Author: Alex Henshaw
Publisher: Crowood
ISBN: 1847974082
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 253
Book Description
Alex Henshaw had the luck to grow up in the '20s and '30s during the golden age of flying. The Blue Riband of flying in the British Isles between the two World Wars was the King's Cup: Henshaw set his heart on it, developing a technique of racing which extracted the very maximum from his aircraft: first the Comper Swift and then the DH Leopard Moth. Parallel with his search for speed was an obsession with making accurate landfalls, and he developed this blind-flying taken deliberately in a flying partnership with his father on many carefully planned long-distance survey flights. His exciting apprenticeship in these two skills was crowned by the acquisition of the Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF in 1937. His amazing solo flight to Cape Town and back in February 1939 established several solo records that still stand today, almost 60 years later. This feat of navigation and airmanship must surely be one of man's greatest flights - 12,754 miles over desert, sea and jungle in a single-engined light aircraft.
Flight Of The Mew Gull
Author: Alex Henshaw
Publisher: Crowood
ISBN: 1847974082
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 253
Book Description
Alex Henshaw had the luck to grow up in the '20s and '30s during the golden age of flying. The Blue Riband of flying in the British Isles between the two World Wars was the King's Cup: Henshaw set his heart on it, developing a technique of racing which extracted the very maximum from his aircraft: first the Comper Swift and then the DH Leopard Moth. Parallel with his search for speed was an obsession with making accurate landfalls, and he developed this blind-flying taken deliberately in a flying partnership with his father on many carefully planned long-distance survey flights. His exciting apprenticeship in these two skills was crowned by the acquisition of the Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF in 1937. His amazing solo flight to Cape Town and back in February 1939 established several solo records that still stand today, almost 60 years later. This feat of navigation and airmanship must surely be one of man's greatest flights - 12,754 miles over desert, sea and jungle in a single-engined light aircraft.
Publisher: Crowood
ISBN: 1847974082
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 253
Book Description
Alex Henshaw had the luck to grow up in the '20s and '30s during the golden age of flying. The Blue Riband of flying in the British Isles between the two World Wars was the King's Cup: Henshaw set his heart on it, developing a technique of racing which extracted the very maximum from his aircraft: first the Comper Swift and then the DH Leopard Moth. Parallel with his search for speed was an obsession with making accurate landfalls, and he developed this blind-flying taken deliberately in a flying partnership with his father on many carefully planned long-distance survey flights. His exciting apprenticeship in these two skills was crowned by the acquisition of the Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF in 1937. His amazing solo flight to Cape Town and back in February 1939 established several solo records that still stand today, almost 60 years later. This feat of navigation and airmanship must surely be one of man's greatest flights - 12,754 miles over desert, sea and jungle in a single-engined light aircraft.
Gulls of the World
Author: Klaus Malling Olsen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180598
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 370
Book Description
A comprehensive photographic guide to the world’s gull species With more than 50 gull species in the world, this family of seabirds poses some of the greatest field identification challenges of any bird group: age-related plumage changes, extensive variations within species, frequent hybridization, and complex distribution. Gulls of the World takes on these challenges and is the first book to provide a comprehensive look at these birds. Concise text emphasizes field identification, with in-depth discussion of variations as well as coverage of habitat, status, and distribution. Abundant photographs highlight identification criteria and, crucially, factor in age and subspecific field separation. Informative species accounts are accompanied by detailed color range maps. Gulls of the World is the most authoritative photographic guide to this remarkable bird family. The first book to provide in-depth coverage of all the world's gull species More than 600 stunning color photographs Concise text looks at variations, habitat, status, and distribution Informative species accounts and color range maps
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180598
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 370
Book Description
A comprehensive photographic guide to the world’s gull species With more than 50 gull species in the world, this family of seabirds poses some of the greatest field identification challenges of any bird group: age-related plumage changes, extensive variations within species, frequent hybridization, and complex distribution. Gulls of the World takes on these challenges and is the first book to provide a comprehensive look at these birds. Concise text emphasizes field identification, with in-depth discussion of variations as well as coverage of habitat, status, and distribution. Abundant photographs highlight identification criteria and, crucially, factor in age and subspecific field separation. Informative species accounts are accompanied by detailed color range maps. Gulls of the World is the most authoritative photographic guide to this remarkable bird family. The first book to provide in-depth coverage of all the world's gull species More than 600 stunning color photographs Concise text looks at variations, habitat, status, and distribution Informative species accounts and color range maps
