Books published by publisher Signal Books

In 1914, a party led by veteran explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton sets out to become the first to traverse the continent of Antarctica. Their initial optimism is short-lived, however, as the ice field slowly thickens, encasing the ship Endurance in a death-grip, crushing their craft, and marooning 28 men on a polar ice floe...In an epic struggle of man versus the elements, Shackleton leads his team on a harrowing quest for survival over some of the most unforgiving terrain in the world. Icy, tempestuous seas full of gargantuan waves, mountainous glaciers and icebergs, unending brutal cold, and ever-looming starvation are their mortal foes as Shackleton and his men struggle to stay alive.What happened to those brave men forever stands as a testament to their strength of will and the power of human endurance.This is their story, as told by the man who led them.

Shy boy Amadeo reigns supreme at table football in his local café. Taking on all comers he is one of “the unbeatables” with his loyal team of tiny foosballers. But there’s another “unbeatable” in town. Aggrieved by his only ever defeat at the hands of Amadeo in a foosball match when they were kids, Flash the town bully returns to seek revenge. Not only does he destroy the foosball table, but he challenges Amadeo to a game of actual football. Amadeo has never played real football - and Flash, with his insatiable quest for glory, has subsequently risen to become the world’s most famous soccer star. With the future of the village at stake and his foosballers scattered, the situation looks hopeless for Amadeo. Unless he can recruit the help of his eccentric fellow villagers and the girl he loves, Lara, to take on the world’s best football team captained by his nemesis Flash. And unless the foossballers can be reunited. “It’ll be like Barcelona against a non-league team with an injury crisis,” predicts Lara. What nobody predicts, however, is how Amadeo’s foosballers will affect the game… The Unbeatables novel is the ultimate fantasy football story. Expanding upon the original movie, the novel includes additional adventures and characters. Written for young adults (and not so young adults), the book is a scintillating, action-packed 90 minutes of end-to-end incident, comedic flair, goalmouth scrambles and dubious off the ball challenges on the ethos of the modern game. Praise for The Unbeatables: “The witty dialogue and banter makes for some very funny moments, while the digs at the excesses of modern footballers will ring true to followers of the Beautiful Game.” - Radio Times“The Unbeatables is great fun for young and old.” - Daily Express“Nice jokes at the expense of FIFA, overpaid prima donna footballers and slimy agents.” - Daily Mail“Lively and consistently funny.” - Irish Times“An utterly charming gem. Deft one-liners. Back of the net!” - Irish Independent

TWO YEARS IN THE FRENCH WEST INDIES Lafcadio Hearn Foreword by Raphael Confiant "Hearn is a passionate observer and a passionate sensualist...to the 20th century reader he provides an unparalleled evocation of a way of life, as well as a city (St. Pierre), that has long since disappeared." Times Literary Supplement In October 1887 the writer and translator Lafcadio Hearn sailed from New York to Martinique, where he fell under the spell of the island and its people. Intending to stay only a few months, he remained there for two years, immersed in Martinique's vibrant culture and tropical beauty. The result was one of the most detailed and poetic accounts of day-to-day life in the Caribbean ever written. Hearn, who was later to win fame for his ground-breaking books about Japan, viewed French-ruled Martinique as an exotic fusion of European, African and Asian influences, the Creole society par excellence. Describing the island's landscape, its flora and fauna, its colonial architecture and rural villages, he provides an invaluable picture of a Caribbean colony where slavery was a recent memory and race an all-important matter of identity. First published in 1890, Two Years in the French West Indies also offers the most complete evocation of the doomed city of Saint Pierre, "Paris of the Antilles", devastated twelve years later in one of the world's worst volcanic eruptions. Hearn's greatest achievement, however, is his sympathetic insight into the daily lives of ordinary Martinicans: market women, peasant farmers, plantation workers. Exploring their folk tales, music and the Creole language, he portrays a world of sensuality and mystery, in which traditional storytelling conjures up a darker dimension of sorcery, ghosts and zombies.

Rab Burnside, the youngest sailor in the Queen's Navy, is given a family heirloom, a steel cutlass that can be used for maximum good or ill. Rab lives with Jesse his competitive brother and Buttons, their quixotic grandfather, on the windswept coast of Newfoundland in the middle of Queen Anne’s War. One day, Buttons spots a mysterious ship sailing toward shore, doomed to crash into the shoals. Rab and Jesse scramble to save it and set in motion a series of events that take them on the trip of a lifetime, beginning with the court of Queen Anne of Great Britain. There, the queen informs the trio of a nefarious pirate named Captain John Smallbeer who is terrorizing the coast of England, kidnapping for ransom, and generally creating havoc on the high seas. Rab and his family’s quest is to find and capture the pirate and bring him to justice. The trio must first travel across England to meet the Prince-Baron of Durham, who can inform them of Captain Smallbeer’s whereabouts. But the prince-baron has a few obstacles awaiting the threesome, as he is fond of playing horrifying tricks on his guests. This is only the beginning of a series of adventures that take Rab and his small band around the world, often coming face-to-face with the sinister Captain Smallbeer, who steals Rab’s powerful cutlass. They must conquer the Beam of Justice in the Sahara, survive kidnappings and shipwrecks, put down revolts on the pampas, negotiate a perilous passage to the Pacific, and confront gathering armies in China.But can Rab ever capture the evil pirate Captain Smallbeer, who vows never to give up the Lost Cutlass?

This book, cosponsored by the SLOC Interfaith Roundtable, introduces the remarkable and diverse world of faith to a new generation. It is meant to be a glimpse, a taste, an awakening. Each page opens with a story that tells about the origins of a particular religion or denomination. The author talks about founding events in a simplified way, using the language of the religion/church under consideration. In discussing current practices, the focus is on infancy, coming of age, worship, and marriage rituals. Each page has been read by scholars and clerics from each religion to guarantee both accuracy and tone.The illustrator has chosen images that are representative of the rich heritage associated with each religion. She emphasizes scenes that include children at church, which illustrate differences and similarities in the way the world worships.The book is praised by former U. S. president Jimmy Carter who writes that the “concise, descriptive text and beautiful illustrations” make the book an “informative and entertaining resource for children and adults.” He is joined in his sentiment by Joan Campbell Brown, general secretary of the National Council of the Churches in Christ in America (“an attractive, sensitively written book”), and Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center (“a book that simply and accurately introduces children to the world’s religions” that is “lively and beautiful”).