Have A Great 2011 All
May You Have Health and Wealth
Annette
Monthly Archives: December 2010
The Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010….Ireland
The Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill By Annette J Dunlea
The Credit Institutions Bill NO.58 of 2010 entitled the state to make the following provisions, to amend the Building Societies Act 1989, the Central Bank Act 1971 and the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008 for those purposes; to amend the National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 to allow the Minister for Finance to give certain directions in relation to the National Pensions Reserve Fund; to make consequential amendments to the European Communities (Reorganisation and Winding-Up of Credit Institutions) Regulations 2004; and for related purposes.The Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill, 2010 was published by the Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Lenihan. The Bill was debated in the Dail and was later signed into legislation by our President. The Bill provides the legislative basis for the reorganisation and restructuring of the banking system agreed in the joint EU – IMF Programme for Ireland.
The Bill provides for the exercise of functions to be conferred on the State in relation to certain institutions in circumstances including:
(a) where there is a serious disturbance in the economy of the State;
(b) where measures are necessary to address a unique and unprecedented economic crisis;
(c) where there is a continuing serious threat to the stability of certain credit institutions in the State and to the financial system generally;
(d) where the functions and powers to be conferred by the Bill are necessary to secure financial stability and to effect a reorganisation of certain credit institutions, consistently with EU state aid rules in the context of the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 and the European Union/International Monetary Fund Programme of
Financial Support for Ireland;
(e) where the urgent reorganisation of certain credit institutions is of systemic importance to the State;
f) where it is necessary to maintain public confidence in, and enhance, the protection of deposits in credit institutions generally;
(g) where it is desirable to promote and facilitate investment by persons other than the State in credit institutions to reduce their reliance upon State support.
Purposes of the Bill are:
(a) to address the serious and continuing disruption to the economy and the financial system and the continuing serious threat to the stability of certain credit institutions
in the State and the financial system generally;
(b) to implement the reorganisation of credit institutions in the State to achieve the financial stabilisation and restructuring of those institutions, consistently with EU
state aid rules, in the context of the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 and the European Union/International Monetary Fund Programme of Financial Support for
Ireland;
(c) to continue the process of reorganisation, preservation and restoration of Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Limited;
(d) to continue the process of preservation and restoration of the financial position of building societies;
(e) to protect the interests of depositors of credit institutions;
(f) to address the compelling need to facilitate the availability of credit in the State, to protect the State’s interest in respect of guarantees issued by the State under the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008, to protect the interests of taxpayers, to restore confidence in the banking sector and to underpin Government support measures, and to align the activities of the relevant institutions and the duties and responsibilities of their officers and employees with the public interest and the Bill;
(g) to preserve and restore the financial position of a relevant institution; and
(h) to empower the Court to impose further reorganisation measures.
The new powers that the Minister for Finance will have includes:
The power to appoint special managers to a bank if there is “an imminent threat” to its viability. The power to transfer loans and deposits between institutions and overseas. It will also mean that subordinated ‘junior’ bondholders of banks can be forced into taking further deductions on the value of their investments. The Minister stated “A comprehensive restructuring of the retail banking system in the State is a key pillar of the EU-IMF Programme agreement. This Bill will allow the Minister to take the actions required to bring about a domestic retail banking system that is proportionate to and focused on the Irish economy. The banking system must play its role in providing the credit to the real economy to support our recovery. The joint EU – IMF Programme for Ireland has provided, on a contingency basis, the resources and support required to restore the banking system to health.” The Bill provides broad powers to the Minister for Finance (in consultation with the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland) to act on financial stability grounds to effect the restructuring actions and recapitalisation measures envisaged in the Programme. The Programme builds upon and intensifies the banking measures introduced by the Government to date. The Bill applies to banks who have received financial support from the State, building societies and credit unions. Given the exceptional nature of the powers contained in the Bill, the powers are time-limited and scheduled to expire on 31 December 2012.
