Matt Dickinson – författare

It seemed like any other season on Mount Everest. Ten expeditions from around the world were preparing for their summit push, gathered together to try for mountaineering's ultimate prize. Twenty-four hours later, eight of those climbers were dead, victims of the most devastating storm ever to hit Everest. On the North face of the mountain, a British expedition found itself in the thick of the drama. Against all odds, film-maker Matt Dickinson and professional climber Alan Hinkes managed to battle through hurricane-force winds to reach the summit. In Death Zone, Matt Dickinson describes the extraordinary event that put the disaster on the front cover of Time and Newsweek. The desperate attempts of teams on the southern side of the mountain, fatal errors that led to the deaths of three Indian climbers on the North Ridge and the moving story of Rob Hall, the New Zealand guide who stayed with his stricken client, and paid with his life. Based on interviews with the surviving climbers and the first-hand experience of having lived through the killer storm, this gripping non-fiction book tackles issues at the very heart of mountaineering. Death Zone is an extraordinary story of human triumph, folly and disaster.

'The Butterfly Effect ': the scientific theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever.When a butterfly startles a young rabbit, and the rabbit makes a horse rear, it starts a chain of events, over the course of one day, that will change people's lives . . . and end people's lives.From a climber on Everest to a boy in Malawi . . . from a commercial pilot to an American psycho . . . the chaos knows no bounds.This heart-stopping adventure by writer, film maker and climber Matt Dickinson will leave readers breathless. It's the book Jack Bauer would have read as a teenager!

''The Butterfly Effect '': the scientific theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever. When a butterfly startles a young rabbit, and the rabbit makes a horse rear, it starts a chain of events, over the course of one day, that will change people''s lives . . . and end people''s lives. From a climber on Everest to a boy in Malawi . . . from a commercial pilot to an American psycho . . . the chaos knows no bounds. This heart-stopping adventure by writer, film maker and climber Matt Dickinson will leave readers breathless. It''s the book Jack Bauer would have read as a teenager!

Project X Alien Adventures takes you on an incredible reading journey with these 8 fantastic stories featuring the popular Project X characters Max, Cat, Ant and Tiger. Carefully levelled and highly motivating, these books are ideal for independent reading. This pack contains 1 copy of each of the following titles: The Regeneration Machine, The Sea of Memories, Powerless, The The Shadow Dimension, Cries of the Parasings, Steam Pirates, Out of the Flames, The Face of Fear. Each book contains notes on the inside front and back covers with advice on supporting older children with their reading, questions for readers, and a range of follow-up activities to help children develop their higher level comprehension and writing skills.

‘Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of 1966. Master of Wembley. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman of all time.’ These are some of the words inscribed beneath the statue of England’s World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore, at Wembley stadium. Since Moore’s death, of bowel cancer at just 51, these accolades represent the accepted view of this national treasure. But what do we actually know about Bobby Moore as a person? What about the grit alongside the glory?Moore was undeniably an extraordinary captain and player. Pelé called him the greatest – and fairest – defender he ever played against. His feats for West Ham United and England are legendary and his technical mastery of the game ahead of its time. Few footballers since have come close to his winning combination of intelligence, skill, temperament and class.Yet off the pitch, Moore knew scandal, bankruptcy, divorce and drink. What about the string of failed businesses, whispers of bad behaviour, links to the East End underworld and turbulent private life? Ignored by the football world post-retirement, this great of the game drifted into obscurity and, famously, there was no knighthood. Acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy who became the patron saint of English football, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full.

May 1996 began like most other climbing seasons on Mount Everest. The arrival of spring brought the usual pre-monsoon period, with teams of hopeful mountaineers ready to reach for the roof of the world. Among the dozens of climbers were Jon Krakauer and Anatoli Boukreev (who would both later write their own accounts of what followed) and Matt Dickinson. But on May 10, with ten different expeditions strung out along the mountain, the usual turned deadly. Suddenly, the temperature dropped from merely frigid to 40 degrees below zero. A killer storm with howling winds swept in and climbers were soon blinded in white-out conditions. Before it was over, the blizzard would claim a dozen lives, the worst loss of life in the modern history of climbing on Everest.Dickinson, an adventure filmmaker, was part of an expedition challenging the treacherous North Face of Everest, on the Tibetan side. Of the nearly 700 people who have scaled Everest since the first ascent in 1953, barely 230 have managed to ascend via the colder and technically more difficult route up the North Face. In addition to climbing through the storm, which would test him beyond his imagining, Dickinson also filmed the ascent. He and his team watched in awe as violent clouds gathered over the mountain and swept them all up in a frightening white force. Dickinson was a relative novice who had never climbed at this crushing altitude, and the storm preyed on his mind, throwing into question his entire mission. Despite this uncertainty and the treacherous conditions, Dickinson and his partner Alan Hinkes continued their climb, compelled to reach the summit.Dickinson''s first-person narrative--the only account of the killer storm written by a climber who was on the North Face--places the reader amid the swirl of the catastrophe, while providing rare insight into the very essence of mountaineering. The Other Side of Everest is a portrait of personal triumph set against the most disastrous storm to ever befall the world mountaineering community. Anyone who has ever pushed beyond familiar limits of physical and psychological endurance will cherish this book.  From the Hardcover edition.

