Books in Order: Mammoth Books by Graham Burgess

'A terrific work that is particularly suited for those from beginner to club player' JOHN WATSON, The Week in Chess The fully revised and updated award-winning, bestselling, classic chess book by FIDE Master and chess world-record holder, Graham Burgess. Comprehensive and clear, this fully revised and updated fourth edition of… Read More

Improve your chess by studying the greatest games of all time, from Adolf Anderssen's 'Immortal Game' to Magnus Carlsen's world championship victories, and featuring a foreword by five-times World Champion Vishy Anand. This book is written by an all-star team of authors. Wesley So is the reigning Fischer Random World… Read More

You never forget your first time with a vampire. Whether reaquainting yourself with some of your favourite, sexy creatures of the night or getting bitten by the vampire romance phenomenon for the very first time, let the biggest and brightest names in the business help you explore your dark side.… Read More

The Mammoth Book of Codeword Puzzles is a truly bumper collection of these hugely popular puzzles - also known as codewords, cipher crosswords and cipher word puzzles. There are also some fun variations in the form of dropouts, keywords, coded quotes and long diversions. In a codeword puzzle, each grid… Read More

Human mummies, preserved by both accident and intent, have been found on every continent except Antarctica. These enigmatic remains of humanity have fascinated people for centuries. Shrouded in history they have acquired meaning and symbolism quite separate from their value as a source of historic knowledge, inspiring tales of reanimation,… Read More

A truly mammoth football quiz book covering over twenty years of the Premier League and the entire history of the beautiful (and sometimes not so beautiful) game. All the major international tournaments are covered, as well as the full history of the domestic game, both recent and historical - even… Read More

Rather than providing a dictionary of superstitions, of which there are already numerous excellent, exhaustive and, in many cases, academic works which list superstitions from A to Z, Bainton gives us an entertaining flight over the terrain, landing from time to time in more thought-provoking areas. He offers an overview… Read More

For well over a quarter of a century, Gardner Dozois has been defining the field with his annual selection of the very best of recently published science fiction. Every year he showcases truly exceptional contemporary writing, both by undisputed masters of the genre and outstanding up-and-coming writers. Comprising thirty-three fantastic… Read More

For more than 80 years H. P. Lovecraft has inspired writers of horror and supernatural fiction with his dark vision of humankind's insignificant place in a vast, uncaring cosmos. At the time of his death in 1937, Lovecraft was virtually unknown, but from early cult status his readership expanded exponentially;… Read More

Fact is never more strange than fiction than when it comes to crime, and the crimes described here are so bizarre it's inconceivable that they could have been made up. In this all-new collection of truly unusual crimes, a sequel to the bestselling Mammoth Book of Bizarre Crimes, Odell and… Read More

Giant monsters whose every roar and footstep shakes the earth, whose simple stroll through a city wreaks havoc: KAIJU! And even though humankind has never really seen such monsters - we tremble at the thought of them and love to shiver as their screen versions make mayhem: the beast from… Read More

Maxim Jakubowski, together with Nathan Braund, edited the bestselling Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper (1999), which has reprinted several times and was reissued in 2008 in a revised and expanded edition. The book focused on the countless theories that have been put forward with regard to the identity of… Read More

We think of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, but far more seductive is the pairing of Holmes and Professor James Moriarty, 'the Napoleon of crime' - a rivalry unparalleled in the world of crime fiction. Fiercely intelligent and a relentless schemer, Moriarty is the super-villain as megastar. This wonderfully diverse… Read More

For decades now Gardner Dozois has been presenting his annual selection of the very best of recently published SF stories, both byoutstanding up-and-coming writers and undisputed masters of the genre. It has been voted Year's Best Anthology by the readers of Locus magazine an unparalleled eighteen times and remains the… Read More

Everyone’s heard of Usain Bolt, but how many people know about Dineka Maguire? Like Bolt, the Irish woman is a world record holder but in the rather lesser known sport of bog snorkelling. She is just one of the hundreds of unsung heroes featured in this book chronicling the people… Read More

Frankenstein . . . his very name conjures up images of plundered graves, secret laboratories, electrical experiments and reviving the dead. Within these pages, the maddest doctor of them all and his demented disciples once again delve into the Secrets of Life, as science fiction meets horror when the world's… Read More

This selection of the very best writing on Everest begins with the first attempts and continues, via Mallory's failed bid and Hillary and Tenzing's triumph, to the disasters of recent years. It features 35 white-knuckle accounts of climbing on the world's highest mountain, with all the tragedy and triumph of… Read More

In this wonderful anthology of new stories, Sherlock Holmes travels to the far ends of the Earth in search of truth and justice. A host of singularly talented writers, while remaining respectful towards Conan Doyle's work, present a new and thrilling dimension to Holmes's career. Full list of contributors: Simon… Read More

Dieselpunk: an emerging retro-futuristic sub-genre, similar to steampunk, based on the era between the First World War and the start of the Atomic Age, merging elements of noir, pulp, and the past with today’s technology . . . and sometimes a dash of the occult. Award-winning editor Wallace presents a… Read More

Outrageous, even shocking confessions of uniform fantasies and amazing sexual adventures, from what happens when an English Rose is cuffed in the backwoods of Georgie by a Texas Highway Patrol trooper to a waitress at a wedding reception rescued from a night of boredom in an ill-fitting uniform by members… Read More

The third new collection of historical murder and mystery stories A brilliant new collection of thirty stories of mystery and intrigue spread over three thousand years, from Ancient Egypt to spies on the Titanic. Selected by bestselling editor Mike Ashley, the stories include brand new contributions as well as rare… Read More

An all-new collection of exciting murder-mysteries with historical settings This new volume of historical murder and mystery contains over 20 specially commissioned stories ranging in period from Ancient Rome to the reign of Good Queen Bess. It features original stories from such masters as Steven Saylor, Peter Tremayne, Philip Gooden,… Read More

By 1969, following the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, over 500,000 US troops were ‘in country’ in Vietnam. Before America’s longest war had ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975, 450,000 Vietnamese had died, along with 36,000 Americans. The Vietnam War was the first rock ’n’ roll war,… Read More

In this encyclopedic book, Lewis provides insights into the origins, training, tactics, weapons and achievements of special forces and special mission units throughout the world, focusing particularly on US and UK forces. He also looks at the codes that that bind the members of these elite units together. He reveals… Read More

