Following in the maverick mold of Quentin Tarentino, Spike Lee, and Richard Rodriguez, Joe Queenan becomes an auteur and, in the process, funnier than ever, as he tries to master the art of writing, directing, scoring, casting, and marketing a movie--all by himself.

    He has studied at IIT, seen 200 per cent jumps in his salary and become one of the youngest chief operating officers of a telecom company in India. When he steps into the role of a director at a major international computer hardware firm, he thinks life is set. But life is soon about to come crashing down on him. He is diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder that weakens his muscles. Mundane tasks like buttoning up his shirt, climbing down steps and typing on a keyboard become excruciatingly difficult. To make things worse, he loses his job at a time when his annual hospitalization bill has steadily climbed to Rs 20 lakh. But even as the chips are down and hope starts to fade, RamG decides not to give up. He becomes the cheerleader at home and outside, spreading positivity wherever he goes and choosing to meet his fate with a brave face. From Ouch to Oops is the inspirational true story of RamG's life and holds lessons not just for people with disabilities but anyone with a mental demon. It will teach you grit and courage, make you laugh, and show how when the going gets tough, the tough get humorous. You will put it down knowing that RamG is the most positive person you have ever met.

    Twelve classic Horrible Histories are being reissued with a tie-in cover. In Gorgeous Georgians readers can discover thehe full story: Gangs who made a living selling dead bodies. Husbands who sold their wives at auction. Doctors who cured toothache with squashed fish eyes. Join Rattus Rattus and the gang for the funniest, fastest, nastiest and daftest ride through histor you're ever likely to see..

    It is a story about the ordinary things - family life, happiness, ambition, and love, but it is also about adventures - meeting princes and presidents, visiting Death Row in America, exploring the sex clubs of Copenhagen. It is a story of a boy blessed with wit and what he got up to and the people he met growing up in the most wonderful city in all the world in those extraordinary years after the Second World War. For Odd Boy Out is about more than Gyles and his exploits: it is also a kaleidoscopic portrait of Britain from the 1950s onwards, featuring a cast drawn from politics, the media, swinging London, stage and screen, from Laurence Olivier to Twiggy.By turns hilarious and moving, and chock full of unforgettable stories, Odd Boy Out is the unexpected and candid autobiography of one of the country's most unlikely personalities. Yet at root it is a powerful and passionate exploration of childhood - how our heritage, our parents and our upbringing make us who we are. ___________________ 'Staggeringly brilliant, funny and touching, I loved it' Joanna Lumley

    Prime Minister Indira Gandhi hated the marigold flower, although in death it was strewn all over her body; her son Sanjay Gandhi was dictatorial, but also uncommonly empathetic; Smita Patil, who was synonymous with strong, women-centric films, was deeply insecure in her personal life; Ekta Kapoor, the television czarina believes that her unabashed faith in God helped her scale heights and earn her first big bucks; and Abhinav Bindra, who won India the first Olympic gold medal in an individual event confessed how he was a laidback child with no goals in sight. Embellished with interesting nuggets, this book is a collection of fascinating profiles including, L.K. Advani, Smriti Irani, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rajiv Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan and Arun Jaitley. Uncommon access, being privy to confidences and, above all, a willingness to tell the story, bring alive the people behind the headlines. The Marigold Story: Indira Gandhi & Others is not a gushing account of newsmakers; if anything it captures their weaknesses; goes beyond their achievements and examines what makes these individuals distinctive and unforgettable at the same time.

