HarperCollins Publishers

This reissue of the Collins COBUILD Intermediate English Grammar provides learners of English from intermediate level upwards with a wealth of reference and practice material. Logically organized, and clearly laid-out in colour, the Collins COBUILD Intermediate English Grammar offers detailed treatment of the important points of English grammar. Thousands of examples from the Bank of English, and hundreds of practice exercises, plus additional warning notes pointing out potential problems, help learners to understand and use English grammar correctly. This edition comes with free CD-ROM, containing the Intermediate Grammar text, the COBUILD English Usage, and a 5-million word Wordbank, giving the learner access to real English. The Collins COBUILD Intermediate English Grammar gives learners all the information on grammar they need to be confident in English.

If your reading is preventing you from getting the score you need in IELTS, Collins Reading for IELTS can help. Don't let one skill hold you back. Collins Reading for IELTS has been specially created for learners of English who plan to take the Academic IELTS exam to demonstrate that they have the required ability to communicate effectively in English at university. What is IELTS? The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is sat by over 1.4 million candidates around the world every year. It is the most common test used by universities for foreign students to prove their language level. IELTS is also increasingly used for immigration purposes, with Australia, New Zealand and Canada all requiring visa applicants whose first language is not English to submit an IELTS grade. The system tests candidates' Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking in four separate papers. Usually, students must achieve a good mark in all four skills in order to gain entry to the course, job, or country of their choice. For this reason, candidates will often sit the exam numerous times to secure the score that they need. There are two IELTS Reading papers: General and Academic. Collins Reading for IELTS concentrates on the Academic paper. Powered by COBUILD The 4-billion-word Collins corpus is the world's largest database of the English language. It is updated every month and has been at the heart of Collins COBUILD for over 20 years.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. '»For», said he, «there never was nor is there one chaste woman upon the face of earth». A collection of Persian, Arabian and Indian tales dating from the 9th century, Sir Richard Burton's most well-known translation of Arabian Nights brings together ancient folklore and stories passed down from generation to generation. Featuring tales about love, history, tragedy and comedy as well as fables and fairy tales, this edition remains a well-loved collection of exotic and evocative stories. Fantastical and curious customs are bought to life by Burton's translation in stories such as 'The Lovers of Bassorah', 'The Concubine of Al-Maamun' and 'The Hunchback's Tale'.

The stunningly personal new non-fiction work from one of the world's most inspiring and intuitive authors, Paulo Coelho. In 2006, Paulo embarked on a Trans-Siberian pilgrimage across the terrain of his readership as he sought to reconnect with his waning spirituality. Joined by Hilal, a determined and enigmatic young girl with a compelling history, and a reluctant entourage of publishers, translators and assistants, Paulo experiences an unexpected divine awakening — the Aleph — with Hilal. The girl who seemed to be merely another over-enthusiastic Paulo devotee is the catalyst that banishes his ennui and a girl with whom he has shared a previous life and from whom he must seek forgiveness. Paulo must banish pride to order to gain emancipation from the shackles of his own isolation, apathy and guilt, allowing happiness and desire to burst back into his life.

From one of our finest historians comes an outstanding exploration of the British monarchy from the retreat of the Romans up until the modern day. With a new chapter on Royal Weddings — this is essential reading for those who want to understand more about how monarchy has shaped the British nation. The monarchy is one of Britain's most venerable and revered institutions — but also one of its most tumultuous. In this substantially revised, updated and expanded compendium of two earlier volumes, David Starkey charts its roller-coaster history, starting with the warring tribal kings who continued to exercise their sway under the Romans. New material on the late Middle Ages and the Wars of the Roses brings the story to the turbulent reign of the Tudors and on through the chaos of the Civil War that first unseated and then beheaded a king. The Republic that followed Charles I's execution smashed the Imperial Crown and attempted to eradicate the word 'king' from the language. For a time, it seemed the throne itself had died with its most recent occupant. And yet, vulnerable though it had been shown to be, the monarchy also proved surprisingly resilient, rebuilding itself alongside Britain's burgeoning Empire. Starkey brings the tempestuous story up to the present, guiding us through the abdication of Edward VIII and the dissolution of the marriage between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, with a new chapter on the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, royal weddings and the future of monarchy. Throughout, Starkey highlights both the strength and the terrible fragility of an institution that has seemed, at times, perilously close to extinction. Bringing to life a cast of colourful characters, this brilliant overview of the history of Britain through her kings and queens provides an in-depth examination of the monarchy, as well as a vidid and iconoclastic portrait of British culture, politics and nationhood, embodied in an institution that has defined the realm for nearly two thousand years.

An international bestseller and the novel of the year, 'Freedom' is an epic of contemporary love and marriage. This is the story of the Berglunds, their son Joey, their daughter Jessica and their friend Richard Katz. It is about how we use and abuse our freedom; about the beginning and ending of love; teenage lust; the unexpectedness of adult life; why we compete with our friends; how we betray those closest to us; and why things almost never work out as they 'should'. It is a story about the human heart, and what it leads us to do to ourselves and each other.