Set in a lush, steamy world of ceaseless rain, swamps, alligators, overgrown cemeteries, and home-grown magic, these are dark and scary, yet pleasurably thrilling stories that unfold sinister secrets at every turn. These paranormal, suspenseful Southern Gothic romances are by both bestselling authors and bright up-and-coming talents, including Jill Archer,… Read More

A collection of over 40 original, sensual and provocative sexual adventures, this thirteenth volume of The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica offers the very best new work of both deservedly well-known names and up-and-coming talents. The previous volume included stories by Peggy Munson; Elissa Wald; French author Emma Becker;… Read More

Prepare to be even more revolted, flabbergasted, appalled and entertained by this incredible follow-up collection of bizarre but absolutely true trivia. Nothing is too distasteful for this astonishing compendium, including scores of eclectic lists to amuse, astonish and appal your friends. Entries include: 10 Road-kill Recipes History’s 10 Most Murderous… Read More

For decades now Gardner Dozois has been presenting his annual selection of the very best of recently published SF stories, both by undisputed masters of the genre and by outstanding up-and-coming writers. It has been voted Year’s Best Anthology by the readers of Locus magazine an unparalleled eighteen times and… Read More

Women have always written powerful, important science fiction stories. This anthology showcases the most exceptional stories written by women in recent decades, from classic stars Ursula K. Le Guin and James Tiptree Jr, science fiction greats Nancy Kress, Lois McMaster Bujold and Karen Joy Fowler, new award-winning talents Elizabeth Bear… Read More

For a quarter of a century, this multiple award-winning annual selection has showcased some of the very best, and most disturbing, short stories and novellas of horror and the supernatural. As always, this landmark volume features superior fiction from such masters of the genre and newcomers in contemporary horror as… Read More

Compiled by comic artist ILYA, whose stories are published in the US (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse), Japan (Kodansha) and Europe, The Mammoth Book of Cult Comics brings together for the first time in a single volume lost classics from recent decades of underground and independent British and American comic strip… Read More

An incredible 30,000 flights – at least – arrive safely at their destinations every day. But a handful don’t, while some come terrifyingly close to crashing. When even the smallest thing does go wrong at 35,000 feet, the result is nearly always a fast-unfolding tragedy. This extensive collection of compelling… Read More

A fantastic collection of stories of love and intrigue that focus on the trappings of the popular Victorian era, enlivened with fantastical elements and incorporating some noir and detective pieces, by O. M. Grey, Leanna Renee Hieber, N. K. Jemisin, Eliza Knight, Sarah Prineas, Delia Sherman, Genevieve Valentine and many… Read More

From the editor of The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, this anthology of steam-powered short stories, dirigibles aloft, retro-tech wonders, and astounding adventure will set clockwork-loving hearts hammering with delight. Longtime steampunk fans: prepare to gleefully grab your goggles to read these remarkable stories! Newcomers: prepare to become fans of this… Read More

A stellar collection of short fantasy fiction from authors who have made an impact over the last decade, along with some bestselling favourites. These stories of life-and-death struggles and magical force, used for good and evil, by Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tanith Lee, K. J. Parker, Carrie Vaughn and many… Read More

Skulls have always captured the human imagination. This extraordinary collection of the most engaging and intriguing images of the skull from pop culture around the world, presents a visual feast of the ultimate doom-laden image. Here you will find the skull in graphic novels, manga, graphic design, art, costume, make-up,… Read More

A fantastic, all-new, third volume of tattoo art – both tattoos and original artworks – showcasing the best recent work of the world’s most outstanding tattoo artists. The format is compact, but contains over 600 full-colour photographs of the work of international tattoo art stars, including Frank Carter, Camila Rocha,… Read More

BDSM/Bondage and Dominance and Submission, recently brought to such extraordinary prominence by 50 Shades of Grey, are perennially popular erotic themes. This collection of over 40 outstanding new stories by some of the best writers of erotica and romance, including Kay Jaybee, K. D. Grace and Rachel Kramer Bussel –… Read More

This superb annual anthology of the year’s most outstanding short crime fiction published in the UK is now well into its second decade. Jakubowski has succeeded, once again, in unearthing the best short crime stories of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish authors (along with a handful of US writers living… Read More

This compendious celebration of ineptitude includes some of history’s most spectacularly ill-conceived expeditions and entirely useless pursuits, and features tales of black comedy, insane foolhardiness, breathtaking stupidity and relentless perseverance in the face of inevitable defeat. It rejoices in men and women made of the Wrong Stuff: writers who believed… Read More

True stories of temptation and seduction from the big city – spanking, domination and submission, group games, and every other kind of downright rude and kinky fuckery you can imagine, as well as some you probably can’t. This collection of over 100 first-person accounts of amazing sexual adventures, in which… Read More

This dazzling new collection of off-the-wall fantasies features stories from the minds of the funniest writers in the field, including Esther Friesner, Neil Gaiman, Tom Holt, Paul di Filippo, Adam Roberts and Molly Brown. Here are 35 stories guaranteed to reassure us that the next-door world will be just as… Read More

An all-encompassing, chronological guide to football's World Cup, one of the world's few truly international events, in good time for the June 2018 kick-off in Russia. From its beginnings in 1930 to the modern all-singing, all-dancing self-styled 'greatest show on Earth', every tournament is covered with features on major stars… Read More

Mystery and murder from the Sands of Time; This anthology covers two periods in history - the time of 'Ancient Egypt' which stretches from the First Dynasty in 4000 BC to the time of the Roman Empire, and the time of the Discoveries, which covers the Napoleonic and Victorian periods… Read More

Eighteen classic sea-faring tales by the best-loved writers of the genre, including Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester, Richard Woodman, Herman Melville and Frederick Marryat. Featuring favourite heroes such as Captain Jack Aubrey, Adam Hardy, Horatio Hornblower and Nathaniel Drinkwater. These tales vividly re-create the age of the glory days of… Read More

Twenty true stories of covert military operations, from raids into Laos by elite unit MAC-V-SOG to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War to the US Navy SEAL 6 operation Neptune's Spear in Abbottabad which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. Lewis shines a light… Read More

A collection of 48 original, sensual and provocative sexual adventures, the twelfth volume of The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica offers the very best new work of both deservedly well-known names and up-and-coming talents, including Peggy Munson, for the first time; Elissa Wald; French author Emma Becker; award-winning SF… Read More

