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When Maiwand Banayee was 16, he wanted to become a suicide bomber for the Taliban. In this inspiring tale of survival and self-discovery, the reader will follow Maiwand's journey down a dark path and his ultimate redemption. Growing up in Kabul amid the Afghan wars, he witnessed atrocities that no child should ever see - rotting corpses, starving families, a neighbourhood torn apart. He escaped to a refugee camp in Pakistan, where religious militants began the gradual grooming of Maiwand and other Afghan boys. These confused and traumatised children were indoctrinated, radicalised and prepared to die in the name of a religious war. But Maiwand escaped this life. Fleeing Afghanistan, he had a life-altering crisis of faith, confidence and meaning, finding new purpose and rebuilding himself. Maiwand taught himself how to read and write in English, and here tells his astonishing story in crystalline prose. Delusions of Paradise offers a powerful warning about the dangers of radical religion, and is a stunning celebration of self-determination and redemption from an important new voice. AUTHOR: Maiwand Banayee was born in in Kabul at the onset of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. By the time he was twelve the country was engulfed in civil war and he fled to a refugee camp, where he enrolled in a madrassa and joined the Taliban. At 22 he rejected Islamic extremism and sought asylum in the UK, eventually living in Ireland before returning to England. He has been published in Stinging Fly and War, Literature & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities. This is his first book.

In June 1949, the US and British governments secretly agreed to mount a joint covert action operation to overthrow the communist government in Albania. The top-secret plan would use exiled dissidents to conduct subversive intelligence, paramilitary and propaganda operations to foment an uprising against Albania's authoritarian ruler Enver Hoxha. The Albanian operation is a vital but misunderstood part of Cold War history. A Rich Harvest of Bitter Fruit explains how the West, it its first secret attempt to subvert a communist state behind the iron curtain, ultimately backed away from trying to bring down Hoxha's regime. Instead, Albania was the test case of anti-communist covert action where the West served its apprenticeship before rolling out this capability on a global scale. Drawing on a range of material and primary sources, this is the first book to take an international look at this crucial flashpoint and incorporate the motives and actions of all four major actors - the Anglo-Americans, the Communist powers, Albania's regional neighbours, and the Albanian rebels themselves. A tale of subterfuge, secrecy and skulduggery, this is a compulsively readable and fascinating examination of one of the most important, and least examined, major flashpoints of the Cold War.

Mark Agnew was part of the first team to ever kayak the north-west passage - spending 103 days in the Arctic. The infamous route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans had defeated countless explorers for centuries, and Mark himself had failed two previous expeditions where he attempted to row across the Atlantic. Pushed to the brink, on the verge of turning his back on the adventures that had made him feel alive, he experienced a mental health crisis and almost abandoned the water forever. Charting an inspirational journey from failure to world record breaker, in There Will Be Headwinds Mark reflects on his struggles and reveals the lessons from sports psychology that allowed him to conquer his demons and achieve something truly remarkable. As well as exploring Mark rebuilding himself following his lowest ebb, this is also an astonishing story of ice, suffering and camaraderie. It's a testament to the power of teamwork, determination and ambition - and a celebration of the human spirit of adventure. AUTHOR: Mark Agnew is an adventure, journalist and motivational keynote speaker. Mark was a novice kayaker when he cast off from shore to paddle the entire Northwest Passage - 103 days later, Mark and his teammates made history as they entered the Beaufort Sea marking the other end of the Northwest Passage, setting two World Firsts in the process. He now works as a motivational keynote speaker, sharing his story and the lessons from his time in the Arctic.

'I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter into one of the most creative periods of my life.'Steve JobsSteve Jobs in Exile tells the largely unexplored story of the dozen years Steve Jobs spent building NeXt in the aftermath of his firing from Apple, the company he founded, in 1985. This period would see Jobs at his most creative, vulnerable and intense. It would redefine him as a designer and a leader, ultimately leading to the later resurgence and dominance of Apple following his triumphant return. Yet this crucial period remains woefully under-covered. Award-winning writer Geoffrey Cain changes that. Utilising a trove of new material, including dozens of hours of unbroadcast footage of Jobs at NeXT's meetings and retreats, new interviews and unpublished oral histories with Jobs and his colleagues, new first-hand material and countless internal documents, Steve Jobs in Exile is the definitive history of the most remarkable period in the life of Steve Jobs.

