‘Absolutely perfect. All Christmas presents sorted. No notes.’ Sarra Manning

Published to celebrate the much-missed Victoria Wood’s 70th birthday, this stunning hardback edition of Chunky contains the very best of Wood’s sketches and shows, including those never seen on TV, as well as:

NEW introduction from Celia Imrie, star of many of Victoria Wood’s shows

Additions and annotations from Wood’s acclaimed official biographer, Jasper Rees.

‘I was very proud to be part of her gang.’ Celia Imrie

‘There was none like her before and there’s been none like her since – she was unique.’ Dawn French

‘She is on a par with Alan Bennett.’ Clive James

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Taking you from the earliest feature films to today, Colours of Film introduces 50 iconic movies and explains the pivotal role that colour played in their success.

The use of colour is an essential part of film. It has the power to evoke powerful emotions, provide subtle psychological symbolism and act as a narrative device.

Wes Anderson’s pastels and muted tones are aesthetically pleasing, but his careful use of colour also acts as a shorthand for interpreting emotion. And let’s not forget Schindler’s List (1993, dir. Steven Spielberg), in which a bold flash of red against an otherwise black-and-white film is used as a powerful symbol of life, survival and death.

In Colours of Film, film critic Charles Bramesco introduces an element of cinema that is often overlooked, yet has been used in extraordinary ways. Using infographic colour palettes, and stills from the movies, this is a lively and fresh approach to film for cinema-goers and colour lovers alike.

He also explores in fascinating detail how the development of technologies have shaped the course of modern cinema, from how the feud between Kodak and Fujifilm shaped the colour palettes of the 20th Century’s greatest filmakers, to how the advent of computer technology is creating a digital wonderland for modern directors in which anything is possible.

​Filled with sparkling insights and fascinating accounts from the history of cinema, Colours of Film is an indispensable guide to one of the most important visual elements in the medium of film.

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The new edition has been brought fully up to date with coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and challenges to the global international order. A new chapter on the Nation-State and multicultural citizenship focuses on identity, community, ethnicity, migration, and regions. In addition to this, a new chapter 11, ‘Direct Democracy’, provides cutting-edge analysis of referendums, citizen assemblies, and other forms of democratic innovations. Additional analysis of gender equality, poverty, and climate change is provided from a global perspective in the new chapter 22, which examines the impact of public policies. And finally, a new chapter 25, ‘Promoting and Protecting Democracy’, draws on the latest developments, such as global shifts towards authoritarian regimes and autocracy, and international relations perspectives, to present a clear overview of democracy promotion.

An unrivalled amount of empirical material in the text illustrates the key similarities and differences across political systems. The wealth of empirical data also encourages students to go beyond the ‘what’ of comparison to the ‘how’. Combining cutting edge treatment of theories and truly global geographical coverage, this exciting textbook is essential reading for all comparative politics students.

The sixth edition includes a wealth of embedded digital resources, which are accessible through the enhanced e-book. These include:

– Multiple-choice questions for every section, designed to reinforce students’ understanding of key points through frequent and cumulative revision, and to assist with independent self-study
– Interactive graphs with live-updating data, which allow readers to manipulate and customise their own charts, to help reinforce understanding of empirical data in the context of each chapter
– A library of web links to relevant databases, blogs, debates, and videos, to help explore research interests and take learning further
– Answers to end of chapter questions, which contain useful hints and tips to help tackle the knowledge-based, critical thinking, and applied questions
– Videos of news reports, speeches, analysis, and key events to help bring theories and concepts to life
– A bank of comparative tables and country profiles, which illustrate ideas and concepts, but can also be used in students’ own research and analysis, giving readers a real sense of how comparative politics works in practice.
– An interactive flashcard glossary to test students’ knowledge and understanding of each chapter’s key terms

Teaching resources for adopting lecturers include:
– Seminar activities that lecturers can use to engage their students, based on the content of each chapter
– A bank of questions for lecturers to use to test students’ understanding of key concepts covered in the chapters

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‘We admire people who work hard, who are objective and thorough. We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses. We abhor ruthlessness. The way up our ladder is open to everybody. In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their character as anything else.’ – David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy was considered the ‘father of advertising’ and a creative genius by many of the biggest global brands. First published in 1963, this seminal book revolutionised the world of advertising and became a bible for the 1960s ad generation. It also became an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages. Fizzing with Ogilvy’s pioneering ideas and inspirational philosophy, it covers not only advertising, but also people management, corporate ethics, and office politics, and forms an essential blueprint for good practice in business.

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From the Iranian hostage crisis through the Gulf War and the World Trade Centre bombing, the West has been haunted by a spectre called ‘Islam’. As portrayed by the news media – and by a chorus of government, academic and corporate experts – ‘Islam’ is synonymous with terrorism and religious hysteria. At the same time, Islamic countries use Islam to justify unrepresentative and often oppressive regimes.

In this landmark work, for which he has written a new introduction, one of our foremost public thinkers examines the origins and repercussions of the media’s monolithic images of Islam. Combining political commentary with literary criticism, Edward Said reveals the hidden assumptions and distortions of fact that underlie even the most ‘objective’ coverage of the Islamic world.

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Winner of the National Book Awards Autobiography of the Year

The long-awaited autobiography of one of Britain’s best-loved actors

Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason spent his early life dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. Giving up on an unloved career as an electrician, he turned his attention to acting and soon, through a natural talent for making people laugh, found himself working with the leading lights of British comedy in the 1960s and ’70s: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Barker. Barker would become a mentor to David, leading to hugely successful stints in Porridge and Open All Hours.

It wasn’t until 1981, kitted out with a sheepskin jacket, a flat cap, and a clapped-out Reliant Regal, that David found the part that would capture the nation’s hearts: the beloved Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter in Only Fools and Horses. Never a one-trick pony, he had an award-winning spell as TV’s favourite detective Jack Frost, took a country jaunt as Pop Larkin in the Darling Buds of May, and even voiced a crime-fighting cartoon rodent in the much-loved children’s show Danger Mouse.

But life hasn’t all been so easy: from missing out on a key role in Dad’s Army to nearly drowning in a freak diving accident, David has had his fair share of ups and downs, and has lost some of his nearest and dearest along the way.

David’s is a touching, funny and warm-hearted story, which charts the course of his incredible five decades at the top of the entertainment business. He’s been a shopkeeper and a detective inspector, a crime-fighter and a market trader, and he ain’t finished yet. As Del Boy would say, it’s all cushty.

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