It's Hard to Be Good

Times were hard in the 1940s and early '50s: kids went hungry and food was rationed; some families had to beg, steal or borrow to survive. But Charlie found his own way out. On a routine basis, together with his childhood gang, they became kid grafters (bang into crime). They did what they had to do, providing food to put on their family's table amongst other things. 

In 1953, aged 13, Charlie and his gang were always bunking off school. He went on to make further progress with his life. With his baby face and dressed as an office boy in a blazer, shirt, and tie, he was darting in and out of buildings in the city centre of Liverpool, buildings which provided rich pickings as he raided their cash drawers and safes.

Charlie meets his mentor: an older woman, who was a professional in the business. She teaches him how to rob high-class jewellers of their expensive diamond rings: a well planned-out scene which is typical of the classic, highly rewarding cases of jewellery robberies of the time.

Here's what Charlie has to say about his younger self: 'In 1954 and at the age of fourteen, I was earning more money than a professional adult. I was the richest poor teenager in Liverpool.'

Italian And Roman Feasts

This Cookery book is a modern interpretation of Ancient Roman repasts, a fusion of Roman and Italian cuisine transported from the Roman culina into today’s Italian kitchen; but maintaining the history and integrity of the original classical recipes. They are inspired by the gastronome and bon viveur Marcus Apicius, who lived, cooked and entertained during the reign of Emperor Tiberius in Imperial Rome some 2,000 years ago. He was, by all accounts, the Antonio Carluccio of his time. Over 450 of his recipes were recovered and translated in the aftermath of the decline of the Roman Empire, circa 350 AD, and these form the foundation of this book, brought up to date into the Italian kitchen.
The dishes are simple, imaginative and colourful – Italian modern-day food with a classical twist.
A cornucopia of piscean platters, chicken and duck, veal, venison, pork and beef, the menus are accompanied with double sauces and explosions of fresh herbs and spices and a wide range of recipes prepared with the best of Italian vegetables, pulses, salads and sun-blessed fruit.
Each recipe is heralded with an English, Italian and Latin title.

Jesus In My Corner

Jesus in My Corner, written by Andy Flute, chronicles his struggle to overcome a myriad of life-long challenges with violence and alcohol. For over 30 years, violence and alcohol were Andy's daily bread until, one day, by the power of prayer, he managed to achieve what no amount of alcohol or prison incarceration could ever achieve. When he was at the point of death, intoxicated with alcohol following a ten-day binging session, I went to see my old mate and prayed for him with Pastor Steve.

Andy was fighting the demon of alcohol and he was on the ropes, down for the count. Andy, a former captain of the English boxing team and British Middleweight title challenger alongside sparring partner Chris Eubank and other world class fighters, knew what brutal fighting was all about. This fight was different, one he couldn't win on his own strength. Andy felt the intense grip and destructive downward spiral alcohol had on his life. Battered and bleeding, with no more strength, he cried out to Jesus.

In a truly miraculous turnaround, Andy found Jesus in his corner and almost instantaneously gave up alcohol. During the bleakest of moments, he experienced a spiritual awakening. Slowly, he found his way through darkest era of his life. He came to believe a power greater than himself in Jesus.

Now with Jesus in his corner, Andy is an active member of Sedgley Community Church. The Bible employs the analogy of wrestling in reference to our warfare with Satan and his hosts. Andy had a fight that only Jesus could referee, this gigantic battle played out until he was baptised in water.

Andy Flute's willingness to share the most intimate aspects of his life was born out of a deep desire to help others addicted to alcohol and violence.
Despite these daunting events, Andy now works hard to live a normal life and raise a family of his own. He regularly attends prison workshops and shares his testimony in local schools. The Lord has made an amazing transformation in his life, He could do the same for you!

His good friend, John Cramphorn

Job Opportunities

Following on from the successful publication by Austin Macauley of his work streets ahead, the author decided to create a follow-up work which draws attention to works of art depicting individuals engaged in their professional employment, he was reared in a Calvinist society, where such activity was the norm. He is aware of the dignity when it results from this. As a socialist, he believes that this is the only dignity which the ruling class cannot take away from humankind. Therefore, they cannot be deprived of it.

Just Before the Dawn

JUST BEFORE THE DAWN is a ‘snap-shot’ of four former African colonies as they approached independence at the end of the 1950s. It is also a travel book based on the author’s experience and adventures whilst living and working at that time in Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Ruanda-Urundi (as they were then called) and Kenya. The book touches on those countries’ differing histories, both ancient and recent. It also offers the reminiscences of an elderly man pondering his first experiences of the worlds of work, and of love. The book’s leitmotif is dawn, along with its challenges: the coming dawn of change in those four countries, and in the author’s personal life. Additionally, he describes the magnificent dawn he experienced while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, as seen on this cover.Some of the comments on the author’s book on Russia:‘A calm and objective witness for the truth’ – John Le Carré‘It affords twin pleasures of content and style’ – a reader in France‘An excellent book’ – Lord Wright of Richmond, former Head of the Diplomatic Service‘A fascinating account of conflicts and tensions’ – The Church Times‘Extraordinarily observant’ – Andrei Voznesensky, poet

Just One Word, Just One Smile: Life and Love After an Aneurysm

Just One Word, Just One Smile – A Memoir

An empty-nester couple, Sue and Tony, are travelling independently through South America when Sue endures a brain aneurysm. No one chooses Bolivia – the poorest country in South America – for brain surgery, but Sue has no choice. Weeks pass in South American hospitals, waiting on surgeries that threaten the very life that they try to save. Eventually, Sue is well enough to be transported back to Australia and spend further weeks in hospitals. When Sue is able to return to her home, Tony’s new role as the carer of a person with a dementia-like condition is glimpsed.

