Books with author Orion Publishing Group Limited

Richard Hammond describes his childhood and adolescence and the emergence of the adrenalin junkie, the first ridiculous stunts on his tricycle, and an increasing and near-obsessive attraction to speed and the smell of petrol. He finds an attractive girl, Mindy, who shares his interests and helps him organise his high-speed life. For such a lively and intelligent communicator, TV beckons and he becomes one of the daredevil trio, with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, who make such an enormous world-wide success of the revamped BBC-TV programme Top Gear. He describes the personalities, the camaraderie, and the stunts with which they entertain their weekly audiences until the day of his 300 mph crash that took Top Gear off the air and plunged a nation into mourning. The day of the crash, his rescue and the flight to hospital in a coma are described, and then Mindy recounts the anxious waiting until he finally emerges from his coma to immediately pull out all his life-support equipment. Richard then pieces together the stages of recovery as his shattered mind slowly reforms. We learn exactly what happened to him and the milestones in his slow recovery to full health. The final chapter recounts the return to Top Gear and the screening of the events of that fateful day.

Born in 1957 in Deptford, south London, Danny's first job after dropping out of school at the age of 15 was in One Stop Records, a small record shop in London's West End, frequented by Elton John and Mick Jagger, a store rather like the one in High Fidelity. His career in print journalism began in 1976 when he co-founded the fanzine Sniffin' Glue leading to an offer from the New Musical Express, where his first job was as a receptionist. Soon after, Baker was contributing regular astute articles, reviews and later interviews to the publication. Danny then began making 30-minute documentaries at LWT for the cult series 20th Century Box, and appeared in two television commercials: Daz washing powder and Mars bar chocolate. His stellar career on the radio began on BBC GLR in 1989, then moved to BBC Radio 5 where he presented sports shows including the ground-breaking 6-0-6, which still influences the media's approach to criticism of players, managers and referees. He also worked on BBC Radio 1, back to BBC GLR, Talk Radio and later on Virgin Radio. On his return to BBC last May, Danny won 'Sony Radio Personality of the Year' and appeared on Desert Island Discs last July. Six months earlier he had gone public on his cancer and chemotherapy treatment, and thankfully all seems well. Danny Baker currently presents a weekday show at BBC London 94.9, which features phone-ins and discussions with his on-air team regarding music and entertainment of the 1960s and 1970s, and a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 5.This book charts Danny's showbiz career, the highs and lows, and everything in between, including the accusation that he killed Bob Marley...Read by Danny Baker.

A classic collection of favourite nursery tales.... This is the book that every family needs, containing all the traditional stories that small children should first hear. Every one of them is universally known and loved: "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Elves and the Shoemaker", "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", "The Real Princess", "The Gingerbread Man", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "The Three Little Pigs", and "Jack and the Beanstalk".

'A wonderful idea, gloriously put into practice. Greg Jenner as is witty as he is knowledgeable.' (Tom Holland) 'Delightful, surprising and hilarious, this is a fascinating history of the everyday objects and inventions we take for granted.' (Lauren Laverne) Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the hidden stories behind these daily routines. This is not a story of politics, wars or great events, instead Greg Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising and sometimes downright silly nuggets from our past. Written and narrated in a chatty style by Greg Jenner, Historical Consultant to CBBC's multi-award-winning Horrible Histories, it is an entertaining history of all those things you always wondered - and many you have never considered. It is the story of our lives, one million years in the making.

East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the high crime rate. Murders go unsolved, OAPs are getting hoodwinked, children are missing. But word has spread: if you've got a case the police can't or won't touch, Isaiah Quintabe will help you out. They call him IQ. He's a loner and a high school dropout, his unassuming nature disguising a relentless determination and a fierce intelligence. He charges his clients whatever they can afford, which might be a set of tyres or some homemade muffins. But now he needs a client who can pay. And the only way to that client is through a jive-talking low-life drug dealer he thought he'd left behind. Then there's the case itself. A drug-addled rap star surrounded by a crew of flunkies who believes his life is in danger, a hit man who even other hit men say is a lunatic, and a monster killer dog. If he solves this case, IQ can put right a mistake he made long ago. If he doesn't, it won't just be the hit man coming after him....

Alan Gibbons takes us into Greek mythology in most exciting way with a powerful novel about a present-day boy, Phoenix, the son of a computer geek who creates a virtual reality game that gets a bit too real. In playing the game, Phoenix becomes Theseus pursued by the Minotaur, becomes Perseus and confronts the Gorgon, and goes down into the Underworld with Orpheus. His terrifying adventures are interwoven with the difficult reality of his life at home and at his new school. As always, Alan Gibbons writes with extraordinary understanding about contemporary children, but this time moves on to an action-packed and thrillingly dangerous story of fantasy worlds.

