Ben Zabulis' Chartered Territory is a rich and diverse account of 16 years spent living and working abroad as an engineer, from the chaos of everyday life in Lagos to unique Hong Kong, via the conformity of salaryman life in Japan, and the wonders of the subcontinent. Personal accounts of climbing Mount Fuji and taking part in dragon boat races go hand in hand with events on a global scale, as the author experiences a Nigerian coup d'etat, the handover of Hong Kong from Great Britain to China, the terrifying SARS outbreak, and the opening of Bhutan to more commercial …

Our everyday lives are continually influenced by inventors whose ideas have led to commercial products available in most high streets across the civilised world. For the most part, these creative individuals have remained relatively unknown. Yet some of the companies set up by the successful inventors survive to this day, albeit with company names no longer associated with the original idea. Volume 1 of this two-volume set documents some of the key inventions from the Spinning Jenny invented by Hargraves in the late 18th century, to some of the most commercially successful ideas of the early 20th century.

We, four suburban 40-somethings, had all but ignored live music – proper live music – for 20 years. The Banshees, Buzzcocks, and The Smiths happened so long ago that they might have been in a different life. Live music now was a mum from Doncaster pretending to be the blonde one from Abba, and we needed help. Thankfully, it came when our children found indie rock, and demanded to see it up close. A night at Wembley with The Killers kick-started a five-year odyssey of 70 nights, 100 bands, and all of this: Superheroes in spandex, Viking Metallers in a …

In this collection of short stories, Vincent Cobb explores aspects of life that are both extraordinary and interesting, but often delve in to the otherworld of the supernatural. From the story of the remarkable but apparently ordinary Agnes Ward, whose discovery of cancer takes her on a journey out of this world, we meet Fred who is Dead. But no one has told him and he is dead, so he's a bit fuddled with the situation of his own funeral. Though things are going to get worse for him as the sins of the past catch up with all men. …

Meet the Honourable Thadeus Burke, son of a lord launching his career running an insurance business at Lloyd's of London. Yet, if Thadeus Burke hoped to find security and a quiet life, he could not have been more mistaken. For where the stakes are high, the cunning is low. The underworld finds its way into underwriting, and Thadeus finds himself drawn into the riddles and rewards of fighting crime. Mystery by mystery, Thadeus, his irrepressible sister Freddie, and the CID's Inspector Jackson follow cases from the world of horse racing to the world of jazz, from the early days of …

Aidan McRaney is a young man with secrets. After he has taken revenge - in company with Verdi Benson, 11 years his senior - on the man who violated and killed Aidan's 18-year-old sister Laurena, he decides he needs to escape for awhile. He leaves London to stay with his aunt and uncle in Dublin, where he meets Irish country singer Caitlan McKenna. She works in the bar near the quayside, where she sings. Caitlan has a boyfriend, but he is abusive. Aidan falls for the pretty 19-year-old girl. When Aidan rescues her from her greasy punk boyfriend, he is …