Discover the beautiful stories of Michael Morpurgo, author of Warhorse and the nation’s favourite storyteller The heart-lifting, heartbreaking story by Michael Morpurgo, the nation’s favourite storyteller.

Reflections on Character and Leadership is the first of the three books in the Manfred kets de Vries on the Couch series. Here, Kets de Vries looks at entrepreneurship, the pathology of leadership, and the personality of the leader. The reader will visit the disturbed inner worlds of leaders like Alexander the Great, Shaka Zulu and Robert Maxwell, discover how to distinguish between a cold fish and a live volcano, and identify impostors, despots, organizational fools and global leaders. The book highlights the basic principles of the clinical paradigm—the process of putting organizations and the individuals who lead them on the psychoanalyst’s couch. It includes studies of personality archetypes and the effects they have on organizational life and culture—and the effects that organizations have on them. Referring frequently to key management concepts, Kets de Vries looks not only at what happens when things go wrong, but also at how to create the psychological and organizational space to make sure that things go right. About the series: The series offers an overview of Kets de Vries’s work spanning four decades, a period in which he has established himself as the leading figure in the clinical study of organizational leadership. The books in this series contain a representative selection of Kets de Vries’ writings about leadership from a wide variety of published sources and cover character and leadership in a global context, career development and leadership in organizations. The original essays were all written or published between 1976 and 2008. Updated where appropriate and revised by the author, they present a digest of the work of one of the most influential management thinkers of the present day.

When Michael's aunt passes away, she leaves behind a letter that will change everything. It starts with Michael's grandfather Leroy, a black officer in World War I who charged into a battle zone not once but three times to save wounded men. His fellow soldiers insisted he deserved special commendations for his bravery but because of the racial barriers, he would go unacknowledged. Now it's up to Michael to change that. Inspired by the true story of Walter Tull, the first black officer in the British army, award-winning author Michael Morpurgo delivers a richly layered and memorable story of identity, history, and family.

E. H. Gombrich's Little History of the World, though written in 1935, has become one of the treasures of historical writing since its first publication in English in 2005. The Yale edition alone has now sold over half a million copies, and the book is available worldwide in almost thirty languages. Gombrich was of course the best-known art historian of his time, and his text suggests illustrations on every page. This illustrated edition of the Little History brings together the pellucid humanity of his narrative with the images that may well have been in his mind's eye as he wrote the book. The two hundred illustrations—most of them in full color—are not simple embellishments, though they are beautiful. They emerge from the text, enrich the author's intention, and deepen the pleasure of reading this remarkable work. For this edition the text is reset in a spacious format, flowing around illustrations that range from paintings to line drawings, emblems, motifs, and symbols. The book incorporates freshly drawn maps, a revised preface, and a new index. Blending high-grade design, fine paper, and classic binding, this is both a sumptuous gift book and an enhanced edition of a timeless account of human history.

"A fortunate few carry with them through life the vision of the innocent years. The rest of us must work hard to retrieve the light that is so freely given to us at birth. But if, in reverence for all life, in patient observation, in sorrow, and in compassion, the veil of darkness falls from our eyes, then it is we who are the lucky ones. For in full consciousness we have reached back into Paradise before the Fall. We have earned that which every child inherits unearned." --Rosamond Reinhardt, from the introduction Who with the eye of reverence may discern How crystals form within the soul of the Earth, Watch in the quickening seed the clear flame burn, In life see death, and in decay new birth ... He who has found his kin in man and beast And in that kinship God's own Brotherhood, At the High Table of the Grail shall feast, Sup with the Lord of Love, taste holy food ... He, seeking, finds (God's promise shall suffice) The pathway to forgotten Paradise. --Manfred Kyber Manfred Kyber's classic Three Candles of Little Veronica is now available again in English. For generations, readers have loved this story and discovered its ability to guide us to the magic of nature and to a deeper understanding of human relationships and karma, reminding us of our responsibility to protect innocent creatures. The excellent translation and exquisite illustrations combine to produce a first-class edition that you will want to read, reread, and pass on to friends. More than any treatise on the environment, this book speaks to the reader's heart and awakens a sense of caring and responsibility for the world around us. This is a remarkable and enduring story in the Grail tradition. The author begins with Veronica's early youth, when she can see beyond the physical appearance of things and can converse with a hedgehog, a blackbird, and other residents in The Garden of Spirits. Accompanied by her cat Mutzeputz and guided by her wise Uncle Johannes, Veronica grows beyond innocence and into the life of the House of Shadows, the Baltic town of Halmar, the cursed Castle Irreloh, and the people whose destiny intersects hers. As the story unfolds, Veronica learns--through a playful elemental and with the help of Uncle Johannes Wanderer--that only a veil separates us from the spiritual world, "and it lifts more often than people today believe." The events of joy and terror in her life lead her to a beautiful reconciliation with this duality and to true understanding of the meaning and mystery of the three candles that mark the turning points in her life. The writing style of The Three Candles of Little Veronica is unique and idiosyncratic. Kyber's earnestness and deeply held spiritual values, as well as his profound concern for the well being of animals, are evident throughout. His greatest wish was to open the hearts of readers drawn to his work.

This book is written by the Red Baron, the famous German flying ace of the Great War who was credited with 80 combat victories in flying battles. It is an autobiography, talking about his early life and love of horses and dogs, and his family. A fascinating insight into a famous figure.

An American boy goes to live with his grandfather in England, where he becomes heir to a title, estate, and fortune.