Spike Milligan's legendary war memoirs are a hilarious and subversive first-hand account of the Second World War, as well as a fascinating portrait of the formative years of this towering comic genius, most famous as writer and star of The Goon Show. They have sold over 4.5 million copies. With his lightning-quick wit, unbridled creativity and his ear for the absurd, Milligan revolutionised British comedy, leaving a legacy of influence that stretches from Monty Python's Flying Circus to the work of self-confessed acolytes such as Eddie Izzard and Stephen Fry today. Throughout his life, Milligan wrote prolifically - scripts, poetry, fiction, as well as several volumes of memoir, in which he took an entirely idiosyncratic approach to the truth. In this ground-breaking work, Norma Farnes, his long-time manager, companion, counsellor and confidante, gathers together the loose threads, reads between the lines and draws on the full breadth of his writing to present his life in his own words: an autobiography - of sorts. From his childhood in India, through his early career as a jazz musician and sketch-show entertainer, his spells in North Africa and Italy with the Royal Artillery, to that fateful first broadcast of The Goon Show and beyond into the annals of comedy history, this is the autobiography Milligan never wrote.

A former British SAS agent turned Toronto bodyguard is hired by the Mounties to accompany a drug dealer to Mexico in this hard-boiled crime thriller. Professional bodyguard John Locke is in no mood to babysit Greg Amadeo, a drug dealer turncoat who wants to visit his wife in Mexico, collect some cash, and settle debts before testifying in the States, but how can Locke pass up the warm climate, lovely ladies, and a quick buck? Amadeo has a trick up his sleeve that may cause Locke to come back in a body bag if he does not use all the skills he learned in the British army’s SAS elite corps. With an appreciation for the more civilized aspects of life, Locke finds the fishing village, Zihuatanejo, right up his alley with two of his favorite things, fine women and tasty food, but there are just too many bullets flying around for Locke’s peace of mind . . . Praise for Lockestep “Locke is a hero midway between Bond and Spenser: large-hearted and educated, sensitive and physically very fit. . . . The Mexican background is pleasingly vivid and Barnao delivers a thriller.” —Publishers Weekly

Any scholar interested in dreams will be in Oberhelman's debt. His lucid translation and helpful annotations have brought Achmet away from the private preserve of Byzantinists and into the academic mainstream. His thoughtful introduction not only persuasively argues for Achmet's relevance, but provides a modern, theoretically sophisticated introduction to the study of dreams in their historical context. The side connections that he draws between cultures, time periods, and methodologies of study should provide a valuable stimulus for future work; and, as a valuable bonus, this material could fit very well into the classroom. -- C. Robert Phillips, III Achmet is an observer of culture as he analyzes hundreds of dreams in context of gender, politics, socioeconomic class, psychological and physical state, cultural upbringing and religion.

A wide-ranging collection of nature poems for children, chosen by Anne Harvey. This is the perfect collection for introducing children to the magic of poetry. Includes poems from Thomas Hardy, Spike Milligan, Laurie Lee, Ian Serraillier, John Betjemen, William Blake, Geoffery Chaucer, Emily Dickinson, Philip Larkin, Helen Dunmore, and many more.