A beautifully slipcased, lavishly illustrated gift book containing 15 replica documents from various archives, including the Royal Archives, highlighting notable events in the life of HM The Queen

Unique in containing replica documents, this fascinating, sumptuously packaged book looks at how the Queen's reign has seen some of the most remarkable events in the history of the 20th and 21st centuries, while also maintaining traditions that link the United Kingdom of today with a history that stretches back over more than a thousand years. Written by the ITN Royal Correspondent, it looks at the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II as she marks her Diamond Jubilee, and contains replicas of such items as an original draft of the speech she made at 14, the first time she had been heard in public; the marriage certificate of Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh; a letter to President Eisenhower in which she included her recipe for scones; a menu for a 2007 dinner given by President Bush in honor of the Queen's State visit; and many more. From royal tours to state visits, and from day-to-day engagements to notable family events and grand occasions, such as the Trooping of the Colour, this is a delightful celebration of a rare historical occasion.

Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir that''s "irresistible....A kind of Bridget Jones meets The French Chef" (Philadelphia Inquirer), is now a major motion picture. Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child''s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves'' livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto. The film version is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.

In her powerful new memoir, the #1 bestselling author of Infidel tells the stirring story of her search for a new life as she tries to reconcile her Islamic past with her passionate adherence to democracy and Western values. A unique blend of personal narrative and reportage, moving, engaging, wryly funny at times, Nomad gives us an inside view of her battle for equality in the face of considerable odds.

Ayaan captured the world''s attention with Infidel, the eye-opening memoir of her childhood in Africa and Saudi Arabia, and her escape to Holland en route to a forced marriage in Canada. Nomad is the story of what happened after the Dutch director with whom she made a documentary about the domestic abuse of Muslim women was murdered by a radical Islamist and death threats forced her into hiding; of her bid to start a new life in America; of her renewed contact with her family on her father''s death; and of her attempts to live by her adopted principles. With deep understanding, and through vivid anecdotes, and observations of people, cultures, and the political debacles that are engulfing the world, she takes us with her on an illuminating, unforgettable journey.

"They''ve said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: ''He bit the head off a bat.'' Yes. ''He bit the head off a dove.'' Yes. But then you hear things like, ''Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn''t perform until he''d killed fifteen puppies . . .'' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I''ve got eighteen of the f**king things at home. I''ve killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night.

It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty f**king years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I''ve been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at f**king two miles per hour.

People ask me how come I''m still alive, and I don''t know what to say. When I was growing up, if you''d have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of sixty, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn''t have put money on me, no f**king way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.

A lot of it ain''t gonna be pretty. I''ve done some bad things in my time. I''ve always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain''t the devil. I''m just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."

Having found his own optimism Michael J. Fox takes us on his search for the sources of hope.

There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Star. Husband. Father. Activist. But one word encapsulates everything he stands for, everything he's accomplished: Optimist. Struck with Parkinson's--a debilitating, degenerative disease--at the height of his fame, Fox has taken what some might consider cause for depression and turned it into a beacon of hope for millions. Now, in Always Looking Up, he writes about the personal philosophy that carried him through his darkest hours, and speaks with others who have emerged from difficult periods with optimisms to spare. With the humor and wit that dazzled fans and reviewers in his bestselling memoir, Lucky Man, Fox shows how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.

I put it to William, particularly, that if you find someone you love in life, you must hang on to that love and look after it. . . . You must protect it. -Diana, Princess of Wales

Theirs was destined from the start to be one of the most celebrated unions of the twenty-first century: he, the charismatic prince who would someday be crowned king of England; she, the stunningly beautiful commoner who won his heart. Prince William and Kate Middleton defied all odds to forge a storybook romance amid the scandals, power struggles, tragedies, and general dysfunction that are the hallmarks of Britain's Royal Family. In the process, they became the most written about, gossiped about, admired, and envied young couple of their generation.