 “A good mix of heartfelt emotion and facts about stroke and associated recovery. It’s also a beautiful tribute to Sue that left me reaching for the tissues.”

Let God in: One Ignatian Journey

Perhaps you are a lifelong Christian as is the author, John A. Cooper. Perhaps you are thinking, "I have already let God into my life and my salvation is assured." Perhaps you are not a Christian, maybe you are Muslim, or atheist, or maintain another belief system, or no system at all. Then, this book is for you! Even if you have a relationship with God, would you open the door to your heart even wider and give up everything to live only in the love and Grace of God? Notice the cover art and symbol for the Holy Spirit, the light from the Father, and Jesus, all One God, all of the same substance. Jesus' hands reach out for you… Will you let Him into your life? Will you open the door even wider if he already lives in you? May Jesus be your Peace? John, You share yourself beautifully, both in your life experiences and in your imagination of scripture scenes, in the way you image Jesus, and how you apply those prayers to your personal and spiritual growth. This is a book that will invite all who read it with humility and courage to seek God in their everyday life experiences, with greater depth, trust, and unity. Thank you for sharing this book with me. - Bob Fitzgerald, former Executive Director Ignatius House, Atlanta, GA; currently Adjunct Lecturer, Spring Hill College; and Spiritual Director. This book is both a personal testimony and a practical guide. As in the story of St. Ignatius, the sudden loss of lifelong ambitions led to the grace of transformation, from self-confident determination to profound surrender, to the living Christ. Cooper shares a condensed version of his personal journal during the Spiritual Exercises in daily life. His notes for 32 weeks of prayer and reflection offer a very practical template for others to make their own journey of transformation. - Christopher Viscardi, S.J., Director of Spiritual Direction Program, Spring Hill College.

Life After Reconstruction

Life After Reconstruction is my story after genital reconstructive surgery. It follows the events of what happened in my life after I wrote my first book, Wings for the Butterfly, published in Germany and in Poland. After the book came out, I thought I would be famous on the spot. Instead, I ended up in a worse situation than I was in; from living in my own flat to being in a refugee home. In the refugee home, which was not supportive for the process of sexual healing after reconstruction, I met up with other forms of traumas, perhaps worse than my own. The result of the hostile environment in the refugee home was the tension that heightened the already frightened sexual restoration, leading to numbness once again and even more rage which eventually became uncontrollable. In order to understand myself better, I became involved with trying to understand the people I came to live with, trying to understand their problems, to the point of understanding that we are all looking for pure love that was denied to us in the formative years.

Life in the 22nd Century

In this book, the author recommends a project that will ensure a crime-free, abundant 22^nd century. He has aptly called this project “Project Minus Four”, which is intended to describe the four elemental concepts that need to be removed from a civilised society in order to free it from crime, poverty, social and national conflicts, domestic violence and needless tragedies, such as acts of terror, wars, buildings going up in flames, killing all who live in them, as well as all kinds of “accidents” that result on account of people being too anxious, too angry, too frustrated, or too tense—all of which are a direct result of the pressure that the economic and/or the social system puts on them. In this book, the author has set down the details of how these problems are to be solved and what the society in the 22^nd century can expect to be like if his Project Minus Four is implemented now.

Lifestyle Manners to Drive Success

How confident are you that you are practising and teaching the manners needed to succeed in life? 

Good manners are the tools for life that provide a charisma and presence wherever you are.

Learned and used well, such manners will ease you through the maze of social etiquette, making a successful future for you and your children ever more attainable.

Lifestyle Manners to Drive Success is an easy-to-read guide that will teach you the subtle art of social acceptance in any situation and will equip you with the confidence that removes the anxiety from new experiences.

Lines from New Zealand

On a dull Tuesday morning in early October 2008, I lost my battle to save our business and property—a French provincial styled restaurant and homestead on a vineyard estate—and with it my job, my reputation, my balance, my clout, my life’s savings, my mind—my life as I knew it. Afterwards, I began writing like a madwoman, and in time a book took shape describing a myriad of experiences and the long journey back to just being me.

After our epic loss, we lived for a year in one of the highest houses in Christchurch with an unparalleled view of the Pacific Ocean and the curved coastline. That house of Up Above Down Under and those mercurial skies saved my life. We now live in The House of Cluck-Cluck where I still spend endless hours in our rambling country garden as I dig in the soil tenaciously for answers about my life.

Live Your Life like You Have Lived It Before

“As a qualified psychotherapist, coupled with resilience developed through lived experience, I have read many complicated academic books and felt there was a need to write a simple one accessible to all and easy to understand and apply in practice. My book is like giving a stranger the holy grail of knowledge to enable them to change their thinking and improve the quality of their life today. Most importantly, for people to not make the same mistakes I made, which have consequences and impacts on leading a fulfilling and successful life. I also wanted to write a book that, as well as being easy to read, quickly and at any time, when life becomes difficult, can be used as a pocket-reference book and effective mental toolbox. Live Your Life like You Have Lived It Before is a book about being given the information and knowledge amazingly and powerfully right now before you start your life so you don’t make the same mistakes made by countless people all over the world.

“By exploring our world as we grow up, we learn by our mistakes, some which are vital and have consequences that affect the rest of our lives. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have lived your life like you have lived it before? This book is a practical guide on how to become successful and not make those errors and fall into the trap everyone else does, which ultimately results in failure and unhappiness.”