After the 'unsinkable' RMS Titanic - a White Star liner - struck an iceberg during her maiden voyage over the Atlantic on 14 April 1912, the ship sank with 1,503 people losing their lives. This companion includes fascinating archive illustrations, of which some have not previously been published, and facts about the fateful ship including why it was built and the events which led to the tragedy. Discover how, when Titanic was launched for the first time, an estimated 100,000 gathered at Belfast to see her enter the water and that there were 3,000 tons of coal in readiness for the ship's trial on Monday 1 April with bunkers which would smoulder from then until the hull was submerged in the Atlantic ocean on 13 April. Learn the particulars of the ship itself, including how there were four passenger lifts aboard the ship (some of the first afloat), stained glass in the Smoking Room was used to conceal the uptake to the fourth funnel, which was used as a vent, and the swimming pool was filled with heated salt water and First-Class passengers paid 4s for its use. The book doesn't shy away from the truth, acknowledging that, despite stories of the time, the £1.5 million Titanic travelled at a speed that was insufficient to break the North Atlantic speed record. There are also brilliant photos and images included, from images of the exterior and interior of the ship such as a shot of the framework surrounding the Titanic in the shipway as it was built, a photo of the Titanic in all its glory as the fourth (and last) funnel was erected, and a glimpse into a First Class suite decorated in the Empire style, to photographs of people on the ship, such as film star Dorothy Gibson who was a passenger, Mabel Evina Martin who was the second cashier in the elite restaurant, and the two Marconi operators 'Jack' Phillips, first wireless operator and Harold Bride, the second operator. This is a thorough companion that offers insight and detail into how the ship was built and how it came to sink. 7.3" x 4.9", black and white and colour photos and images, 128pp.

Sub-titled 'Shadow Banks, Ghost Cities, Massive Loans and the End of the Chinese Miracle' this is a penetrating examination of the country's opaque financial system and the complex factors of demographic shifts, urbanisation, industrialisation and over-reliance on debt-fuelled investments. This has brought the county to the brink of crisis. Anchored by stories of China's cities and its people, from factory workers and displaced farmers, to government officials and entrepreneurs, the narrative will take readers inside zombie companies, start-ups and regulatory institutions as McMahon explains how things got so bad, why fixing the problems is so hard, and what the economic outlook means for China and the rest of the world. China was once dominated by four state-owned banks. President Xi Jinping issued an urgent call for reform that gave the country until 2020 to transform its economy, yet the inner workings of its financial system are still very much a mystery to most outsiders. Until this book. Now more than ever, as the country's slowing economy is being felt around the globe, it is essential to understand how China allowed its economy to become so mired in debt. An informed analysis animated by anecdotes and characters, some colourful, some verging on tragic. A most engaging economy lesson. 256pp, large softback.

The award-winning TV adventurer and travel writer's enthralling account of his 5,000 mile expedition around the Arabian Peninsula, from Iraq to Lebanon, in the winter of 2017. He gives a vivid picture of this ancient and beautiful but sad, war-torn and misunderstood region. Following in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, the book is an insight into Levison Wood's most complex and daring expedition yet - a journey through 13 countries circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula. Honest, reflective and poignant, it an historical, religious and spiritual journey through some of the most harsh and beautiful environments on earth and exploring the Middle East through the lives, hearts and hopes of its people. Engaging and educational, we see things from a different perspective and the book is at times heart-warming and funny and makes you giggle, and at others you are sad by the weariness of the former paratrooper and major in the army reserves who must be tough as nails. 354pp, paperback, 16 pages of colour photos.

Anyone for cricket and a spot of burglary? An idle conversation on the merits of the glorious game with an old Etonian chum is just the excuse Blotto needs to put himself forward for a cricket tour to foreign climes. So begins the next adventure for our intrepid duo Blotto and Twinks bound for India on a steamer full of young woman desperate to marry well there - only once having encountered the dashing Blotto, a lot of them fancy the idea of getting married before they reach their destination. Unbeknownst to the siblings, also on the ship is the international jewel thief Monsier le Vicomte Xavier Douce, passing himself off as one of Blotto's cricketing entourage. His real mission though is to steal the diamond which adorns the turban the Maharajah of Koorbleimee. The Dowager Duchess has no problems in letting her two children go to the subcontinent since having her beautiful daughter Twinks married off to a massively rich Maharaja offers the Dowager Duchess the prospect of a permanent solution to the cash-draining maintenance of the Tawcester Towers' plumbing. Another good dollop of hair-raising adventure from the aristocratic sleuthing duo. 232pp.

The BBC TV series Peaky Blinders was a hit from its first showing in 2013. Transforming our perception of Birmingham of a century ago with swagger, glamour and extreme violence - not to mention a visceral soundtrack - we see the charismatic yet deeply flawed Shelby family prowl the second city's dingy backstreets leaving bloody chaos in their wake as they strive to remain the Birmingham's top gang. But who were the real Peaky Blinders, and how close to the truth is the show? Leading historian Prof. Carl Chinn discovered his own PB heritage back in the 80s and is himself the son of an illegal bookmaker and was thus able to draw on a wealth of totally original photos and interviews with family and friends to write this book. First myth to dispel is that the name was not derived from the practise of fitting razor blades to the specially stiffened peaks of their flat caps to create a fearsome weapon. While some real-life PBs may have done this, the real reason was their fashion for pulling the peak of their cap to one side of their heads, thus covering (or blinding) one eye. Secondly, there was not one gang called the Peaky Blinders. It was a generic term for the city's roughs that came into use in the 1890s and was interchangeable with "slogging gangs", itself a label for any gang member with a predilection for violence. Weapons were belts, stones, knives, coshes and boots and these people were not glamorous - they were brutal and vile, and eventually put to flight by strong police action led by Chief Constable Charles Rafter. Whether you want the truth behind the TV, or have an interest in the history of Birmingham, this is the book for you. Packed with miniscule detail and the kind of insights and information that only come from close association. Many photos, 276pp paperback.