Yet for most of their nearly decade-long affair, William and Kate have remained famously quiet and kept their royal relationship a tantalizing mystery. Now, as their long-anticipated wedding finally approaches, journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Andersen reveals the intimate details of their celebrated courtship and offers a mesmerizing glimpse of the man and wife-and future king and queen-they will become:

· William's lifelong role as confidant and adviser to his fragile mother, and how it has shaped his relationship with Kate

· The lengths the couple went to to keep their affair secret, from their first days together as university students (when he cheered her on as she modeled racy lingerie at a fashion show)

· William's romantic conquests before-and during-his decade-long romance with Kate

· The person who was really behind their headlinemaking breakup-and how Kate won back her prince

· The shocking sex-and-drugs scandals involving Kate's wild relatives, and how the would-be queen survived them

· The long-troubling influence of William's substance-abusing aristocrat friends and the depression Kate rescued him from

· Stunning new information on the threats to both their lives, the nightmare scenario that haunts William's dreams to this day, and their narrow escape from repeating Diana's fate

· Surprising details on the Queen's historic plans for William and Kate, which will forever change the face of the monarchy

For many, William and Kate's union represents an opportunity to recapture the magic-the compelling and complicated legacy-of his beloved mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Part glittering fairy tale, part searing family drama, part political potboiler, part heart-stopping cliff-hanger, theirs is, above all else, an affair to remember.

 

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Theirs is the story of two young people who found each other in college, came perilously close to losing what they had forever, and pulled back from the brink at the last possible moment. Theirs is the story of private moments stolen for public consumption, of harrowing car chases, of scorching personal dramas played out behind the scenes, of calm heads prevailing in times of panic, and of a singular devotion made stronger by time.

The saga of William and Kate is one thing above all else: a love story.

-From William and Kate: A Royal Love Story

"Heart-wrenching but triumphant."
--Glamour

"A lyrical, haunting, and utterly gripping memoir."
--Redbook

"A dark, evocative memoir from a woman forced to come to terms with her husband's death and the revelation of his infidelity."
--Shelf Awareness

"A fascinating memoir."
--People

"A delectable summer read."
--USA Today

"She brings refreshing candor to a startling, painful tale."
--New York Times

"A riveting memoir."
--Real Simple

..".lyrical, moving prose."
--Working Mother

"Metz's Perfection chronicles with lapidary precision one woman's climb back to happiness after not just a spouse's death, but also the shocking recognition that her life before that death was not what she had thought it was. The journey is a painful one, but Ms. Metz is much the stronger for having survived to recount it."
--Julie Powell, author of Julie & Julia

"Julie Metz's memoir of how her marriage unraveled after her mate's death is piercingly honest, haunting, and heartbreaking. Anyone who has ever been in a bad relationship will over-identify."
--Susan Shapiro, author of Five Men Who Broke My Heart and Lighting Up

"It is impossible to put Perfection down as we follow Julie Metz through her true story of love, lies, loss, and moving forward. Her raw and brave writing makes you want to cheer Metz on as she pieces her life back together, one beautiful sentence at a time."
--Marian Fontana, author of A Widow's Walk

"This aching memoir of love, loss, and deception is candid and compelling. I found myself rooting for Julie Metz in her search for a happy second life.'"
--Hilma Wolitzer, author of The Doctor's Daughter and Hearts

Julie Metz's life changes forever on one ordinary January afternoon when her husband, Henry, collapses on the kitchen floor and dies in her arms. Suddenly, this mother of a six-year-old is the young widow in a bucolic small town. And this is only the beginning. Seven months after Henry's death, just when Julie thinks she is emerging from the worst of it, comes the rest of it: She discovers that what had appeared to be the reality of her marriage was but a half-truth. Henry had hidden another life from her.

"He loved you so much." That's what everyone keeps telling her. It's true that he loved Julie and their six-year-old daughter ebulliently and devotedly, but as she starts to pick up the pieces and rebuild her life without Henry in it, she learns that Henry had been unfaithful throughout their twelve years of marriage. The most damaging affair was ongoing--a tumultuous relationship that ended only with Henry's death. For Julie, the only thing to do was to get at the real truth--to strip away the veneer of "perfection" that was her life and confront each of the women beneath the veneer.

Perfection is the story of Julie Metz's journey through chaos and transformation as she creates a different life for herself and her young daughter. It is the story of coming to terms with painful truths, of rebuilding both a life and an identity after betrayal and widowhood. It is a story of rebirth and happiness--if not perfection.

