Books with author Jane Chapman

The year is 2113. Britain has spent the last fifteen years recovering from a half century long war with mainland Europe; a war that desolated and destroyed unrelentingly; a war that tortured and took unforgivingly; a war that exacted mass bloodshed indiscriminately.Everybody lost something… for too many it was their life.But that was then, and this is now. Things are getting better. The country’s prospects are looking up. Hope is beginning to be restored. Those who were lucky enough to survive the conflict, while forever burdened by the memories of the past, at least can look forward to a future full of promise.Britain has re-emerged from the ashes like a phoenix and has somehow established itself once again as one of the world’s leading superpowers. Crime is down, health and wellbeing are up, and people are just about starting to smile again. And it is all thanks, predominately, to the entrepreneurial exploits of one man; Robert Stone.…..Fast forward nearly eighteen years and the picture is very different. The population is on edge again. Fear lingers in the air like a foul smell once more. The Death Penalty has been reintroduced. Punishment can be passed down to future generations. The hope that had been denied people for so long has once again slipped away like water through a sieve, and the echoes of unrest have spread to all four corners of the globe like a plague.Something happened. Something really, really terrible happened. And the whole world knows that there is only one person alive who is to blame.So, is there any wonder that this journalist is so desperate to meet Alex Gunn?

In 147 Things, Jim takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the best bits of everything, from the mind-blowing to the ridiculous. As with his videos, no subject is off-limits and he’ll lift the lid on his life and his relationships, sharing embarrassing stories and things he’s learnt along the way. If you’ve ever felt weirded out by the fact we’re seven billion (mostly) hairless apes spinning around a giant ball of flaming gas, or that we all begin as tiny humans INSIDE our mothers, or that many of us keep slightly-less-dangerous wolves in our homes, then you need this book in your life. Jim wants to inspire you with the sheer unlikelihood of us all being here and equip you to feel just a little less overwhelmed by the small stuff.

The James Bond epic is the most popular film series in silver screen history: it is estimated that a quarter of the world's population has seen a Bond feature. The saga of Britain's best-loved martini hound (who we all know prefers his favorite drink "shaken, not stirred") has adapted to changing times for four decades without ever abandoning its tried-and-true formula of diabolical international conspiracy, sexual intrigue, and incredible gadgetry.James Chapman expertly traces the annals of celluloid Bond from its inauguration with 1962's Dr. No through its progression beyond Ian Fleming's spy novels to the action-adventure spectaculars of GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. He argues that the enormous popularity of the series represents more than just the sum total of the films' box-office receipts and involves questions of film culture in a wider sense.Licence to Thrill chronicles how Bond, a representative of a British Empire that no longer existed in his generation, became a symbol of his nation's might in a Cold War world where Britain was no longer a primary actor. Chapman describes the protean nature of Bond villains in a volatile global political scene―from Soviet scoundrels and Chinese rogues in the 1960s to a brief flirtation with Latin American drug kingpins in the 1980s and back to the Chinese in the 1990s. The book explores how the movies struggle with changing societal ethics―notably, in the evolution in the portrayal of women, showing how Bond's encounters with the opposite sex have evolved into trysts with leading ladies as sexually liberated as Bond himself.The Bond formula has proved remarkably durable and consistently successful for roughly a third of cinema's history―half the period since the introduction of talking pictures in the late 1920s. Moreover, Licence to Thrill argues that, for the foreseeable future, the James Bond films are likely to go on being what they have always been, a unique and very special kind of popular cinema.

After tragic events cause her to lose the only love that she has known, Monica enters into a world of dark visions which threaten her survival and sanity, but she has learnt never to give up hope and eventually triumphs beyond her wildest dreams. The story line is drawn from Monica's many diary entries which depict a tale of courage, determination and the winning of a fight against all the odds. When you read this book you are witnessing events through Monica's eyes.

A funny, mischievous and lively book that has immense appeal both as a read-aloud and as a read-alone.Stevie and Joeli always have important things to tell each other. But sometimes keeping your lips zipped and your thoughts to yourself in class is just too hard. How will they get around the No talking rule? Or the All mobiles must be left on the teacher's desk during lessons rule? Or Miss Hall? Not how will they get around Miss Hall. She is easy to get around. Except in a doorway. Or a narrow hall. But how will they get around the problem of Miss Hall? Luckily Stevie and Joeli have a plan. And it works nearly almost some of the time. Written in 'note' form for junior readers.