Most Popular Books by Simon James

Alfie Parker has bagged the hottest date to prom ... hasn’t he? Bestselling LGBTQ+ writer Simon James Green makes his Barrington Stoke debut with a life-affirming teen romance.

Faking the best summer ever is a lot harder than it looks... At the start of summer, Jack and Nate find themselves dumped as their respective exes, Dylan and Tariq, start up a new relationship together. Not only that, their exes start posting pics on social media, showing the whole world how fabulous their new life together is! Jack and Nate are reeling. Not to be outdone, they decide to create their own ''highlights reel'' and show their exes that they''re having an even better time. But between the depressing motorway service station motels, damp campsites, and an ultimate showdown with the exes, something epic really is happening: Jack and Nate are learning to get over their heartache and open themselves up to new possibilities for love. A hilarious story of heartbreaks and hijinks from award-winning author Simon James Green.

"Believable characters and the warmth of Green''s writing bring light to a difficult topic" - Observer In the margins of a book''s pages, sparks fly as a teenage romance begins. But in this time and place, sparks like these can only ignite trouble. It''s 1994 and thanks to Section 28, there can be no mention of gay relationships in UK schools. When a kind librarian leads Jamie to a disguised novel in the library that reflects his own confused feelings towards boys, Jamie sees that he''s not the only one who has checked the book out. Will Jamie and this mystery boy have the courage to meet - and if they do, what will it take to hold on to each other? A timely - and timeless - story of forbidden love by one of the UK''s most beloved authors of teen LGBTQ+ fiction Filled with Simon James Green''s distinctive brand of humour making this an important but also very enjoyable read! Perfect for fans of books such as They Both Die At the End, Afterlove and Young Mungo, as well as dramas like It''s a Sin, Close, and Blue Jean.

A landmark comedic novel about a group of queer teens at their worst - and ultimately their best - from one of the UK''s leading writers of LGBTQ+ teen fiction. Barney''s a shoo-in for his school''s LGBTQ+ Society President at the club''s next election. But when the vote is opened up to the entire student body, the whole school starts paying attention. How low will the candidates go to win? Buckle up for some serious shade, scandals and sleazy shenanigans. It isn''t long before it''s National Coming Out Day - for everyone''s secrets! But when the group faces an unexpected threat - and a big opportunity - can the club members put politics aside and stand united?

As three duckling brothers cross forest and field to return to their mother, the older ones encourage the youngest by teaching him a game that earns him the name of Little One Step.

In this illustrated introduction to the world of the Celts, Simon James looks at all aspects of their life and history. Individual sections chart their rise, their way of life from farming to feasting, their wars, gods and superb craftsmanship.

The Celtic peoples of the British Isles hold a fundamental place in our national consciousness. In this book Simon James surveys ancient and modern ideas of the Celts and challenges them in the light of revolutionary new thinking on the Iron Age peoples of Britain. Examining how ethnic and national identities are constructed, he presents an alternative history of the British Isles, proposing that the idea of insular Celtic identity is really a product of the rise of nationalism in the eighteenth century. He considers whether the ''Celticness'' of the British Isles is a romantic fantasy, even a politically dangerous falsification of history which has implications in the current debate on devolution and self-government for the Celtic regions.

Originally published: London, England: Walker Books & Co., 2015.

This fun, absorbing book, packed with quirky bite-sized lists, quizzes and trivia, is an exploration of the Latin language, aiming to prove that it is as vibrant and relevant today as it was 2,500 years ago. It includes sections on Latin in the movies, US state mottoes and place names, and also some choice snippets from real Latin poetry from Catullus, Horace and Virgil, with evocative translations. It contains a fascinating section on the Roman emperors and what they got up to, and gives the basics of the language itself for anyone who would like to learn it. Quizzes allow the reader to guess the names of famous books, songs and James Bond films, cunningly translated into Latin. From the spells in Harry Potter to the use of Latin in Asterix, to the Latin terms that litter law and medicine to the meaning behind UK football club mottoes, this book is the perfect gift for anyone who wants to brush up their Latin, whether they studied it at school or not.

The Wireless World sheds new light on the transnational connections created by international broadcasting, using a single analytical frame to draw together the periods from the pioneering days of wireless, through WWII and the Cold War, to the decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall to reveal key continuities and transformations.

Noah and Harry are now officially boyfriends, but is Noah ready to go all the way? It''s no help that a group of cosmopolitan French exchange students have descended on Little Fobbing - including sexy Pierre Victoire, who seems to have his eye on Harry! Will Noah ever catch a break?

