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Geography & the EnvironmentJune 2025Demystifying informal urban design and planning
Insights from Asia
by Mahyar Arefi
Touting informal settlements or informality in general as illegal, crime-ridden, unsafe, filthy, chaotic, and formal developments as legal, orderly or safe, and so forth has not solved anything and informality as a way of life or an economic reality lingers and grows. Demystifying informal urban design and planning delves deeper into this conundrum and seeks to debunk some common misguided perceptions about it. Borrowing popular philosophical and political analogies from Isaiah Berlin and Gregory Treverton and others, it encourages urban designers and planners to become multitaskers like foxes rather than hedgehogs who can do one thing right. The book ends with some general takeaways on assuming more proactive roles in informal urban design issues and avoiding two potential pitfalls while interacting with them.
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July 2025Intimate afterlives of empire
Memory and decolonisation in autobiography
by Astrid Rasch
Through close readings of almost twenty autobiographies written after the break-up of the British Empire, the book examines how individuals engage with the changing narrative landscape brought about by decolonisation. It considers the autobiographies less for what they may teach us about the moment remembered and more as windows on the act of remembering. This adds a crucial dimension to our understanding of the legacies of colonialism and how the ongoing process of decolonisation is reflected on the level of the individual. It argues that autobiographers are at once influenced by and seek to influence the cultural memory of empire and its legacies, and the authors' own position in both. Situated at the intersection of imperial/decolonisation history, memory studies, and life writing studies, the book uncovers this intimate afterlife of empire.
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The ArtsJanuary 2019The secret life of romantic comedy
by Celestino Deleyto
The secret life of romantic comedy offers a new approach to one of the most popular and resilient genres in the history of Hollywood. Steering away from the rigidity and ideological determinism of traditional accounts of the genre, this book advocates a more flexible theory, which allows the student to explore the presence of the genre in unexpected places, extending the concept to encompass films that are not usually considered romantic comedies. Combining theory with detailed analyses of a selection of films, including To Be or Not to Be (1942), Rear Window (1954), Kiss Me Stupid (1964), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Before Sunset (2004), the book aims to provide a practical framework for the exploration of a key area of contemporary experience - intimate matters - through one of its most powerful filmic representations: the genre of romantic comedy. Original and entertaining, The secret life of romantic comedy is perfect for students and academics of film and film genre.
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Food & DrinkTea Book
by Studio of Fashion and Life
This book is a tea encyclopedia for those who are new to tea. It includes detailed explanations of 67 kinds of famous teas, 37 practical tea brewing exercises, and 33 tea therapeutic methods and prescriptions. Adopting a large number of exquisite pictures and easy-to-understand words, Tea Book allows readers to receive a complete and clear knowledge of tea from the growing environment, quality characteristics to purchasing criteria, and obtain a profound understanding and appreciation of Chinese tea culture.
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Children's & YAThe Secret of Crossing
China Story Picture Books
by Zhang Jie
China Story Picture Books is the first set of children's picture books launched by the Bingxin Award Committee. This set of books covers the works of seven Bingxin Award-winning writers of different ages including children's literature masters and promising young writers. The illustrations are full of traditional Chinese cultural elements such as dragon lantern dance, paper cutting, oil paper umbrella, and bamboo. Powerful painters at home and abroad are invited to do illustrations, which brings interesting fusion and collision of Chinese and foreign cultures to the books. In addition to the original illustrations, the stories are more touching. Every child can harvest the courage and wisdom for growing up from these stories. The series consists of 7 picture books: The Dragon Lantern, The Path of Golden Flowers, The Child in Three-Story Attic, The School Day Gifts, The Secret of Crossing, The Slope of Sisters. The Secret of Crossing tells the story of the growth of children in villages and small towns. The mud road to the canteen is narrow, several places collapse from the foot of the wall, and one of them breaks into a big gap. Why not fill in the big gap? It's really a lion in the way, and the girl has to cross it carefully, with all her strength.