The powers provided in the Bill allow the Minister to implement key aspects of the agreed Programme for bank restructuring as follows:-.
to issue directions to take or prevent any actions in order to support the Government’s banking strategy; to transfer relevant institutions’ assets and liabilities to facilitate the restructuring of the banking sector; the making of subordinated liabilities orders, on a case by case basis and under particular conditions, to achieve appropriate burden sharing by subordinated creditors in relevant institutions which have received State support. The Bill provides the legislative framework for the key steps required to ensure that the size and capacity of the banking system is fully aligned to the financial needs of the wider economy. It is the first important step in putting in place an extensive Special Resolution Regime (SRR) that will provide for a comprehensive framework to facilitate the orderly management and resolution of distressed credit institutions. In that context, the Bill includes the powers to appoint a special manager to a relevant institution which would only arise in limited and exceptional circumstances in order to achieve the objectives of the legislation.In the first instance, the provisions in the Bill once it is enacted by the Oireachtas will be available to the Minister to effect, in part, the injection of capital into Allied Irish Banks prior to year end as necessary to ensure the bank is compliant with the regulatory capital requirements as set by the Central Bank of Ireland. It will also facilitate the planned restructuring of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society as set out in the Programme agreement and consistent with EU State aid requirements. The Bill also contains provisions providing the legislative basis that underpins the Minister’s decision that financial support required for AIB will be conditional on the non-payment of bonuses regardless of when they were awarded. Draft legislation providing for the introduction of a comprehensive SRR, consistent with best international practice, is scheduled for introduction to the Oireachtas by end-February 2011.
The Seanad has passed the Credit Institutions Bill, giving the Finance Minister new powers to restructure the banking sector, without amendment. The Dáil passed all stages of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010, which gives wide powers to the Minister for Finance to reform and restructure the banking sector.The Bill was passed by 78 votes to 71.
PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has signed the controversial Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill into law after consulting the Council of State about its constitutionality. It follows a meeting of the Council of State this afternoon to consider the constitutionality of the legislation which aims to radically restructure the banking system.The Council of State is made up of 22 members, including the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Ceann Comhairle, the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, the Attorney General, the Chief Justice and the president of the High Court.Its members included: Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, Dáil Ceann Comhairle Seamus Kirk, Seanad Cathaoirleach Pat Moylan (all Fianna Fáil), chief justice of the Supreme Court John Murray and president of the High Court Nicholas Kearns, attorney general Paul Gallagher, former taoisigh Liam Cosgrave, Garret FitzGerald, Albert Reynolds, John Bruton and Bertie Ahern, President Mary McAleese and seven presidential nominees, two of whom are Fianna Fáil members and another who is a Fine Gael representative. Under section 26 of the constitution it is now law, if any affected party wants to contest it in the Supreme Court, it is their prerogative.The complex bill, which was passed by the Seanad and The Dail after just four hours of debate, gives Lenihan the power to transfer banks’ assets and liabilities and sack bank directors.The ECB has criticised the legislation saying it could force it to take losses on the collateral it accepts in exchange for loans. It has also warned the bill could compromise the independence of Ireland’s central bank.The ECB has lent banks in Ireland 136 billion euros, a quarter of all its outstanding loans and the Irish central bank has given them 45 billion euros in emergency liquidity assistance amid uncertainty about the future of the sector.The Supreme Court are on holidays until January 11 2011 and if it is challenged there a decision could take a couple of weeks.
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Merry Christmas
Have A Wonderful Christmas And New Year
Annette
Great Books
1. The Reunion by L J Smith
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books; paperback / softback edition (4 Oct 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0340945036
ISBN-13: 978-0340945032
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
2. An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pillkington
Hardcover: 296 pages
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd (23 Sep 2010)
ISBN-10: 1847679269
ISBN-13: 978-1847679260
Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 16 x 2.8 cm
3. Jacqueline Wilson Bookset By Jacqueline Wilson
Paperback
Publisher: CORGI (2000)
ISBN-10: 1409601927
ISBN-13: 978-1409601920
The Private Home Care Scandal
The Home Care Scandal by Annette J Dunlea
Published In The Carrigdhoun Newspaper 24th Dec 2010 p.8
Families using a number of private homecare providers have been complaining to the HSE for more than three years about the quality of care provided to their loved ones, it has emerged.The complaints have revolved around staff such as home helps and homecare assistants not turning up, turning up late, being verbally abusive to older people, giving the wrong medication, having very poor English and very poor skills to do their job.Thousands of families are given homecare packages every year under which they can buy home help and other services from private providers. All agree that the whole area needed to be regulated.