Gulls Simplified
Author: Pete Dunne
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691156948
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
A simpler and more user-friendly visual approach to gull identification This unique photographic field guide to North America’s gulls provides a comparative approach to identification that concentrates on the size, structure, and basic plumage features of gulls—gone are the often-confusing array of plumage details found in traditional guides. Featuring hundreds of color photos throughout, Gulls Simplified illustrates the variations of gull plumages for a variety of ages, giving readers strong visual reference points for each species. Extensive captions accompany the photos, which include comparative photo arrays, digitized photo arrays for each age group, and numerous images of each species—a wealth of visual information at your fingertips. This one-of-a-kind guide includes detailed species accounts and a distribution map for each gull. An essential field companion for North American birders, Gulls Simplified reduces the confusion commonly associated with gull identification, offering a more user-friendly way of observing these marvelous birds. Provides a simpler approach to gull identification Features a wealth of color photos for easy comparison among species Includes detailed captions that explain identification criteria and aging, with direct visual reinforcement above the captions Combines plumage details with a focus on size, body shape, and structural features for easy identification in the field Highlights important field marks and physical features for each gull
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691156948
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
A simpler and more user-friendly visual approach to gull identification This unique photographic field guide to North America’s gulls provides a comparative approach to identification that concentrates on the size, structure, and basic plumage features of gulls—gone are the often-confusing array of plumage details found in traditional guides. Featuring hundreds of color photos throughout, Gulls Simplified illustrates the variations of gull plumages for a variety of ages, giving readers strong visual reference points for each species. Extensive captions accompany the photos, which include comparative photo arrays, digitized photo arrays for each age group, and numerous images of each species—a wealth of visual information at your fingertips. This one-of-a-kind guide includes detailed species accounts and a distribution map for each gull. An essential field companion for North American birders, Gulls Simplified reduces the confusion commonly associated with gull identification, offering a more user-friendly way of observing these marvelous birds. Provides a simpler approach to gull identification Features a wealth of color photos for easy comparison among species Includes detailed captions that explain identification criteria and aging, with direct visual reinforcement above the captions Combines plumage details with a focus on size, body shape, and structural features for easy identification in the field Highlights important field marks and physical features for each gull
Flight Lieutenant Thomas 'Tommy' Rose DFC
Author: Sarah Chambers
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526783851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
Flight Lieutenant Thomas ‘Tommy’ Rose, a First World War fighter ace, was a pioneer of private flying. He installed and managed the UK’s first fuel pump for private aviation at Brooklands before becoming Sales Manager for Phillips and Powis Aircraft Ltd. The chief flying instructor at several early flying schools, Tommy became the Chief Test Pilot for Miles Aircraft and was the winner of air races and pageants. He was undoubtedly a pilot who could always be relied on to amaze the onlookers with his fast, accurate stunts and low-level flying. Mentioned in Despatches in 1916 and awarded the DFC in 1918, Tommy was attacked in his aircraft several times, yet his astonishing ability at the controls of his aircraft enabled him to land without serious injury. By the time of the Armistice, Tommy had been credited with eleven ‘kills’. He continued to demonstrate these skills after the war and though this true trailblazer was widely known in his glory days during the early part of the twentieth century, little is remembered about him today. Yet Tommy Rose achieved the most incredible feats of aviation and was considered one of the finest pilots of his era, completing over 11,200 flying hours up to 1949. In the 1930s, Tommy took the Imperial Airways route through East Africa, to set up a new world record on the UK to Cape Town passage, beating Amy Mollison (Johnson) who took the shorter course down the west coast. He also won the King's Cup Air Race in 1935. Tommy flew many of the early RAF fighters from Maurice Farman to the Spitfire Mk.IX, and, from late 1939, when he was appointed Chief Test Pilot for Phillip & Powis Aircraft Ltd at Woodley (forerunners of Miles Aircraft Ltd), he test flew all Miles monoplane training and target towing aircraft, leaving in January 1946. His last position was as General Manager of Universal Flying Services Ltd at Fairoaks Aerodrome in Surrey. The result of decades of research by the author, through this book the life and adventures of one of history’s most accomplished and daring aviators can finally be told.