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October 2022My Father's Secret
The BND, my family and I
by Corinna von Bassewitz
For a long time, Corinna von Bassewitz believed her father was a soldier, later on that he was a diplomat. Then, at the age of 16, she learnt something unbelievable: he had been a secret agent for the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service). Once the secret had been at least partly uncovered, she became something of a spy herself and eventually found some confidential documents in her parents' attic. Later, she realised that her father had been living as a double agent for the FRG and the GDR. So what effect does it have on a girl if her father conceals his true identity and eventually disappears without trace? Along with her family history, the author provides multi-layered and exciting insights into the historical context of the Cold War. A very personal book, intriguingly told and emotionally touching.
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Children's & YA2020Ayélévi's Secret
by Simon de Saint-Dzokotoe, Maryse Montron
Little Ayélévi is very cunning. She always wins at the game of "Who would win the most beautiful flower." This situation intrigued his brother who wanted to understand the secret of these repeated successes. Ayélévi is very clever; will it still be for a long time?
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Humanities & Social SciencesMay 2024The Official Record
Oversight, national security and democracy
by Peter Finn, Robert Ledger
The construction, control and preservation of the Official Record is inherently contested. Those seeking greater openness and (democratic) accountability argue 'sunlight is [...] the best of disinfectants', while others seek stricter information control because, to their mind, sound government arises when advice and policy are formulated secretly. This edited volume explores the intersection of the Official Record, oversight, national security and democracy. Through US, UK and Canadian case studies, this volume will benefit higher level undergraduate readers and above to explore the Official Record in the context of the national security operations of democratic states. All chapters are research-based pieces of original writing that feature a document appendix containing primary documents (often excerpts) that are key to a chapter's narrative. As a result, this book interrogates the boundaries between national security, accountability, oversight, and the Official Record.
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Children's & YA2019He and I. A Story Without Secrets About Boys
by Yulia Smal (Author), Anna Oliynyk (Illustrator)
A time comes when every child starts wondering about their body, asking their parents “awkward” questions. In this book, children and their parents, together with a curious boy named Max, will learn about the boys’ private parts and about the right way to treat one’s privacy and intimacy, about hygiene and safety, about illnesses and self-care, and, most importantly, about good behavior and respect. The book approaches the subject in an interesting and fun way, and is beautifully illustrated by Anna Oliynyk. From 3 to 12 years, 7681 words Rightsholders: mybookshelf.publishing@gmail.com
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Lifestyle, Sport & LeisureJune 2024Round our way
Sam Hanna's visual legacy
by Heather Nicholson
Sam Hanna (1903-96), a pioneering filmmaker from Burnley, Lancashire, was dubbed the 'Lowry of filmmaking' by BBC broadcaster Brian Redhead in the 1980s. The well-meant label stuck, even though it misses the variety of Hanna's remarkable output. Hanna's intimate glimpses into the lives of strangers enable us to imagine the possible stories that lie behind the images. Away from mid-century exponents of documentary filmmaking and photography, Hanna shows us humanity and a microcosm of a world in change, where his subjects are caught up in issues far beyond their grasp that we, as onlookers years later, encounter and see afresh. Written and curated by historian Heather Norris Nicholson, Round our way combines stills, essays and archive photography to document Hanna's unique visual record on film, particularly in northern England, but also further afield, during decades of profound change.