The biggest-ever selection of first-hand accounts and news reports of shark attacks, both recent and historical, shows how sharks are masters of the ocean and how we enter their domain at our own risk. Think you're safe in the Med? Read about the Great Whites that thrive near holiday beaches.… Read More

Murders, suicides, unexplained deaths, scandalous romances, illegitimate children, cover-ups, and more, from the 1920s to Hollywood's Golden Age in the 1960s and right up to the present day. It covers over 60 scandals including: The Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Scandal; Clark Gable's Baby Scandals; The Rape of Patricia Douglas; The Life… Read More

For nearly twenty-five years The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror has been the world's leading annual anthology dedicated solely to showcasing the best in contemporary horror fiction. Comprising the most outstanding new short fiction by both contemporary masters of horror and exciting newcomers, this multiple award-winning series also offers… Read More

For nearly three decades, Gardner Dozois has been presenting his weighty and eclectic annual selection of short science fiction that deserves to be better known to a wider audience. It has consistently been voted Year's Best Anthology by the readers of Locus magazine, overwhelmingly more often than any other collection.… Read More

Funny, fearless and absolutely filthy-nearly 3,000 more uncensored, dirty, sick, and deeply politically incorrect jokes, covering just about every topic imaginable, from adultery to (sex in) Zoos, including an assortment of bad taste lists. A worthy, all-new follow-on to the first bestselling volume. Read More

A comprehensive category killer, with over 6,000 varied questions on every topic imaginable - as well as some you might not imagine. The 400 quizzes are a mixture of general knowledge and specialist rounds all aimed at the popular pub or society quiz market on science and technology; nature and… Read More

Thrilling tales of romantic suspense set in the emergency room and the hospital as a whole. These are romances which go beyond the classic doctor-nurse romances of yesteryear, having more in common with popular contemporary TV dramas such as House, ER, and Scrubs. This is 'medical romance', reinvented for today… Read More

Mike Ashley is back with an all-new edition of one of the bestselling Mammoth Books ever, from the funniest writers in the field, including Neil Gaiman, Tom Holt, and Terry Jones. The thirty- five off-the-wall comic fantasies featured in Ashley's new collection are a mix of specially written stories and… Read More

An all-new collection of both black-and-white and color erotic art photography, featuring the work of 74 leading photographers from the US, Europe, and beyond who have made a name for themselves with their female nude and erotic work, including Renée Jacobs, Thomas Karsten, Chas Ray Krider, Steven Lyon, Natacha Merritt,… Read More

New from the bestselling Dr Gareth Moore, in full colour throughout, the truly fun way to a fitter brain. The ebook edition has been specially modified to make all the puzzles work on screen. Traditional brain-training programmes tend to include a range of tasks which few of us would classify… Read More

The Western, though a singularly American art form, is one of the great genres of world literature with a truly global readership. It is also durable despite being often unfairly maligned. Ever since James Fenimore Cooper transformed frontier yarns into a distinct literary form, the Western has followed two paths:… Read More

This thought-provoking collection not only takes us into the past and the future, but also explores what might happen if we attempt to manipulate time to our own advantage. These stories show what happen once you start to meddle with time and the paradoxes that might arise. It also raises… Read More

True stories of prison breaks including those of Frank Abagnale, whose story is told in Catch Me If You Can; Henri Charrière who claimed to have escaped from the supposedly inescapable Devil's Island - the true story as opposed to his questionable memoir, Papillon; Bud Day, said to be the… Read More

'The greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world!' This vainglorious introduction given to The Rolling Stones on stage by an excitable roadie was almost immediately accepted as a simple statement of fact. It was already evident that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Co. were, as their first manager Andrew… Read More

Seriously hot erotica from the top writers in the field - Jude Mason, Elizabeth Coldwell, J. T. Seate, Sommer Marsden, Kay Jaybee, Giselle Renarde and Ralph Greco Jr. to name just a few. There are 43 superbly-written stories in this bumper collection. If you like your erotica tame, this is… Read More

Seriously hot gay erotica from the top writers in the field - Landon Dixon, M. Christian, Julian Benedict and Richard Hiscock to name just a few. There are no fewer than 44 superbly-written stories in this bumper collection. If you like your erotica limp, this is not for you. ·… Read More

Despite our tendency to think of the demonic as evil and the angelic as good, our own legends don't always bear this out. Angels can be the incarnation of light and salvation, but they can also fall - Satan himself is a fallen angel. Demons can be truly demonic, but… Read More

These exceptional photographs put you right in the cage with the fighters and take you behind the walls of the dojo and into their lives - you can't get closer than this. Lee Whitehead has spent over five years training in the sport of mixed martial arts and photographing it… Read More

The zombie - a soulless corpse raised from the grave to do its master's bidding - may have had its factual basis in the voodoo ceremonies of the West Indies, but it is in fiction, movies, video games and comics that the walking dead have flourished. What makes a zombie?… Read More

Twenty-three spellbinding tales of sorcery, wizardry and witchcraft, of the ceaseless battle between good and evil. From dark lords and epic clashes between the forces of good and evil to a child's struggle to control magical powers for the first time this wonderfully varied collection comprises stories by the most… Read More

Over 130 short, short erotic stories of about 1,500 words each, or over 500 pages of outstanding erotica in bite-sized pieces, exploring the full range of human sensual and sexual experience. Each one of eight sections is devoted to a specific erotic kink, such as spanking, submission, voyeurism, uniforms or… Read More

There's no such thing as a free lunch - even for wives - and if Rebecca wants to keep the Aston Martin, she'll have to indulge her husband's voyeuristic tendencies. Two cocks are always more satisfying than one and that's exactly what lucky Madeline gets. Sophie had only gone in… Read More

Outrageous, delightfully shocking confessions from ordinary women doing extraordinary things - spanking, domination and submission, group games, and every other kind of downright rude and kinky fuckery you can imagine, as well as some you probably can't. Chloë wasn't the least bit worried about her job performance evaluation - sure,… Read More

On the tennis court, Fernando and Robbie are the deadliest of rivals. But off it, they play a very different kind of love game, as a delay to the men's singles finals gives them an opportunity to prove . . . Jude is accepted into an exclusive gay sex club… Read More

Over a hundred eyewitness accounts of the reality of combat from some of the finest writers of the last century and our own. Lucid, vivid, complex images of conflict, from Walt Whitman on the American Civil War to contemporary reporting from Afghanistan. The collection includes Martha Gellhorn on the Battle… Read More