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526783851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
Flight Lieutenant Thomas ‘Tommy’ Rose, a First World War fighter ace, was a pioneer of private flying. He installed and managed the UK’s first fuel pump for private aviation at Brooklands before becoming Sales Manager for Phillips and Powis Aircraft Ltd. The chief flying instructor at several early flying schools, Tommy became the Chief Test Pilot for Miles Aircraft and was the winner of air races and pageants. He was undoubtedly a pilot who could always be relied on to amaze the onlookers with his fast, accurate stunts and low-level flying. Mentioned in Despatches in 1916 and awarded the DFC in 1918, Tommy was attacked in his aircraft several times, yet his astonishing ability at the controls of his aircraft enabled him to land without serious injury. By the time of the Armistice, Tommy had been credited with eleven ‘kills’. He continued to demonstrate these skills after the war and though this true trailblazer was widely known in his glory days during the early part of the twentieth century, little is remembered about him today. Yet Tommy Rose achieved the most incredible feats of aviation and was considered one of the finest pilots of his era, completing over 11,200 flying hours up to 1949. In the 1930s, Tommy took the Imperial Airways route through East Africa, to set up a new world record on the UK to Cape Town passage, beating Amy Mollison (Johnson) who took the shorter course down the west coast. He also won the King's Cup Air Race in 1935. Tommy flew many of the early RAF fighters from Maurice Farman to the Spitfire Mk.IX, and, from late 1939, when he was appointed Chief Test Pilot for Phillip & Powis Aircraft Ltd at Woodley (forerunners of Miles Aircraft Ltd), he test flew all Miles monoplane training and target towing aircraft, leaving in January 1946. His last position was as General Manager of Universal Flying Services Ltd at Fairoaks Aerodrome in Surrey. The result of decades of research by the author, through this book the life and adventures of one of history’s most accomplished and daring aviators can finally be told.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Author: Richard Bach
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 147679331X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
"Includes the rediscovered part four"--Cover.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 147679331X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
"Includes the rediscovered part four"--Cover.
Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America
Author: Klaus Malling Olsen
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408135779
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 607
Book Description
This eagerly awaited guide offers the most comprehensive treatment ever published on the gulls of Europe, Asia and North America. A total of 43 species is treated, and every species is described in considerable detail, with a full description of each plumage and racial variation. Gulls are intelligent, versatile, opportunistic, and ecological generalists. As such, they exploit a variety of habitats, both coastal and inland, take a wide range of food, and are often extremely abundant. They are also great wanderers, with several American species regularly appearing in Western Europe and vice versa. As well as identification criteria, this book includes an up-to-date assessment of the range and status of every species, together with information on patterns of vagrancy. This important guide is published at a critical time in the development of dull taxonomy. The large, white-headed forms occurring in the region comprise a superspecies complex, with the precise relationships between the various components still under considerable debate. A thorough illustrative and textual treatment of the group is much needed, and this book provided the most complete overview of the complex. The text is complemented not only by superb colour paintings by Hans Larrson, but also by a large selection of colour photographs, sourced from some of the finest bird photographers in the world. This is the essential reference to a fascinating and endlessly challenging group of birds.
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408135779
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 607
Book Description
This eagerly awaited guide offers the most comprehensive treatment ever published on the gulls of Europe, Asia and North America. A total of 43 species is treated, and every species is described in considerable detail, with a full description of each plumage and racial variation. Gulls are intelligent, versatile, opportunistic, and ecological generalists. As such, they exploit a variety of habitats, both coastal and inland, take a wide range of food, and are often extremely abundant. They are also great wanderers, with several American species regularly appearing in Western Europe and vice versa. As well as identification criteria, this book includes an up-to-date assessment of the range and status of every species, together with information on patterns of vagrancy. This important guide is published at a critical time in the development of dull taxonomy. The large, white-headed forms occurring in the region comprise a superspecies complex, with the precise relationships between the various components still under considerable debate. A thorough illustrative and textual treatment of the group is much needed, and this book provided the most complete overview of the complex. The text is complemented not only by superb colour paintings by Hans Larrson, but also by a large selection of colour photographs, sourced from some of the finest bird photographers in the world. This is the essential reference to a fascinating and endlessly challenging group of birds.