    With decades of research and insight, Jensen lifts the veil of public relations half-truths and exposes the reality of the man who is still, 30 years after his death, the iconic Western movie hero and hero of red state America. Jensen proves that the public John Wayne was very different from the private man, who struggled with severe alcoholism, chronic infidelity, self-esteem and personal demons that often made life hell for his wives and children. The book painstakingly recounts the triumphs and tragedies of the life of John Wayne – who rose from abject poverty to become the world’s most famous movie star – and creates a portrait of a man haunted by a childhood of abuse; a man conflicted by his own definition of masculinity; a man fighting to control his own rage and his propensity for violence; a man who committed domestic violence against all three of his wives and his children; and a man haunted by and driven to overcome his fear of failure, poverty and ridicule.

    but you couldn’t be further from the truth, as Harry Pope reveals in this hilarious memoir of his time as a funeral director. Over the course of his career, Harry was involved in more than a few unusual incidents. In his early days, colleagues and eventually mourners broke into laughter as he somehow ended up sliding into a grave with the coffin coming to rest on top of him. Another day saw Harry get the fright of his life when he heard a knocking coming from the rear of the hearse, where no living person should have been. And as for the coffin that he just about prevented from being emptied onto the tarmac at Heathrow Airport… well, you’ll just have to buy the book! As well as these hilarious anecdotes, Harry introduces us to the hidden and often tragic world of the funeral arranger, with a look at his involvement in disasters such as the Piper Alpha oil rig, the Lockerbie bombing and the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise. With stories that will make you cry with tears of both sadness and laughter, this fascinating read is perfect for a wide and varied audience.

    Few others can offer such a remarkable insight into life at Anfield from Shankly to Houllier and beyond. Born in Liverpool in 1954, Phil later moved to his spiritual home of Kirkby where his footballing abilities were soon noticed and he quickly acquired a range of schoolboy honours before signing professional forms for his beloved Reds in 1971.As he staked a claim for a first-team place, Kop messiah Bill Shankly would memorably declare: “Aye, Phil Thompson. The boy tossed up with a sparrow for his legs and lost!”Shanks, however, was in no doubt about the young Thommo’s qualities and Phil would go on to claim a host of Anfield honours including seven League Championships, three European Cups, two League Cups and an FA Cup.The proudest moment of his footballing life came in 1981 when he led the Reds to a third European Cup with a 1-0 defeat of Real Madrid in Paris, later parading the trophy at his local pub, The Falcon.He left the Reds after winning 42 England caps before returning to Anfield in a coaching capacity under Liverpool player manager Kenny Dalglish.Despite being controversially sacked by Reds boss and former teammate Graeme Souness in 1992, he sensationally returned to Anfield as Gerard Houllier’s right-hand man in 1998, going on to revive the glory days by claiming a famous treble of trophies in 2001.Coming full circle and happy to be a fan again, he shared in the joy of the Reds’ 2005 Champions League triumph in Istanbul – as highlighted during remarkable scenes on SKY TV.

    

     Whether you are a rookie or an established Broker, this is the guide you need to lay the foundations for long-term success. Author Dustan Woodhouse has packed this book with dozens of tips and lessons gleaned from personal experience processing over 1,300 mortgage files and taking in over 2,000 applications verbally. You'll learn... - The old-school piece of technology that's every broker's best friend - How to have a complete application built by the time the very first phone call ends - When smart brokers decide to walk away from a file - Where to invest your marketing dollars (and where you'd just be throwing that money away) - How to trade cold-calling for warm-calling - How the "paycheque mentality" can sink your business, and what to do about it Every step, every tip, every process is aimed at building long-term relationships with clients and referral partners alike. It's all designed to get you to the holy grail of a referral-only business. Your mantra? Get the application. Here's how to do it.

    Now comes the sequel… ‘Father, Son and Return to the Pennine Way’ picks up where Mark and Alex left off two years ago and sees them complete the last 100 miles of the Pennine Way. It’s a walk that tests them to their limits (well, one of them…) as they come close to exhaustion, even closer to being eaten alive and – armed only with a pair of shorts and a cup of tea – face-to-face with an assassin. …And, of course, they meet the inevitable cast of ‘characters.’ Barefoot Jimmy, Mr & Mrs Mad Eye, Lonesome Pete and ‘Theresa May.’ But there’s a serious side to the walk as well. It’s two years since they were last on the Pennine Way. They’re both two years older: how has their father/son relationship changed? Who’s really in charge this time? ‘Father, Son and the Pennine Way’ has been a consistent bestseller with over 130 5* reviews on Amazon. “My partner sent me to read in the spare room. All he could hear was me laughing! Would recommend this book to everyone, walkers or not.” ‘Return to the Pennine Way’ will make you laugh, smile and shed the occasional tear. You’ll be on the journey with Mark and Alex – and you won’t want it to end.

