John O\'Farrell Boeken

This history of medieval inventions, spanning the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, highlights a vibrant period of human creativity whose impact continues today. Innovations such as the mechanical clock and the first eyeglasses transformed society, with many modern devices tracing their roots back to this era. The text is organized into ten thematic chapters, allowing readers to explore specific interests or read sequentially for a comprehensive understanding. One chapter discusses the paper revolution, detailing how advancements in mill power led to the mass production of affordable paper, crucial for the later success of the printing press in making books accessible. Another chapter emphasizes the role of Islamic civilization in preserving ancient Greek texts and the efforts of translation teams in Sicily and Spain to make these works available in Latin for European audiences. Additionally, a chapter on discovery instruments examines the influence of the astrolabe, imported from Islamic regions, and the compass, originally from China; these tools, along with shipbuilding innovations, fueled European trade expansion and the subsequent age of discovery during Columbus's time. Featuring original drawings that illustrate these early inventions, this exploration reveals how medieval farmers, craftsmen, women artisans, and clerical scholars established the foundations of the modern world.

Examines how England's peculiar class system was established by some snobby French nobles whose posh descendents still have wine cellars and second homes in the Dordogne. This title explores the complex socio-economic reasons why Britain's kings were the first in Europe to be brought to heel. It is a journey through Britain' bizarre history.

"Like bubonic plague and stone cladding, no-one took Margaret Thatcher seriously until it was too late. Her first act as leader was to appear before the cameras and do a V for Victory sign the wrong way round. She was smiling and telling the British people to f*** off at the same time. It was something we would have to get used to.' Things Can Only Get Better is the personal account of a Labour supporter who survived eighteen miserable years of Conservative government. It is the heartbreaking and hilarious confessions of someone who has been actively involved in helping the Labour party lose elections at every level- school candidate- door-to-door canvasser- working for a Labour MP in the House of Commons; standing as a council candidate; and eventually writing jokes for a shadow cabinet minister. Along the way he slowly came to realise that Michael Foot would never be Prime Minister, that vegetable quiche was not as tasty as chicken tikki masala and that the nuclear arms race was never going to be stopped by face painting alone."

This text features a collection of John O'Farrell's 'Guardian' columns, the final part of the trilogy in which he discovers that Margaret Thatcher is actually his mother. Contained within these covers are 100 funny essays on subjects as diverse as Man's ascent from the apes and the re-election of George W. Bush.

Informs and elucidates the bizarre events, ridiculous characters and stupid decisions that have shaped Britain's story since 1945.

Controlling maternal obsession. Alice feels panic stricken at the terrors of the modern world. She worries too much gluten and dairy may be hindering her children's mental maths. She frets that there are too many cars on the road to let them out of the 4x4. Finally she resolves to take control and tackle her biggest worry of all, her daughter is not going to fail that secondary school entrance exam because Alice has decided to take the test in her child's place....

'John O'Farrell couldn't be unfunny if he tried' Alan Johnson 'A touch of self-deprecation and a sense of humour... John O'Farrell has these qualities in spades' Guardian 'O'Farrell is a consistently humorous writer with an acute ear for the absurdities of middle class pretension' Mail on Sunday _________________ All across Britain, a generation of grown-up children are graduating from university, moving back in to their old bedrooms and showing their gratitude by berating their parents for their out-of-date politics. But for proud and high-profile left-wingers Emma and Eddie Hughes, the return of their only child is a far greater challenge than they ever could have anticipated. Young Dylan had warned them there was something personal he needed to tell them, but nothing could have prepared his right-on parents for the shocking revelation he delivers. Their son is a Conservative. John O'Farrell's highly popular family novels such as May Contain Nuts or The Best A Man Can Get meet the razor-sharp political satire of Things Can Only Get Better in this hilarious and warm-hearted antidote to our divided times. Read it and pass it on to that annoying relative who votes the other way.

A copywriter in an advertising agency secretly lives a precarious double life in an attempt to escape the strain of parenthood. He thinks he can have it all, until his deception is inevitably exposed.

'This week the first pet passports came into effect. Around the country dogs have been hopping into photo booths and trying to look as relaxed as possible, which is not easy when you know you're not allowed on the chair.'Gathered here are the best of John O'Farrell's newspaper columns for the Guardian and the Independent which saw him win the coveted Best Columnist of the Year Award at the prestigious British Liars Awards. Among many other things, he claims that the only conviction in the Tory Party will be when Jeffrey Archer gets sent to prison; that scientists have created a genetically superior monkey which will advertise lapsang souchong instead of PG Tips; and that with the election of George W. Bush, the global village has finally got its own global village idiot.

It's a big night at the London Palladium. As Jimmy Conway steps out blinking into the spotlights live on national television, he can't help wondering whether he should have perhaps shared his little secret with someone by now. Jimmy has never done any performing of any sort ever before... Just as 'bogus doctors' are occasionally discovered working in hospitals, Jimmy Conway has become a 'bogus celebrity'; winning an award for something he never did, being photographed in Hello! in someone else's house, and ultimately making a fool of the entire mad and shallow celebrity merry-go-round.