Northern Ireland, 1975. Violence has erupted on the streets of Belfast. After years as a sleepy guerilla army, the IRA is clashing with Loyalist gangs and heavily armed British soldiers. But the Troubles have spilled beyond the small island: An ocean away, in the heart of Philadelphia's Irish enclave, a teenage girl finds a letter in her mailbox. Inside is a bullet, and the message is clear: The next one is for you. From New York Times reporter and Pulitzer finalist Ali Watkins, this true-crime saga is the long-buried story of how a group of Philadelphia gunrunners armed the IRA at the height of the Troubles. A ragtag band of carpenters, family men and fugitives, the Philadelphia Five, as they came to be known, banded together, bolstering the fight for a united Ireland but fuelling the Troubles at an untold cost. This small group of Irish nationalists smuggled hundreds of rifles, rocket launchers, explosives and armour-piercing bullets across the Atlantic Ocean and into Northern Ireland. Whether they were skimming money from innocuous-seeming charities, coolly slipping weapons into hidden compartments of vans and houses, or scouring local graveyards for the names of dead Irishmen to use on firearm forms, the gunrunners approached their mission -to unite Ireland under one flag, by any means necessary -with ruthless poise, even as investigators closed in, members of their own movement began to turn on them, and bodies stacked up on all sides. A gripping tale of crime, rebellion and the hazy line between them, The Next One Is for You is the definitive account of America's hand in the Troubles - a conflict whose resonance is still felt on both sides of the Atlantic today.

In 1943, there were more than 60 prisoner of war camps throughout Mussolini's Italy. Behind barbed wire and under the guards' dark gaze were captive Allied soldiers. After the Italian Armistice thousands escaped as guards deserted their posts, but when German forces swept down the peninsula to regain control they were left stranded in enemy territory. The Great Italian Breakout tells the remarkable stories of those men scattered across the Italian countryside, whose experiences have been all but forgotten. The luckiest made it to the safety of the Swiss frontier, the Vatican or the Allied Lines, some had a more arduous journey to France or Yugoslavia, and a handful escaped to Spain by boat. The unfortunate died in their quest for freedom, and many chose to stay and join the partisans, fighting a dangerous guerilla war against the German occupiers. Rome was finally liberated by the Allies by 4 June 1944. Two days later, D-day unfolded, and this extraordinary period in World War Two faded from memory. The remarkable tales of Allied soldiers' survival against all odds in an unfamiliar, hostile landscape remain largely unknown. Using original research from archives and interviews with families, this book reveals the compelling stories of those on the run and celebrates men who, when it came to the Second World War, took a road less travelled.

Does a doughnut hole exist? What makes a sandwich a sandwich? Can the baker, who only bakes for those who don't bake for themselves, bake for hersel? sing food to explore classic philosophical puzzles and paradoxes about how we know things, abstract ideas about our world, language and about how we define the truth, this book will get your brain whirring and your stomach grumbling. Suki Finn, a Philosophy Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, serves up plenty of philosophical food for thought - enough to whet the appetite of the novice and to satisfy philosophers hungry for a different take on familiar themes. What's in a Doughnut Hole? gives us new ways to think about the world and to understand our place in it.

A story of faith, fanaticism, and the uncanny power of the imagination. The dawn of the Victorian era: the world is changing rapidly. Poverty and the workhouse cast long shadows across rural England, and a traditional way of life is coming to an end. In the villages and fields of Kent, the discontented find an unlikely champion in John Nicholls Tom. Calling himself 'Sir William Courtenay', he appears to the local magistrates and gentry as a madman, a charlatan, or a dangerous radical. But for the labouring people he is the New Messiah, come to lead them in a revolt against the forces of oppression, and to herald the end of the world. In May 1838 Tom's crusade ignites into bloody violence. The confrontation that follows will shock the country, and become known as the last battle ever fought on English soil. Mad Tom's Rising presents an alternative vision of early Victorian England, as a place of mystical religious faith, riot and disturbance, surveillance and insecurity, arson and uproar. Drawing on original sources, it reconstructs the strange and astonishing events of that time, and the lives and experiences of those forever marked by them.