Here in one seductive volume is the finest erotic writing of the year 2006-2007, from around the world. Containing more than 40 new stories, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica offers an addictive menu of sex in all its splendour. These tales trace the extraordinary variety of the erotic… Read More

Love will find a way - 19 fantastic future-set romances. The good news is, in the future there will be no shortage of romance. On space ships, on newly-colonized planets or on a barely recognizable Earth, life forms, whether human, alien or something in between, will find their way to… Read More

New mysteries, as well as variations on recurring ones, continue to surface on a weekly basis around the globe, from showers of frogs over Hungary to birds falling to earth in Arkansas. This compendious round-up of unexplained phenomena examines everything from the experiments being done with the Large Hadron Collider… Read More

From the pens of today's leading female writers of lesbian erotica come tales of passion and lust, anticipation and regret, ecstasy and bliss. The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica, edited by Rose Collis, brings together forty-eight rewarding tales from women writers around the world. Read More

Unputdownable short erotic fiction from the most outstanding writers in the field. Once again, Maxim Jakubowski has put together a masterful selection of over 40 stories of sexual encounters from every corner of the world. From both acclaimed writers and exceptional newcomers, this is powerful erotica which explores the full… Read More

This bumper collection of Irish humour covers topics such as Absenteeism and Zoos and everything in between. It would be disappointing should such a large collection not include the best of famous Irish wits such as Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, but the emphasis is very much on contemporary… Read More

Seriously hot lesbian erotica from the top writers in the field - Olivia London, Lynn Lake, Catherine Lundoff, Eva Hore, Kannan Feng and Lucy Felthouse to name just a few. There are no fewer than 42 superbly-written stories in this bumper collection. · Chloe wasn't the least bit worried about… Read More

25 chilling short stories by outstanding female writers. Women have always written exceptional stories of horror and the supernatural. This anthology aims to showcase the very best of these, from Amelia B. Edwards's 'The Phantom Coach', published in 1864, through past luminaries such as Edith Wharton and Mary Elizabeth Braddon,… Read More

An engrossing A-Z of over 60 gory years of slasher and splatter movies, from Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later to Lucio Fulci's Zombie Flesh Eaters. Here you will find the low-down on over 250 movies with entries from 23 different countries. The index, which includes every movie mentioned in the… Read More

The year's best, and darkest, tales of terror, showcasing the most outstanding new short stories by both contemporary masters of the macabre and exciting newcomers. As ever, this acclaimed anthology also offers a comprehensive overview of the year in horror, a necrology of recently deceased luminaries, and a list of… Read More

From the man behind the bestselling Mammoth Book of Jokes, an all-new, enormous collection of fantastic jokes - indexed and categorised to help find the right joke for the right occasion, from Bar-Mitzvahs to bar-rooms. Bigger, better, and even bulkier than before, The Mammoth Book of Jokes 2 is the… Read More

Reminiscent of both "Damnation Alley" by Roger Zelazny and "The Postman" by David Brin, "And the Deep Blue Sea" offers almost three stories for the price of one. Read More

Astronomer Harry Malibert is at an airport when nuclear war breaks out. Having been recognised by a fan, he is offered a seat on a plane to Iceland. Though most of Reykjavík has been destroyed by a thermonuclear weapon, the rest of the Iceland has been left untouched. Malibert and… Read More

Indebted to Gaia Vince's New Scientist article 'Surviving in a Warmer World', Paul di Filippo's story depicts the life of Aurbindo Bandjalang in the climate change-ravaged planet of the Anthropocene Age. A member of the Reboot Civilisation, 'AB' is part of a new configuration of humanity, nine billion people crowded… Read More

This story is not part of the Revelation Space series. It was developed from notes for an unwritten novel and maybe one day that novel will be completed, for we need to know the fate of the Earth. This story presents one of the more unusual apocalyptic ideas. Read More

In a time beyond the apocalypse, when the remnants of society are trying to restore life to the way it once was, three young circus children go exploring in the town where the circus is camped. As they wander the empty streets they stumble upon a building they will never… Read More

A parody of the end-of-the-world theme in which time travel allows Nick, Jane and their friends to witness the final apocalypse. As a group of friends gather for Mike and Ruby's party, each couple boasts about their recent trip to the end of the world: a new holiday service available… Read More

In this the twenty-fifth edition of his celebrated annual Mammoth Book of Best New SF (its 29th as The Year's Best SF in the United States), award-winning editor Gardner Dozois presents most outstanding pieces of short science fiction from 2011, along with his typically informative notes on each author. Many… Read More

Paranormal romance was never going to be content with just vampires and werewolves - and the fantastic stories within this collection lay claim to much, much more. Here you will find well-loved, bestselling authors writing under pseudonyms, fresh stars, and steadfast favourites, together offering an assorted feast of mythical beasts,… Read More

Alien Abduction Some 2,740 US citizens claim to have been abducted by aliens each day. That's an incredible 2% of a population of 300 million. Surely statistically some of these cases must bear truths? Area 51 It is rumoured that Area 51 houses the UFO disc found at Roswell, as… Read More

Everyone loves a good conspiracy. From the Jonestown massacre and the Philadelphia experiment to Nazi gold and the moon landing, there are umpteen conspiracy theories that even the least sceptical of us can recall and discuss at length. Entire libraries have been furnished and internet forums filled with this cultural… Read More

The Dead Sea Scrolls Why was it so important these documents should not be seen? What ancient historical secret was so big that it had to be buried forever? Freemasons Is this group of seemingly innocuous middle-aged men linked to almost every evil perpetuated? Are they really just an eccentric… Read More

This mammoth book brings together some of the modern world's most head-scratching deaths and disappearances, from the murder of rap royalty Tupac Shakur to Princess Diana's car crash in Paris, via the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko and JFK's assassination. Is it possible that prisoners of war remain… Read More

7/7 Is the government covering up evidence of bungling by the intelligence services before the 7/7 bombings in London? 9/11 Did George Bush stage the 9/11 attack, or at least purposefully allow for it to occur so he could generate support to invade Afghanistan for reasons linked to the oil… Read More

Stories often find their origins in unexpected ways," Strantzas reveals. "I was inspired in this case by a photograph of a Zen garden I once used as my computer's desktop background. After staring at it day-in and day-out while I worked, I began to wonder about that dark circle of… Read More

When I was first asked to contribute to Exotic Gothic 3 (which was to feature Gothic-influenced stories in non-Gothic environments), I agreed without really thinking about it," Unsworth explains, "and then spent a long time struggling, trying to work out how, precisely, I was going to manage it or quite… Read More

