New Releases by Phil Mason

Les hommes politiques sont-ils vraiment capables de tout ? Oui, 103 fois oui ! Et de bien plus encore... Voici un inventaire croustillant des perles de la politique mondiale. Vous découvrirez au fil des pages des épisodes diplomatiques étranges, des objets politiques non identifiés, des élections inimaginables (mais jamais imaginaires), des anecdotes administratives surréalistes. Quelques exemples parmi tant d''autres : un chien peut être élu, un mort peut remporter un scrutin haut la main, un candidat peut apparaître totalement nu sur une affiche... Si vous trouvez le monde politique ennuyeux, barbant, triste et rébarbatif, la lecture de ce livre va vous faire radicalement changer d''avis ! Auteur du désormais célèbre Les Hémorroïdes de Napoléon, Phil Mason scrute cette fois la classe politique et s''immisce dans les coulisses du pouvoir. Avec sa précision habituelle et son humour inimitable, il rassemble un florilège d''anecdotes politiques toutes plus incroyables les unes que les autres. Attention, en politique plus qu''ailleurs, il faut vraiment s''attendre à tout.

Ce livre raconte des évènements minuscules qui ont eu des conséquences énormes. Certains ont changé le monde. d''autres ont changé des vies et des contributions au monde. D''autres auraient pu le faire si les choses avaient tourné juste un peu différemment... La crise d''hémorroïdes dont souffrait Napoléon au matin de la bataille de Waterloo l''empêcha, dit-on, de surveiller attentivement la situation comme il avait l''habitude de le faire, en sillonnant le champ de bataille sur son cheval. Ce matin-là, il n''était que l''ombre de lui-même, on connaît la suite... Nous allons donc un peu revisiter l''Histoire et porter un rude coup au mythe qui veut que les grandes choses ont de grandes causes. Ce livre raconte comment de petits jeux du hasard, du destin ou du sort ont influencé, plus largement qu''on ne pourrait le penser, le cours de l''Histoire. L''Histoire n''est donc pas une matière mortellement ennuyeuse. Loin s''en faut ! Après avoir lu ce livre, vous saurez que les évènements les plus marquants peuvent avoir une origine dérisoire.

Collects obscure trivia about historical figures, from President Lyndon Johnson''s poor phone etiquette to Albert Einstein''s habit of forgetting his shoes.

Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon’s Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason’s many revelations, you’ll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You’ll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield. You’ll learn that an irate blacksmith threw his hammer at a fox and missed, hitting a rock and revealing the largest vein of silver ever discovered, thus changing the finances of Canada forever. Interestingly, Charlton Heston was cast as Moses in The Ten Commandments because his broken nose made him look like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of Moses. Finally, no one knows Einstein’s last words. They were in German, a language his nurse did not speak. A treasure trove filled with fascinating anecdotes about the tiny ripples that created big waves in history, Napoleon’s Hemorrhoids is much more than just a trivial fact book; it is an astonishing historical-fate book revealing how our most famous incidents, best-loved works of art, and most accepted historical outcomes are simply twists of fate.

Our view of the famous is one-dimensional; leading figures from history are pigeon-holed – Churchill the war-time genius, Gandhi the poor ascetic – but nobody is perfect and even the famous have their quirks, eccentricities and hidden secrets. And What Needled Cleopatra? reveals the often hilarious, sometimes shocking and always highly informative foibles of the great and the good.The book features the Prime Minister who, in three months, wrote 151 love letters to his mistress during Cabinet meetings; the US President who preferred to conduct business while sitting on the toilet; and the hidden side of Abraham Lincoln, ‘the Great Emancipator’ who believed in slavery.There is a cavalcade of history’s other big names with little-known foibles. Hitler possibly has a Jewish ancestor; Einstein, the cleverest man who lived, regularly forgot his shoes and never learned to drive; and Karl Marx went on regular pub crawls around London while writing his epic treatise on communism.Creators of children’s idylls such as Walt Disney and Enid Blyton had deeply unpleasant darker sides to their characters, while Picasso avoided paying restaurant bills by doodling on their napkins instead.What Needled Cleopatra? will change the way you think about those you thought you knew well.Phil Mason has amassed one of the country’s largest private collections of cuttings and books chronicling the weird and the strange. Amongst other books he has authored Mission Accomplished with Mathew Parris, a compilation of misplaced predictions by Parliamentarians and Christmas hit, Napoleon’s Haemorrhoids.

"Our view of the famous is one-dimensional. Leading figures from history are pigeon-holed : Churchill the war-time genius, Gandhi the poor ascetic - but nobody is perfect and even the famous have their quirks, eccentricities and hidden secrets. And What Needled Cleopatra? reveals the often hilarious, sometimes shocking and always highly informative foibles of the great and the good. The book features the Prime Minister who, in three months, wrote 151 love letters to his mistress during Cabinet meetings; the US President who preferred to conduct business while sitting on the toilet; and the hidden side of Abraham Lincoln, ''the Great Emancipator'' who believed in slavery. There is a cavalcade of history''s other big names with little-known foibles. Hitler possibly has a Jewish ancestor; Einstein, the cleverest man who lived, regularly forgot his shoes and never learned to drive; and Karl Marx went on regular pub crawls around London while writing his epic treatise on communism. Creators of children''s idylls such as Walt Disney and Enid Blyton had deeply unpleasant darker sides to their characters, while Picasso avoided paying restaurant bills by doodling on their napkins instead. What Needled Cleopatra? will change the way you think about those you thought you knew well."--Publisher description.

Kent Chronicles of Catastrophe and Disaster

A wonderfully inexpensive back to back pack of two humour titles

It is amazing how often politicians’ most public words come back to haunt them. George W. Bush once quipped, “I have opinions of my own—strong opinions—but I don’t always agree with them,” while Richard Nixon famously called the funeral of President Georges Pompidou “a great day for France.” This priceless treasure trove of verbal blunders, indiscretions, regrettable promises, about-turns, deceptions, lies, and just plain stupidity highlights the very best political missteps of all time. Ranging across the centuries and the globe, this salutary and hugely funny book is completely up-to-date with all the immortal lines our leaders have made into classics.

Explore two decades of proven SAS tips. Each tip is presented in a self-contained format that is both informative and easy to use. Every chapter contains a collection of related tips with frequent use of code and log examples to improve productivity. This dynamic collection of helpful tips is updated for SAS 8 & 9, keeping the best of the previous edition and adding many new tips. This book focuses on Foundation SAS software and is applicable to all industry sectors. Tips are also included for other SAS products such as SAS/GRAPH software, as well as specific procedures, the DATA step, SQL, macros, functions, ODS, and much more. You''ll gain a world of experience through Philip Mason''s tips and techniques.

Christianity is serious business--but a good laugh at ourselves helps us keep our feet on the ground. Each book has more than 275 quips, quotes, church bloopers, funny stories, and cartoons for church and family settings.