Most Popular Books by John Lloyd

In this kaleidoscopic miscellany of poems written in English and chichewa John wanda, man of many talents (and paid up member of Malawi''s awkward squad), shows that his endlessly fertile mind is perhaps at its most creative when he distils his thought into verse. On the serious side, the poet vividly evokes life in Malawi as experienced by people on both sides of the power/wealth divide and gives an incisive critique of the system that creates it and those who exploit it. Even on the silly side, the author''s humorous treatment of personally relatable experiences of disappointment, disillusionment, nostalgia, human frailty and of the foibles of himself and others says much about what it means to be human in a complex world. While the focus is very much on his beloved Malawi, the poet find space for observations about the international situation with swipes at Obama, Trump, Muhammad Ali, Mugabe and Cameron. This Rhino, for all his forcefulness has a surprisingly light touch and his ruminations will be enjoyed and appreciated by many. - David Bone, Al Maktoum College, Dundee, Scotland. John Lwanda weaves the immediacy of an extended ''haiku'' into a hard-hitting and scathing commentary on Malawi''s current affairs. The use of worldwide slang, from pidgin to ebonics receives more power from Malawi''s local languages. Malawi''s spoken-word poetry has entered a new sphere and John Lwanda would be a most welcome and revered member of this group of poets. - Professor Felix Mnthali, poet, novelist and academic. After going through some poems in the anthology I discovered a hidden touch and exceptional creativity; as such it requires wisdom for someone to appreciate. As a seasoned poet who has perfomed at big events in Germany, my overall conclusion is that the anthology is outstanding, authentic and exceptional. - Babangoni Kubvalandlibhiya Chisale, seasoned writer, social analyst and curator.

Welcome to QI: The Book of the Dead, a biographical dictionary with a twist - one where only the most interesting people made it in!QI have got together six dozen of the happiest, saddest, maddest and most successful men and women from history. Celebrate their wisdom, learn from their mistakes and marvel at their bad taste in clothes. Hans Christian Anderson was terrified of naked women, Florence Nightingale spent her last fifty years in bed, Sigmund Freud smoked twenty cigars a day, Catherine de Medici applied a daily face mask made of pigeon dung, Rembrandt van Rijn died penniless and Madame Mao banned cicadas, rustling noises and pianos. Carefully collected and ordered by the QI team into themed chapters with thought-provoking titles such as ''There''s Nothing Like a Bad Start in Life'', ''Man Cannot Live by Bread Alone''. Each chapter reveals hilarious insights into the true nature of the most interesting people who ever lived, including Isaac Newton, Genghis Khan, Sigmund Freud, Florence Nightingale and Karl Marx. From the bestselling authors of The Book of General Ignorance and 1,277 Facts to Knock Your Socks Off, comes a fun and inspirational biographical dictionary, with motivational stories about the famous and the obscure.

The QI team are back with another lorry-load of mistakes and misunderstandings. The Second Book of General Ignorance is the essential set text for everyone who''s proud to admit that they don''t know everything, and an ideal stick with which to beat people who think they do.

By revisiting some of the classics of the genre and offering critical readings of their distinctive qualities and shades of meaning, Purdy celebrates their dynamic literary qualities. Interwoven with this personal reflection on the last thirty years of work in the genre are interviews with prominent Native American scholars and writers (including Paula Gunn Allen, Simon Ortiz, Gerald Vizenor, Sherman Alexie, and Louis Owens), who offer their own insights about Native literatures and the future of the genre. In this book their voices provide the original, central conversation that leads to read.

