Non Fiction – serie

Tarkovsky's diaries were widely reviewed and considered to be a valuable addition to the Tarkovsky canon. The diaries cover his work in the Soviet Union and the increasing difficulties he encountered there followed by his exile in Europe. They are professional and personal: thoughts on film sit alongside household chores, notes about friends and family. The diaries have been translated by Kitty Hunter-Blair. Andrey Tarkovsky was born in the Soviet Union in 1932 and trained as a film-maker at VGIK under the tutelage of Mikhail Romm. His films made in the Soviet Union include "Rublev" and "Mirror". He left the USSR to live in France and Italy and his other films include "The Sacrifice", "Nostalgia", "Stalker" and "Solaris".

Marx and Engels invented it; Lenin volunteered Russia for the honour of trying it; the Soviet people had to live with it.. This tongue-in-cheek travel guide is a cherishably witty insight into the chaotic, bewildering and sometimes scary society that resulted from this heroically doomed effort to "build Communism". It teaches you basic Soviet survival skills including how to queue for useless products, bribe your way into empty restaurants and contravene anti-alcohol measures.'The authors' pen is driven not only by a blind hatred of socialism but also a genuine pathological medical condition.' Young Communists' Pravda (1986).'In 1986 USSR was a prescient, hilarious and inspirational take on the evil empire. For Soviet totalitarianism ridicule was a deadly foe. To Polonsky and Taylor, the thanks of all those who were once captive and are now free.' Edward Lucas, International Editor, Economist

On Mount Washington, it’s lack of preparation, not the mountain, that kills. The weather is highly changeable with wind gusts of 140 mph and -35 degree temps. Then there are the avalanches and icefalls. Combine this with inexperienced hikers in t-shirts and flip flops and things can get ugly fast.Death on Mount Washington describes the circumstances behind the tragic tales of those who have lost their lives on the mountain. No one--not even the most experienced mountaineer or pilot--is safe from the mountain's mercurial weather conditions. Learn from the mistakes of others in the comfort and safety of your armchair and remember to respect Mount Washington on your next ski trip.

Andre Diniz tells the extraordinary story of Mauricio Hora, who lives in one of the most dangerous slums (favelas) in Rio, Brazil.In spite of the odds, Hora has made a name for himself internationally as a photographer. We are led from his challenging childhood living with his drug dealer father up to the present day.

Since 2010, Martin Rowson has been documenting the highs and lows – mainly the lows – of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition week after week in The Guardian, as well as in The Morning Star, Tribune and many other publications.This book collects Rowson’s best, most brutally funny, cartoons from a period that began with a “big, open, comprehensive offer” to Nick Clegg, continued on through riots, phone-hacking, double-dip recession, and endless debates on Europe, and will end (perhaps) with the general election in 2015. Accompanied by witty explanatory text, The Coalition Book takes a biting satirical look at Cameron and Clegg’s first – and perhaps last – five years in charge. The book contains a foreword by Will Self.

Filiu and David B. draw striking parallels between ancient and contemporary political history in this look at the US-Middle East conflict. The reader is transported to the pirate-choked Mediterranean sea, where Christians and Muslims continue the crusades, only this time on water. As the centuries pass, the traditional victims of the Muslim pirates--the British, French, and Spanish--all become empire-building powers whose sights lie beyond the Mediterranean.