Books published by publisher W.H. Allen / Virgin Books

Guy Martin, lorry mechanic, motorcycle racing legend, and favorite of the Isle of Man TT, lives for the buzz he feels racing his bike around terrifying bends at 200 mph. Nothing, he claims, can match it. Or can it? Guy is about to find out. . . Guy faces four dangerous and thrilling speed record challenges, pushing the boundaries of speed, and his body, to determine just how fast one man can go. Together with the best of British engineering and design, scientific research, ground breaking technology, and a Gold-medal-winning athlete or two, Guy attempts to pedal a bicycle over 100 mph by using the slipstream of an articulated lorry; build the world’s fastest human-powered aircraft; hydroplane a modified motocross bike across a 2-kilometre lake; and become the fastest man on a toboggan. Tying in with the Channel 4 television series, Speed offers the inside track—the feats of engineering, the science behind the speed, the history of the challenges, and Guy’s adrenaline-fueled, jaw-dropping attempts to break the records. How do you create an airplane frame that’s super light but safe enough to crash? What should you fill your bicycle tires with if common air will explode under the heat of 100mph speeds? And why is the shape of a peregrine falcon the ideal model for a toboggan? Exploring aerodynamics, surface tension, friction, gravity, and ground effect, Guy discovers how and why things go really fast.

This version of Robin Hood has Robin and his merry men, when the King's deer manage to evade their arrows, dining out at McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and eating jam sandwiches. Nevertheless, they are still more than willing to do battle with Robin's arch enemy Sir Guy de Custard Gisborne. The fair Maid Marion, of course, is the object of much of Robin's attention, and his pursuit of the beautiful Marion leads him and his men into many adventures. Lucky for him that his band of outlaws include the immensely strong Big Dick and immensely insolent Groucho Marx. Paying scant regard to any previous versions of this age old folk tale, Spike thunders through his riotous story like a runaway horse through Sherwood.

Shackleton's descendants take on the expedition that beat him, in the most extreme Antarctic challenge known to man.On the 29th of October 1908, a party of four men, led by Ernest Shackleton set out to be the first to reach the South Pole. Three months later, their mission was in ruins and they faced certain death if they carried on. Just 97 miles from the South Pole, Shackleton turned back.One hundred years on, in October 2008, a team that included descendants of that original party, led by Henry Worsley, set out from Shackleton's hut to celebrate the centenary of his expedition by retracing the exact 870 mile route and going on to finish the last 97 miles. This captivating book explores the history of the original expedition and the reasons behind its failure, and also captures the pioneering spirit and sense of adventure of the recent expedition.

Capeside - where the sun always shines and there's always some hot gossip. And where Dawson, Joey and Pacey have long been captivating viewers and building audiences across the globe. As well as a full, up-to-date and complete overview of all four seasons, an episode-by-episode guide including categories such as The Ballad of Dawson and Joey(and Pacey), Family Sucks!, On the Couch and Kiss and Tell, this unoffical guide also provides a look at the characters, the spin-offs and sites, and places the show in its cultural context. This book is perfect for seasoned fans or newcomers to the show. With nothing but success in store for future seasons of the show, this is one book you can't do without!

For the first time ever_a comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth-century's most innovative creative artists: the incomparable, irreplaceable Jim Henson. He was a gentle dreamer whose genial bearded visage was recognized around the world, but most people got to know him only through the iconic characters he created: Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Miss Piggy, Big Bird. The Muppets made Jim Henson a household name, but they were only part of his remarkable story. This extraordinary biography--written with the generous cooperation of the Henson family--covers the full arc of Henson's all-too-brief life: from his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, through the years of burgeoning fame in Washington D.C., New York, and London, to the decade of international celebrity that preceded his untimely death at age fifty-three. Drawing on hundreds of hours of new interviews with Jim Henson's family, friends, and closest collaborators, as well as unprecedented access to private family and company archives--including never-before-seen interviews, business documents, and Henson's private letters--Brian Jay Jones explores the creation of the Muppets, Henson's contributions to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, and his nearly ten year campaign to bring The Muppet Show to television. Jones provides the imaginative context for Henson's non-Muppet projects, including the richly imagined worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth_as well as fascinating misfires like Henson's dream of opening an inflatable psychedelic nightclub or of staging an elaborate, all-puppet Broadway show. An uncommonly intimate portrait, Jim Henson captures all the facets of this American original: the master craftsman who revolutionized the presentation of puppets on television, the savvy businessman whose deal making prowess won him a reputation as "the new Walt Disney," and the creative team leader whose collaborative ethos earned him the undying loyalty of everyone who worked for him. Here also is insight into Henson's intensely private personal life: his Christian Science upbringing; his love of fast cars, high-stakes gambling, and expensive art; and his weakness for women. Though an optimist by nature, Henson was haunted by the notion that he would not have time to do all the things he wanted to do in life_a fear that his heartbreaking final hours would prove all too well-founded. An up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, Jim Henson gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture_and continues to beguile audiences worldwide.