Giles Smith

‘A lovely book – as bright, shiny and uplifting as an Abba hit’ Daily Mail‘[A] witty and affectionate account . . . It’s not a stretch to say that, at its core, My My! is a book about time, death and the possibility of immortality’ Sunday Times'At last, a book that's worthy of ABBA' SpectatorMy My! The story of ABBA told through a selection of their greatest hits. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Waterloo (the song, not the battle) – a seminal moment in pop history which saw Swedish sensation ABBA burst on to the international music scene. How is it that half a century later this seventies Eurovision act is bigger than ever – reaching listeners of all ages and spinning off into musicals, museums and holograms? Giles Smith, writer and music fan, sets out to find out why. My My! is a celebration of ABBA through the ages. It’s one fan’s way of saying: thank you for the music.

On the fiftieth anniversary of Waterloo the song, not the battle - one super-fan sits down to listen to the ABBA Gold album from start to finish, and looks back over the half-century he has spent in the company of ABBA's music, and attempting to unlock the secrets of its hold on him, and on all of us.

‘A lovely book – as bright, shiny and uplifting as an Abba hit’ Daily Mail‘[A] witty and affectionate account . . . It’s not a stretch to say that, at its core, My My! is a book about time, death and the possibility of immortality’ Sunday Times'At last, a book that's worthy of ABBA' SpectatorMy My! The story of ABBA told through a selection of their greatest hits. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Waterloo (the song, not the battle) – a seminal moment in pop history which saw Swedish sensation ABBA burst on to the international music scene. How is it that half a century later this seventies Eurovision act is bigger than ever – reaching listeners of all ages and spinning off into musicals, museums and holograms? Giles Smith, writer and music fan, sets out to find out why. My My! is a celebration of ABBA through the ages. It’s one fan’s way of saying: thank you for the music.

'In the Spring of 1989, shortly after my twenty-seventh birthday, as I stood in the sleet at a bus stop in Colchester, it dawned on me that I had probably, all things considered, failed in my mission to become Sting. At least, for the time being.'Lost in Music is about growing up with pop music - about hearing it, buying it, loving it, and attempting to play it in public for money. A brilliant combination of the confessional and the unapologetic, this is a book for anyone who has ever treasured vinyl, or sung into a roll-on deodorant in front of the bedroom mirror and dreamed of playing Wembley. Praise for Lost in Music'Very, very funny . . . Giles Smith is a wonderful writer' Nick Hornby'A wonderfully funny pop-music memoir . . . You don't have to know who Nik Kershaw is to laugh out loud at the chapter about him' Sebastian Faulks, Spectator'One of the best books about music that you will ever read . . . It is impossible to read Lost in Music without laughing out loud' Daily Telegraph

In an age when sporting stars can win championships whilst hosting chat shows, the relationship between sport and television has never been stronger. Broadcasters’ schedules determine when fixtures are played and if a sport isn’t deemed ‘TV friendly’ then who cares about it? Giles Smith has spent five years in front of the television scouring over seventy channels for any sport he can lay his eyes on. Manchester United scooping the Treble; Schumacher barging Hill off the track; Tyson chewing Holyfield; Argentina beating England on penalties; Germany beating England on penalties; everybody else beating England on penalties . . . Name any one of the defining sporting moments of the last decade, Giles Smith wasn't there. He was at home, watching on the television. Like most people. And then he wrote about it.

The length of time required for the US armed forces to acquire a new weapons system has long been a source of frustration to government. This title argues that force modernization requires the introduction of novel system concepts, and that the present process requires major reorganization.