From Roman emperors and gods and goddesses to soldiers and gladiators, step into the exciting world of ancient Rome. Who were Rome''s most famous emperors? What was everyday life like for a soldier in the Roman army? How did the citizens of ancient Rome live? Did gladiators really fight to the death in the mighty Colosseum? Find out the answers to all these questions, and many more, in Eyewitness: Ancient Rome. Photographs of real artifacts and detailed illustrations will help you to learn all about the time of ancient Rome, from a small city-state ruled by kings to one of the most powerful empires in history. Find out what a typical Roman house was like and what food Romans ate. Learn about how people spent their free time, whether paying a visit to the theatre, using the public bath, or watching gladiators fight a gruesome battle to the death in the world-famous Colosseum. Packed with fascinating facts, this illustrated guide is perfect for school projects or as an introduction for anyone who wants to know more about the history of ancient Rome.

Statistics Analysis of Geographical Data: An Introduction provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the theory and practice of statistical analysis in geography. It covers a wide range of topics including graphical and numerical description of datasets, probability, calculation of confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, collection and analysis of data using analysis of variance and linear regression. Taking a clear and logical approach, this book examines real problems with real data from the geographical literature in order to illustrate the important role that statistics play in geographical investigations. Presented in a clear and accessible manner the book includes recent, relevant examples, designed to enhance the reader’s understanding.

"Jack really wants to impress his diving coach dad... There''s just one problem. Jack is the worst diver in the worst diving team in Damp Bottom, England. Luckily, when a new kid starts at school with awesome swimming skills and an eagerness to share tips, Jack''s luck might be about to change. But when Jack''s new friend gets into trouble--and the fate of a secret world hangs in the balance--it''s up to Jack and the rest of his diving crew to save the day. As Jack is about to discover, lifting trophies isn''t all that... Because being part of a team feels a lot like winning, and friendship might just last forever." --

Leon and his imaginary friend Bob do everything together until a new boy moves in next door.

Riley is cursed. No, really! After a fairground incident - TOTALLY not his fault - bad luck follows Riley everywhere, causing disaster after disaster. It''s got so bad that no one wants to go near Riley, including his teachers! But when new student Brad Chicago shows up, Riley quickly realizes that Brad is the human equivalent of a good luck charm. Can Brad''s good luck cancel out Riley''s bad luck? Or is this yet another recipe for disaster?

In recent decades, Tokyo, London, and New York have been the sites of credit bubbles of historically unprecedented magnitude. Central bankers have enjoyed almost unparalleled power and autonomy. They have cooperated to construct and preserve towering structures of debt, reshaping relations of power and ownership around the world. In Central Banks and Gold, Simon James Bytheway and Mark Metzler explore how this financialized form of globalism took shape a century ago, when Tokyo joined London and New York as a major financial center.As revealed here for the first time, close cooperation between central banks began along an unexpected axis, between London and Tokyo, around the year 1900, with the Bank of England''s secret use of large Bank of Japan funds to intervene in the London markets. Central-bank cooperation became multilateral during World War I—the moment when Japan first emerged as a creditor country. In 1919 and 1920, as Japan, Great Britain, and the United States adopted deflation policies, the results of cooperation were realized in the world''s first globally coordinated program of monetary policy. It was also in 1920 that Wall Street bankers moved to establish closer ties with Tokyo. Bytheway and Metzler tell the story of how the first age of central-bank power and pride ended in the disaster of the Great Depression, when a rush for gold brought the system crashing down. In all of this, we see also the quiet but surprisingly central place of Japan. We see it again today, in the way that Japan has unwillingly led the world into a new age of post-bubble economics.

Because only someone who does not know Jake would babysit him, his parents call the new neighbor, and Jake has a surprising evening.

A sweetly silly story of a little boy and a dog who make an unlikely (but perhaps perfect) pair. Everyone knows that owners and their dogs belong together in a unique way. Polly belongs to Molly, Eric belongs to Derek, Berry belongs to Terry. But poor Mr. Scruff, alone in the rescue shelter, doesn’t belong to anyone. Then a boy named Jim walks in, and they seem to get along. Jim and Mr. Scruff don’t look anything alike, and their names certainly don’t rhyme, but they may end up belonging to each other just the same. From author-illustrator Simon James comes a warm, winning story about friendship and finding a home.

This book addresses computer scientists, IT specialists, mathematicians, knowledge engineers and programmers, who are engaged in research and practice of multicriteria decision making. Fuzzy measures, also known as capacities, allow one to combine degrees of preferences, support or fuzzy memberships into one representative value, taking into account interactions between the inputs. The notions of mutual reinforcement or redundancy are modeled explicitly through coefficients of fuzzy measures, and fuzzy integrals, such as the Choquet and Sugeno integrals combine the inputs. Building on previous monographs published by the authors and dealing with different aspects of aggregation, this book especially focuses on the Choquet and Sugeno integrals. It presents a number of new findings concerning computation of fuzzy measures, learning them from data and modeling interactions. The book does not require substantial mathematical background, as all the relevant notions are explained. It is intended as concise, timely and self-contained guide to the use of fuzzy measures in the field of multicriteria decision making.

George does not feel ready to learn to fly or leave his nest to go south with the other birds despite his mother''s encouragement, but when a strong autumn wind gets hold of the nest, he finds that he has no choice--George is off whether he likes it or not!

