HarperCollins Publishers

A lower-level exam practice book designed to improve the level of students who plan to take the IELTS test in the future. Collins Get Ready for IELTS Listening is the perfect book for lower level learners who want to develop the necessary skills to perform effectively on the IELTS Listening test. Perfect for self-study, the series follows a guided-learning approach that gives students access to a full answer key with model answers. Developed by experienced IELTS tutors, the series takes into account the specific language needs of learners at this level. * Twelve units of carefully graded material for lower level students, all supported with clear examples * Key IELTS grammar and vocabulary for the IELTS Listening test provided in each unit * Regular exam tips and information in each unit * 'Watch out!' sections that highlight common errors made by learners in the IELTS Listening test * Four review units to check and consolidate understanding of key language and skills for the IELTS Listening test * Complete IELTS Listening practice test, answer keys, audioscripts and audio CD provided * Vocabulary glossary for each unit provided at the back of the book CEF level: A2-B1 Ideal for learners with band score 3-4 who want to achieve a higher score. ALSO AVAILABLE in the Collins Get Ready for IELTS series: Get Ready for IELTS Reading Get Ready for IELTS Writing Get Ready for IELTS Speaking Through IELTS-style tasks and exercises, Collins Get Ready for IELTS Listening helps learners gain confidence in core listening competencies for IELTS.

Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully adapted versions are shorter with the language targeted at upper-intermediate learners (CEF level B2). Each reader includes: A CD with a reading of the adapted story; Helpful notes on characters; Cultural and historical notes relevant to the plot; A glossary of the more difficult words Rex Fortescue, the boss of a financial empire, is sipping tea in his office, when he suffers a painful and sudden death. When the police check the victim's pockets, they find grain. Miss Marple knows one of the servants in Rex Fortescue's house and comes to help solve the mystery. She soon starts to suspect that she is dealing with a case of crime by rhyme!

I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice--not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany. In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys — best friends — are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary.

The Pony Scouts are having a sleepover at Jill's house! They get to tend to the ponies day and night. But when one of the girls forgets to latch a stall, it's the Scouts to the rescue!

Strike up the band! Ready the confetti! Meet Penny — a brand-new mouse from Caldecott Medalist Henkes. Penny joins the beloved Lilly, Owen, Chrysanthemum, and Wemberly with her very own new picture book series.

Biscuit is excited to be at the ball game, but no dogs are allowed in the game itself. He doesn't want to just watch, though — Biscuit wants to play ball, too! Can the determined puppy find a way to join in the fun?

The Chipmunks have to write reports about what they did on summer vacation, but Alvin is having trouble. How can he make his report rock?

Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully adapted versions are shorter with the language targeted at upper-intermediate learners (CEF level B2). Each reader includes: A CD with a reading of the adapted story; Helpful notes on characters; Cultural and historical notes relevant to the plot; A glossary of the more difficult words A woman is murdered on a train. When Miss Marple telephones her friend Lucy Eyelesbarrow and asks her to go undercover as a housekeeper in a large country house to investigate the murder, Lucy quickly accepts the challenge! Who is the dead woman? What was the motive for her murder, and why was the body thrown from the speeding train and later hidden in the old barn at Rutherford Hall? When a second murder takes place, everyone at Rutherford Hall seems in danger, but Miss Marple starts to make sense of it all and sets a trap to catch the murderer.