The Health Service Executive has begun a review into the standard of care being provided to 65,000 older people who receive care in their own homes.The executive said it was taking seriously allegations that a number of private providers were failing to meet even basic standards in the provision of care.There are 150 private providers catering for around 6,000 elderly people in their homes across the country. The HSE said it had taken a number of steps since concerns were raised in the Prime Time programme, including making contact with over a hundred clients in receipt of services from the organisations featured in the programme.
It follows a four-month undercover investigation by Prime Time Investigates, which found shocking and appalling standards of care by a number of home care providers.The shocking practices of substandard and inappropriate levels of care by some private home care companies have appalled us. Some private companies offering home help have :
1. No references sought and checked
2. No Training given to any staff
3. No garda vetting of new staff
Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said: ‘It is not acceptable that people who are not Garda vetted can work in the homes of vulnerable people, where they are often in the home on their own with the older person.
On Prime Time there were upsetting images of an old lady been forced fed and made take her tablets against her will.It cited evidence of staff not being properly trained to lift care recipients or to deal with pressure sores, and of the “dumping” of medications.One elderly man alleged he had a considerable sum of money stolen from him by a staff member working for one private firm. This shows the dangers of untrained staff minding vunerable people.It is elder abuse waiting to happen.There are currently an estimated 150 companies providing such care in Ireland and none of these are state supervised. They do not need a licence or any special training to mind these vunerable people.After Prime Time aired the HSE contacted these companies and they were assured the people involved inappropraite practice were suspended. This is after the fact and these old people were damaged by the events.The HSE has opened a helpline and have asked families and the public to contact them if they suspect anything or if they are concerned about someone’s care. The HSE’s information line 1850 24 2850.
The threat of random checks would change things considerably.These people who are caring for the housebound or bed-bound elderly behind closed doors in the most personal and intimate way are unregistered, unregulated and unsupervised.While Hiqa, the Health Information and Quality Authority, currently regulate standards in private nursing homes, the homecare sector remains unregulated and there is no legal obligation on the providers to vet staff.
The Minister of State with responsibility for Older People, Áine Brady, said last night the HSE had requested all its local managers to review their own services and their private providers to ascertain they were satisfied with the care being provided.Ms Brady said the key element that must exist between providers of care, be they public or private, and the recipient of that care, has to be trust.The HSE spends about €340 million a year on homecare services for about 65,000 people. More than 90 per cent of this care is provided directly by HSE staff.HSE staff do have standards, supervision and specialist training for their staff.The state are falling short on eldery care. There is currently a mortorium on recruitment in the HSE so outside agencies used.
The HSE has requested tenders from private homecare providers who will provide services in future according to approved standards. These will be identified by February and will have to meet certain minimum standards.Minister Brady said the HSE has been working with the Department of Health and Children on a number of key initiatives which will strengthen overall governance in this area and will be implemented and published in the first half of next year.
The End
New Title: Wrestlemania WWE Annual 2011
Title: WWE WRESTLEMANIA ANNUAL 2011 (RRP: £7.99)
Author: Pedigree Books Ltd.
Hardcover
Publisher: Pedigree Books Ltd (2010)
ASIN: B004C608PA
Great Kids Book: A Squash And A Squeeze
Title: A Squash and a Squeeze
Authors: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Product Description
A little old lady thinks her house is a squash and a squeeze but, with the advice of a wise old man and the help of a few farmyard animals, she soon discovers that it’s not as small as she thought. The very first book from the award-winning creators of The Gruffalo, first reissued in hardback to great acclaim in 2003 as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of Julia and Axel’s collaboration.