Public relations and journalism have had a difficult relationship for over a century, characterised by mutual dependence and - often - mutual distrust. The two professions have vied with each other for primacy: journalists could open or close the gates, but PR had the stories, the contacts and often the budgets for extravagant campaigns. The arrival of the internet, and especially of social media, has changed much of that. These new technologies have turned the audience into players - who play an important part in making the reputation, and the brand, of everyone from heads of state to new car models vulnerable to viral tweets and social media attacks. Companies, parties and governments are seeking more protection - especially since individuals within these organisations can themselves damage, even destroy, their brand or reputation with an ill-chosen remark or an appearance of arrogance. The pressures, and the possibilities, of the digital age have given public figures and institutions both a necessity to protect themselves, and channels to promote themselves free of news media gatekeepers. Political and corporate communications professionals have become more essential, and more influential within the top echelons of business, politics and other institutions. Companies and governments can now - must now - become media themselves, putting out a message 24/7, establishing channels of their own, creating content to attract audiences and reaching out to their networks to involve them in their strategies Journalism is being brought into these new, more influential and fast growing communications strategies. And, as newspapers struggle to stay alive, journalists must adapt to a world where old barriers are being smashed and new relationships built - this time with public relations in the driving seat. The world being created is at once more protected and more transparent; the communicators are at once more influential and more fragile. This unique study illuminates a new media age.

Edgar Allan Poe called it perhaps the most interesting travel book ever published. Here, complete in one volume, is the classic real-life adventureoriginally published across two volumes in 1841that mesmerized readers with its evocative descriptions of journeys in Mesoamerica. With a wandering spirit mellowed by an analytic eye, American diplomat and writer JOHN LLOYD STEPHENS (18051852) introduced Westerners to the mysteries of the Yucatan in this contemporary bestseller, riveting armchair explorers with his lyrical account of visits to 44 Maya sites, including the then-unknown Chichen Itza and Uxmal. Complete with all the beautiful original illustrations by English artist and architect FREDERICK CATHERWOOD (17991854), this is essential reading for those fascinated by Mesoamerican culture as well as those under the thrall of an itch to see the world.

The New York Times best-selling authors of the QI series return with a fourth collection of mind-bending trivia. The New York Times best-selling authors of the Quite Interesting series have made you see sideways, knocked your socks off, and left your jaw on the floor. Now John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, and James Harkin are back to offer even more—1,234, to be exact—shocking, enlightening, downright-fun facts that will leave you speechless…and pantomiming for more. Did you know? The Big Bang was not as loud as a Motörhead concert. Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender. According to the company that created her, Hello Kitty isn’t a cat. Albert Einstein’s eyeballs are in a safety deposit box in New York. McDonald’s once created bubble-gum-flavored broccoli. It is impossible to hum and whisper at the same time. Convinced it’s all hogwash? Visit QI.com/US1234 for proof of the veracity of every fact. Want more? Check out 1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways, 1,339 Quite Interesting Facts to Make Your Jaw Drop, and 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off.

This book sheds new light on a major issue on the international trade policy agenda - the promotion and defence of competition in globalizing markets.

The QI team have blown your socks off, made your jaw drop and knocked you sideways. Now they return with 1,234 brand-new mind-blowing facts that will leave you speechless. - Flowers get suntans. - Denmark imports prisoners. - Bees can fly higher than Mount Everest. - The Republic of Ireland first got postcodes in 2015. - Martin Luther King Jr got a C+ in Public Speaking. - No one in the UK dies of ''natural causes''. - Penguins can''t taste fish.

"This ''quite interesting'' catalogue of frequent misconceptions in ''common knowledge'' will make you wonder why anyone bothers to go to school. If you still think that Henry VIII had six wives, that water has no colour, that Mount Everest is the world''s highest mountain, and that Earth has only one moon, then you need this book." -- Back cover.

The author''s work on Plato and Aristotle has had a considerable influence on philosophical studies in the late 20th century. The essays in this collection cover a wide range of texts and topics.

This book gathers together 180 questions, both new and previously featured on the BBC TV programme''s popular ''General Ignorance'' round, and show why, when it comes to general knowledge, none of us knows anything at all. Who invented the sandwich? What was the best thing before sliced bread? Who first ate frogs'' legs? Which cat never changes its spots? What did Lady Godiva do? What can you legally do if you come across a Welshman in Chester after sunset?