Showing titles in Entertainment & Performing Arts

For years legendary broadcaster Alistair Cooke brought America to the rest of the world with incomparable wit and wisdom. This is his classic "personal history" of America, guiding us through centuries of changing life in the USA. Beginning with his own arrival in America as a graduate in the...

THE UNMISSABLE, LAUGH-OUT-LOUD MEMOIR FROM BELOVED BRITISH COMEDIAN HARRY HILL: A MUST-READ FOR ANYONE IN NEED OF A LAUGH 'The funniest book I've read in years' - ADAM KAY 'A brilliant insight into what it takes to go from regular funny bloke to one of the best stand-ups I've ever seen' - LEE...

Performing in front of his home crowd, Liverpudlian John Bishop has become one of our top comedians in just a few years. His humour, charm and take on life's trials and tribulations is hysterical.

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed. But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man.

From the triumphant “Main Title” in Star Wars to the ominous bass line of Jaws, John Williams has penned some of the most unforgettable film scores—while netting more than fifty Academy Award nominations. This updated and revised edition of Emilio Audissino’s groundbreaking volume takes stock of Williams’s creative process and achievements in music composition, including the most recent sequels in the film franchises that made him famous. Audissino details his lasting impact and cements his legacy as one of the most important composers in movie history.

What exactly is the purpose of the BBC nowadays—to entertain, educate and inform? But is that all? The broadcaster itself claims to be a fearless and independent provider of news tasked with "speaking truth to power"—a true champion of the underdog. However, as David Sedgwick reveals in his new book, the reality is somewhat different: not only does the BBC diligently protect power from scrutiny, it attacks and attempts to discredit those who dare to challenge the status quo.

Brought to you by Penguin. How do you ask your mate for that £50 back? When is OK to trump in front of your partner? And what should you do if you've accidentally sexted your boss? William and Jordan are from very different worlds. William's an etiquette expert, with his tongue firmly in his...

Tyrannical millionaire Simeon Lee has been estranged from most of his family for years. But now, on Christmas Eve, the old man calls them all together once more. Unable to disobey, the children gather uneasily and wonder what their father's intentions are. Does he want to clear up past...

In this unauthorised biography of Dame Edna Everage, acquired for an unprecedented advance and in spectacular secrecy, her long-time manager and the man who was there from the very beginning, Barry Humphries, takes a behind-the-scenes, no-holds-barred look at an icon of our times.

This is the true story behind the making of a television legend. There have been many books written about Star Trek, but never with the unprecedented access, insight and candor of authors Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. Having covered the franchise for over three decades, they’ve assembled...

From the very first book publication in 1920 to the recent film release of Death on the Nile, this investigation into Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot celebrates a century of probably the world’s favourite fictional detective. This book tells his story decade-by-decade, exploring his...

Three enhanced audiobooks performed by the stars of the classic BBC television series. Spy, by Simon Guerrier. Starring Jan Chappell as Cally, Michael Keating as Vila and Gemma Whelan as Arta. Cally and Vila are undercover on the Federation-controlled world Cortol Four. It's a mission with an irresistible prize. And it's a mission that goes horribly wrong....

Jack Whitehall throws open the doors to his Safe Space, the place where we can all share our most embarrassing stories and try to feel better about ourselves along the way.

The events of 1950-1999 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the Festival of Britain in 1951 through to the dawn of a new millennium at the end of 1999. In between are the eras of the Angry Young Men, the Teddy Boys and the Punk Rockers; the arrival of rock and roll and the permissive society; the advent of industrial strife in England and sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland; the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher; the miners' strike, three-day week and Winter of Discontent; the Queen's Silver Jubilee....

Ricky chats with comedians Sean McLoughlin, David Baddiel, Brett Goldstein, Diane Morgan, Robin Ince and Joel Dommett.

Bryan Cranston landed his first role at seven, when his father, a struggling actor and director, cast him in a commercial. Soon Bryan was haunting the local movie theater, reenacting scenes with his older brother. Acting was clearly his destiny - until one day his father disappeared. As a young man on a classic cross-country motorcycle trip, he found himself stranded at a rest area in the Blue Ridge Mountains. To pass the time, he read a tattered copy of Hedda Gabler, and in a flash he found himself face-to-face with his original calling.

In Did We Say That Out Loud? Jane Garvey and Fi Glover offer a series of essays interspersed with the waspish asides for which they are beloved, with witty musings on their lives, from pet deaths and garden hose repairs to the gender pay gap and the trouble with HRT patches. Their book promises to take mid-life by its elasticated waist and give it a brisk going over with a stiff brush. At a time of constant uncertainty, what we all need is the wisdom and experience of two women who haven't got a clue what's happening either.

How did Lin-Manuel Miranda become the preeminent musical storyteller of the 21st century? Daniel Pollack-Pelzner traces Miranda's path from a friendly but often isolated child to the winner of multiple Tonys and Grammys for his Broadway hits Hamilton and In the Heights and his songs in Disney's Moana and Encanto.

Wickedly funny and bitingly satirical, Dead Ringers has been lampooning politicans, celebrities and media pundits for over 20 years. In these seven series, first broadcast between 2000 and 2002, the team give us their peerless impressions of the personalities we love to laugh at: from Tony Blair and George W. Bush to Brian Sewell, Posh n' Becks and Kirsty Wark.

A tale of some of the most amazing creatures ever to grace this tiny planet - unearth how the science fiction of the Jurassic World franchise inspired the evolution of dinosaur science.