About the Author
Julia Donaldson is one of the UK’s most successful picture book authors, whose titles regularly appear at the top of bestseller lists — most notably, the acknowledged modern classic, The Gruffalo (0 333 71093 2). Her other picture books in collaboration with Axel Scheffler include Room On The Broom (0 333 90338 2) and The Smartest Giant In Town (0 333 96144 7). Julia is also much in demand for her brilliant events for children at schools, libraries and literary festivals. Axel Scheffler has achieved worldwide acclaim for his illustrations, and his books have been translated into over 20 languages. He has enjoyed particular success in his picture book collaborations with Julia Donaldson, but is also the best-selling illustrator of novelty books including The Bedtime Bear (0 333 63788 7) and The Tickle Book
Book Recommendation: Fields of Death
Title: The Fields of Death (Revolution 4)
Author: Simon Scarrow
Paperback: 704 pages
Publisher: Headline Review (11 Nov 2010)
ISBN-10: 0755324404
ISBN-13: 978-0755324408
Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 13 x 4.6 cm
Product Description
From the bestselling author of THE GLADIATOR and FIRE AND SWORD comes the final volume in his epic quartet of novels about Wellington and Napoleon
It’s 1810, and both Viscount Wellington and Emperor Napoleon have made great names for themselves as outstanding military commanders. Wellington expands his achievements in Spain but knows his most challenging test will be to face Napoleon’s mighty army. But when Wellington invades France in 1814 he gains a swift victory. He indulges in a spell of self-congratulation at Vienna – until news comes of Napoleon’s triumphant return. Napoleon, ambitious as ever, embarks on a Russian campaign which ends in disaster and is then defeated at Leipzig in the biggest battle ever fought in Europe. With Napoleon’s power waning at long last, Wellington must seize the opportunity to crush the tyrant once and for all – and so the two giants face each other for the final time, at Waterloo…
About the Author
Simon Scarrow is the very well-established author of a bestselling series of Roman adventure novels. He lives outside Norwich.
New Title: Divided Souls (Drake Academy)
Author: Gabriella Poole
Product Description
The Darke Academy is a school like no other. An élite establishment that moves to an exotic new city every term, its students are impossibly beautiful, sophisticated and rich.
Death has followed the Darke Academy to the ancient city of Istanbul. An unseen hunter is on the loose.
Scholarship girl Cassie Bell is fascinated by the city’s beauty, but there’s no time for her to relax. Torn between an old flame and a new romance, she must also choose between the select world of the Few and her loyalty towards her best friends.
And all the time a killer is stalking the Few. As Cassie is about to discover, no one is above suspicion.
Sometimes, the people you love can be the most dangerous enemies of all …
About the Author
The Darke Academy series has been written by experienced author Gabriella Poole and developed after extensive research with children by Hothouse Fiction (creators of the Darkside series for Scholastic, which won the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize in 2007).
Great Book: The Bro Code
Authors: Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn
Product Description
THE BRO CODE provides men with all the rules they need to know in order to become a “bro” and behave properly among other bros. THE BRO CODE has never been published before. Few know of its existence, and the code, until now, has been verbally communicated between those in the ‘bro’. Containing approximately 150 “unspoken” rules, this code of conduct ranges from the simple (bros before hos) to the complex (the hot-to-crazy ratio, complete with bar graphs and charts). With helpful sidebros THE BRO CODE will help any ordinary guy become the best bro he can be. Let ultimate bro and co-author Barney Stinson and his book, THE BRO CODE share their wisdom, lest you be caught making eye contact in a devil’s three-way (two dudes, duh.) Sample Articles from THE BRO CODE: Article 1: Regardless of veracity, a Bro never admits familiarity with a Broadway show or musical. Article 53: A Bro will, whenever possible, provide his Bro with prophylactic protection.Article 57: A Bro may not speculate on the expected Bro / chick ratio of a party or venue without first disclosing the present-time observed ratio.
About the Author
Barney Stinson works at a corporation, and regularly “suits up” to help his lovelorn and altogether pathetic bro Ted Mosby. Basically the coolest dude ever, Barney Stinson has been compared to the Fonz-but Barney is much, much more awesome. Stinson lives in New York, New York-and appears weekly on the hit CBS show “How I Met Your Mother” with his friends Ted, Robin, Lily and Marshall. Matt Kuhn is a staff writer for the CBS hit show “How I Met Your Mother” and helps write Barney’s Blog on the show’s website. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Book Recommendation: The Thick Of It
Authors: Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, and Ian Martin
Product Description
‘It’s the kind of f***-up that would normally have Malcolm Tucker, Number 10’s Communications Director, the master of spin and the “Matrix” spitting blood … No, the guilty party in this instance is none other than Tucker himself. The man who likes to keep an iron grip on every news item in the media and every policy announcement that comes out of the government, has only gone and LEFT A CONFIDENTIAL FILE ON A TRAIN: The DoSAC Files.’ Based around the idea that King of Spin Malcolm Tucker has lost a confidential and highly-damaging file on a train, this book is a collection of highly sensitive documents: personnel files, policy drafts, letters and emails, transcripts of phone calls, election campaign documents and top secret papers on the government’s media strategy for wars and recessions. There are also more personal documents such as the early drafts of Tucker’s diary, in no legal condition for publication. It’s explosive stuff, which could end careers on both sides, including Tucker’s own… From the team behind the award-winning and phenomenally successful The Thick Of It, and the Oscar-nominated In The Loop, comes the official tie-in book, The DoSAC Files. Written by the show’s creator Armando Iannucci along with his co-writers Jesse Armstrong, Tony Roche, Simon Blackwell and swearing consultant Ian Martin, The DoSAC Files looks set to be the political satire event of the year.