"My cousin-by-marriage Sean Lavery, knowing my love for weird and outré websites, sent me a link to the Dark Roasted Blend site (www.darkroastedblend.com)," reveals the author, "where I found several pages featuring photographs of abandoned places. "My imagination was fired by pictures taken at Chippewa Lake Park in Medina, Ohio,… Read More

Kelly recalls: "The genesis of 'Princess of the Night' is a little murky. It was written for an anthology of Halloween tales. Alas, it didn't make it into the book. The tale then sold to a slick new professional magazine, where it promptly languished for four years until the magazine… Read More

The Reunion" is based on actual events," reveals the author, "but the story only really came into focus for me when I was invited to contribute to Ellen Datlow's Poe anthology. Poe is brilliant. I was at a conference recently where a teacher revealed that she had read Poe's 'The… Read More

THE WOODS - Michael Kelly Michael Kelly reveals "The Woods' was written for an anthology seeking regional horror and ghost stories. I'd just read Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephant's'. Now, in no way am I comparing myself to Hemingway but I wanted to write a similarly brief tale, with only… Read More

After the Ape - Stephen Volk "The notion of 'what happened next?' following a classic monster movie - probably the biggest and best - was an intriguing one to me," says Stephen Volk, "and not only the initial considerations of public health issues. "Somehow kicking this off and shadowing its… Read More

Six short stories to shake you to your core. Out and Back by Barbara Roden An abandoned amusement park attracts unwary thrill seekers The Game of Bear - Reggie Oliver & M. R. James Reggie Oliver completes M. R. James' unfinished classic. Shem-el-Nessim: An Inspiration in Perfume - Chris Bell… Read More

I wrote 'Christmas with the Dead' simply because I wanted to write a holiday horror story," Lansdale admits. "This was the result. Read More

I don't like writing at home much," admits Shearman. "Home is a place for sleeping and eating and watching afternoon game shows on TV. There are too many distractions. So, years ago, I decided I'd only write first drafts in art galleries. "And the best of them all is the… Read More

'Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' came about firstly because I was commissioned to write a story for the World Horror Convention souvenir book and, as the event was to take place in Brighton, it seemed logical to set a tale on the South coast of England.… Read More

Taken from The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 22, edited by Stephen Jones. As Smith recalls: "This story came about in the simplest way, the way I always enjoy most - something happening in real life that makes you think 'What if?' "Our household gets a lot of its… Read More

The author reveals the following story "...began with a dreadful image at the end of a dream. I couldn't remember the other details of that dream, but I was determined to find out where that image might have come from." Read More

I carried the bones of this story around for quite a few years before I finally stumbled upon its beating heart," explains the author. "In my head was the image of a doll house, huge and not quite right, and a woman searching desperately for something concealed inside. But I… Read More

Campbell reveals, "My fellow clansman Paul Campbell will remember the birth of this tale. At the Dead Dog party after the 2010 World Horror Convention in Brighton, someone was throwing a delighted toddler into the air. I was ambushed by an idea and had to apologise to Paul for rushing… Read More

In this grizzly anthology of the undead, four fascinatingly horrid dystopian universes are described, with zombies taking centre stage. Included are: What Will Come After - Scott Edelman In this most personal of zombie stories, the author imagines himself as the protagonist, looking ahead to what would happen after his… Read More

The Pier - Thana Niveau "The pier exists," explains Thana Niveau, "and yes, it is decorated with strange plaques and cryptic memorials, although none are quite as morbid as I've invented. "It's mostly Clevedon Pier, which is where the story was born. I was reading the plaques one day and… Read More

Oh I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside - Christopher Fowler Christopher Fowler explains "'. . . Seaside' came about firstly because I was commissioned to write a story for the World Horror Convention souvenir book and, as the event was to take place in Brighton, it seemed logical… Read More

Black Country - Joel Lane "'Black Country' is one of a sequence of weird crime stories set in the West Midlands that I've been working on for years," says Joel Lane. "A collection of them is forthcoming with the title Where Furnaces Burn. 'Black Country' is also a sequel to… Read More

Substitutions - Michael Marshall Smith Michael Marshall Smith recalls: "This story came about in the simplest way, the way I always enjoy most - something happening in real life that makes you think 'What if?' "Our household gets a lot of its food via an online delivery service, and one… Read More

Autumn Chill - Richard L. Tierney Inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Donald Wandrei, Robert E. Howard and Frank Belknap Long, Tierney's poetry has been collected in Dreams and Damnations, The Doom Prophet and One Other, the Arkham House volume of Collected Poems, Nightmares and Visions,… Read More

What Happens When You Wake Up in the Night - Michael Marshall Smith For Michael Marshall Smith, this was one of those stories that dropped straight into his head, but the problem was that he didn't want it: "It wasn't an idea I liked. It was clearly some part of… Read More

Craftsman and amateur astronomer Geoffrey Carlisle from Ely discovers that the moon is fractionally ahead of its usual elliptical orbit. He becomes instantaneously well-known for his unique observation. Using Carlisle's findings, astronomy experts discover that each star circling the moon has been slightly warped. Yet after some time, as Professor… Read More

'Death in the Promised Land' explores the potential dangers of becoming too closely involved in virtual reality. Parts of the story were later reworked into the novel Tea from an Empty Cup (1988), which had a sequel in Dervish is Digital (2001), both excellent examples of merging cyberpunk with the… Read More

Far in the distant, post-human future, the Cater-Zimmermann community set out to refute the theory that the universe is created exclusively for mankind by cloning themselves a thousand times over and sending each copy to a different star within the galaxy. One of the copies of Cater-Zimmermann, Paolo Venetti, arrives… Read More

"The Region Between" first appeared in Galaxy back in 1970. It had originally been commissioned as one of a set of stories by different authors who all used a common starting point as set out in the story's prologue, written by Keith Laumer. Ellison's contribution was a longer work than… Read More

When Sora's swallowship is taken out by a swarm during the war she is rescued by Merlin, a legendary man who has allegedly discovered a super-weapon built by the Way creators; a gun so powerful it I said to have stopped the previous war. Sora is sceptical, though, for Merlin… Read More

Watching Lois Perform After a tough board meeting, Jack tells Lois he knows exactly what she needs. She's an independent woman and tries to resist, but Jack's masterful ways soon take Lois into a new world of sexual discovery--at his command. Richard's Secret A committed couple are offered an eager… Read More