Murder, a missing woman, and a sociopath from the past sweep Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus into a labyrinth of mystery and danger in this electrifying new tale of suspense from «New York Times» bestselling author Faye Kellerman... Fifteen years ago, high school senior Chris Whitman went to jail for murdering his girlfriend, Cheryl Diggs. Propelled by a misguided sense of chivalry, he confessed, determined to save another classmate, the beautiful and vulnerable Terry McLaughlin, from having to testify at his trial. When the truth came out, Chris was released from prison, married Terry — pregnant with his child — and changed his last name to Donatti. He also became a professional killer. Peter Decker was the detective on the case, and over the years, he and Terry kept in touch. Now his friend is in L.A. and asking for a favor. Though Decker knows full well that getting involved will bring Terry's sociopathic husband back into his life, the obsessive and duty-bound LAPD lieutenant reluctantly agrees. The favor soon becomes complicated when Terry goes missing and Donatti disappears, leaving their fourteen-year-old son, Gabe, with no one to turn to except Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus. But Peter's search for Terry must share center stage with a gruesome murder. Adrianna Blanc, a neonatal nurse at St. Timothy's Hospital, had signed off her night shift at eight a.m. Six hours later, a foreman supervising the construction of a house in a nearby suburb discovered her body swinging from the rafters, a cable wire around her neck. Her car was found where she had parked it the night before, with no signs of foul play. A dedicated and conscientious professional, Adrianna had a circle of close friends. Yet as Decker and his able team soon learn, the young woman also had her share of detractors. A party-hearty girl, she enjoyed booze, kinky sex, and revenge-cheating on her boyfriend, Garth Hammerling, another nurse at St. Tim's. Suspicions heat up when Decker and his team find that one of Adrianna's last phone calls was a provocative and disturbing message to her vacationing boyfriend — who himself has vanished without a trace. Was Adrianna's death something personal because of her carefree lifestyle? Or was this unusually cruel and very dramatic murder the first signs of a serial killer? With lives hanging in the balance, Decker and his colleagues, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver, need to find answers and fast. As if juggling two investigations weren't enough for the lieutenant (not to mention turning sixty ), things are becoming even more dangerous with his precarious home life. Ever the concerned parent, Decker wants to look after Terry's son, Gabe. Yet who will protect his own family? Because if there's one thing he knows for sure, with a sociopath like Donatti on the loose, no one is ever really safe.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney says, «Big Nate is funny, big time!» Big Nate Fun Blaster will rock your socks off! This second Big Nate themed activity book is bursting with awesome all new activities for Nate fans, including trivia quizzes, super sudoku puzzles, crackable codes, create-your-own comics, amazing mazes, poetry slams, ridiculous rhymes, marvelous Mad Libs, and much more. Nate's New York Times bestselling world comes to life with a ton of black-and-white illustrations…some of which YOU get to create! Big Nate Fun Blaster is a great addition to the bestselling collection of Big Nate books, sure to be enjoyed by all fans of Big Nate.

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. First published in 1898, Moonfleet is a riveting adventure story full of drama, mystery, revenge, pursuit, smuggling, pirates, and romance, sharing its literary canon with Treasure Island and Kidnapped. The tiny village of Moonfleet is nestled along the English coast, and every one of its inhabitants lives off the sea in one way or another. When local young man John Trenchard accidentally stumbles upon treasure stashed in the local crypt, he unknowingly enters the murky world of the smuggling trade and the local secret of Colonel John Mohune's treasure. Trenchard is soon forced to flee England with a price on his head, leaving behind his beloved Grace and the life he hoped for. But the adventures, trials, and tribulations that befall him on his personal journey back to Moonfleet and ultimately redemption are written with such intensity and hope, as well as love for the history and landscape of Dorset, that the story never loses pace or power on its epic journey. Moonfleet is a classic adventure story to be read again and again.

An irresistible tale of swashbuckling pirates in the New World from master storyteller Michael Crichton — now in paperback Jamaica, in 1665 a lone outpost of British power amid Spanish waters in the sunbaked Caribbean. Its capital, Port Royal, a cuthroat town of taverns, grog shops and bawdy houses — the last place imaginable from which to launch an unthinkable attack on a nearby Spanish stronghold. Yet that is exactly what renowned privateer Captain Charles Hunter plans to do, with the connivance of Charles II's ruling governor, Sir James Almont. The target is Matanceros, guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, and considered impregnable with its gun emplacements and sheer cliffs. Hunter's crew of buccaneers must battle not only the Spanish fleet but other deadly perils — raging hurricanes, cannibal tribes, even sea monsters. But if his ragtag crew succeeds, they will make not only history...but a fortune in gold.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'We have declared before that it is not only expedient but necessary for a prince to take care his foundations be good, otherwise his fabric will be sure to fail'. Considered one of the first works of modern philosophy, Machiavelli's The Prince is an intense study on the nature of power and the course it should take when ruling a country and expresses the author's strong and unyielding ideals and beliefs on using force rather than law to achieve your aims. Responsible for the widely-used phrase 'Machiavellian', with all of its negative connotations, his extreme treatise remains a classic text to this day.

