John Christopher

During World War 2, Hitler’s engineers had pioneered an incredible array of futuristic secret weapons, from the Me 262, the first operational jet fighter, to the deadly V2 inter continental ballistic missile. With the Third Reich shattered and lying in ruins, in the summer of 1945, the Allies launched a frantic race to grab what they saw as the justifiable spoils of war. The Americans and Russians in particular were anxious to secure not only the aircraft and the research and production facilities, but also the key German scientists and engineers.This Nazi technology would define the balance of power in the phoney peace of the Cold War era, launching an arms race that shaped our modern world for decades to come. But what of Britain’s role in this supermarket sweep? The Race for Hitler’s X-Planes tells the untold story of the British mission to Germany.

In a world touched by gods and rife with cultures, races, and mysterious forces vying for power and dominance, this epic tale weaves across time and space itself as a dying race of Magi seek to restore magic to their broken world and reclaim their rightful supremacy over all inhabitants of Adonim... Following the cataclysmic Great Sundering, the infamous magi known as Ronan have dwindled to near-extinction. Those left have faced imprisonment and exile for over half a century. However, Magrados is a power that cannot be denied - and two Ronan children, born half a world apart, must learn to survive in a cruel society out for their blood.Aritian, an assassin born in the Far South, has spent his life in the bittersweet shackles of enslavement to the powerful Master of the Dranguis Guild. After his existence as a living weapon in a corrupt city leads to deceit, conspiracy, and slaughter on an unimaginable scale, he is forced to break free of his bonds to escape certain doom. Devaney, blind and born to farmers in the shadow of the Grey Mountains, spends her days at the edge of the treacherous Ordu Empire crusades. The conquering of her homeland has led to forced conversions and bloody "cleansings," but in her lonely hamlet, she imagines wondrous adventures in far-off realms. These fantasies change, however, when her dreams turn to dark dangers too real to be madness, yet too unearthly to be true.In a search for discovery, truth, and freedom, these two must be willing to sacrifice everything - or risk the loss of the Ronan race forever.

Nobody knows how long it has been since the Tripods came. Nobody remembers life on Earth before they enslaved it. Humans live in scattered farms and villages, kept quiet and obedient by the mind-controlling Caps implanted when they reach their teens.Will Parker's time is fast approaching - but a chance encounter with a madman convinces him that it may still be possible to resist the alien masters. So begins an epic tale of survival and defiance - and Will's journey to the White Mountains.

During the First World War the authorities emulated the simple slogans and strong graphic imagery of advertising posters to create a form of mass communication that was easily and instantly understood by the British public. They were aimed at the mostly illiterate working class who did more than their share to feed the machinery of war. This book looks at the art of these posters and explores the themes that emerged throughout the course of the conflict. For the most part the posters were calls to action, starting with the initial period of voluntary enlistment and leading on to conscription. Psychologically they worked on several levels, appealing to a sense of duty or tapping into feelings of guilt. Patriotic fervour was heightened by the appearance of the Union Jack, the king and, most enduringly perhaps, the iconic image of Lord Kitchener. In addition, propaganda posters heaped on the pressure with scenes of German atrocities, such as the sinking of the Lusitania and the spectre of Zeppelin raids on England. Those not directly involved in the fighting were also urged to do their part; the women in particular by sending their men to the front or working in the munitions factories or on the land. Even children had a part to play – ‘Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?’ Money is another recurring theme, with war savings and bonds financing the war effort and countless charities appealing for funds to care for the wounded and war orphans.

The fascinating history of Waterloo Station illustrated through old and modern pictures in a fully updated edition.

Traveling through time was just the beginning--now Simon and Brad have to survive a reimagined early America in the second book of the alternative history Fireball trilogy, from critically acclaimed Tripods author John Christopher. When Simon and Brad were caught in the mysterious fireball and transported to the strange alternate world on the other side, they knew their lives would never be the same again. They definitely couldn't have imagined the dangers ahead, especially when they set sail for Brad's homeland: the still undiscovered America. The Algonquian territory is hardly the paradise Brad had been promised--or remembered from history class. Winter is brutal, the locals are hostile, and Simon and Brad know they have to escape. But can they? The adventures in store--from Vikings to a completely unexpected civilization--put their will to survive to the ultimate test.

Segundo volumen de las antolog as de anticipaci n Acervo. Contiene los siguientes t tulos: Memoria perdida, Cursillo de supervivencia, El foco de la locura, Un mundo maravilloso, Los iluminados, Supervivencia, S lo una madre, Punto muerto, Pacto, El hechizo de la soledad, El vidrio de Iargo, Ning n lugar como la Tierra, Equilibrio, El robot que deseaba aprender, El mec nico, Brazo de la ley.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel changed the world as we know it. He was responsible for building the Great Western Railway main line, introducing regular steamship travel across the Atlantic, building the first tunnel under a major river, and constructing docks, harbours and bridges that enabled Britain to expand and grow as the powerhouse of the world. Without his foresight and imagination, it is possible that nineteenth-century Britain might have been very different. There have been many books written about the man himself, but this book concentrates upon the structures, buildings and legacy of Brunel, introducing the reader to this great engineer and embarking upon a tour around Britain that reveals the many locations with a Brunel connection.

