From The Ground Up: U2 360° Tour Official Photobook
by Words by Dylan Jones, featuring photos by Ralph Larmann and Foreword by Paul McGuinness

U2 360° BY NUMBERS
7,100,000 fans saw the show; 10 million people watched a live stream of U2 360° at the Rose Bowl on YouTube; 320,000 fans saw 360° in Mexico City; 9,760 guitar strings utilized; 7,100 miles – approximate distance travelled by space station while talking with U2; 5,200 years – collective touring experience of U2 tour personnel; 400 tons – weight of the fully loaded claw; 134 crew members; 126 truck drivers; 110 concerts; 53 gigs attended by a single fan; 7 astronauts attended.

U2 360°, the most successful concert tour of all time, came to an end in Moncton, Atlantic Canada on July 30, 2011. The massive 26 month undertaking by Live Nation Global Touring saw U2 play 110 concerts in front of more than 7.1 million fans in 30 countries across five continents.

From the Ground Up is the inside story of U2 360° with exclusive contributions from the band, manager Paul McGuinness, world-renowned set designer Willie Williams and exclusive photographs from photographer Ralph Larmann and written by Dylan Jones who was given complete access, including behind the scenes at Glastonbury 2011.

Funny Way To Be A Hero
by John Fisher

The stand-up comedian is our hero. Unchanged fundamentally since the days of the Music Hall, he – and occasionally she – has been a waspish or laconic or outrageous commentator on politics, sex, work, friends and the family.

In Funny Way to be a Hero John Fisher traces the traditions of the music hall comedian as they are handed down through the great British comics of the twentieth century. Dan Leno, the Crazy Gang, Will Hay and Max Miller are seen to pass the baton to the great radio comics like Arthur Askey, Tony Hancock, Frankie Howerd and the Goons. In time Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper, Benny Hill, the Two Ronnies and Ken Dodd are seen to hold the flame.

The comedians understand us as no-one else, and in this brilliantly original and funny book John Fisher comes close to understanding them, what makes us laugh and the connecting themes in their humour and our responses. Quoting widely from their acts, he approaches the essence of their art: 'The best book about twentieth-century British entertainers I have ever read.' (The Times)

First published in 1973 when he was in his late 20s John Fisher's Funny Way to be a Hero is regarded as the finest book ever written on 20th century comedians and comedy. Fisher in his career as a television producer went on to become a friend to many of the subjects written about in his book. Forty years later he has revised and expanded the original from this perspective and added six new chapters. With spectacular new design and over 350 illustrations, many never published before, this will be a landmark publication.

Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star
by Rick Wakeman

What do Postman Pat, Tommy Cooper, Norman Wisdom and George Best have in common with being abandoned in a Costa Rican jungle after a severe bout of flatulence? Indeed how are they connected to trying to buy an Australian brewery just to get a beer, owning twenty-two cars, an American soccer team and Swiss mail-order pornography?

I suppose we have to come clean and volunteer the name of a certain keyboard genius called Mr Richard Wakeman (Rick to his thousands of chums). That said, you'll then not be surprised that this second volume of wondrous stories elaborates on violinists falling out of trees, being mauled on live TV by a German Shepherd, playing golf with kangaroos, amputations sound-tracked by prog rock classics, a concert played to a solitary canine and signing autographs on the toilet ... And don't forget severe leg injuries on the set of Mastermind, extreme profanity live on radio at Wimbledon and berating Pike from Dad's Army ...

The Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star takes you, the privileged reader, on a trip of absurd excess, a cultural car crash of side-splitting hilarity and an unforgettable glimpse (again) into the life of one of Britain's most legendary showmen, rock stars and all-time great raconteurs.

Get Out: Halcyon River Activity Book
by Philippa Forrester, Fred, Gus and Arthur Hamilton James

Following on from the major BBC1 TV series screened in the spring of 2010 this Halcyon River activity book is the perfect way to engage children on everything to do with wildlife in streams and rivers. Written by Philippa Forrester, with lots of input from their three children Gus (three) Arthur (six) and Fred (nine), this book is full of things to do, facts about the river wildlife. It features photographs by Charlie, their father, and illustrations from the children themselves. It follows key stage learning.

Great Speeches of the 20th Century
by The Guardian

What has happened to the 'art' of speech-writing and speech making? Where are the men and women whose words set the heart racing with passion, turn battles, inspire populations to extraordinary endeavour: 'Ask not what your country can do for you.' 'We shall fight on the beaches.' 'I have a dream.' 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'

Quote these words today and they still have the power to stop us in our tracks.

This is a book that should be required reading, a book that should be on every bookshelf in the country.

Here are fourteen key speeches of the 20th century introduced by prominent figures ranging from F.W. de Klerk and Mikhail Gorbachev to Antony Beevor and Gordon Brown.

Winston Churchill: We shall fight on the beaches. Introduced by Simon Schama
J.F. Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you. Introduced by Kennedy's speech writer Ted Sorensen
Nelson Mandela: An ideal for which I am prepared to die. Introduced by F.W. de Klerk
Harold Macmillan: No going back. Introduced by Douglas Hurd
Franklin D. Roosevelt: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Introduced by Gordon Brown
Nikita Khrushchev: The cult of the individual. Introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev
Emmeline Pankhurst: Freedom or death. Introduced by Germaine Greer
Martin Luther King: I have a dream. Introduced by Gary Younge
Charles de Gaulle: The flame of French resistance. Introduced by Antony Beevor
Margaret Thatcher: The lady's not for turning. Introduced by Simon Jenkins
Jawaharlal Nehru: A tryst with destiny. Introduced by Ian Jack
Aneurin Bevan: Weapons for squalid and trivial ends. Introduced by Tam Dalyell
Earl Spencer: The most hunted person of the modern age. Introduced by Beryl Bainbridge
Virginia Woolf: Shakespeare's sister. Introduced by Kate Mosse