In 1999, Manchester United completed a unique Treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League - but more remarkable than that was how they did it, and the stories behind the historic achievement. Matt Dickinson covered the whole story at the time, and now in 99 compelling chapters brings it all vividly to life. When the season began, Manchester United were up for sale, the club's iconic talisman Eric Cantona had gone, rivals Arsenal were the reigning Double winners, David Beckham was a national hate figure after being sent off during the World Cup, and even manager Alex Ferguson's position was being questioned. Early signs weren't promising, despite record spending to bring in new stars, among them Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke, but soon things began to change. Driven by the indomitable will of skipper Roy Keane, supported by a nucleus from the Class of 92 - Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, the Nevilles and Paul Scholes - who had grown up at the club, they went on a long unbeaten and unbeatable run, featuring some of the most dramatic games in fans' memories. Matt Dickinson highlights the key moments, speaking to those at the centre of the story and to those whose moment went unnoticed. 1999: Manchester United, the Treble and All That is so much more than a book for United fans; it is an insight into team building, the will to success and a tale of local pride. It reveals the real stories behind the legend that was sealed with a last-minute scrambled goal from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win the Champions League.

In 1999, Manchester United completed a unique Treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League - but more remarkable than that was how they did it, and the stories behind the historic achievement. Matt Dickinson covered the whole story at the time, and now in 99 compelling chapters brings it all vividly to life.When the season began, Manchester United were up for sale, the club's iconic talisman Eric Cantona had gone, rivals Arsenal were the reigning Double winners, David Beckham was a national hate figure after being sent off during the World Cup, and even manager Alex Ferguson's position was being questioned. Early signs weren't promising, despite record spending to bring in new stars, among them Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke, but soon things began to change.Driven by the indomitable will of skipper Roy Keane, supported by a nucleus from the Class of 92 - Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, the Nevilles and Paul Scholes - who had grown up at the club, they went on a long unbeaten and unbeatable run, featuring some of the most dramatic games in English football history.Acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson goes behind the scenes of the legendary Manchester United treble of 1999: a tale full of comebacks, drama and record-breaking feats. So much more than a book for United fans; it is an insight into team building, the will to succeed, a tale of local pride and of history-makers.

It seemed like any other season on Mount Everest. Ten expeditions from around the world were preparing for their summit push, gathered together to try for mountaineering's ultimate prize. Twenty-four hours later, eight of those climbers were dead, victims of the most devastating storm ever to hit Everest. On the North face of the mountain, a British expedition found itself in the thick of the drama. Against all odds, film-maker Matt Dickinson and professional climber Alan Hinkes managed to battle through hurricane-force winds to reach the summit. In Death Zone, Matt Dickinson describes the extraordinary event that put the disaster on the front cover of Time and Newsweek. The desperate attempts of teams on the southern side of the mountain, fatal errors that led to the deaths of three Indian climbers on the North Ridge and the moving story of Rob Hall, the New Zealand guide who stayed with his stricken client, and paid with his life. Based on interviews with the surviving climbers and the first-hand experience of having lived through the killer storm, this gripping non-fiction book tackles issues at the very heart of mountaineering. Death Zone is an extraordinary story of human triumph, folly and disaster.

‘Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of 1966. Master of Wembley. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman of all time.’ These are some of the words inscribed beneath the statue of England’s World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore, at Wembley stadium. Since Moore’s death, of bowel cancer at just 51, these accolades represent the accepted view of this national treasure. But what do we actually know about Bobby Moore as a person? What about the grit alongside the glory?Moore was undeniably an extraordinary captain and player. Pelé called him the greatest – and fairest – defender he ever played against. His feats for West Ham United and England are legendary and his technical mastery of the game ahead of its time. Few footballers since have come close to his winning combination of intelligence, skill, temperament and class.Yet off the pitch, Moore knew scandal, bankruptcy, divorce and drink. What about the string of failed businesses, whispers of bad behaviour, links to the East End underworld and turbulent private life? Ignored by the football world post-retirement, this great of the game drifted into obscurity and, famously, there was no knighthood. Acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy who became the patron saint of English football, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full.