The Handbook of Bird Identification
Author: Mark Beaman
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140813523X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 869
Book Description
An identification guide covering all the bird species to have occurred in the European region. Birding is one of the most popular activities and pastimes in Europe and so it follows that it is essential to be able to identify the birds on view, be it in the back garden or for making more serious in-depth studies. This book aims to bring together as much information as possible in one volume, using extremely detailed, up-to-date guides and identification of every species known to have occurred in Europe and the West Palearctic, that is, the whole of Europe, North Africa as far south as the Central Sahara, the Middle East to the border of Iran, the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, the islands off Mauritania and the Cape Verde islands, as defined by Cramp and Simons 1977. They have certainly been successful in doing so and have produced a wonderfully comprehensive guide covering nearly 900 species, showing a wide range of differing plumages. The colour plates are exquisite and have been painted by some of Europe's leading bird artists. The text is clear and can be followed by beginners but finer points of identification are included for the benefit of more serious bird watchers. Particularly helpful is the cross-referencing of the text and colour plates. There are more than 600 colour maps to identify where the birds are to be found, which are simple and easy to use with excellent descriptions of status and habitat.
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140813523X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 869
Book Description
An identification guide covering all the bird species to have occurred in the European region. Birding is one of the most popular activities and pastimes in Europe and so it follows that it is essential to be able to identify the birds on view, be it in the back garden or for making more serious in-depth studies. This book aims to bring together as much information as possible in one volume, using extremely detailed, up-to-date guides and identification of every species known to have occurred in Europe and the West Palearctic, that is, the whole of Europe, North Africa as far south as the Central Sahara, the Middle East to the border of Iran, the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, the islands off Mauritania and the Cape Verde islands, as defined by Cramp and Simons 1977. They have certainly been successful in doing so and have produced a wonderfully comprehensive guide covering nearly 900 species, showing a wide range of differing plumages. The colour plates are exquisite and have been painted by some of Europe's leading bird artists. The text is clear and can be followed by beginners but finer points of identification are included for the benefit of more serious bird watchers. Particularly helpful is the cross-referencing of the text and colour plates. There are more than 600 colour maps to identify where the birds are to be found, which are simple and easy to use with excellent descriptions of status and habitat.
Flying and Preserving Historic Aircraft
Author: David Frederick Ogilvy
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399044486
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
David Ogilvy has spent more than a full working life in aviation. As a schoolboy he was sent out with a bugle and binoculars to blow a warning if a V1 ?ying bomb appeared. Soon after this, he joined the Royal Air Force and served for six years as a pilot, ?ying types ranging from the Tiger Moth to the Mosquito and Meteor. As a civilian he spent fourteen years involved in pilot training and became Chief Instructor of the Air Schools group, with responsibility for three establishments. He was a keen display and racing pilot and competed in many events, ?ying several historic types. At an early age David realised the need for owners and operators of ?yable pre-war machines to have a representative organization to look after their concerns and interests, so, in 1951, when 22 and still serving in the RAF, he was a co-founder of the Vintage Aeroplane Club. He was also a founding member, and now a Vice President, of the Historic Aircraft Association. In 1966 David was appointed general manager of the famous Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden. During this time, he brought in several historic aircraft, including initiating the retrieval of a 1935 Hawker Hind from Afghanistan. He ?ew many of the Collections remarkable airplanes, organizing and participating in the displays. As well as outlining his remarkable career, the main focus of this book is on David Ogilvy's descriptions of many of the historic aircraft he helped rescue and preserve and what it was like to be at their controls. It therefore provides a unique compendium of the flying characteristics of a range of historic aircraft for one or two of which, he unashamedly admits, he is possibly the last man alive to have flown. Away from the cockpit, David has been associated with many organizations, including being a founder member of the UK Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, serving for 45 years in the roles of editor, Executive Chairman and President. He is also President of today's Vintage Aircraft Club and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. David was awarded the OBE for services to aviation in I996.
