Meet the Bond villains – the evil geniuses, the henchmen and the masterplan. Celebrating the timeless excitement of the James Bond films, this luxurious, contemporary book features a gallery of memorable rogues that Bond has defeated during his spectacular 22-film career, including Dr. No, Goldfinger, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, as well as the murderous agents of SPECTRE and, more recently, Quantum.

Full of spectacular movie images and enhanced with memorable script quotations, this covers a major aspect of the Bond legend – a perfect gift for any Bond fan.

‘The Art of War’ enjoys enduring popularity among readers. It is a classic study of strategy and how to shape your tactics to cope with an ever-evolving situation – in some cases how to fight without actually committing yourself to battle. This is a beautiful edition, illustrated throughout with full-colour images in keeping with the text.

This title features lyrics, music and guitar chords for such popular songs as “Ding Dong”, “Merrily On High” and “Silent Night”. Perfect for carol singing, Christmas parties, concerts and all other festivities, this gorgeous books is the ideal Christmas gift.

Five years after his death, Stieg Larsson is best known as the author of the Millennium Trilogy, but during his career as a journalist he was a crucial protagonist in the battle against racism and for democracy in Sweden, and one of the founders of the anti-facist magazine Expo. Kurdo Baksi first met Larsson in 1992; it was the beginning of an intense friendship, and a fruitful but challenging working relationship. In this candid and rounded memoir, Baksi answers the questions a multitude of Larsson’s fans have already asked, about his upbringing; the recurring death threats; his insomnia and his vices; his feminism so evident in his books and his dogmatism.

What was he like as a colleague? Who provided the inspiration for his now-immortal characters (Baksi is one of the few who appears in the trilogy as himself)? Who was Lisbeth Salander?

Bobby Beasley was a champion jockey, a trait that ran in this famous racing family. By age 26, he had won a Cheltenham Gold Cup (1959), a Champion Hurdle (1960) and a Grand National (1961). He was destined for racing greatness.

But when he was 24, Bobby took his first drink and soon succumbed to alcoholism. He abandoned his glittering career but turned a corner after his friend Nicky Rackard urged him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous. Five years later, aged 38, Beasley rode Captain Christy to an amazing victory at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The horse was a headstrong brute, transformed by Pat Taaffe into one of the most exciting talents in jump racing. Still a novice in the 1974 Gold Cup, Captain Christy made a bad mistake at the last fence but Beasley, a dynamic and natural rider, kept his nerve to drive his horse past the previous year’s winner, The Dikler. That ride by Beasley is ranked as one of the finest in racing history.

Years later Beasley observed: ‘Christy gave me back my self-respect. He made a huge difference to my life and was a hell of a horse.’ After retiring in 1975, Beasley ran a pub for eight years and then worked in a vineyard in Kent. In the history of unlikely comebacks, that of Irish jockey Bobby Beasley is the most heartwarming – and unlikely – of them all.