About the Author
Armando Iannucci is one of the most successful comedy writers and producers working today. In 1991 he received widespread acclaim for the satirical Radio 4 programme On The Hour, which he reinvented with co-writer Chris Morris as the multiple award-winning The Day Today (BBC2). Working with Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Patrick Marber, he also oversaw the creation and development of comedy character Alan Partridge, and turned performer himself with satirical show The Saturday Night Armistice. He has written a number of books including Facts and Fancies and The Audacity of Hype.Jesse Armstrong is the co-creator and co-writer of the award-winning Channel 4 comedy Peep Show. He has also written for Channel 4 sketch show Smack the Pony and the children’s series My Parents Are Aliens (CITV).?Before becoming a full-time writer in 1997, he worked for a Labour MP and a member of the shadow Home Affairs team.Simon Blackwell is currently writing a second series of The Old Guys for BBC1, and writes episodes of Peep Show (Channel 4). He also created and penned the Spitfire pilot sketches on The Armstrong and Miller Show (BBC1). Formerly a chief writer on Have I Got News For You, Simon’s other credits include Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression (BBC2), The Kumars at No. 42, Monkey Trousers, and the BAFTA-winning The Sketch Show, which re-emerged on US television starring Kelsey Grammar.Ian Martin joined The Thick Of It as ‘swearing consultant’ on Series 1 and is now part of the writing team. He wrote for the Oscar-nominated film In the Loop and was a major contributor to The Thick of It: The Missing DoSAC Files, published by Faber in November 2010. Ian has written for radio and newspapers. He edits the satirical website http://www.martian.fm and produces weekly columns for the Architects’ Journal and the Times Educational Supplement. He lives in Lancaster.Tony Roche is a TV and radio comedy writer. He created the Radio 4 series World of Pub and later adapted it for BBC2. His other credits include The All New Harry Hill Show (ITV1), Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression (BBC2), Smith & Jones (BBC1) and Dead Ringers (Radio 4). He also wrote and directed the award-winning short film How to Tell When a Relationship is Over.
New Title: Lego Crazy Action Contraptions (Kids)
Author: Doug Stillinger
Product Description
Sixteen brand new high performance Lego contraptions to make which spin, stretch and speed into action. Includes over 100 Lego pieces, kept in and a handy storage box, as well and a set of instructions.
Great Books: Malory Towers Bookset (Kids)
Title: Malory Towers Boxset
Author: Enid Blyton
About The Author:
Enid Blyton is one of the most-loved authors in children’s publishing. With over 700 titles published, Enid Blyton’s stories remain timeless classics, adored by children throughout the world.
Soon after Enid Blyton was born in 1897, she fell gravely ill with whooping cough. Her father, Thomas Blyton stayed up with her night after night until her cough subsided and she recovered. From that time on, Enid followed her father wherever he went, and it was through her father that she developed a love of nature and animals – an enthusiasm which stayed with her throughout her life. It was also her father who instilled in Enid her love of books, and she would often be seen sneaking into her father’s library and borrowing a pile of books.
As a young woman Enid was faced with many choices; her father had planned a career in music for her, while she felt drawn to writing. In the end, she became a teacher, though her passion for writing never dwindled. In 1922, a collection of poems by Enid was published – it was her first step toward her dream of becoming an author.