The Lindy Shark The Lindy Shark is a master at maneuvering through the crowds of dancers. Seductive on his feet, exceptional in bed, he woos his prey rather than dining on them-but leaves them demolished, nonetheless. Ten Minutes in the 80s "For ten minutes in the eighties, I was beautiful.… Read More

The Dress A very sexy vinyl dress transforms a young attorney into a seductress. A night on the town proves to be more interesting than she anticipate when her career and personal life collide in a most erotic way. In the Stacks Intrigued by a patron with an interesting hobby,… Read More

Blinded A simple blindfold brings spice to a young couple's sex life. When they vow to make each time more exciting than the last, they are drawn into an escalating power game that threatens to destroy what they love most. Picture Perfect A wife's first attempt at intimate shaving inspires… Read More

The Epicures In Manhattan's financial boom of the 1980s, an open-minded married couple befriends a lovely Russian girl who shares their love of international wines and gourmet foods - and their unusual taste for sex in the kitchen. Baby It's Cold Outside On their way to a hockey game in… Read More

The Plague Lovers A young woman in 14th century Italy flees the ravages of the bubonic plague with a mysterious lover who shows her how the pleasures of sex and suffering can intertwine. Later, she uses her knowledge of herbs and plants to inflict suffering of her own. Baubo's Kiss… Read More

Memorandum A slutty secretary is formally reprimanded for her oversexed behaviour while on the job. The resultant memorandum details her erotic escapades in great detail -- including sex with her various bosses and highly inappropriate and revealing clothing. But all may not be as it seems; what is this office… Read More

The Color of Lust A shark, seedy poolhall, and a wager ... Daisy knew the hustle but what she didn't count on was being played herself. But in the best possible way.... Everything But The Smell Of Lilies In the near future, Justine is a sex worker with a unique… Read More

Movements A married couple explores the possibilities of swinging, partner-swapping, and making money online through amateur pornography... The Dress A man finds a skimpy, sexy black dress and convinces his wife to wear it in public, enticing her exhibitionist desires and his voyeuristic delights. What seems to be a mere… Read More

The KC Suite Memories of an affair in words and stolen dialogue, as a lover reconstructs the anatomy of lust and love and the dangerous ways in which they combine. A Map of The Pain A married woman flees her past life and goes on the road. A sexual calvary… Read More

Black Helicopters Black helicopters are believed by some to be used for the surveillance of patriotic groups opposed to the takeover of the United States by foreign powers. Those sinister, silent, Black Hawk Down-style copters are hard to miss, but what exactly is their role? The British Royal Family According… Read More

Taking you on a journey through the garden of sensual delights that is erotic literature, this collection aims to educate, excite, surprise and instruct you through the writings of Kathy Acker, Anne Rice, Marco Vasssi, Vicki Hendricks, Michael Hemmingson , Thomas Roche and Stewart Home. Read More

Reading and selecting the best from over 4000 submissions, Maxim Jakubowski has composed a new volume of the best erotic writing from 2001-2002. Contributors come from around the world and include a mixture of established writers and bright new talent. Although the final list has yet to be confirmed, outstanding… Read More

Reading and selecting the best from over 4000 submissions, Maxim Jakubowski has composed a new volume of the best erotic writing of 2003. Contributors come from around the world and include a mixture of established writers and bright new talent. Read More

This is a fabulous collection of new writing from all over the world during 2003-4, selected by bestselling editor Maxim Jakubowski. These tales explore the extraordinary variety of the erotic experience, as men and women play out the eternal rhythms of desire. Here is explicit sexual drama in all its… Read More

In the realm of the senses, everything can be explored. A fabulous collection of new writing from all over the world during 2004-05, selected by bestselling editor Maxim Jakubowski. These tales explore the extraordinary variety of the erotic experience, as men and women play out the eternal rhythms of desire.… Read More

Maxim Jakubowski's skilful editorship has resulted in a collection of the best erotic writing from 2000-2001. Contributors come from the UK and America, plus Europe, the Antipodes, South America and the Asian subcontinent. The book contains a mixture of established talents such as Michael Hemmingson, M. Christian, Marilyn Jaye Lewis,… Read More

A wonderful collection of stories of supernatural love by Sharon Shinn, Annette Blair, Caridad Pineiro, Jennifer Estep, Gwyn Cready, Carolyn Crane, Jeannie Holmes, Anna Campbell, Julia London, Christie Ridgway, Holly Lisle and Liz Maverick. In happy-ever-after endings, ghosts come to life so that lovers can be united in the flesh. Read More

Stranded on Bering Island - Georg Wilhelm Steller As physician and scientific know-all on Vitus Bering's 1741 voyage, Steller shared its triumphs, including landing the first Europeans in Alaska. He also shared its disasters. Returning across the north Pacific to Russian Kamchatka, the crew was stricken with scurvy and the… Read More

Escape from Riyadh - William Gifford Palgrave A scholar and a solider, a Jesuit and a Jew, a French spy and a British ambassador- Palgrave was a man of contradictions, all of them highly compromised when in 1862-3, fortified by Pius IX's blessing and Napoleon III's cash, he attempted the… Read More

Alone in Africa - Mungo Park Park's 1795-7 odyssey in search of the Niger first awakened the world to the feasibility of a white man penetrating sub-Saharan Africa. But unlike his illustrious successors, this quiet tenant farmer's son from the Scottish Borders travelled alone; relieved of his meager possessions, he… Read More

Among the Sudanese - James Bruce Bruce reached the source of the Blue Nile in 1771, a century before the search for the source of the White Nile became headline news. His descriptions of the cruelties and orgies at Gondar, the Ethiopian capital, were greeted with disbelief; so was his… Read More

Landfall at Botany Bay - James Cook The son of a Yorkshire farm labourer, Cook won distinction as a naval hydrographer but was still a controversial choice to command a voyage of scientific observation to the Pacific in 1768. Its results, including the first coastal surveys of New Zealand and… Read More

First Crossing of America - Alexander Mackenzie "Endowed by nature with an acquisitive mind and an enterprising spirit", Mackenzie, a Scot engaged in the Canadian fur trade, resolved, as he out it "to test the practicability of penetrating across the continent of America". In 1789 he followed a river (the… Read More

