Politics and Leisure

New York Public Library SelectionStellar Book Award honour bookWhite pine Award honour book"A compelling, fascinating, and ultimately disturbing book that is not to be missed." East Central Regional Library , Cambridge, MNIt's August, 1914 and Jim Hay thinks war is a glorious adventure. He can barely wait for his turn to fight, but as his father marches off to battle Jim must be content to record his thoughts and dreams in his journal. Amidst the war fever, Jim's home life suddenly becomes tragically complex and, when he does at last join up, it is as much to find a refuge as it is to seek glory. What Jim discovers in the trenches of France is enough to dispel any romantic view of the war. Soon his longing for adventure is replaced by a basic need to survive, and the final tragic outcome, as Kitchener's New Army goes into battle on July 1, 1916, is one he never could have imagined."Wilson brilliantly captures the thoughts, feelings, and naivete' of a young man caught up in a conflict he does not fully understand and is ill prepared to face. The format effectively draws readers into the narrative, and characterization is solid throughout. Historical anecdotes lend even more somber realism to the story. Jim's growth as a human being, his increasing self-awareness, and, especially, his shocking fate are not soon forgotten. A compelling, fascinating, and ultimately disturbing book that is not to be missed." Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MN"Although this novel focuses on World War I, it's a timely reflection on the realities of war that presents a powerful, timeless anti-war argument…the diary form lends immediacy and intimacy to the gripping story, which Wilson has based on actual diaries kept by members of the Highland Light Infantry." Connie FletcherThe Caught in Conflict Collection is an imprint of fast-paced, historically accurate, morally-complex quick reads for Adults and Teens. In each of the titles the main character(s) (a Roman Legionary; a civilian in the Indian Mutiny; volunteers on both sides of the American Civil War; a Scottish soldier in WWI; a holidaymaker in Spain when the civil war breaks out there; and German and Russian soldiers in WWII), become enmeshed in conflicts immensely more complex than they anticipated and are faced with moral dilemmas that they never even imagined. The historical background to each of the dramas is extensively researched and the moral dilemmas are common to all human conflict.

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam

Punctuation changes how meaning lands. John Wilson's A Treatise On English Punctuation brings the small marks of the page into sharp focus, turning everyday stops, pauses, and points into a confident craft. Part punctuation reference manual, part English style guide, it sets out clear English punctuation rules with the brisk practicality of the composing room, then extends its reach with guidance on capitalization rules in English, a common abbreviations list, and the disciplined habits that separate clean copy from costly confusion.Rooted in Victorian era punctuation and the working realities of nineteenth century British printing, this is more than advice: it is a window onto traditional typography conventions and the professional standards that shaped newspapers, books, and letters. Wilson writes with the authority of a printer's style manual, attentive to consistency, clarity, and the reader's ear. The result is a dependable proofreading handbook for modern desks as well as a historically resonant document of how English was set, corrected, and made ready for publication, including practical direction on copy preparation for printers.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Keep it close if you are drafting fiction, editing essays, or polishing correspondence; display it proudly if you collect the tools and touchstones of the language. For writers and editors, and for anyone who loves the look of well-made pages, it remains bracingly useful.

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam

78:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Blue Cloth w/Jacket on White w/Gloss Lam

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam

Before the outbreak of the Troubles, a typical firefighter's year might have included call-outs to chimney fires, the occasional house fire or road accident, and - even more rarely - a large factory or hay shed fire. While a firefighting career was always inherently exciting and risky, for most firefighters moments of high drama were anything but a daily occurrence.Then everything changed, and Northern Ireland's firefighters spent almost every day of the next thirty years racing to the scenes of atrocities, running towards the gravest danger.In this powerful book, men and women who served in the fire service during the Troubles tell their own stories in their own words - the events that have never left them, the victims they have never forgotten, the extraordinary bond between colleagues, the emotional burden and fallout from the job.The stories cover a uniquely challenging period for firefighters - full of exhilaration, fear, bravery and sorrow. What comes across is a universal desire to honor the uniform, to be brave when the need for courage is acute, and to be determined to cover your mate's back - no matter what.

"…a richly re-imagined fable which goes far beyond anything the historical record alone might suggest." Russell A. Potter, Arctic Book ReviewPerhaps, on a barren Arctic shore in the summer of 1849, knowing he was dying, a British Naval officer wrapped his journal in sailcloth and buried it beneath a lonely pile of frost-shattered stones. He was the last of the 129 doomed men of Sir John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition. His name was James Fitzjames and for four years he had carefully recorded the expedition's achievements, hopes and, as things began to go horribly wrong, the descent into madness and eventual death of his closest friends. This is his journal."A suspenseful and enjoyable read." Booklist"Wilson has managed to make his invented journal seem authentic and his account of the ill-fated adventurers seem plausible…one reads on, fascinated, to the bitter end." The Globe and Mail

"Wilson does not shy away from the horrors of war. His writing makes the sounds, smells and choking dust seem all too real. He brings to light lesser-known wartime issues such as Southerners who opposed slavery and Northerners who resented freed slaves—thus showing that the Civil War wasn't a simple case of North versus South, but a war that tore families and the country apart."-CCBNThe sequel to The Flags of War, continues the adventures of two cousins, Walt and Nate McGregor, and of Sunday, the former slave on Nate's father's plantation. They have survived the carnage at Shiloh. But the Civil War rages on. Nate returns to the family plantation to find it in ruins. In despair he turns back to the only life he knows—the army. Meanwhile, Walt and Sunday re-enlist to fight for their beliefs, no matter how great the danger. The three young men meet again at the notorious Libby prison in Virginia: Nate as a guard, Sunday as a slave and Walt as a prisoner. Their grim reunion at Libby—where prison walls divide them—highlights the complexity of a war that tore a nation apart. Can the three battle-scarred soldiers hope for anything more than survival?"Readable and exciting."-Booklist"…this book looks at the Civil War from the eyes of soldiers who come to realize that their enemies are just men like themselves."–South Carolina State Library.The Caught in Conflict Collection is an imprint of fast-paced, historically accurate, morally-complex quick reads for Teens and Adults.

23:B&W 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Perfect Bound on White w/Gloss Lam