Sunday Times bestselling author Caroline Taggart brings her usual gently humorous approach to punctuation, pointing out what really matters and what doesn't. In Roman times, blocks of texts were commonly written just as blocks without even spacing to help the reader interpret them. As we enter the Christian era and sacred texts were widely read it became ever more important to remove any likelihood of misinterpretation. To a potential murderer or adulterer for example there is a world of difference between 'If you are tempted, yield not, resisting the urge to commit a sin' and 'If you are tempted, yield, not resisting the urge to commit a sin'. The only surface difference is the positioning of a comma. This super helpful book clarifies the rules that do exist and sets out the options where the choice is yours and whether the use of emojis makes the world a better place. Throw in the odd semicolon and impress your friends. Inverted commas or italics? And where does that apostrophe go? 187pp.

The top ten motor bestsellers of the 60s included minis and saloons, luxury cars and sports cars. The 70s saw the oiling of the wheels of change with saloon cars and larger family cars; the 80s the rise of the super car and SUVs; the 90s incorporated cameras and culture, more luxurious SUVs and MPVs and the 2000s bestselling small family cars. Congestion charging was given the green light, and we saw new electric and hybrid cars, sports cars, SUVs, MPVs and cars of today and tomorrow. On huge glossy white pages are hundreds of spectacular colour photographs, contemporary advertising, happy families and dogs piling into their shiny new set of wheels, hatchbacks and soft tops, compact executive cars like the BMW 02-Series, stats and facts and a beauty pageant of our favourites like the Jaguar E-Type, AC Cobra, Triumph TR6, Aston Martin DB4, Ferrari 250 GTO, Mini Cooper S, and Porsche 911. A truly glamorous and nostalgic gallery including some racing scenes, off road, snow, motor shows and high-tech technology with massive powered, four-wheel drive and lightweight body shell construction.

Manchester Arena, Finsbury Park Mosque, the Bunch of Grapes bar at London Bridge, the 7/7 bombings, the nail bomb which ripped through the Admiral Duncan pub April 1999, the 1988 Omagh car bomb in Northern Ireland, the 1996 Manchester IRA bombing, the explosion onboard Pan Am 747 over Lockerbie, the Grand Hotel in Brighton, the Birmingham pub bombings, that is just some of the extraordinarily poignant and upsetting Daily Mirror newspaper photographs included in the section on Terrorism. Some of the earliest pictures are of the old buildings, many now demolished, which were the scene of Jack the Ripper's victims plus No 10 Rillington Place where bodies were found in the garden, the Acid Bath murderer John Haigh seen driving away from his hotel, the Moors Murderers, and Anne Downey mother of Lesley Ann pictured during a search for her daughter and another of her brother retrained by police as Ian Brady and Myra Hindley leave Hyde Court. Serial killers like Peter Sutcliffe, Harold Shipman, the Kray twins, grim basements, crowds outside courtrooms and prisons, police searches, here are killing sprees and mourners in this first-hand look at some of Britain's darkest moments. An impressive archive of the most infamous crimes caught on camera in this photographic collection. 144pp, mono throughout.

From the author of the Sunday Times number one bestseller The Etymologicon, Mark Forsyth presents the secret of writing unforgettable phrases, uncovering the techniques that have made immortal such lines as 'To be or not to be' and 'Bond. James Bond'. He takes apart famous quotations and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, or John Lennon, and how writers through the ages have turned humble words into literary gold. With his considerable knowledge we look at alliteration, antithesis, merism, the blazon, synaesthesia, anadiplosis, periodic sentences, rhetorical questions, epistrophe, tricolon, syllepsis to Zeugma and with some laugh-out-loud examples showing for example the use of the isocolon: Brutus explaining why he killed Julius Caesar, John F. Kennedy in his inauguration address and Winston Churchill beating that with the slightly ridiculous: 'Fill the armies, rule the air, pour out the munitions, strangle the U-boats, sweep the mines, plough the land, build the ships, guard the streets, succour the wounded, uplift the downcast, and honour the brave.' Silly? Not this highly entertaining book for all wordsmiths. 205pp, shiny softback.

Known as Mahatma Gandhi, this popular and influential book covers the period from his birth in 1869 to the year 1921, describing his childhood, schooldays, early marriage, journeys abroad, legal studies and practise. One of the most inspiring figures of our time, Gandhi recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of Satyagraha or active non-violent resistance which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other non-violent struggles of the 20th century. A prominent figure in the freedom struggle in India from British rule, he is also known as 'The Father of the Nation' in India. Thrown in prison he remained there for several years due to other political offenses allegedly committed by him. As British rule ended, Gandhi was saddened by India's partition and tried his best to bring peace among the Sikhs and Muslims. On 30th January 1948, Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu nationalist for allegedly being highly concerned about the nation's Muslim population. This heavyweight softback has a new foreword by noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok. 528pp in facsimile reprint of the 1957 edition, an American imported paperback. Tiny remainder mark.