Eating Dirt in Venezuela - Alexander von Humboldt Geographer, geologist, naturalist, anthropologist, physician and philosopher, Baron von Humboldt brought to exploration a greater range of enquiry than any contemporary. Also an indomitable traveller, particularly in the Orinoco/Amazon basin (1799-1804), he often invited danger but always in the cause of scientific… Read More

Four Years in the Ice - John Ross Disgraced and dishonored for his report of an imaginary mountain range blocking the most likely access to the North West Passage, in 1829 Ross returned to Canada's frozen archipelago to vindicate his reputation. He rounded the north of Baffin Island and entered… Read More

Farthest South - Ernest Henry Shackleton Born in Ireland, Shackleton joined the merchant navy before being recruited for Captain Scott's 1901 expedition to Antarctica. He was with Scott on his first attempt to reach the South Pole and, though badly shaken by the experience, realized that success was now feasible.… Read More

This book includes more than 1000 monarchs who have at some time ruled all or part of Britain. This includes the host of tribal and Saxon rulers prior to 1066 as well as famous monarchs such as Richard III, Elizabeth I and Charles II and all the rulers of Scotland… Read More

A collection of 10,000 side-splitting one-line jokes arranged in categories from bestselling humour editor Geoff Tibballs. 'Is my wife dissatisfied with my body? A small part of me says yes.' 'Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.' 'I read somewhere… Read More

The Victorian era is significant for the rise of the middle classes and marked changes in social relationships, both in the home and in wider society, with the proliferation of domestic help and the development of increasingly rigid gender roles. These are romances that chafe against the restrictions of the… Read More

Alarms amongst the Uzbeks - Alexander Burnes Of all the "forbidden" cities (Timbuktu, Mecca, Lhasa, Riyadh and so on) none enjoyed a more fearsome reputation that Bukhara in Uzbekistan. The first British Indian expedition, that of William Moorcroft in 1819-26, had never returned. Moorcroft's disappearance, like that of Livingstone or… Read More

Sex scandals, some historical but many contemporary, involving political figures, celebrities, movie stars, sports stars, musicians and artists, from Julius Caesar's affair with Cleopatra, which scandalized Rome and may have contributed to his murder, to what exactly IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn did or didn't get up to in that New… Read More

War is becoming increasingly 'SF-ized' with remotely controlled attack drones and robot warriors already in development and being tested. Over the past 100 years the technology of war has advanced enormously in destructive power, yet also in sophistication so that we no longer seem to live under the constant threat… Read More

Informed by his love of hip hop and graffiti, editor JAKe has compiled a fresh, diverse collection drawn from Rio, Berlin, London, Philadelphia and other street art hotspots. The emphasis is on humour and the artworks venture beyond graffiti to 'installations' such as RONZO's Credit Crunch Monster, cemented in the… Read More

An anthology focusing on newer elements of steampunk, one which deconstructs the staples of the genre and expands on them, rather than simply repeating them, with a greater spread both in terms of location and character. This is steampunk with a modern, post-colonial sensibility. Contributors include: Jeff VanderMeer, Caitlín Kiernan,… Read More

It is now estimated that as much as 10% of the population in the UK and USA carries a tattoo. The huge recent growth in tattoo culture has in turn led to an influx of new talented artists, advancements in pigments and refinement of the equipment used. This giant volume… Read More

Over 700 full-colour photographs of the work of leading tattoo artists from all over the world, including: Horiyoshi III, Filip Leu, Louis Molloy, Hannah Aitchison, Jime Litwalk, Mike DeVries, Buena Vista Tattoo Club, Adam Collins, Face the Fact, Kore Flatmo, Jeff Gogue, Dan Gold, Good Times, Barba Kari, Cecil Porter,… Read More

A gripping collection which offers for the first time a chronological overview of the popular contemporary sub-genre of body horror, from Edgar Allan Poe to Christopher Fowler, with contributions from leading horror writers, including Stephen King, George Langelaan and Neil Gaiman. The collection includes the stories behind seminal body horror… Read More

n this work the full range of sexual experience is explored. In some of the stories the mood is lighthearted, in some it is sad, and a few reach out towards the limits of human desire. The authors range from Martin Amis to Poppy Z. Brite. Read More

In the realm of the senses, everything can be explored A seductive collection of new writing from all over the world during 2005-06, selected by bestselling editor Maxim Jakubowski. These tales explore the extraordinary variety of the erotic experience, as men and women play out the eternal rhythms of desire.… Read More

As usual, acclaimed horror anthologist Stephen Jones has chosen the finest short stories and novellas of supernatural and psychological fiction. With the most comprehensive review of the year, useful contact lists, and a fascinating necrology as a bonus, this is one book that every horror fan must have. Read More

The finest exponents of horror fiction writing today, Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Ramsey Campbell, Kim Newman, Graham Joyce, Paul McCauley, Stephen Gallagher, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Basil Cooper, Glen Hirshberg, Jay Russell, feature in the world's premier annual horror anthology series, another bumper showcase devoted exclusively to excellence in macabre fiction.… Read More

This hugely acclaimed collection is now in its 14th successful year, and Gardner Dozois's selection for 2001 maintains its high standards of excellence with more than 25 SF stories from contemporary talents such as John Kessel, Ursula K Le Guin, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Alastair Reynolds, Brian Stableford, Stephen… Read More

The only essential annual SF collection Widely regarded as the benchmark anthology for every science fiction fan, The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 19 continues to uphold its standard of excellence with over two dozen stories from the previous year. This year's volume includes many bright young talents of… Read More

Far and away the best yearbook of this or any other genre, Gardner Dozois's annual pick of the top science fiction of the year has collected a string of awards, including the Locus Award for the best anthology and the Hugo Award for the best editor. Read More

Now in its fifteenth successful yearl; Once again this annual offering of the best SF includes the work of established masters of the form and of bright new talents, including Stephen Baxter, M. Shayne Bell, Greg Egan, Nancy Kress, Ursula K. Le Guin, Paul J. McCauley, Severan Park, Brian Stableford,… Read More

The one unmissable SF collection Widely regarded as the essential book for every science fiction fan, The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 18 continues to uphold its standard of excellence with more than two dozen stories from the previous year. This year's volume includes not just a host of… Read More

Ten classic stories from the birth of modern science fiction writing The Golden Age of Science Fiction, from the early 1940s through the 1950s, saw an explosion of talent in SF writing including authors such as Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Arthur C. Clarke. Their writing helped science fiction… Read More

