There are certain authors whose very names are an absolute guarantee of quality, and George Macdonald Fraser has long been one of those. His Flashman books are much loved, and the exploits of his engaging rogue have been delighted readers for years. But is Flashman on the Marchup to the customary Fraser standard? After all, the number of Flashman books is now legion, and even the author’s most dedicated admirers would admit that some Flashman outings (while diverting enough) have lacked the freshness of the early books. It's good to report, therefore, that Flashman on the Marchis almost vintage Fraser, with all the elements that have won him an ironclad following largely in place. There are, of course, two elements that make these books such fun: the vivid and pungent historical detail (always effortlessly integrated, and never self-consciously laid on as in so many historical novels, serious or otherwise); the author's refusal to be politically correct (the Flashman books have always played fast and loose with the accepted views of morality and society, and their bawdy, amoral charms are refreshing in an age in which such things are looked at askance — even if Fraser, like Frederick Forsyth, is far better encountered in his entertaining books rather than in his more splenetic role as pundit).

Here, that least heroic possessor of a Victoria Cross, Sir Harry Flashman, finds himself catapulted into a highly dangerous assignment in Abyssinia: he is to rescue British prisoners from a demented emperor. Abyssinia (as seen through Fraser's highly colourful imagination) is a land of lethal seductresses, terrifying warriors and a jawdropping female monarch whose idea of what she should feed her lions is… unorthodox. It's up to Flashman (as so often before) to triumph over insuperable odds by the most unlikely methods. Needless to say, untrammelled sexual activity is firmly on the menu. If you're a George Macdonald Fraser fan, or a Flashman fan, what are you waiting for? —Barry Forshaw

If you like to tweak, disassemble, re-create, and invent cool new uses for technology, you'll love MAKEour new quarterly publication for the inquisitive do-it-yourselfer. Our third issue looks at how you can turn your car into a Wi-Fi blasting, computer-controlled, GPS-enabled, biodiesel monster. Key features show how to turn a VCR into a pet feeding robot, how to make a see-through potato cannon, create a remote-controlled haunted house for Holloween, and get you the skinny on cheap welding.

The third edition profiles Ed Storms, now retired, and formerly employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratories. For more than a decade, Storms has been working on low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR.) If LENRs exist and can be harnessed, they will provide an alternative power source. Since they don't emit chemical pollutants, they may even alleviate global warming. Visit MAKE's web site: make.oreilly.com.

Design is the single most important factor in creating a successful photograph. The ability to see the potential for a strong picture and then organize the graphic elements into an effective, compelling composition has always been one of the key skills in making photographs. 

Digital photography has brought a new, exciting aspect to design - first because the instant feedback from a digital camera allows immediate appraisal and improvement; and second because image-editing tools make it possible to alter and enhance the design after the shutter has been pressed. This has had a profound effect on the way digital photographers take pictures. 

The Photographer's Eye shows how anyone can develop the ability to see and shoot great digital photographs. The book explores all the traditional approaches to composition and design, but crucially, it also addresses the new digital technique of shooting in the knowledge that a picture will later be edited, manipulated, or montaged to result in a final image that may be very different from the one seen in the viewfinder.

Features

*Covers both traditional in-camera composition and the new opportunities for picture-making made possible by digital imaging editing 

*Shows how to explore situations and locations in order to find the best possible photographic possibilities 

*Uses clear examples from real photographic assignments, with schematic illustrations of how and why the pictures work