New Non-Fiction Books

At the age of sixty, and having lived with Parkinson’s disease for over ten years, Guy Deacon CBE set out on one last adventure: to drive solo from his home in the UK 18,000 miles and through twenty-five countries to Cape Town on the southern tip of Africa. This incredible journey, across Europe and down the full length of Africa, took the former British Army officer over twelve months. Along the way, he broke down five times, underwent one emergency evacuation, and took 3,650 prescription pills. There are only a handful of vehicles each year which attempt this difficult journey; many never complete it. Ongoing conflicts in Libya, South Sudan, Mozambique and many other countries make any journey exceptionally dangerous. In central Africa, road conditions, particularly in the rainy season, often make the going treacherous. Further hazards include illegal checkpoints, extortion, contaminated fuel and a lack of services. Guy drove, lived and slept in his VW Transporter, often in remote spots, hundreds of miles from the nearest village or town. Reliant on patchy GPS, he often got lost. His journey was, quite simply, an incredible feat by a man travelling alone with Stage 3 Parkinson’s disease, when simply putting on a pair of shoes can take half an hour. But not only did Guy’s journey fulfil a childhood dream to drive the length of Africa, his mission was also to raise global awareness of Parkinson’s disease, for which there is currently still no cure. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781802471885 • Author: Guy Deacon • Publisher: Ad Lib Publishers Ltd • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 240 • Dimensions: 20 x 13 x 2cm

Partygate? More like party GREAT! While the UK locked down to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Boris Johnson's Number Ten played host to a series of boozy shindigs. Now, for the first time, you can learn to get wasted like they do in Whitehall. The Downing Street Party Guide will take you through every stage of a successful, pandemic-defying bash, from drafting invitations to answering awkward questions later. Contents include: Decor tips to avoid a 'John Lewis nightmare', The perfect playlist to start a Cabinet conga line & How to handle the subsequent police investigation. WHAT HAPPENS IN DOWNING STREET STAYS IN DOWNING STREET...UNTIL SOMEONE LEAKS IT.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781035410569 • Author:  Verity Bigg-Knight  • Publisher:  Wildfire • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  176 • Dimensions:  12.8 x 1.8 x 19.6 cm

In 1980, at the age of ten, Loung Ung escaped a devastated Cambodia and flew to the US as a refugee. She and her eldest brother, with whom she escaped, left behind their three surviving siblings, and her book is alternately heart-wrenching and heart-warming, as it follows the parallel lives of Loung and her closest sister, Chou, during the 15 years it took for them to be reunited. Their two worlds were very different, and Loung's depiction of the contrast between her life in the affluent West and that of her sister, who navigated her way through landmine-strewn fields and survived raids by the Khmer Rouge, is laced with the guilt she feels about being the lucky one. This powerful story helps us to understand what happens when a family is torn apart by politics, adversity and war. It is also the compelling and inspirational tale of a remarkable woman.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781845963088 • Author:  Loung Ung  • Publisher:  Mainstream Publishing • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  304 • Dimensions:  12.9 x 1.8 x 19.81 cm

One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the sporting calendar, the 17th edition of the UEFA European Championship will take place in Germany in June-July 2024, with 24 teams competing for the most prestigious international prize in the European game. UEFA EURO 2024: The Official Book covers every aspect of the tournament, including a comprehensive analysis of each national team and its chances of success, and a detailed look at the players expected to grab the headlines. It also contains a guide to the 10 stadiums and host cities, a fill-in tournament chart, the story of qualifying and a selection of magic moments. Packed full of facts and stats and fully illustrated with a great collection of action photographs, UEFA EURO 2024: The Official Book is suitable for fans of all ages and is the perfect accompaniment to 2024's biggest football event. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781802797527 • Author: Keir Radnedge • Publisher: Welbeck • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 128 • Dimensions: 18.5 x 1.8 x 24.4cm

Louise gets a frantic call to take in a damaged and destructive young girl. Separated from her siblings, Sparkle is hostile and angry. A short while after settling in, Sparkle begins to identify as pansexual. A revolution is underway in the Allen household, with Sparkle’s transition motivating all of the young people to explore what becoming an adult means for them. But it’s Sparkle’s escalating behaviour that causes concern. Discovering a dark fact about Sparkle’s birth and the shocking events that the children in her house were part of, Louise is desperate for more help – and not just for the child in her care. As Sparkle’s erratic and violent behaviour increases, Louise finds herself and her homelife under serious threat. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781915306555 • Author: Louise Allen • Publisher: Mirror Books • Format: Paperback • Pages: 288 • Dimensions: 19.9 x 2.4 x 12.9 cm

It is impossible not to have fun adding colour to this captivating collection of mehndi designs.  Whether you're completing hypnotic paisley prints, exotic birds or beautiful flowers, The Mehndi Colouring Book will entertain you for hours. With over 120 intricate designs to colour, this activity book is the perfect gift for the artist in your life and a fantastic source of inspiration for anyone looking to create their own designs.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781802797176 • Author:  Beverley Lawson  • Publisher:  Welbeck Publishing • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  128 • Dimensions:  21.7 x 1 x 27.9 cm

Follow the D-Day landings through a unique collection of historical maps, expert commentary and dramatic photographs.  The Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944 were the greatest amphibious assault in history, requiring almost two years of meticulous planning and the largest co-ordinated mapping effort the world has ever seen. More than 200 illustrations demonstrate how the D-Day landings unfolded, along with detailed descriptions of what happened on that momentous day. This collection of incredible maps uncover the events that led up to D-Day, the planning for the assault and the progress of the liberating forces afterwards. Dramatic photographs help to illustrate the key historical events that took place during Operation Overlord. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008358266 • Author: Richard Happer • Publisher: Times Books • Format: Paperback  • Pages: 208 • Dimensions:  19.5 x 2 x 25cm 

When Jo Lancaster, the first British pilot to eject in an emergency, triggered his ejection seat in 1949, it took thirty seconds before he was safely away from the aircraft and under his parachute.  Since those first post-Second World War ejections, many tens of thousands of lives have been saved by increasingly sophisticated escape systems. When John Nichol’s Tornado was blasted out of the sky during the 1991 Gulf War, a mere 2.5 seconds elapsed between pulling the ejection handle and his parachute opening. Today, the newest seats can automatically initiate ejection if the system decides the pilot faces mortal danger and cannot react quickly enough. Now, Nichol tells the incredible story of the ejection seat in war and in peace – of the pioneers who risked everything during the early days of development in the 1940s and 50s, of the designers who went head to head with the authorities in order to realise their vision, and of the extraordinary men and women who were given a second chance at life after facing disaster. We see how the technology was adapted when the prospect of crashing in North Vietnam was sometimes preferable to ejecting and risking capture; what happens to the body when it is catapulted from an aircraft under great force; how an ejectee can be rescued from enemy territory. Packed with gripping action and cutting-edge science, Eject! Eject! is fuelled by dramatic, deeply moving and previously unheard first-hand accounts by ejectees and their families. Because pulling the yellow-and-black ejection handle is just the start of the story. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781398509405 • Author: John Nichol • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK • Format:  Hardcover • Pages: 496 • Dimensions: 18.1 x 23.6 x 3.6 cm