"appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1980 New Year Honours. In 1957, McWhirter married Carole Eckert, who died in 1987; they had a son and a daughter. In 1990, he married his secretary, Tessa von Weichardt, née Pocock. He retired from ""The Guinness Book of Records"" in 1985, though he continued in an advisory role until 1996. He continued to write, editing a new reference book, ""Norris McWhirter's Book of Millennium Records"", in 1999. In 1985, he launched an unsuccessful defamation case against the Independent Broadcasting Authority for the TV programme ""Spitting Image"", which"
"the TV series ""Record Breakers"", based upon the book, they would take questions posed by children in the audience on various world records and were able to give the correct answer. Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following Ross' assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called ""Norris on the Spot"". Guinness Superlatives (later Guinness World Records) Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the ""Guinness"" book in the US for decades. The group was owned"
"The following year, it launched in the US, and sold 70,000 copies. Since then, ""Guinness World Records"" has gone on to become a record breaker in its own right; with sales of more than 100 million copies in 100 different countries and 37 languages, ""Guinness World Records"" is the world's best selling copyrighted book ever. Because the book became a surprise hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October, in time for Christmas. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years. Both brothers had an encyclopedic memory; on"
"Double Act (novel) Double Act is a children's novel by Jacqueline Wilson, written in the style of a diary, which features identical twins Ruby and Garnet. Ruby and Garnet love each other dearly but they are completely different. Ruby is loud, outgoing and wild though Garnet is shy, quiet and kind. It was published in 1995, co-illustrated by Sue Heap and Nick Sharratt, and it won both the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (ages 9–11 years and overall) and the Red House Children's Book Award. ""Double Act"" was ""Highly Commended"" runner up for the annual Carnegie Medal from the British Library"
"The Wright Brothers (book) The Wright Brothers is a 2015 non-fiction book written by the popular historian David McCullough and published by Simon & Schuster. It is a history of the American inventors and aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The book was on ""The New York Times"" Non-Fiction Best Sellers list for seven weeks in 2015. McCullough first became interested in writing a book on the Wright brothers while researching for his book ""The Greater Journey"", which explored the history of various notable Americans who lived in Paris during the 19th century. In an interview with ""The Seattle Times"","
"whose capture McWhirter had offered the reward. He was shot at close range in the head and chest outside his home in Village Road, Bush Hill Park. The weapon used was a .357 Magnum revolver. He was taken to Chase Farm Hospital, but died soon after being admitted. His killers were captured and charged with his and nine other murders. They were sentenced to life imprisonment but freed in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Sports and general encyclopædia Ross McWhirter Alan Ross McWhirter (12 August 1925 – 27 November 1975) was, with his twin brother, Norris,"
"1883, and together they had three children: Ovid (born 1884), Iris (born 1886), and Virgil (born 1888). Adelia died in the winter of 1893. He married his second wife in 1895 and in 1897, moved his family from Upshur County, West Virginia to Darke County, Ohio. Here, McWhorter continued his work as a farmer and rancher, as well as his in-depth study of Native American tribes, through constant reading and research and the experience of Native American life. His studies of Native American tribes of West Virginia were significant to documenting their histories; he founded the journal, ""The American Archaeologist"","
"and MacNeice, they were to be adopted by Virginia Woolf and through her much of 1930s literary London. The best-known early to mid 20th century novelist associated with Birmingham was J. R. R. Tolkien, whose books ""The Hobbit"" and ""The Lord of the Rings"" are two of the world's four best-selling books of all time, with over 100 million and over 150 million copies in print respectively. Although Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein in South Africa, he later called this a ""fallacious fact"" claiming that he ""happened to be born there by accident"". Both of his parents were from Birmingham"
"the founding of the Northcliffe Newspapers Group chain of provincial newspapers, the family moved to ""Aberfoyle"", in Broad Walk, Winchmore Hill. Like his two brothers, Ross McWhirter was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Oxford. Between 1943 and 1946, Ross served as a sub-lieutenant with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on board a minesweeper in the Mediterranean. Ross and Norris both became sports journalists in 1950. In 1951, they published ""Get to Your Marks"", and earlier that year they had founded an agency to provide facts and figures to Fleet Street, setting out, in Norris McWhirter's words ""to supply"
"in paperback form when published as one of the precursor volumes to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in 1968. From the early 1930s to late 1940s, an informal literary discussion group associated with the English faculty at the University of Oxford, were the ""Inklings"". Its leading members were the major fantasy novelists; C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Lewis is known for ""The Screwtape Letters"" (1942), ""The Chronicles of Narnia"" (1950–1956) and ""The Space Trilogy"" (1938–1945), while Tolkien is best known as the author of ""The Hobbit"" (1937), ""The Lord of the Rings"" (1954–1955), and ""The Silmarillion"" (1977)."
