Books News
New from Penguin Press
By Jessica Schneider Jun 5, 2009, 10:41 GMT
Some new releases have just been announced via a Penguin Press release that might carry some interest:
CAN WE HAVE OUR BALLS BACK, PLEASE? How the British Invented Sport (and then almost forgot how to play it) By Julian Norridge
Published in paperback, £9.99, 4th June
“It is a little known fact that it was actually the British who invented many of our best loved sports and it was the British who established the idea of sport that could be played around the world. Julian Norridge argues that there is an awful lot to be proud of in our sporting history and suggests where that strange feeling of superiority really comes from. It shows why we get so excited when we take on any other nation in any sporting event and why we are so disappointed when we lose...
Norridge takes us on a journey around the British Isles and uncovers the origins of fourteen of the best loved sports that are now played around all around the world. From cricket and tennis to horse racing and boxing, Can We Have Our Balls Back Please? is filled with amusing and surprising anecdotes from our sporting past.”
WARRIOR OF ROME 1: King of Kings By Harry Sidebottom
Michael Joseph Hardback £12.99 9th July
“The second novel in the Top Five bestselling Warrior of Rome series. A bold, dramatic and unforgettable tale of honour, bravery and bloodthirsty battle in the best-selling historical adventure tradition of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. The hardback of the first instalment of the WARRIOR OF ROME series rocketed to No. 4 in the bestseller lists, and sales have reached a staggering 35K so far on UK Bookscan.
Dr Harry Sidebottom has an international reputation as a scholar and is a Fellow of St Benets Hall Oxford - where he specializes in ancient warfare and classical art - he applies his knowledge with a spectacular flair for sheer explosive action and knuckle-whitening drama. The depth of literary and geographic background, as well as the psychological complexity of the characters, makes KING OF KINGS the most authoritative historical adventure novel this year.” Visit: http://www.harrysidebottom.co.uk/
WHY IS Q ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY U? Word-perfect Answers to the Most-Asked Questions About Language By Michael Quinion
Published by Particular Books Hardback on 2 July
“From the long-time word-detective and bestselling author of Port Out, Starboard Home, Quinion brings us the answers to nearly two hundred of the most intriguing questions he's been asked over the years from enquiries all around the globe.
Michael's lexophilia began in earnest in 1991, when, realising many new words were missing from the Oxford English Dictionary, he started sending examples of them to the editors. He eventually became an official freelance reader and has now contributed over 160,000 citations. In 1997, he set up his own award-winning language website which has an average of 1.3million page hits per month.”