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399044486
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282
Book Description
David Ogilvy has spent more than a full working life in aviation. As a schoolboy he was sent out with a bugle and binoculars to blow a warning if a V1 ?ying bomb appeared. Soon after this, he joined the Royal Air Force and served for six years as a pilot, ?ying types ranging from the Tiger Moth to the Mosquito and Meteor. As a civilian he spent fourteen years involved in pilot training and became Chief Instructor of the Air Schools group, with responsibility for three establishments. He was a keen display and racing pilot and competed in many events, ?ying several historic types. At an early age David realised the need for owners and operators of ?yable pre-war machines to have a representative organization to look after their concerns and interests, so, in 1951, when 22 and still serving in the RAF, he was a co-founder of the Vintage Aeroplane Club. He was also a founding member, and now a Vice President, of the Historic Aircraft Association. In 1966 David was appointed general manager of the famous Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden. During this time, he brought in several historic aircraft, including initiating the retrieval of a 1935 Hawker Hind from Afghanistan. He ?ew many of the Collections remarkable airplanes, organizing and participating in the displays. As well as outlining his remarkable career, the main focus of this book is on David Ogilvy's descriptions of many of the historic aircraft he helped rescue and preserve and what it was like to be at their controls. It therefore provides a unique compendium of the flying characteristics of a range of historic aircraft for one or two of which, he unashamedly admits, he is possibly the last man alive to have flown. Away from the cockpit, David has been associated with many organizations, including being a founder member of the UK Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, serving for 45 years in the roles of editor, Executive Chairman and President. He is also President of today's Vintage Aircraft Club and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. David was awarded the OBE for services to aviation in I996.
Alaska Seabird Information Series (ASIS)
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bird populations
Languages : en
Pages : 104
Book Description
"Compilation of seabird species accounts for all seabirds breeding in Alaska and five important nonbreeders. Conservation status, life history, distribution, population size and trends, conservation concerns, and recommended management actions are included in the accounts"--Leaf i.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bird populations
Languages : en
Pages : 104
Book Description
"Compilation of seabird species accounts for all seabirds breeding in Alaska and five important nonbreeders. Conservation status, life history, distribution, population size and trends, conservation concerns, and recommended management actions are included in the accounts"--Leaf i.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008
Author: Lawrence Goldman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199671540
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 1253
Book Description
Who made modern Britain? This book, drawn from the award-winning Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, tells the story of our recent past through the lives of those who shaped national life. Following on from the Oxford DNB's first supplement volume-noteworthy people who died between 2001 and 2004-this new volume offers biographies of more than 850 men and women who left their mark on twentieth and twenty-first century Britain, and who died in the years 2005 to 2008. Here are the people responsible for major developments in national life: from politics, the arts, business, technology, and law to military service, sport, education, science, and medicine. Many are closely connected to specific periods in Britain's recent history. From the 1950s, the young Harold Pinter or the Yorkshire cricketer, Fred Trueman, for example. From the Sixties, the footballer George Best, photographer Patrick Lichfield, and the Pink Floyd musician, Syd Barrett. It's hard to look back to the 1970s without thinking of Edward Heath and James Callaghan, who led the country for seven years in that turbulent decade; or similarly Freddie Laker, pioneer of budget air travel, and the comedians Ronnie Barker and Dave Allen who entertained with their sketch shows and sit coms. A decade later you probably browsed in Anita Roddick's Body Shop, or danced to the music of Factory Records, established by the Manchester entrepreneur, Tony Wilson. In the 1990s you may have hoped that 'Things can only get better' with a New Labour government which included Robin Cook and Mo Mowlam. Many in this volume are remembered for lives dedicated to a profession or cause: Bill Deedes or Conor Cruise O'Brien in journalism; Ned Sherrin in broadcasting or, indeed, Ted Heath whose political career spanned more than 50 years. Others were responsible for discoveries or innovations of lasting legacy and benefit-among them the epidemiologist Richard Doll, who made the link between smoking and lung cancer, Cicely Saunders, creator of the hospice movement, and Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans. With John Profumo-who gave his name to a scandal-policeman Malcolm Fewtrell-who investigated the Great Train Robbery-or the Russian dissident Aleksandr Litvinenko-who was killed in London in 2006-we have individuals best known for specific moments in our recent past. Others are synonymous with popular objects and experiences evocative of recent decades: Mastermind with Magnus Magnusson, the PG-Tips chimpanzees trained by Molly