Andrew Shouler

In the mid-20th century Greece was considered still a developing country, with a divided society and dominant but ineffectual government. While economic growth matched reasonable 'catch-up' norms, industrial structures ossified. The demise of military rule in 1974 brought moderate but still reactionary administration seated upon a progressive national mood. Political disorientation was met by hasty moves to attach Greece to the promise of the European Community. This book traces the background to accession in 1981, and examines how maladjustment thereupon turned into destabilization, in inflation, the balance of payments and the government budget. Economic performance and the policies pursued are reviewed in detail for the period 1977-1997, whereby Greece found itself on the cusp of admission to the ERM, forerunner to EMU and the ensuing difficulties of euro membership. Andrew Shouler is an economist and freelance journalist.

This is the story of the United Counties Omnibus Company, once one of Britain's largest and most influential bus companies. From its headquarters in Northampton, its sphere of influence covered most of the south-east Midlands, extending from Stamford and Market Harborough in the north, down to Oxford, Aylesbury and Luton in the south, from Daventry in the west to Bedford and Biggleswade in the east. Now part of Stagecoach East, the United Counties was the amalgamation of many small bus operators in the counties as they combined to serve an ever-increasing area. Robert Cook and Andrew Shouler combine social and transport history as they narrate the memories of people who worked in the local bus industry and detail the vehicles employed by the bus operators of this once great national bus company.