The dreadful secret that Torak carries with him at the close of Soul Eater is revealed, and he is cast out from the clans. It's his 14th summer. He's alone, cut off even from Wolf and Renn. Hunted and on the run, he takes refuge in unknown territory: the haunted reedbeds of Lake Axehead, where he is menaced by the Hidden People. Other threats lurk nearby, and his battle with the Soul-Eaters is far from over. As he fights for his life, Torak uncovers a deception too awful to contemplate, one that shakes him to the core and shatters his world.

More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than 19, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara. A seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, a genius at making icons to summon angels, and supremely adept in forcing them to do her bidding. Liliath already knew that most of the inhabitants of Ystara died from the Ash Blood plague or were transformed into beastlings, and she herself led the survivors who fled into neighbouring Sarance. Now she learns that angels shun the Ystaran's descendents. If they are touched by angelic magic, their blood will become ashes, or they will turn into beastlings. They are known as Refusers and can live only the most lowly lives. But Liliath cares nothing for the descendants of her people, save how they can serve her. It is four young Sarancians who fix her interest, for they are the key to her quest: Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, an adventurous musketeer cadet; and Dorotea, an icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic. The four feel a strange, immediate kinship from the moment they meet but do not know why or suspect their importance. Only Liliath knows their secret, and she draws them in to her complex plot, just as she manipulates Queen Louisa and her musketeers; King Ferdinand and his guards; Cardinal Duplessis and her pursuivants; and the Refuser Night King Biscaray and his criminal gangs. All become pawns in Liliath's grand scheme to fulfill her destiny and be united with the love of her life. No matter the cost to everyone else.

This is the incredible tale of Operation Fifth Column, a Second World War MI5 operation so secret that its existence was revealed by the National Archives for the first time only in 2014. Throughout the war and even for a couple of years afterwards, 'Agent Jack' - in reality, a bank clerk named Eric Roberts - acted as a Gestapo agent to whom hundreds of British-based Nazi sympathisers and informers passed their secrets, thinking that he was sending them back to Germany. Many were put on a salary by what they thought was the Third Reich, and some were even 'awarded' Iron Crosses for their services to the Fatherland; they never found out the truth. Among the secrets they tried to pass were: a tip-off about Bletchley Park; details of the deadly Mosquito bomber; and complete plans of a highly effective antiradar technology code named WINDOW. The larger-than-life characters who populate the book include Roberts himself, the deceptively ordinary-seeming bank clerk; Maxwell Knight, who recruited Roberts; Victor Third Baron Rothschild, Roberts' spymaster, who did a sideline in bomb disposal using his Cartier screwdrivers; Theresa Clay, the distinguished biologist who co-ran the operation with Rothschild, but because she was a woman was only ever classified as an 'assistant'; and Marita Perigoe, possibly the most dangerous of the fascists, who despite having her suspicions about Roberts, continued to recruit spies for him and pass him secrets to the end of the war.

The heart-pounding companion to the #1 Children?s Book Sense Pick The White Giraffe. Just as Martine is settling into life at Sawubona, the wildlife game reserve, with her grandmother and Jemmy, her white giraffe, she must leave for two weeks on a school trip off the coast of South Africa. What begins as an exciting sea adventure quickly turns perilous when Martine and five of her classmates are thrown overboard into shark-infested waters. They are saved by a pod of dolphins only to end up marooned on a deserted island. The castaways, at odds with one another, must figure out not only how to survive, but how to save the dolphins that have mysteriously beached themselves on the island?s shore. In a gripping tale of courage, friendship, and survival, Martine uses her healing gift and her bushcraft to help humans and animals alike. Look for Martine on the big screen?The White Giraffe will soon be made into a major motion picture from Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, starring Anna Sophia Robb.

Zara, Ziggy, and Zoe are three little witches who live together in Magic Wood, where anything can happen. Cups and saucers wash themselves up, letters sprout wings, a calendar sings a song, the signpost changes direction, and Wizard Wink's school moves from place to place. These seven stories show the little witches' daily doings and their preparations for a Hallowe'en party with Baby Dragon, the Troll family, two little wizard boys, and a horrid little witch named Melissa.

When Charm became Queen of Karisma, the Silversmith made her a precious gift. A bracelet. On it are fastened 13 silver amulets, called 'charms' in honour of the new queen. The bracelet is magic with the power to control the forces of nature and keep everything in balance. As long as Queen Charm, and she alone, has possession of the bracelet all will be well. And so it was until Zorgan, the evil magician, stole the bracelet and scattered the charms far and wide. Then there was chaos! Meanwhile, in our world (the 'Outworld' to Karismans), Sesame Brown is waiting to go shopping with her best friend Maddy. Little does she know she's about to be whisked away on the adventure of a lifetime. She's about to become a Charmseeker. Ses suddenly finds herself in a strange new land with castles and forests, princesses and magicians, the friendly tunganoras, Hob and Fig, and the less friendly gribblers. The race is on to find the charms and Sesame is determined to win. Charmingly written stories,appealing characters, a beautifully imagined world with its own language.