Badham, John DeLorean's 'gull-wing' car, or the new British Library designed by Colin St John Wilson-though, as rounded and balanced accounts, Oxford DNB biographies also set these events in the wider context of a person's life story. Authoritative and accessible, the biographies in this volume are written by specialist authors, many of them leading figures in their field. Here you will find Michael Billington on Harold Pinter, Michael Crick on George Best, Richard Davenport-Hines on Anita Roddick, Brenda Hale on Rose Heilbron, Roy Hattersley on James Callaghan, Simon Heffer on John Profumo, Douglas Hurd on Edward Heath, Alex Jennings on Paul Scofield, Hermione Lee on Pat Kavanagh, Geoffrey Wheatcroft on Conor Cruise O'Brien, and Peregrine Worsthorne on Bill Deedes. Many in this volume are, naturally, household names. But a good number are also remembered for lives away from the headlines. What in the 1980s became 'Thatcherism' owed much to behind the scenes advice from Ralph Harris and Alfred Sherman; children who learned to read with Ladybird Books must thank their creator, Douglas Keen; while, without its first producer, Verity Lambert, there would have been no Doctor Who. Others are 'ordinary' people capable of remarkable acts. Take, for instance, Arthur Bywater who over two days in 1944 cleared thousands of bombs from a Liverpool munitions factory following an explosion-only to do the same, months later, in an another factory. Awarded the George Cross and the George Medal, Bywater remains the only non-combatant to have received Britain's two highest awards for civilian bravery.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199671540
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 1253
Book Description
Who made modern Britain? This book, drawn from the award-winning Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, tells the story of our recent past through the lives of those who shaped national life. Following on from the Oxford DNB's first supplement volume-noteworthy people who died between 2001 and 2004-this new volume offers biographies of more than 850 men and women who left their mark on twentieth and twenty-first century Britain, and who died in the years 2005 to 2008. Here are the people responsible for major developments in national life: from politics, the arts, business, technology, and law to military service, sport, education, science, and medicine. Many are closely connected to specific periods in Britain's recent history. From the 1950s, the young Harold Pinter or the Yorkshire cricketer, Fred Trueman, for example. From the Sixties, the footballer George Best, photographer Patrick Lichfield, and the Pink Floyd musician, Syd Barrett. It's hard to look back to the 1970s without thinking of Edward Heath and James Callaghan, who led the country for seven years in that turbulent decade; or similarly Freddie Laker, pioneer of budget air travel, and the comedians Ronnie Barker and Dave Allen who entertained with their sketch shows and sit coms. A decade later you probably browsed in Anita Roddick's Body Shop, or danced to the music of Factory Records, established by the Manchester entrepreneur, Tony Wilson. In the 1990s you may have hoped that 'Things can only get better' with a New Labour government which included Robin Cook and Mo Mowlam. Many in this volume are remembered for lives dedicated to a profession or cause: Bill Deedes or Conor Cruise O'Brien in journalism; Ned Sherrin in broadcasting or, indeed, Ted Heath whose political career spanned more than 50 years. Others were responsible for discoveries or innovations of lasting legacy and benefit-among them the epidemiologist Richard Doll, who made the link between smoking and lung cancer, Cicely Saunders, creator of the hospice movement, and Chad Varah, founder of the Samaritans. With John Profumo-who gave his name to a scandal-policeman Malcolm Fewtrell-who investigated the Great Train Robbery-or the Russian dissident Aleksandr Litvinenko-who was killed in London in 2006-we have individuals best known for specific moments in our recent past. Others are synonymous with popular objects and experiences evocative of recent decades: Mastermind with Magnus Magnusson, the PG-Tips chimpanzees trained by Molly Badham, John DeLorean's 'gull-wing' car, or the new British Library designed by Colin St John Wilson-though, as rounded and balanced accounts, Oxford DNB biographies also set these events in the wider context of a person's life story. Authoritative and accessible, the biographies in this volume are written by specialist authors, many of them leading figures in their field. Here you will find Michael Billington on Harold Pinter, Michael Crick on George Best, Richard Davenport-Hines on Anita Roddick, Brenda Hale on Rose Heilbron, Roy Hattersley on James Callaghan, Simon Heffer on John Profumo, Douglas Hurd on Edward Heath, Alex Jennings on Paul Scofield, Hermione Lee on Pat Kavanagh, Geoffrey Wheatcroft on Conor Cruise O'Brien, and Peregrine Worsthorne on Bill Deedes. Many in this volume are, naturally, household names. But a good number are also remembered for lives away from the headlines. What in the 1980s became 'Thatcherism' owed much to behind the scenes advice from Ralph Harris and Alfred Sherman; children who learned to read with Ladybird Books must thank their creator, Douglas Keen; while, without its first producer, Verity Lambert, there would have been no Doctor Who. Others are 'ordinary' people capable of remarkable acts. Take, for instance, Arthur Bywater who over two days in 1944 cleared thousands of bombs from a Liverpool munitions factory following an explosion-only to do the same, months later, in an another factory. Awarded the George Cross and the George Medal, Bywater remains the only non-combatant to have received Britain's two highest awards for civilian bravery.