'A ripping good adventure yarn with a thoroughly admirable heroine, a suitably black-hearted villain and such vivid descriptions of the sheer agony and awfulness of Antarctica you'll be reaching for the central heating switch as you read.' Irish Independent

Phytoplasmas are a group of bacteria that are capable of multiplying and causing severe diseases in a wide range of plant species and are transported between plants by insect vectors in which the bacteria can also multiply. Phytoplasmas can cause serious and devastating problems for crop plants, especially in developing countries. In Phytoplasmas: Methods and Protocols experts in the field cover topics pertinent to scientists intending to develop a research program on phytoplasmas. The volume opens with an introductory chapter on the importance of phytoplasma diseases, followed by methods for detection and diagnosis as well as techniques for separating and classifying the phytoplasmas into their different taxonomic groups and subgroups. The final chapters cover methods for separating phytoplasma genomic and plasmid DNA from plant DNA for whole genome sequencing. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Phytoplasmas: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal guide to plant pathologists and molecular biologists aiming to set up a diagnostics facility for identifying the presence of these pathogens in plants or their insect vectors.

Phytoplasmas are a group of bacteria that are capable of multiplying and causing severe diseases in a wide range of plant species and are transported between plants by insect vectors in which the bacteria can also multiply. Phytoplasmas can cause serious and devastating problems for crop plants, especially in developing countries. In Phytoplasmas: Methods and Protocols experts in the field cover topics pertinent to scientists intending to develop a research program on phytoplasmas. The volume opens with an introductory chapter on the importance of phytoplasma diseases, followed by methods for detection and diagnosis as well as techniques for separating and classifying the phytoplasmas into their different taxonomic groups and subgroups. The final chapters cover methods for separating phytoplasma genomic and plasmid DNA from plant DNA for whole genome sequencing. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Phytoplasmas: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal guide to plant pathologists and molecular biologists aiming to set up a diagnostics facility for identifying the presence of these pathogens in plants or their insect vectors.

TIME-TRAVELLING SQUIRRELS? WHAT CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!?Genius inventor Fandango has given the Pop-O-Matic 3000 a time-travelling tweak and birthday girl Gertrude is about to get the gift of her dreams.Her very own dinosaur.That’s the plan, but with the Popcorn-Eating Squirrels about, chaos is soon unleashed! Before you can say ‘Triceratops’, the squirrels are running amok 65 million years ago amongst the deadliest predators ever to roam the earth.There’s a ravenous pack of Velociraptors to be dodged. A baby to rescue. A family to save. An asteroid to be deflected from its deadly collision course.It’s all in a hungry day’s work for the Popcorn-Eating Squirrels.And Salty gets his chance to be the (slightly reluctant) hero of the hour.So get your teeth into this bone-crunching adventure and join the squirrels on their craziest journey yet!

‘The pilot barely saw them, just a flash of fur, a hint of creatures fast moving and feral. Two thuds came in quick succession. The plane veered violently to the left. The front wheel strut collapsed. Screams from the cabin. The port-side propeller hit the tarmac, shattering instantly in a carbon-fibre cloudburst.’Kian is on a journey. A journey he’s not sure he wants to make, deep into the Himalaya, tagging along on his dad’s expedition to test a new system for predicting earthquakes. He’s far from his friends and the world he knows and loves. Far from his mum who is about to give birth to a baby with her new partner. Then comes the crash and everything changes. Kian saves the life of an injured dog. He calls the stray A.J. and a bond is formed. A bond of trust, a bond of friendship. A bond which will be put to the ultimate test by the destructive powers of nature.Kian and his new friend reach Base Camp but the welcome is as icy as the slopes of Everest. Kian’s dad wants him to get rid of the dog. Can Kian and his dad resolve their differences before it is too late? What about the spooky way that A.J. seems to be able to predict earthquakes?Tension is building, deep beneath the ground. Kian and his father are in far more danger than they realise …What can A.J. sense? And is anyone ready to listen?