At 27 years old, Enid married Hugh Pollock and moved to London. Enid had two children with Hugh, and soon after wrote her first novel, The Adventures of the Wishing Chair. Enid divorced Hugh after almost 20 years of marriage, and remarried Kenneth Waters in 1943.
Throughout the 40 and 50s, Enid wrote books at a colossal pace: adventure stories, mysteries, magical stories, farming stories, stories for younger children, best-selling series like The Famous Five and Noddy…her writing knew no bounds!
Apart from breaks to play golf and spend time with her children, Enid’s working week was consumed with writing new stories, correcting proofs and answering the hundreds of letters she was, by now, receiving weekly. She explained that her characters evolved organically and her stories seemed to naturally form, she described herself as “merely a sightseer, a reporter, and interpreter.”
Enid fell ill with Alzheimer’s disease in her old age (a disease that affects people’s
memory) and she died in 1968. Her spirit lives on in her books and she is remembered as one of the most-loved and celebrated children’s authors.
Book Recommendation: The Boy In The Dress
Title: The Boy in the Dress
Authors: David Walliams and Quentin Blake
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks (25 Jun 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0007279043
ISBN-13: 978-0007279043
Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
Product Description
The sparkling debut children’s novel from David Walliams, co-creator and co-star of the multi-award-winning Little Britain. Dennis was different. Why was he different, you ask? Well, a small clue might be in the title of this book! Charming, surprising and hilarious — The Boy in the Dress is everything you would expect from the co-creator of Little Britain. David Walliams’s beautiful first novel will touch the hearts (and funny bones) of children and adults alike.
About the Author
Matt Lucas and David Walliams met in 1990 at the National Youth Theatre and were brought together by their shared love of Reeves and Mortimer. They have both starred in various TV and stage productions. Matt and David have written three bestselling series of Little Britain, and raised two million pounds for Comic Relief with a limited edition DVD. Recently they performed a record breaking run of their live show at the Hammersmith Apollo and have performed to over 650,000 people in the UK.
Great Book: Guinness World Records 2011
Title Guinness World Records 2011
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Guinness World Records Limited; Revised edition edition (16 Sep 2010)
ISBN-10: 1904994571
ISBN-13: 978-1904994572
Product Dimensions: 29.8 x 22.8 x 2.2 cm
Product Description
With a flaming holographic cover, the new GWR 2011 edition explodes with new and updated records. There’s 100% new photography and hot new categories and features including TV’s 75th anniversary, eye popping 3-D cinema, the historic Space Shuttle and a 270 city record-breaking GPS World Tour.
Book Recommendation: The Reunion
Title: The Reunion (The Vampire Diaries)
Author: L. J. Smith
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books (4 Oct 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0340945044
ISBN-13: 978-0340945049
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm
Product Description
Elena, brought back from the dead, calls on Stefan and Damon to recreate their powerful vampire trio. Together they must face incredible evil and battle against it with their combined strength, cunning and charm – only then can they find peace, and save the friends they have left behind…
About the Author
Lisa Jane Smith is the author of more than twenty books for young adults, including the bestselling Night World series. Since childhood she has been fascinated by the night and the way the ordinary world changes in moonlight. She lives in Northern California, in a rambling house in a small town.
Great Book: David Attenborough’s First Life
Authors: Matt Kaplan and Sir David Attenborough
Product Description
The epic story of the beginning of life on Earth from the much loved and respected naturalist, writer and broadcaster, Sir David Attenborough.Spanning billions of years, First Life reveals the extraordinary story of the evolution of the first life on Earth and how it then evolved into multicellular life, the first plant, the first animal, the first predator, the first to live on land: key moments in the development of the huge diversity of life that has lived on planet Earth.First Life travels the world, from Canada to Australia, Morocco to Scotland, to unearth the secrets hidden in prehistoric fossils and meet the palaeontologists who have harnessed new techniques to enhance greatly our understanding of the origins of life.With an introduction by David Attenborough, and insights captured during the making of the television series, this book is a journey of discovery, showing us what these early animals would have looked like and how they would have lived, bringing them to life with the help of modern computer technology. First Life shows us how evolutionary features of the first creatures have been passed down to modern animals, including humans, giving us amazing insight into the remarkable evolutionary journey that has brought us here today.