The much anticipated and beautifully illustrated Sunday Times Bestselling Biography Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life was first released to great critical acclaim in 2010. Now the paperback edition of Justine Picardie's biography of the French fashion designer Gabrielle Chanel has arrived. The Mail on Sunday calls it 'gripping', the Sunday Times declares it to be 'fascinating', the Telegraph 'elegant' and 'brilliant'; while the Daily Mail hails it as a 'vividly told account, in the style of Chanel herself'. This is the definitive biography of a heroine who founded the most successful fashion label in history; a woman that transformed her life into a myth veiled in enigma and scandal; whose talent and innovation endures beyond her own pioneering sartorial creations. Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life was written by Justine Picardie as a celebration and investigation of Chanel's phenomenal achievements. Shortlisted for the Galaxy National Book Awards, selling over 50,000 copies thus far, and now translated into 15 languages worldwide, this eloquent biography has revealed the hidden secrets of the legendary Chanel. After a decade on the trail of previously unseen evidence left by Chanel, the author's exploration of Chanel's extraordinary life traces the emergence of an inventor and storyteller who rose above the poverty into which she was born. Following clues to Coco's early years in a convent and passionate love affairs with playboys, artists and aristocrats, Justine Picardie deftly weaves together the lost threads of Chanel's life. In doing so, she uncovers how an abandoned child came to conjure up the iconic creations that were proudly worn by legends in their own right, from Jackie Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe, who famously declared that she went to bed in nothing but Chanel No.5. The pioneer of the little black dress, bobbed hair and trousers for women, Chanel was so much more than a couture aficionado; for in reinventing herself, she was also to become one of the most influential women in history.

The living embodiment of The Beatles and a musical juggernaut without parallel, Paul McCartney is undoubtedly the patriarch of pop. In this authoritative biography, acclaimed author and journalist Howard Sounes creates the most accurate and extensive profile of McCartney ever built, leaving no stone unturned, and no shadow unexplored. He is the torch-bearer of the Beatles — the greatest band in pop — and one of the most closely studied stars in show business. But surprises and secrets still linger in the life of Sir Paul McCartney. In FAB, his full story is told for the first time. Acclaimed author Howard Sounes spent more than two years investigating every aspect of Sir Paul's life and work, including interviewing over 200 people. The result is the richest and more comprehensive biography of McCartney ever written. Uniquely, FAB pays equal attention to the story of Paul McCartney both in the Beatles and post-Beatles, creating a unique narrative spanning the arc of the artist's life. FAB culminates in the sensational human story of Sir Paul's calamitous marriage to Heather Mills, which is fully revealed for the first time. Sounes proves a judicious critic of the music of an iconic star while also delivering a superb psychological portrait of the man.

The long-awaited fifth volume in the hugely popular and highly acclaimed epic fantasy A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE The last of the Targaryons, Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, has brought the young dragons in her care to their terrifying maturity. Now the war-torn landscape of the Seven Kingdoms is threatened by destruction as vast as in the violent past. Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf with half a nose and a scar from eye to chin, has slain his father and escaped the Red Keep in King's Landing to wage war from the Free Cities beyond the narrow sea. The last war fought with dragons was a cataclysm powerful enough to shatter the Valyrian peninsula into a smoking, demon-haunted ruin half drowned by the sea. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS brings to life dark magic, complex political intrigue and horrific bloodshed as events at the Wall and beyond the sea threaten the ancient land of Westeros.

