Paul Berry

As a football-mad young boy growing up in rural Shropshire, within sight of the Welsh border, Dave Edwards dreamt of playing the game professionally and perhaps, one day, of wearing the red shirt of his father's homeland - Wales. Living My Dream is the frank and fascinating story of just what it took for Edwards to achieve his life's ambition, and describes how his dedication and commitment to the game he loves has enabled him to enjoy a successful 16-year career with over 400 club appearances for Shrewsbury, Luton, Wolves and Reading, spanning the top five English divisions from the Conference to the Premier League. Woven into the story of his club career, Living My Dream is also a behind-the-scenes account of Dave's brave recovery, after a serious injury in January 2016, to make the starting line-up in Wales' opening game at that summer's European Championships, and his magical month inside the Welsh camp when the team exceeded all expectations to reach the semi-finals. The first member of the Welsh squad to tell the inside story of life at the Euros, Edwards reveals how the players thrived within the camp's 'bubble' and forged an unbreakable team spirit, how Chris Coleman managed his squad with meticulous planning and inspirational leadership, and how the Together Stronger ethos was spurred on by the passion and pride of an entire nation.

Our Pack: Wolves at 150 celebrates the 150th anniversary of Wolverhampton Wanderers, examining the history of a unique and extraordinary football club through an emotion-filled exploration of what Wolves truly means. This is not a traditional chronicle of results, divisions or honours. Instead, it sets out to understand the experience of Wolves – what the club represents to its supporters, players, coaches and managers, and to the community and city that have grown alongside it. It is a story defined by feeling, loyalty and identity as much as by football itself. Written by lifelong Wolves supporters and journalists Paul Berry and Johnny Phillips, co-authors of Revolution of Wolves, the book goes in search of the essence of the club. Why does Wolves inspire such passion and intensity? Why is following the team both a blessing and a curse from which it is impossible to escape? The journey takes in every corner of the city and reaches beyond it, stretching across Europe and across generations. Packed with interviews with key figures from Wolves’ history, analysis of the highs and lows of a century and a half of football, and deeply personal recollections, Our Pack: Wolves at 150 charts the life and times of one of the most famous names in the game. Each chapter stands as a story in its own right; together, they form an emotional journey through the decades – and a celebration of past, present and future. Happy birthday, Wolves. Here’s to the next 150.

Whether portraying ancestral hearth-sides in North Norfolk, the coast and countryside of Northumberland, or varied settings in between, Paul Berry conjures a strong sense of mood and location. At times focusing on family life, everyday rituals, rites of passage or the legacies of lost love, these poems celebrate the often remarkable nature of things routine, familiar and commonplace. Reviews for previous collections: “Berry is a poet of place. He explores the spirit of place, the effect of landscape on the individual… (His) work is tight and careful, a sculptor with words”: British Underground Magscene. "This ability to evoke the past that lies in the earth is reminiscent of Seamus Heaney's poetry:" The Paper Independent Monthly

Revolution of Wolves charts the dramatic progress of Wolverhampton Wanderers both on and off the pitch over the last 20 years, starting with the club’s first promotion to the Premier League. From local-born benefactor Sir Jack Hayward to global investment conglomerate Fosun International, the boardroom changes have been matched by those in the dugout as Wolves went from a traditional English-based 4-4-2 team under Dave Jones and Mick McCarthy to a cosmopolitan European outfit under Nuno Espirito Santo. The book brings us exclusive interviews with those at the heart of the story. Alongside all the promotion winners, managers such as Glenn Hoddle and Paul Lambert give their first interviews about their time at Wolves. We hear stories from the likes of Paul Ince, Joleon Lescott, Karl Henry, Conor Coady, Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves as well as boardroom insight from Jez Moxey, Steve Morgan and Jeff Shi. Revolution of Wolves is the most comprehensive and authoritative work ever written about the modern Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The most comprehensive publication of Kodojin – beautiful and mysterious – a collection of more than 100 paintings with the English translations of his inscribed Chinese poems. The Art and Life of Fukuda Kodojin is the first publication in English to offer an in-depth examination of Kodojin's life, painting, and poetry. This fully illustrated publication draws from institutions and private collections worldwide, and is the result of fifteen years of extensive research into almost eight hundred works of inscribed poetry, literati landscapes, brush paintings and calligraphy. A beautiful and contemplative look into the world of Kodojin, this coveted edition accompanies a special exhibition held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944) was a multifaceted artist, recognised for his poetry, painting and calligraphy, and is one of a handful of artists who continued the tradition of Japanese literati painting (nanga) into the twentieth century. Kodojin's painting style is characterized by bizarrely shaped mountain forms rendered in vivid color or monochromatic ink, often with a solitary scholar enjoying the expansive beauty of nature and bits of inscribed poetry. Creating over 700 works in his lifetime, he also made simple paintings of plants and flowers in his dramatic brushwork, and distinctive literati landscapes. Kodojin literally means "Old Taoist" which seems to reflect the path he chose of resilience of an old tradition facing new conditions and new challenges, and is theme felt throughout his art. There is both beauty and mystery in his life and work, and his landscapes can be rich in costly green and blue pigments, detailed layers of ink shading and strokes, or purely abstract. Unique, mysterious and distinctively expressive, The Art and Life of Fukuda Kodojin offers an unprecedented walk through the Old Taoist's mind, sure to both surprise and enlighten the curious reader, scholar, or literati enthusiast.

