Books published by publisher HarperCollins Publishers May-23-2006

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships - and the story of one woman's terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom. As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom, and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed, surely her country could not be, as she had been told "the best on the planet". Aged 17, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be 12 years before she was reunited with her family. She could not return, since rumours of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities - involving imprisonment, torture and possible public execution. Hyeonseo instead remained in China and rapidly learned Chinese in an effort to adapt and survive. And 12 years and two lifetimes later, she would return to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea on one of the most arduous, costly and dangerous journeys imaginable. This is the unique story not only of Hyeonseo's escape from the darkness into the light but also of her coming of age and education and the resolve she found to rebuild her life - not once but twice - first in China then in South Korea. Strong, brave and eloquent, this memoir is a triumph of her remarkable spirit.

The fifth screamingly funny novel from David Walliams, number one best seller and fastest growing children's author in the country. Hot on the heels of best-selling Gangsta Granny comes another hilarious, action-packed and touching novel - the story of a little girl called Zoe. Things are not looking good for Zoe. Her stepmother Sheila is so lazy she gets Zoe to pick her nose for her. The school bully Tina Trotts makes her life a misery - mainly by flobbing on her head. And now the evil Burt from Burt's Burgers is after her pet rat! And guess what he wants to do with it? The clue is in the title.... From the author that is being called 'a new Roald Dahl', Ratburger is not to be missed!

In February 1941 British Command surrendered to the Nazis. Churchill has been executed, the King is in the Tower and the SS are in Whitehall.... For nine months Britain has been occupied - a blitzed, depressed and dingy country. However, it's business as usual at Scotland Yard, run by the SS, when Detective Inspector Archer is assigned to a routine murder case. Life must go on. But when SS Standartenfuhrer Huth arrives from Berlin with orders from the great Himmler himself to supervise the investigation, the resourceful Archer finds himself caught up in a high-level, all-action espionage battle. This is a spy story quite different from any other. Only Deighton, with his flair for historical research and his narrative genius, could have written it.

The complete, unabridged audiobook of A Storm of Swords. HBO's hit series A Game of Thrones is based on George R. R. Martin's internationally best-selling series A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A Storm of Swords is the third volume in the series. The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud, and winter approaches like an angry beast. Beyond the Northern borders, wildlings leave their villages to gather in the ice and stone wasteland of the Frostfangs. From there, the renegade Brother Mance Rayder will lead them South towards the Wall. The men of the Night's Watch are ready for the coming of a great cold and the walking corpses that travel with it. But now they face a horde of wildlings 20000 strong - hungry savage people steeped in the dark magic of the haunted wilderness - poised to invade the Kingdom of the North where Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown. But Robb's defences are ranged against attack from the South, the land of House Stark's enemies the Lannisters. His sisters are trapped there, dead or likely yet to die, at the whim of the Lannister boy-king Joffrey or his depraved mother Cersei, regent of the Iron Throne. Cersei's ambition is unfettered while the dwarf Tyrion Lannister fights for his life, a victim of treachery. And on the other side of the ocean, the last of the Targaryens rears the dragons she hatched from her husband's funeral pyre. Daenerys Stormborn will return to the land of her birth to avenge the murder of her father, the last Dragon King on the Iron Throne.

A brilliantly funny, gripping novel from a born storyteller, The Parent Agency is an epic wish-fulfilment adventure for every child - and for the child in everyone.Barry said, a third time, "I wish I had better parents!" And then suddenly the entire room started to shake. Barry Bennett hates being called Barry. In fact it's number 2 on the list of things he blames his parents for, along with 1) 'being boring' and 3) 'always being tired'.But there is a world, not far from this one, where parents don't have children. That's far too random for something so big and important. In this world, children are allowed to choose their parents.For Barry Bennett, this world seems like a dream come true. Only things turn out to be not quite that simple.

The incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, now a major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. Motion Picture Artwork Universal Studios 2014. All Rights Reserved. The international number one best seller In 1943 a bomber crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Against all odds, one young lieutenant survives. Louis Zamperini had already transformed himself from child delinquent to prodigious athlete, running in the Berlin Olympics. Now he must embark on one of the Second World War's most extraordinary odysseys. Zamperini faces thousands of miles of open ocean on a failing raft. Beyond like only greater trials, in Japan's prisoner-of-war camps. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini's destiny, whether triumph or tragedy, depends on the strength of his will ... Now a major motion picture, directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Jack O' Connell.

The real nightmare starts when her daughter is returned.... A bone-chilling psychological thriller that will suit fans of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Daughter by Jane Shemilt, and The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. A girl is missing. Five years old, taken from outside her school. She has vanished, traceless. The police are at a loss; her parents are beyond grief. Their daughter is lost forever, perhaps dead, perhaps enslaved. But the biggest mystery is yet to come: one week after she was abducted, their daughter is returned. She has no memory of where she has been. And this, for her mother, is just the beginning of the nightmare.

A desert-island adventure, and a subtle observation of friendship, trust and humanity. Winner of The Children’s Book Award. Superbly read by DEREK JACOBI. When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parents’ yacht, he struggles to survive on his own. He can’t find food and he can’t find water, and as Michael and his dog curl up to sleep, he knows they cannot last long. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death, the mysterious stranger – Kensuke – allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.

With a new foreword by Ken Blanchard. The original, best-selling blockbuster which has transformed businesses worldwide. The blockbuster number-one international best-selling phenomenon is back...not that it ever really went away. This easily read story quickly demonstrates three very practical management techniques: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands. The One Minute Manager also includes information on several studies in medicine and in the behavioural sciences, which help readers understand why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people. The book is brief, the language is simple, and best of all...it works.

A frozen palace and a sparkling secret - an epic Russian adventure awaits! Anna Orlov might be the luckiest girl in the world. She is the daughter of a Russian Count and lives in a beautiful snowbound palace that is home to a menagerie of wonderful animals: tigers, wolfhounds and, of course, horses. And she is the owner of a beautiful heirloom - a diamond necklace with a secret past. But when Anna defies her father's wishes and secretly raises a young colt alongside her pet tiger cub, her actions will have far-reaching consequences. And soon Anna, her tiger and her horse will be fighting for survival in the frozen tundra of Siberia.... An epic adventure of horses, friendship and sparkling secrets!

A personal and powerful essay from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the best-selling author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun, based on her 2013 TEDx talk of the same name. 'I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently. We must also raise our sons differently....' What does feminism mean today? In this personal, eloquently argued essay - adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers listeners a unique definition of feminism for the 21st century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now - an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant Ace Detective Snappy Dresser Razor–tongued Wit Crackerjack Sorcerer and Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton —as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old. These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil. The end of the world? Over his dead body.