About the Author
David Attenborough is one of the world’s leading naturalists and broadcasters. His distinguished career spans more than fifty years, and his multi-award winning films and series have been broadcast around the world.He joined the BBC in 1952, launching his famous Zoo Quest series before rising to become controller of BBC Two and director of programmes for BBC Television. He returned to programme making in the 1970s and among his many acclaimed series are Life on Earth, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. First Life completes the series of programmes he has made over thirty years about animal evolution by taking us back to the beginning of life.
Book Recommendation: Autobiography of Mark Twain
Title: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 (Mark Twain Papers) Authors: Mark Twain, Harriet Elinor Smith, Benjamin Griffin, and Victor Fischer
Hardcover: 760 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (15 Oct 2010)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0520267192
ISBN-13: 978-0520267190
Product Dimensions: 25.7 x 18 x 6.1 cm
Product Description
‘I’ve struck it!’ Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. ‘And I will give it away – to you. You will never know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to dictating your autobiography.’ Thus, after dozens of false starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his ‘Final (and Right) Plan’ for telling the story of his life. His innovative notion – to ‘talk only about the thing which interests you for the moment’ – meant that his thoughts could range freely. The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be ‘dead, and unaware, and indifferent,’ and that he was therefore free to speak his ‘whole frank mind.’ The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain’s death. In celebration of this important milestone and in honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain’s works, “UC Press” is proud to offer for the first time Mark Twain’s uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly as he left it. This major literary event brings to readers, admirers, and scholars the first of three volumes and presents Mark Twain’s authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended
About the Author
Harriet Elinor Smith is an editor at the Mark Twain Project, which is housed within the Mark Twain Papers, the world’s largest archive of primary materials by this major American writer. Under the direction of General Editor Robert H. Hirst, the Project’s editors are producing the first comprehensive edition of all of Mark Twain’s writings
New Title: The Silver Eagle
Author: Ben Kane
Product Description
The Forgotten Legion – ten thousand legionaries made captive by the Parthians – has marched to Margiana on the edge of the known world. In its midst are Romulus, Brennus and Tarquinius, all men with good reason to hate Rome. Together the trio must face the savage tribes which constantly threaten the area. But other, more treacherous enemies lurk within the ranks of the Forgotten Legion itself. When all hope is lost, the three friends’ character will be tested to the utter limit. Meanwhile in Rome, Fabiola, Romulus’ twin sister, also fights to survive. Beset by enemies on all sides, she must travel to Gaul to find her lover, Caesar’s right-hand man. There tribal rebellion under the charismatic chieftain Vercingetorix threatens not just Caesar’s route to power, but his life and the lives of all who support him.
About the Author
Ben Kane was born in Kenya and raised there and in Ireland. He studied veterinary medicine at University College Dublin but after that travelled the world extensively, indulging his passion for ancient history. Now he lives in North Somerset, where he researches, writes and practises as a small animal vet. The Silver Eagle is his second novel. For more information please visit http://www.benkane.net
Great Book: Any Human Heart
Author: William Boyd
Product Description
Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, but Logan Mountstuart’s – lived from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century – contains more than its fair share of both. As a writer who finds inspiration with Hemingway in Paris and Virginia Woolf in London, as a spy recruited by Ian Fleming and betrayed in the war and as an art-dealer in ’60s New York, Logan mixes with the movers and shakers of his times. But as a son, friend, lover and husband, he makes the same mistakes we all do in our search for happiness. Here, then, is the story of a life lived to the full – and a journey deep into a very human heart.
About the Author
William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana and grew up there and in Nigeria. His first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Somerset Maugham Prize. His other novels are An Ice Cream War (1982, shortlisted for the 1982 Booker Prize and winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Stars and Bars (1984), The New Confessions (1987), Brazzaville Beach (1990, winner of the McVitie Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), The Blue Afternoon (1993, winner of the 1993 Sunday Express Book of the Year Award), Armadillo (1998), Any Human Heart (2002, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet) and Restless (2006, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year Award). His latest novel is Ordinary Thunderstorms (2009). Some thirteen of his screenplays have been filmed, including The Trench (1999), which he also directed, and he is also the author of four collections of short stories: On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie ‘X’ (1995), Fascination (2004) and The Dream Lover (2008). He is married and divides his time between London and South West France.
