Most Popular Books by James Riordan

Thirty-five years after his death in Paris at age twenty-seven, Jim Morrison''s iconic legend remains as powerful as ever, swathed in the mists of mystery. There have been numerous biographies about the self-proclaimed "Lizard King''s" life and career. But none have examined his roots and childhood, the intellectual foundations of his music, his wild days with the Doors, and his enigmatic early death as completely and insightfully as Break On Through. More than simply a fascinating look at a rock legend whose cult following never stops growing, here is the definitive Morrison biography: his angry relationship with his father; the early tragedies and terrible events responsible for the darkness of his artistic vision; his private life and legal trials, including his infamous Miami obscenity bust; and the truth about his final hours. Based on extensive research and featuring dozens of rarely published photographs, this is the authoritative portrait of the poet, the grim visionary, the haunted man, and his haunting music.

Samuel''s parents and young sister, innocent bystanders during an uprising, are killed by South African police. Samuel is sent to live with his uncle, a tribal chief in the Bantu homeland, while his brother vows to join the African National Congress armed struggle and avenge his family''s deaths. In the h omeland, Samuel discovers he can run faster than anyone and before long begins to train under his English-educated uncle. Years later, after the end of Apartheid, Samuel is selected as the token black South African athlete to run in the Olympics. President Nelson Mandela is there when he wins his gold medal, and Samuel dedicates it to ''a very special man... I was running for the President. I was running for my country.'' This powerful and moving story portrays what it was like for blacks growing up in South Africa aunder Apartheid and the different ways in which they struggled to gain their freedom. For some, like Samuel''s brother, it was an armed struggle, but for Samuel it was the opportunity to prove he could run better than any white man.

These retellings of the ancient Greek legends recreate the labours of Zeus'' much-loved son and mythology''s mightiest hero. Illustrations including a map of the sites of Hercules'' 12 labours accompany the text.

A historical tale set during World War I. It''s Christmas 1914 and in No Man''s Land a unique game of football is being played - between British and German troops.

Tom feels out of place. He''s attracted to boys, and he''s a promising cellist, which attracts bullying. The story follows him through his adolescence, as he becomes more aware of his sexuality and more committed to his music.

Jack Loveless attempts to avert his grandson''s questions about his role in World War I by taking him to visit the battlefield graveyards in France. While there he meets a German soldier from the past and vividly remembers the Christmas truce, a miraculous moment when the guns fell silent and horrors of war were temporarily forgotten in a football match. Suggested level: secondary.

Marmaduke the tabby cat goes on a search for his long-lost relative. When Marmaduke the tabby cat discovers a picture of a tiger, he decides they must be related. After all, they both have yellow eyes and stripes! Marmaduke boasts about his new relative to all his cat friends, who are very impressed. They decide to visit the zoo to meet his new relative--face to face. Readers of all ages will love James Riordan''s easy-to-read text and the colorful torn-paper illustrations from Alex Ayliffe that bring Marmaduke and his friends to life.

I hard to bail out. The plane was going down. I could have been trapped for ages if it hadn''t been for those kids. A sound wailed in my ears. An air raid warning. Must take cover. The girl and the boy - they hate me for who I am. But if I can just make them see that bombs don''t care which side you''re on...

Bee has cerebral palsy and her twin sister Fee has to care for her. When Fee discovers that Bee is a talented poet, she helps her with her writing, while at the same time becoming inspired to do something she ia really good at herself - running. Together the twins find a way of overcoming their day to day problems, and surprising everyone around them.

An appealing fairy tale with a twist, illustrated in full colour and perfect for young readers aged 5 to 7 years.

Petrushka is part of Russian folklore, but is not a folk tale. It is in the European tradition of ''Harlequin'' and ''Punch'', performed in a puppet theatre at travelling fairs. Petrushka is tired of being a clown in a puppet show. He wants to save pretty ballerina from Strongman and take her in his arms far, far away. His mind is made up and, encouraged by Skeleton, the next day he challenges his rival to a duel. But he''s no match for Strongman and ends up in a lifeless, crumpled heap. ''That old ragdoll needs chucking out,'' says the showman. But Petrushka has other ideas...

