Showing results by narrator "Homer Todiwala" in All Categories

“How do you travel in style across the galaxy?” “What do aliens really look like?” “What is the Fermi paradox and why should we care about it?” Discover the answers to these questions and many more at the Supervillain Academy: the magnificently morbid school for young bad folks-in-training. Learn more about how the search for extraterrestrial life and the search for planets are linked, the exoplanets and extremophiles that can be found all over the galaxy, and the weird and wonderful ways scientists think we (might) be able to travel around space.

You've probably heard the word 'empire' before. Perhaps because of the Roman empire. Or maybe even the Star Wars films. But what about the British Empire? Why don't we learn much about this? And what even is an empire, anyway? This book will answer all the important questions about Britain's imperial history. It will explore how Britain's empire once made it the most powerful nation on earth, and how it still affects our lives in many ways today - from the words we use, to the food we eat, the sports we play and even to every grown-up's fixation with a good cup of tea.

Drawing from over two decades of service in the British Army, including five tours in Afghanistan and deployments in Bosnia and Sierra Leone, Captain Kailash Limbu shares the core principles that have shaped his journey as a soldier and a man. Through the metaphor of the khukuri, a symbolic and essential tool for every Gurkha, he illustrates how mindset and behaviour are crucial to overcoming challenges, achieving success and leading with honour.

In this provocative manifesto, Assaad Razzouk shows that for too long our ideas about what's best for the environment have been unfocused and distracted, trying to go in too many directions and concentrating on individual behavior. While some of these things can be useful, they are dwarfed by one big thing that simply has to happen very soon if we're to avoid major environmental breakdown: curtailing the activities of the fossil fuel industry.

If you are aged under 18, you have your own set of human rights. Child rights are unique freedoms and protections designed for you. Governments should uphold them, but all across the world, they are violated. Know Your Rights: And Claim Them gives you the knowledge and tools to claim your rights. It introduces them and explains why they matter in the real world. From gender and racial equality, to the rights to free expression, health, a clean climate and a sustainable environment, they are yours to claim.

In this comprehensive anthology, former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion has gathered together exceptional poems from the 14th century through to the present day, creating an extraordinary poetic journey for the listener. From the love poems of Shelley and Keats to the grim war elegies of Owen and Sassoon, there is a poem here for every sentiment, each with something different to offer.

A journey through the life of Swami Vivekananda is a study of the Indian civilization, its ethos and value system. Not only did his message of tolerance, based on knowledge, make him an exemplary spokesperson of the country, but his life's mission of creating an order of monks who dedicated their lives for others made him a prophet and a leader. His teachings continue to be relevant even today, especially in the light of the prevailing intolerance and fanaticism in the nation, and the increasing turmoil in the world.

A victim. A mutilated body. A single word. A young woman is found dead on the streets of London. Her throat slashed, her body mutilated, and one word carved into her flesh: “DON’T.” Detective Superintendent Ray Paterson is assigned to the case. Young, handsome and from a wealthy background, he’s tipped for the top. He joins a team based out of Bermondsey, South London. It’s meant to be a stepping stone to his next promotion, but this case will threaten to bring down his career and everything he thought he knew about policing.

The whole world has a stake in India’s future, and that future hinges on whether India can develop its economy and deliver for its population—now the world’s largest—while staying democratic.

Ramesh Kumar grew up deprived and unloved, working on his father's tea stall in the Old City of Delhi. Now, brilliant but poor, he makes a lucrative living taking tests for the sons of India's elite. When one of his clients, the sweet but hapless 18-year-old Rudi Saxena, places first in the All Indias, the national university entrance exams, Ramesh sees an unmissable opportunity. Cashing in on Rudi's newfound celebrity, all goes well for both boys for a while. But Rudi's role on a game show leads to unexpected love, blackmail and finally, a dangerous kidnapping.

Based on real questions from children, expert author Dr Matt Bothwell has created the Supervillain Academy to teach astrophysics to middle graders. At the Supervillain Academy, listeners will learn about the solar system, galaxies, the universe, and, most importantly, the answer to the question “Which planet is entirely populated by robots?”.

A heartfelt comedy of manners for fans of Seating Arrangements and Crazy Rich Asians, Diksha Basu's debut novel unfolds the story of a family discovering what it means to be nouveau riche in modern India. Hilarious and wise, The Windfall illuminates with warmth and charm the precariousness of social status, the fragility of pride and, above all, the human drive to build and share a home. Even the rich, it turns out, need to belong somewhere.

Everything that could possibly be wrong with a city was wrong with Calcutta. When Kushanava Choudhury arrived in New Jersey at the age of 12, he had already migrated halfway around the world four times. After graduating from Princeton, he moved back to the world which his immigrant parents had abandoned, to a city built between a river and a swamp, where the moisture-drenched air swarms with mosquitos after sundown.

This is the remarkable story of Rahul Dravid's extraordinary cricketing career that commenced in 1996. The book highlights the physical, mental and, of course, technical attributes that have elevated Rahul to legendary status. In this honest endeavour to recount the story of Rahul Dravid, the author is assisted by reminiscences from his mentors, seniors, teammates and even opponents, all of whom witnessed the making of a cricketing legend from close quarters.

When Finn returns to Alyxa's school after the holidays, sinister guards patrol the hallways. They're supposed to be there to protect the students, but Finn believes they're looking for traces of the forbidden sixth sense. Finn is immediately in their sights, because he shows signs of the dangerous gift. And not only that: he suddenly has a vision of Morvan, the dark druid and master of the sixth sense! Coincidence or Revelation?

The Alyxa School - this is where young people are trained who can hear, smell, taste, feel or see supernaturally well. But a dark force threatens to rise within the walls of the school: Morvan, the dark druid, master of the forbidden sixth sense. Can Finn and his friends finally defeat the mighty druid?

At their wedding Mia and Roy Kapoor promised to love and cherish each other. Whilst not perfect, their marriage is sacred and their commitment absolute. But a knock at the door changes everything when Roy is questioned over the disappearance of a young woman. As Roy and Mia’s life unravels, they must question everything they know about each other if their marriage is to survive. But what if the real truth is not what they, or you, think?

Beneath the stars, on a stony beach, stand two brothers. They are wearing lifejackets that are too big for them and their most precious belongings are sealed in waterproof bags tucked inside the rucksacks on their backs. Turkey is behind them. Two or three kilometres' swim away is the Greek island of Samos, now only a smudge in the moonlight.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (also published as 1984) is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale by English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, it centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and repressive regimentation of people and behaviours within society. Orwell, a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian state in the novel on Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany.

In a small farming village in Punjab, India, a boy crouches over his brother's phone in a rapeseed field watching clips of Godard's Bande à part on YouTube. His name is Happy Singh Soni and when he's not sleeping among the cabbages and eating sugary rotis, Happy dreams of becoming an actor, one who plays the melancholy roles; the sad, pretty boys, rare in Indian cinema. He plans a clandestine journey to Europe, where he'll finally land a breakout role.