A warm, reflective and uplifting memoir about healing wounds, reclaiming a voice and discovering freedom through the open water. The open water. To the uninitiated, it represents the unknown, an expanse of mystery and uncertainty. But to those who brave the wild waters, it is so much more. A space to heal. A place of communion. A balm to quieten the mind, soothe the soul, and allow you to reconnect with the world and yourself. Emma Simpson discovered wild swimming after a period of immense pain. Lost in grief, disillusioned with life, and feeling increasingly untethered from the world, she instinctively felt the pull of the water. There she found an unexpected source of hope and strength, a profound sense of connection, and a glorious sisterhood of women - each with their own remarkable stories to tell. Interweaving the tales of these inspirational women with reflections on her own experiences, Emma explores themes ranging from devastating loss to birth and rebirth, and from chronic illness to body confidence. Whether describing the taste of an iceberg or a kiss from a baby whale, Breaking Waves is a love letter to womanhood and the open water. It's also a celebration of community, renewal and the power of writing your own life story. Above all else, it is a joyous celebration of going with the flow. AUTHOR: Emma Simpson is a wild swimmer who spent a couple of decades being distracted by a career as an air traffic controller. After experiencing two life-wrenching events, Emma rediscovered her pen and her passion for storytelling at the same time as discovering how transformational cold-water swimming was for her health, wellbeing, and sense of connection with the world.

In 2015, the landscape of British politics was changed forever - Westminster was suddenly the new workplace for dozens of freshly elected SNP members. What followed was one of the most remarkable decades in British political history. Joanna Cherry was part of this cohort, and in this explosive and revealing memoir she tells her own story of Scottish and British politics during this turbulent period .Covering everything from the party's rejection of its popular leader, Alex Salmond, to the scandals that engulfed his successor Nicola Sturgeon, Cherry also reflects on the opportunities that followed the 2015 landslide and offers remarkable insight into why the party failed to further the cause of independence despite a series of electoral victories. As well as offering an astonishing insider's view of the culture of the SNP, Keeping the Dream Alive also looks to the future and offers a clear-eyed view of how political reform in Scotland and the revival of the independence cause could take place.

A gripping account of the murders committed by Dr William Palmer, the 'Prince of Poisoners', and his dramatic trial in 1855. In 1856, a baying crowd of over 30,000 people gathered outside Stafford prison to watch the execution of a village doctor from Staffordshire. One of the last people to be publicly hanged, 'the greatest villain who ever stood trial at the Old Bailey,' as Charles Dickens described him, Dr William Palmer was convicted in 1855 of murdering his best friend, but was suspected of poisoning more than a dozen other people, including his wife, children, brother and mother-in-law - cashing in on their life insurance to fund his crippling gambling habit. Highlighting Palmer's particularly gruesome penchant for strychnine, his trial made news across Europe; he was a new kind of murderer - respectable, middle class, personable, and consequently more terrifying - and he became Britain's most infamous figure until the emergence of Jack the Ripper. The first widely available account of one of the most notorious, yet lesser-known, mass-murderers in British history, The Poisoner takes a fresh look at Palmer's life and disputed crimes, ultimately asking 'just how evil was this man?' With previously undiscovered letters from Palmer and new forensic examination of his victims, Stephen Bates presents not only an astonishing and controversial revision of Palmer's entire story, but takes us into the very psyche of a killer.