"The Dark-Thirty The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, is a children's thriller book, filled with ten tales of supernatural activity occurring throughout times of slavery and civil rights in the south. The authors of the book, Patricia McKissack and Fredrick McKissack, husband and wife, are known for their writings about African American culture. The illustrator of this book is Brian Pinkney, who has illustrated many highly acclaimed children's picture books. The Dark Thirty Southern Tales of the Supernatural was published in 1992 and received a Newbery Honor along with a Coretta Scott King Award in 1993. The Legend of"
"strengths he values so much in American life."" Buzzy Jackson of ""The Boston Globe"" similarly described it as ""a tidy and relatively short history"" of the Wright brothers and praised the author's attention to detail, despite noting, ""While there is much to like here, McCullough's gee-whiz attitude toward America's favorite flying Boy Scouts does feel a bit retro."" The Wright Brothers (book) The Wright Brothers is a 2015 non-fiction book written by the popular historian David McCullough and published by Simon & Schuster. It is a history of the American inventors and aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The book"
"of Wight, determined to one day destroy the triffids and reclaim their world. In the United States, Doubleday & Company holds the 1951 copyright. A 1961 condensed version of the book also appeared in ""Colliers Magazine"". An unabridged paperback edition was published in the late 1960s, in arrangement with Doubleday, under the Crest Book imprint of Fawcett Publications World Library. Wyndham frequently acknowledged the influence of H. G. Wells' ""The War of the Worlds"" (1897) on ""The Day of the Triffids"". In regard to the triffids' creation, some editions of the novel make brief mention of the theories of the"
"Ross McWhirter decided to do so himself; this decision led to his assassination by the IRA Balcombe Street gang. Less than a week after, on 2 December 1975 the National Association for Freedom — described by Harold Walker, Baron Walker of Doncaster, the Minister of State for Employment between 1976–79, as an ""ultra right wing political organisation"" which ""sought to interfere in industrial disputes, with harmful consequences"" — was launched at the Savoy Hotel, with Gouriet as Campaign Director. The Association paid the full legal costs of a group of six parents of children at state schools in Tameside who"
"James McIntyre were both born in 1827. In 1830 was the birth of Emily Dickinson and, just over a third of the way through the century, in 1835 Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) arrived in this world. Before all of them was Washington Irving, said to be the first American ""Literary Lion"" and mentor to several other American writers. Washington Irving wrote ""The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"" (a short story contained in his collection ""The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."") while he was living in Birmingham, England and it was first published in 1819. In 1807, Charles and Mary Lamb"
"which became a bestseller. He also wrote the poem ""Greatheart"". He used the pseudonym Julian Ross for journalism. In February 1892 Robert Barr and Dunkerley founded ""The Idler"", a monthly ""general interest magazine, one of the first to appear following the enthusiastic reception of ""The Strand"", but not a slavish imitation"". Barr and Dunkerley/Oxenham both contributed as writers. The editors were Barr and Jerome K. Jerome initially. Dunkerley had two sons and four daughters, of whom the eldest, and eldest child, Elsie Jeanette, became well known as a children's writer, particularly through her Abbey Series of girls' school stories. Another"
"an advertising agency. In 1976 his long association with the fledgling Andersen Press began with the publication of his re-telling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. For several years he was senior lecturer in art and head of the illustration course at Manchester Polytechnic. Among WorldCat participating libraries, the eight most widely held works by Ross are Amber Brown books written by Danziger. The most widely held book written and illustrated by Ross is ""I Want Two Birthdays"" (2008), which is represented in ten languages. In 1986 Ross won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, picture books category, for ""Ich komm dich holen!"","
"Classified"" #14-16 for DC, and the one-shot ""Strange Westerns starring the Black Rider"" for Marvel. Starting in 1994, he wrote a series of young adult books for Avon, including the ""DNAgers"" series (with his wife, Terry) and the ""Countdown"" series. ""Countdown to Flight"" was selected by NASA for its school curriculum on the Wright Brothers. In the mid-2000s, Englehart turned his 1980 novel, ""The Point Man"", into Book Zero for a series concerning its hero, Max August. The first sequel, ""The Long Man"", was published in 2009, ""The Plain Man"" in 2011, and ""The Arena Man"" in 2013. In the"