Evil never dies! The stunning new thriller from the bestselling author of Velocity and Breathless. Billy Lucas confesses to a shocking crime. He's only fourteen years old but he's a sadistic killer and proud of it. He's in the secure wing of the state hospital but he seems too wise for his age, not crazy, too knowing. About the nature of evil, and whether it lives on beyond death. Too knowing about other crimes that took place before he was born! Other murders from twenty years ago surface in the mind of Detective John Calvino as he interviews young Billy Lucas. Calvino carries away a signed confession and a sense of great danger. That night he feels that somehow Billy has come home with him, to his family. Over the next weeks, this haunted feeling does not go away. It only gets worse. Then another killing spree happens, just as and when John Calvino dreaded it would. Billy is safely locked away, but not the ghost, if the ghost exists, that links these murders with past crimes, and with John Calvino. Anything could happen, and surely will again.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players'. Featuring Rosalind, one of Shakespeare's most likeable and strong female protagonists, As You Like It is a comedic play centred around concealed identity, love, exile and artifice. Banished from the court by her uncle, Rosalind flees to the forest with her cousin Celia and her jester, joining her already exiled father, and disguising herself as a boy. In the guise of a young man, she instructs her would-be lover Orlando in the ways of love and in doing so allows Shakespeare to explore the dynamics of the city and the country as well as the sexual politics of the time.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in it'. Considered one of Shakespeare's most rich and enduring plays, the depiction of its hero Hamlet as he vows to avenge the murder of his father by his brother Claudius is both powerful and complex. As Hamlet tries to find out the truth of the situation, his troubled relationship with his mother comes to the fore, as do the paradoxes in his personality. A play of carefully crafted conflict and tragedy, Shakespeare's intricate dialogue continues to fascinate audiences to this day.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'The better part of valour is discretion'. King Henry IV's son, Prince Harry is quick-witted yet idle and irresponsible and lives a roguish existence keeping dubious company. However, when the kingdom is threatened, Prince Harry shows his true worth and heroism and begins a journey of transformation from layabout to noble leader.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!' Henry V is the final and most celebrated play of Shakespeare's 'history plays'. Prince Harry reigns over England after the death of his father King Henry IV, uniting his country with his valiant leadership in the face of war against France. Featuring one of the most rousing and infamous speeches ever written by Shakespeare, Henry V remains one of his most powerful plays.

An elegant and arresting tale of patriotism, passion and murder, unfolding on the French Riviera, from the No.1 bestselling author of The Savage Garden. Le Rayol, France, July 1935: On the poor man's end of the Riviera, where white-sand coves are strung out along the rocky coastline like pearls on a necklace, former British intelligence operative Tom Wyndham lives out his early retirement. A rag-tag community of authors, artists and exiles from all over Europe gather here for the summer months. On the surface, their dinners and beach parties may seem a world away from a continent gearing up for war, but it is 1935, a time of suspicion and mutual mistrust. And with good reason too, as Tom learns first-hand when his sun-kissed summer idyll is shattered as someone tries to murder him in his sleep. His past life as an intelligence operative has come back to haunt him, that much he knows. But his investigation also reveals that several of the residents in the village are not who they claim to be. Tom must keep up the pretence of normality as he draws his enemy out. So many years on, suddenly consumed by suspicion, Tom tries to resist becoming the man he left behind — the monster he once was!

If a gorilla walked out into the middle of a basketball pitch, you'd notice it. Wouldn't you? If a serious violent crime took place just next to you, you'd remember it, right? The Invisible Gorilla is a fascinating look at the unbelievable, yet routine tricks that your brain plays on you. In an award-winning and groundbreaking study, psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons asked volunteers to watch a 60-second film of a group of students playing basketball and told them to count the number of passes made. About halfway through, a woman dressed head to toe in a gorilla outfit slowly moved to centre screen, beat her chest at the camera, and casually strolled away. Unbelievably, almost half of the volunteers missed the gorilla. As this astonishing and utterly unique new book demonstrates, exactly the same kind of mental illusion that causes people to miss the gorilla can also explain why many other things, including why: honest eyewitness testimony can convict innocent defendants, expert money managers suddenly lose billions, Homer Simpson has much to teach you about clear thinking Insightful, witty, and fascinating, The Invisible Gorilla closely examines the false impressions that most profoundly influence our lives and gives practical advice on how we can minimize their negative impact.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!' Epic and tragic in its scope, King Lear explores a king's demise into madness and insanity when he is betrayed by two of his manipulative and scheming daughters. It is Cordelia, the third and only daughter who refuses to flatter her father to deceive, who is banished from the kingdom, leading to dramatic and tumultuous events.