Stalingrad snipers were a legend in their time. Their patience, keen eyes and ruthlessness helped win the Battle of Stalingrad and turn the tide of the Second World War. This is the true story of a teenage sniper recruited in 1942 by Vasily Zaitsev to seek out and shoot German officers. To begin with, the youngster finds it almost impossible to kill, but after a shocking discovery, goes on to ''snap as many as 84 German sticks'', and following capture and a daredevil escape, leads a handpicked unit on a hazardous mission to seize Field Marshall Paulus, the Commander-in-Chief of the invading army. But this sniper is no ordinary marksman. The author first visited Stalingrad in 1959, and made subsequent visits in 1963 and, most recently, in 2006, when he met Tania Chernova, the heroine of this novel. Having studied Russian in Birmingham and Moscow, James Riordan lived, worked and travelled extensively in Russia for five years, and has presented several BBC radio programmes on Russia. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Russian at the University of Surrey.

Vova is a fifteen year old boy living in Kiev. His first love is playing football, but when the Nazis invade the Ukraine in 1941, priorities change, and Vova and his sister join the partisans, to attempt to fight the enemy. Soon Vova is given the chance to play football again, but in a gamewith very high stakes - if Vova''s team win, they will be shot. Vova and his team have to decide whether to disgrace their country and lose the game, or whether to win - and die.* Match of Death is based on actual events that took place during the Second World War.* James Riordan undertook extensive research, travelling to Kiev to interview the sons of those who took part in the match.

When the daughter of the river goddess Yemoya goes to the Land of Shining Day to marry a handsome earth chief, her longing for the cool darkness of her former home causes Night to be brought to the world.

The first biography of the highly acclaimed, often controversial director, based on material from his family, filmmaking colleagues, and Stone himself, reveals the sensational story of the filmmaker and his professional achievements. Reprint.

Supernatural-themed shows fill the TV schedule, and today''s teens are curious--but is it safe? Best-selling author Bill Myers uses this thriller mystery series to demonstrate the allure and danger of the occult. Kids ages 10-14 will follow teens who find themselves drawn toward these "forbidden doors" of seances, reincarnation, and spells. Myers shows how faith can combat spiritual darkness. Originally released in 1994, this timely series, with over 300,000 copies sold, features fresh cover art that will appeal to today''s teens. In book 8, The Undead, Becka and Ryan explore whether or not vampires exist.

An experienced bereavement counselor draws on the many different teachings and practices of both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions as he explores profound questions about death and bereavement.

Award-winning children''s author James Riordan boldly retells this story from Greek mythology, introducing readers to the first great European hero to undertake a grand journey. Accompanied by some of ancient Greece''s bravest heroes, Jason leads an expedition to retrieve the Golden Fleece, the property of a king in a far-off land. Traveling by sea, they encounter trial after trial along their route - reeking Harpies, deadly clashing rocks, and fierce Amazon warrior women - and yet more challenges await them at their destination. For before he will give up the fleece, the king devises a test for Jason that will certainly be the death of him - unless the king''s daughter, Medea, agrees out of love for Jason to lend him her magical powers. Complemented by illustrations that marry ancient Greek vase pastiche with high realism, this is a classic tale of high adventure that holds appeal for boys and girls alike.

Hercules, son of the god Zeus and a mortal woman, renowned for his great strength, performs twelve dangerous tasks to atone for an attack on his wife and children.

Looks at the World War II events surrounding the Dunkirk Evacuation in occupied France through the story of Marie, a young girl who, along with her mother, finds herself caring for two injured soldiers--one English and the other German.