"Mystery"" (1939), in which two girls and four boys become amateur detectives and search for a long lost treasure. One summary of her critical reception concludes: Graham Greene, in a review of ""The Law and the McLaughlins"", wrote: ""She has an admirable gift for very simple direct narrative, and her theme has always been passionately realized in terms of human beings... we are always aware of a writer of fine moral discrimination and a passionate awareness of individual suffering."" Margaret Wilson (writer) Margaret Wilson (January 16, 1882 – October 6, 1973) was an American novelist. She was awarded the 1924"
"The Twin Dilemma (novel) The Twin Dilemma is the 63rd volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published by Wanderer Books in 1981 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was written by Nancy Axelrad. When a star model disappears, Aunt Eloise insists that Nancy replace the model in a NYC fashion show. Nancy reluctantly accepts the invitation, only to discover that several of the clothes for the show have been stolen! Once on the trail of her elusive enemies, Nancy discovers clue after clue pointing to a diabolical scheme that she must stop at all costs!"
"The Twin Dilemma (novel) The Twin Dilemma is the 63rd volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published by Wanderer Books in 1981 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was written by Nancy Axelrad. When a star model disappears, Aunt Eloise insists that Nancy replace the model in a NYC fashion show. Nancy reluctantly accepts the invitation, only to discover that several of the clothes for the show have been stolen! Once on the trail of her elusive enemies, Nancy discovers clue after clue pointing to a diabolical scheme that she must stop at all costs!"
"In ""The New York Review of Books"", the novelist James Salter wrote, ""Having twice won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling histories and biographies, McCullough is a much-loved dean of Americana, and his new book, a dual biography, has a warm appeal."" Writing in ""The Washington Post"", Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, called ""The Wright Brothers"" a ""superb new book"" and wrote, ""McCullough's magical account of their early adventures — enhanced by volumes of family correspondence, written records, and his own deep understanding of the country and the era —"
"novel in which denitrifying bacteria inimical to plant growth run amok and destroy world agriculture. The eponymous plutocrat Nordenholt constructs a refuge for the chosen few in Scotland, fortifying the Clyde valley. The novel is similar in spirit to such disaster stories as Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer's ""When Worlds Collide"" (1933) and anticipates the theme of John Christopher's ""The Death of Grass"" (1956). Dorothy L. Sayers paid tribute to Stewart's ""The Two Tickets Puzzle"" in her ""The Five Red Herrings"". She gave him full credit and built on one of his ideas for part of the solution of her"
"Towser Towser was a British series of children's books created by veteran children's writer and illustrator Tony Ross and published by Anderson Press. The series focused on a clever dog called Towser and his friends The King, Dr. Smelly, Sadie the cat and the owl who is always seen in the background and their arch enemies the Terrible Thing a black beaky monster who loves eating dogs and scaring people, the Water Rats two tyrannous rodents from the Water Rats Shipping Company who wanted to buy Towser's summer house and turn it into an office, Goblin Gobble a horrible green"
"English's Orbis Pictus Award, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and a NAACP Image Award. After Fredrick's death the McKissack's jointly received the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. Their two sons, twins Robert Lewis and John Patrick, are now grown, and were the inspiration for her book ""Who Is Who?"" (1983). The oldest of the children, Fredrick McKissack, Jr., is also a writer and a journalist who collaborated with his mother to create the award-winning book for older readers, ""Black Diamond: The Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues"" (1994). For many years the McKissacks lived"
"(2008) tells two parallel stories: about the novelist Charles Dickens in England, and Mathinna, an Aboriginal orphan adopted by Sir John Franklin, the colonial governor of Van Diemen's Land, and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin. As well as being a ""New Yorker"" Book of the Year and ""Observer"" Book of the Year, it won the Queensland Premier's Prize, the Western Australian Premier's Prize and the Tasmania Book Prize. His sixth novel was ""The Narrow Road to the Deep North"" (2013). The life story of Dorrigo Evans, a flawed war hero and survivor of the Death Railway, it has been hailed"
"(1981–1985), and was knighted for his work as an historian. Holt made his name with the book ""Magna Carta"", which came out in its original edition in 1965. In this work he treated the charter in the context of the political framework of its time. The book has since been fully revised, and is still considered authoritative within its field. He also published other works on the same period, such as ""The Northerners: A Study in the Reign of King John"", and ""Robin Hood"". Holt married Alice Suley in 1951; they had one son. Holt was ""passionate about cricket"". J."
