{"title":"Books by Matthew Parker","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781408708583","title":"One Fine Day","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Breathtaking... vital and important. A wonderful read' \u003c\/b\u003ePETER FRANKOPAN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Marvellous... escapes the inane, balance-sheet view of Empire and sees its full complexity' \u003c\/b\u003eSATHNAM SANGHERA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Excellent... his mastery of detail is impeccable' \u003c\/b\u003eDOMINIC SANDBROOK, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Extraordinary... [brings] the world of a century ago to fresh, vivid life'\u003c\/b\u003e ALEX VON TUNZELMANN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE STORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE AT ITS MAXIMUM TERRITORIAL EXTENT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Saturday 29 September 1923, the Palestine Mandate became law and the British Empire now covered a scarcely credible quarter of the world's land mass, containing 460 million people. It was the largest empire the world had ever seen. But it was beset by debt and doubts. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  This book is a new way of looking at the British Empire. It immerses the reader in the contemporary moment, focusing on particular people and stories from that day, gleaned from newspapers, letters, diaries, official documents, magazines, films and novels: from a remote Pacific island facing the removal of its entire soil, across Australia, Burma, India and Kenya to London and the West Indies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn some ways, the issues of a hundred years ago are with us still: debates around cultural and ethnic identity in a globalised world; how to manage multi-ethnic political entities; racism; the divisive co-opting of religion for political purposes; the dangers of ignorance. In others, it is totally alien. What remains extraordinary is the Empire's ability to reveal the most compelling human stories. Never before has there been a book which contains such a wide spread of vivid experiences from both colonised and coloniser: from the grandest governors to the humblest migrants, policemen and nurses.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685796061557,"sku":"9780349142364","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":43204311679154,"sku":"9781408708583","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780349142364.jpg?v=1792598986"},{"product_id":"9780099591740","title":"Goldeneye","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE TOP 10 \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Completely fascinating, authoritative and intriguing' William Boyd\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The big bang of Bond books... Beautiful, brilliant' Tony Parsons\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGoldeneye\u003c\/i\u003e: the story of Ian Fleming in Jamaica and the creation of British national icon, James Bond.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom 1946 until the end of his life, Ian Fleming lived for two months of every year at Goldeneye - the house he built on a point of high land overlooking a small white sand beach on Jamaica's north coast. All the James Bond novels and stories were written here. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFleming adored the Jamaica he had discovered, at the time an imperial backwater that seemed unchanged from the glory days of the empire. Amid its stunning natural beauty, the austerity and decline of post-war Britain could be forgotten. For Fleming, Jamaica offered the perfect mixture of British old-fashioned conservatism and imperial values, alongside the dangerous and sensual: the same curious combination that made his novels so appealing, and successful. The spirit of the island - its exotic beauty, its unpredictability, its melancholy, its love of exaggeration and gothic melodrama - infuses his writing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFleming threw himself into the island's hedonistic Jet Set party scene: Hollywood giants, and the cream of British aristocracy, the theatre, literary society and the secret services spent their time here drinking and bed-hopping. But while the whites partied, Jamaican blacks were rising up to demand respect and self-government. And as the imperial hero James Bond - projecting British power across the world - became ever more anachronistic and fantastical, so his popularity soared.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDrawing on extensive interviews with Ian's family, his Jamaican lover Blanche Blackwell and many other islanders, \u003ci\u003eGoldeneye\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautifully written, revealing and original exploration of a crucially important part of Ian Fleming's life and work.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56223670927733,"sku":"9780099591740","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099591740_1f3e7b93-24a7-494e-a8c5-6e59788a6e64.jpg?v=1786011544"},{"product_id":"9780755311767","title":"Monte Cassino","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe six-month battle for Monte Cassino was Britain's bitterest and bloodiest encounter with the German army on any front in World War Two.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the beginning of 1944 Italy was the western Allies' only active front against Nazi-controlled Europe, and their only route to the capital was through the Liri valley.  Towering over the entrance to the valley was the medieval monastery of Monte Cassino, a seemingly impenetrable fortress high up in the 'bleak and sinister' mountains.  This was where the German commander, Kesselring, made his stand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMONTE CASSINO tells the extraordinary story of ordinary soldiers tested to the limits under conditions reminiscent of the bloodbaths of World War One.  In a battle that became increasingly political, symbolic and personal as it progressed, more and more men were asked to throw themselves at the virtually impregnable German defences.  It is a story of incompetence, hubris and politics redeemed at dreadful cost by the heroism of the soldiers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311917478261,"sku":"9780755311767","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755311767_ac9b1ff8-bdfb-43a0-b34e-9c07b73d6d60.jpg?v=1786015710"},{"product_id":"9781041123361","title":"Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants in Primary Schools","description":"This new edition provides school leaders with a clear, evidence-informed plan to transform the deployment, practice, and preparation of teaching assistants (TAs). Drawing on real-world insights from schools that have successfully embedded the authors’ programme, it shows how to unlock TAs’ full potential and maximise their impact on inclusive teaching and learning.   Structured around a proven framework and fully updated with the latest research and policy developments, the book outlines a tried and tested approach for improving how TAs are deployed, trained, and prepared. It provides school leaders with essential principles, practical tools, and actionable strategies that make a genuine difference to TA effectiveness.   TAs are the mortar in the brickwork of our schools – holding everything together in ways that are often unseen and underappreciated. When used alongside The Teaching Assistant’s Guide to Effective Interaction, this comprehensive guide enables schools to recognise and maximise their TA workforce.   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But he also weaves in the stories of the ordinary men and women who worked on the canal, to evoke everyday life on the construction and depict the battle on the ground deep in 'Hell's Gorge'. Using diaries, memoirs, contemporary newspapers and previously unseen private letters, he draws a vivid picture of the heart-breaking struggle on the Isthmus, in particular that of the British West Indians who made up the majority of the canal workforce.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHell's Gorge\u003c\/i\u003e is a tale of politics, finance, press manipulation, scandal and intrigue, populated by a dazzling cast of idealists and bullies, heroes and conmen. 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