Previously published as four separate books, the exciting series can now be found in one volume. In "The Elijah Project," Zach and Piper aren''t the only ones to notice their little brother Elijah''s supernatural gifts. Something evil is also paying attention.

Three bestselling novels in one powerpack! Includes Rick Riordan''s THE 39 CLUES: THE MAZE OF BONES, James Dashner''s INFINITY RING: A MUTINY IN TIME, and Brandon Mull''s SPIRIT ANIMALS: WILD BORN! Available together for the first time, three novels that each launched a blockbuster series. This powerpack includes:THE 39 CLUES #1: THE MAZE OF BONES by bestselling author Rick Riordan. Are you ready to save the world?INFINITY RING #1: A MUTINY IN TIME by bestselling author James Dasher. Fix the past. Save the future.SPIRIT ANIMALS #1: WILD BORN by bestselling author Brandon Mull. The legend lives in you.Three unforgettable adventures are waiting for you....

The role and development of sport in Soviet society received little contemporary attention, in the West or in Russia. Although it was widely banned after the Russian Revolution, and viewed as a tool developed by the bourgeoisie for the training of body and mind during the rise of capitalism, the USSR was among the world''s sporting powers. This 1977 book examines the evolution of sport in Russia from its early association with health and hygiene, through a period of functional association with labour and defence, to its post-war importance as a means of enhancing the prestige of Soviet communism abroad. The historical role of Soviet sport is followed from the considerable part that sport played during the period of rapid industrialisation, through its strange fate during the years of mass repression, to its emergence as a major institution after the Second World War.

Written to combat the influence of the occult on today''s kids, these compelling stories show the reality of spiritual warfare. As Rebecca and her brother, Scott, discover the danger in the occult''s deceptive practices, they learn to put their trust in God''s truths.

Twelve stories from the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Like nothing else, sport today is international. So this book of stories and poems contains a wide range of games played in all English-speaking countries: ice hockey as well as swimming and wrestling, baseball as well as soccer and boxing, cricket as well as fishing and ice dancing, gymnastics as well and running and basketball.All the poems and three of the stories are written by women. Some pit women against men, in swimming and pool. Some pose problems that women face in playing the game according to rules written by men. Some suggest the power and solidarity that sport can give women.The authors come from Britain and Canada, the USA, and the West Indies. They include such well-known writers as Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Alan Stilltoe, Margaret Atwood, Barry Hines, and Damon Runyan.

Out of the hundreds of wars that ravaged the twentieth century, the three wars covered in this book were the longest and blackest. In total they lasted 20 years and killed nearly 100,000,000 people. The writers in this collection of stories and poems are friend and foe - British and German, Russian and American. The first story is from All Quiet on the Western Front by the German Erich Maria Remarque, perhaps the most moving war novel ever written. Other writers - Russian, German, and English - convey in verse the tragedy and waste of the ''Great War''. The six British Children''s writers write about World War II - Robert Westall and Robert Swindells on the ''home'' war, Michael Morpugo about a ''war horse'', Jill Paton Walsh on the war at sea, and Ian Serraillier and Anne Hohn on refugees in occupied Europe. Young girls - Anne Frank and Tatiana Vassieleva - provide war diaries. Since 1945 no one has suffered as much as the people of Vietnam. In her moving story Rachel Anderson shows not only a nation''s suffering but how war can brutalise soldiers. Finally, the women''s poems on the two world wars show that war is a woman''s affair as well as a man''s.

Billy''s life is changed forever when he is injured by a bomb.Angry and disfigured he is visited by a soldier who gives him a gift that will give him somthing to live for.

Capture children''s interest in ancient civilizations with these faithful retellings of classic Greek tales, lavishly illustrated by and award-winning artist.

Recounts the adventures of Gulliver among the tiny Lilliputians and the giant Brobdingnagians.

Introduces, in text and illustrations, the various characters that inhabit the world of Narnia and sets them in the context of the Narnia stories; also includes an outline of Narnian history.