The Everest Files: a thrilling journey to the dark side of Everest.In the deepest Himalaya a story is spreading like wildfire. The story of an Everest expedition unlike any other.An expedition that ended with mysterious disappearances ... and death.This is the mystery that eighteen-year-old Ryan Hart sets out to solve.Ryan is on a gap year adventure, working for a medical charity in Nepal. When a local girl begs him to investigate why her sixteen-year-old friend Kami never came back from Everest, Ryan cannot resist the challenge.A solo journey takes Ryan deep into the mountains where his detective work finally pays off. What emerges is a shocking tale of lies, betrayal and obsession.All played out on the lethal slopes of the highest mountain in the world.Little by little Ryan is falling under Everest's deadly spell.

Liam loves visiting the local pet shop and is desperate to have his own snake. Then one day, Mr Nash, the owner of the shop, disappears.What has happened to Mr Nash? And how far will Liam go to get what he wants?SERIES INFORMATIONThis fast-paced story from Carnegie Medal-nominated author Matt Dickinson is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for teenagers and adults who want to improve their reading skills.Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to practice their reading skills and build up their reading confidence. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language.The books also include discussion and reflection questions that help readers to understand the story and to reflect on their own lives and relationships.Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books

Jason’s life is not going well. He doesn’t have a job and he’s been chucked out of his girlfriend’s flat.When he gets the chance to work on an oil rig, Jason hopes his luck has changed. But there he meets someone from his past who could get him into a whole new world of trouble.Can Jason get his head together and keep out of danger? Or will everything flare up around him and burn down his hopes and dreams?SERIES INFORMATIONThis inspiring story from Carnegie Medal-nominated author Matt Dickinson is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for adults and teenagers who want to improve their reading skills.Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to practice their reading skills and build up their reading confidence. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language.Flare Up also includes discussion and reflection questions that help to promote mental well-being. It encourages readers to look after their mental health by, for example, thinking positively, exercising, setting themselves goals and sharing problems with someone they trust. It also includes simple mindfulness activities and a calming breathing exercise to help reduce stress and anxiety.Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books

The Everest Files story continues in North Face ...Ryan Hart is an 18-year-old adventurer on a mission. To get himself to Mount Everest and check out the truth about the world's highest peak. Friends have told him dark stories about the mountain, outrageous things that he wants to see for himself.Just a few hours after Ryan arrives at Everest Base Camp a lethal earthquake strikes. Avalanches pound the glacier, burying Ryan's climbing buddy and killing many others. A desperate rescue saves Ryan's friend, but only after a local Tibetan girl Tashi helps with the search.Stress levels are running high among the climbing teams. The mountain is shut for the season because it is judged too dangerous.Then a flashlight reveals a clue. Someone is alive, high on Everest's treacherous north face!Tashi is convinced it is her 15-year-old brother.Ryan is prepared to risk everything to help.Storm clouds gather as they set out on their illegal climb, a do-or-die mission which the local militia will do anything to stop.

Lie Kill Walk Away is the latest teen thriller from Matt Dickinson, author of The Everest Files and Mortal Chaos.LieI check the Range Rover dash. The keys are in there.The sirens are closing in. There’s a police helicopter coming over the hospital.KillI have to decide. Decide right now. I can keep out of trouble. Not get involved. Just run away through the park and go home and pretend none of this has happened.Or I can help Becca.Walk AwayI stare into her eyes. Those deep blue eyes. Just for a split second.I tell her, ‘get in the car’.Joe and Becca uncover a deadly secret. A lethal bioweapon is about to be unleashed. Millions will suffer a terrible death.Now they are being hunted down.And their problems have only just begun …

Killer Storm: the third and final book in the Everest Files trilogy by Matt Dickinson.Teenage climber Ryan Hart is still in Nepal, working at a refugee centre with his Tibetan girlfriend, Tashi. His obsession with summiting Mount Everest is as strong as ever, but a climbing accident puts his plans on hold.As soon as Ryan recovers, he and Tashi journey deep into the Himalaya. Old friends have come back into their lives and invited them on the adventure. On the way they discover disturbing news: Nepal’s summer rains have failed and the country is in chaos. There are riots in the cities. Bandits roam the hills.As they arrive at Base Camp, a violent terrorist attack kicks off. Ryan and his friends are held hostage.Escape is their only option, but all the trails are guarded. They must head for Everest’s deadly slopes. The friends battle against the elements to keep one step ahead of the terror leader as the chase intensifies …Storm clouds gather high on the mountain.The scene is set for the ultimate Everest adventure.