Ian Bradley has been fascinated by spas since regularly taking the waters at Tunbridge Wells as a boy. He has visited, written and broadcast about spas across Europe and sampled the cures that they offer for over forty years. This book distils his accumulated experiences, research and reflections while also presenting an up-to-date picture of the atmosphere of what, for him, are the most enchanting, and enchanted spas today. The book blends personal reminiscences with a historical overview, amusing anecdotes, factual information and useful tips for visitors. It describes the experience of taking the waters and relishing the atmosphere at thirteen continental spas, seven of which have recently been given UNESCO World Heritage status as 'The Great Spas of Europe'. The result is a fascinating, amusing, and informative survey of these last enchanted places which are being increasingly visited by tourists for their cultural and historic connections as much as their therapeutic benefits.

Buffalo, New York, 2022. Ten black people murdered. The killer, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, says he was driven by 'Great Replacement' - the conspiracy theory that a Jewish-led elite is replacing white people with black and brown people. This, and a spate of similar hate crimes, begs the question: what are the origins of such behaviou? avin Evans traces the historical roots of white supremacy. He begins in the 19th century with Charles Darwin and his cousin Francis Galton's race-based theories before looking at the spread of eugenics ideas throughout the UK, Europe and the United States, their Holocaust-prompted decline after the Second World War, and their revival in a different guise through the promotion of race science from the late 20th century. Evans also examines the hatching of 'Great Replacement' conspiratorial ideas in the 21st century - and their expression via alt-right forums to the minds of troubled young men with access to assault rifles. White Supremacy breaks new ground in showing the links between mainstream 'Replacement Theory' and the terrorist version cited by far-right killers. It also traces the thread between these ideas and the race science promoted both by the far right and establishment figures. It looks at what these ideas have in common with those promoted by, for example, the founder of eugenics.

Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of the anxious traveller, where panic strikes in the most serene situations, where each time you're convinced that the symptoms are in fact physical and your lungs or heart will stop working, and the only relief is a paramedic telling you that you won't die despite being stuck with them in an ambulance in a smoky Global Southern gridlock. Over the last twenty years, writer and academic Tom Sykes has been lucky enough to travel all over the world. But his trips have often been marred - if not ruined - by anxiety. Part travelogue, part wellbeing memoir, The Years of Travelling Anxiously recounts jittery visits to Nigeria to get married and undergo IVF treatment, stressful encounters with bigots and bureaucrats in France, the Philippines and the USA, and what can be learned about mental health on the road from a baby with an inspiringly calm attitude to travel. The Years of Travelling Anxiously tries to solve a lifelong conundrum about the causes and consequences of panic and distress, and in so doing help other anxious travellers, or indeed anyone who gets anxious about anything, wherever they go.

Millions of people live with chronic pain - everyday life is difficult and treatment is unreliable. So why is it still so poorly understood? And will there ever be a cur? hronic pain is one of the great public health crises of our age - virtually no one is untouched, either living with it themselves or seeing their loved ones suffer. Yet it is a topic that remains in the shadows, too often brushed aside or treated as an afterthought. Chronic: Understanding Pain is an urgent and vital answer to this silence. In this fascinating investigation, Gillian Best seeks out researchers carrying out the cutting-edge work that could be the key to finally understanding and effectively treating this debilitating condition. Shining a light on the groundbreaking investigations being carried out around the world, Gillian searches for answers and wonders whether, one day, she may feel truly well again.

Where the land meets the sea, life clings to the margins in a world of relentless change. The intertidal zone is a place of extremes-where creatures endure crashing waves, scorching sun, and the constant ebb and flow of the tides. It is a place of resilience and adaptation and home to some of the most extraordinary organisms on the planet. Blending marine biology, oceanography, and evolutionary science, marine biologist Ruth Searle takes us on a journey through the deep history of the intertidal zone - from its ancient origins as the possible cradle of life to the remarkable adaptations of the species that inhabit it today. Exploring the geological forces that shape coastlines, the mechanics of tides and waves, and the evolutionary arms race that has unfolded on the shore, this book reveals how the intertidal has not only survived mass extinctions but has driven some of nature's most extraordinary innovations. The Intertidal Zone: Life on the Edge is a celebration of one of Earth's most dynamic ecosystems - its beauty, its mysteries, and its fragility. As climate change and human activity reshape coastlines across the planet, understanding the intertidal has never been more urgent.