Larry the llama has a secret: he loves dancing! But have you ever seen a llama dance? Well, neither had Larry - until one day he spots an ad for the Llama Glamarama. He joins the crowd, and it blows Larry''s mind to see llamas DANCING! Will this raucous, joyful celebration give Larry the courage to embrace his inner dancer? How would the other llamas back at the barn react, if he ever revealed his secret?

A pathbreaking study that integrates military theory with the historical account to explain how the Roman armies functioned, triumphed, and ultimately failed. The story of Rome and its military seems a familiar one, told often through books and movies and games, yet it is a modern myth obscuring a different reality. As this groundbreaking study demonstrates, Rome’s military was no war machine made up of mindless cogs. There was not even an ancient term for the Roman army; rather, Romans spoke of “the soldiers”—of men, not institutions. Simon James provides a striking new perspective on Roman history by focusing on the soldiers and their actions. Rome’s soldiers were less sentinels of civilization than enforcers for aristocrats and autocrats against foreign foes and internal dissent. They were brutal and unruly, prone to mutiny and rebellion. How, then, to account for their sustained success and their eventual failure? Rome’s dominion was achieved through soldiers’ ferocity and excellent weaponry, but to maintain it the conquered were integrated, as diplomacy accompanied the threat of the sword. Millions of allies and subjects became Romans themselves through military service. Nevertheless, the aggression of Rome’s soldiers precipitated the creation of a new Sasanian superpower in Iran and great barbarian confederations in the North.

A young girl and her teacher correspond about the whale she has discovered in her pond.

This book examines how the wonders of AI have contributed to the battle against COVID-19. Just as history repeats itself, so do epidemics and pandemics. In the face of the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, the book explores whether, in this digital era where artificial intelligence is successfully applied in all areas of industry, we are doing any better than our ancestors did in dealing with pandemics. One of the most contagious diseases ever known, COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire around and has cost thousands of human lives. The book discusses how AI can help fight this deadly virus, from early warnings, prompt emergency responses, and critical decision-making to surveillance drones. Serving as a technical reference resource, data analytic tutorial and a chronicle of the application of AI in epidemics, this book will appeal to academics, students, data scientists, medical practitioners, and anybody who is concerned about this global epidemic.

A mass of new research has prompted fundamental reappraisals of Britain''s Iron Age, challenging in particular the idea that Iron Age Britons were part of the family of European peoples known as Celts and suggesting that the truth is more complex.

Paleoecological data from the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to present) provides an opportunity for educational outreach for the earth and biological sciences. Paleoecology data repositories serve as technical hubs and focal points within their disciplinary communities and so are uniquely situated to help produce teaching modules and engagement resources. The Neotoma Paleoecology Database provides support to educators from primary schools to graduate students. In collaboration with pedagogical experts, the Neotoma Paleoecology Database team has developed teaching modules and model workflows. Early education is centered on discovery; higher-level educational tools focus on illustrating best practices for technical tasks. Collaborations among pedagogic experts, technical experts and data stewards, centered around data resources such as Neotoma, provide an important role within research communities, and an important service to society, supporting best practices, translating current research advances to interested audiences, and communicating the importance of individual research disciplines.

Fully revised and up-dated, this new edition of Simon James comprehensive and accessible text continues to provide an excellent insight into this central topic of British politics. It draws on the wealth of new material that has become available in recent years to shed light on the mechanisms, structure and realities of the Cabinet system in Britain from 1945 to the present 1945. Its coverage includes: · ministers and their departments · collective decision-making · the role of the Prime Minister · the strengths and weaknesses of the Cabinet system · the future of the Cabinet system. British Cabinet Government will give both A-level students and undergraduates a clear understanding of the realities of this central aspect of British politics.

Dura-Europos, a Parthian-ruled Greco-Syrian city, was captured by Rome c.AD165. It then accommodated a Roman garrison until its destruction by Sasanian siege c.AD256. Excavations of the site between the World Wars made sensational discoveries, and with renewed exploration from 1986 to 2011, Dura remains the best-explored city of the Roman East. A critical revelation was a sprawling Roman military base occupying a quarter of the city''s interior. This included swathes of civilian housing converted to soldiers'' accommodation and several existing sanctuaries, as well as baths, an amphitheatre, headquarters, and more temples added by the garrison. Base and garrison were clearly fundamental factors in the history of Roman Dura, but what impact did they have on the civil population? Original excavators gloomily portrayed Durenes evicted from their homes and holy places, and subjected to extortion and impoverishment by brutal soldiers, while recent commentators have envisaged military-civilian concordia, with shared prosperity and integration. Detailed examination of the evidence presents a new picture. Through the use of GPS, satellite, geophysical and archival evidence, this volume shows that the Roman military base and resident community were even bigger than previously understood, with both military and civil communities appearing much more internally complex than has been allowed until now. The result is a fascinating social dynamic which we can partly reconstruct, giving us a nuanced picture of life in a city near the eastern frontier of the Roman world.