In this collection Paul Berry evokes settings with a strong sense of place and past. Against such backgrounds he explores universal themes of family, love, loss and longing. The strength of these poems is to highlight landscapes and the people who live and pass through them, combining to celebrate the extra-ordinary nature of the ordinary, familiar and everyday. Comments on previous collections: "Paul Berry reaches for top branches when it comes to inspiration...weighing up family, place, loss and love with a strong nod towards proud local roots" –Keith Skipper, Eastern Daily Press "...gritty, imaginative, sharply written visions. This is free verse at its best - full of real poetry and unusual and striking use of words." –Outposts Poetry Quarterly "...pensive, sometimes oblique, never depressing. Poetry to read and re-read in tension and tranquillity" –Bogg, Journal of American and British Writing

The definitive biography of Vera Brittain, acclaimed author of Testament of Youth. With a new introduction by Mark Bostridge.'Riveting and authoritative' Kate Figes, Independent on Sunday'Honest, precise and smart' Natasha Walter, Guardian'They succeed triumphantly... A fascinating portrait' Fiona MacCarthy, ObserverVera Brittain is most widely known as the woman who immortalized a lost generation in her haunting autobiography of the Great War, Testament of Youth.This biography is the most comprehensive, authoritative life of one of the most remarkable women of her time. Based on unpublished papers and first-hand knowledge, the authors create a candid and sympathetic portrait of the writer, pacifist and feminist. They reveal the truth about Vera Brittain's 'semi-detached' marriage, her friendship with Winifred Holtby, and her relationships with her brother Edward and fiancé Roland Leighton, killed in the First World War, memories of whom haunted her all her days. Shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize, the NCR Non-Fiction Prize and the Fawcett Prize.

Star Wars first debuted on movie screens in 1977 and over the past forty years has grown into a collecting phenomenon. It has generated more merchandise than any other movie series in history, spanning every area of licensed product from inexpensive pocket money toys to big ticket full-size replicas. With a focus on the early vintage period of the 1970s and 1980s, author Paul Berry charts the development of the Star Wars collectable through the prequels of the 1990s and 2000s and into the modern era of films. The book looks at the massive success of the Kenner, and later Hasbro action figure range, which has spawned well over 1,000 figures; the wealth of toys and games inspired by the saga; the books and comics that have greatly expanded the Star Wars universe; the records and the videos; the trading cards; and the modern collectors’ items. Whether you joined the Star Wars saga in 1977, 1999 or 2015, Star Warsis a hobby that continues to attract new generations of collectors and will likely endure for many decades to come.

First appearing on our screens over fifty years ago, Doctor Who has not only been a television phenomenon but has also spawned more merchandise than any other British television programme in history. Literally thousands of products have been produced since the series launch in 1963, with many of these items now being collectible and highly sought after by fans of the programme. Doctor Who has featured on virtually every conceivable product, from books and records to toys and games, breakfast cereal promotions to full-size prop replicas. The series merchandising has enjoyed many peaks and troughs, from the heady days of Dalekmania in the 1960s to a drought in the early 1970s, the rise of the collectable in the 1980s to the nostalgia-driven days of the 1990s and then a huge resurgence following the Doctor’s return to television in the twenty-first century. Whether you're looking for a full-size Cyberman or a pair of Dalek slippers, a Tom Baker scarf or a Doctor Who pinball machine, Doctor Who has produced something for every type of collector. Sit back and revel in nostalgia as we take a look at some of the more notable and unusual items that have been produced over the last half century.

Literati painting, or bunjinga, flourished in Japan after its early 18th-century introduction from China. This book magnificently illustrates and examines an important collection of literati and shin nanga artworks, including outstanding examples of paintings, calligraphy, and ceramics.