True courage is a hugely valued aspect of humanity. Many of the accounts in this volume are in the words of those who were there, of men and women who showed real courage, often with their own lives on the line. The tales include: the death of Sir Thomas More;… Read More

Hear the cannon roar at Valley Forge with George Washington, dance the night away at a Chicago Speakeasy during Prohibition, take a ringside seat for the gunfight at the OK Corral, ride Apollo 11 to the moon, hear Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, join with Harry S.… Read More

Begining with the 1921 attempt on the summit of Everest through to the disasters of the 1990s, this work features 30 white-knuckle accounts of climbing endeavour on the world's highest mountain, with all the tragedy and triumph of humankind's striving for the top of the world, by those who know… Read More

From Julius Caesar's arrival in 55bc to the dawn of the third millennium, here are 300 accounts of exciting and important moments from first hand sources. Featuring snapshots of wartime, political and social unrest, natural disasters, and great individual achievements, plus vignettes of social life - from cockfighting in Tudor… Read More

The most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to American and British special forces, covering all aspects of their equipment, training and deployment in the Iraq age of warfare. It takes a special kind of person to join the Special Forces and those to pass the stringent entrance requirements are subjected to… Read More

Passion and lust from the pens of today's leading writers of gay erotica Over 30 short masterpieces of gay erotic fiction by male writers from around the world are collected in this volume. They include rare gems, new work, complete erotic novellas, sexy and intriguing characters, gorgeous settings. Contributors include… Read More

Here are thirty true and graphic accounts of the most heroic SAS and special-forces missions ever undertaken into the most dangerous place of all - behind enemy lines. Bang up to date, this unputdownable collection includes the most recent operations into Iraq in 2003, Afghanistan and Bosnia, and features the… Read More

The SAS have earned their reputation as the world's toughest fighting unit, from the Falklands War to Kosovo, the Gulf War and other crises elsewhere. This is a step-by-step guide to the tactics of such elite units, with true accounts of the SAS's most famous exploits, as well as those… Read More

Spanning more than 75 years of espionage writing in USA and the UK, here are gripping tales by classic writers in the field including W. Somerset Maugham, Ian Fleming, Leslie Charteris, and Erle Stanley Gardner. They are presented complete and unabridged. Among the now legendary fictional secret agents, counterspies and… Read More

The original Kama Sutra was designed to help lovers to explore the height of sensual and erotic pleasure. Since then numerous variations have been produced on this manual for love-making. Here, in one giant volume, is the fullest ever collection of Kama Sutra positions and its modern variants, including all… Read More

Revised and expanded edition of Jon E. Lewis's ever-popular account of the American West. The book is at once a history and a compendium of western lore. It tells what life on the frontier was really like and gives a human portrait of the tough and sometimes violent way of… Read More

The ultimate guide to the history, background and meaning of whether UFOs really exist, plus associated phenomena such as alien abduction, crop circles and cattle mutilations. There is also a comprehensive overview of the many conspiracy theories which surround UFOs and abductions - from the craft as secret Nazi technology… Read More

Over 400 entries from more than 100 contributors cover everything from the incidents and witnesses involved to the concepts at stake and experts' personal position statements. Entries range from alien abductions, the Fantasy Prone hypothesis and JAL Flight no 1628, to the Lakenheath-Bentwaters Episode, mind control by aliens and Roswell.… Read More

This encyclopedia is the most up-to-date, concise, clear and affordable guide to all aspects of science fiction, from its background to generic themes and devices, from authors (established and new) to films. Science fiction has evolved into one of the most popular, cutting-edge and exciting fiction geners, with a proliferation… Read More

In his account of World War II, historian Jon Lewis has selected 300 first-hand accounts, from Heinz Guderian rolling his panzer tank into Poland to VJ Day in London and New York. More than a eyewitness chronicle, this collection gives the reader an insight into how the repercussions from the… Read More

The spectre of the Great War still haunts us. No other conflict so dramatically illustrates the waste of life, and the slaughter of innocents, as that of 1914-18. And none has so dramatically shaped the modern world: the Russian Revolution, the rise of Hitler, the break-up of Empire, the supremacy… Read More

Bang up to date with fresh cover-ups relating to Barack Obama, Michael Jackson and Afghanistan The 100 military, medical, religious, alien, intelligence, banking and historical cover-ups 'they' really don't want you to know about: The Military-Industrial Complex's fomentation of war with Iraq; the construction of concentration camps in the United… Read More

The very best short SF fiction of any given year as recommended and nominated by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: the best novella, novelette and short story. Here you will find the cream of the crop of science fiction and fantasy - startling ideas,… Read More

Humanity has always used symbols-material objects used to denote difficult, abstract concepts-to describe thoughts and feelings, or to protect secret truths from common knowledge. This concise A-Z guide is a fascinating work of reference that brings to light all the symbols and symbolisms of the world, many aspects of which… Read More

The very best writing on the Antarctic, from James Cook's eighteenth-century assertion that 'no man will ever venture further than I have done' to Lynne Cox's description of her epic, icy swim in the twenty-first century - 32 first-hand accounts of men and women challenging one of the Earth's last… Read More

From his gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games to his defeat of Sonny Liston to claim the world heavyweight championship in 1964, the unforgettable 'Thrilla in Manila' against Joe Frazier and the 'Rumble in the Jungle' against George Foreman, 'The Greatest of All Time', Muhammad Ali, has captured the… Read More

The very best of over ten years of the Best New Erotica series and other erotica titles compiled by Maxim Jakubowski. Stories have been taken from all volumes of The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica with the exception of recent volumes 8 and 9. They have also been drawn… Read More

A humorous collection of hundreds of funny news stories, whacky phenomena, and hilarious blunders and gaffes from around the world, such as: the woman who smuggled 75 live snakes in her bra; the man who held a funeral for his amputated foot; the radioactive cat which got mistaken for a… Read More

The year's best, and darkest, tales of terror, showcasing the most outstanding new short stories and novellas by both contemporary masters of the macabre and exciting newcomers. As ever, this acclaimed anthology also offers the most comprehensive annual overview of horror around the world in all its incarnations; a comprehensive… Read More

The biggest and best collection of jokes for all the family to enjoy. 8,000 rib-ticklers, covering every subject under the sun from Aardvarks to Zombies, including chicken jokes, doctor-doctor jokes, elephant jokes, horror jokes, knock-knock jokes, excruciating puns, riddles, school jokes, sports jokes and waiter jokes. Most of the jokes… Read More