"of their conjoined origin, such as the fact that they were their parents' ""only child"", they sleep together, they play piano together, and they had an early career as sideshow performers. ""Those Extraordinary Twins"" was published as a short story, with glosses inserted into the text where the narrative was either unfinished or would have duplicated parts of ""Pudd'nhead Wilson"". A film in 1916 and a made-for-TV movie in 1984 were based on the book. Frank M. Mayo produced a theatrical adaptation in 1895 and played Wilson. In ""The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr."" (1993), an episode (""Brisco for the"
"had inserted a subliminal image of McWhirter's face imposed on the body of a naked woman. McWhirter died from a heart attack at his home in Kington Langley, Wiltshire, on 19 April 2004, aged 78. His memorial service – attended by, among others, Baroness Thatcher, John Gouriet, Jeremy Beadle, Christopher Gill (who read The Lesson), Jeffrey Archer, Gregory Lauder-Frost and Sir Roger Bannister (who read an appreciation) – was held in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, on 7 October 2004. Norris McWhirter Norris Dewar McWhirter (12 August 192519 April 2004) was a British writer, political activist, co-founder of The Freedom"
"and a book on William Henry Rinehart, the Baltimore sculptor. He also printed the first book of ""Gulliver's Travels"" for the Limited Editions Club, and in 1925 he wrote and published ""Advertising of Truth"". In 1929, L.J. Hawley wrote ""A Man Named Munder"", an unofficial biography, printed by Munder & Co. And during his lifetime, the ""Baltimore Sun"" gave him a tribute regarding the decision of who should print L.C. Wroth's manuscript of ""A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland"" (a definitive study of the origins of letterpress craftsmanship), the job being given to Munder & Co.: ""...Mr Munder printed"
"their symbiotic collaboration, until the death of Janet in 1979, there was never a book illustrated under either one of their names alone. The first important book the twins worked on was ""The Hundred and One Dalmatians"" by Dodie Smith, who was already a very successful playwright and author. In 1956 she invited them to illustrate her first children's book, and it was an immediate success, captivating parents and children alike. Eventually, Smith's book was made into a feature-length animated film by Walt Disney. The twins' further success with later Smith books, ""The Starlight Barking"" and ""The Midnight Kittens"", made"
"Northcliffe Newspapers chain of provincial newspapers, the family moved to ""Aberfoyle"", in Broad Walk, Winchmore Hill. Like their elder brother, Kennedy (born 1923), Norris and Ross were educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Oxford. Norris chose to complete his law degree in two years rather than the usual three. Between 1943 and 1946, Norris served as a sub-lieutenant with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on escort duty in Atlantic and on board a minesweeper in the Pacific. McWhirter was an all-round athlete and represented Scotland at running during the 1950s. He and his brother became sports journalists in 1950."
"publishing star, which led to their notable success The Guinness Book of Records and allowed them to find fame on TV’s Record Breakers with Roy Castle. The McWhirters sued Manning for libel and slander and were awarded £300 damages. In 1966, he wrote a noteworthy piece on the climatic problems facing Olympic athletes: 'I am sorry Mexico City is 7,500 ft. above sea level. I also regret that it is cold in Iceland, hot in Malaya, high in Nepal, inflationary in France, communist in Russia, earth-quakey in Chile, oily in Iraq, sandy in Egypt, intolerant in Ireland, foggy in Britain,"