1945 was the meeting point of two eras. It marked the end of the Second World War, a conflict ushered in by the lightning strikes of the Blitzkrieg and characterised by the brutalities inflicted by the Nazi regime. It concluded with the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – events that shaped the course of post-war history. After six long years of war, the Allies’ inexorable push into the heart of Germany brought the conflict in Europe to an end in the spring, but not without incident. The fire-bombing of Dresden in February destroyed a city and killed an estimated 130,000, and the final days of Hitler’s Reich saw bitter battles in the streets of Berlin. It was only once the fighting was over that the world became aware of the horrors of the concentration camps and the systematic attempt by the Nazis to wipe out an entire section of the human race. In the Pacific the fighting continued into the summer until the Allies, faced with a prolonged campaign to take each and every island stronghold, dropped the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing the war to a sudden end in August 1945. Yet even before the dust had settled, the victorious nations were carving up the conquered territories to create a new world order in which the Cold War era saw former Allies turned into enemies. John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon tell the story of 1945 at war using many rare and often unpublished images, showing the conclusion of the conflict and the dawn of the Cold War.

1944 saw the largest seaborne invasion ever staged in Operation Overlord. The Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, opened the way for the thrust into the occupied countries of northern Europe, in particular France, with the Allies liberating Paris in August. This was the first major milestone in the eastwards drive into the heart of Germany. Other triumphs in the sixth year of the war included the Red Army regaining Leningrad on the Eastern Front, defeats for the Japanese in the Battle of the Philippine Sea as well as the British advances in Burma, and there were the American landings in Anzio, the taking of Rome, and further landings in Greece. Victory was almost within sight, but it couldn’t be taken for granted as the war was entering a new phase and the Nazi war machine still had a sting in its tail. Infuriated by Allied gains, Hitler unleashed the long-promised Vengeance weapons, in particular the V1 flying bomb and the V2 ballistic missile, in the belief that they would turn the tide of the war in Germany’s favour. There was also the question of whether Nazi scientists were developing an atomic bomb. John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon tell the story of 1944 at war using many rare and often unpublished images, showing the rapidly changing nature of the conflict.

Bradshaw’s Guide of 1863 was the staple book on what’s what and where’s where for the mid-Victorians and it gives the modern reader a unique insight into the world of the nineteenth-century railway travellers. The guide introduced the notion of seaside holidays to the general public and thanks to the railways it became possible for a town or city dweller to catch a train for a day-trip to the coast and still be home in time for supper. ‘Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside, I do like to be beside the sea! I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom! Where the brass bands play: Tiddely-om-pom-pom!’ Using Bradshaw’s Guide illustrated with contemporary images and seaside postcards, John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon take us on a tour of Britain’s Victorian resorts.

High adventure and intrigue await in this classic work of science fiction from critically acclaimed Tripods author John Christopher. After the disastrous Breakdown of the twenty-first century, the world has made a change. Now, in the twenty-third century, all cities are ordered and sterile, carefully balanced, protected, and isolated from the uncivilized Outlands. Clive Anderson, the son of a politician, lives a privileged life in one of the cities until he is falsely accused of committing a crime. As punishment he is sent to a training island, where he is supposed to be re-taught how to be an unquestioning member of society, like everyone else in the cities. But Clive and his friends manage to escape the island, making their way into the forbidden and unknown Outlands, where they are captured by the legendary Wild Jack and his troop of savages. At first, Clive is happy to be part of this wild group, but soon he realizes that things are not at all what they seem...

When Neil survives a deadly plague and plunges into solitude, he must question everything in this gripping adventure from critically acclaimed Tripods author John Christopher. Neil's world is shattered when he and his family are involved in a horrible car accident that leaves him an orphan. He is sent to live in a small village with his grandparents, whom he loves but doesn't really know. Soon, a devastating illness, the Calcutta Plague, begins making the headlines. After killing thousands of people in India in just a few months, the disease begins to spread much farther, quickly sweeping across the world and eventually settling in the same village where Neil resides. The sickness is a strange one, affecting only the adults and none of the children, and soon Neil finds himself an orphan once more. Alone, Neil travels to London in search of other survivors of the plague. There he finds a strange world of fear and suspicion, where friends can be enemies and people will do anything to survive. In this time of strife, amid the excitement and loneliness of his solitude, can Neil find a way to focus on what matters most?

When Neil survives a deadly plague and plunges into solitude, he must question everything in this gripping adventure from critically acclaimed Tripods author John Christopher. Neil's world is shattered when he and his family are involved in a horrible car accident that leaves him an orphan. He is sent to live in a small village with his grandparents, whom he loves but doesn't really know. Soon, a devastating illness, the Calcutta Plague, begins making the headlines. After killing thousands of people in India in just a few months, the disease begins to spread much farther, quickly sweeping across the world and eventually settling in the same village where Neil resides. The sickness is a strange one, affecting only the adults and none of the children, and soon Neil finds himself an orphan once more. Alone, Neil travels to London in search of other survivors of the plague. There he finds a strange world of fear and suspicion, where friends can be enemies and people will do anything to survive. In this time of strife, amid the excitement and loneliness of his solitude, can Neil find a way to focus on what matters most?

Bradshaw’s Guide of 1863 was the staple book on what’s what and where’s where for the mid-Victorians and it gives the modern reader a unique insight into the world of the nineteenth-century railway travellers. Built primarily to provide a passenger service, the railways of Ireland would go on to open up the country to tourism in new ways. They also brought communities closer together and many journeys that once took days to complete could now be undertaken in hours. This illustrated guide records the sights to be seen in the towns and cities encountered along the various routes. John Christopher and Campbell McCutcheon take us on the railways of Ireland, using contemporary Victorian and Edwardian photographs and postcards to illustrate the scenes that the readers of Bradshaw’s Guide to the Railways would have experienced. This volume covers several of Ireland’s railways at the time, including the Great Southern Railway, the Dublin & Kingstown Railway, the Great Southern & Western Railway, the Midland Great Western Railway, and including those of Northern Ireland.