial Revolution as a global phenomenon.
This book explores a number of critical issues related to tax systems around the world. Drawing upon a wealth of literature, it compares and contrasts modern tax systems in developed and developing countries, identifying factors that suggest they are converging and others that continue to distinguish them. It addresses the taxation of incomes (personal and corporate), wealth and consumption at the local, national, supranational and international levels; considers the use of environmental taxes; provides an analysis of modern trends in tax administration including issues of tax complexity and of tax compliance; and addresses the process and outcomes of tax reform. Readers will include anyone interested in how tax systems are formed, how they operate in practice, and how they are reformed. An ideal text for academic study at the intermediate or advanced levels This text explores and answers questions including: Why are the tax systems of developing and developed countries converging and how do they still differ?Why is the property tax the most widely used tax for local government?Why has income become the predominant tax base in developed countries?Do we need corporate income taxes?Why are wealth taxes relatively under-utilised in all countries?Why have so many countries adopted a VAT as their general sales tax?How do taxes help governments to deliver environmental objectives?Can we avoid complexity in tax system design or are we stuck with it if we want effective taxes?Why do taxpayers comply, or not comply, with their tax obligations?Where should we go next in designing tax systems for the 21st century? ... and many others.
This book explores a number of critical issues related to tax systems around the world. Drawing upon a wealth of literature, it compares and contrasts modern tax systems in developed and developing countries, identifying factors that suggest they are converging and others that continue to distinguish them. It addresses the taxation of incomes (personal and corporate), wealth and consumption at the local, national, supranational and international levels; considers the use of environmental taxes; provides an analysis of modern trends in tax administration including issues of tax complexity and of tax compliance; and addresses the process and outcomes of tax reform. Readers will include anyone interested in how tax systems are formed, how they operate in practice, and how they are reformed. An ideal text for academic study at the intermediate or advanced levels This text explores and answers questions including: Why are the tax systems of developing and developed countries converging and how do they still differ? How do countries adapt their tax systems to deal with external shocks such as wars, pandemics, climate change and financial crises? Why is the property tax the most widely used tax for local government? Why has income become the predominant tax base in developed countries? Do we need corporate income taxes? Why are wealth taxes relatively under-utilised in all countries? Why have so many countries adopted a VAT or GST as their general consumption tax? How do taxes help governments to deliver environmental objectives? Can we avoid complexity in tax system design or are we stuck with it if we want effective taxes? Why do taxpayers comply, or not comply, with their tax obligations? Where should we go next in designing tax systems for the 21st century? ... and many others.
The eighteenth century is often viewed as the heroic age of the British iron industry - a time of triumphant technological progress. In fact, it was an age of thwarted ambition, when the take-up of new technologies proved frustratingly slow. The eighteenth century was more accurately the age of Baltic iron. Swedish and Russian iron surged onto the British market, meeting the demand that British ironmasters could not satisfy. This was of epochal importance: Swedish iron allowed British steel makers and hardware manufacturers to dominate Atlantic markets. In turn, the rhythms of Atlantic commerce resounded through peasant communities in Sweden. Baltic iron in the Atlantic world captures this moment. In doing so it internationalises Swedish history in a radical way and presses an oceanic perspective on the traditionally insular view of the rise of heavy industry in Britain.
This book provides readers with the tools and methods with which to create effective tabletop games. It covers the design and development process thoroughly, guiding readers through the necessary mechanics, messages, and motivations of games that must be understood in order to build successful tabletop games, including serious educational games for teaching or training.Through a range of learning activities and methodologies, readers will develop an understanding of games and an appreciation for the creating and testing of game play whilst critically exploring the relationship between games, motivation, and learning. It includes chapters on design methodology, narrative, accessibility, playtesting, and more.This book will be of great interest to students of game design and serious game design courses. It will also appeal to designers, educators, and hobbyists interested in designing and developing their own tabletop games, educational or otherwise.
This book provides readers with the tools and methods with which to create effective tabletop games. It covers the design and development process thoroughly, guiding readers through the necessary mechanics, messages, and motivations of games that must be understood in order to build successful tabletop games, including serious educational games for teaching or training.Through a range of learning activities and methodologies, readers will develop an understanding of games and an appreciation for the creating and testing of game play whilst critically exploring the relationship between games, motivation, and learning. It includes chapters on design methodology, narrative, accessibility, playtesting, and more.This book will be of great interest to students of game design and serious game design courses. It will also appeal to designers, educators, and hobbyists interested in designing and developing their own tabletop games, educational or otherwise.
This is a celebration of running, and what lots of us think about when we run. Part escape, part self-discovery, part therapy, part fitness. Part simple childlike joy of running when you could be walking.Vassos Alexander shares the highs and lows of falling in love with running, from his first paltry efforts to reach the end of his street to completing ultra marathons and triathlons in the same weekend. Each of the 26.2 chapters also features a fascinating insight into how others first started, from Paula Radcliffe to Steve Cram, the Brownlees to Jenson Button, Nicky Campbell to Nell McAndrew.Funny, inspiring, honest - the perfect read for anyone with well-worn trainers by the door (or thinking of buying a pair...)
This book helps to strengthen bonds of affection and to discover the secrets of the sexual massage of the ancient Chinese Taoists. You will discover and better get to know the most erotic places on your partner’s body, their erogenous zones, and the tricks that awaken their desire and predispose them to pleasure. Chinese erotic massage reunites traditional knowledge of a millennial culture and puts within your reach all the techniques to enjoy a better sex life. You will learn: ? To discover with your fingers the most sensitive parts of the body through the techniques of acupressure that favor the flow of internal energy ? The most appropriate massage for every occasion to obtain the best results ? How to apply the appropriate amount of pressure during a massage ? And so much more! Learn to let the energy flow through the interior of your body, quiet your mind, and feed the spirit through the caresses. Communicate with your partner and understand your desires without necessarily expressing them out loud; little by little, your sexual life will open itself to a new world full of possibilities!
