Liverpool has been the birthplace or home to literally hundreds of extraordinary men and women. In this book Christine Dawe features a great many of them - from all eras and walks of life. Locally noteworthy figures, such as Kitty Wilkinson, who started the first public wash-houses in the city, Father Nugent, who rescued hundreds of starving orphans after the Irish Potato Famine, and Teddy Dance, who played a grand piano outside Marks & Spencers for many years and raised over £16,356,000 for Cancer Research, appear alongside some of the more famous faces from the past, including Rex Harrison and Bessie Braddock, as well as more contemporary figures, such as Ken Dodd, Cilla Black, Carla Lane, Ricky Tomlinson and Sir Simon Rattle. This book contains more than a hundred mini-biographies of Liverpool's famous sons and daughters - all of whom are illustrated. A perfect souvenir for visitors to the city, this is also essential reading for Liverpudlians everywhere, and is sure to appeal to those wanting to know more about these people's contributions to the great city we know today.

Liverpool was once one of the greatest cities in the British empire but it no longer feels like it is in England, if it ever did. It had retreated as a significant port after the Second World War and by 1979, it was already on the brink. What it needed was support but instead, a Conservative Party with aggressive new ideas allowed it to slide. Thirty-years after the Toxteth Riots, classified government papers revealed that the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was urged to abandon the city and embark on a programme of 'managed decline'. Why did Liverpool's fortunes change so dramatically? Why did it fight back when other cities did not? This is the untold story of what it was like for Liverpool's people and how the period defines who they are.

Merseyside has been the birthplace or home of literally hundreds of extraordinary men and women over the years. Modern-day noteworthy figures, such as Kim Cattrall, Daniel Craig, Beth Tweddle and Patricia Routledge rub shoulders with the historical great and good, including Sir Thomas Beecham, George Stevenson and Lady Emma Hamilton. Personalities from all eras and walks of life are featured, from politics, art and industry to music and entertainment. In this book Christine Dawe has penned a fascinating selection of mini-biographies of Merseyside's most famous sons and daughters to make a perfect souvenir for visitors to the area. This is also essential reading for Merseysiders everywhere, and is sure to appeal to those wanting to know more about these people's contributions to the Merseyside we know today.

This book charts the development of Liverpool's trade, shipping and business culture in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. It assesses the causes and consequences of major changes in the port's economy.

This book uses the experience of three generations of the Earle family to throw light on the social and economic history of Liverpool during its rise to prominence as a great port, from 1688 to 1840. The focus is on six members of this successful family, John who came to Liverpool as apprentice to a merchant in 1688, his three sons, Ralph, Thomas and William, who all became merchants specializing in different branches of the trade of the port, and William's two sons, another Thomas and another William, who consolidated the fortunes of the family and began the process of converting their wealth into gentility. The approach is descriptive rather than theoretical, and the aim throughout has been to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Where sources permit, the book describes the businesses run by these men, often in considerable detail. Trading in slaves was an important part of the business of three of them, but they and other members of the family also engaged in a variety of other trades, such as the import-export business with Leghorn (Livorno) in Italy, fishing in Newfoundland and the Shetland Islands, the wine and fruit trades of Spain, Portugal and the Azores, the import of raw cotton for the industries of the Industrial Revolution and the Russia trade. Other family interests included privateering, art collection and the trade in art, a sugar plantation in Guyana, and the emigrant trade. While the book is mainly a work of economic history, there is also much on the merchants' wives and families and on the social history of both Liverpool and Livorno.

No other city in the world is as well known or loved for its vibrant and definitive musical history as Liverpool. In 2002, Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles voted Liverpool 'World Capital of Pop', recognising that Liverpool's homegrown talent has produced more number one hit singles per capita than anywhere else in the world. In 2008, Liverpool will celebrate its crown as European Capital of Culture. Paul Du Noyer's acclaimed book takes us on a tour of the rich musical history of his hometown, from the world-famous Cavern Club in Mathew Street, host to the Beatles' debut performance in 1961, to the city's musical future with contemporary bands like The Zutons. Featuring interviews with key figures of the music scene, this book reveals the creative impulse behind Britain's most musical city. Find out why Liverpool is not just a place where music happens. The city is the reason music happens.