In the scope of human history, graffiti is the only visual art form started by children to have become a globally entrenched medium. With forty years of history as an organized artistic lifestyle sport, graffiti has sprung from the neglected neighborhoods of New York and Philadelphia to cover cities on every habitable continent. It was an amazing formula: fame for your name via effort and style. In the middle of the 1980s, there was a rush of media attention focused on the movement of graffiti, as a part of the hip-hop culture that included rapping, DJing, and breakdancing. The movement immediately spread throughout the world and took immovable root across the United States. Yet despite the early rush and all of its success around the world, the written history of its expansion has remained scant, and to this day, the general public, even the educated general public, has only a faint sense of what graffiti is about, and one often clouded by misconceptions. «The History of American Graffiti» provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the roots of a subculture that, in the last twenty-five years, has managed to move mainstream without losing its edge. Authors Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon have spent the better part of the last five years interviewing key figures in the graffiti world throughout American-from the bedrock cities of New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles to the lesser-known, but equally important hotspots of Cleveland, Baltimore, and Phoenix. Approximately 90 percent of the art in this book has never been published, and was sourced directly from the artists who lived the scene, giving the book a raw street vibe as authentic as the history it documents.

»Japanese Fantasy Manga» is one of the first books to fully examine the cross-cultural overlap between Japanese manga and Western fantasy characters. This comprehensive guide identifies characters that appear in fantasy manga by: most notable features; mythological origins (ranging from Greek myths to Biblical figures); and, of course a stunning, full-page illustration. Organized into three chapters (Characters, Vocations, and Superpowers), this volume will fully flesh out the most popular characters and themes in fantasy manga today: Chapter 1: Characters — elves, dwarves, hobbits, mermaids, giants, gods: gods, angels, devils, fairies: demons, vampires, goblins: dragons, unicorns, chimeras: Oni, Tengu, Yokai, Kaiju, etc. (monsters unique to Japanese culture); Chapter 2: Vocations (ranging from the medieval to contemporary); Swordsman, archer, wizard, and blacksmith, and knight; and, Policeman, businessman, musician, doctor, nurse, and teenager; and, Chapter 3: Superpowers (ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary): Magic, sorcery, and healing; Weapons handling (swords, spears, brass knuckles, etc.); Robot operations, animal domestication; and, Singing, dancing, teaching. In the same vein as anime/fantasy video game franchises such as «The Legend of Zelda» and «Final Fantasy», «Japanese Fantasy Manga» will appeal to video game, manga, and fantasy fans across the globe.

There is little doubt that no one, with the exception of Peter Drucker, has had more influence in shaping the idea of modern management than Tom Peters. Peters still has the same vigor and enthusiasm he had when the classic In Search of Excellence was published in 1982. Unlike so many dry, boring books on business, Tom Peters has a compelling, in-your-face style that makes this book as fun to read as it is insightful. An enemy of conformist 'suits', mindless mega-mergers, and the status quo, Peters urges readers to embrace diversity, cherish weirdness, and manage by turning off the computer and hitting the streets. This is one of those rare business books that is as essential for the small business owner or freelancer as it is for the head of a major corporation. Beginning with a fiery call-to-arms to companies and businesspeople to get 'back to basics', this book is the guidebook on how to excel at the people side of business and a reminder to 'never forget why you're here'. Some examples of Tom's timeless wisdom include: Love Your Competitors; Leave Your Wallet at Home; Appoint an Ombudsman for Common Sense; and, Cut Red Tape. Now more than ever, businesspeople need a voice of experience and wisdom to guide us through this time of financial uncertainty. Tom Peters is — as he always has been — just that voice.

These behind-the-scenes, intimate, and unguarded shots have been unearthed after spending 45 years in a duffel bag of The Beatles and Rolling Stones' former tour manager, Bob Bonis. Bonis was the US tour manager for The Beatles' first tour in the States from 1964-1966. Hanging out on stage, backstage, at work, and at play with one of the most influential bands ever, Bonis took some 3,500 photographs at a critical point in the creative development of The Beatles. The photos show these legends in candid, intimate shots on stage, in rehearsal, in concert, backstage (tuning up, waiting to go on stage and clowning around), dressing and relaxing, on vacations or en route to shows or cities, getting haircuts, bowling, recording in the studio, at press events, and just hanging around being themselves. This collection captured a pivotal time in the bands' career. It offers a groundbreaking, amazingly candid look at some of the 20th century's biggest icons during their first moments on the world stage.