Joan Crawford was one of the most incandescent film stars of all time, yet she was also one of the most misunderstood. In this brilliantlyresearched, thoughtful, and intimate biography, bestselling author Donald Spoto goes beyond the popular caricature-the abusive, unstable mother portrayed in her adopted daughter Christina Crawford's memoir, Mommie Dearest-to give us a three-dimensional portrait of a very human woman, her dazzling career, and her extraordinarily dramatic life and times.

Based on new archival information and exclusive interviews, and written with Spoto's keen eye for detail, Possessed offers a fascinating portrait of a courageous, highly sexed, and ambitious womanwhose strength and drive made her a forerunner in the fledgling film business. From her hardscrabble childhood in Texas to her early days as a dancer in post-World War I New York to her rise to stardom,Spoto traces Crawford's fifty years of memorable performances in classics like Rain, The Women, Mildred Pierce, and Sudden Fear, which are as startling and vivid today as when they were filmed.

In Possessed, Spoto goes behind the myths to examine the rise and fall of the studio system; Crawford's four marriages; her passionate thirty year, on-and-off-again affair with Clark Gable; her friendships and rivalries with other stars; her powerful desire to become a mother; the truth behind the scathing stories in her daughter Christina's memoir; and her final years as a widow battling cancer. Spoto explores Crawford's achievements as an actress, her work with Hollywood's great directors (Frank Borzage, George Cukor, Otto Preminger) and actors (Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy, John Barrymore), and later, her role as a highly effective executive on the board of directors of Pepsi-Cola.

Illuminating and entertaining, Possessed is the definitive biography of this remarkable woman and true legend of film.

C. S. Lewis spent a good portion of each day corresponding with people via handwritten letters. Over his lifetime he wrote thousands of letters in which he offered his friends and acquaintances advice on the Christian life, giving away a bit of himself to each of these correspondents as he signed his notes with a heartfelt and familiar, "yours, Jack." Most of these letters are currently only available in their entirety?a collection consisting of three hefty tomes. Yours, Jack features the best inspirational readings and sage counsel culled from C. S. Lewis''s letters, offering an accessible look at this great author''s personal vision for the spiritual life.

This thematic selection from his letters offers the freshest presentation of Lewis''s writings since his death in 1963. Yours, Jack will showcase Lewis''s remarkable teachings and vision for a new generation.

A Canadian icon gives us his final book, a memoir of the events that shaped this beloved writer and activist.

Farley Mowat has been beguiling readers for fifty years now, creating a body of writing that has thrilled two generations, selling literally millions of copies in the process. In looking back over his accomplishments, we are reminded of his groundbreaking work: He single-handedly began the rehabilitation of the wolf with Never Cry Wolf. He was the first to bring advocacy activism on behalf of the Inuit and their northern lands with People of the Deer and The Desperate People. And his was the first populist voice raised in defense of the environment and of the creatures with whom we share our world, the ones he has always called The Others.

Otherwise is a memoir of the years between 1937 and the autumn of 1948 that tells the story of the events that forged the writer and activist. His was an innocent childhood, spent free of normal strictures, and largely in the company of an assortment of dogs, owls, squirrels, snakes, rabbits, and other wildlife. From this, he was catapulted into wartime service, as anxious as any other young man of his generation to get to Europe and the fighting. The carnage of the Italian campaign shattered his faith in humanity forever, and he returned home unable and unwilling to fit into post-war Canadian life. Desperate, he accepted a stint on a scientific collecting expedition to the Barrengrounds. There in the bleak but beautiful landscape he finds his purpose - first with the wolves and then with the indomitable but desperately starving Ihalmiut. Out of these experiences come his first pitched battles with an ignorant and uncaring federal bureaucracy as he tries to get aid for the famine-stricken Inuit. And out of these experiences, too, come his first books.

Otherwise goes to the heart of who and what Farley Mowat is, a wondrous final achievement from a true titan.

Elena Gorokhova's A Mountain of Crumbs is the moving story of a Soviet girl who discovers the truths adults are hiding from her and the lies her homeland lives by. Elena's country is no longer the majestic Russia of literature or the ts