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The ArtsFebruary 2009The secret life of romantic comedy
by Celestino Deleyto
The secret life of romantic comedy offers a new approach to one of the most popular and resilient genres in the history of Hollywood. Steering away from the rigidity and ideological determinism of traditional accounts of the genre, this book advocates a more flexible theory, which allows the student to explore the presence of the genre in unexpected places, extending the concept to encompass films that are not usually considered romantic comedies. Combining theory with detailed analyses of a selection of films, including To Be or Not to Be (1942), Rear Window (1954), Kiss Me Stupid (1964), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Before Sunset (2004), the book aims to provide a practical framework for the exploration of a key area of contemporary experience - intimate matters - through one of its most powerful filmic representations: the genre of romantic comedy. Original and entertaining, The secret life of romantic comedy is perfect for students and academics of film and film genre. ;
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Children's & YA2016Bison Looks for a Nest
by Oksana Bula (Author), Oksana Bula (Illustrator)
Once upon a time a bison met a bear. Winter was coming and he asked the bear where he could get food since everything was covered with snow. The bear answered that he didn’t eat in the winter. Instead he usually went into a deep sleep. Every year at the same time the Tukonis, the magical forest inhabitants, would put him to sleep in a den and wake him up at springtime. The bison was amazed. He had never slept all though the winter and couldn’t even imagine that other animals did. How wonderful it would be to sleep in a cozy nest rather than roam around in the snow searching for food! The bison decided that the Tukonis should put him to bed as well. From 3 to 6 years, 407 words Rightsholders: ivan.fedechko@starlev.com.ua
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January 2023 - December 2023A Chance for One Last Love
by Hassan Dawood
A sweeping historical saga about a city that defies the eroding power of time In one of the first Arabic novels about the COVID-19 pandemic, relationships begin and end much like the pandemic itself. From his balcony in Beirut, Ezzat notices a solitary light on a lone balcony in the building opposite. From that moment, a connection begins to form across the empty space between the buildings, communicated through the air and signals. The events unfold after the owner of the shadow steps out onto her balcony, confronting the voyeur. They share time, confusion... and desire. Ezzat and Tamer successively both fall in love with the same woman, and a cautious friendship develops between the two men. It soon evolves into more dangerous forms. The story also portrays the experiences of other building residents during the pandemic, who imposed strict isolation on themselves. The protagonists, particularly the two elderly lovers, live on the edge of catastrophic expectations, as when they imagine that a woman pressing the intercom downstairs to ask for food could be a sign of an impending widespread famine. The story does not conclude in a stalemate but rather with losers.
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Children's & YA2018The Magic Bird
by Ken Spillman and Malavika PC
A lone bird hungry for magic pecks at alphabet shapes. It looks through glass windows of book stores and glances at the t-shirts of pedestrians with the hope of solving the mystery hidden behind those letters. Soon, the words become familiar and the bird determinedly starts collecting scraps of paper to build a nest, wanting to hatch its ideas with warmth and nurture them through potential and free imagination. The unusual combination of Ken Spillman’s simple yet eloquent prose and Malavika PC’s inspired images combine in perfect harmony to express the powerful story of The Magic Bird. The bird reminds the reader of the extraordinary components which create something as ordinary as language, and the value of spreading our wings to take stories to others.
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Humanities & Social SciencesJanuary 2026Migration and social policy in a changing world
Histories, challenges and dilemmas
by Bryan Fanning
Migration and social policy in a changing world bridges the generally separate fields of social policy and migration studies. This book traces social policy responses to migration from the Industrial Revolution to today's era of globalisation and large-scale migration. Through case studies from across the globe, the book explores key themes including rural-urban migration, social citizenship, welfare internationalism and diasporic care systems. It examines how migrants are included in or excluded from social citizenship in host societies, and how they become providers of welfare services such as health and social care. Moving beyond a methodological nationalist focus, the book investigates migrant incorporation into welfare states through family networks, faith communities, and other informal welfare structures. It combines migrants' experiences with host societies' immigration politics, institutional perspectives and policies to present a comprehensive analysis of the migration-welfare relationship. This volume fills a gap in academic literature and offers policymakers, practitioners and scholars a framework for understanding the interplay between migration and social policy in our changing world.
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Politics & governmentDecember 2016Intelligence, security and the Attlee governments, 1945–51
An uneasy relationship?
by Daniel W. B. Lomas
Drawing on recently released documents and private papers, this is the first book-length study to examine the intimate relationship between the Attlee government and Britain's intelligence and security services at the start of the Cold War. Often praised for the formation of the modern-day 'welfare state', Attlee's government also played a significant, if little understood, role in combating communism at home and overseas, often in the face of vocal, sustained opposition from its own backbenches. This book tells the story of Attlee's Cold War. From Whitehall vetting to secret operations in Eastern Europe and the fallout of Soviet atomic espionage on both sides of the Atlantic, it provides a fresh interpretation of the Attlee government, making it essential reading for anyone interested in the Labour Party, intelligence, security and Britain's foreign and defence policy at the start of the Cold War.
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Children's & YA2020Momo, The Strange Cat
by Morteza Rokhsatpanah
Momo really wants to find a friend, but it’s not easy for him to do this at all. Because, you know… Momo is a little bit, just a little bit strange. “Momo, the Strange Cat” is a story about friendship. It helps children to understand what it takes to make friends and how they should act on their needs.