No secret is too dark. No revelation too sick. But you must have the appetite for it. After forty years, twenty-eight ODs, three botched suicides, two heart attacks, a couple of jail stints, and a debilitating stroke, Steven Adler, the most self-destructive rock star ever, is ready to share the shattering untold truth in My Appetite for Destruction. When Adler was eleven years old he told his two closest friends he was going to be a rock star in the world's greatest band. Along with four uniquely talented — but very complicated and demanding — musicians, Adler helped form Guns N' Roses. They rose from the streets — primal rockers who obliterated glam rock and its big hair to resurrect rock's truer blues roots. They were relentless rock stars, onstage and off, taking sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to obscene levels of reckless abandon. By the late 1980s, GNR was the biggest rock band in the world, demanding headlines, awards, and sold-out shows, with one of the greatest rock albums of all time: Appetite for Destruction. But there was a price to pay. For Adler, it was his health and his sanity, culminating in a brutal banishment by his once-beloved musical brothers. Adler digs deep, revealing the last secrets, not only his own but GNR's as well: Slash's betrayal, Axl's unpredictable temper, and Duff's revenge. He bares it all with this shocking fuck-the-fates exposE that charts his meteoric rise and devastating collapse. Adler was humiliated and disgraced when Axl Rose kicked him out of GNR in front of an MTV audience of millions. Adler plunged into the dark side, spending most of the next twenty years in a drug-fueled hell. But he finally beat his epic addiction to crack and heroin under the care of Dr. Drew Pinsky. With Adler's newfound clarity comes a fierce determination to tell it all. Revelatory, heartbreaking, hilarious, and ultimately inspirational, you will never read anything more jaw-droppingly honest than My Appetite for Destruction.

Powers writes action and adventure that Indiana Jones could only dream of. — Washington Post Tim Powers is a brilliant writer. — William Gibson This is the novel that inspired the blockbuster motion picture from Walt Disney Studios, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides starring Johnny Depp! The remarkable Tim Powers — who ingeniously married the John le CarrE spy novel to the otherworldly in his critically acclaimed Declare — brings us pirate adventure with a dazzling difference. On Stranger Tides features Blackbeard, ghosts, voodoo, zombies, the fabled Fountain of Youth... and more swashbuckling action than you could shake a cutlass at, as reluctant buccaneer John Shandy braves all manner of peril, natural and supernatural, to rescue his ensorcelled love. Nominated for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards, On Stranger Tides is non-stop, breathtaking fiction from the genius imagination that conceived Last Call, Expiration Date, and Three Days to Never.

The official Tolkien calendar, this year containing 13 paintings inspired by ‘The Lord of the Rings’, and featuring many previously unseen works of art. The Official Tolkien Calendar has become an established publishing event, eagerly looked forward to by Tolkien fans the world over; there is much demand for the annual calendar, with Tolkien calendars from the past 30 years becoming collectors’ items. This year’s continues in that tradition and is the perfect Christmas gift for lovers of fine fantasy art. The Tolkien Calendar 2012 features 13 paintings by the Dutch artist, Cor Blok. Cor Blok is the only artist still living ever to have met JRR Tolkien, and the only artist whose paintings Tolkien admired enough to purchase some of his work. The paintings are inspired by Tolkien’s classic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings and were completed during the early 1960s when the young artist was attempting to create a Bayeux tapestry approach to illustrating this monumental book. Many of this paintings included here have never been seen before. This delightful collection of scenes takes the reader on a unique journey through the beauty and drama of Middle-earth. It represents a truly charming addition to the series of official calendars by a gifted artist, and promises to be a memorable calendar for fans.

The Carrie Diaries is the coming-of-age story of one of the most iconic characters of our generation. Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more. She's ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. With an unforgettable cast of characters, The Carrie Diaries is the story of how a regular girl learns to think for herself and evolves into a sharp, insightful writer. Readers will learn about her family background, how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. Through adventures both audacious and poignant, we'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where her new life begins.