Stephen Davis's brilliantly-written personal account of criss-crossing America with Led Zeppelin on their 1975 tour. A warts-and-all snapshot of the world's biggest hard-rock band at their peak. As a young rock writer Stephen Davis landed the ultimate commission — touring America with Led Zeppelin. This is a personal account by Davis of his journey, which saw him crossing the country with the band on board the Starship, their famous Boeing passenger jet, complete with deep shag purple carpet, electric pianos, girlfriends and star-struck hangers-on. This is also the story of one of the hardest-living bands in the world at their peak. For Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham, the most beautiful women in America tear their spangled jackets from them and riots start outside their gigs. LZ-75 captures a few perfect months in rock, when Led Zeppelin epitomised the free-living rock dream, but, like Icarus, their wings were already beginning to melt. It wouldn't be long before John Bonham died of a vodka overdose, and punk killed their brand of monumental rock. With it's up-close-and-personal accounts of band members, managers, groupies, fans and drug-dealers, there's a lot of Almost Famous about this book — Led Zep's 1975 tour is in fact the very one on which Cameron Crowe's film was based. Stephen Davis was barely twenty in 1975, but now he is recognised as one of the best rock writers in the world. He is the author of the mega-selling Hammer of the Gods — a biography of Led Zeppelin. He recently unearthed his notebooks of the 1975 tour — which he didn't use for Hammer of the Gods — to write LZ-75. LZ-75: Across America with Led Zeppelin is a wonderful and unique thing — a beautifully succinct account of a single moment in rock, when no lyric was too far-fetched, no drink went undrunk and no expense was ever, ever spared. It's a moment that will never be repeated.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'My Oberon! what visions have I seen! Methought I was enamoured of an ass'. When four young lovers flee from Athens and become lost in an enchanted wood, they stumble into a fairy world where King Oberon, and Queen Titania, are feuding over ownership of a young Indian prince. Seeking his revenge on Titania, Oberon and his servant Puck begin a magical, yet farcical chain of events where all become interwoven in a comedic and mischievous play about the difficulties of love.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceabl'. One of Shakespeare's most witty and enjoyable comedies, Much Ado About Nothing is a play that explores courtship, romance and marriage through a number of relationships. Most famously, that of the irrepressible Beatrice and Benedick as they trade their wits against one another, criticising the notion or marriage, yet slowly falling in love with one another as they do so.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on'. Dramatic and powerful in its scope, Othello explores the perils of suspicion and jealousy and the ensuing breakdown of relationships and disaster that can arise from such emotions. Othello, a revered soldier, secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator, but is led to believe that she has been unfaithful to him by his ensign, Iago, leading to tragic events.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Bear you well in this new spring of time, Lest you be cropp'd before you come to prime'. King Richard II rules England in a wasteful and short-sighted way, spending money unwisely and selecting his counselors foolishly. His manner ostracises him from his people and his country and it's not long before both commoners and noblemen feel Richard has gone too far. When Richard seizes land that rightfully belongs to his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Bolingbroke retaliates by invading England while Richard is at war in Ireland. More popular with the commoners, Henry is eventually crowned King Henry IV. One of Shakespeare's 'history plays', Richard II explores the notion of the shadow that is cast over a king's reign if the throne is gained in underhand ways.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night'. Arguably the greatest love story ever told, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet continues to touch modern audiences with its passionate depiction of the tragic romance between two young lovers. With a bitter feud between their respective families, Romeo and Juliet's love is troubled from the start, and through their relationship, Shakespeare shows the fine line between love, hatred, comedy and tragedy.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'We are such stuff As dreams are made on; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep'. Magical and dreamlike in its tone, Shakespeare's The Tempest begins with a storm of epic proportions and a shipwreck. Banished from Italy, Prospero lives on a remote island with his daughter. Using his magic, he vows to seek revenge on the injustice dealt to him by his brother, but in doing so, Shakespeare questions the difficulty of distinguishing 'men' from 'monsters', and the realities of justice.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die'. A comedic romance of mistaken identity, Twelfth Night begins with a shipwreck, splitting up Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian. Alone in a strange land, Viola disguises herself as a male servant, Cesario, in order to work for the Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with Lady Olivia, but it is Cesario that Olivia falls for. A farcical tale of misplaced love, confusion, gender-swapping and aspiration, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare's best-loved and inventive comedies.

The eagerly awaited 4th novel in the bestselling Conqueror series, continuing the life and adventures of the mighty Khan dynasty. Genghis Khan is dead, but his legend and his legacy live on. His son Ogedai has built a white city on a great plain and made a capital for the new nation. Now the armies have gathered to see which of Genghis' sons has the strength to be khan. The Mongol empire has been at peace for two years, but whoever survives will face the formidable might of their great enemy, China's Song dynasty. The great leader Tsubodai sweeps into the west: through Russia, over the Carpathian mountains and into Hungary. The Templar knights have been broken and there is no king or army to stop him reaching France. But at the moment of Tsubodai's greatest triumph, as his furthest scouts reach the northern mountains of Italy, Tsubodai must make a decision that will change the course of history forever.

Five little board books in one fun box! Join Dr. Seuss as he has fun learning about animals, shapes, time, weather and colours!