In the hundreds of books written about battleships, the authors tend to draw down the curtain on the careers of these great vessels in September 1945, with the surrender of Japan. Yet, on that day some ninety-eight battleships or ex-battleships might be spotted around the world, and eleven of them were in or around Tokyo Bay for the surrender itself. What happened to all those ships? This new book takes a fresh look at the slow demise of the battleship. It examines the decisions made by th...

The sector north of Ypres is best known for the inundation of much of the ground to the east of the Yser that acted as a block to the German advance in the autumn of 1914. From that time on military activities were extremely limited. Much of this line was manned by Belgian troops, with some assistance from the French army at its southern end and of the British army on the Channel coast. The role of the Belgian army in the Great War is little known, apart from the opening months, when 'brav...

The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaisers men. Following closely on the heels of the devastating Operation Michael attack in March on the Somme and around Arras, named as Operation Georgette, the offensive was aimed at strangling the vital railways and roads that supplied the British at Ypres.Having assembled an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Germans attacked in thick fog ...

Sean is a survivor. Against the odds he has survived a nation-wide disaster. He is made aware that he must travel the length of Aotearoa for a purpose that is revealed late in the story. Amongst all the carnage, there is hope and friendship although evil lurks constantly.

A devastating epidemic due to the revenge of the Maeroero - creatures traditionally believed to have inhabited the hills and forests before the first waka arrived in New Zealand, has killed most of the population. Shadow Waters is a continuation of the survivors' struggle against the demons and fearful creatures that have taken over the landscape. Everything is broken down to elements, myths, and a kind of Wild West. Like The Lord of the Rings the quest aspect of Shadow Waters is strong, s...

The second of two Battelground Europe titles covering this highly significant battle of spring 1918.The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaisers men. Following close on the heels of the devastating Operation Michael attack in March, which had been aimed against the British front on the Somme and Arras, this offensive, Operation Georgette, was aimed at strangling the vital railways a...

The Battle of the Lys, fought in April 1918, was critical for the Allies and for Germany. The outcome of the Great War hung in the balance. After the successful German offensive on the Somme, their breakthrough on the Lys threatened Ypres and the British hold on Flanders and brought them close to victory on the Western Front. The Allied line was broken it was only saved by improvisation and great gallantry—and the German onslaught tested Allied cooperation under the newly appointed General...

Spectacular nebulae where stars are born, beautiful star clusters from the early formation of the Milky Way, and galaxies as far as a billion light years away, all feature in this book of stunning images from astrophotographer Chris Baker.The author takes the reader on a journey through time and space to the Deep Sky, far beyond our Solar System. It is a pictorial description of the awe-inspiring wondrous objects that exist out there."The images are of objects from hundreds to many million...

A long night ahead means plenty of time for web-making and bug-catching for this meticulous orb-weaver spider in this brilliant, non-fiction picture book that uniquely captures the spider's point of view.Once night falls, Weaver emerges from the rolled-up leaf she sleeps in during the day, and begins searching for the perfect place to spin her latest web. She climbs up and scurries down, and winds around and around until she’s created something per...

"The Accidental Shooter – How a team of rookies created the greatest multiplayer game" tells the story of GoldenEye 007. In 1997, licensed movie games were usually terrible. The team at Rare was inexperienced; many had never made a game before. Gaming historian Chris Baker reveals the twist: The famous 4-player split-screen mode—the feature that defined a generation of sleepovers—was added secretly by one programmer (Steve Ellis) in the final weeks of development, without Nintendo's permis...

Do you feel confident at work? Are there times when you lack confidence but can’t show it? The role of confidence in successful leadership is both significant and undisputed and yet organisations are full of leaders and teams who don’t have as much as they want and, even worse, are not doing anything about it.Attempts to develop confidence are usually confined to empty affirmations and vanilla-flavoured self-help books. In contrast, this book provides an evidence-based code that ou...

The world needs changing – that much is clear. But how best to do it? Change how you vote? Get out and protest? Have an argument?The fact is that the power sits in your pocket. Changing how we spend our money has more potential to change the world than almost anything else we can do with our time on this planet.Consumer spending accounts for over 60% of GDP across the world and it will hit a staggering $77 trillion a year by 2029. But the v...