    As a member of the Nolan sisters, Coleen Nolan was born into the spotlight and has stayed there ever since. She has now become one of the nation's favourite TV presenters and is used to newspapers and magazines claiming to have the inside story of her private life. In No Regrets Coleen finally reveals the truth of what really happened during the last few rollercoaster years, truly the worst of her life. Whilst it's certainly been a traumatic time for the whole family, Coleen is a survivor. First and foremost, she is a mum and is determined to hold her family together. The Nolans finally put aside their infamous feud to rally round their beloved sister Bernie, who tragically lost her fight with cancer on the 4th of July last year, aged just 52. In this memoir, Coleen movingly describes her struggle to deal with the emotional scars that come from losing someone so close and the effect it has had on her own life. In this incredibly candid memoir, Coleen writes with raw honesty about her family troubles, her career highs and lows, and her struggle with her body image. In recent years, Coleen has found herself in both a plastic surgeon's office looking at a £20,000 bill to 'fix her face' and at a breast cancer clinic asking for the removal of her healthy breasts to avoid becoming the fourth sister in the family to be struck down by cancer. Wonderfully warm and moving, and brilliantly funny and honest, No Regrets will take you from laughter to tears and back again as you share in Coleen's very personal journey.

    But then, matrimony came along and politics suddenly felt like the non-essential elaichi in this Mughlai Biryani called life. When my ‘loved ones’ subjected me to scenarios unimaginable, when as the groom I had to wait for an hour for my baaraat to arrive, when certain ‘rituals’ scarred me with shame for the rest of my life, I so wanted to give it back to the society! And hence, ‘Lehengey and Lafdey’ was born. LnL will raise your ire, tickle your funny bone, and show you everything except what a wedding is supposed to be: a sacred union. In a world filled with romantic novels, where love always wins in the end; patience, perseverance and the insane ability to bear a butt load of crap is required to emerge victorious in the holy war of matrimony. Enough talk! Jump right in and witness a whirlpool of emotions, with a cup of masala chai and some fryums on the side. Put your seat belts on, for it is going to get crazy. Welcome to the world of Lehengey and Lafdey!

    The city lies under the dark cloud of the Troubles, and hatred fills the air like smoke. But Tony Macaulay has just turned twelve and he’s got a new job. He’s going to be a paperboy. And come rain or shine – or bombs and mortar – he will deliver…Paperboy lives in Upper Shankill, Belfast, in the heart of the conflict between Loyalists and Republicans. Bombings are on the evening news, rubble lies where buildings once stood, and rumours spread like wildfire about the IRA and the UDA.But Paperboy lives in a world of Doctor Who, Top of the Pops and fish suppers. His battles are fought with all the passion of Ireland’s opposing sides – but against acne, the dentist and the ‘wee hoods’ who rob his paper money. On his rounds he hums songs by the Bay City Rollers, dreams about outer space and dreams even more about the beautiful Sharon Burgess.In this touching, funny and nostalgic memoir, Tony Macaulay recounts his days growing up in Belfast during the Troubles, the harrowing years which saw neighbour fighting neighbour and brother fighting brother. But in the midst of all this turmoil, Paperboy, a scrappy upstart with a wicked sense of humour and sky-high dreams, dutifully goes about his paper round. He is a good paperboy, so he is.Paperboy proves that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times; it is a story that will charm your socks off, make you laugh out loud and brings to life the culture, stories and colourful characters of a very different – but very familiar – time.

    Even in Hell, love can bloom.